WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
LOCAL NEWS
Earth Day at
McNary Dam
More than 600
students attend
and the opportunity to pet
Alfred, a boa constrictor.
“I was worried, but
it’s going pretty good so
far,” Pine said. “They (the
younger students) thought
it was awesome. I was
really impressed they en-
joyed it as much as they
did.”
On the other side of the
ponds, juniors Arely Ortiz
and Yesenia Flores taught
about pollution and recycling.
“It’s a big topic in the
world, and it’s affecting
everybody in their daily
lives,” Ortiz said, adding
it is important to introduce
the topic to elementary
students. “I hope that they
understand that cleaning
up after themselves is go-
ing to make a huge differ-
ence in our world. It may
not seem like much with
one person, but if every-
one does it, it will change
everything.”
Professional organiza-
tions, such as Blue Moun-
tain Wildlife rehabilitation
and education, also partic-
ipated in the event, which
was open to all students at
McNary Heights Elemen-
tary.
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff Writer
Children in tie-dyed
T-shirts walked the trails
below the McNary Dam
on Thursday as Earth Day
came to life for almost
700 students.
All classes from Mc-
Nary Heights Elemen-
tary, clad in color-coded
T-shirts, trekked down to
the dam for a full day of
hands-on experiments and
exploring nature trails, all
designed to give young
students a fun and inter-
esting way to look at the
world around them.
Students from the ad-
vanced biology class at
Umatilla High School led
eight different stations
scattered around the prop-
erty, teaching younger
students about everything
from peacock plumage to
pollution.
Elijah Pine and Ethan
Holiday, for example,
taught
about
snakes
through puzzles, lessons,
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
Junior Ellery Jones tends to plants Monday in the greenhouse at Hermiston High School. The student-raised plants will be on
sale to the public this Friday and Saturday.
Growing a proit
Hermiston
students sell plants
for fundraiser
riculture educator Alyssa
Davies said.
This week, student have
put inishing touches on the
plants and hanging baskets
to make sure products are
ready when the sale opens
on Friday.
“Students put in a lot
of hard work and effort
for these plants, and it’s
a visual representation of
what we’ve learned and
what we’ve accomplished,”
said Ellery Jones, a junior.
“We’re learning skills for
the future.”
Thirteen different types
of lowers and six different
types of vegetables will be
available in the sale. Most
plants cost about $2, and
hanging baskets cost $30.
“I think our community
takes a lot of pride in the
fact students have grown
these,” Davies said. “This
is a great learning tool
for these students, and
the community supports
that.”
All proceeds from the
sale will go toward the
Hermiston FFA program.
The sale runs from 3:30
to 6:30 p.m. on Friday and
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on
Saturday.
ed his hand to the Hispan-
ic community, who cares
about the Hispanic commu-
nity,’ and so we wanted to
have him there,” de la Cruz
said.
Last year, the Cinco de
Mayo celebration includ-
ed a Cinco de Mayo court
made up of young women
chosen to represent the His-
panic community at events
like the Umatilla County
Fair for the rest of the year.
Clara Beas Fitzgerald,
who organized the pageant
last year, said a string of
bad luck with medical is-
sues meant there was no
one available to organize
the pageant this year. Last
year’s winners — Sara Lo-
mas, Hillary Fernandez,
Jennifer Garcia, Maribel
Marin and Brissa Gutierrez
— will serve as the Cinco
de Mayo court for an addi-
tional year and those that
are not away at school will
participate in community
events.
De la Cruz called the
Cinco de Mayo event (tech-
nically on Primero de Mayo
this year) a “multicultural”
celebration that was meant
for the entire city to enjoy,
regardless of their own cul-
tural heritage.
“Everyone is invited to
come and have fun,” he
said.
By JENNIFER COLTON
Staff Writer
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
Second-grader Kendra Chaves meets Alfred the snake
Thursday at McNary Dam. More than 600 students
participated in Earth Day activities at the McNary Dam.
Thousands of plants will
be up for grabs this week-
end for the annual Hermis-
ton FFA Plant Sale.
Flowers, herbs, vegeta-
bles and even cacti will be
on sale for the fundraiser,
and each plant represents
weeks or months of work
from Hermiston High
School students.
The process begins in
January, when students be-
gin to start products from
seed. About 60 students
— 20 in each of Herm-
iston High’s horticulture
and propagation classes —
maintain the greenhouse,
STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
Flowers ill the greenhouse at Hermiston High School in preparation
for a fundraiser sale to the public this Friday and Saturday.
and two greenhouse man-
agers, also students, take
care of the weekend water-
ing and fertilizing.
“In an average week, we
spend about 70 percent of
our classroom time out here
watering, fertilizing, pinch-
ing, transport(ing) and just
taking care of plants,” ag-
VENUE:
continued from Page A1
town at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
A stage with live dancing
and music will be set up on
Second Street in front of
City Hall and food vendors
will be in the parking lot
across from City Hall until
sundown.
De la Cruz said there
will be more vendors, more
entertainment and more pa-
rade entries this year, as the
event continues to grow. He
said it has also gained more
sponsors over the years,
including many in the agri-
cultural community.
This year’s parade grand
marshal will be Hermiston
High School Principal Tom
Spoo.
De la Cruz said while
Spoo was still principal
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Musicians with Mariachi de los Temerosos serenade the crowd at a previous Cinco de Mayo
celebration in Hermiston.
at Armand Larive Middle
School he was instrumental
in starting several initia-
tives to involve Hispanic
parents in the school. Since
he became the high school
principal, de la Cruz said,
Spoo has been a regular
attendee at Hispanic Advi-
sory Committee meetings
and has helped put togeth-
er district-wide programs
such as the one that brings
in volunteers to provide
Spanish translation during
parent-teacher conferences.
May 8th
Let your mother know
how much she is
appreciated & loved!
Publishes in the Hermiston Herald May 4th
Publishes in the East Oregonian May 7th
SAMPLE
Happy Mother’s Day
For a very special mother!
Your Name
Turn in a photo & short message for your mom.
Runs in EO & the HH for only $25 per spot
Contact: Stephanie Newsom
541-278-2687 • snewsom@eastoregonian.com
Your Name:
Phone Number:
Mother’s Name:
Message:
Send in, or drop by your photo
and information to:
211 SE Byers, Pendleton, OR 97801
333 E. Main, Hermiston, OR 97838
or email snewsom@eastoregonian.com
“We thought, ‘Here is
a person who has extend-
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