A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015
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SIPE:
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KIOSK:
staff, Sipe and her family — her
husband, Kyle, a teacher at Clara
Brownell Middle School, and her
two children, Caden and Cameron
— spoke with Merkley and Susan
Lexer, Merkley’s policy adviser in
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on STEM education. Sipe said they
spoke about Umatilla’s after-school
program, which features a number
of opportunities for students to expe-
rience STEM-related programs. Her
children also talked about the impor-
tance of the program.
“They had such a great time,” she
said.
Sipe said she thought, because
she and her husband take their chil-
dren to so many events, her son and
daughter were more comfortable
speaking to such high-ranking of-
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their age.
“One thing they talked about is
how, if you look at Umatilla, every
element of our community does
not scream STEM hub,” she said.
“It was neat for the kids to say that
there isn’t any excuse for any com-
munity not to do these things. If you
can pull it off here, it can be done
anywhere.”
When it came time for the State of
the Union address, Sipe said Merk-
ley graciously introduced her to other
senators and their guests, with whom
she spoke about different programs.
She said she met some of her favorite
senators, in addition to fellow educa-
tors and other guests that shared the
same passion for extending opportu-
nities like STEM to students.
“There was a huge variety of peo-
ple,” she said. “Senator Merkley was
the community.
Ann Fialka, a member of Al-
trusa, said the effort has been
in the works for years. Four
years ago, when Altrusa mem-
bers visited South Dakota for
a convention, they saw the city
they were visiting had a sign of
that displayed all the city’s ser-
vice clubs. Last year, Altrusa
partnered with the Hermiston
Rotary to get the project going
by means of individual club do-
nations.
Other businesses and agen-
cies contributed to the effort by
donating materials and services,
which helped save money on
construction. The project also
received a $4,000 Transient
Room Tax grant from the city,
and Rotary and Altrusa each
pledged $2,000 for the project.
In recent years, many orga-
nizations have experienced a
decrease in new membership,
particularly among younger
people. Dean Fialka said he
hopes the sign will spur growth
in the organizations, as well as
recognize those who have con-
tributed so much to the commu-
nity through the year.
“We appreciate what each
one of these organizations has
done for the community over
the years,” he said Wednesday
during a ribbon-cutting cere-
mony. “So today we dedicate
the Hermiston Service Organi-
zation Kiosk. It is a place for
organizations to proudly dis-
play their presence in our com-
munity.”
WAMSLEY:
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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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such a great host.”
Sipe said she had the chance to
talk with a president of a community
college in another part of the coun-
try about Eastern Promise, which
allows students in eastern Oregon to
take college-level classes for college
credit while in high school.
Sipe said, at one point, she stood
next to Vice President Joe Biden
during one of their security checks.
“I was too scared to say anything,
but it was neat just to be there,” she
said.
Right before President Obama’s
speech, Sipe was guided up to the
galley to listen while Merkley re-
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it was another opportunity to mingle
and learn more about what other peo-
ple in the gallery were representing.
Sipe said she was fortunate to be
seated directly across from President
Obama when he gave his speech
er, she is most proud of the
creation of the Blue Moun-
tain Early Learning Hub,
on which Head Start and
the IMESD are co-leads.
The hub, which started two
years ago, offers early edu-
cation and family support-
ive services for children
from before birth to age 5
and their families. The ef-
fort is part of the state’s
40-40-20 goal to provide a
seamless system of educa-
tion from birth to college
and career.
Wamsley said she wasn’t
directly responsible for the
about the state of the nation and what
he has planned.
“It was incredible,” she said. “I
never would have expected to have
that great of a view.”
Sipe she said she looks forward to
hearing more about some of his ideas
for education.
“In broad talk, everything sounds
really great, but I am interested in
seeing what the details are and what
is possible,” she said. “The college
options, for example, could really
impact our Eastern Promise work
either in a positive or a negative
way, depending on what the options
were.”
Sipe said she is so thankful for
the opportunity to visit Washington,
D.C., with her family.
“I am so thankful for all that ev-
eryone does so that our community
and our region can continue to have
experiences like this,” she said.
positive changes that have
propelled Head Start to
become the thriving or-
ganization that it is today,
however. She said the orga-
nization’s success is due to
the people with whom she
has worked and the partner-
ships formed.
“All of the agency heads
here in Oregon from the
Oregon schools to the (In-
terMountain
Education
Service District) to (the
Department of Human Ser-
vices) to the county are re-
ally into partnerships,” she
said. “We work very col-
5-year-olds and their fami-
lies to programs that serve
children from before birth
to age 5 and their families.
She said Head Start, which
later became the Uma-
tilla Morrow Head Start,
now provides childhood
education services, health
screening and referrals, the
Women, Infants and Chil-
dren nutrition education
and supplemental food pro-
gram, child care resource
and referral services, fami-
ly support and connections
and the Court Appointed
Special Advocate program.
Wamsley said, after join-
ing Head Start, she served
as a teacher for Head Start
for one year before she
was named the education
coordinator. At that point,
the organization was a sin-
gle-purpose agency that
served 130 children and
their families. Then, in
1986, when Head Start be-
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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
zation, she was named the
Cathy Wamsley, newly retired former Head Start director,
executive director.
Wamsley said she is VWDQGVQH[WWRWKH+HUPLVWRQPDLQ+HDG6WDUWRIÀFHVLJQ
proud that, in her nearly 30 earlier this year.
years as executive director,
the organization has grown
from just serving Umatil-
la County to serving more
than eight counties. The or-
ganization now serves more
than 4,700 families.
From Dr. Hibbert,
“That is something that
Lacee, Jessica, Bailey,
really stands out to me
since I started,” she said.
Heather, and Sarah
“We now have multiple dif-
ferent programs that touch
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children and their families.”
Wamsley said some of
the things that stand out
most from her career are
the programs developed
and partnerships formed to
better serve area families.
In the last several years, the
organization has created a
program geared toward re-
vitalizing neighborhoods
while working with schools
and police on how to reduce
drug use thanks to funds
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year grant program.
“That is a great program
that we continue to do work
that we have developed un-
der that,” she said.
Head Start also received
funding from the Legacy
Foundation to help people
stop smoking or reduce
their consumption.
“The families that we
work with are still the high-
est users,” she said. “It was
really rewarding to bring
that to our program.”
Last year, Umatilla Mor-
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star designation for its qual-
ity of childcare programs.
Wamsley said, howev-
Happy New Year
laboratively together and
for the betterment of all the
kids. We don’t look at our
kids by individual commu-
nity. We look at all the kids
across the counties as ours,
and we all work together to
do the best we can.”
Wamsley said Head Start
has also thrived because of
its staff.
“They have been very
dedicated over the years,”
she said. “Before I retired,
there were a lot of people
that had been there for a
The 12 organizations listed
on the sign are Lions Club Inter-
national, Altrusa International,
Rotary International, Breakfast
Kiwanis, Fraternal Order of the
Eagles, Hermiston Education
Foundation, Desert Arts Coun-
cil, Hermiston Desert Shrine
Club, Noon Kiwanis, Supreme
Emblem Club, Soroptimist In-
ternational and Good Shepherd
Community Health Foundation.
To accompany the new sign,
Ann Fialka said the city of
Hermiston will also post con-
tact information for each of the
organizations on a new portion
of its website so that people in-
terested in joining any one of
those organizations can contact
them. She said they hope, by
having the contact information
readily available, it will spur
new interest and new life in the
organizations.
“The website provides one
location where contact infor-
mation for each of these orga-
nizations is available,” she said.
“We appreciate the city for pro-
viding this service. It will be in-
cumbent on each organization
to see that the information stays
current and is updated regular-
ly.”
Assistant City Manager
Mark Morgan said the infor-
mation on the website is not
up yet, but he expects it to be
posted within the next couple
of days. He said people will be
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on Community Links on the
right side of the city of Herm-
iston website, http://www.
hermiston.or.us, and then on a
link to the service organization
information.
long time. A lot of us, and
those still at the agency,
have been there for 25 to 30
years.”
Wamsley said, now that
her career is over, she can
look back at all the orga-
nization has accomplished
and feel good about her
time spent with Head Start.
“It has been a very ful-
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“I’ve met lots of great peo-
ple and had the opportunity
to work with some commu-
nity members that are very
interested in coordination
and collaboration. They are
a real asset in our commu-
nity, and I’ve worked with
an outstanding staff.”
Wamsley said she also
knows the organization is in
capable hands. She said Ex-
ecutive Director Maureen
McGrath and the remaining
staff are more than prepared
for the task at hand.
“I miss the people, but I
know that it will continue
to be just as great a pro-
gram,” she said.
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