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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2017)
BULLDOGS FEND OFF UNDEFEATED TIGERS’ ATTACK INSIDE SPORTS Hermiston Herald WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 HermistonHerald.com $1.00 INSIDE RANCH & HOME RETAILER OFFERED INCENTIVES TO FINISH NEW HERMISTON STORE BY JAN. 1, 2018. PAGE A3 LUANN DAVISON & ANTHONY WIPP CHA LE MOVED DANCE: CHA MONEY RAISED: $3,959 GREG SMITH & TRINA MORAGO O DOBLE DANCE: THE PAS MONE Y RAISED: $4,184 PREGNANCY CARE SERVICES OPENS CENTRALIZED OFFICE AT GRANARY SQUARE. PAGE A4 DANCING EVA SWAIN & ALEX GAVIN DANCE: THE TWO-STEP STARS ROBO-AID UMATILLA ROBOTICS STUDENTS HELP COMMUNITY WITH TECHNOLOGICAL KNOW-HOW. PAGE A6 PINNED BRING IN HERMISTON WRESTLING WINS OREGON CLASSIC, FIRST BIG TOURNEY OF YEAR. PAGE A8 THOUSANDS AMERICAN PROFILE STAFF PHOTOS BY KATHY ANEY FANS SHARE THEIR FAVORITE GAMEDAY SNACKS AND TRADITIONS. INSIDE SPIKE PIERSOL & GRACE JOHNSON BILL ELFERING & ALLYSA BACCUS DANCE: THE FOXTROT DANCE: THE TANGO By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN Staff Writer H ermiston saw a lot of star power on Satur- day night, when six local business and community leaders competed for the title in the fi fth an- nual Dancing With the Hermiston Stars event. State Representa- tive Greg Smith took home the top prize, dedicating his win- nings to the Hermiston Warming Station. Local businesswoman LuAnn Davison was the run- ner-up, with her funds going toward Hermiston Campus Life, a mentorship and Chris- tian organization for local teens. The other contestants were city councilor Clara Beas-Fitzgerald, county commissioner Bill Elf- ering, retired fi refi ghter Spike Piersol, and business owner Eva Swain. Smith and his partner Tri- na Morago danced the Paso Doble, with a “Buffy the Vam- pire Slayer” theme. Davison and her partner Anthony Whipple danced the Cha Cha with a hard rock twist — to AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.” The six contestants raised a total of $11,347 for their char- ities — though earnings for each charity have yet to be an- nounced. Last year the event raised about $15,000 for char- ities, event director Mary Corp said. The two highest earners were Smith, who raised $4,184 for the Warming Station, and Davison, who raised $3,959 for Hermis- ton Campus Life. CLARA BEAS-FITZGERALD & JOEY WILLIAMS DANCE: THE POLKA “This is the second highest amount we’ve raised, after last year,” Corp said. “We’re very pleased.” The contestants faced a pan- el of judges — Phil Hamm, Er- ika Sandoval and Tyler Hansell — who scored them based on skill, enthusiasm and audience engagement. The fi nal scores were taken from a combina- tion of audience votes, judge scores and funds raised by each individual for their charity of choice. Each pair fi lmed a video seg- ment, which was played prior to their performance. The clip showed footage of the pair train- ing, as well as the contestant dis- cussing their charity. ‘THIS IS THE SECOND HIGHEST AMOUNT PL W EA E’ SE VE D.’ RAISED, AFTER LAST YE EN AR T . DIR W EC E’ TO RE R VE MA RY RY CORP – EV BRIEFLY Piersol, who along with his partner Grace Johnson, danced the tango, and raised money for the First Responders Memorial. Judges appreciated Piersol’s in- tensity and passion during the dance. “You were very light on your foot,” Hansell teased the retired fi refi ghter, who has a prosthetic leg. Swain, who danced the night- club two-step with her partner Alex Galvan, raised money for the Hermiston Senior Center, which is trying to build a new facility. “It will take a lot of money to build a new center,” Swain said. Judges admired Swain’s poise on the dance fl oor, as well as her chemistry with her partner. Elfering and his partner Alys- sa Baccus danced the Foxtrot, to Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me.” See DANCE, A14 Police train to handle mental health issues By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN Staff Writer Police offi cers in Hermiston deal with dozens of calls a day — and those calls sometimes involve a per- son going through a mental health crisis. Hermiston police chief Jason Ed- miston said while handling mental health cases isn’t typically in police offi cers’ job description, it seems to have become one of their daily tasks. “The concept of ‘throw more training at the police’ instead of looking at the problem,” Edmiston said. “We’re trying to address the problem as best as possible.” Edmiston said one of the biggest challenges is diagnosing a problem, and then directing the person to the correct place for help. “It’s a growing problem,” Edmis- ton said of cases related to mental health issues or short-term mental About three-quarters of depart- health crises. “I think substance ment staff go through the training, abuse plays a role in people in crisis. Edmiston said. The course covers But mental illness being hereditary drug and alcohol abuse, military — that’s in play. As Hermis- trauma and post-traumatic ton grows, more people come stress disorder, drug-induced through the area and our calls psychosis and other mental for service increase.” health issues offi cer might en- Edmiston said while the counter on calls. long-term solution to mental “(The training) identifi es health issues should not be what those issues are, and police response, his offi cers gives (offi cers) tools for how have undergone Crisis Inter- Edmiston to deal with people experienc- vention Training for when ing them,” he said. problems arise. Edmiston said the offi cers learn The training helps offi cers learn to talk to people going through a about various issues related to men- mental health crisis, rather than tal illness. talking at or down to them. “It’s a 40-hour course that var- “We expect them to diagnose ies depending on feedback from the what’s going on in a matter of sec- previous one,” said Hermiston Po- onds,” he said, adding that a situation lice Captain Travis Eynon, the de- See TRAINING, A14 partment liaison for the training. Educators of the year Hermiston Herald The Hermiston School District has selected a handful of standout teachers for its annual “Educators of the Year” awards, which will be presented at the Jan. 23 board meeting. Awards went to one teacher from each of Hermiston’s fi ve elemen- tary schools and two mid- dle school, and two from Hermiston High School. An award was also given to one district employee. One of the teachers will be selected as teacher of the year and announced at the Distinguished Cit- izens Award Banquet on Feb. 1. The school district will also recognize its admin- istrator of the year at the Jan. 23 board meeting. A list of award win- ners is below: • District: Linda White, instructional coach • Hermiston High School: Susie Cobb, Family and Consumer Sciences; Ericka Keefau- ver, instructional coach • Armand Larive Mid- dle School: Tate Enright, Special Education • Sandstone Middle School: Kimo Gabriel, Science • Desert View Elemen- tary: Garth Lind, fi fth grade • Highland Hills Ele- mentary: Mark Douglass, Music • Rocky Heights Ele- mentary: Jolene Davis, second grade • Sunset Elementary: Joyce Barak, Title One • West Park Elementa- ry: Margaret Gutierrez
