EDUCATION
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Girl, 10, returns ‘large amount’ of lost cash
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
A Hermiston student
is getting kudos from the
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment and the community
after turning money she
found in to the police
instead of keeping it for
herself.
Elizabeth Doherty, 10,
got a visit and a letter of
thanks from chief Jason
Edmiston last week after
she found a distinctive
money clip with what
the department described
as a “fairly large amount
of cash” recently. A post
about it on the depart-
ment’s page had more
than 1,300 likes and 95
comments complimenting
her as of Tuesday after-
noon.
“It’s kind of weird but
it’s good,” Elizabeth said
of all the attention her
good deed is getting.
Her parents Melissa
and Ben Doherty didn’t
expect all of the attention,
either.
“This whole thing has
caught my wife and I by
surprise,” Ben said.
He was with Elizabeth
when she pointed out the
money to him and wanted
to try and return it to its
owner. He said she didn’t
seem to struggle with de-
ciding whether to turn in
the money, and he’s sure
many other people in the
community would have
done the same thing.
“I don’t think there
was any big test of will to
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
Elizabeth Doherty at Rocky Heights Elementary.
overcome,” he said.
Elizabeth said after she
spotted the money she and
her dad walked around to
some nearby businesses to
ask if anyone was looking
for it, then drove to the
police department. The
doors were locked, but an
officer spotted them and
asked if he could help and
they turned the money
over to him.
Last week, her teach-
er at Rocky Heights Ele-
mentary got a call asking
if the police could talk
to the class, and a few
minutes later Edmiston
showed up and present-
ed her with a department
patch and a letter of rec-
ognition. In the letter, he
said being a police officer
can be difficult because
officers spend so much
time dealing with people
who hurt others.
“You are none of these
things, and people like
you are the reason why
the men and women of the
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment put their uniforms
on every day and come to
work to make a positive
impact on this communi-
ty,” he wrote.
He thanked Elizabeth
for her integrity and said
that when the department
finds the owner of the
money they will be sure
to let the person know
they got it back because
of an “amazing 10-year-
old girl who did the right
thing.”
The owner still has not
been found, as of Tuesday
afternoon.
The rightful owner of
the money can call the
department’s evidence/
property technician at
541-667-5108 to describe
the item and make ar-
rangements to get it back.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016
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Wade Smith, the deputy superintendent of progress and had great success.”
Upon Maiocco’s return, Smith was
the Hermiston School District, is one of sev-
HQ¿QDOLVWVIRUWKHWRSMRELQWKH:DOOD:DOOD named deputy superintendent.
Smith said his nine years in Hermiston
School District.
The new superintendent, to be selected schools have been great, but he felt it was time
to move into a superintendent leader-
by the school board, will begin July 1,
ship role. He and his family would like
replacing Bill Jordan who will retire at
to stay in the region, so the Walla Wal-
the end of the school year.
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Smith was hired as Hermiston’s
District has an enrollment of 5,500 and
assistant superintendent of human re-
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Walla Walla is about 6,200.
administrator in the Morrow Coun-
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ty School District. He served as the
san Bell (Touchet, Washington), Kent
Hermiston interim superintendent for Wade
Kultgen (Helena, Montana), Mark
Smith
18 months in 2011-2012 while Super-
Mansell (La Center, Washington),
intendent Fred Maiocco was deployed
Kevin McKay (Zillah, Washington),
to Kuwait as a colonel in the U.S. Army Re- Jared Hoadley (Mead, Washington) and
serves.
Molly Ringo (Everett, Washington) in the
“I was honored to work with an incred- ¿QDOURXQGRILQWHUYLHZV
ibly talented and supportive staff,” Smith
The Walla Walla School Board will con-
said about his time in the top leadership role. GXFW¿QDOLVWLQWHUYLHZV)HE0DUFKDQG
“You see districts put on the brakes or coast 2, and public meetings will be held on those
in that kind of situation, but we made great GDWHVDWSPDWWKHGLVWULFWRI¿FH
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their road to higher educa-
tion and academic excel-
Three local teachers lence.
At Hermiston High
have been honored by for-
mer students in the “Inspi- School, 2015 graduates
rational Teacher Awards” 6KD\ /RYHMR\ DQG %UHHDQ-
from Eastern Oregon Uni- na Hughes nominated Paul
Dunsmoor, a member of the
versity.
(28 ¿UVW\HDU KRQRU band staff.
Makayla Mangione, also
students who maintained
dean’s list standing during a 2015 graduate of Herm-
fall term nominated 26 iston High, nominated Tim
teachers from Oregon, Zacharias, a former mem-
Washington,
California ber of the English staff.
“Tim Zacharias goes
and Nevada. Students were
asked to choose teachers out of his way to challenge
ZKR LQÀXHQFHG WKHP RQ his students, giving them
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff Writer
the tools they need to suc-
ceed,” Mangione said via
email. ”He encouraged me
to think deeper, write better
and to engage in a myriad
of disciplines beyond my
preferred course of study.
His mentorship inspired
me to pursue a career in
English education so that I
too can help students suc-
ceed.”
Karla Bedolla, a 2015
graduate of Umatilla High
School, nominated Keith
Gebers, business commu-
nication and computer sys-
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