Hermiston
Herald
ld
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
LOCAL
ELECTION
COVERAGE
INSIDE
Pages 7 & 14
$1.00
ABOUT TOWN
BRAND NEW
Leadership
Hermiston
celebrates
20 years
A 20th reunion of
Leadership Hermiston is
planned this month.
Explore,
Discover,
Dream is Tuesday, Oct.
18, from 5:30-7 p.m.
at the Hermiston Con-
ference Center, 415 S.
Highway 395. There is
no charge for alumni and
a guest.
Classmates are invited
for an evening of con-
necting and networking
with class participants
from the past 20 years.
The gathering will in-
clude hors d’oeuvres,
beverages, raffl es, door
prizes and an inspiration-
al speaker.
Those planning to at-
tend are asked to RSVP
by Friday, Oct. 14, at
541-567-6151 or barb@
hermistonchamber.com.
STAFF PHOTOS BY GARY L. WEST
Workers from Dunkin & Bush Inc., industrial painting contractors, paint in the lettering of the city name on a new logo on the water tower on
Highway 395 on Tuesday morning.
Hermiston’s water tower gets a
fresh coat of paint and a new look
Hermiston Herald
S
omebody has a fashionable new coat
for fall — or rather something does.
Workers from Dunkin & Bush Inc.
have been painting for a couple of
weeks on the Hermiston water tower
on the southeast entrance to the city
on Highway 395. First came the light off-
white base coat, but this week painters have
added the splash of color.
The repainting brings the iconic water-
melon back to the high-visibility location
and covers over the previous city slogan
and mis-matched paint job — both of which
have been the source of snickers and com-
plaints.
When the old logo of “Hermiston: You
Can GROW Here” was painted on the tank
in 2014, only the portion of the reservoir
featuring the new slogan was repainted and
the fresh paint didn’t match the faded paint
surrounding it.
Many residents also complained that
there was no watermelon featured on that
side of the tank either.
Earlier this year the city adopted the new
logo, featuring a watermelon wedge and the
basalt butte, which is the city’s most prom-
inent natural landmark, and a new slogan:
“Where Life is Sweet.”
The city budgeted $75,000 to fully re-
paint the water tower and add the new logo
earlier this year. The city also included an
additional $25,000 in the budget to imple-
ment the new branding on city stationery,
signs and other materials.
According to Mark Morgan, assistant
city manager, painting work will continue
this week, and possibly longer depending
on weather, on the water tower including
painting work on the side facing toward
town.
The new logo on the Hermiston water
tower starts taking shape on Monday
as painting contractors from Dunkin &
Bush fi lled in colors on the new design.
Workers from Dunkin & Bush Inc. work Monday on
the watermelon portion of the logo on the water
tower on the edge of town. The logo replaces the
city’s former brand, which coupled with an uneven
paint appearance on the water tower was a source
of jokes and irritation for many Hermiston residents
for more than two years.
And the water tower, with completed
logo, as it looked by mid-afternoon
Tuesday. Contractors from Dunkin &
Bush Inc. have some more work to do
on the tower, including painting on the
opposite side of the reservoir, but cars
entering the city from Highway 395 near
the Hermiston Municipal Airport are
now greeted by a new look.
Volunteer-powered
warming station
gets new home
The Hermiston
Warming Station has a new
home, and needs some help
from the community to get
ready for winter.
The center will open
November 21 in a house at
1075 SW S. Highway 395,
and will be available every
night through February
28, if there are enough
volunteers.
Trish Rossell, the
president of the nonprofi t
that runs the overnight
shelter, said people are the
biggest need to run the
station and “keep humans
from freezing to death.”
“We don’t need food,
clothes or blankets as much
as we need YOU,” she
wrote in a message to the
community.
The center is looking
for volunteers 18 and older
who are willing to take one
of three night shifts as often
as they are able. Rossell
said she hopes those who
go through the training
and background check are
willing to commit to two
nights a month.
Training sessions are
Monday, Oct. 17, from 6-9
p.m. at the First United
Methodist Church, 191 E.
Gladys Ave., Hermiston
and Friday, Oct. 21, from
6-9 p.m. at the Crossroads
Community Church, 350
N. Sherman St., Stanfi eld.
The background check
costs $10 and Rossell asks
that people pay for their
own if they are able.
Five candidates vie for four chairs
ELECTION ’16
One challenger
takes on four
incumbents
For details on
statewide candidates
and ballot measures,
pick up the Saturday, Oct.
15, edition of the East
Oregonian for an election
guide to state races.
Hardin
Gomolski
Gutierrez
By JADE McDOWELL
Kirwan
Primmer
Staff Writer
Hermiston voters will be
faced with fi ve choices for
City Council on the ballot in
November, but there are only
four seats available.
Incumbents Manuel Guti-
errez, Rod Hardin, John Kir-
wan and Doug Primmer, and
challenger Mark Gomolski,
are all running against each
other for the four open at-
large council seats. The top
four vote-getters will take of-
fi ce in January for a four year
term.
Here are the candidates, in
alphabetical order:
Mark Gomolski
Gomolski retired to Herm-
iston from Chicago about a
year and a half ago and said
he is anxious to get involved
in the community in a more
offi cial capacity.
In Chicago he worked
in various positions in city
and county government. In
Hermiston he managed Uma-
tilla County Commissioner
Bill Elfering’s re-election
campaign in the spring.
Gomolski said as a city
councilor he would work to
increase the city’s communi-
cation with citizens. He said
often Hermiston residents
don’t even know who their
city councilors are, and he
would like to change that.
He also had ideas for at-
tracting tourism, including
pursuing grants to expand the
Maxwell Siding train muse-
um, starting a hot air balloon
festival and recruiting enter-
tainment to the Eastern Ore-
gon Trade and Event Center.
A third focus is mental
health in the community,
which he hopes the city can
improve by recruiting more
See ELECTIONS, A14