A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016
COMMUNITY
City developing plan to increase public art
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
As the city of Hermiston
sets its sights on increasing
the amount of public art in the
community, there is plenty of
room to grow.
Here and there a piece of
art pops up — a small water
feature in front of City Hall,
a sculpture in front of the li-
brary — but the city is mostly
devoid of the statues and his-
toric murals that grace many
Eastern Oregon downtowns.
Mark Morgan, assistant
city manager, said he didn’t
know why more public art
had not sprung up around
Hermiston as it grew, but the
public art plan and policies
currently in the works should
help encourage more projects
in the future.
“This is really to facilitate
placement of art,” he said.
“Without any plan in place,
it’s really easy for the city to
err on the side of caution and
say, ‘We don’t want to do
that,’ when opportunities do
come up.”
The city does have some
pieces of art. In 2007 the Cen-
tennial Plaza was installed at
McKenzie Park. It included
a 26-foot-tall clock tower,
a bell and a stone globe that
was once a water feature but
now sits dry.
A pair of abstract stat-
ues by Michael G. Booth of
Pendleton stand in front of the
Hermiston Public Library and
Hermiston Conference Cen-
ter. Debbie Pedro, director of
the Chamber of Commerce,
said she wasn’t sure the histo-
ry of “Companions” in front
of the conference center, and
library director Marie Bal-
do said library staff couldn’t
remember exactly when the
city had placed “Marriage” in
front of the library.
“I know it was here in ear-
ly 2000s since I remember the
mayor thinking it had been
stolen when it was taken off for
repair,” she wrote in an email.
Other public art includes
water features in front of City
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
“Companions” by Michael G. Booth sits outside the
Hermiston Conference Center.
Hall and the Stafford Hansell
Government Center, the mar-
ble peace pole in front of the
police station and an antique
wagon placed near one end of
the Oxbow Trail.
Last year, at the request of
Parks and Recreation director
Larry Fetter, Hermiston artist
Chris Huffman sculpted a set
of cattails and installed them in
a metal saucer located on the
sidewalk along Highway 395
near Main Street. Huffman
said he is working on a sec-
ond set of cattails that will be
placed around the small stone
fountain in front of City Hall.
Huffman, who has com-
pleted numerous works of
public art for Stanield, Uma-
tilla, Echo and the Tri-Cities,
said he was pleased to see
Hermiston working on an of-
icial art plan.
“I think their direction is
right,” he said.
Huffman said he believes
the best kind of public art is
something that “makes people
think or brings back an emo-
tion.” The cattails, for exam-
ple, could make people nostal-
gic for their childhood ishing
spot or make them think about
the role that rivers have played
in Hermiston’s growth.
He said public art helps
people slow down and notice
their surroundings more —
including businesses where
they might like to shop —
and helps people relax and
feel more positive.
“Everyone wants to go
someplace that looks nice,”
he said.
Morgan expressed simi-
lar sentiments, noting that in
today’s information-based
economy people tend to have
more lexibility in where they
can live, instead of having to
move where the jobs are. As a
result, it is more important for
cities to increase their livabili-
ty to attract new residents.
“If we’re not cognizant of
making sure people want to
live here, they won’t,” Mor-
gan said.
Rebecca Couch, a consul-
tant from Moscow, Idaho, is
working to gather input for
a public art plan and a set of
policies for the city council to
adopt. That includes discus-
sion about how art is acquired
and whose responsibility it is
to maintain. She was at the
Saturday Market in McKen-
zie Park on Saturday, May
21, to get feedback and ideas
from residents. After the plan
and policies are completed
they will go to the city’s
Community Enhancement
Committee for review and
the city council for adoption.
Future acquisition of art will
happen as opportunities arise
through grants and donations.
Boards, chiefs from six
ire districts plan meeting
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY LEAH SMITH
Hermiston High School FFA’s ag communications team is Emily
Vandehey, Dylan Westfall, Claire Wilson and Shasta Jundt.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY LEAH SMITH
Hermiston High School FFA’s food sciences team is Wyatt
Paschal, Sydnee Miller, Jessica Smelser and Lainey Anderson.
FFA teams take irst at state
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
Two Hermiston High
School FFA teams are
headed to national compe-
tition this fall, after taking
irst place at the state level.
The agricultural com-
munications team and food
sciences team won their
categories at the state com-
petition at Oregon State
University May 2-3. They
will compete against other
state champions in India-
napolis this fall.
The agricultural com-
munications team includes
sophomore Dylan Westfall,
junior Shasta Jundt, senior
Emily Vandehey and senior
Claire Wilson. The food
sciences team is made up of
senior Lainey Anderson, ju-
nior Wyatt Paschal, senior
Sydnee Miller and senior
Jessica Smelser.
The
communications
team competed individ-
ually through a multiple
choice test, an editing quiz,
practicums (such as writing
a press release or creating a
video) and then completed
a group presentation. The
Hermiston team chose to
do their presentation on
Boardman’s SAGE Center.
Westfall said he enjoyed
the chance to learn communi-
cations skills that were com-
ing in handy in his classes.
Wilson said that com-
ing back to win this year
was especially meaningful,
because last year her team
was named irst place on
stage but was later notiied
that there had been a scor-
ing error and they had actu-
ally come in second.
“When we won I cried
onstage,” she said. “It was
a good moment.”
The food sciences team
went through ive individ-
ual competitions, including
taste tests, tests to identify
lavors by smell, and tests
about food handling prac-
tices. They also had a team
competition where they
were given a challenge to
invent a product using a list
of ingredients they were
given, then create plans for
marketing, packaging and
production.
The team prepared for
competition under the
coaching of Melissa Ney,
Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health environmental
health supervisor. She took
the team on a couple of
restaurant inspections so
that they could see how the
process works.
“It gave us new knowl-
edge and consideration of
what goes into the food in-
dustry,” Smelser said.
Anderson said the team
was excited to compete
against an even higher cal-
iber of students at the na-
tional competition in the
fall.
Transportation committee coming to Hermiston
The state legislature’s
Joint Committee on Trans-
portation Preservation and
Modernization will be able
to see some of Eastern Or-
egon’s transportation needs
irsthand when it holds one
of its meetings in Hermis-
ton this summer.
The committee is tasked
with developing a compre-
hensive package of bills for
the 2017 legislative session
that will address transpor-
tation infrastructure needs
— including highways,
railways, bridges and ports
— across Oregon.
The committee has an-
nounced nine meetings for
the summer, including one
at Hermiston High School
on June 29 at 2 p.m. Citi-
zens are welcome to attend
and share their priorities for
state investment in transpor-
tation. The committee’s visit
also will include a tour of
the Port of Morrow.
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Hep-
pner, is on the 14-person
committee and worked
to bring the committee to
District 57 for one of its
meetings. In a statement he
thanked House leadership
for allowing the committee
to travel to Eastern Oregon
to hear directly from local
communities and ports.
“Our region relies on
the transportation system to
connect communities and
export our commodities,”
he said. “I believe having
the committee travel outside
of Salem is the right deci-
sion. This will help develop
a more robust and compre-
hensive package that will
beneit all of Oregon.”
Other meetings will be
held in Salem (May 25), Port-
land (June 13), Ontario (June
28), Eugene (July 20), Bend
(August 18), Newport (Sept.
15) and Hillsboro (Sept. 19).
“We want to hear from
Oregonians about their
transportation priorities,”
Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Spring-
ield, said in a news release.
“This tour will give us the
chance to discuss shipping
routes with business own-
ers, trafic low with com-
munity leaders; and conges-
tion with commuters. It will
provide the information
we need to create the right
statewide transportation for
all of Oregon.”
BRIEFCASE
Seminars highlight
email use
A pair of upcoming
workshops will provide
participants with informa-
tion and tools to improve
use of email with their busi-
ness.
Look Great in the Inbox
is Tuesday, June 7 from
3-5 p.m. and Get Open,
Get Read, Get Results is
Wednesday, June 8 from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. Both seminars
are free and are at the Herm-
iston Conference Center,
415 S. Highway 395.
To register or for more
information, contact Car-
ol Infranca and Associates
at 503-623-0112, carol@
carolinfranca.com or visit
www.carolinfranca.com and
click on “Upcoming class-
es.”
Shari’s pies receive
gold medals
Shari’s Cafe & Pies, for-
merly known as Shari’s
Restaurant, received a record
14 gold medals during the
2016 National Pie Champi-
onships held April 29-30 in
Orlando, Florida.
It’s not like him.
I found Dad’s remote in the fridge again.
…I’m beginning to get worried.
We can help.
The West Coast restaurant
chain, which irst opened in
Hermiston in 1978, has com-
peted in the contest six times.
In 2015, seven of Shari’s pies
placed irst.
For more information, vis-
it www.piecouncil.org.
Fire districts from
the west end of Umatilla
County and northern Mor-
row County are looking to
strengthen their relation-
ships at a gathering June 7.
The meeting will in-
clude boards and ire chiefs
from six districts, and will
feature remarks from Ge-
noa Ingram, a lobbyist for
the Oregon Fire District Di-
rectors Association and Or-
egon Volunteer Fireighters
Association.
Hermiston ire board
chair Ric Sherman said
the districts — Hermiston,
Stanield, Umatilla, Echo,
Boardman and Irrigon
— have a “very good net-
work of intergovernmen-
tal agreements” that plays
out on the ground when
ire crews provide mutual
aid. But on the other hand,
board members don’t get
much of an opportunity to
talk and share ideas with
other districts.
“Fire is an equal-op-
portunity killer,” he said.
“We’re all in this together.”
At the dinner, which
will be held at the Westland
Road station at 6:30 p.m.,
Ingram will share with
ire chiefs and boards new
legislative actions in Sa-
lem that affect ire districts
and also listen to feedback
about how she can help
rural ire districts as a lob-
byist.
“She’s an advocate,
she’s a cheerleader, she’s a
support system, she’s ev-
erything,” Sherman said.
He said she also will
share details from a new
state program to help dis-
tricts retain volunteers,
which is especially im-
portant for all-volunteer
districts. Sherman said in
the old days when there
was a ire, volunteers from
all over the area would im-
mediately drop what they
were doing and rush to the
irehouse. Today, the dis-
trict often puts in the time
and money to train volun-
teers, only to ind that their
employers won’t let them
leave their jobs to respond
to a ire.
“Times and attitudes
have changed,” Sherman
said.
The day after the
six-district summit, on June
8, Hermiston Fire & Emer-
gency Services will hold its
last board meeting before
it combines with Stanield
Fire District on July 1 to
become the new Umatil-
la County Fire District 1.
Sherman said members of
both the current boards are
excited about the change
and feel it will result in the
services “people expect,
and quite frankly they de-
serve.”
“There is a lot of work
to do, but we will really be
able to upgrade ire and am-
bulance service,” he said.
BABYSITTING BASICS
For babysitters ages 10-15. Learn childcare
techiques, children's developmental stages and
what to expect, basic first aid and infant and child
CPR. $30, includes lunch & all class materials.
9:00am - 3:00pm
June 4th or July 16
Must pre-register and pre-pay, call 541-667-3509
LIVING WELL WITH
CHRONIC CONDITIONS
Find positive and practical ways to deal
with chronic health issues and make a
step-by-step plan to improve your health.
Six weekly classes. Please pre-register.
Starting June 1
2:30 - 5:00pm
Call 541-667-3509 to pre-register
DEMENTIA CONVERSATIONS:
Graduation Gifts
Memorial Day
Flowers
Put a smile on the heart
with the power of flowers
Education workshop offered by the Alzheimer's
Association. This program will offer helpful tips to
assist families with difficult conversations related to
dementia, including going to the
doctor, deciding when to stop driving
and making legal and fiancial plans.
June 23 • 6:00 - 7:30pm
GSMC Conference Room 1
To register, please call 541-667-3509
HWY 395, HERMISTON
541-567-4305
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am
www.cottagefl owersonline.com
Rachel Dagley
First & Third Friday
of each month
9:30 - 11:30am
Business
Health
Farm
Life
GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept)
Rachel Dagley
1-855-ORE-ADRC
HelpForAlz.org
The Stratton Agency
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM
Pendleton / Hermiston • stratton-insurance.com
541/276-2302 • 800/225-2521
HEALTHY FRIDAYS
FREE health screenings & health coaching: Blood
pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass index,
cholesterol and glucose.
Commercial & Farm Agent
Information or to register
call
(541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org