Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2016)
COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2016 LETTER TO THE EDITOR I want to give an enormous thank you to Rascal Rodeo found- er Ann-Erica Whitemarsh for put- ting on a fun-illed event in our lo- cal Farm-City Rodeo Arena. This generous and well-run organiza- tion utilizes volunteers who assist individuals with disabilities as they experience the excitement of various rodeo events including the opportunity to ride a real horse. All participants received a shirt, hat, bandana and either a sheriff’s badge or crown at no cost to the participant. The rain and mud did nothing to dampen the spirits of the cowboys and cowgirls “yee- hawing” their way through the ive different activities. One of the best aspects of this event is that there is not an age limit for the participants. So often these wonderful opportunities are limited to children and do not in- clude young adults with disability. At irst, my young adult daughter, who has Autism Spectrum Disor- der, was hesitant about attending, but the minute we arrived at the arena she immediately began ro- tating to the stations ranging from “milking” a cow to riding a buck- ing unicorn! We are truly fortunate to have the caliber of people who helped provide this positive event for the disabled in our community. I know that my daughter will look forward to attending another Ras- cal Rodeo event and I would en- courage anyone who has a child with a disability to consider at- tending. More information can be ob- tained about this organization by visiting the Rascal Rodeo website. KRISTI SMALLEY, SPECIAL OLYMPICS AND ARC OF UMATILLA COUNTY BOARD MEMBER HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 Time to name this center New event center building needs a name to distinguish it from EOTEC grounds and authority. he irst building at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center is now open and it will become a new gather- ing place for our community. But, what will we call it? Is the new building the Event Center? Is it the event center building at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center? Or are the entire grounds to be known as the Event Center and will this irst building come to be known by some other moniker? The building itself deinitely needs a designation. I’m certainly not a fan of the EOTEC acronym for the grounds or the authority that governs it. EOTEC sounds like the place I would call when my Internet ser- vice is out, not where I go for a trade show or community cele- bration. We are now one step closer to moving the Umatilla County Fair, which outgrew its facilities long ago, and providing another venue for events, large and small. The new building, unveiled to the public for the irst time last week, will be a place for locals and vis- itors to gather, do business and celebrate. It needs a name, or at the very least a nickname. T STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith, the city’s irst city manager, Tom Harper, and the immediate past city manager, Ed Brookshier, pose for a photograph at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center open house on Friday. There have only been four city managers in the city’s history and all three men have played a role in moving the Umatilla County Fair to, and creating EOTEC, with both Smith and Brookshier now serving on the EOTEC board. Names are important. It could growth of agriculture in western honor our region’s history: a trib- Umatilla County and Hermiston al name, something recognizing in particular. Cold Springs dam our area’s location along the Or- created the reservoir as part of the egon Trail and near Lewis and Umatilla Basin Project with the Clark’s Corps of Discovery route. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in With that idea in mind, here 1908, two years after Hermiston’s are a few suggestions. incorporation as a city. Youmalolam Center: Coho Center, Chinook Youmalolam, according to Center, Steelhead Center the journals of Lewis and or Sturgeon Center: Be- Clark, means “water rip- cause these ish are some pling over sand.” It is the of the species for which the word from which the Uma- Columbia and Umatilla riv- tilla River, the city of Uma- ers and our area are known. tilla and Umatilla County Gary Coyote Center or Coy- L. West are named. Water rippling SHADES ote Hall: The local preda- over the desert sand has OF GRAY tor is a common site around been the key to the commu- our area. nity’s subsistence, growth, settle- Basalt Center: Basalt is an ig- ment and economy for centuries. neous rock common in lava lows Cold Springs Center: Cold and has created some of our ar- Springs and the Cold Springs ea’s most prominent geological Reservoir were key to the early features — including the Hermis- ton Butte, Hat Rock and Wallula Gap. Basalt is a distinctive rock. It’s bedrock material, makes a good foundation and is used for aggregate material in construc- tion for concrete and asphalt. It can also be polished for things as varied as monuments and loor tiles. Native Americans used it for stone tools and arrowheads. Since government oficials seem to love acronyms, you can pick a name and turn it into an acronym too, if you like, so that it has double meaning. A local ex- ample is Boardman’s SAGE Cen- ter, which features sage, an indige- nous, fragrant plant on our region, but the name also stands for Sus- tainable AGriculture and Energy. We could do the same sort of thing with, say, the BASALT Center, with BASALT serving as an acronym — like the Business, Agriculture, Service, Arts, Labor and Trade Center. Now, that’s an acronym that makes EOTEC seem tame. But just the Basalt Center, sans acronym, is ine too. Those are some of my ideas. What do you think we should call the new building east of town where many of us are likely to spend a fair amount of time in the decades to come? Write me at the address below and we’ll share some of our ideas in print and online. Gary L. West is editor of the Hermiston Herald and Herm- iston editor for the East Ore- gonian. Reach him at gwest@ hermistonherald.com or follow him on Twitter @GaryLWest or on Facebook at www.facebook. com/journalist.glwest. d n a e c I a Vanill e m i T e h t & y a D s i r r Mo Gates Open 6pm JULY 30 Show at 8pm On the Lawn Lawn seats start at $29 • Tickets at wildhorseresort.com T! U D O OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! L O S • Trailblazer sponsored Silent Auction, bids begin at 2pm. • Poker Tournament with Celebrity Bounties at 7:30pm. Buy in $200. Friday, June 17 Girls NIGHT outback! Maurice Lucas Foundation supports youth through sports. 7PM TWO SHOWS.MAY 29 10PM For sponsorship information email requests@wildhorseresort.com Young At Heart A Tribute to Saturday Morning Classics Dinner • Auction • Concert Fundraiser JOIN US June 11th, 2016 Dinner & Auction at 6pm • Concert at 8pm Proceeds to support Oregon East Symphony and keeping the culture of music in our communities. PURCHASE TICKETS General Concert - $25 Premium Concert - $45 Dinner/Auction/Concert - $75 Tickets on sale now at the Wildhorse Git Shop or wildhorseresort.com CASINO • HOTEL • GOLF • CINEPLEX • RV • MUSEUM • DINING • TRAVEL PLAZA 800.654.9453 • PENDLETON, OR • I-84, EXIT 216, wildhorseresort.com. Owned and operated by CTUIR Management reserves all rights to alter, suspend or withdraw promotions/ofers at any time. 650.6875.BA.4.19