Hermiston
BULLDOGS
TAKE 4TH
AT STATE
Herald
INSIDE
SPRING SPORTS 2016
SPECIAL SECTION
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016
SPORTS Page 10
$1.00
ABOUT TOWN
VOTE ONLINE:
NEEDED:
Volunteers!
www.hermistonbrand.com
Local help in short supply PAGE 3
Holding on to a taste of
yesteryear
Panel
presents
two options
The
height of
popularity fo
the soda foun r
was during th tain
20th century e early
peak in the 19 with a
1950s when p 40s and
atr
could socialize ons
drink and eat ,
a
the counter. t
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
Watermelon is return-
ing to the Hermiston wa-
ter tower.
The branding com-
mittee
commissioned
by the city of Hermiston
and Hermiston Chamber
of Commerce unveiled
two possible branding
concepts for the city on
Tuesday, and both logos
feature a slice of Hermis-
ton’s famous melon.
Residents have until
the end of March to vote
on the two logo designs,
two font choices and
between two taglines:
“Where Life is Sweet”
and “Where Opportunity
Shines.”
The city council got a
sneak peek at the com-
mittee’s work on Monday
night and were pleased
with the results.
“I’m very happy with
what you’re bringing for-
ward,” Doug Primmer
said. “This is what I was
hoping for.”
Doug Smith said he
would be “happy as a
clam” with any of the op-
tions presented, and Jack-
ie Myers said she was im-
pressed with the results.
The tagline that gets
the most votes from the
community will replace
“You Can GROW Here,”
which drew jokes about
cultivating
marijuana
after it was painted on
the water tower south of
town. When residents
were surveyed about the
brand, 67 percent said
they disliked the “You
Can GROW Here” tag-
line, and 92 percent said
the logo needed to in-
clude a watermelon.
In response, the city
and chamber of com-
merce put together a
25-person committee of
citizens to work with Fo-
cal Point Marketing of
Kennewick, Washington,
on a new set of logos,
taglines and fonts to pres-
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
Customers Walter Liebe, from front, Milroy Meyer, Judy Meyer, Kay Sobotta, Jerry Sobotta and John
Price, sample 15 cent coffee at the soda fountain at Hermiston Drug.
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff writer
F
or as long as locals can remem-
ber, there’s been a soda fountain
on Main Street in Hermiston.
Tucked away in the back
of Hermiston Drug and Gifts,
the old-fashioned fountain still
brings food and drinks to patrons of
all ages after more than a half-century.
Although Hermiston Drug opened in
1927, if anyone knows exactly when
the fountain ¿ rst opened, they have
kept the secret well.
The Eugene Register-Guard refer-
ences a Hermiston soda fountain —
unsure if the same location — in 1941,
and in a folder of newspaper clippings
in the business of¿ ce is a reference of
the fountain — with wood À oors and a
lunch counter — in 1943.
The exact date may be lost, but the
popularity of the soda fountain is al-
most as old as Hermiston itself. The
¿ rst soda fountains, the tapped ma-
chine that fuses water and carbon di-
oxide into soda water, came from an
attempt to replicate natural mineral
waters, and a Yale chemistry profes-
sor was one of the ¿ rst to sell “mineral
waters” through a soda fountain appa-
ratus — in 1806. The fountains began
to appear in pharmacies where patrons
could sample the healthy soda water
while waiting for other prescriptions
or have a pharmacist mix the carbon-
ated water with medicines and sweet-
eners to mask the taste of bitter drugs.
Slowly, the drinks transitioned from
See SODA, A6
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
Customers Judy Meyer, from left, Kay Sobotta, Jerry Sobotta
and John Price sample 15 cent coffee at the soda fountain at
Hermiston Drug.
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
Irma Neilson talks with server Bobbi Picker at the soda fountain at
Hermiston Drug.
Committee recommends $104 million school bond
School funding could
hit 2017 ballot
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff Writer
Hermiston could place a
$104 million school bond on
the ballot next year.
The Citizens Review
Committee, a volunteer board
of 16 community members,
presented its capital needs
recommendations to the
Hermiston School Board on
Monday night, including two
bond proposals: a “recom-
mended” $104 million and a
“minimum” $84 million.
According to the Hermis-
ton School District website,
the Citizens’ Review Com-
mittee was charged to:
Review the outcomes
from the 2008 Bond Program
Familiarize themselves
with the analysis, ¿ ndings
and recommendations identi-
¿ ed by the District’s Facility
Master Planning Committee
Request additional data
or support deemed necessary
to inform the committees’
work
Recommend a capital
planning program that meets
Little
Darlings !
Hermiston schools plan for growth
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff Writer
The Hermiston School Board of Education unani-
mously chose to plan for modest growth in the 2016-
17 budget.
Monday night, the board approved the “Financial
Planning Parameters” for district staff to use to build
See GROWTH, A16
See BOND, A16
This special section will be full of adorable little darlings and
a special keepsake for their family for years to come.
Submit a photo of your
Little Darling (Age 0 - 3) &
be entered into a drawing for
prizes by local sponsors!
Publishes April 13th
Send a high resolution photo,
a message to your child and
your child’s name to
classifieds@eastoregonian.com
by April 4th.