WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
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MAYOR
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His tenure on the city
council was not always with-
out controversy. He survived
a recall election in 2012 and
escaped losing his seat by
two votes in 1998. And not
everyone was supportive of
naming the new senior center,
scheduled to be complete in
late 2017 or early 2018, the
Harkenrider Center. He also
had many supporters, howev-
er, who voted “Harkie” back
into office repeatedly through
the decades.
Harkenrider always con-
sidered his push for the city
to hire its first city manager
— Tom Harper — the best
thing he did for the city.
“I love this town,” he said
in 2014. “I’ve given my heart
and soul to the city. I made
a lot of mistakes but I made
some good votes too.”
Harkenrider’s profession-
al career was mostly spent
at Union Oil Distributorship,
where he started working
with his father George, also a
former Hermiston city coun-
cilor and mayor. Later he
spent five years working for
PGG before retirement. He
served in the armed forces,
deploying to Guam and the
Philippines after World War
II.
He was born in Hermis-
ton, and intensely proud to
be a native — and was se-
lected as the city’s Man of
the Year in 1987.
Harkenrider and his wife
Beverly were married in on
Nov. 4, 1954 in a double
ceremony with her sister and
sister’s fiance. He is survived
by Beverly, three daughters
and five granddaughters.
His youngest grand-
daughter, Kacie Jo Upper-
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Lt. Col. Dan Vawter (left) of the Oregon National Guard accepts
6.6 acres of city-owned land in a presentation with Mayor Frank
Harkenrider (right) in December 1991. The property, located in
southeast Hermiston, was presented for construction of a new
armory. Earlier plans to build near the Hermiston Butte were
blocked by community opposition. “I’m sorry I was maybe
against the other spot (at the butte),” Harkenrider said to
Vawter, “but I think it worked out for the best.”
FILE PHOTO
Frank Harkenrider passes out cantaloupes grown in Hermiston at Pioneer Courthouse Square
in Portland during an event promoting Hermiston and the produce grown here.
and got to sneak in some
basketball-watching on the
side,” she said.
It was Harkenrider who
took a truck full of water-
melons to Portland in 1991
and handed them out on the
street, beginning a tradition
that lasted for 17 years and
was revived two years ago.
Harkenrider was there for the
resurrection of the giveaway
in 2015. He kept photos of
the events in the bookshelf
full of scrapbooks in a small
room of his home lined with
Hermiston-related
photos
and memorabilia. During
his time on the council he
provided a deep institutional
memory.
As news of Harkenrider’s
passing spread on Facebook,
residents commented that he
will be missed, calling him
a “wonderful man,” a “huge
part of our great town” and
“the nicest man I ever met.”
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY MARK MORGAN
Hermiston Mayor Drotzmann, former Hermiston Mayor
Harkenrider, former Portland Mayor Bud Clark and then-
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales pose for a photo during the
2015 watermelon giveaway.
man, said he used to babysit
her from the mayor’s desk
and take her to everything
from parades to a mayors’
convention in Seaside. As a
kid she knew “everyone” at
city hall from her time sitting
at the press desk with color-
ing books and dolls.
“I definitely have fond
memories of sitting color-
ing and waiting for Grandpa
to run the city and come up
with his next wacky idea to
make Hermiston grow,” she
said.
He wasn’t afraid to be
himself, she said, and worked
tremendously hard for the
city he loved. She said he
through thick and thin.”
• • •
If you are driving across
the river to attend the Tri-
City Water Follies activi-
ties, go shopping for school
clothes or have a night out,
be aware that new distract-
ed driving laws in Wash-
ington state make it illegal
to have your cell phone or
other electronic device in
your hand while driving
or even while stopped at a
traffic signal. You can also
now get a ticket for eat-
ing, smoking, reading or
grooming while driving. If
you are ticketed under the
new law a first offense may
cost you a $136 fine. A sec-
ond offense withing 5 years
results in a $234 fine. For
more information on the
law and its consequences
see http://wadrivetozero.
com/distracted-driving/.
• • •
You can submit items
for our weekly By The Way
column by emailing your
tips to editor@hermiston-
herald.com or share them
on social media using the
hashtag #HHBTW. Follow
the Hermiston Herald on
Twitter at @Hermiston-
Herald.
class sizes, while continuing
to explore the possibility of
re-introducing a bond to up-
grade facilities.
“We’ve begun that process
and gone out to the commu-
nity,” she said. “We know we
might have some bigger class
sizes ... at this point some
trust needs to be rebuilt.”
When board members
asked Mooney whether she
had any questions for them,
she asked what they were
looking for in an interim su-
perintendent.
Board members said they
hoped to find someone who
would not just maintain the
district, but actively move it
forward.
“I want someone who
will help us be in a better
spot 18 months from now,”
said board member Ginny
Holthus.
The other two candidates
interviewed via Skype. The
first, Richard Rundhaug, is
an education consultant in
Phoenix, Arizona. He had
previously served as a su-
perintendent for the Willcox
Unified School District, and
an assistant superintendent
for the Coolidge Unified
School District.
Brazeau was the principal
of Hermiston High School
from July 2007 to June
2012, and recently retired
as the superintendent of the
Central School District 13J
in Independence.
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Frank Harkenrider (right)
stands with Hermiston
Mayor David Drotzmann at
the official groundbreaking
of the Harkenrider Center in
Hermiston earlier this year.
loved sports and went to
many Portland Trail Blazers
games after Upperman’s sis-
ter Kelly Robinson became a
Blazer Dancer.
“He loved supporting her
“Harkie embodied the
true spirit of Hermiston
and of course was Herm-
iston’s BIGGEST FAN!”
Kelly Schwirse wrote on
the Hermiston Herald’s
Facebook page. “He will be
missed dearly.”
Mayor David Drotzmann
offered up condolences as
well in a statement on behalf
of the city.
“We’re extremely sad-
dened to hear about the
passing of Frank Harkenrid-
er; undeniably Hermiston’s
‘greatest cheerleader.’” he
said in a written statement.
“This community would not
be where it is today without
Frank’s nearly five decades
of direct service to the City
of Hermiston. I think naming
the new Harkenrider Center
after Frank was the least we
could do to honor his un-ri-
valed level of community
service.”
BY THE WAY
BTW
continued from Page A1
Kara Taylor of US Bank is
serving as the board’s trea-
surer and Tammy Smith
of Smitty’s Ace Hardware
and Tim Mabry of Credits
Inc. joined the board as new
members. Shirley Parsons
of American West Prop-
erties was also recognized
for her service as outgoing
board chair. Executive di-
rector Debbie Pedro said
the year “has not been an
easy one, and I knew Shir-
ley would be able to lead us
MOONEY
continued from Page A1
She cited her familiarity
with the district, staff and
community as positives, as
well as her investment in
the schools as both a staff
member and parent.
Mooney also discussed
her experience with em-
ployee handbooks and eval-
uations, policy review and
union negotiations.
“I’m passionate about the
district,” she said. “I have
the ability to look at things
from different perspectives.”
Mooney said it is import-
ant to support teachers and
staff as they face growing
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TRCI inmates raise $7,266 for backpack program
HERMISTON HERALD
The Agape House al-
ready has a third of its
funding for the coming
school year’s backpack
program thanks to a fund-
raiser by inmates at Two
Rivers Correctional Insti-
tution.
TRCI chaplain Don
Hodney presented a check
for $7,266 to Agape House
director Dave Hughes on
Thursday. The money will
go to a program that sends
a backpack full of food
home with students in
poverty to help feed them
through the weekend.
Hughes said the money
presented by Hodney is
enough to get the program
through about a third of the
2017-2018 school year. He
said the donation is just the
latest example of the pris-
on staff and inmates being
a “great support” to the
Agape House.
“We’re thrilled,” he
said. “It’s just great. Two
Rivers is such a great com-
munity partner.”
Hodney said in the past,
a committee of inmates
has come up with fund-
raisers that have raised
about $4,000 for the Agape
House’s Christmas meals
for families, so Thursday’s
donation was almost dou-
ble anything they’ve done
before.
The committee wanted
to do another fundraiser
sooner than Christmas and
came up with the idea to
let residents of the prison
place orders of approved
snack food like trail mix
or candy from Wal-Mart,
with the profits going to
the backpack program.
Hodney said considering
an incarcerated person’s
paycheck may be $25 a
month, most of which
goes toward toiletries, the
orders represented a sig-
nificant investment for the
more than 700 men who
participated.
“It’s not about the in-
dulgence,” he said. “I’ve
been told over and over
again that they’re happy
to be able to do something
for someone else.”
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