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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2017)
INSIDE SPORTS BULLDOGS FOOTBALL: HERMISTON WANTS TO LEAVE LEGACY Hermiston Herald WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2017 The HermistonHerald.com 97 $1.00 INSIDE THREE MINUTES WITH percenters MEET RODEWAY INN OWNER NAKULA BUTTA PAGE A2 SAFE IN SPAIN FORMER IRRIGON BASKETBALL COACH MITCH THOMPSON WAS WITH OREGON STATE TEAM IN BARCELONA WHERE A TERROR ATTACK OCCURRED LAST WEEK PAGE A3 COUNTY TO CITY TAMRA MABBOTT IS LEAVING COUNTY JOB FOR CITY OF UMATILLA POST. PAGE A3 FAIR RESULTS RESULTS FROM UMATILLA COUNTY FAIR JUDGED ENTRIES INCLUDED INSIDE IN A SPECIAL TWO-PAGE SPREAD OF WINNERS. PAGES A8, A9 STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST Susie Bendixsen, Cameron Bendixsen and Tara Bendixsen look at the eclipsed sun as it nears its peak Monday on Main Street in Hermiston in front of the Bendixsen Law offi ces. Stanfi eld turns eclipse into fi rst-day lesson Hermiston residents catch 97.7 percent of total eclipse By JADE McDOWELL STAFF WRITER See 97 percent, Page A16 STAFF PHOTO BY GARY L. WEST Nancy Mejia, Doreen Quick, Jissell Lopez and Blanca Urenda check out the eclipse from an east-facing window at Washington Federal on Main Street in Hermiston. STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL “The interior doors will have a buzzer. The secretaries can have visibility, and talk to people to see what they want.” Wayland said if people just need to do quick business, there is an opening that they can pass papers through. If someone needs to come into the building, secre- taries will let them in. Two new doors will be in- stalled in one of the interior hall- ways of each building, which will provide extra security. Those double doors are typically open, but a second set will be added. If an alarm goes off, those doors can be automatically shut. “It helps to partition off the facility for a fi re or a lockdown,” See SECURITY, Page A16 See BTW, Page A16 Stanfi eld students’ fi rst day of school co- incided with the total solar eclipse, but that didn’t mean the students had to miss it. Rather, teachers at the Stanfi eld Second- ary School used the opportunity to spend the morning teaching astronomy, playing games, doing science projects and making eclipse-re- lated art. Secondary school science teacher Devin Bailey and math teacher Tyler Davis put to- gether a series of activities that helped stu- dents understand the way the sun works, and how it has been studied throughout his- tory. Students participated in seven different sessions, switching every 15 to 20 minutes, before ending the morning out on the track, watching the eclipse itself. Teachers urged students to be careful even though they were all given eclipse glasses. “The glasses don’t make it OK for you to just look at the sun as long as you want,” said science teacher Lucas Tynkila. “It’s best to only do three minutes or less.” Tynkila and Language Arts teacher Ash- ley Snow led activities that helped students understand the relationship between the sun and the earth. Tynkila had students create a scale model of the distance between the sun and the earth using cutouts of each. Snow had students trace each others’ shadows on the Eclipse-watchers congregate on the Hermiston Butte as the sky grows dim. See FIRST day, Page A16 Two schools make security upgrades By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Two Hermiston elementary schools will start the school year with some new security features and work has begun to expand the parking lot at the high school. West Park and Sunset elemen- tary schools, the district’s two newest buildings, are under mi- nor construction to get some safe- ty upgrades that will limit outside access to the building. The identical buildings will now have a window from the en- trance area into the main offi ce and a second set of entry doors that will be locked to avoid unau- thorized entry. “We’re installing a window in the vestibule area, so secretaries STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Jaime Montez with Knerr Construction out of Hermiston takes a measurement while working on installing a security window in the front offi ce of West Park Elementary on Wednesday in Hermiston. from the offi ce can do any busi- ness prior to people entering,” said Brad Wayland, Hermiston School District facilities director. Business moves and tax changes in the works The Stanfi eld School Dis- trict sent out fl iers last week to alert residents within their boundaries of an adjustment in their property taxes this year. The district was notifi ed this year that they were not levying enough property tax- es to cover bond payments for Stanfi eld Elementary School, so starting this fall, residents’ tax statements will include the difference of what they should have been paying for the past two years. Some residents were concerned the fl ier was a scam, but district offi cials confi rmed that the fl ier is from Stanfi eld School District. The increase will be implemented this fall on property tax state- ments. For questions, contact the Stanfi eld School District offi ce at 541-449-8766. • • • Salad shop Veg Out opened in Hermiston last week at 319 W. Locust Avenue. The shop, which is carry-out only, offers a selection of gourmet salads ranging from $7 to $13, a fruit bowl and Brazilian cheese bread. It is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday-Sat- urday. Look for a full story about Veg Out and other busi- nesses in the neighborhood in next week’s Herald. In the meantime you can fi nd more information on the VEG OUT Facebook page. • • • Golfers teed-off for the club championships of the 2017 season this past weekend at Big River Golf Course. On the men’s side, Zac Ad- ams was fi rst place gross, fol- lowed by Sergio Rodriguez in second and in a tie for third were Rick Jewett and Darren McNamee. A three-way tie for net included Josh Brown- ing, Dick Snyder and Karl Adams. The ladies’ champi- ons are Sandy Obrist (gross) and Stacey Lerten (net). For more about club mem- berships, contact Megan Ol- sen at megan@golfbigriver. com or 541-922-3006. By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER There were plenty of oohs and aahs around Hermiston on Monday morning as young and old gathered to watch the solar eclipse. Some eclipse-watchers set up chairs in the back of pick-up trucks, while others spread out picnic blankets or hiked up to the top of the Hermiston Butte. There was even a group doing yoga under the slowly-disappearing sun. Vivian Sullivan, Alexis Sullivan and Ser- gio Rangel were hurrying down the butte trail about 15 minutes before the eclipse’s peak. “We’ve got to go back and get our lawn chairs. We were just too excited,” Vivian said, laughing. Alexis was busy viewing the eclipse’s path through her protective eclipse glasses, and noted that she was surprised the eclipse wasn’t more obvious to anyone walking around without the special eyegear. “I thought you would actually be able to see it just looking,” she said. Taelor Cruz, Katelyn Johnson and Cara Arbogast were lying on a blanket on the hill above the Butte Park playground as the eclipse began. Cruz said they thought the park might be the best vantage point in town. “You can’t even see the sun from my house — too many trees,” he said. Afterward, Johnson said she had fun but the eclipse was different than she thought BY THE WAY
