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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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-
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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
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east Fourth Street to Elm Av-
enue.
The parks and recreation
committee met with neigh-
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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.