INSIDE THIS WEEK
UMATILLA 2017 COUNTY FAIR GUIDE
Hermiston
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017
$1.00
BONUS CLUE
Hermiston’s ‘No. 1 fan’ gone
STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI
The person who fi nds this
golden medallion, which is
hidden somewhere on public
property in Hermiston, wins
a National Night Out ice
cream social block party
Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Herald off ers bonus
clue for treasure hunt
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL
Frank Harkenrider looks through scrapbooks in his home that depict the early days of Hermiston’s watermelon giveaway in Portland.
Each year, the Hermis-
ton Herald, East Oregonian
and city of Hermiston hosts
a National Night Out trea-
sure hunt. The person who
fi nds the golden medallion
is treated to an ice cream
social block party Tuesday,
Aug. 1 during Hermiston’s
National Night Out festivi-
ties.
Tim Miears, training
offi cer/evidence custodi-
an with Hermiston Police
Department, hid the me-
dallion, which is about 3
inches in diameter and is
attached to a red, white and
blue ribbon, somewhere
within Hermiston. For full
rules, grab a copy of the
Tuesday, July 25 edition of
the East Oregonian. Daily
clues will be published in
the EO until the medallion
is found.
Bonus clue:
The Motor City Mad-
man could give you a hint.
If you’re headed to the
river, there’s no fever.
Typha could be what’s
meant.
Former mayor and councilor
Frank Harkenrider, 90, died
Monday in Hermiston
BY THE WAY
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston lost its biggest cheerleader
on Monday.
Frank Harkenrider, 90, died in Hermis-
ton Monday night. He served in Hermis-
ton’s city council chambers as a councilor
or mayor for more than 50 years before
taking his last vote in December 2014.
Harkenrider was known for his intense
loyalty to Hermiston, which grew from
800 residents to more than 17,000 during
his lifetime. He faithfully lost bet after bet
with Pendleton city offi cials on Hermiston
High School’s football team during their
growing years and his last few months on
the city council was peppered with fre-
quent references to the fact that the team
had fi nally won a state championship.
“I’m still Hermiston Fan Number One,”
he said during an interview the afternoon
of his last city council meeting.
See MAYOR, A9
Giving
back to the
community
HERMISTON HERALD FILE
Former Hermiston City Councilor Frank Harkenrider rides on a fl oat in the Umatilla
County Parade in this fi le photo. The city will name a new senior center, now under
construction, after Harkenrider, who served in City Hall for more than 50 years as a
councilman and mayor.
Board selects Mooney as interim superintendent
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
The Hermiston school board se-
lected Tricia Mooney to lead the
district for the next year and a half.
Mooney, who is currently the
district’s assistant superintendent of
human resources, was unanimous-
ly elected by the board Monday to
serve in the temporary role while
Superintendent Fred Maiocco takes
a leave of absence to serve a tour of
duty in Europe for the U.S. Army
Reserves. She assumed the role im-
mediately, stepping in as superin-
tendent for the rest of that evening’s
board meeting.
“I’m humbled and honored to
head the district during Dr. Maioc-
co’s absence,” Mooney said.
“We’re going to be ready for over
5,600 kids on Aug.
28.”
Mooney
was
one of three fi nal-
ists for the posi-
tion. The others
were Philip “Buzz”
Brazeau and Rich-
Mooney
ard Rundhaug. The
board spent nearly
four hours interviewing candidates
on Monday before deliberating in
executive session.
During the open session, the
board conducted all three inter-
views before a crowd of 30 to 40
administrators, teachers and com-
munity members. Audience mem-
bers could turn in sheets grading
the candidates on their capability
and their perceived fi t for the dis-
trict.
Mooney has spent most of her
education career in the Hermiston
School District, beginning in 1995
as a teacher at Sunset Elementary
School. She has also spent time as
the principal of Rocky Heights Ele-
mentary School and Armand Larive
Middle School.
In 2008, Mooney moved to the
Pendleton School District to serve
as the director of human resources,
and was hired as assistant superin-
tendent there in 2009. She returned
to the Hermiston School District
last year.
Mooney said her priority for the
district was to guide it through a
transitional period.
“We have a little healing and re-
building to do as a staff,” she said.
The Hermiston Senior
Center recently felt the
love after receiving a do-
nation from Harley Swain
Subaru.
The
Hermiston-ar-
ea car dealership held a
“Share The Love” event
and presented a check for
$4,814.10 to the Hermiston
seniors.
Mike Boedigheimer,
Harley Swain general
manager, was on hand to
present the check from the
customer-selected
chari-
ty contribution for 2016.
Representatives accepting
the donation on behalf of
the senior center included
Audri Crabtree, Perry
Hawkins, Julie Rozner,
Virginia Beebe and Irene
Miller.
The group is excited
about the donation, which
will go toward the con-
struction project to build a
new senior center.
• • •
At its Business to Busi-
ness luncheon Tuesday the
Greater Hermiston Area
Chamber of Commerce
introduced its new board.
Josh Burns of the Wal-
Mart Distribution Center
is the chamber’s new board
chair, with Paul Keeler of
Eastern Oregon Telecom
serving as chair-elect ready
to take offi ce in 2018-2019.
See BTW, A9
See MOONEY, A9