SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
COMMUNITY
Students get excited about their futures
Armand Larive career
day offers youths
new perspective
BY MAEGAN MURRAY
HERMISTON HERALD
As Morrow County Deputy
District Attorney Richard Tovey
spoke about the cases he prose-
cutes to a group of students Friday
at Armand Larive Middle School,
about a dozen hands shot up from
students hoping to ask a question.
“Have you ever been at court
and realized they were innocent?”
one student asked, which was
followed by, “How long did you
have to go to school for?”
Tovey said afterward that he
was happy to answer any and every
question Friday because he knew
students were getting the chance to
explore what he does for a living so
they could see if they wanted to go
into law as a profession, themselves.
“It’s fun,” he said of the event
Friday. “It’s our second year do-
ing it and it is always interesting
… They have a lot of questions.”
Tovey was one of a number of
speakers at the school Friday at its
annual career day. Throughout the
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attend a selection of presentations
from people who know their ca-
reers best. Speakers ranged from
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John Deere representatives and
news anchors. The speakers gave
a brief summary of what they did
and then answered students’ ques-
tions.
During a presentation from
Good Shepherd Medical Center,
registered nurse Marie Hughes
answered questions about how
she became a nurse. She told stu-
dents that it requires at least an as-
sociate degree, though now many
hospitals require nurses to have a
bachelor’s degree.
Other students asked about
how surgeries were performed
on babies and the steps it takes
to prepare for surgery. Hughes
invited student volunteers up to
take them through the process
of sanitizing and getting into all
their gear as another student ex-
perienced what it was like to get
ready for surgery as a patient.
“This allows them to experi-
ence this for themselves,” she said.
“We are all a part of the surgical
team at Good Shepherd. We talked
about the surgical career path, an-
MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTO
Marie Hughes, a registered nurse at Good Shepherd Medical Center, talks
with students at Armand Larive Middle School during their career day
Friday morning.
esthesia, the members of the team,
from the doctors to the nurses.”
The students seemed to enjoy
the opportunity to learn about so
many careers in one place.
“This is like a once-in-a-
lifetime kind of opportunity,”
eighth-grader Melani Pursel said.
“It’s one of those things where
it could completely change your
mind about what you do.”
Eighth-grader Megan Baskins
said she appreciated getting to
ask questions about a variety of
different career paths she might
be interested in pursuing.
“You get a deeper look into it,”
she said.
Baskins said she was most in-
terested in learning how KEPR
action news operated. She said
she wants to be an actor and musi-
cian, and it gave her a glimpse of
what it is like to be on television.
Eighth-grader Jordyn Law-
son said he was also interested
in hearing from the news station
representatives because he and a
few friends are planning on start-
ing a YouTube channel.
He said hearing from televi-
sion professionals gave him an
idea of what it takes to produce a
successful show.
“You get to interact with peo-
ple that you wouldn’t normally
be able to,” he said. “Most people
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ask questions about what they do
for a living. With this, you get the
chance to see what they do on a
deeper level.”
Overall, the career day wel-
comed about 30 professionals.
ALMS teacher Cori Applegate
said the school started hosting
a career day more than 10 years
ago. She said the goal with the
events is to introduce students to
careers available to them so they
can begin thinking about class-
es they may need to take in high
school or college.
“We try to get a wide variety
of presenters (and) careers,” she
said. “In reality, all students will
not be attending college, even
though that is a goal we talk
about. Knowing the variety of
careers out there may start them
thinking earlier than later.”
Advisory group eying three possible senior center sites
BY SEAN HART
HERMISTON HERALD
The group selecting a new
site for the Hermiston Se-
nior Center has narrowed the
search to three possible loca-
tions.
Hermiston Parks and Rec-
reation Director Larry Fetter
presented information about
the committee’s search pro-
cess and answered questions
after the senior center lunch
Tuesday.
On behalf of the senior cen-
ter, the city acquired a $2 mil-
lion Community Development
Block Grant to build a new
facility, and Fetter said an ad-
visory group comprised of se-
nior center members and others
with connections to the center
are weighing the pros and cons
of three potential sites.
One location is a vacant
lot currently for sale behind
Wal-Mart on Northeast As-
pen Drive on the east side of
Fourth Street. Fetter said the
site is adjacent to other vacant
lots that could potentially be
used for future park develop-
ments.
Another location is at the
corner of East Ridgeway Av-
enue and Northeast Second
Street near the historic school
arch. Fetter said Second
Street would have to be made
into a dead end with a turn-
around at the corner, and the
site has little extra space for
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SEAN HART PHOTO
SEAN HART PHOTO
People enjoy a meal Tuesday at the Hermiston Senior Center before a presentation by Hermis-
ton Parks and Recreation Director Larry Fetter about the future of the center at a new site.
future expansion, but the city
already owns the property.
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building that formerly housed
Goodwill on West Hermiston
Avenue. Fetter said the struc-
ture meets the size being con-
sidered for the new senior cen-
ter, but the building would have
to be completely redesigned.
“Every one of these prop-
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discussion,” he said. “...These
are very different projects.
These are very different prop-
erties.”
After the presentation,
Fetter said the advisory group
plans to have the sites ranked
in order of preference within
the next several weeks, and
then required due diligence,
including property appraisal
and environmental assess-
ments, will be performed on
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Julie Rosner, who is a
member of the senior center
Board of Directors and the
advisory group, said any of
the locations would be ac-
ceptable.
“Anywhere you put $2
million in Hermiston, it’s go-
ing to be a good thing,” she
said. “It’s going to be good
anywhere.”
Advisory group member
Perry Hawkins, who served
as the center’s liaison to the
city during the grant applica-
tion process, said the group is
making progress.
“It’s a step-by-step pro-
Hermiston Parks and Rec-
reation Director Larry Fetter
gives a presentation at the
Hermiston Senior Center about
the new facility to be devel-
oped with a $2 million Commu-
nity Development Block Grant
the city received.
cess, but the nice thing is
we’re in the process,” he said.
“When it’s done, it’s going to
be an awesome asset to the
city. We’re going to make this
thing so it will last for all of
us. I’m just waiting for the
day we can cut the ribbon and
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meal.”
Hawkins said many of the
senior center members have
been nervous about its fate
because the current facility
in the Umatilla County Fair-
grounds must be vacated by
the end of 2016 when the fair
moves to the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center cur-
rently under construction.
During the presentation,
some of the seniors in atten-
dance expressed concerns
with the city owning the
building.
Fetter said the senior cen-
ter alone would not have qual-
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applied to build the facility
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the center’s needs. He said,
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grant stipulates that no activ-
ities can be held in the facility
that target an audience young-
er than 60 years old. After
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city plans to utilize the space
when the seniors are not using
it, but the center will always
maintain the priority for use
for any times between 8 a.m.
and 3 p.m. Mondays through
Fridays. Fetter said the senior
center would never be kicked
out of the facility.
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