WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
HISTORY
Different sort of school violence in news 23 years ago
dren asked to join gangs
and then harassed if the
answer was no. Other
parents said their chil-
dren were afraid to go to
Junior High about school school.
It was fear for students’
violence that no one cares
about the schools or kids safety and education that
motivated a group of four
anymore.
Those parents do care parents — Rene Gutier-
and told each other about rez, Karen Smelser, Mary
¿JKWV LQ WKH KDOOZD\V DQG Hamilton and Val Hender-
cafeteria. They told about son — to call a meeting
threats to their children’s yesterday evening. They
safety and about rumors asked George Anderson,
of guns and knives on a local attorney, to be the
moderator.
campus.
‘Yes, I do believe we
‘If we don’t approach
this as parents now, I’m have a gang problem,’ said
afraid we are going to end school Principal Shannon
up with guns and knives Gorham. ‘It’s not like the
loose in the halls,’ said problem in Portland, but
Rene Guiterrez, one of we do have the beginning
the parents organizing of a problem.’”
The Oct. 27 story was
the meeting. ‘We’re not
Portland or Seattle but we followed by another on
Nov. 3, 1992, titled “Par-
need to stop it now.’
Parents told about chil- ents patrol at junior high.”
Concerns about gang violence in Hermiston
reached an all-time high in October 1992
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
A rise in school shoot-
ings has put discussions of
school safety in the news
recently, but years before
Columbine High School
became a household name
Hermiston parents were
already concerned about
violence in local schools.
Their concerns came to
a head during an Oct. 26,
1992, meeting that drew
150 parents.
From a story in the
next day’s Herald titled
“Parents concerned over
violence, gang activity”
comes the following:
“Never tell the 150
parents who came to a
meeting at Armand Larive
The article stated that
about 40 parents had got-
ten together after the meet-
ing to organize volunteer
patrols in the mornings
and after school to help
teachers “calm outbreaks
of violence” that were ex-
acerbated by overcrowded
conditions that required
assigning students three to
a locker.
The parents also took
the initiative to double up
on chaperons for the high
school’s Halloween dance.
The concerned parents
took matters into their
own hands after feeling
frustrated with the Herm-
iston Police Department’s
response to perceived
gang problems.
In an Oct. 6, 1992, ar-
WLFOH WLWOHG ³*UDI¿WL VLJ-
nals gang activity, says
detective”
then-Chief
Grant Asher was quoted
as saying he didn’t be-
lieve Hermiston had a
gang problem, despite an
assertion by Oregon State
Police Detective Dick
Stein that increasing graf-
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“13” around the commu-
nity signaled that students
moving to the area from
Portland and California
ZHUH EULQJLQJ JDQJ DI¿OL-
ations with them.
Asher disagreed.
“We have a bunch of
people running around,
but I don’t see a gang
problem,” he told the Her-
ald. “You’ve got a case of
the white kids calling the
Hispanic kids names and
they get tired of it, get a
JURXS WRJHWKHU DQG ¿JKW
back. Is that a gang? In my
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Parents weren’t taking
any chances, however,
which is why they called a
community meeting later
in the month to come up
with a plan for combat-
ing school violence. Lat-
er in the year they invited
Stein, a gang expert, to
educate parents about pos-
sible signs their children
were in a gang.
Hermiston History will
be 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
History” in the subject
line. If you have a ques-
tion about the area’s his-
tory you would like the
Herald staff to look into,
you can send your ques-
tions to the same email
address with “Hermiston
History question” in the
subject line.
Umatilla seeks fire bond in Nov. 3 election
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
The Umatilla Rural Fire
Protection District board
hopes a new bond effort on
the November ballot will
help the agency procure safer
equipment, replace 30-year-
ROGYHKLFOHVDQGLPSURYH¿UH
stations.
District residents will
soon see ballot measure 30-
107, which would generate
about $1.8 million from a
general obligation bond. If
passed in the Nov. 3 election,
the bond is estimated to cost
tax payers an additional 54
cents per thousand dollars
of assessed property value
for 15 years. The owner of a
$100,000 home would see a
tax increase of $54 per year.
The total amount gener-
ated from the bond would be
similar to the amount expect-
ed from a 10-year local op-
tion tax that was voted down
last year, but property own-
ers would pay less each year.
Lt. Steve Potts said the dis-
trict is in the same position it
was in last year.
“The need that we have
hasn’t gone away,” he said.
“We need to have the equip-
ment, and we haven’t been
able to get the resources or
the funds ... because, over the
years, costs have gone up,
DQGZH¶UHDWD¿[HGSURSHUW\
tax rate. We have enough to
operate day to day, but that’s
just about it.”
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about $3.2 million in needed
equipment replacements and
upgrades in the next 10 years
— far more than this bond
would provide. Potts said the
list was cut down to “must
have” equipment.
“The air packs are 19
years old, and these are what
RXU ¿UH¿JKWHUV DUH XVLQJ WR
go into deadly atmospheres
and conditions, and they’re
relying on that equipment
for their safety,” he said. The
packs are recommended for
replacement at 12 years. “We
really need those air packs.
That’s the number one pri-
ority we have at this point
because it deals directly with
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The funding would also
be used to replace a 1977
water tender, or tanker truck,
and a 1979 heavy rescue ve-
hicle and refurbish or replace
a 1986 ladder truck and pos-
sibly a 1997 brush truck and
a 1997 engine, according to
information from the district.
Potts said if the district’s
equipment suffers a cata-
strophic failure similar to
its last ladder truck and it
cannot afford replacements,
residents may end up having
to pay more to insure their
homes. He said some of the
vehicles are already starting
to show their age.
“In the last month, two
of the vehicles we are look-
ing to replace have been in
the shop for repair,” he said.
“These apparatus are start-
ing to cost us money from a
maintenance perspective. It’s
not to say that new vehicles
don’t have these issues, but
the likelihood is much, much
less. And we’re not saying
we’re going to go out and
buy brand new, but we’re
certainly going to get newer
WKDQ\HDUROG¿UH¿JKWLQJ
vehicles).”
,IIXQGLQJDOORZVWKH¿UH
stations would also be up-
graded to include automatic
doors and living quarters for
quicker response times, ac-
cording to information from
the district.
For more information
about the bond, visit uma-
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