WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
Festival by design
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
Design work is now un-
derway for a project that
will transform a section of
downtown Hermiston.
The city revealed its
$1.25 million festival street
project on Monday with a
public open house.
“We’re really excited to
see what this is going to do
for downtown,” City Man-
ager Byron Smith said.
The project’s irst phase
will cover NE Second
Street between Gladys Av-
enue and Main Street, cre-
ating a pedestrian-friend-
ly, curbless street in front
of City Hall that can be
blocked off during events
such as an art show or beer
festival. Possible design
elements include trees,
fountains, hanging lower
baskets, brick work, orna-
mental lamp posts, deco-
rative benches and other
functional art.
The second phase will
extend that project north
to the planned senior cen-
ter on Ridgeway Avenue,
and the third phase would
center around an arch on
Second Street in front of
the Hermiston Conference
Center welcoming trafic
into downtown.
Clint Spencer, city plan-
ner, said construction on the
irst phase will start some-
time during the summer of
2017, and if all goes well
with funding and design the
other two phases could also
be built next year. Funding
for the project comes from
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
property tax revenue gath-
ered by the Hermiston Ur-
ban Renewal Area.
During Monday’s open
house, visitors were asked
to study a series of photos
depicting festival streets
in other cities and place a
sticker on elements they
particularly liked. Some of
the most popular elements
were an interactive fountain
with jets of water shoot-
ing up from the ground, a
wrought-iron arch over the
road, decorative lamp posts
and trees.
Spencer said design ele-
ments chosen by the public
will likely be used to tie
other areas of downtown
into the festival area over
time.
“Lighting,
benches,
trash cans, things like that
will absolutely carry on to
other locations in the city,”
he said.
Residents at the open
house were also asked to
rate nine potential uses for
the street. In the past the
road has been blocked off
for large events such as the
Cinco de Mayo celebration,
but Spencer said once the
more attractive and pedes-
trian-friendly festival street
was built the city would
also be open to closing the
gate for smaller gatherings
too.
“The more small events
we have, they have less
impact on the businesses,
but we also draw more foot
trafic downtown,” he said.
Judy Gormley, who
owns Neighborhood Books
& Gifts on Main Street
with her husband, said that
she likes the idea of a fes-
tival street, but wishes it
was going to be on Main
Street instead of in front
of city hall. She said when
the city uses Second Street
for events, the foot trafic
tends to stick close to city
hall and not move down
Main Street.
“If there’s some way,
signs or whatever, that
would draw foot trafic to
the whole area, that would
be good,” she said.
Design for the project
will be done by Green-
Works, a landscaping ar-
chitecture company out of
Portland, in conjunction
with a ive-person citizen
committee and city staff.
Mike Faha of Green-
Works said his irm has
worked in Eastern Oregon
multiple times, includ-
ing upgrades to down-
town Pendleton and the
area around the Round-Up
Grounds ahead of their
100th anniversary.
He said the company has
been reading several dif-
ferent planning studies the
city of Hermiston has com-
pleted, including its brand
new public art plan, and
will incorporate those ideas
into planning of the festival
street.
“I think those are great
studies to build off of,” he
said. “I think this project
will be a catalyst for some
of those other plans.”
Contact Jade McDowell
at 541-564-4536.
Summer party stabbing leads
to attempted murder charge
arraign Murillo on weapon. Hermiston police
Staff Writer
the charges Friday arrested Murillo again in
The suspect in an
afternoon.
May for a probation viola-
August stabbing on
Murillo has a tion in the wake of a shoot-
Depot Lane in Irri-
2014
conviction ing that injured two males.
gon faces charges
for third-degree as-
Murillo also has a mis-
of attempted murder
sault, according to demeanor assault case
Murillo
and more.
court records, and working its way through
Morrow County
Hermiston
police the Umatilla County Cir-
District Attorney Justin arrested him in June 2015 cuit Court. He posted a
Nelson said a grand jury in connection to a drive- $3,000 bond to get out of
indicted Lalo Murillo, 22, by shooting, which led to jail in that case, which has
of Hermiston, for attempt- a conviction for felon in its next hearing on Dec.
ed murder, irst-degree as- possession of a restricted 19.
sault and unlawful use of
a weapon related to stab-
bing a man three times in
the back during a party on
Aug. 23. Nelson said the
location of the wounds and
the number led to the at-
Vaccine for all ages (kids to senior citizens)
tempted murder count.
The victim, Ivan Salas
Salas, 26, of Irrigon, has
recovered.
from 9:00am - 2:00pm
Law enforcement in
Cassia County, Idaho, ar-
Good Shepherd Conference Rooms 1 & 2
rested Murillo on Sept.
24, according to the jail’s
recent inmate information,
on warrants and for resist-
ing/obstructing
oficers
and lying to police about
his identity. Nelson said
the Morrow County Sher-
iff’s Ofice sent deputies to
Call 541-667-3509
bring Murillo to the Uma-
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
tilla County Jail, Pend-
leton, where he arrived
Thursday.
Nelson said he would
By PHIL WRIGHT
FREE
FLU SHOT CLINIC
IN BRIEF
UEC lands
federal grant
for solar array
Echo woman
arrested on driving,
drug charges
Umatilla
Electric
Cooperative has re-
ceived a $250,134 grant
from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture’s
Rural Energy for Amer-
ica Program to help off-
set the cost of the Moy-
er-Tolles Solar Station
east of Umatilla.
The system, which
came online in Febru-
ary, includes 3,952 solar
panels generating 1.3
megawatts of electric-
ity. It cost $2.5 million
to build, inanced main-
ly with New Clean Re-
newable Energy Bonds.
“We are pleased
that this grant will fur-
ther reduce the cost
and increase the value
of this project to our
members,” said Robert
Echenrode, UEC gen-
eral manager and CEO.
“Such a signiicant in-
vestment on the part of
the USDA shows UEC
is on the right track
with our renewable en-
ergy program.”
USDA
Secretary
Tom Vilsack said the
Rural Energy for Amer-
ica Program helps
businesses create jobs,
helps farmers and rural
businesses reduce their
carbon footprint and
helps the country move
closer to energy inde-
pendence.
“These investments
in clean energy are
good for the environ-
ment, are good for each
business’s bottom line
and they support the
broader rural econo-
my by encouraging the
production of renew-
able energy sources,”
Vilsack said in a state-
ment.
The Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Ofice arrested an
Echo woman in Hermiston
on Friday on driving and
drug crimes
According to a written
statement from the sheriff’s
ofice, the arrest occurred
about 3 a.m. after deputy
Nathan Rankin investigated
a suspicious vehicle com-
plaint near the 1600 block
of Airport Road, Hermis-
ton.
He found Patsy Anna-
bell Elkins, 41, of 811 E.
Gerone St., Echo, driving
erratically in a vehicle that
was revving its engine.
“She showed many signs
of impairment and appeared
to be under the inluence of
a stimulant,” the sheriff’s
ofice reported.
Elkins told the deputy a
white truck hit her vehicle
and she chased the truck for
two hours but did not catch
it, did not get a license plate
number nor call police.
Rankin arrested El-
kins for driving under the
inluence of intoxicants
and reckless driving and
took her and her belong-
ings, including a cellphone
and purse, to the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton.
Jail staff checked the
purse and discovered more
than 20 grams of what they
suspected was metham-
phetamine, nearly 100 clear
plastic bags, and a glass
pipe and digital scales, both
with residue indicating
meth. The sheriff’s ofice
added delivery of meth, de-
livery of meth within 1,000
feet of a school, possession
of meth, and supplying con-
traband to Elkin’s charges.
Sales vendor falsely
representing school
district
Hermiston School Dis-
trict is warning the public
that a company selling ad-
vertisements on sports post-
ers in not afiliated with the
district.
According to a news
release from the district, a
salesman contacting local
businesses about buying
advertising is falsely claim-
ing to be a representative
of Hermiston High School.
However, he is not connect-
ed to the school district and
no money from the adver-
tising will beneit Herm-
iston students or sports
teams.
Ad sales for the 2016-
2017 Hermiston High
School sports calendar has
already been completed,
and any requests for future
advertising or sponsorship
will come from athletics
director Larry Usher or
athletics secretary Lindy
Thompson.
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Loved Ones in Our
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SALUTE
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Honoring those who have served and those
that are currently serving our country!
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Bring us a picture of your servicemen or servicewomen or veteran by
November 3 rd along with the form below and we will include them in our
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