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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2015)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 COMMUNITY Taxi licensing rule pulls some drivers off the road PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY HERMISTON FIRE & EMERGENCY SERVICES $ÀUHFUHZH[WULFDWHVWZRSHRSOHIURPDYHKLFOHWKDWUROOHG 7KXUVGD\PRUQLQJRQ8PDWLOOD5LYHU5RDGQHDU%HQVHO5RDG QRUWKRI+HUPLVWRQ )LUH¿JKWHUVH[WULFDWH IURPUROORYHUFUDVK Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services cut two people from a car af- ter it crashed on Umatil- la River Road Thursday morning. Chief Scott Stanton said the single-vehicle rollover crash CRASH h p e a n p e d - about 5 a.m. near where the road in- tersects with Bensel Road. One person was able to crawl out of the over- turned car and two more had to be extricated by the ¿ re department. The two passengers, who had been trapped, were then taken to Good Shepherd Medi- cal Center. He said initial reports indicate the vehicle strayed off the road and then over corrected, causing the ve- hicle to drive off the other side of the road and roll over into the brush. He said ambulances and a rescue crew were on scene within seven minutes of the 9-1-1 call and had the entire scene cleared in 40 minutes. SUBMITTED PHOTO (FKR6XSHULQWHQGHQW5D\PRQ6PLWKDQG6FKRRO%RDUGPHPEHU -HVVLFD&DPSEHOODFFHSWDGRQDWLRQIRUVWXGHQWFROOHJH FUHGLWVIURP(FKR.LZDQLV&OXEPHPEHUV&DURO5HHVHDQG 5HEHFFD)HUJH Council considers exemptions in driver background check By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer The city of Hermiston implemented background checks for taxi drivers this month to improve public safety, but the or- dinance is keeping some longtime taxi drivers from work. Chantel Robinson of Hermiston Transit Ser- vices the POLICY told C i t y Council Monday night that under the city’s new ordinance a theft conviction from eight years ago means she can’t be approved for a taxi license, even though she hasn’t been convicted of any crimes since. “Everyone makes mis- takes,” she said. Robinson said other Hermiston Transit driv- ers are in the same boat, watching new drivers hired to take their shifts at work because the new or- dinance rules out a taxi li- cense for anyone with pri- or convictions for crimes of “moral turpitude,” no matter how minor or how long ago they were. On Monday the council considered an amendment that would allow the po- lice chief the discretion to grant a license to some- one whose last conviction was more than 10 years prior. But the amendment was tabled after unan- swered legal questions arose during debate. Councilors Doug Smith and Doug Primmer were against the idea of amending the ordinance. “You want the public to feel safe, not like there is going to be a felon behind the wheel,” Smith said. Gary Luisi, city attor- ney, said the amendment didn’t mean that a rapist who was convicted 10 years and one day ago would be granted a li- cense. The police chief would still look at the na- ture of the crime and other factors, at which point he “may” grant the license. “The operative word is may, not shall,” Luisi said. Councilor Jackie My- ers said she thought the city should be able to trust the police chief and city manager to make the right decision about whether a person was a danger to public safety. The council tabled adoption of the amend- ment until its July 27 meeting, however, after Luisi said he would need to do more research be- fore being able to answer whether a conviction that was expunged from an applicant’s record would count against them when applying for a taxi li- cense. On Monday the coun- cil also approved a noise ordinance waiver for July 23 and 24. The waiver will allow contractors to work on a slurry seal down Highland Avenue from approximately 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. The road re-surfacing project will stretch from West 11th Street to East 8th Street. Ron Sivey, street su- perintendent, said the noise generated by the project would be “proba- bly a little louder than a (street) sweeper.” How- ever, he said individual residences wouldn’t be affected all night long be- cause the crew would be moving down the road as the night progressed. He said the slurry needs four hours to dry before cars can drive on it, so doing the work in the middle of the night would be much less dis- ruptive to traffic. The lower nighttime tempera- tures would also increase the quality of the seal. Girls’ night in. (FKR.LZDQLV&OXESURYLGHV IXQGLQJIRUVFKRODUV By SEAN HART Staff Writer The Echo Kiwanis Club expanded its scholarship program this year to provide funding for 200 college cred- its for Echo students enrolled in dual-credit classes through Eastern Promise. Rebecca Ferge, chair of the club’s scholarship com- mittee, said the club is proud to be able to help students fur- ther their education. “Education is a very im- portant piece to what our club believes in,” she said. “Being able to fund that any way we can and help facilitate some of our students to go on to bigger and better things is an exciting piece of what we do as Kiwanians.” Ferge said the club raises funds throughout the year, and the scholarships are its “big donation into the com- munity.” The club awarded seven $1,000 scholarships to seniors from Echo and Stan- ¿ eld this year, while also providing $2,000 for college credits for Echo students. Through the Eastern Promise program, the stu- dents had the opportunity to ful¿ ll high school require- ments, while also earning col- lege credits from Blue Moun- tain Community College for $10 per credit. “I personally am an Echo graduate and participated in several of those dual-credit programs, so I complete- ly understand the bene¿ t of offering those classes to the students,” Ferge said. “It’s a great way to give them a step ahead of where you would be just normally graduating with SCHOOLS your high school diploma. You’re looking at 200 college credits (with the $2,000 dona- tion), which is almost a four- year degree, if you equate it that way.” Echo School District Su- perintendent Raymon Smith said the program has only been offered fully for two years but is growing in popularity. He said the district offers more than 15 dual-credit classes with two more being offered in the upcoming school year. “We probably award- ed somewhere around 700 or 800 college credits last year,” he said. “They were all paid for by a combination of school district and Kiwan- is Club funding. We don’t charge kids any money to take college classes.” Smith said each of the 30 freshmen last school year earned six credits, and if they continue on the accel- erated path, they could grad- uate from high school with an associate degree. He said many people did not expect a small district like Echo to be able to offer college credits, but the staff “really jumped on board.” He said the pro- gram helps students learn to set higher expectations to be more successful. “It’s a huge bene¿ t and ev- erybody realizes it,” he said. “To show them early on that (college is) possible and it’s attainable goes a long way. And having a community partner that has the same phi- losophy and supports the kids is just invaluable.” Recreation department stages drama camp For youth interested in expressing their creativity, Hermiston Parks & Recreation has just the activity for you. Developing your acting skills, as well as working on designing a mini-play for a community performance, are featured in an upcoming drama camp. Open to students who just completed third grade up to age 17, the drama camp runs July 20-24 from 3-5 p.m. at the Hermiston Conference Center, 415 S. Highway 395. The cost is $40 for residents and $50 for non-residents. Participants need to register by Thursday, July 16. For more information, visit www. hermistonrecreation.com. To register, call 541-667-5018 or stop by the recreation of¿ ce, 180 1.E. Second St., Hermiston. Everything takes on a whole new meaning when you become a parent. With locations throughout Washington and Oregon, Mirasol Family Health Center serves hundreds of young families each year. We are now accepting new patients. Mirasol Family Health Center enjoyparenthood.org