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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM FROM PAGE A1 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015 THE YEAR: three friends said they were attacked after getting into a disagreement with three unknown males. Avila sur- vived the shooting, but no arrests were ever made in that case either. continued from Page A1 Return of the watermelon giveaway Hermiston civic leaders, business leaders and farmers revived a tradition in 2015 of taking locally grown produce, like Hermiston signature wa- termelons, to give away in downtown Portland. The timing could not have been better, with Portland’s growing popularity on the cu- linary scene, it is important for foodies to know and appreci- ate that all of that great food prepared by celebrated chefs has to be grown somewhere, and that rooftop gardens and backyard raised beds are not where the food that helps IHHG WKH 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW and the world comes from. Growers right here in Uma- tilla and Morrow counties grow a lot of tasty, nutritious food. Efforts to identify the summer seasonal favorite watermelon crop with Herm- iston have helped identify RXU DUHD ZLWK WKH ÀDYRU RI summer, but as you already know — or should if you live here — there are a lot of other foods grown here. Our desert climate, soils and access to irrigation water consistently keep our two counties near the top in crop value for Ore- gon. And most of that value is not watermelons. Total state production of watermelons in 2013 was $27.7 million. Even if all the watermelons grow in the state came from here, that would only be about 2 percent of the $969 million farmgate value in ag commodities pro- duce in Umatilla and Morrow counties. Parks FILE PHOTO 7he new Hermiston School 'istrict ofÀce on 7uesday, $ug , 1 Civil leader deaths The greater Hermiston community lost two leaders who have helped shape the community as it is today and helped create a foundation for the community it will become in the future. The two men, Joe Burns and Chet Prior, died within 10 days of each other in February. Burns, who died at age 90 on Feb 5, was sometimes described as the “father of Hermiston” for his work as a business owner and help- ing to establish and lead the QRQSUR¿W +HUPLVWRQ 'HYHO- opment Corporation and in leadership roles on multiple civic boards, boards of direc- tors and civic organizations. Prior who owned Eagle Ranch in Echo, died Feb. 15 at age 78, and was known as a leader in the agriculture community and on water is- sues. Prior was chairman of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center board at the time of his death. Like Burns, Prior also served on various local boards and commissions. Both men and also lead the Hermiston Development Corporation at different times and both were as Marijuana legalization recognized Man of the Year by the statewide, but not Hermiston Chamber of Com- merce. Both men were also locally pilots, with burns version as Recreational marijuana a B-24 bomber pilot during XVH RI¿FLDOO\ EHFDPH OHJDO World War II. in July, but the issue contin- ued to appear on city council Umatilla panhandlers/ agendas frequently through homelessness the rest of 2015. Efforts by the city of Uma- In Hermiston, city staff asked the city council to tilla to tackled nuisances double down on its previous caused by homeless residents opposition to marijuana dis- and panhandlers generated pensaries and commercial headlines in 2015, starting grow sites within city limits. with an ordinance in May that Councilors eventually decid- banned the transfer of money ed to leave the issue up to the or other items between a pe- voters, but procedural hang- destrian and a car in the lane ups caused the ordinance to of travel. Later that summer city be voted on three times be- IRUH¿QDOO\PDNLQJLWRI¿FLDO manager Bob Ward said po- LQ1RYHPEHUWKDW+HUPLVWRQ lice efforts to cite panhandlers voters will decide the fate of and educate drivers about marijuana dispensaries next the ordinance seemed to be working. The city followed year. Meanwhile in Umatilla, up with an ordinance that the city council adopted a banned tent camping within ban on marijuana dispensa- city limits and sent city staff ries in August. The ban was to clean out a popular home- originally meant to be part of less camp along the Umatilla a larger overhaul of the city’s River next to Umatilla High commercial zone codes that School. had been in the works since 2014, but after disagreements Police body cameras between the council and the Hermiston Police De- city’s planning commission couldn’t be resolved by the partment were earliest local time the dispensary ban ran adopters of police body cam- out the council adopted the eras, which they began using in April of 2015. stand-alone ban. Footage from the cameras, ZKLFK RI¿FHUV FDQ DWWDFK WR New Hermiston their collar, shoulder or head, 6chool 'istrict ofÀce is uploaded after each shift and stored by the department. and district growth At a May city council The Hermiston School meeting Chief Jason Edmis- District started out the 2015- ton said the cameras helped 2016 school year with a shiny KROGRI¿FHUVDFFRXQWDEOHEXW QHZVHWRIRI¿FHVRQ2UFKDUG also held citizens accountable Avenue, signaling the dis- for their actions and helped trict’s continuing efforts to deter false allegations against accommodate faster-than-ex- RI¿FHUV $IWHU D ORFDO SDVWRU had questioned the arrest of pected student growth. 7KHQHZRI¿FHVRSHQHGXS an elderly parishioner, for ex- a few rooms at schools across ample, Edmiston said review- the district, which helped ing the footage of the arrest make space for the more than KHOSHGKLPIHHOFRQ¿GHQWWKDW 200 extra students who en- WKHRI¿FHUVKDGDFWHGDSSUR- rolled this fall, bringing the priately. district’s total enrollment up to 5,531. The jump in stu- Hermiston brand/ dents was more than double livability what the school district had Hermiston entered 2015 predicted. To accommodate the with residents still grumbling growth the school board ap- about the new paint job spell- SURYHG RUGHULQJ ¿YH QHZ ing “You Can GROW Here” modular buildings in October, on the side of the water tow- bringing the total of portable er, and by the end of the year the city council had voted to classrooms to 29. By the end of the year the not only repaint the water district had started making tower but to scrap the “You the rounds around town to Can GROW Here” brand al- make the case for community together. The move came after some support of bond to pay for a new elementary school and soul-searching by the city that expansion of Hermiston High included hiring a consultant School and Sandstone Mid- and performing multiple sur- veys about Hermiston’s im- dle School. age. The results showed more than two-thirds of Hermiston residents disliked the “You Can GROW Here” brand, so the city resurrected the Hermiston’s Future Branding Committee and vowed to do a better job of seeking citizen input the second time around. The efforts to rebrand Hermiston paralleled an ef- fort to increase the city’s liv- ability. After the city hired a consultant to run a 25-mem- ber Livability Committee and distribute surveys to the com- munity, residents said they would like the city to focus on funding a community activity center, an indoor pool, an arts center, revitalization of the downtown and expansion of Hermiston’s parks and trails. lieved to be involved in the incident was recovered in California. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said enforcement believed Unsolved murder near law that the killing was the work 11th Street and other of gang members but that Madrigal was not a gang shootings member himself. The department never +HUPLVWRQ VDZ LWV ¿UVW homicide in three years af- named a suspect and has yet ter Alonso Madrigal, 23, of to make an arrest. The murder happened Umatilla was shot and killed in the parking lot of the 11th less than six weeks after Giovanni Avila, 21, also of Street Market in March. Hermiston Police Depart- Umatilla, was shot in the ment reported seizing a “sig- chest less behind the Fox- QL¿FDQW DPRXQW RI SK\VLFDO wood Apartments less than evidence” from the scene and three blocks away. Avila, later reported that the car be- his younger brother and Improvements to city parks was a prime focus of the city of Hermiston in 2015. The city made improve- ments to Victory Square Park, including a new restroom in- VWDOOHGLQ1RYHPEHU A remodel of Sunset Park got underway in the fall after the city purchased property next to the park and prepared to double its size by moving the entrance to the Public :RUNV EXLOGLQJ IURP 1RUWK- east Fourth Street to Elm Av- enue. The parks and recreation committee met with neigh- ERUV RI WKH 1RUWKVLGH 3OD\- ground near Pizza Hut to gather suggestions for a com- plete overhaul of the pocket park in 2016. The city also set aside money to plan a new skate park, and created an ordi- nance that allows police to trespass people from parks for misusing the equipment.