WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
Herald selected as one of the
top weeklies in Oregon for 2015
STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST
Sheriff Terry Rowan talks with Larry Storment and Sonny
Liebe July 20 at Eastside Market in Hermiston. Rowan was
kicking off a series of Coffee with the Sheriff session at
various locations throughout the county.
Sheriff talks
shop over coffee
By ALEXA LOUGEE
Staff Writer
Umatilla County Sher-
iff Terry Rowan doesn’t
mind drinking a cold cup
of coffee.
“It’s not the coffee, it’s
what’s in the coffee,” he
said Wednesday morning,
July 20, as his once-hot
cup of joe cooled over
the hour he sat and visited
with locals at Hermiston’s
Eastside Market. “It’s the
caffeine,” he said with a
smile.
The gathering was the
irst in what Rowan plans
will be a series of informal
meet-and-greets in differ-
ent communities around
Umatilla County. He
wants to give people the
opportunity to ask ques-
tions, voice complaints
and make suggestions.
The plan is to do this twice
a month, depending on
how the public responds.
Rowan is running for
his second term as county
sheriff against Ryan Leh-
nert, a corporal with the
Pendleton Police Depart-
ment, in the November
election.
One goal of the new
program is to create more
effective
partnerships
with local citizens.
Rowan pointed to his
gold badge, which is cur-
rently adorned with a
black band.
“I don’t like wearing
this banded badge, be-
cause it signiies that we
lost another brother or
sister,” Rowan said. He
said over the last couple
of weeks local law en-
forcement has received an
overwhelming amount of
support. He said he does
not see the tension here
between oficers and the
public that is clear in oth-
er parts of the country, but
the local words of support
really resonate with ofi-
cers.
Rowan talked about the
challenges of serving in
Umatilla County.
“For too long we didn’t
have enough presence
around the county,” he
said. He said it is still an
issue that he and his de-
partment are taking steps
to improve.
He started working
for the sheriff’s ofice in
1989, at that time there
were seven patrol depu-
ties, a number that held
consistent through 2012.
But, according to Row-
an, back in 1989 Oregon
State Police had 24 troop-
ers covering the area that
includes Umatilla County,
and that helped ease the
pressure. Now he believes
there are only four or ive
state troopers assigned to
the area.
The sheriff’s depart-
ment has doubled its dep-
uty force since 2012 and
is in the process of adding
a 15th deputy. He said
the national average is to
have between one and two
deputies per 1,000 people
in a county. Currently,
Umatilla County has less
than one deputy per 1,000
people.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Ofice has also
started addressing loose
dogs in the county. Row-
an said they are doing
research and looking into
adding a full-time animal
control deputy.
Rowan invites the pub-
lic to come out and give
him an earful. He tries to
think outside the box, look
at resources and see what
can be done to address
concerns. During the cof-
fee hour one man asked
whether the sheriff’s of-
ice patrols Forest Service
roads, which they do, but
Rowan said deputies are
not able to patrol them
as often as they probably
should.
Rowan came into law
enforcement out of neces-
sity, needing a job.
“It’s become so much
more than that,” Rowan
said. He has developed a
passion for serving and
making a difference.
The next coffee with
the sheriff event will be in
Pendleton, with a date and
place to be determined.
Car Care section; and our
The Hermiston Herald Veterans Day edition from
staff placed second for Gen- November.
eral Excellence in the
The
Hermiston
Oregon
Newspaper
Herald placed sec-
Publishers Associa-
ond in the category
tion’s Better News-
behind Pamplin Me-
paper Contest in an
dia Group’s Outlook
award announced Fri-
newspaper in Gresham
day at a convention in
and ahead of News-
Silverton.
Times in Newport,
General Excellence Tammy
which placed third.
Malgesini
winning entries are
Community Edi-
based on three com-
tor Tammy Malgesini
plete editions from the cal- also won a irst place award
endar year of 2015. The Her- in the Best Local Column
ald’s entries in the contest category for a selection of
featured coverage of 2015’s her “Inside My Shoes” col-
Cinco de Mayo events in umns.
May; a front page feature
Former Herald sports
from October of a Herm- reporter Sam Barbee also
iston High School student won an individual third
who gained Internet fame by place award in the Best
posting senior photos taken Sport Story category for
at the local 7-Eleven store his story “More than a
on Twitter and included our game” about the annual
fall Home Improvement and co-ed “Jeremy Howard —
New Umatilla rural ire
chief drives new ire
engine cross-country
By ALEXA LOUGEE
Staff Writer
A good road trip lends
itself to plenty of Facebook
posts.
Steve Potts, the new-
ly minted Umatilla Rural
Fire Protection District
ire chief, drove across the
country in the district’s new
ire engine and posting the
road trip on Facebook.
His posts read like a cap-
tain’s log with updates from
places like Florida, Georgia
and Tennessee. On Tuesday,
July 19, Potts wrote from
Ocala, Fla., “The scenery
here is quite green and when
it ‘rains’ as they call it here,
it’s serious. Not like the
drizzles we get at home.”
In November 2015,
Umatilla voters narrowly
passed a general obligation
bond of $1.8 million to as-
sist in purchasing updated
ire safety equipment for
the district’s volunteer ire-
ighters and buying new
ire engines. The newest
addition to the ire district’s
arsenal is a pumper ire en-
gine built by Pierce Man-
ufacturing in Bradenton,
Fla. A pumper truck carries
hoses, water and tools to a
ire and is equipped with a
pump that pushes the wa-
ter out. By lying to Florida
and driving the new engine
back to Oregon, Potts said
the district is saving about
$4,000 in delivery fees.
Along for the ride was
Potts’ adult son, Tyler. Ty-
ler graduated from Uma-
Thank you to
Hermiston High School’s
Project Graduation
Celebration
Sponsors & Donors
60 Minute Photo
7 Eleven
A-1 Property Management
Advanced Orthopedic
Advanced Pediatric Dentistry
All That Wood
Anderson Hansell Attorneys
Ann and Dean Fialka
Atkinson Staffi ng
Barnett & Moro
Best Buy
Bellingers
Bill and Yvonne Elfering
Bi-Mart
Blue Mountain Community
College
Burns Mortuary
Calpine
Chuckwagon Café
Columbia Orthodontics
Community Bank
Desert Lanes
Devon Oil Co, Inc.
Dominoes, Pendleton
Durk Irwin
Eagles Auxiliary
East Oregonian
Fiesta Foods
First Community Credit Union
Fourth Street Family Dental
Girth Dog, LLC
Gordon’s Electric, Inc.
Hermiston Drug
Hermiston Eagles Auxiliary
Hermiston Foods
Hermiston Generating
Hermiston Herald
Hermiston Vet Clinic
Karen Bounds
Lilly Chin
Majorie Davidson
Marlette Homes - Hermiston
Northwest Farm Credit Services
Northwest Farm Supply
NW Crane Service
NW Metal Fabricators
O So Kleen
Park Terrace Townhouses
Payless Shoe Source, Hermiston
Pendleton Building and
Construction
Platinum Transportation
... and to all the parents and other
individuals who donated time,
money and/or supplies to help make
our party a huge success we say,
“ THANK YOU!”
HHS Project Graduation Committee
& HHS Class of 2016
Rogers Toyota of
Hermiston
Safeway, Hermiston
Sorbenots
South Ranch
Starvation Ridge Farms
Stratton Insurance
Services
Subway, Hermiston
Swire Coca Cola
Union Pacifi c Railroad
Universal Reality
Walmart DC
Westfall Septic Deposit
Wheatland Ins.
tilla High School in 2007
and entered the Air Force.
The elder Potts said he was
looking forward to spend-
ing time with his son on
the eight-day journey home
to Umatilla. That journey
took them through Missou-
ri, South Dakota and into
Montana, where the Potts
men will visit with family
and pay their own expenses.
Potts believes the new
ire truck, along with oth-
er planned purchases, will
improve the protection of
residents living within the
Umatilla Rural Fire District
and its corps of volunteer
ireighters.
It’s not like her.
Mom has always
been so patient,
but now when I
ask her questions
she gets angry.
We can help.
Call us with questions
about aging
and Alzheimers.
1-855-ORE-ADRC
HelpForAlz.org
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM
Hermiston
SHOT AT GOLIATH
Herald
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015
HermistonHerald.com
Stanfi eld
takes on
Heppner
Page A10
THANK YOU VETERANS
$1.00
INSIDE
By the Hermiston Herald
Senior pictures in 7-Eleven make student
#TWITTERFAMOUS
Saluting Our Veterans: In today’s edition is a special six-page section honoring local veterans of U.S. military service of all generations
Hermiston
Herald
HOME
IMPROVEMENT
& CAR CARE
FALL 2015
SPECIAL SECTION
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2015
ABOUT TOWN
School
district plans
facility forums
Hermiston School
District will hold two
community forums
in the coming weeks
to discuss district
facilities and student
growth challenges. The
community meetings
will be at 5 p.m. Oct.
22 at Rocky Heights
Elementary School and
5 p.m. Nov. 10 at Desert
View Elementary School.
Spanish translation
services will be available,
and anyone interested
in learning more about
the district’s capacity
challenges is encouraged
to attend.
After record
enrollment this year,
district of¿ cials will
discuss initial plans to
address continued strain
on school facilities.
Attendees will learn
about previous bond
outcomes, the work of the
Facility Master Planning
Committee, current
issues in the district and
potential next steps. An
opportunity for feedback
will also be provided.
These forums are
part of the second
phase of a ¿ ve-phase
approach to a potential
capital construction
bond planned for May
2017. Opportunities for
community feedback
will continue through
January 2017 when the
school board will begin
considering placing the
bond measure on the
ballot.
Twitter fame
To see Stefano Peiris’ original Twitter posts and
some of the reaction online to his photos, check out
the following link: http://bit.ly/1RGsfNQ
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
Hermiston High School senior Stefano Peiris enjoys a Slurpee by the machine at his parents’ 7-Eleven franchise in Hermiston Tuesday. More
than 27,000 people retweeted Peiris’ Twitter post with his senior pictures taken at the store by 60 Minute Photo owner Tammy James.
HHS student’s
pictures shared
about 28,000 times
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
When Hermiston student
Stefano Peiris posted his senior
pictures on Twitter, he never ex-
pected to become an Internet ce-
lebrity.
Of course, they weren’t the
typical senior portraits. Peiris in-
vited the photographer to shoot
the stills at his parents’ 7-Eleven
franchise — in the parking lot,
behind the counter, at the Slurpee
machine.
The content went viral, and
Peiris said he was shocked. With-
in a few days of his Oct. 11 tweet,
“So I took my senior pictures at
7-Eleven,” his Twitter followers
jumped from about 200 to more
than 900. More than 27,000 peo-
ple have retweeted the post, and
more than 46,000 clicked “favor-
ite” as of Tuesday evening.
See PEIRIS, A18
Library program
highlights early
Oregon suf ragist
PHOTO COURTESY TAMMY JAMES
PHOTO COURTESY TAMMY JAMES
Hermiston High School senior Stefano Peiris gained
many followers on Twitter after posting his senior
photos taken at his parents’ 7-Eleven franchise in
Hermiston.
One of Stefano Peiris’ senior
pictures featured 7-Eleven’s frozen
beverage Slurpee machine in his
parents’ store on Highland Avenue
and Highway 395.
City to hire pro tem municipal judges
Facade grant also approved
for Hermiston Herald
building on Main Street
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
The Hermiston City Council
initiated a search Monday for a
substitute to ¿ ll in when the city’s
municipal judge has a conÀ ict of
interest.
In the past, the judge — current-
ly Judge Thomas Creasing — has
asked various licensed attorneys to
step in when he has a conÀ ict. %ut
language in the city’s new charter
that took effect in January states
that the City Council can hire an
of¿ cial pro tem judge when neces-
sary.
City Manager %yron Smith said
court staff estimated the pro tem
judge would be needed for about
an hour and a half each month and
would be paid $200 an hour, total-
ing about $3,600 a year.
He suggested appointing two
judges so if the ¿ rst isn’t available
the city could continue to “keep
those cases moving.” He said
Creasing supported the idea of the
council appointing of¿ cial pro tem
judges.
“He thought it was a good idea
for transparency reasons,” Smith
said.
On Monday the council also ap-
proved an agreement with the Ore-
gon Department of Transportation.
The department plans to grind up
and repave Highway 395 through
Hermiston next year, and the city
will be responsible for paying
about $23,000 to take care of man-
hole covers and utilities in the right
of way. The project is budgeted for
$6.3 million.
In about two weeks ODOT plans
to put up temporary traf¿ c medi-
ans at the intersection of Highway
395 and Elm Avenue, which will
“When the temporary
barriers are up, if
we want to ask for
something dif erent
that’s the time.”
— Byron Smith
City Manager
be replaced by permanent medi-
ans during the 2016 project. The
medians are meant to prevent left
turns onto the highway to decrease
the number of collisions at Herm-
iston’s most crash-prone intersec-
tion.
“When the temporary barriers
are up, if we want to ask for some-
A special community
program portraying the life
and accomplishments of
the nationally-recognized
Oregon suffragist Abigail
Scott Duniway is planned.
Duniway was an
American women’s rights
advocate, newspaper
editor and writer whose
efforts were instrumental
in gaining voting rights
for women. In 1912, she
authored the Oregon
Woman Suffrage
Proclamation, and her
tireless work as an activist
played an important role
in later passage of the
19th Amendment, which
granted the right to vote to
all U.S. women.
The free event is at
6:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Oct. 21, at the Hermiston
Public Library, 235 E.
Gladys Ave. The program
is presented by Judy
Allen of Wallowa County,
a historian and career
researcher.
For more information,
contact judy.allen.joseph@
gmail.com. For details
about the Hermiston
presentation, call the
library at 541-567-2882.
$1.00
ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
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By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
U
matilla resident Ray Morgan said it was his duty to en-
list in the Army when he graduated from high school in
1943 during World War II.
He trained on a bomber crew for two years. He
earned the rank of second lieutenant by the age of 19.
His unit was scheduled to depart for Saipan, an island
about 120 miles north of Guam, for operations in the Paci¿c
Theater.
But Before Morgan was able to join the battle, the histor-
See MORGAN, A18
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
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Pot ordinance stalls again
Council can’t get fifth vote
to send issue to residents
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
JOSHUA BESSEX/EO MEDIA GROUP
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DPHGLFDOPDULMXDQDGLVSHQVDU\LQ$VWRULD
ABOUT TOWN
Commissioners
seek more
oversight of
EOTEC finances
WWII-era vet describes duty,
training and the guilt of coming home
See JUDGES, A18
For the Love of the Game”
softball tournament.
The tournament raises
money for athletic scholar-
ships and promotes efforts
HermistonHerald.com
Hermiston City Council will have to take an-
other run at sending a marijuana dispensary ban
to the voters.
Councilors thought they had passed the or-
dinance putting dispensaries on the ballot after
a 4-2 vote Monday but were reminded that at
least ¿ve councilors must vote for an ordinance
for it to pass.
$n ordinance that doesn’t receive ¿ve votes
in either direction will automatically appear on
See POT, A18
Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners is mov-
ing to have more input and
Fontrol over the ¿nanF-
es of the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center.
Commissioners
vot-
ed last week to have the
county give $600,000 to
the ongoing creation of the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center in Hermis-
ton.
County commissioners
this week discussed hav-
ing the county Eudget of¿-
cer Robert Pahl serve as a
non-voting member on the
EOTEC board and as its
treasurer.
Pahl said he used to
handle the EOTEC books
for about a year. Commis-
ioner Larry Givens said the
county would gain some
“internal policy standing.”
Givens and Port of
Umatilla general manager
Kim Puzey would remain
as the county’s voting
members on the board.
Commission
chairman
George Murdock said he
would like to see the coun-
ty budget of¿cer serve as
a voting member if there
was an opening, and he
wanted a county policy
specifying a sitting com-
missioner must serve on
the board.
Givens also said the
county wants EOTEC to
provide a comprehensive
business plan, and Mur-
dock added that should in-
clude a rainy day fund.
Commissioner
Bill
Elfering said the EOTEC
would be self-sustain-
ing and a rainy day fund
would be good business.
Murdock said the issue
is EOTEC has nothing in
writing to establish such
fund.
County counsel Doug
Olsen said he would draft
proposals for commission-
ers to consider.
— PHIL WRIGHT
Agape House
hosts parking
lot sale
Bargain hunters can
¿nd furniture, clothing,
knick-knacks and more at
the Agape House parking
lot sale.
Winter coats are free,
other clothing is priced
at three items for $1, fur-
niture is as marked and
knick-knacks are you
name the price. The sale
is Saturday from 8:30-11
a.m. at 500 Harper Road,
Hermiston. Donations are
accepted through Friday.
Agape House serves
the needs of low-income
residents in the communi-
ty. For more information,
call 541-567-8774.
to prevent melanoma and
awareness of skin cancer
prevention through the use
of sunscreen for all partici-
pants in the tournament.
Train T-bones truck
outside of Echo
By ALEXA LOUGEE
Staff Writer
A train collided with
a semi-truck Wednesday
near Rieth Road, about
nine miles east of Echo.
The train was heading
east toward Pendleton pull-
ing roughly 15 railroad cars
at about 30 mph, according
to Umatilla Count Under-
sheriff Jim Littleield.
The semi-truck, belong-
ing to Platinum Transporta-
tion in Hermiston, was car-
rying two trailers of wheat
and headed north when it
failed to yield at the railroad
crossing. The driver, Budd
Richards, 54, from Herm-
iston, was conscious at the
scene, but complaining of
head, neck and leg pain
when rescue crews arrived.
BABYSITTING BASICS
For babysitters ages 10-15. Learn childcare
techniques, 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
July 16 or August 6
Must pre-register and pre-pay, call 541-667-3509
HEALTHY FRIDAYS
FREE health screenings & health coaching: Blood
pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass index,
cholesterol and glucose.
First & Third Friday
of each month
9:30 - 11:30am
GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept)
UNDERSTANDING & RESPONDING
TO DEMENTIA RELATED BEHAVIORS
Learn behavior triggers and strategies to
help intervene with some of the most
common behavioral challenges of
Alzheimer's Disease and dementias.
July 26 • 6:00 - 7:30pm
GSMC Conference Room 1
Information or to register
call
(541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org