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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 2015)
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015 HISTORY • EDITORIAL School district overcrowding a familiar problem By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer Hermiston School Dis- trict begins school this week amid worries about having adequate space for students — a common re- frain in decades of back-to- school stories in the Herm- iston Herald. The district is currently using 2 portable class- rooms, with its facilities commit- set- HISTORY tee ting its sights on a new elementary school, an expansion of Hermiston High School and Sandstone Middle School and a ren- ovation of Highland Hills Elementary. When Highland Hills was built in 1980 the dis- trict was facing similar overcrowding problems, but on a smaller scale. A front page headline 35 years ago declared “Enroll- ment Record Shattered.” The picture accompany- ing it showed construction workers mingling with stu- dents after work on the new elementary school was not completely ¿ nished in time for school to start. The story stated enroll- ment on the ¿ rst day of school was 239 students more than the previous year, up to what was at the time a “record-breaking” 3,100 students (Hermiston School District ended the 201-2015 school year with 5,23 students. From the Sept. 3, 1980 article: First day attendance pro- duced overloads in the third and ¿ fth grades at Sunset and in the ¿ rst, fourth and sixth grades at Highland Hills. This has created a lop- sided situation in the dis- trict, with the two elementa- ry schools east of Highway 395 — Sunset and Highland Hills — handling about 175 more students than the two elementary schools west of the highway — West Park and Rocky Heights. ... The district’s prob- lems weren’t helped any when only about half of the classrooms at Highland Hills were ready for occu- pancy Tuesday. The district had hoped that all 18 classrooms at the new, $2.5 million school would have been ready for the start of school. But late last week school of¿ cials were informed that only 10 of the rooms would be ready on time. Part of the blame was put on a contrac- tor who was pulled off the job and a delay in the ship- ment of ceiling tiles. To accommodate the overÀ ow of students, the district devised a last-min- ute plan that called for the busing of two classrooms of second graders and two classrooms of third graders to Sunset; the busing of two sixth grade classes to the junior high; and the bus- ing of a ¿ fth grade class to Rocky Heights. Highland Hills Princi- pal Harry Trump admitted things were pretty chaot- ic at the school Tuesday morning “but the people who were working there kept everything going.” Harry, Assistant Super- intendent Dale Gaylord and a custodian spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday mov- ing supplies into the new school. Teachers also gave up their Labor Day holiday Monday to help with the task. ... The remaining rooms will “de¿ nitely” be ready by Sept. 12, he said. Hermiston History is a regular feature in the Hermiston Herald. If you have something to share about the history of the greater Hermiston area, send your submission to editor@hermistonherald. com with “Hermiston His- tory” in the subject line. If you have a question about the area’s history you would like the Herald staff to look into, you can send your questions to the same email address with “Herm- iston History question” in the subject line. He didn’t mean to buy a house; it was an accident GA5< L. WE6T SHADES OF GRAY I accidentally bought a house. Well, that’s not quite the right description. It was more of an impulse pur- chase. I was haYing dif¿ cul- ty ¿ nding an apartment to rent. My plan was to rent an apartment or duplex on my return to Hermiston. I’ve been a renter my en- tire adult life. I Musti¿ ed this by the transient nature of a career in journalism. In the 26 years of my working life I have lived in seven different communities, 12 different apartments and one rental home. Based on that track record, I’ve moved, on average, every two years. I further justi¿ ed this in my own mind by not want- ing to deal with things like yard work, or painting, or other costs, inconvenienc- es and expenses that come with home ownership. Two and a half years ago, a dishwasher hose in the apartment above mine in Salem came unhooked, and water started À owing out of the light ¿ xtures and smoke detector in my apart- ment. It created an unsight- ly and drippy bulge in the ceiling of my apartment. That gave me the excuse I VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 49 GA5< L. WE6T JADE McDOWELL 6AM %A5%EE 6EAN HA5T EDITOR gwest@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4532 SPORTS REPORTER sbarbee@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4542 KIM La 3LANT MULTI-MEDIA CONSULTANT Nlaplant@ hermistonherald.com 541-564-4530 REPORTER jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com 541-564-4536 REPORTER smhart@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4534 JEANNE JEWETT MULTI-MEDIA CONSULTANT jjewett@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4531 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop b\ our of¿ ces at 333 E. Main 6t. • visit us online at: www.hermistonherald.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Delivered by carrier and mail Wednesdays Inside Umatilla/Morrow counties ......................................................................................... $42.65 Outside Umatilla/Morrow counties ...................................................................................... $53.90 The Hermiston Herald U636 242220, I66N 750-472 is published weeNly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main 6t., Hermiston, O5 973, 541 567-6457, )A; 541 567-1764. 3eriodical postage paid at Hermiston, O5. 3ostmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 3rinted on E. Main 6t., Hermiston, O5 973. recycled A member of the EO Media Group Copyright ©2015 newsprint BREASTFEEDING CLASSES One class covers breastfeeding benefits, pumping and much more. Come to this FREE class taught by a certified lactation consultant, and learn techniques that make for a successful experience. Free, but please pre-register. September 2 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm GSMC Conference Center 3 & 4 HEALTHY FRIDAYS Free health screenings: blood pressure checks, weigh ins, body mass index, cholesterol and glucose. Second Friday of every month September 11 • 2:00 - 4:00 pm GS Conference Rooms 5 & 6 (by the cafeteria) BABYSITTING BASICS 101 For babysitters ages 10-15. Learn childcare techniques, children's developmental ages and what to expect, basic first aid and infant and child CPR. Sept. 12 • 9:00 am - 3:00 pm GSMC Conference Room $30 - includes lunch & all class materials. Must pre-register & pre-pay. needed to move out a drea- ry apartment I had lived in for 8 years. I just packed up and left behind the build- ing that was falling down around me. I fully expected to rent again on moving back to Hermiston. I had been liv- ing in a COLUMN two-bed- r o o m apart- ment in Keizer, Oregon, which I was paying $800 a month to rent. As I start- ed checking out the rental ads locally, it looked like comparably sized apart- ments here could be found for about $650 to $750 a month, which seemed quite inexpensive, compared to what I was used to paying. It was also far less expen- sive than the last place it rented in Palm Springs, California, where I was paying just about $1,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment back in 2005. My apartment hunt hit a snag. By the time I was able to reach the apartment man- agers of the places I was in- terested in renting, the units were already off the market. I even ¿ lled out a rental ap- plication at a local company that manages units for mul- tiple rental owners. I think they had about 2 or 3 units available when I turned my application. However, they wouldn’t show me the unit until my application was approved. By the time that process was completed, all their units were rented. I had been keeping a friend posted on my hous- ing search and he had friends who had a rental home they were preparing to sell. So, he put us togeth- er. I liked the house and the price. A local mortgage com- pany pre-approved me for ¿ nancing, and the next thing I knew I was making an offer on a house. The homeowners were kind enough to allow me to rent the house during the ¿ nanc- ing and appraisal process, which gave me a place to that sometimes you get second chances in life. It also teaches me a home isn’t just about a struc- ture where you can keep your stuff, but it’s about a place where you put down roots. I thought I severed my roots here long ago and transplanted myself elsewhere, but those trans- planted roots never took hold. Friends and family have shown me that the roots here were still alive and still nurturing me. So, maybe buying my ¿ rst home, at age 9, wasn’t really an accident at all. The seeds for that eventu- ality were planted long ago by family and a friendship planted right here in our fa- mously sandy soil. Gary L. West is editor of the Hermiston Herald and Hermiston editor for the East Oregonian. Reach him at gwest@hermiston- herald.com or follow him on Twitter @GaryLWest or on Facebook at www. facebook.com/journalist. glwest. “Summer Days & Country Ways” August 19-23, 2015 FAIR: www.morrowcountyoregon.com/fair RODEO: www.morrowcountyoregon.com/fair/rodeo Thank you Morrow County for a great 2015 fair! To our all of our sponsors and to all the volunteers who put in countless hours to help put on a great fair for all! Thank you Nancy Gorham, Angie Hanson, Rhonda Hamby, Rod Taylor, Pat Tolar, Zack Lantis and Barry Munkers and Ashley Jones, and to Macy Gibbs and all the 4-H Ambassadors for your hard work and help! www.facebook.com/oregontrailprorodeo • www.facebook.com/morrowcountyfairheppneroregon MEDICAL DIRECTORY P EDIATRIC D ENTISTRY Call Today! 541-289-5433 1060 W. Elm, Suite #115, Hermiston, OR (across from Good Shepherd Medical Center) www.apd4kidz.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm V ISION C ARE Eye Health & Vision Care Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC Optometric Physician 115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130 541-567-1837 U RGENT & F AMILY C ARE GIFFORD MEDICAL Columbia and Family Care Professional • Urgent Weekdays 8am-6pm Plaza Saturdays 9am-3pm 1050 W. Elm Ave. Ste 110 Hermiston, OR 97838 Joseph Joseph R. Gifford, Gifford, M.D. M.D. Milton J. Johnson, Jr., M.D. David P. Martinez, M.D. Angie L. Hays, FNP Angie Hayes, FNP Candace L. Degenstein, FNP Davies, Jr., FNP M.D. Milton Michele J. Johnson, U RGENT & F AMILY C ARE URGENT CARE Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY HOURS: 236 E. Newport Mon.-Sat. 541-567-1137 Hermiston 7:30am-7:00pm (across from U.S. Bank) 541-567-2995 Walk-Ins Welcome U RGENT & F AMILY C ARE • In-House X-Rays • Adjacent Lab Good Shepherd Medical Group F AMILY D ENTISTRY 541-567-8161 995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston The specialists you asked for... ...Right here at home. Family Medicine Internal Medicine Pediatrics Women’s Health General Surgery Urology Appointments 541-567-5305 600 NW 11th St., Suite E-37 • Hermiston • www.gshealth.org MENTAL HEALTH Family Dentistry ~ N ew Patients Welcome~ For information or to register for a class, call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org live and a place to move my stuff in time to start my job here July 1. I had plenty of opportu- nities to back out because the ¿ nancing and appraisal processes took seemingly forever. We had to extend the closing twice in order to get the deal done. But last week, just as we were putting the Aug. 19 issue of the Herald to bed, I was also sneaking out to sign a mountain of papers. I of¿ cially became a homeowner on Aug. 18, or perhaps more accurately, I became a home mortgage holder. I have only given se- rious thought to buying a home twice before. Once was when I lived in Palm Springs, but I was too deep in debt at the time and home prices were climbing too rapidly to make that feasible. The other time was about 25 years ago, the last time I was living in Hermiston and editor of the Hermiston Herald. Life is teaching me • Adult, Child and Family Therapy • Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment • Mental Health and Crisis Services • Confidential and Professional Care Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S . To Advertise In The Medical Directory, Please Call Jeanne At 541-564-4531 LIFEWAYS PENDLETON 331 SE 2nd St., Pendleton, OR 97801 Office: 541-276-6207 Crisis Phone: 866-343-4473 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG LIFEWAYS HERMISTON 595 NW 11th St., Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-567-2536