Hermiston
Herald
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
$1.00
STATE
CHAMPS
Bulldogs bring home title for 10th time
SPORTS Page 10
ABOUT TOWN
Construction work to
cause lane closures
near Jennie Avenue
Traf¿ c around -ennie
Avenue in Hermiston will
be affected this week due
to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation’s
ongoing $3.7 million
construction project on
Highway 395.
This morning, lanes
will be closed on -ennie
Avenue and Highway 395
to dig conduit trenching.
Crews will also con-
tinue to work on the inter-
section through Thursday
during daylight hours,
with minimal traf¿ c im-
pacts.
Through
Thursday
from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m.
lanes on assorted sections
of Highway 395 between
Southeast Fourth Street
and Theater Lane will
be closed while crews
work to update pedestrian
ramps to ADA standards.
Workforce needs
study underway for
Umatilla County
GRAPPLING
WITH A
DREAM
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Sam Colbray is as comfortable in an academic setting, like the library, as the four-time state champion is on the wrestling mat. Colbray, who
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becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
STAR WRESTLER SAM COLBRAY PINS ASPIRATIONS FOR A MEDICAL CAREER
ON CONTINUING HIS EDUCATION THROUGH ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP
By SAM BARBEE
Staff Writer
S
am Colbray didn’t always want to
wrestle.
As a small child growing up in
Hermiston, he wanted to explore the
world.
“He used to talk about that when
he was 5 years old,” Colbray’s mother, Del-
ta, said.
Thirteen years later, the world explorer
dream has passed, but his ambitions are
still grand. After he concludes his stellar
high school career — both athletically and
academically — he will continue his educa-
tion at Iowa State University on a wrestling
scholarship. Wrestling and Iowa State are
stepping stones to attending medical school
and becoming a doctor.
Best known as a highly-ranked wrestler,
he’s currently ranked second in the country
at 195 pounds, according to FloWrestling.
org. A four-time Oregon state champion at
the same weight, Colbray is an intellectual,
a thinker and a leader.
“When you hear about Sam, you don’t
hear about academics, even though you
See COLBRAY, A16
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Hermiston’s John Henry Line (left) and Sam Colbray square off for the 5A state wrestling
match Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the 195-pound weight class. Colbray won
the match with 10-2 major decision.
A comprehensive study
on Umatilla County’s
workforce needs is in the
works, and input from area
employers is needed.
The study is a joint proj-
ect between Blue Mountain
Community College and
Umatilla County, run by
consultant Susan Bower of
Eastern Oregon Business
Source.
The goal is to use sur-
veys, interviews and focus
groups to fully understand
what skills and Tuali¿ ca-
tions local companies are
looking for and how those
needs could be met. The re-
sults will be compiled into
a report that will be made
available to the public and
shared with local schools,
civic groups and business-
es.
“The college and the
county acknowledge they
can’t be the only people
coming up with solutions,”
Bower said. “They’re say-
ing ‘Let’s do this research
and put it into an objective,
academic report and share
it.’”
Casey White-Zollman,
spokeswoman for BMCC,
said the college will use the
data and insights collected
by Bower to look at what
programs it should add or
expand.
She said when the Port
of Umatilla and Port of
Morrow approached the
college a year ago about the
data centers locating in the
area, the college worked
with those companies on
creating a data center tech-
nician program that held its
¿ rst class seven months lat-
er. Students from that ¿ rst
class are all in internships
now, she said.
White-Zollman
said
the study currently in the
works would help the col-
lege launch that type of re-
sponse on a broader scale
across more industries.
The 15-minute sur-
vey can be found at www.
surveymonkey.com/r/uma-
tillacountyworkforceneeds.
— Jade McDowell
Students try green eggs and ham
Read Across America
events this week
By JENNIFER COLTON
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
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The school served green eggs and ham as part of Read Across America
week.
Staff Writer
I do so like green eggs and ham.
Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am.
Dr. Seuss wrote those words to
signal the change of heart a charac-
ter had after Sam-I-Am’s energet-
ic encouragement to sample green
eggs and ham. Students at Stan¿ eld
Elementary School took much less
prodding to try the colored concoc-
tion this week.
Stan¿ eld provided green eggs
and ham for its elementary school
lunch on Tuesday, and the respons-
es were varied:
“I love green eggs and ham.”
“I’m going to die.”
“This is so cool.”
“I want this every day.”
After sampling the green eggs,
students were able to vote if they
liked the meal or if they did not.
Halfway through lunch, the votes
were overwhelmingly in favor of
the “yes” basket.
For Cody Hart, a ¿ fth-grader,
the day was a chance to serve green
eggs to his fellow students.
“It’s pretty fun,” Hart said, dish-
ing scoops of egg for ¿ rst-graders.
“I got lucky.”
Green eggs and ham is only
one of the activities Stan¿ eld El-
ementary is hosting this week for
“Read Across America” week. An
initiative of the National Education
Association, Read Across America
focuses on motivating children and
See READ, A16