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.