SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE
GRADUATION 2017; CONGRATULATIONS SENIORS!
Hermiston
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017
$1.00
INSIDE
Back to the
BIG STEP UP
chalkboard
Hermiston School Board looks
at reasons for bond failure,
how to move forward
BULLDOGS TRACK AND
FIELD TEAM LEAPS TO NEXT
LEVEL AT STATE MEET
PAGE A10
CITY DIGS IN
HERMISTON BUDGET SHOWS
WHERE DEVELOPMENT
IS HEADED
PAGE A3
IN MEMORIAM
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
MEMORIAL DAY
CEREMONIES BEGIN FRIDAY
WITH FLAG LAYING
PAGE A6
Staff Writer
The Hermiston School District’s $104
million bond failed decisively in last week’s
election, prompting questions from district
employees, board members and
the community: why did it fail, and
what’s next for the schools?
All told 3,950 people cast their
votes on the bond, with 640 more
votes (58 percent) going against the
bond than in favor. County-wide,
voter turnout was low, with only
Sherman
about 26 percent of eligible voters
submitting ballots.
The bond’s failure was a depar-
ture from Hermiston’s history of
passing school bonds. Since the mid-
1990s, the community has passed
four school-related bonds to address
a growing student population. The
Maiocco most recent bond passage was in
2008, when the board rebuilt Sunset
and West Park elementary schools, and Ar-
mand Larive Middle School.
OFFICE CLOSED
HERMISTON HERALD WILL
BE CLOSED THURSDAY FROM
9:30 A.M. UNTIL 1 P.M. FOR
A FUNERAL AND ALL DAY
MONDAY FOR MEMORIAL DAY.
BY THE WAY
HERMISTON HERALD FILE PHOTOS
Above: Fifth-grade teacher Daylee Lathim helps a student navigate a tablet while
teaching in one of the modular classroom units on the fi rst day of the 2016 school year
at Rocky Heights Elementary School.
Main photo: Signs supporting the school’s bond measure were prevalent in Hermiston
during the campaign.
Board discussions
On Monday, the Hermiston School Board
met for the fi rst time since the election to
discuss the vote and its next steps.
See SCHOOL, A16
Clean up,
slow down
and hurrah
graduates
Simmons Agency is lead-
ing the charge in sprucing up
downtown today. Activities
include weeding, laying
bark, planting fl owers and
taking down lights from the
street’s trees. They will be
working from the morning
through the afternoon, and
the street will be closed off
block by block so that volun-
teers can work. The cleanup
will start at 8:30 a.m. at the
Roemark building.
•••
Slow down! The Herm-
iston Police Department’s
traffi c offi cer will be
switching from a motorcy-
cle to a “quasi-unmarked”
car, according to Police
Chief Jason Edmiston.
The car will still bear the
logo of the Hermiston Po-
lice Department on the side,
but will not be as immedi-
ately recognizable as a po-
lice car.
•••
Hermiston is losing
See BTW, A16
Farmers’ market gears up for
change in venue, fresh ideas
By TAMMY MALGESINI
Community Editor
The excitement is almost
palpable on the new Face-
book page for the Hermiston
Farmers’ Market.
A new logo has been
created. And a new face —
BeAnn Smith — is over-
seeing the weekly event. A
planning meeting is set for
Saturday, June 3 at 10 a.m.
at Hermiston City Hall, 180
N.E. Second St.
“I want it to be a place
where you want to be on a
Saturday morning — where
you come to make new
friends and try new things,”
Smith said about her vision
for the market.
The market, which has
mostly shared McKenzie
Park with other events the
past few years in addition
to setting up in downtown
Hermiston during special
events, will fi nd a new home
this season. It will be held
on Hermiston’s proposed
festival street on Northeast
See MARKET, A16
FILE PHOTO
Fresh onions line a table as Naomi and Ildefonso Zuniga
of Finley’s Fresh Produce ring up customers at a past
Hermiston Farmers’ Market. This year’s market opens
Saturday, June 17 in the proposed festival street by city hall.
Hermiston Offi ce:
Pendleton Offi ce:
GLENN SCOTT
JENNIFER OLSON
Veteran's Service Offi cer • 435 E Newport Ave.
Veteran’s Service Offi cer • 17 SW Frazer
Ph: 541.667.3125 • Cell: 541.848.8120
Ph.541.278.5482
glenn.scott@umatillacounty.net
jennifer.olson@umatillacounty.net
VETERANS SERVING VETERANS
NS
LET US ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR BENEFITS
LE