OUR COMMUNITY
A NEW LOCAL ARTIST’S WORK ON DISPLAY AT LIBRARY
PAGE 8
Hermiston
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017
$1.00
w
a
r
D
Downtown
w
a
r
D
INSIDE
THREE MINUTES
WITH
SCOTT’S CYCLE AND SPORTS
OWNER STEVEN CIMMIYOTTI.
PAGE 2
CITY TAKES OVER
THE CITY HAS TAKEN
OVER A PORTION OF
HIGHLAND AVENUE THAT
WAS A COUNTY ROAD.
PAGE 3
OUT OF THIS
WORLD
A UMATILLA STUDENT WILL
PARTICIPATE IN A NATIONAL
SPACE DESIGN COMPETITION.
PAGE 7
BY THE WAY
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Yasmine Torres, of Umatilla, relaxes as she gets her face painted Saturday during Hermiston’s Funfest.
Cars, canvases, carvers draw crowds
FunFest celebrates 11th year
with variety of events
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
T
he Hermiston Classics Car Club hosted its
22nd annual Cool Rides Car Show, show-
casing a plethora of vehicles, some of which
came from out-of-state, during Hermiston’s
11th annual Funfest on Saturday.
Jeanne Steffey of the car club said the en-
trant from farthest away was a car from Bell-
fl ower, California, in the Los Angeles area.
The oldest car was a 1924 Ford C-Cab,
owned by Lyle and Helen Bliss of Hermiston.
The couple bought the car a year ago from a
man in Louisiana, and now plans to sell it — a
common practice for them.
“We buy ’em, he fi xes ’em up, we sell ’em
and get something else,” Helen said.
Do they drive it?
“Oh yeah!” Lyle said with a grin. “Horses
are trailered, hot rods are driven. It runs great,
500 horsepower.”
Helen helps detail the cars and keep them
clean, too.
“I’ve got grease under my fi ngernails,” she
said.
See FUNFEST, A14
STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISH-
NAN
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Former Ringling Brothers clown Richard
Melendy ties balloon animals Saturday during
Hermiston’s Funfest.
Paintings at the Eastern Oregon
Arts Show were featured in
a tent next to the Farmer’s
Market. The painting on the left,
‘Zebra,’ by Andrea Murphy, won
fi rst prize.
STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
A row of Corvettes at the 22nd Annual Cool Rides Car Show in McKenzie Park,
Hermiston.
Blazers may
be coming
this fall
Representatives of the
Portland Trail Blazers —
possibly including some
players — will be coming
sometime in September for
a ribbon-cutting ceremony
for new playground equip-
ment on Sunset Park off
of Fourth Street. The new
equipment is being paid for
by the Moda Assist online
competition that Hermiston
won earlier this year.
• • •
No one has been charged
in the June 26 fi re that
burned down a duplex on
Northwest 13th Street, but
more arson suspects may
be collared soon thanks to
a new role for Detective
Randy Studebaker of
the Hermiston Police De-
partment, who took on the
new role of arson detective
on July 1. The duplex fi re,
which started in tall grass
after witnesses said they
heard fi reworks, will be the
type of incident Studebaker
will investigate in partner-
ship with Umatilla County
Fire District 1.
• • •
The Umatilla Rural
Fire Protection District
and Umatilla Volunteer
Firefi ghters Association
recently celebrated 20 years
of volunteer services from
one of its members.
See BTW, A14
Superintendent to take leave for military duty
Board will select interim
superintendent in
Maiocco’s absence
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Brigadier General Fred Maiocco
Hermiston School District Su-
perintendent Fred Maiocco, who
is a brigadier general with the U.S.
Army Reserves, announced Mon-
day that he will take a leave of ab-
sence to serve a tour of duty.
He will leave July 24 to serve 15
to 18 months in Europe.
Maiocco will be assigned as the
commander, 7th Mission Support
Command, a forward-deployed,
consequence management and civil
affairs unit based in Kaiserslaut-
ern, Germany. He will also serve
as the deputy commanding general
for the 21st Theater Sustainment
Command, coordinating logistical
support to U.S. forces in Europe,
Africa and the Middle East.
Maiocco last deployed overseas
in 2011, to Kuwait and Iraq for 18
months.
He was promoted to brigadier
general in 2014.
Along with announcing his im-
minent departure and requesting a
leave of absence, Maiocco advised
the board of their options for the
coming months. He told the board
it had the option to not approve the
leave of absence, at which point
they would enter negotiations, and
look for a full-time superintendent.
The board also had the option to
immediately appoint an interim
superintendent from within the
district, or open the position up for
applications and go through a stan-
dard hiring process.
The board unanimously ap-
proved Maiocco’s request for a
leave of absence, and decided
to advertise the position and go
through a standard hiring process,
with interviews conducted by dis-
trict staff and board members. The
position will be open until fi lled.
To qualify, candidates must have
a valid Oregon administrator’s li-
cense and a master’s degree in an ed-
ucation-related fi eld, Maiocco said.
See MAIOCCO, A14