PREP HOOPS
FAIR ANNOUNCEMENT
VOSS NAMED 2015
GRAND MARSHAL
BULLDOGS EDGE
LADY BUCKS 57-54
PAGE A3
SPORTS PAGE A6
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2015
BY MAEGAN MURRAY
HERMISTON HERALD
A recent survey of local
retailers that sell tobacco in
Umatilla County revealed
youth are being targeted by
the tobacco industry based
on where those products are
placed in the business.
Umatilla County Public
Health educator Janet Jones
said, on average, the tobacco
industry spends an average
of $8.37 billion per year on
marketing and advertising in
the United States. About $8
billion of that is spent on ad-
vertising and product place-
ment at the point of sale, near
the front counter. Tobacco
companies pay to have ads,
products and marketing ma-
terials that appeal to a specif-
ic demographic placed in a
certain location of stores.
Jones said, in her survey
of Umatilla County retailers,
she learned the majority of the
products and advertising placed
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targets the youth population.
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
A busy year for Hermiston Fire
for HFES.
Stanton had been the assistant
chief for about six years, and
when Chief Pat Hart retired after
a 30-year career, he was promoted
to the top position May 1. After
serving as Hermiston’s chief for
two months, an intergovernmen-
BY SEAN HART
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HERMISTON HERALD
Fire District designated Stanton
Hermiston Fire & Emergency as the chief there, as well. Despite
Services experienced a variety of the many changes, he said his par-
changes last year.
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Chief Scott Stanton said, be-
“It’s been good, challenging
tween personnel changes, agree- and busy, obviously, with all of
ments with neighboring districts, the changes,” he said. “I don’t
dispatch consolidation, an in- know if one expects to have that
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crease in call volume and an ef- much change, but I like a chal-
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fort to combine the Hermiston lenge too.”
Fire & Emergency Services responded. Chief Scott Stanton said there were
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was one of the busiest years ever
Stanton oversees
many changes in
his first year as chief
LEARNING
RESPONSIBLE
TO BE
Tobacco
placement
targets teens
in county
YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
SURVEY OF LOCAL
RETAILERS
Jones said she asked 74
SEE TOBACCO/A2
TODAY’S WEATHER
Overcast
High: 45º Low: 38º
OUTLOOK
• THURSDAY
Mostly cloudy
High: 54º Low: 48º
• FRIDAY
Chance of showers
High: 56º Low: 52º
A complete weather forecast is
featured on page A2.
MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTO
Umatilla High School senior Matt Cervantes bounces a ball on a ping pong paddle while he stares at his cell phone screen. The activity was used during a
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Umatilla teens get
valuable lesson on
texting and driving
Find the Hermiston Herald on
Facebook and Twitter
and join the conversation.
FOR LOCAL
BREAKING NEWS
www.HermistonHerald.com
BY MAEGAN MURRAY
HERMISTON HERALD
Students in Umatilla
High School teacher Mike
Mosher’s health class ar-
en’t normally allowed
to use their cell phones
in class, but on Tuesday
Mosher made an excep-
tion.
Mary Fraser, the health
and safety coordinator at
Good Shepherd Medical
Center, visited the class to
discuss a serious topic to
which many of the students
could relate. During her
presentation on distracted
driving, she instructed the
students to take out their
cell phones, and, while
looking at the screens,
bounce a small ball at-
tached to a ping pong pad-
dle up and down as many
times as they could with
their other hand. Not one
student could bounce the
ball more than a couple of
times without looking.
“See how hard it is to
look at your phone and
bounce the ball at the
same time?” she asked the
class. “It’s harder to do two
things at once than you
think. Nobody is good at
this. That is what it is like
to text and drive.”
Fraser said when drivers
take their eyes off the road
for even a couple of sec-
onds to text, eat or change
the radio station, it can
have severe consequences,
including serious injury or
death, if they crash or veer
off the road.
According to the Na-
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Safety Administration, the
average length of time a
person averts their eyes
from the road while texting
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eling at 55 miles per hour,
that is enough time to drive
the length of a football
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In 2012, about 3,300
people in the United States
were killed as a result of
distracted driving, accord-
ing to the NHTSA. The
same year, an estimated
421,000 people were also
injured in crashes involv-
ing a distracted driver,
which was a 9 percent in-
crease from 2011, where
387,000 people were in-
jured.
Fraser said the fact that
many teens may be texting
and driving is especially
alarming.
According to a study by
the University of Michigan
Transportation Research
Institute, a quarter of teens
respond to a text message
at least once every time
they drive. Additionally,
20 percent of teens and
10 percent of parents ad-
SEE DRIVING/A2
Community to get ‘Under the Sea’
experience at Beach and Beef Crab Feed
cardboard and paper by elemen-
tary school students in Hermis-
ton. Large sea creatures, such as
To accompany the all-you-can- sharks, whales and more will also
eat offerings, this year’s Beach line the walls of the conference
and Beef Crab feed will feature the center, which were created by
theme of “Under the Sea.”
Hermiston middle school and high
The sixth-annual event will school students.
take place Saturday at the Herm-
“They are all turning out beau-
iston Conference Center, and tiful,” Hermiston Education Foun-
the inside of the building will be dation president Reagan Boysen
decked out in coral reefs complete said this week. “People will get the
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BY MAEGAN MURRAY
HERMISTON HERALD
Hermiston Herald $1.00
8
08805 93294
© 2014 EO Media Group
2
The Beach and Beef Crab Feed
is the HEF’s largest fundraiser each
year. Last year, the event raised
more than $30,000 for the organi-
zation, which provides grants for
Hermiston educators who want to
provide additional opportunities
for students.
Boysen said, through the years,
the organization has provided
teachers with grants for iPads and
other technology, school supplies
for particular projects and trips
and other opportunities for stu-
dents. Since 2003, HEF has given
more than $262,000 in grants to
staff members across the district.
Boysen said, during the last
grant cycle, the organization
awarded more than $17,000 in
grants. The next grant cycle begins
in April.
“The grant committee that ap-
proves the grant requests tries to
SEE SEAFOOD/A2