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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2016 COMMUNITY/COMMENTARY HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 Umatilla bond seeks to repair aging school infrastructure By ANTONIO SIERRA Staff Writer Umatilla School District Superintendent Heidi Sipe has a great deal of affection for Clara Brownell Middle School. Not just for its students and staff, but the actual fa- cility itself, having started her teaching career in the building. Sipe has a fondness for the way the ceilings of the gym and cafeteria resemble the bottom of a Viking ship — she didn’t know wheth- er the designers intended it to be a reference to the school’s mascot or if it was just a coincidence. The building’s sturdy structure built in 1947 by the Army Corps of Engineers while they were constructing Mc- Nary Dam. The $10.5 million bond the Umatilla School Dis- trict is seeking in Novem- ber is less about redeining the characteristics of Uma- tilla’s schools and more about modernizing their ag- ing infrastructure, especial- ly at the nearly 70-year-old Clara Brownell. Sipe gave potential voters a tour of the mid- dle school and explained many of facility’s worst traits, which clash with its charms. Central to its deicien- cies is its heating and cool- ing system. Sipe explained that Clara Brownell’s original single-paned windows are still in use, causing class- rooms to get either terribly hot or cold depending on the season. School staff can use a wall-mounted air condi- tioner or the school’s anti- quated heating system, but both options are noisy and distracting. The heating system is linked to a boiler, which is contained in a room with equipment original to the school’s opening where as- bestos is covered only by thin plastic sheets. Sipe said only mainte- nance worker Ron West knows how to ix the boiler. If he leaves the district, the Rowan gains endorsement from department’s bargaining unit By ERICK PALMER Guest Comment The Umatilla County Law Enforcement Associa- tion (UCLEA), the collec- tive bargaining unit for the employees of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Ofice and Umatilla County Communi- ty Corrections, proudly en- dorses Terry L. Rowan for re-election to the Ofice of Sheriff of Umatilla County. In the past four years as Sheriff, Terry Rowan has protected our communities by substantially increasing the number of patrol dep- uties within the Sheriff’s Ofice, allowing for better response times to calls for service and more thorough investigations. This has also increased the presence of the Sheriff’s Ofice across Umatilla County, which has aided in crime prevention and higher arrest rates for people responsible for crim- inal activity. This is a feat that very few leaders from other agencies have been able to accomplish in such a short time frame. Sheriff Rowan has also provided new equipment and training to the staff at the Sheriff’s Ofice, which has been sorely needed for a number of years. This has provided for a more profes- sional look and has given the employees the tools and skills they need to do their jobs more eficiently and more safely. Sheriff Rowan has increased the number of offenders being held in the Umatilla County Jail and holds them for as long as legally possible. This has helped all other police agen- cies in the area, and with- out a doubt, makes the en- tire criminal justice system work better. It also einsures that the largest number of offenders are held account- able for crimes they com- mit within Umatilla Coun- ty. This makes our county a safer place to live, work, and raise a family. Sheriff Rowan has also tasked members of the staff with helping our partner agencies whenever pos- sible and becoming more involved in our communi- ties and schools. We assist others agencies in criminal investigations and evidence collection, and participate in programs involving crime prevention, trafic safe- ty, animal care and safety, school safety and education, advanced medical care, al- cohol and drug treatment, Veteran’s services, mental health counseling and Cri- sis Intervention Training for people who are in a mental health crisis, and others. As soon as Terry took over as Sheriff, he started making positive changes and improvements to the en- tire organization and contin- ues to do so. Because of this, employee morale within the Sheriff’s Ofice has never been higher. The agency has improved exponentially un- der Sheriff Rowan’s leader- ship and he has proven to be a tremendous leader in our ofice and in the communi- ties we serve. We know this because we work with him every day. As members of this county, we owe Sheriff Rowan our support in his bid for re-election. “The men and women working in each of the divi- sions of the Sheriff’s Ofice work hard and put their lives on the line to keep our fam- ilies and communities safe,” said Sheriff Rowan, “I am truly honored and hum- HOMECOMING FUN! es Corsages • Boutonnieres • Vest rentals • Suspenders ders & Matching Socks ks Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers. HWY 395, HERMISTON ON 541-567-4305 Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am www.cottagefl owersonline.com STUDENT OF THE WEEK Christina “Tina” Combs U KIAH H IGH S CHOOL Ukiah School District recognizes Christina “Tina” Combs as Student of the Week! We enjoy Tina’s enthusiastic approach to any class assignment or extracurricular opportunity. Tina is a senior, involved in Volleyball, Student Technology Association, Robotics, and 4-H, as well as helping her family on their farm. Tina’s hobbies include riding horses, drawing, riding dirt bikes, and hunting. Her latest adventure was attending fire camp with the United States Forest Service. After graduation, Tina plans to attend Blue Mountain Community College for Veterinary Technician study, and perhaps transfer to Oregon State University, majoring in Veterinary Science. Congratulations, Tina! Thanks for being a great all-around student and human being! Proudly Sponsored by 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR • 541-276-5121 bled to have received their endorsement and remain committed to shaping and gathering resources to meet the public safety demands of Umatilla County.” Erik Palmer is vice president of Umatilla County Law Enforcement Association and a resident of Athena. knowledge of how to main- tain the school’s heating system goes with him. Plumbing is also a major issue at Clara Brownell, re- quiring the district to direct water only to the kitchen and bathrooms. The district has some- times had to cancel school when its heating or plumb- ing doesn’t work. The Wenaha Group evaluated Umatilla’s three school facilities — Clara Brownell, McNary Heights Elementary School and Umatilla High School — and gave the middle school a 38 out of 100, the lowest grade between the three of them. But the bond would also be used for projects at the other locations, including a new roof and expanded caf- eteria at McNary Heights and HVAC upgrades at Umatilla High School. All three schools will also get new security sys- tems, like one-touch lock- down and an indoor en- trance that will require visitors to check in with the ofice before proceeding into the school. As a member of the Umatilla School Board, Jon Lorence has been tasked with selling the bond to the community. Lorence said one of his main challenges is quelling concerns that the bond would increase their tax bills. Rather than add on ad- ditional costs, the bond proposal would extend the $3.13 per assessed $1,000 rate established under a previous bond from 2023 to 2035. “It’s not like we’re going to cause a big ol’ shock to the tax bill,” he said. With the bond slated to pay for new windows and the replacement of rotting wood along the border of the roof, and the district budgeting money for a new coat of paint, Clara Brownell has a shot at look- ing better than the building the Army erected in 1947. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at 541-966-0836. Crash on Highway 207 kills one A 63-year-old Heppner man died in a head-on crash Friday morning af- ter a potato truck crossed in front of his vehicle on Highway 207. Mervin Grubaugh was driving north on the high- way in a 1996 Subaru Legacy about nine miles south of Hermiston and Maria Bautista Lucas, 60, from Yakima was head- ing south in a 1996 Mack truck. Lucas turned left at the Echo Highway turnoff, ac- cording to Oregon State Police, crashing nearly head-on into the Subaru at highway speeds. Gru- baugh died at the scene and Lucas was taken to Good Shepherd Medi- cal Center in Hermiston where she was treated and released. The crash took place near the intersection at mile marker 27B at about 7:45 a.m. and the highway was closed for about ive hours while investigators reconstructed the crash scene. OSP was assisted by Hermiston Fire and Am- bulance, Echo Fire and Oregon Department of Transportation. The in- vestigation is ongoing, ac- cording to OSP.
