WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
COMMUNITY
One Book, One Community to have a higher focus on reading this year
than the subject matter.
“This year, we decided
to mix it up,” Karen Spears
In the last couple of years Zacharias, Hermiston Al-
that Hermiston Altrusa has trusa committee chairper-
hosted and sponsored the son and author, said this
One Book, One Commu- week. “We’re not doing the
nity reading campaign, the panel discussions that we
program has emphasized normally do ... We weren’t
culturally sensitive topics looking for what we would
that pertain not only to the call a hot-topic book. This
Hermiston community, but year, we wanted to look for
the nation at large. This a book that was inspiration-
year, however, organizers al and just a really good
hope to focus more on the read.”
reading and less on the sub-
“A Life Intercepted”
ject matter.
focuses on main character
During last year’s pro- Matthew “the Rocket,” who
gram, community members was one of the most win-
read “Slow Way Home” ningest quarterbacks in the
by Michael Morris, which history of college football.
heavily focused on the topic On the night of the NFL
of child abuse and neglect. draft, however, he is falsely
7KH\HDUEHIRUHLQLWV¿UVW accused of rape, for which
year, community members he was later imprisoned.
read “The Iguana Tree” After serving his sentence,
by Michel Stone, which however, he leaves prison
focused on immigration. ZLWKWKHJRDORI¿QGLQJKLV
For both books, Hermiston wife, Audrey, who hasn’t
Altrusa hosted panels with been seen since his trial. He
the author, where commu- returns to his hometown,
nity members discussed the where he is treated as an
book and its relevance to RXWFDVW :KHQ KH ¿QGV KLV
today’s society.
wife, he realizes she had
This year, community discovered a young man
members are encouraged with a talent for football
to read “A Life Intercept- who only needs a good
ed” by Charles Martin, but coach to be successful. To
more emphasis will be put win back Audrey’s love,
on the quality of the book he violates the condition of
BY MAEGAN MURRAY
HERMISTON HERALD
‘A Life Intercepted’ by Charles Martin
his release by coaching the
young man.
Spears Zacharias said
the book not only focuses
on a good message, which
Vehicle believed to be involved
in March 4 murder located
HPD officers travel to
California to investigate
BY SEAN HART
HERMISTON HERALD
A vehicle believed to be involved in
the murder of Alonso Madrigal was lo-
cated in California.
A Hermiston Police Department de-
tective and captain flew to Los Ange-
les Sunday to help California crime lab
officials process a vehicle possibly in-
volved with the homicide in Hermiston
March 4, according to a press release
from HPD Chief Jason Edmiston.
“Based on the information known,
I am confident the vehicle being pro-
cessed today in California is the ve-
hicle that was involved on the night
Alonso was killed,” Edmiston said in
the release. “I believe we will locate
evidence within the vehicle that will
support information known to us.”
The vehicle was seized March 18 af-
ter local detectives contacted Califor-
nia detectives and requested assistance
in locating the vehicle, the release
states. Specific information about the
vehicle could be released at a later
date.
According to the press release,
members of the Umatilla-Morrow
County Major Crime Team continue
to investigate the shooting death of the
23-year-old from Umatilla, and police
are asking anyone with information
about the crime to contact HPD Capt.
Travis Eynon, 541-667-5103.
Madrigal was shot at about 9:30 p.m.
March 4 near the 11th Street Market,
425 N.W. 11th St., Hermiston, and died
at the scene. Police believe the person
or persons who committed the homi-
cide are affiliated with a gang or gangs
from outside the Hermiston area, but
the victim is not believed to have been
engaged in criminal activity typically
associated with gangs, according to
previous information from Edmiston.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Sen. Hansell
hosting town
meeting in
Hermiston
State Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, will host a
town hall meeting begin-
ning at noon Saturday at
Stetson’s Steak House
Restaurant, 1619 N. First
St., Hermiston.
Hansell will provide
his thoughts on the 2015
legislative session, dis-
cuss legislation he has
sponsored, field ques-
tions from constituents
and seek input from
those in attendance on is-
sues that matter to them.
OHDC conducting
farmworker and
agency forum
The Oregon Human
Development Corpora-
tion will host a farm-
worker and agency fo-
rum beginning at noon
Monday at Radio La
Ley, 295 E. Main St.,
Hermiston.
The forum will allow
community members and
consumers to provide
their input to offer guid-
ance to the agency on
farm working needs and
for planning program
services.
During the meeting,
officials will review the
purpose and expecta-
tions of the meeting, cur-
rent services available
through local agencies
serving farm workers
and prioritize service
needs and identify ser-
vice gaps in the region.
Participants are en-
couraged to bring any
agency or program bro-
chures to share with
OHDC staff.
For more information,
call OHDC operations
director Martin Cam-
pos-Davis at 503-452-
6668, or email him at
martin.campos-davis@
ohdc.org.
Alzheimer
support group
meeting coming
up
The Greater Hermis-
ton Area Alzheimer As-
sociation Support group
will be meeting from
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Monday at Good Shep-
herd Medical Center.
The meeting this
month will take place
in conference room 5/6,
instead of the regular
room, which is confer-
ence room 3/4.
A speaker will talk
about issues surround-
ing palliative care and
recognizing the need
for end-of-life care, as
well as the benefits of
good end-of-life care.
The meeting will feature
refreshments, a lending
library and an opportuni-
ty to share thoughts and
experiences.
For more information,
call support group fa-
cilitator Cathy Lloyd at
541-390-1158.
is forgiveness, to which
everyone can relate, it
also is a well-written sto-
ry, which is a priority for
every novel they choose.
iston on April 22 to con-
duct student workshops at
Hermiston High School.
He will then lead a com-
munity-based presentation
about his novel at 7 p.m.
that day at the Eastern Or-
egon Higher Education.
Spears Zacharias said,
thanks to a grant from the
Wildhorse Foundation, the
committee reached its goal
of having 700 books avail-
able for community mem-
bers, which is 100 more than
last year. People can pick up
a book for free at Hermiston
Drug, Cottage Flowers, the
Hermiston, Umatilla, Stan-
¿HOGDQG(FKRSXEOLFOLEUDU-
ies, the KOHU radio station
and Banner Bank.
“We just want to em-
phasize that we put the
books out there early this
year, not so people could
keep the book, but so they
could read the book and
share it with someone and
then tell them what they
liked about it or found
challenging about it,” she
said. “We are very excited
to have Charles come. He
is a fabulous speaker, and
he is really engaging. If
you do nothing else, you
should read the letter in
the back of the book that
he wrote his son.”
Echo student’s essay to be
published in Oregon Blue Book
BY MAEGAN MURRAY
HERMISTON HERALD
When it came time to write
an extra-credit essay on the
topic of her favorite place in
Oregon for the Oregon Blue
Book contest, Echo School
sixth-grader Lily Volger said
she knew exactly what she
was going to write.
Students were asked
to complete a maximum
three-paragraph essay on
their favorite place in the state
with the chance of having
their essay published in this
year’s Oregon Blue Book, a
publication that covers ev-
erything from descriptions of
government positions to the
history of the state.
The book has been pub-
lished every year since 1911
and features updated listings
and descriptions of govern-
ment agencies and education-
al institutions, an almanac,
maps and facts about Oregon
history. It also includes infor-
mation about the arts, media
and other cultural institutions
in Oregon, while providing
an analysis of Oregon’s econ-
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education strategy.
While Volger’s peers talk-
ed about places they had vis-
ited with their families around
the state, Volger wrote about
her hometown: Echo.
“I started thinking about
how much I like it here in
Echo,” she said.
Volger said she has lived
in the small community of
less than 1,000 people since
she was born. In her essay,
she described her favorite
parts about the small town
and why she enjoyed being
raised there.
Her favorite spot in the
SPRING DISCOUNT WEEK
APRIL 1 THRU APRIL 7
Load up your Spring Cleaning waste and take
it to the Transfer Station for disposal.
Cash customers using the Sanitary Disposal Transfer
Station will receive up to $13.50 off each load.
This means a load measuring up to 2.5 cu. yards with
a maximum weight of 454.5 lbs. can be disposed of
for FREE! This includes all acceptable solid waste
with the exception of tires, which will be charged
at the regular rate.
The Transfer Station is located 2 miles north of Hermiston on Hwy 395
and is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm and weekends from 9am to
5pm.
Sanitary Disposal, Inc.
541-567-8842
“As a committee, we
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that the book is very well
written and has a real-
ly good story,” she said.
“The other thing we try to
do is pick books that cross
gender and cross cul-
ture, which also includes
across generations. We
want to pick a book that
a 15-year-old could read
and a 55-year-old could
read and an 85-year-old
could read, then sit down
and talk about it.”
“A Life Intercepted,”
Spears Zacharias said,
provides a fast read that
hopefully everyone will
connect with that will lead
to discussion beyond the
scope of the individual.
“It was kind of a
page-turning book,” she
said. “That is kind of what
turned us on to the book,
but it is also a romance
book. It is not something
that your grandpa won’t
want to read. It has some-
thing for everyone.”
Instead of the regu-
lar panel, community
members will still have
a chance to hear the au-
thor speak in April, but
the focus will be more
on the quality of the text.
Martin will visit Herm-
Echo sixth-grade student Lily Volger
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nitely the Echo golf course.
Not only does she live nearby,
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her family there. She also
wrote about the town’s land-
marks and businesses, includ-
ing the tree arboretum, Sno
Road Winery, H & P Cafe and
the city history museum.
“It may be a little rough
around the edges, but it is truly
a beautiful town,” she wrote,
adding that the city gets its
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daughter, Echo Kuntz.
This month, Volger
learned from her teacher af-
ter he announced it in class
that her essay had received
an honorable mention. Volg-
er said she never anticipated
she would earn any kind of
recognition.
“It’s cool,” she said. “I
wasn’t expecting it at all.”
As a reward for being
selected, her essay will be
featured in the book on page
276.
Copies of the book will
be distributed free to public
schools, community col-
leges, public universities,
public libraries, judges,
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ties, state agencies, boards
and commissions, public
ports and Oregon’s consuls.
The paperback edition also
sells for $18 and can be or-
dered online at https://secure.
sos.state.or.us/prs/shopBlue-
Book.do. The Capitol Gift
Shop also sells the book for
$15 a piece.
You’re invited to a
Medicare
Birthday Party!
If you are turning 65 in the
next 6 months...
Join us at a
Free and Fun Event
with interactive and unbiased
discussion about:
• The basics of Medicare
• Your rights & responsibilities
• Social Security & Disability Benefits
• Senior Volunteer Opportunities
Saturday, March 28
10am-1pm
GSMC Conference Center #1
Sponsored by:
Good Shepherd Medical Center
SHIBA Office
541-667-3507