WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
COMMUNITY
Taxi licensing rule pulls
some drivers off the road
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY HERMISTON FIRE & EMERGENCY SERVICES
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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.
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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.
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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.
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