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Hermiston
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
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ABOUT TOWN
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W
iston Stars take a curtain call
Participants in Dancing with the Herm
Saturday in the Hermiston High
prior to the winner being announced
School auditorium.
Blaine Ganvoa pe
rforms the swing
with Marina Hatta
the Utah Ballroo
m Dance Compa
n of
ny.
Stars, works
Cam Preus, winner of Dancing with the Hermiston
.
ission
the crowd for votes during the show’s interm
Dan Briscoe per forms the tan
go with Trina Morango of the
Utah Ballroom Dance Compan
y.
es
Dancing with the Hermiston Stars raises record amount for six chariti
NI
Stor y and photos by TAMMY MALGESI
Community Editor
ted mirror ball trophy over her head as she
am Preus took a bow and then hoisted the cove
Stars Saturday night in the Hermiston High
celebrated winning Dancing with the Hermiston
School auditorium.
Mountain Community College, was
With a melon-sized grin, Preus, president of Blue larships for students in need.
ides scho
dancing for the school’s foundation, which prov
ng up to the event, Preus said it felt like
leadi
week
the
g
durin
rsals
rehea
ut
ugho
Thro
,
took half an hour. However, once she got on stage
dancing to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”
said.
the two-minute routine felt like 15 seconds, she
¿ rst. “,t was nerve-wracking.”
going
t
abou
said
she
,”
“, wanted to get it done
ted the win to her dance partner. Seth Ward of
Still claiming to have two left feet, Preus, credi
was extremely patient in teaching her. And, the
the Utah Ballroom Dance Company, Preus said,
s the stage.
coaching continued while they quick-stepped acros
S, A16
C
See STAR
MORE 
INFO 

Desert Arts Council
Website: www.
desertartscouncil.com
Facebook: www.facebook.
com/DesertArts
Utah Ballroom Dance

Company
Website: www.utahbdc.
com
School district leases property to city for senior center
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
Hermiston School District’s
board has agreed to let the city
lease land for a new senior center
project.
The 1.19 acre piece of property
sits along Northeast Second Street
behind the First United Method-
ist Church. It will be added to the
parking lot behind the Hermiston
Public Library and the stretch
of road where Northeast Second
Street curves around to become
Ridgeway Avenue.
Hermiston Parks and Recreation
director Larry Fetter said there
were two potential orientations for
the 8,000-square-foot Harkenrider
Center — one where the district’s
property would house the building
and one where it would be used for
a 100-vehicle parking lot.
“There is some consideration
that if we build on your proper-
ty we could add a daylight base-
ment,” he said.
Fetter asked the school board to
either donate the property or agree
to a 50-year lease at $1 per year.
District administrators recom-
mended a lease.
Deputy superintendent Wade
Smith pointed out there was prece-
dent for the city owning a building
on school district property. The
current senior center on the Uma-
tilla County fairgrounds is in that
exact situation, and the city has
agreed to demolish the building as
soon as the lease expires on Dec.
31.
He said the property the city
was requesting has a water right
and an alley right of way run-
ning through one corner, making
it unsuitable for a school or other
building of that size.
He said the intention was for the
old Armand Larive Middle School
arch on the edge of the property to
be kept in place and integrated into
the Harkenrider Center campus.
“It’s a historic piece,” he said.
“The city is aware of that.”
Back in 2012, the school board
offered the same piece of proper-
ty to the senior center board when
they were trying to raise money
for a new center on their own. That
offer expired, but now that the city
has obtained a $2 million commu-
nity development block grant to
build the center on behalf of the
See PROPERTY, A16
Landing Days
event runs
aground for 2016
Umatilla has canceled
its annual Landing Days
event for 2016, but will still
have a ¿ reworks show.
Karen Hutchinson-Ta-
laski, director of the Uma-
tilla Chamber of Com-
merce, said volunteer
support for the celebration
of the town’s history had
been dwindling in recent
years and there were not
enough volunteers to go
forward this year.
She said organizers
will have a meeting in late
spring to discuss bringing
the full event back in 2017.
“We don’t want this to
go away,” she said.
Hutchinson-Talaski said
she has seen several events
in the Hermiston and Uma-
tilla area canceled or scaled
down because of a lack of
volunteers.
“It’s the same problem
for everyone,” she said.
“The same people who vol-
unteer for everything are
burned out. New people
need to step up.”
The live music, booths
and other day-long events
will be missing this year,
but there will still be a ¿ re-
works show at 10 p.m. on
the last weekend in June.
Hutchinson-Talaski said if
there is enough interest the
parade might still happen as
well.
She said volunteers are
still needed for cleanup and
parking duty. The $3 park-
ing fee for the ¿ reworks
show will help pay for the
next year’s display.
To volunteer, call the
Umatilla Chamber of Com-
merce at 541-922-4825.
Livable Hermiston
Committee hosts
open house
The Livable
Hermiston Committee
is hosting an open
house to gather in-
person feedback from
community members.
The event will be
today (Wednesday, Jan.
13) from 4-6 p.m. in the
Lanham Meeting Room
at the Hermiston Public
Library.
The committee has
been tasked with creating
a prioritized list of where
Hermiston residents
would most like to see
the city spend money
on making Hermiston a
more livable place.
A survey of more than
2,000 residents revealed
that residents would like
to see the city spend
money on a community
activity center, an indoor
aquatic center, an arts
and culture facility,
revitalizing downtown
and expanding city parks
and trails.
The committee
encourages citizens
to drop by at any time
during the event for
refreshments and a chat
with committee members
about their ideas for
making Hermiston a
more livable place.