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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 2017)
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 NEWS Oregon mayors face off in Portland Annual event pays tribute to late founder of watermelon giveaway By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER PORTLAND — Amid some light trash-talking and heavy pressure, Hermiston Mayor Da- vid Drotzmann faced off against Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler in the annual watermelon seed-spitting contest at Portland’s Pio- neer Courthouse Square on Friday morning. “I understand Mayor Wheeler has never done this before, so we’ll give him a practice round so he doesn’t get embarrassed by us professional seed-spit- ters,” Drotzmann said, to laughs from the crowd. Wheeler appreciated the handicap. “Normally, when doing something this important I’d have practiced,” he said, “But I’ve never spit a watermelon seed. You’d better win,” Wheeler he told his Hermiston coun- terpart, “Or you’re not go- ing to have a job in Herm- iston!” Based on Wheeler’s comment, Drotzmann can keep his job, after he launched a seed past the one Wheeler spit, but not without a twist: both men were beaten by Wheel- er’s director of strategic partnerships, Jennifer Ar- guinzoni, who stepped in at the last minute to partic- ipate. Each mayor also spoke briefl y about the event, to a crowd that had gathered to collect the free watermel- ons that some Portlanders have come to anticipate each summer. “These are the best wa- termelons in the world and there’s no reason to get melons shipped from any- where else,” Wheeler said. Wheeler also spoke about other facets of East- ern Oregon’s largest city. “Hermiston is a thriv- ing city,” he said. “While we think of watermelons, there’s lots of good em- ployment opportunities. They’re working very hard under this mayor on eco- nomic prosperity. It’s good to take a fun day like this and remember that we are one state.” Drotzmann, too, said he was glad to be showcasing Hermiston’s most famous crop on the west side of the state. STAFF PHOTOS BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN TOP, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler chats with Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann before the two faced off in the watermelon seed-spitting contest Friday in Portland. ABOVE LEFT, Josh Burns, Hermiston Chamber of Commerce board chairman, holds two watermelons in downtown Portland on Friday. Burns stood at the corner of Pioneer Courthouse Square, alerting pedestrians walking by to the presence of free watermelons. ABOVE RIGHT, Hermiston city councilors, chamber members and Mayor David Drotzmann pose with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler before the watermelon giveaway in Portland on Friday. “Normally when we’re here, we’re a hundred deep,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of good produce to give away.” Debbie Pedro, presi- dent/CEO of the Herm- iston Chamber of Com- merce, estimated that they were giving away nine bins of melons, each of which contained between 20 and 30 melons. Drotzmann added that partnering with Portland was important for both cit- ies. “It’s interesting because Portland is larger than us by about 650,000. So we think they have different issues — but when we sit down with them, the issues we have are very similar. We’re thinking about eco- nomic development, pub- lic safety, housing, water. How do we, as a state, con- tinue to be prosperous?” After the brief remarks, Drotzmann, Hermiston city councilors Lori Da- vis, Rod Hardin and Jackie Meyers started handing out melons. They were joined by Hermiston Energy Ser- vices superintendent Nate Rivera and Debbie Pedro, Josh Burns, Shirley Par- sons, Ian Coyle and Cindy Meyers from the Herm- iston Chamber of Com- merce. Though the crowd wasn’t as thick as some councilors recalled in past years, there was a steady stream of people through- out the giveaway. Burns stood at the corner of Pi- oneer Courthouse Square, advertising the presence of free melons to Portland- ers walking past, which brought in several waves of eager customers. Some, though, came prepared. Kathy Leichleiter and Brenda McSweeney were the fi rst ones in line, wait- ing with a small cart with wheels. “We’ve come before,” McSweeney said. “Maybe 10 or more times.” McSweeney said she buys Hermiston melons when she can, and that her family loves the fruit. “They’re nice and sweet,” Leichleiter said. Wheeler was scheduled to meet Drotzmann, Har- din and Meyers for dinner on Thursday night, but canceled about an hour be- fore due to a Portland City Council meeting that ran long. “We take public com- ment, and it included use of force issues,” Wheeler said of his absence. “Un- fortunately, I was not able to go to dinner.” Though this was Wheel- er’s fi rst watermelon give- away event as mayor, many of the Hermiston councilors and representa- tives have been coming for years. “Over the years, we would have people up in their offi ces, looking down on the square and waiting for us to get out here,” Pe- dro said. “We’ll recognize MEDICAL DIRECTORY COUNSELING MENTAL HEALTH LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS! • Adult, Child and Family Therapy • Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment • Mental Health and Crisis Services • Confidential and Professional Care LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON 331 SE 2nd St., 595 NW 11th St., 866-343-4473 Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . 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Elm, Suite #115, Hermiston, OR people who’ve been com- ing for years.” Pedro said it’s important to keep building a partner- ship with Portland. “It’s very important to share the concerns we have in rural areas and they get to let us know what’s going on here,” she said. “When it comes to economic de- velopment, it’s really exciting to have friends across the state.” The event, which was started in 1991 by former Hermiston Mayor Frank Harkenrider and former Portland Mayor Bud Clark, petered out in the late 2000s, and was revived three years ago by Drot- zmann and then-Portland Mayor Charlie Hales. Drotzmann remembered Harkenrider, who passed away late last month, in his opening remark at the events. “He never knew an ene- my,” Drotzmann said. “He served on our city coun- cil for over 50 years, and he was the pioneer of this event.” Hardin remembered some of the earlier events, and the two fl amboyant founders of the watermel- on giveaway. “Bud was kind of a con- troversial mayor,” he said. “I think they (Harkenrider and Clark) were a perfect fi t. One from a small city, one from a big city. But both, you never knew what was going to come out of their mouths.” He recalled one partic- ular gathering, a few years ago. “Bud Clark rode his bi- cycle to the event, and he showed up with a water- melon (bicycle) helmet,” Hardin said. “That was the last one they were at to- gether.” Hardin said the event is a good way to remind people in Portland of the role the east side of the state plays in their daily lives. “It’s mainly to remind them, most of your food comes from our direction,” he said. Family Dentistry ~ N ew Patients Welcome~ 541-567-8161 995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S . To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call: Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538