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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2015)
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 FROM PAGE A1 CHARTER ple decide what we get to vote Smith said few people at- on and nobody else.” tended the two public sessions, Hawkins said allowing vot- but three voiced concerns continued from page A1 ers to decide was the purpose about the judge change and ers. Some of the proposed of a democratic system. also recommended a require- revisions, however, such as “We are a democracy, and ment the judge be an attorney. changing the mayor’s term when you start setting up these He said Lions Club members from two years to four and little autocracies, you tend to voiced the same concerns, but appointing rather than elect- get away from the whole pur- Rotary club members pointed ing the municipal judge, were pose of you guys being there,” out that an appointed judge discussed at greater length by he said to the councilors. “You could avoid potential prob- the council before the mem- were put there by the taxpay- lems counties have with elect- EHUV DUULYHG DW WKH ¿UVW GUDIW ers. ... Let us choose who we ed department heads. He said Because the charter will have want as a judge.” the Noon Kiwanis club did to be approved by Hermiston Councilman John Kirwan not mention the judge issue, voters before taking effect, said voters ultimately will have except to recommend the term councilors expressed concern WKH¿QDOGHFLVLRQZKHQFKRRV- of the appointed judge have a that the municipal court judge ing whether or not to ratify the limit to allow regular review. issue might prevent the other document on the ballot. After Smith said he recommend- necessary changes from being Smith provided his feedback HG PLQRU PRGL¿FDWLRQV WR WKH enacted. from the outreach sessions, draft charter, stating the judge $IWHU WKH ¿UVW GUDIW ZDV however, it was Kirwan who must be an attorney who would completed late last year, the recommended that a possible be appointed by the council for council instructed City Man- change from an elected to an a four-year term. ager Byron Smith to present appointed judge be placed on Councilman Douglas the information to residents the ballot as a separate amend- 6PLWKDUHWLUHGSROLFHRI¿FHU at several outreach sessions to ment, so the issue did not said he had experience with gauge public opinion about the prevent the rest of the charter judges, but most people would proposed changes. from being approved. not. He said he understood the Before Smith delivered the feedback he received during the outreach sessions at Mon- day’s meeting, resident Perry Hawkins spoke out during a public comment period, urging the council not to change the municipal judge from an elect- ed to an appointed position. He said it was a “Bolshevik socialist idea” to remove the power to elect the judge from the residents. “We seem to kind of forget a little bit of history that we had just a few years back when there was a little bit of concern — Perry Hawkins of cronyism,” he said. “... We Hermiston resident don’t need to have eight peo- “We are a democracy, and when you start setting up these little autocracies, you tend to get away from the whole purpose of you guys being there. You were put there by the taxpayers. ... Let us choose who we want as a judge.” CRIME: continued from page A1 nity Accountability Board has decreased through the years, but almost all of those youth successfully completed the program. In 2014, 16 juveniles completed the CAB pro- gram, and 20 were referred. In 2013, 20 juveniles com- pleted the program, and 25 were referred. “I’m trying to be a glass half-full, but it is tough to ¿JXUHRXWZKDWLVJRLQJRQ why things are working,” he said. One thing Edmiston said he would like to empha- VL]H KRZHYHU LV WKH ÀRZ of information between the Hermiston School District and the police department. He said the two agencies work well together, which is one reason why the city could be experiencing such D VLJQL¿FDQW GHFOLQH LQ MX- venile crime numbers. “You guys are making de- cisions to be the best school district in Oregon,” he said. “Having said that, I’ve got to believe that this movement throughout the last several \HDUVLVVSHFL¿FWRWKHZUDS around services that you guys are authorizing.” Edmiston said the CAB only works because of the people who volunteer their time. He commended the School Board on all its ef- fort to support the program. On a similar note, Ed- desire to vote for the position but cautioned the results could be based on name recognition UDWKHUWKDQTXDOL¿FDWLRQV Mayor Dave Drotzmann said it is the city’s job to man- age all of its departments, in- cluding the municipal court. He said allowing the council to appoint the judge would allow LW WR VHOHFW WKH EHVWTXDOL¿HG candidate through interviews and a hiring process. Kirwan said only four other cities in Oregon have elected municipal judges and that the revision process was intended to modernize the charter. After further discus- sion, he recommended the judge issue be placed on the ballot as a separate amend- ment, so the voters could decide whether they want an elected or an appointed judge. Drotzmann cautioned it might be confusing for voters if there were two separate bal- lot measures, but the council agreed it would be better to have two measures than one that was voted down because of the judge issue. “I think putting it on there as an appointed position could be enough to bring it down, and I don’t want that,” Coun- cilman Doug Primmer said. The council directed city staff to prepare the ballot lan- guage for the revised charter in which the judge is elected, as well as language for a mea- sure that would amend the revised charter making the municipal court judge an ap- pointed position. miston said the city has had some success with the It’s Just Dinner program, which it implemented last year. In that program, youth meet regularly with mentors and their families for dinner in the hope that it will in- spire positive change in that child’s life. The program is headed up by HPD chaplain Terry Cummings and other police chaplains. Of the four youth who have been put into the pro- gram, Edmiston said two INFLUENZA: continued from page A1 ZKLFKPD\FLUFXODWHODWHURQLQWKHÀXVHDVRQ according to the CDC. This year, however, about 70 percent of WKHÀXVWUDLQVFLUFXODWLQJDUHGLIIHUHQWRUKDYH changed from the original virus that was used to create the vaccine, according to the CDC. The H3N2 viruses that changed or “drifted” did not appear until after the vaccine was created for the Northern Hemisphere and, as a result, did not make it into the vaccine. Therefore, the vaccine isn’t as effective as it normally would be, but it still provides some perks. According to the CDC, the vaccination can VWLOO SUHYHQW VRPH ÀX VWUDLQV DQG FDQ UHGXFH severe illnesses that can lead to hospitaliza- tion and death. Schulz said people are 23 to 33 percent less likely to get sick if they receive the shot. If people do get sick after they had the shot, she said those people generally don’t get as sick or for as long. 7KH&'&UHSRUWVWKDWQDWLRQZLGHWKHÀX activity this season has been similar to that of the 2012-13 season, with it being “moderately severe.” According to a Jan. 15 press release, the CDC stated that while manufacturers of an- tiviral medications reported there was no na- tional shortage of the medications, anecdotal UHSRUWV RI VSRW VKRUWDJHV IRU ÀX PHGLFDWLRQ have been reported. The CDC advised, for patients and doctors, it may be necessary to FRQWDFWPRUHWKDQRQHSKDUPDF\WR¿OODSUH- scription for antiviral medication. Schulz said she recommends, in addition to JHWWLQJWKHÀXYDFFLQHWKDWSHRSOHFRQWLQXDOO\ wash their hands and keep them away from their eyes, nose and mouth. She said if people are sick they should also stay home from work or school. 7KHÀXVKHVDLG³OLNHV´WKHZLQWHUVHDVRQ She said the wide spread of the virus results from people being in close proximity to each other as the temperature drops. remain. He said of the two who are no longer in the program, one probably ZDVQ¶W D JRRG ¿W WR EHJLQ with, and the other didn’t have the support from home for it to be successful. He said, however, he thinks it is important that the pro- gram continue. Edmiston said it is also important for the district to maintain a relationship and constant interaction between Youth 2I¿FHU(ULFD6DQGRYDOWKH students and the staff at the Juvenile Department. He said it is only through that constant communication and support from all agen- cies that HPD can be suc- cessful. As a result of the down- ward juvenile crime trend, however, Edmiston said he thinks it would be appropri- ate to conduct a six-month study on the CAB program WR VHH LI DQ\ PRGL¿FDWLRQV need to be made to ensure the program remains effec- tive. NW FARM SUPPLY Farm & Ranch Headquarters FEED FENCING OILFIELD PIPE FOR CORRALS Rachel Dagley Mike Stratton , CIC, CFP Commercial/Farm Insurance Agent One Responsible Source Agent LIVESTOCK SUPPLIES Todd Tennant One Responsible Source Agent SPRAYERS, PUMPS, TANKS Tonia Mulcare Family Insurance Agent Call us today to find out more about our “On Your Side” and One Responsible Source Service! AUTOMOTIVE PREMIER NORTHWEST TRAILERS 1475 N. 1st Street, Hermiston • 541-289-3300 80411 Hwy 395 N., Hermiston, OR (541) 567-5650 Store Hours: M-F 7:30-6 • Sat 8-5 870 N 4th, Walla Walla, WA (509) 529-3253 Store Hours: M-F 8-6 • Sat 8-5 www.stratton-insurance.com Hermiston • Pendleton • La Grande • Elgin