MONDAY, AUG. 21
Starts at 9:09 a.m.
Max at 10:23 a.m.
Ends at 11:44 a.m.
ECLIPSE
2017
97%
Hermiston
Herald
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017
HermistonHerald.com
Of totality in
Hermiston
$1.00
INSIDE
First fair at EOTEC a success
HERMISTON HERALD
A
nother Umatilla County
Fair is in the books.
Attendance numbers
won’t come out for anoth-
er two weeks, but sponsorship
and activities director Cyndie
Driscoll said attendance was
“definitely up each night.”
“That’s been a lot of the com-
ments, that there’s so much more
room that even though patrons
know there are more people
there they don’t feel crowded,”
she said.
The extra attendance seemed
to skew heavily toward the eve-
ning, when temperatures were
cooler. Friday reached 104 de-
grees, according to data from
the National Weather Service,
compared to 86 degrees the year
before and a historical average of
91 degrees.
On the rodeo side, Farm-City
Pro Rodeo board member Den-
nis Barnett said they didn’t have
exact attendance numbers, but
based on factors such as beverage
sales he would estimate atten-
dance Wednesday and Thursday
were up about 15 to 20 percent
from previous rodeos. Saturday’s
rodeo didn’t sell out as was usual
in the original venue, but thanks
to an extra 2,500 seats there were
more fans than usual able to at-
tend.
Barnett said the new arena
performed extremely well, espe-
cially considering how little time
there was to complete construc-
tion, and there seemed to be only
small tweaks needed for next
year.
“We’re excited,” he said.
The biggest complaint on so-
cial media was issues with traffic
and parking. On Thursday, after
traffic was backed up on High-
way 395 as far north as the water
tower Wednesday night, fair and
Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
Center board member Don Mill-
er said the fair board was mak-
ing changes to the flow of park-
ing and traffic for the rest of the
week to relieve congestion, al-
lowing more people to exit using
the main parking lot entrance and
onto Ott Road late at night.
The system for entering the
fairgrounds was also revamped,
and on Friday and Saturday a
shuttle bus took people from
town to EOTEC for free from
2-10 p.m.
NORMANDY
TO UMATILLA
FORMER MAYOR’S FAMILY
CELEBRATES LEGACY OF
GEORGE HASH
PAGE A3
PERRY VISITS
ENERGY SECRETARY RICK
PERRY TOURS NORTHWEST
ENERGY FACILITIES
PAGE A3
30TH RODEO
FARM-CITY CROWNS
2017 CHAMPIONS
PAGE A8
BY THE WAY
Eclipse leads
to change in
office hours
STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS
Children ride the Scream Machine at the carnival Wednesday at the Umatilla County Fair in
Hermiston.
Hermiston junior Isel
Tejeda Urenda gets
helps with a halter
for one of her heifers
from her friend, Corey
Mason,18 of Hermiston,
as Hermiston junior
Joseph Knight looks
on Wednesday at the
Umatilla County Fair in
Hermiston.
See FAIR, A13
Graduation: Time for a change?
School board considers moving graduation
to Toyota Center, Kennison, or EOTEC
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
The Hermiston School Board
will soon consider whether to move
the high school graduation ceremo-
ny after several years of growing
graduating classes have limited the
number of family members who
can attend the ceremony.
At its meeting on Monday night,
the board heard a presentation from
Hermiston High School Principal
Tom Spoo and Athletic Director
Larry Usher about different options
available to the district.
Spoo and Usher presented four
options: staying in the current venue,
moving outside to Kennison Field,
to the new Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center rodeo grounds, or
to the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
At this year’s graduation, stu-
dents were given five tickets each
for guests, one fewer than last
year’s allotment. Usher estimated
that with the projected senior class
size, 2018 would see a reduction to
four tickets per student. The high
school gymnasium seats about
1,800 people, not including gradu-
ates. This year, the district also live-
streamed graduation in the auditori-
um, which seated about 500 more,
and in the high school commons.
Additionally, Spoo said, the current
venue has limited handicap access
and visibility.
“We are over capacity,” he said.
The two administrators present-
ed the advantages and challenges
that would result from each venue
change, but many of the same is-
sues lingered.
Kennison Field, they said, pro-
vides about 200 more seats, but is
outdoors, and weather issues could
interfere with the ceremony.
The EOTEC rodeo arena could
seat about 3,400 for a graduation
setup, (although the venue has
The office of Hermis-
ton Herald and East Ore-
gonian at 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston will be closed
between 9:30 a.m. and 11
a.m. on Monday, Aug. 21,
for the solar eclipse, to
allow staff and the com-
munity to have the oppor-
tunity to observe the rare
astronomical event.
We won’t experience
the total solar eclipse
here, but will see the sun
eclipsed by about 97 per-
cent, beginning at 9:09
a.m. until about 11:44
a.m., with the maximum
eclipse at 10.23 a.m.
The last total eclipse of
the sun visible in Oregon
occurred in 1979. The
next today solar eclipse
that will be visible in the
United States won’t oc-
cur until April 8, 2024,
but it won’t be visible in
Oregon. One on Aug. 12,
2045 will be visible in
Northern California, parts
of Nevada and Utah.
• • •
The highlight of the
July 17 American Red
Cross blood drive held at
Good Shepherd Medi-
cal Center in Hermiston
was welcoming first-time
donor Jason Haigh of
Hermiston.
Overall, the drive col-
lected 39 units from 48
donors, said Patti Per-
kins, who helps coordi-
nate the blood drives. The
canteen, she said, was
furnished by Good Shep-
herd Medical Center
Hospital Auxiliary.
The next blood drive at
Good Shepherd is Mon-
day, Aug. 21 from noon to
6 p.m. While walk-ins are
welcome, appointments
can be made by calling
800-448-3543.
Blood products are
always in high demand,
Perkins said, but the
summer months result in
increased needs. A do-
nation of blood can save
the lives of up to three
people.
See BTW, A6
See GRADUATION, A6