Hermiston
BULLDOGS
FIGHT BACK
AGAINST
UNION
SPORTS Page 7
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
$1.00
WHERE
LIFE
— AND ONIONS—
ARE SWEET
STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST
Stefan Matheny (left), director of sales for River Point Farms, and Jonathan Miller, plant manager, talk about the Hermiston Sweets sweet onion
product line at the farm’s fresh pack plant near Hermiston.
HERMISTON SWEETS
HIT STORES IN TIME
FOR END OF SUMMER
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Staff Writer
A
candy wrapper might seem like
an odd logo for onions, but Ste-
fan Matheny said it does the trick
for Hermiston Sweets.
Matheny, director of sales for
River Point Farms in Hermiston,
said the company has marketed locally grown
sweet onions for 20 years. With harvest now in
full swing, the farm is scrambling to package and
fi ll orders in time for Labor Day Weekend.
Hermiston is already famous for growing another
kind of sweet treat — watermelons — but Matheny
said Hermiston Sweets have also become well
known among Northwest retailers and customers.
“I think the Hermiston Sweet is pretty versa-
tile,” Matheny said. “It can go on a hamburger,
fresh cut, or it also sautés very well.”
It’s that kind of versatility that allows Hermis-
ton Sweets to fetch a premium price on the mar-
ket. Sweet onions are distinguished by their mild
pungency, as measured by the amount of pyru-
vic acid in the produce. That’s the chemical that
makes people’s eyes sting and water.
While Hermiston Sweets are only a small
percentage of business at River Point Farms,
Matheny said it’s proven to be a valuable spe-
cialty market. Hermiston Sweets can be found at
a number of regional and national chains, includ-
ing Safeway, Costco and Fred Meyer.
“Certainly, the Columbia Basin as a whole is
well-known for quality,” Matheny said. “It’s a
good area for growing onions.”
See SWEETS, A14
STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST
Several varieties of onions await in bins for processing and packaging at the River Point
Farm fresh pack plant near Hermiston.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY RIVER POINT FARMS.
Hermiston sweet onions have been marketed by River Point Farms for 20 years.
Warming Station looking for space to rent
By JADE MCDOWELL
Staff Writer
The Hermiston Warming Sta-
tion is looking for a home.
Trish Rossell said the non-
profit, which formerly operated
under the umbrella of St. John’s
Episcopal Church, now has its
own 501(c)3 nonprofit status and
is interested in renting a space
somewhere in Hermiston for the
winter.
In the past the temporary home-
less shelter has been open only on
days when the temperature dips
below freezing, but Rossell said
this year it will operate seven
days a week during December,
January and February no matter
the temperature.
“We elected to do that because
we thought that a consistent
schedule would be better for the
people we serve,” she said.
The schedule will keep the
station’s clients from showing
up only to find that the shelter
isn’t open for the night, or from
needing to find Internet access
each day to check the shelter’s
Facebook page. The downside is
that the shelter is only allowed
to house guests for 90 days out
of the season, so Hermiston’s
homeless population will have to
weather cold days in November
or March on their own.
Two years ago the Warming
Station temporarily rented space
downtown, but last year used the
ARC of Umatilla building, which
had more space but is used for
other activities during the day
and early evenings. Rossell said
they would prefer to rent their
own space again this year but
landlords have proven wary about
renting to an organization that
gives homeless people a place to
sleep.
“They shouldn’t be afraid be-
cause we have volunteers pres-
ent,” she said.
The nonprofit plans to sched-
ule trainings for volunteers during
October and November. She said
planning for volunteers should be
easier if they know exactly what
nights the shelter will be open,
and she hopes to see both return-
ing volunteers and new faces.
People who aren’t comfortable
with working directly with home-
less guests can still be used to do
See RENT, A14
ABOUT TOWN
Sixth graders
off ered
free bikes
for perfect
attendance
Hermiston sixth grad-
ers can earn a free bicy-
cle and helmet by having
perfect attendance this
year.
Roger’s Toyota of
Hermiston will purchase
the items for any sixth
grade student at Sand-
stone Middle School or
Armand Larive Mid-
dle School who does
not miss a single day of
school between Sept. 19
and June 6.
One absence — ex-
cused or unexcused — or
more than two instanc-
es of tardiness will dis-
qualify the students. The
challenge will be rolled
out at assemblies at both
schools this week.
The program is mod-
eled after the P.A.S.S.
(Perfect
Attendance
Spells Success) program
in Lewiston, Idaho. It
comes at a time when
school districts and the
state of Oregon have put
a renewed emphasis on
attendance as a way to
improve student success.
Glenn Silaski, general
manager of Roger’s Toy-
ota, said in a news release
that the program has al-
ready helped hundreds of
students in Idaho increase
their attendance rates.
“The best thing about
this program is the en-
thusiasm it generates
among teachers, parents
and most importantly
sixth graders,” he said.
“These kids are in the
perfect place in their
school careers to be
excited and motivated
about an extra incentive
to attend class.”
Assistant superinten-
dence Brynn Browning
said in a statement that
research shows atten-
dance in sixth grade is
one of the three main in-
dicators that a student is
in danger of dropping out
of high school later.
“Many instances are
seen as ‘oh, just one here
or there,’” she said. “But
students are considered
chronically absent even
if they miss a day or two
every few weeks.”
She said the district
was grateful to Roger’s
Toyota for helping make
the P.A.S.S. program pos-
sible in Hermiston.
TRCI gets new
superintendent
A new superinten-
dent will soon take over
at Two Rivers Correc-
tional Institution.
On Sept. 15, Brigitte
Amsberry will replace
acting superintendent
Steve Franke at TRCI, a
minimum security pris-
on located in Umatilla
since 2000.
Amsberry
has
worked at Eastern Ore-
gon Correctional Insti-
tution, Pendleton since
2000, where she started
as a prison nurse. She
served as interim super-
intendent in 2013 before
returning to assistant
superintendent in 2014
when Jeri Taylor took
over. Amsberry began
her most recent role —
assistant superintendent
of security — in July of
this year.