REGION
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
STANFIELD
Council appoints new mayor
asked them if they thought
she could do it. They said
that she could, and then they
unanimously voted in her
favor — 5-0, with Whelan
abstaining.
Asked why she was
By ERICK PETERSON selected, Whelan joked that
it was “the only way they
East Oregonian
were going to get her off the
STANFIELD — Susan council.”
Whelan will be sworn in as
The incoming mayor
Stanfi eld’s mayor at a city is lighthearted by nature,
council meeting on Tuesday, she said, and she likes to
May 3. Whelan, a Stanfi eld laugh. She said she feels that
city councilor since 2017, was “humor makes things go
selected Monday, April 18, easier” and “life is short.”
from the council to replace Also, life can be “hard for
Mayor Thomas McCann. people,” she said. A sour atti-
McCann died April 16 of a tude makes things worse.
heart attack.
A wife, mother to three,
“I will do my
grandmother to fi ve
and great grand-
best,” she said,
during an interview
mother to two,
Friday, April 22.
Whelan said she has
Whelan said she
recently been the
admires McCann
subject of teasing
a great deal. They
within her family.
knew each other for
Family members
several years, she
Whelan
are asking her if
said, and their fami-
they should call
lies were close. According her “mayor” rather than
to Whelan, their children “grandma.”
She said, she is happier
played together, and she
misses him. But then, she with her grandchildren call-
said, many people in town ing her grandma, just like she
have the same feelings.
prefers to be called “Susan”
“He was an icon in the around town.
community, well-loved and
She is not doing this job
well-respected,” she said. “It to satisfy her ego, she said.
will be hard to fi ll his shoes.” Nor does she have great plans
McCann, she said, “really to “make her mark” on the
knew how to run a meeting.” town, she added. Instead,
She attributed his authorita- she said she is focusing on
tive presence to his history the job itself.
as a police offi cer; he knew
“God doesn’t care if I’m
how to command respect. mayor, and I’m not trying to
She said it will be diffi cult impress anyone,” she said.
for her to be like him in the
That said, she did say that
same way.
there are things she wants to
At the city council meet- do in town.
ing in which she was selected,
One of her goals is making
she recalled that Councilor city business more accessible
Jason Sperr nominated her to the public. According to
to the vacated mayoral posi- Whelan, evening city coun-
tion. She said, no one else cil meetings are not enough
was nominated. Before the for people.
“I want to be available
other councilors voted, she
Susan Whelan
to step down as
councilor to take
on new role
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
The charred remains of Rex Rosenberg’s all-terrain-vehicle remain where they burned Sun-
day, April 24, 2022, next to his Pendleton home.
Fire destroys ATV in Pendleton
at 920 S.W. 33rd St. in antic-
ipation of a trip April 24. He
went to bed but shortly after
midnight saw the ATV ablaze.
“It was fully engulfed,”
he said.
And the heat was so
intense, he said, it was impos-
sible to approach it from the
front door.
The fire damaged the
trailer, the pickup towing it
and the ATV in its bed, and
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Rex
Rosenberg of Pendleton
went to bed Saturday night,
April 23, and awoke to fi nd
fire destroying one of his
all-terrain-vehicles.
Rosenberg said he fueled
up the vehicle at about 9 p.m.
April 23 and put it on the
trailer in front of his home
the heat melted siding on the
front of the house as well as
plastic taillights on a pickup
in his driveway and the tail-
lights of a pickup across the
street.
Rosenberg said no one was
harmed in the blaze, and the
Pendleton Fire Department
were on the scene at about
12:20 a.m. and extinguished
the fi re. He also said he had no
idea what caused the fi re.
HERMISTON
New tool allows residents to give input
East Oregonian
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
HERMISTON — The city
of Hermiston has launched a
new public survey tool to
better understand local prior-
ities and concerns on a wide
range of city services and the
local quality of life.
The tool will enable the
city to collect feedback from
the local neighborhood level
to community-wide prior-
ities, according to a press
release from the city.
Following the intensive
Hermiston 2040 survey
campaign and other recent
eff orts to gather public input,
the Zencity Community
Survey is to track resident
satisfaction and response to
specifi c eff orts over a long
period.
“We are always striving to
get input from residents and
this partnership with Zenc-
ity will be a great step toward
understanding the needs and
concerns of our residents to
make the best decisions for
the future of our city,” City
Manager Byron Smith said in
the announcement. “Zencity
enables us to have a broader,
more representative insight in
resident priorities.”
Already underway, the
survey typically will gather
thousands of responses from
Hermiston residents each
year in English and Span-
Zencity’s community survey
incorporates voices from
every corner of the commu-
nity, according to a press
release from the city of
Hermiston.
To do so, Zencity sets
response targets based on
U.S. Census data about the
municipality.
Zencity ensures the security
and privacy of its data and
survey respondents. Survey
responses are anonymous,
unless a respondent chooses
to share their email address
ish. The survey appears to
residents through digital ads
in various locations such as
news websites, social media
platforms, blogs and apps.
Based on responses, the
survey measures resident
satisfaction regarding local
services and quality of life
in the city, while identifying
key concerns residents want
the city to address. In addi-
tion, residents can fi nd and
respond to the survey on the
city website.
This initiative builds on an
existing partnership between
Hermiston and Zencity, the
community input platform
used by local governments to
hear from more residents and
get the most meaningful and
for follow-up purposes, in
which case their survey
responses are kept confi den-
tial. Zencity does not collect
a respondent’s name, ad-
dress, or any other personal-
ly-identifying information.
Zencity’s weighting ac-
counts for the responses
of every single person who
answered a question. The
responses give a proportion-
al voice to all demographics,
including age, sex, race and
income level, based on the
makeup of the municipality.
actionable insights, the press
release stated. Hermiston
began working with Zenc-
ity in 2021 to better under-
stand the feedback residents
already are voicing about the
issues that matter to them the
most — whether on publicly
available social media chan-
nels, comments on traditional
news sources or through offi -
cial channels such as 311 —
helping the city to hear from
all corners of the community.
Zencit y works with
hundreds of municipalities
across the U.S. including
Chicago, Phoenix, Seat-
tle and San Diego on issues
ranging from public safety to
American Rescue Plan Act
implementation.
LOCAL BRIEFING
M I LT ON - F R E E WA-
TER — The Milton-Freewa-
ter Chamber Downtown is
accepting applications for a
full-time executive director
now thru May 23.
The joint organization
conducted a successful fund-
ing campaign at the end of
2021 that provided the organi-
zation a strong fi nancial base
to pay for a full-time executive
director and to pursue goals for
2022, including:
• Explore revitalization
and the future of established
events such as Annual Awards
Banquet, Brews by the Blues
Brew Fest and Summer Festi-
val.
• Provision of informa-
tive webinars, training and
networking opportunities for
local businesses.
• Development of a busi-
ness retention and recruitment
program.
For the complete job
description and information,
HIRIN
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NOW
2022 Graduates
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Includes full color. Three line maximum message.
Umatilla, Morrow & Gilliam County
Jennifer Smith
G!
APPLY NOW
visit MFdowntown.org or
email info@mfdowntown.org.
The Milton-Freewater
Chamber Downtown Alli-
ance is the result of a joint
operations agreement between
the Milton-Freewater Cham-
ber of Commerce and the
Milton-Freewater Downtown
Alliance. The overarching goal
of the MFCDA is to coordi-
nate the eff orts of the chamber
and alliance to the benefi t of
Milton-Freewater businesses
and community.
— EO Media Group
NO
MF Chamber
Downtown seeks
new boss
to people,” she said. To that
end, she is planning regular
community breakfasts where
she and a city councilor can
meet over a meal at the Stan-
fi eld Community Center, 160
S. Main St. There, she can
hear from people, get their
ideas and discuss issues.
The next breakfast meet-
ing, she said, will be Satur-
day, May 7, 7-10 a.m.
She said she is looking
forward to meeting people.
She added that she hopes
they will see her as she sees
herself, a person who is not
afraid to make tough deci-
sions and “say things that
need to be said.”
Further, she said she
wants to live up to her image
as a person who gets things
done. Before retiring, she
worked at Banner Bank for
20 years. She was a purchas-
ing manager, she said, and
has experience with fi nances
and teamwork.
In the coming months and
years as mayor, she said she
will look after continuing
projects in town. Construc-
tions projects and clean-
ing up Main Street are two
things, which she said are on
her mind.
She said she feels “a bit
embarrassed” about the
limelight, but she is looking
forward to the opportunity
to help. Also, she shied away
from saying she was excited.
“I wouldn’t use that
word,” she said. “I don’t get
excited. I’ve looked forward
to things, or I’ve dreaded
them. At this point of my life,
I don’t need to dread.”
This leaves the 70-year-
old Whelan looking forward
to her mayoral work.
At the upcoming swear-
ing-in ceremony, she will
step down as a city coun-
cilor and take on the mantle
of mayor, serving out the
remainder of McCann’s term.
Join us for an informational session
APRIL 28TH 2:00PM - 3:30PM
for the meeting link contact the email
below!
High School Name
FACILITATORS/COACHES
$1,000 Hiring Bonus
Congratulations Jen!
We are so proud of you!
Love, Mom & Dad
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