TRIO OF FUNNY MEN TO YUCK IT UP IN THE NEW YEAR
INSIDE COMMUNITY
Hermiston
Herald
era
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016
HermistonHerald.com
2017 PROMISES GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
New projects in Hermiston will include a senior center, bus system and precision agriculture center
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
ermiston has a lot to look
forward to in 2017.
Many of the biggest
local stories over the last
year were forward-look-
ing ones, covering the de-
cisions city and business
leaders made to set up major
projects that will bear fruit in
2017.
The fi rst development of the
new year will be Hermiston’s
new public bus system, known
as the HART (short for Hermis-
ton Area Regional Transit). The
bus will start picking people up
on Jan. 3, taking them to about
30 different stops around town
free of charge from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. Monday through Friday.
Other things Hermiston will
get in 2017 if all goes according
to plan include:
1) A new, mile-long section
of trail along Highland Avenue
between Riverfront Park and
Southwest 11th Street.
2) A new festival street,
creating a curb-less, pedestri-
an-friendly block in front of
City Hall that can be blocked
off for community events.
3) A redesigned intersection
at Northwest 11th Street and
Elm Avenue that will include
more turn lanes and the addition
of traffi c signals, plus the addi-
tion of a traffi c signal down the
street at the intersection of 11th
Street and Orchard Avenue.
4) A fi nished fair and rodeo
grounds at then Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center.
5) A new senior center,
known as the Harkenrider Cen-
ter, behind the Hermiston Pub-
lic Library.
Editor’s note: The fol-
lowing is a list of 2016’s top
stories of the years as picked
by the Hermiston staff of the
Hermiston Herald and East
Oregonian.
The murder-suicide
It was a horrible crime
that claimed three lives and
left another person wounded.
It shook the school district,
the sports community and the
community as a whole. But
out of the unexplainable vio-
lence, members of the com-
munity rose to support each
other, the victims’ families
and show its heart and faith.
On Aug. 18, 2016, Jason
Huston, 45, killed James “JJ”
Hurtado at a remote loca-
INSIDE
HERMISTON
HISTORY
SANTA HARKENRIDER DELIVERS
LAND TO THE NATIONAL GUARD,
25 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH.
PAGE A2
REBUILD DELAYED
COLUMBIA COURT CLUB
RECONSTRUCTION DELAYED BY
INSURANCE DISPUTE.
PAGE A3
GOT AN OLD DRUG
UMATILLA DRUG STORE ADDS
DROP BOX FOR UNUSED
MEDICATION.
PAGE A4
MIND THE
WEATHER
SLICK ROADS CONTRIBUTE TO
MULTIPLE CRASHES IN THE AREA.
PAGE A5
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
Good Shepherd Health Care System President and CEO Dennis Burke
speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for the hospital’s newest
expansion project in August 2016.
6) A new substation for
Hermiston Energy Services that
will serve the east side of town
and relieve pressure on other
substations, which should mean
fewer outages and faster times
getting customers back online.
7) Good Shepherd Health
Care System should fi nish its
$11 million expansion, which
will include a new women’s
clinic and room to grow.
8) Ranch and Home is get-
ting closer to breaking ground
on a Hermiston location on
South Highway 395.
9) The community could
choose to pass a $104 million
school bond in the spring, set-
ting Hermiston School District
on an immediate path to an
expanded high school, two re-
placement elementary school
buildings and one entirely new
elementary school.
10) The Oregon Legislature
plans to pass a massive trans-
portation package during its
See 2017, A14
Biggest stories of 2016
Hermiston Herald
$1.00
tion near the Umatilla River
outside of Hermiston, then
drove into town, going to
the home a friend, Ken Val-
dez, also 45. Huston kicked
in the door and went into the
bedroom where he shot and
killed Valdez and wounded
Andria Bye, who was Hur-
tado’s mother. Huston then
called his mother and then
called 9-1-1 to report a shoot-
ing before killing himself.
EOTEC building
opening
Construction was com-
pleted on the fi rst building
on the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center campus
in the spring and the event
center building started host-
ing events. Construction is
now underway on the are-
na, which will be the future
home of the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo. The EOTEC site will
also be the home of the Uma-
tilla County Fair, with the
fi rst fair and rodeo expected
to be held on the ground in
August 2017.
New hotel
Construction on a new 93-
room Holiday Inn Express
began at West Hermiston
Avenue and Highway 395
in Hermiston in December
2015. Just less than one year
later, the new motel was built
and open for business in time
for the Christmas holiday
season.
See 2016, A14
Top online
stories for 2016
The following is a list of the
headlines of stories that appeared
on the Hermiston Herald website
in 2016.
These were the 11 most read
stories online.
For online readers, police, crime
and other types of public safety
stories drew the most attention
online.
Of the top 11 most read stories,
only two did not fall in to public
safety category. One was the
resignation of a school offi cial and
the other was an obituary for a
former Main Street business owner,
Jacque Mack Hill, the former owner
of IJ Gems.
1. Two dead, one injured in
Hermiston shooting; teen missing
2. Breckheimer gets eight years
for fatal DUII
3.Pursuit ends in crash near
Hermiston High School
4. HHS athletic director submits
resignation
5. Two men hurt in early morning
shooting in Hermiston
6. Sheriff ’s offi ce investigating
assault
7. Man dies in Stanfi eld house fi re
8. Fire forces evacuation of
Columbia Court Club, closed one
lane of Highway 395
9. Single vehicle rollover north of
Hermiston
10. Man arrested in Umatilla after
shooting in Hermiston
11. Jacqueline ‘Jacque’ Mack Hill
(obituary)
BRIEFLY
Photography is a
snap with digital
camera class
For those who got a
new digital camera for
Christmas or want to
learn more about features
on your camera, a class is
being offered by Hermis-
ton Parks & Recreation.
Adult Digital Camera
for Beginners provides
information about fea-
tures of digital cameras
beyond the auto-select
button. Participants need
to bring their camera to
the classes.
Open to ages 16 and
up, the three-session class
begins Monday, Jan. 23,
from 5-7 p.m. at 60 Min-
ute Photo, 1000 N. First
St., Hermiston. It runs
weekly though Feb. 6.
The cost is $40 for Herm-
iston residents of $50 for
non-residents.
Because space is limit-
ed, people are encouraged
to register early — the
deadline is Thursday, Jan.
19. For more information,
visit www.hermistonrec-
reation.com. To register,
call 541-667-5018 or
stop by the recreation of-
fi ce, 180 N.E. Second St.,
Hermiston.
Hermiston police to add arson detective in 2016
Department adding a
couple of new specialties
for offi cers’ roles
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
Staff Writer
The Hermiston Police Depart-
ment will add an arson detective
and a new school resource offi cer
as part of a restructuring plan in
2017.
The changes will stem from new
needs within the department, as
well as the retiring of a long-time
employee.
Capt. Darryl Johnson, with the
department since 1997, will retire
June 2, creating an opening in the
department.
“Ultimately, we’ll need to back-
fi ll that position,” said Police Chief position,” he said. “The detective
Jason Edmiston. “I think it’s a good lieutenant will take an existing de-
sign if an agency is healthy enough tective slot and turn it into a super-
to fi ll a position from within. In ear- visor position in partnership with
ly January, I’ll be naming the new the fi re department,” he said.
captain and it will more than
Detective Randy Stude-
likely come from the current
baker will take on the role
sergeant corps.”
in July, but before he does
Once that happens, Ed-
he will attend a national
miston said he will also need
fi re academy course for two
to fi ll a sergeant position.
weeks to learn about arson
The changes will also in-
investigation.
clude several new positions
“Any suspicious fi re —
within the department, in- Edmiston Randy will have the proper
cluding a detective lieutenant
knowledge to investigate,”
specializing in arsons, an additional Edmiston said. “Currently there are
school resource offi cer and a train- only fi ve or six arson investigators
ing offi cer/evidence technician.
in Oregon, and they’re all Oregon
The detective lieutenant will be State Police. ... By making it a lieu-
a partnership with the fi re depart- tenant, we can avoid overtime, and
ment, Edmiston said.
can throw that person into on-call
“The fi re department will pay rotation.”
the city $12,000 a year for that
Edmiston said the new position
would save the department some
money and also create a good part-
nership with the fi re department.
He said he hopes that as Studebaker
learns more about suspicious fi res,
he will be able to assist other arson
investigators around Eastern Ore-
gon.
In addition to Studebaker, the
department has two general detec-
tives and one detective assigned to
the drug task force.
The other structural change,
Edmiston said, is to add a second
school resource offi cer. Several
duties were moved around and re-
assigned so that one offi cer could
become a full-time school resource
offi cer. Edmiston said there has
been a desire and need for several
years to increase the presence of of-
See DETECTIVE, A14