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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2016)
Hermiston Herald HermistonHerald.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016 NEW RADIO ANTENNA FM radio waves get new launching point Business Page 4 NEAL SIGNS WITH EWU Plans to play defensive tackle Sports Page 10 $1.00 Windy River student wins Geography Bee Our Community Page 6 TANGLED WEB OF AWARDS ABOUT TOWN Highway 395 project begins in Hermiston Upgrades to the Highway 395 corridor through Hermiston be- gan Monday. The Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation DQQRXQFHG WKH ¿UVW VWHS ZLOO LQVWDOO QHZ WUDI¿F control signals at Jennie Avenue and upgrade the control systems at six other intersections. This week, survey work began to upgrade 86 sidewalk ramps along the highway to meet up- dated ADA and safety standards. The department plans to begin the re- paving part of the proj- ect, which will stretch from Southeast Fourth Street to Highway 730, in May. The majority of the work requiring lane closures will take place between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. to minimize disrup- tion. Updates on the proj- ect will be posted at w w w. t i n y u r l . c o m / ODOT-Region5. Hermiston second- fastest growing school district in the state STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Debbie Pedro speaks after being named the Woman of the Year during the Hermiston Distinguished Citizens Awards Banquet on Wednesday in Hermiston. AWARD WINNERS SURROUNDED BY FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LITTLE WHITE LIES By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer A fter years of sneaking around to make sure recipients at the Hermiston Chamber of Com- merce Distinguished Citizens Awards were surprised by the honor, this year it was cham- ber director Debbie Pedro’s turn to be sur- prised. Pedro was named 2015 Woman of the Year at the end of Wednesday’s banquet after mas- ter of ceremonies Bryan Wolfe “accidentally” mixed up the order of Man of the Year and Woman of the Year. “I don’t even know what to say because I’m so surprised,” Pedro said, wiping away tears. “It took a lot to pull this off.” Rep. Greg Smith, who presented the award, said Pedro deserved it for the long list of civic LQYROYHPHQW RQ KHU UpVXPp DQG WKH VLJQL¿ cant amount of statewide recognition she has STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Bob Green, executive director of the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation, accepts the Spirit of Excellence Award during the Hermiston Distinguished Citizens Awards Banquet on Wednesday in Hermiston. See AWARDS, A16 Hermiston School District is the sec- ond-fastest growing school district in the state of Oregon, accord- ing to a report by the Oregon Department of Education. The district grew at a rate of 3.71 percent over the last year, far surpassing the state av- erage of .97 percent. It ranks as the 29th largest district out of 212 in the state. Hermiston School District started the school year with more than 5,500 students. The growth of more than 200 students from the year before was more than double what a Portland State Uni- versity study predicted, lending an even greater sense of urgency to the district’s search for new ways to increase the ca- pacity of its schools. The district currently uses 24 modular class- rooms to supplement its regular buildings, which is four more than were being used last time the district went for a bond measure. &RXQFLODSSURYHVDJUHHPHQWVIRUQHZWUDI¿FVLJQDO By JADE McDOWELL concrete island will make it easier for pedestrians to The Hermiston City cross the road between the Council approved two hospital and the Oxbow agreements Monday to in- Trail, and the work will VWDOO D WUDI¿F VLJQDO DW WKH DOVR KHOS UHOLHYH ÀRRGLQJ intersection of High- problems at the en- way 207 and Elm trance to the hospital Avenue near Good campus. Shepherd Medical The total cost of Center. the project will be Work on the proj- about $1.6 million. ect is scheduled to Half of that will be begin at the end of paid by an Oregon Drotzmann the year. Department of Trans- The redesign of portation grant, one the intersection will also fourth by the city and one add a lane that will allow fourth by Good Shepherd drivers traveling south on Healthcare System. Highway 207/11th Street Mark Morgan, assistant to turn left into Good Shep- city manager, said Good herd Medical Center. A Shepherd expressed interest Staff Writer in the project back in 2014. Expanding the hospital that year resulted in about 300 more trips through the in- tersection each day. On Monday the coun- cil approved an agreement with ODOT to accept the grant, and approved a sec- ond agreement with Good Shepherd. Morgan said shortly be- fore work begins on the Elm Avenue intersection at the end of the year, ODOT will also be installing a traf- ¿FVLJQDODWWKHLQWHUVHFWLRQ of 11th Street and Orchard Avenue a few blocks south of the hospital. In other council news, on Monday the council gave approval to the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center to take out a loan of up to $1.5 million. The city and Umatilla County have each pledged to back the loan with full faith and credit. The loan will be used to allow donors to spread large donations out over WZR WR ¿YH \HDUV ZKLOH giving EOTEC the upfront FDVK WR ¿QLVK FRQVWUXFWLRQ in time for the 2017 Uma- tilla County Fair and Farm- City Pro Rodeo. City Manager Byron 6PLWKVDLGWKHFLW\¶V¿QDQFH department felt comfortable backing the loan because the only money borrowed would be the amount that donors had signed a legal- ly-binding agreement to pay back. “We are very comfort- able the city will not ever have to act on that full faith and credit,” he said. The EOTEC fundraising committee has raised more than $600,000 in the past couple months, toward a goal to raise $2 million. 7KH ¿QDO DFWLRQ WKH council took on Monday was to direct the city re- corder to post notice about WKH XSFRPLQJ ¿OLQJ GHDG line to run for mayor and municipal judge in the May See SIGNAL, Page A16
