Hermiston
Herald
UPLIFTING
ENTERTAINMENT
Local group travels to
Tri-Cities for Harlem
Globetrotters show
See PAGE A10
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016
ABOUT TOWN
STATEWIDE READING PROGRAM
TRCI inmate
airlifted after
assault
STUDENTS BATTLE
OVER BOOKS
An inmate at Two
Rivers Correctional In-
stitution was À own to a
hospital over the week-
end after an altercation
with another inmate.
Hermiston Fire &
Emergency Services
responded to a report
of “trauma” at TRCI at
12:40 p.m. Sunday.
Oregon State Police
are investigating the
incident as an assault
between two inmates.
One inmate suffered
serious injuries and was
transported by helicop-
ter to an unspeci¿ ed
hospital.
Inmate names and
additional information
has not yet been re-
leased due to the ongo-
ing investigation.
— Jennifer Colton
Brookshier
re-appointed
to EOTEC board
Ed Brookshier is
back on the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center board after a
brief hiatus.
The Hermiston City
Council appointed him
as the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo’s representative
to the board on Mon-
day. Brookshier stepped
down in December to
make room for City
Manager Byron Smith.
Brookshier is the
former Hermiston
city manager and will
replace David Bothum,
a rodeo board member
who resigned from the
EOTEC board in order
to pursue an upcoming
contract for construction
of the project’s rodeo
arena.
Bothum said the
rodeo board would
be honored to have
Brookshier represent
them, and Smith said
he believed Brookshier
would be an e[cellent ¿ t
for the open position.
“I think his passion
for this project and his
history with it makes
him a great candidate,”
Smith said.
— Jade McDowell
PHOTOS BY JENNIFER COLTON
The YMnMs: Yaloani Alvarado, from left, Nazly Chavez, Maria Tejeda and Sally Wooster compete in the Battle of the Books championship
at Sandstone Middle School.
Teams qualify for regionals at Blue
Mountain Community College
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff Writer
A
drenaline pulsed through Sandstone
Middle School as two teams braced for
the double-elimination tournament. The
teams huddled together, ready for the
buzzer to sound. They bit their nails.
They swallowed hard.
One team — the YMnMs — hadn’t lost a bat-
tle. The other, the Goat-Shaped Blobs, wanted their
chance to take the championship and head to the re-
gional competition.
The audience hushed as the questions started.
What did this character have to drink? Who said this
line? In which book did this scene happen?
The difference between pronouncing an author’s
name as Hopkins or Hopkinson made an answer cor-
rect or incorrect.
Eighteen teams competed in the Battle of the
Books at Sandstone Middle School, and the YMnMs
took the championship title, undefeated.
“I’m relieved. Having so many people watching
is… it’s a lot of pressure,” eighth-grader Maria Teje-
da said. “It’s fun, but it’s a lot of pressure.”
See BOOKS, A16
The “Goat-Shaped Blobs” — Ava Tixier, from left, Nadine Ferguson and Joey
Ferguson — discuss an answer during the Sandstone Battle of the Books
Championship.
Council, public object to
roundabouts on Hwy. 395
By JADE McDOWELL
See HWY 395, A16
S.
Hw
y.
EZ Mini
Storage
39
5
Hermiston
Foods
Planned Ranch
and Home store
E. Penney Ave.
Walmart
Distribution
Center
S.
Hw
y.
39
5
N
Source: City of Hermiston
Jade McDowell and Alan
Kenaga/EO Media Group
500 Feet
Feedville Road
S. Ott Road
An Oregon Department
of Transportation recom-
mendation to install round-
abouts on south Highway
395 was met with resis-
tance from city councilors
and citizens alike on Mon-
day night.
“It seems ridiculous,”
councilor Jackie Myers
said.
The negative comments
came during a public hear-
ing for amendments to the
Transportation
System
Plan approved by the city’s
Five citizens spoke out
against the roundabout
idea during Monday’s pub-
lic hearing, including Dan
Coffee, who lives on Air-
port Road. He said his years
of truck-driving experience
had taught him that heavy
18-wheelers would con-
stantly damage the round-
abouts and drivers would
have dif¿ culty navigating
them.
“A roundabout is the
stupidest thing I’ve ever
heard,” he said.
roundabout
E. Airport Road
S.E. Kelli Blvd.
$1.00
Staff Writer
planning commission. One
amendment, added at the
request of ODOT, would
add the words “or a round-
about” to the current rec-
ommendation for traf¿ c
signals to eventually be
installed at multiple spots
along Highway 395 south
of the city.
According to ODOT’s
recommendation, round-
abouts in high-speed areas
help reduce crashes that
come from distracted driv-
ers who run red lights or
rear-end vehicles that are
waiting to cross.
Proposed Transportation System
Plan update
New traffic signal/