Hermiston
Herald
era
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
4
TH
OF
JULY
ACTIVITIES CALENDAR
PAGE 2
$1.00
ABOUT TOWN
Offi ces closed
on 4th of July
BRINGING PEOPLE
TOGETHER
The offi ces for the
Hermiston Herald and
East Oregonian, 333 E.
Main St., Hermiston, will
be closed Monday, July 4,
for the Independence Day
holiday to allow our staff
to celebrate the holiday
with family and friends.
The offi ce will reopen
for business at 8 a.m.
Tuesday, July 5.
Have a happy and
safe Fourth of July holi-
day and Happy Birthday
to the United States of
America.
RELAY FOR LIFE
BRINGS OUT THE
BEST FOR CANCER
RESEARCH
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
t’s a rare person whose life
doesn’t end up being af-
fected by cancer in some
way.
It’s no surprise, then,
that people of all ages and
walks of life came together
at the Umatilla County Fair-
grounds on Saturday for Herm-
iston’s 20th annual Relay for
Life to raise money for cancer
research.
Some of them were survi-
vors. Some had lost a loved one
to the disease. Some were care-
givers and some came in sup-
port of friends and family. But
they all had one goal in mind:
Beat cancer.
“I have friends that 20 years
ago would have died, but research
has made all the difference,” said
Jan Evans, who has been involved
with Relay for Life for the past 21
years after surviving breast can-
cer. It was her 16th year running
the silent auction, which featured
more than 350 items donated by
the community.
Evans said she participates
in part out of gratitude that she
managed to survive a disease
that takes hundreds of thou-
sands of lives in the U.S. each
year. She said she would like-
ly retire from being in charge
of the auction next year but it
wouldn’t stop her from con-
tinuing to be involved with Re-
lay for Life in other ways.
Kristy Gifford said she also
came to the fairgrounds on
Saturday to help support the
research that could save lives
in the future. She had traveled
from Independence, Oregon,
to join a team of friends and
family in remembrance of her
brother-in-law Dennis Wade,
who died three years ago of
pancreatic cancer. Her husband
is a cancer survivor.
“For people facing the bat-
tle, it’s not easy,” she said.
“It’s those dreaded words. But
they’re always coming out with
new research.”
I
See CANCER, A14
STAFF PHOTO BY ALEXA LOUGEE
BMCC’s Harvey Franklin is
set to retire at the end of
the month.
Franklin retires
from BMCC
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
By ALEXA LOUGEE
A team in memory of David Wade waits for the opening ceremonies of the Hermiston Relay for Life.
Staff Writer
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
Lou Ann Wolfe, left, speaks with her husband Bryan Wolfe as the grand marshals
of the 2016 Hermiston Relay for Life.
Luminaries line the course for
the Hermiston Relay for Life,
honoring cancer survivors and
people who died from cancer.
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Relay for Life participants walk laps at the Umatilla County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
New fi re district launches Friday
By ALEXA LOUGEE
Staff Writer
July 1 will mark the inaugural
day for Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict 1.
There’ll be a new district and a
new name, but new services will
have a delayed roll-out.
Fire Chief Scott Stanton says the
six weeks since the measure passed
have simply not been enough time
to get everything in place for Fri-
day’s launch of the new district.
In May, voters passed measures
to dissolve the Stanfi eld and Herm-
iston fi re districts and create one
unifi ed district. The combined tax
rate on assessed property values in
Hermiston and Stanfi eld is expected
to bring in $900,000. Stanton said
See FIRE, A14
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services Chief Scott Stanton poses by one of
the district’s trucks in this fi le photo. On Friday, July 1, Stanton becomes chief
of the new Umatilla County Fire District No. 1, which encompasses current
Hermiston and Stanfi eld fi re districts, which will be dissolved with the formation
of the new district.
Harvey Franklin has
been with Blue Mountain
Community College for
the last 11 years, but his
experience in education
spans a lifetime.
“Education is the key
to life,” Harvey believes.
Come July 1, Franklin
will be studying a new
subject — retirement.
Harvey is retiring from
his position as senior as-
sociate vice president of
branch campuses, a role
Jacelyn Keys will be as-
suming along with the
new title of Hermiston
BMCC Director.
Franklin won’t be
completely out of the edu-
cation scene. He’s hoping
to use his knowledge and
experience for consulting
work. He’s particularly
interested in sharing his
grant writing skills. It was
these skills that brought
new programs to BMCC,
like the diesel technology
degree.
Franklin began his
career in education at
Prairie City in 1975
teaching industrial arts.
He earned his doctor-
ate in education from
the University of Ore-
gon. He and his wife of
46 years, Gwyneth, live
on 80 acres outside of
Hermiston where they
raise cattle and alfalfa.
Franklin hopes to keep
ranching through retire-
ment and get back into
horses.
Horseshoeing
was one way he’s sup-
ported his family, in-
cluding six kids, during
summer months.
Franklin is a U.S.
Army combat veteran,
having served in Vietnam
from 1967 to 1969. He
used his G.I .Bill to pay
for school and encourag-
es all vets to utilize their
benefi ts.
The
“tremendous”
support received by the
community has impressed
Franklin. He sees contin-
ued growth for BMCC
and Hermiston,
“There’s just an over-
all good attitude of pro-
gression and wanting to
grow,” he said.