COMMUNITY
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017
HERMISTON HISTORY
THREE MINUTES WITH ...
Work to widen Main Street sidewalks began 25 years ago
25 Years Ago
MARCH 17, 1992
• The Hermiston Irri-
gation District is working
on a plan that will negate
a Bureau of Reclamation
ban on allowing water to
be sent outside of the dis-
trict. Bill Porfily, district
manager, said land own-
ers outside of the district
would be sent petitions to
be added into the district.
After land owners return
the petitions, and if no
one objects, the signers
would be considered part
of the district. “We’re go-
ing to cover our ends with
those we are currently
sending water to,” Porfi-
ly said. “We hope to have
this done by June....” The
plan to enlarge the size
of the district comes af-
ter the bureau announced
last month that Hermis-
ton could not send water
outside of the district af-
ter this year. Currently,
700 acres outside of the
district receive water.
“It’s not right,” said John
Keys, bureau regional
director. “Some of those
lands don’t have water
rights. (They’re having)
a regional impact on the
Umatilla Basin Project.”
Keys said water that goes
outside of the district
is not coming back in,
something that the bureau
and several other groups
object to. Keys said
full enforcement of the
boundaries would be de-
layed until next year. He
said the bureau is willing
to consider changes to the
boundary once the basin
project is underway. “If
they have surface rights,
they’re pretty safe,” Keys
said. He also said if land
owners don’t get into the
district, they’ll “have to
use wells if they have
them, or get water else-
where.”
• Union Pacific Rail-
road is spending nearly
$2 million in the local
area to provide a smooth-
er ride for trains com-
ing into Hinkle from the
east. Over the next few
months Union Pacific
will spend $1.8 million
on track improvements
from Hinkle to Mission,
said Mark Davis, director
of Union Pacific public
relations. “The improve-
ments include the re-
moval and replacement
of 21,000 cross-ties, the
replacement of material
in 61 road crossings, the
spreading of 33,100 tons
of rock ballast and the
surfacing and lining of
over 32 miles of track,”
Davis said. More that 20
pieces of equipment and
hundreds of men will be
used in the work force.
• A Main Street im-
provement project has
begun with a loud bang
on the downtown street.
Workers
from
Blue
Mountain Paving Co. be-
gan digging up the street
and prepared to remove
sidewalks. In what has
been described as a “war
zone,’ the project prom-
ises to make downtown
look better than ever. It
calls for sidewalks to be
widened, brick inlaid
for crosswalks and more
than 60 trees to be put
in to line the sidewalks.
The general consensus up
and down Main Street is
that things are general-
ly too noisy and messy.
“We hope they get done
soon,” said Vel Ysagu-
irre, from Ohngren’s Of-
fice Products. The project
will continue until at least
the first part of June, and
some improvements may
take longer. Many people
said it was too early to
JORDAN BEMROSE-RUST
Choir teacher
1. When and why did you move to
Hermiston?
I moved to Eastern Oregon for my first teach-
ing job in Ione in 2010. My husband, daugh-
ter and I moved to Hermiston this past De-
cember.
HERALD ARCHIVES
Workers began tearing up the asphalt along Main Street 25 years ago and prepared sidewalks
for removal and replacement The project lasted several months, widened the sidewalks and
included planter boxes for trees in the wider sidewalks, which are still in place today.
tell if business would be
hurt by the construction
work. As one person from
The Village put it. “ Mon-
days are usually a slow
day anyway. We’ll know
more later in the week.”
City Engineer Pat Napoli-
tano has advised business
owners to recommend
their customers use rear
entrances as much as pos-
sible.
50 Years Ago
MARCH 16, 1967
• The Boardman City
Council approved the ex-
tending water and sewage
service to the First Addi-
tion west of Boardman.
A representative from the
Sullivan Sanitary Service
was present to discuss his
proposal for a franchise to
collect the garbage here.
Mayor Dewey West stat-
ed that anyone else that
is interested in a garbage
franchise proposal should
present his proposal at the
next meeting of the coun-
cil April 4, at City Hall.
• The third time is the
charm, they say, but it
might not be for one fel-
low, because the police are
getting on to his method
of operation. Police Chief
James Pollard relates that
a guy went into Stewart’s
Market, took off his old
shoes, tried on a new pair
of cowboy boots, put his
old shoes in the new shoe
box, and walked off in the
new boots.
That happened Mon-
day, March 13, and it was
the third time it happened.
The principal clue is that
the police have is that the
fellow wears a size 8-1/4
size boot.
• Umatilla’s newly or-
ganized athletic club held
a meeting and have giv-
en themselves a name.
The Viking Booster Club.
Twelve people were pres-
ent for the lunch meet-
ing. Election of officers
was held. Elected were:
Dwayne
Huddleston,
president. Charles Hale,
vice president; Ursal Hi-
att, secretary/treausrer. In
other business the deci-
sion was made on meet-
ing dates of the club.
They will be held each
week on Mondays. They
will be luncheon meet-
ings at 11:30 a.m. in one
of the city’s cafes each
week. The location will
be announced at the end
of each meeting.
75 Years Ago
MARCH 19, 1942
• The Umatilla County
Selective Service board
announced
Wednesday
that Blanchard Joseph
Celler (441) of Hermis-
ton was the first number
drawn in the Tuesday lot-
tery affecting anyone in
Umatilla County, Other
Hermiston men listed in
the first 30 in Umatilla
County are as follows:
Jerry Dolling (1103), La-
Verne Stanfield Burrell
(968), Edwin Clyde Hal
(1218), Walter N. Jackson
(1291), Logan C. Todd
(1638) and Joseph Wil-
liam Rice (131).
• The Hermiston Laun-
dry & Dry Cleaners is now
a member of the Laundry
and Dry Cleaners Work-
ers Union, according to
Alvin Elkins, owner. Ar-
rangements were com-
pleted recently while Mr.
and Mrs. Elkins were on a
business trip to Portland.
According to Mr. Elkins
his concern is now one of
the very few union shops
in Eastern Oregon and the
only one in this region.
100 Years Ago
MARCH 17, 1917
• The American steam-
ship Algonquin has been
sunk without warning by
a German submarine. The
crew was saved. J.G. Ste-
phens, American consul
at Plymouth, has first re-
ported that the Algonquin
had been torpedoed, but
in a later report he said
the captain of the Algon-
quin had stated that his
ship was sunk by shell
fire without warning. The
Algonquin was sunk at 6
o’clock on the morning
of March 12. The subma-
rine refused assistance,
according to the report of
the consul at Plymouth.
Twenty-seven men have
been landed. According
to later advices from Plym-
outh, the German subma-
rine opened fire upon the
Algonquin from a distance
of 4,000 yards, firing about
20 shells. These were
not sufficient to sink the
steamer, so she boarded by
men from the submarine,
who placed bombs, and the
Algonquin was then blown
up. The crew was given
plenty of time to leave the
vessel. The Algonquin, a
freighter, was one of the
first American vessels to
sail from the United States
after Germany announced
her submarine campaign of
unrestricted warfare. There
were 10 Americans, in-
cluding the captain, on the
Algonquin, the owners an-
nounced. She carried about
2,000 tons of cargo and
commanded by Captain
A. Nordberg, a naturalized
American of Norwegian
birth.
• E.E. Graham and son,
W.B. Graham, of Puyal-
lup, Washington, came
Saturday last to make their
home here, Mr. Graham
having purchased land
from J.W. Craik. Mr. Gra-
ham and son will put up a
temporary house at once
and then Mrs. Graham
will join them. The oth-
er children will not come
until school is out. As son
as the building is up, work
on the farm will start as
Mr. Graham is anxious to
get the land into alfalfa as
quickly as possible.
Compiled by Shannon
Paxton
2. What’s your favorite place to eat?
Lawan’s Thai Garden. Yum!
3. What is your favorite activity in your
free time?
Spending time with my daughter.
4. What’s the last book you read?
The Hunger Games series.
5. What app or website do you use most
often, other than Facebook?
My Starbucks app.
6. What surprises you about Hermis-
ton?
How supportive and hardworking this commu-
nity is!
7. If you could travel anywhere, where
would you go?
I have traveled all over the world performing
music. Next on my list would be Japan.
8. Describe the funniest thing that’s
ever happened to you.
When I was in high school, I was talking to a
very cute boy while walking and ran full speed
and full force into a giant pillar in the cafeteria.
So embarrassing.
9. Name one of your goals for the next
12 months.
Get completely unpacked and organized from
moving.
10. What is your proudest accomplish-
ment?
Being able to spread my love of music to my stu-
dents.
LET US MEAT
YOUR NEEDS
BOX INCLUDES:
(Reg. $125)
• 2 T-Bones Steaks
• 2 Rib Steaks
• 2 New York Steaks
• 2 Top Sirloin
• 1 - 3-4 lb. Boneless
Chuck Roast
• 5 - 1 lb. Pkg Extra
Lean Ground Beef
541.567.2011
253 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston
BECAUSE THIS CARD
CAN PROVIDE FREE
IN-HOME CARE
If you have this valuable card issued by the U.S. Department
of Labor you may qualify for free in-home care now or in
the future.
Professional Case Management Offers:
• Customized care – From occasional visits to 24/7 care
• Ease and convenience – Vitals monitoring and
medication management in the comfort of your home
• Increased quality of life – Spend time with your family
instead of depending on them for care
• Peace of mind – Expert, skilled care helps decrease
medication errors, infections and hospital visits
Contact Us Today for a FREE Eligibility Review.
Specializing in FREE in-home care
for former HANFORD workers
Helping Nuclear Workers Live at Home
541.728.0706
PCM-088-1612
procasemanagement.com