Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current, January 07, 2015, Image 1

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    COMMUNITY ASSET
PREP HOOPS
EL CAZADOR OWNERS
WANT TO GIVE BACK
WATSON GOES
FROM BARRE TO COURT
PAGE A4
SPORTS PAGE A6
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
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City of
Hermiston
seeking
public input
about new
charter
Editor’s note: This is the last
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students living in a variety of liv- rollment and educational stability
ing conditions may be considered for homeless children and youth
homeless.
in kindergarten through
“When people think
12th grade. Under that
of
homelessness,
they
act, homeless students
BY MAEGAN MURRAY
think of a student or
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HERMISTON HERALD
a family living on the
those who are current-
Even as they endure uncertain street,” he said. “Al-
ly living in a shelter
Number of identified
and challenging living situations, though that is one as-
or transitional hous-
the Hermiston School District of- pect of homelessness,
ing, living unsheltered,
homeless students
fers students who have been iden- most of our families are
those who are doubled
by district as report-
WL¿HG DV KRPHOHVV D PXOWLWXGH RI doubled up and may be
up or sharing a home,
ed from the 2013-14
resources to keep them from fall- living with other fami-
those who are waiting
school year:
ing through the educational cracks. ly members while they
foster care placement
Hermiston: 73
The Hermiston School District have lost their home sit-
or living in a hotel or
Stanfield: 12
FXUUHQWO\ KDV LGHQWL¿HG KRPH- uation.”
motel.
Umatilla: 25
less students, although how home-
Smith said the McK-
Smith said while the
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Home-
Hermiston School Dis-
be different than what most people less Education Assistance Act is WULFW PD\ QRW EH DEOH WR ¿QG VWX-
would assume. Hermiston Deputy a federal law that requires school dents a home, it does provide a
Superintendent Wade Smith said districts to provide immediate en- number of services that eliminates
By the
Numbers
Current document
in need of facelift
The public is invited to
attend a community meet-
ing at 6:30 p.m. Thursday
in the Hermiston Confer-
ence Center board room
to learn more about pro-
posed changes to the City
of Hermiston Charter.
A charter is the basic
document that establish-
es how the city govern-
ment operates, as well
as what laws the city can
create. Hermiston’s char-
ter hasn’t been revised
in almost 50 years, and,
during that time, various
components have become
outdated.
The City Council began
drawing up revisions to
the charter in early 2014.
A rough draft of updates
has now been completed,
and the City Council is
seeking public input for
any final changes before
the new charter is placed
on the May ballot.
some of the barriers homeless stu-
dents face that their peers with per-
manent housing situations do not.
“Our intent behind homeless
services is to try to ensure that, de-
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uation, we try to provide the most
stable educational environment we
can,” he said.
Smith said if a student moves in
with a relative or to a location out-
side the Hermiston School District
boundaries, the district can bus
the student, within a reasonable
amount of distance, back to their
home school. He said, many times,
a student may move from resi-
dence to residence three or more
times within a few months.
SEE HOMELESS/A2
MANAGING A POLICE
DEPARTMENT
TODAY’S WEATHER
Partly Cloudy
High: 43º Low: 30º
OUTLOOK
• THURSDAY
Mostly cloudy
High: 38º Low: 31º
• FRIDAY
Morning clouds
High: 38º Low: 30º
SEAN HART PHOTO
Administrative Capt. Travis Eynon, left, speaks to records clerk Sandy Warner at the Hermiston Police Department. Eynon oversees three detectives, a school
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Captains describe
daily grind at HPD
A complete weather forecast is
featured on page A2.
Editor’s note: This
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Find the Hermiston Herald on
Facebook and Twitter
and join the conversation.
FOR LOCAL
BREAKING NEWS
BY SEAN HART
HERMISTON HERALD
www.HermistonHerald.com
Although a police de-
partment is responsible for
enforcing laws, like any
other organization, person-
nel management is an im-
portant aspect of having a
well-functioning agency.
Chief Jason Edmiston
said the Hermiston Police
Department separates its
personnel into two major
divisions. Operations Capt.
Darryl Johnson supervises
the patrol units — four ser-
geants who supervise four
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— and support services, in-
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crime team and seven re-
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trative Capt. Travis Eynon
supervises three detectives,
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nications manager, who su-
pervises two records clerks.
Edmiston said, while
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may vary, the reason peo-
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cers is often the same.
“I do believe, very much
so, that there is still some-
thing very noble about
this profession,” he said.
“It’s not for everybody,
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is not for everybody. Get-
ting into ministry is not for
everybody. Everybody has
their own niche, but at the
end of the day, I would ar-
gue any cop that is asked,
‘Why do you want to be a
cop?’ you’re going to hear
answers such as, ‘Every
day is something different.
I want to be able to make
a difference,’ you know,
have some meaning in the
day-to-day job.”
OPERATIONS
Johnson has been an
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transferred to HPD as a
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was promoted to captain in
2010 and said he organizes
trainings, manages the pa-
trol schedule, reviews and
creates reports and super-
vises his staff.
“You’re basically tak-
ing the young minds and
you’re helping develop
them — and some of the
seasoned guys because
we’re having to develop
people to replace us even-
tually — so a lot of it’s
development,”
Johnson
SEE POLICE/A10
‘A totally different experience’
Chamber execs visit
China, will promote
trip to others
BY SEAN HART
HERMISTON HERALD
Hermiston Herald $1.00
8
08805 93294
© 2014 EO Media Group
2
When Umatilla Chamber of
Commerce Executive Director
Karen Hutchinson-Talaski visited
China in October, the experience
was not what she expected.
Hutchinson-Talaski and Herm-
iston Chamber of Commerce CEO
Debbie Pedro traveled to China
with other counterparts from Or-
egon, Washington, Montana and
Canada last fall as part of a 10-
day free business mission offered
to chamber of commerce directors
with the hope they return to their
communities and promote tourism
in the country.
She and Pedro will recount
their experiences on their trip and
tell others how they can visit the
country at a public presentation
from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 12
in the Altrusa Room at the Herm-
iston Conference Center. Hutchin-
son-Talaski said a 10-day trip is
being planned to leave Oct. 19, and
people can visit China for $2,399,
which includes meals and lodging.
The local chambers also receive
revenue if people go, she said.
Hutchinson-Talaski said, her
visit to China was enlightening,
and the upcoming trip is perfect
for people seeking “a totally dif-
ferent experience,” like she had in
the Far East.
“One of the highlights for me
SEE CHINA/A2
PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN HUTCHINSON-TALASKI
Umatilla and Hermiston Chamber of Commerce directors Karen Hutchin-
son-Talaski and Debbie Pedro visited China with chamber representatives
from Oregon, Washington, Montana and Canada, pictured here in Tiananmen
Square with the Forbidden City in the background.