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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
INSIDE SPORTS BULLDOGS OPEN SEASON WITH A PAIR OF WINS Hermiston Herald ld WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2017 HermistonHerald.com $1.00 INSIDE DISC GOLF HERMISTON PLANNING 18-HOLE COURSE NEAR HOSPITAL PAGE A3 ACTING CALL MISSOULA CHILDREN’S THEATRE TO STAGE ‘PRINCESS AND THE PEA’ PAGE A4 FILE PHOTO Two teens compete in the Elmer’s Irrigation calf dressing competition during the 2012 Farm-City Pro Rodeo. Lou Lyons and Elmers Irrigation have been active in supporting youth participation at the fair and rodeo. TRAINED? COMMUNITY EDITOR PONDERS HER DOG’S STRANGE BEHAVIOR PAGE A6 CATTLE HELP COMMUNITY PITCHES IN TO PROVIDE CARE FOR HERD OF NEGLECTED CATTLE PAGE A7 SIGNED BULLDOGS SOCCER STAR RODRIGUEZ SIGNS WITH WALLA WALLA PAGE A8 Lou Lyons will serve as the grand marshal of the 2017 Umatilla County Fair in a year of transitions BRIEFLY By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer Snow removal costs street department $50k since Dec. Lou Lyons will be one of the faces of the Umatilla County Fair in 2017 after he was named its grand marshal. Lyons was one of about 360 supporters of the fair who celebrated “new faces, new places and old friends” Saturday night at the 2016 Fair Ap- preciation Dinner. See FAIR, A14 Construction at EOTEC slowed but not stopped by snow Hermiston Herald STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL Lou Lyons, center, accepts the 2017 Umatilla County Fair grand marshal title while Dan Dorran, left, and Gay Newman, right, look on. By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer Snow and ice have slowed construction at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, but contractors still believe they can fi nish the project in time for the 2017 Umatilla County Fair and Farm-City Pro Rodeo. During last Friday’s board meeting, Carl Hendon of Hendon Construction reported that the weather had pushed the expected See EOTEC, A14 STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL 2016 Male Volunteer of the Year Warren Smith shows off his award at the 2016 Umatilla County Fair appreciation dinner. 2016 Female Volunteer of the Year Alice Newman thanks the fair board during the 2016 Umatilla County Fair appreciation dinner. Hermiston grad rates below state average By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN Graduation rates compared Staff Writer Hermiston’s graduation rate increased slightly in 2016, but not as much as in neighboring districts and it remains below the state average. Hermiston School Dis- trict’s overall graduation rate for the 2015-2016 school year was 65.7 per- cent, up from the previous school year’s 64.1 percent rate. The state average is 74.8 percent. Assistant superintendent Bryn Browning said the rates combine the statistics for Hermiston High School and the Innovative Learning Center, the district’s alterna- 2015-16 2014-15 Stanfield Echo 85.3 82.2 (28) (34) 84.6 85.1 94.4 87.5 (22) (15) (14) 74.8 73.8 State of Oregon Umatilla Hermiston Source: Oregon Department of Education (33,260) (30,984) 72.2 64.7 (73) (76) 65.7 64.1 (241) (236) *Total diplomas awarded for the school year. Antonio Sierra and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group tive school, which is no lon- ger in operation. The graduation rate for Hermiston High School alone in 2015-2016 was 87.6 percent, a jump from the previous year’s 86.5 percent. For the Innovative Learning Center, the grad- uation rate was 4.1 percent, but the completion rate — which includes receiving a GED or modifi ed diploma — was 37.8 percent. The Innovative Learning Center, which the district had operated for about fi ve years, included students registered at the district’s online program, taking al- ternative courses of study or working toward a GED or modifi ed diploma. Though that program will no longer operate through the district, the online program will still be available to all grade lev- els. As of this school year, See GRADS, A14 Battling the snow and ice this winter has cost the city of Hermiston’s street department $50,000 since Dec. 16 — and that’s not counting this week’s snow. “Clearing snow from 180 miles worth of city streets takes a lot of time and resources,” Ron Sivey, street superintendent, said in a news release. “We do everything we can to clear streets as fast as possible with the equipment and personnel available to us.” Costs include $32,844 for 782 hours of regular and overtime labor, $6,000 in snow plow repairs, $7,979 for 410 cubic yards of rock and $3,400 for 3,400 gal- lons of de-icer. During or after a snow- fall expected to be more than two inches, crews move through three phases. The fi rst phase is to clear main thoroughfares through the city that are most heav- ily used. Phase two moves snow plows onto hill routes and downtown commercial ar- eas, plus moves them back to “phase one” routes to clear them again if more snow has fallen. City per- sonnel are also deployed to municipal buildings, the airport and public parking lots. During phase three crews move into residen- tial areas, where they move counterclockwise through neighborhoods.
