INSIDE
ANNUAL FALL SPORTS PREVIEW SECTION
Hermiston
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
GREAT
GRADUATION
SITE
$1.00
INSIDE
DEBATE
THREE MINUTES
WITH
MEET TABITHA MENDENHALL,
OWNER OF UNIQUE HAIR SALON
PAGE A2
SOCCER OPENERS
HERMISTON SQUADS GET 2
WINS IN SEASON-OPENING
DOUBLE HEADER.
PAGE A9
BIGHAUS ON
HARKIE
FORMER HERALD SPORTS EDITOR
BILL BIGHAUS REMEMBERS
FORMER MAYOR, SPORTS FAN.
PAGE A6
CANINE KIDS
FILE PHOTO
FILE PHOTO
COMMUNITY EDITOR TAMMY
MALGESINI’S FAMILY LIFE HAS
GONE TO THE DOGS.
PAGE A6
BY THE WAY
Column inspires
social media
group site on
Facebook
STAFF PHOTO E.J. HARRIS
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY MITCH LEWIS.
Clockwise from top left: 1) Hermiston High School has held graduation in the high school’s gym in past years. 2) Hermiston Mayor David
Drotzmann greats visitors during ceremonies to open Kennison Field in 2013. 3) The Toyota Center in Kennewick is one of four options
Hermiston School District is considering for graduation. 4) Rodeo announcer Randy Corley watches Brady Nicholes of Hoysville, Utah,
ride Duck Butter in saddle bronc riding at the new Farm-City Pro Rodeo Arena in Hermiston. The new arena is one of the venues school
offi cials are considering for a graduation location.
Hermiston School District
board weighs pros, cons
and costs of diff erent
graduation venues
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
C
results of a community survey as well
as the pros, cons and price tags associ-
ated with each of four options for future
graduation sites. The school board will
likely put the decision to a vote at its
next meeting.
“Whatever the choice is, we need to
get that information out so that plans
can be made,” board chair Karen Sher-
man said.
Hermiston High School gym
ommunity members have chosen
the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
Center as their top choice for a high
school graduation venue, but Hermiston
School District is still weighing its op-
tions.
At a school board work session
Monday, director of operations Brad
Wayland presented the board with the
About 54 percent of community
members said they are “very dissatis-
fi ed” with the district’s current practice
of holding graduation in the Hermiston
High School gym, which only holds
2,200 people including graduates and
staff.
Hermiston’s growing student popu-
lation has limited each student to fi ve
tickets for friends and family, and Way-
land said there was a good chance that
number would be reduced to four this
school year. The venue also presents
safety and visibility issues with so many
people packed inside the gym, and has
limited accommodations for guests with
disabilities.
On the positive side, the indoor gym
does not require a back-up location in
case of inclement weather, the district
has full control over the venue in the
weeks leading up to the event, and the
school is a source of community pride.
Wayland said the district spent about
$11,883 on graduation in 2016, includ-
ing audio/visual rentals and upgrades,
staff time for set-up, decorations, and
an array of preparations the district
See DEBATE, Page A14
Even staff must adjust to changing schools
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston’s fi rst day of school
continued a tradition of enrolling
plenty of new students on the fi rst
day, but some of the “new kids”
this year are on the staff.
Laura Jacobsma, principal of
Desert View Elementary School,
had her fi rst day of school in
Hermiston School District Mon-
day, as did Christie Petersen, who
joined the district as principal of
Sunset Elementary School.
After popping in and out of
classrooms all day, Jacobsma
wrapped up with a short assem-
bly to introduce herself and all
of the school’s teachers to a gym
full of children wiggly with fi rst-
day energy.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Sunset Elementary School
principal Christie Petersen has
a background in English as a
Second Language and literacy
development.
“I am so excited to be here to-
day, and so excited to have you
all with me,” she told the stu-
dents. “We have been preparing
ourselves all summer to have you
back in school so it’s a really ex-
citing time.”
Afterward, as she got ready to
help direct the year’s fi rst bus-
and-parent pick-up, she said she
felt the fi rst day had gone well.
“There’s been lots of excite-
ment and smiles,” she said.
After the fi rst day it’s hard to
tell where enrollment numbers
will settle, as the school’s staff
were handling last-minute regis-
trations all day but also taking note
of students who hadn’t shown up
for the start of the school year.
Jacobsma, who came to the dis-
trict from Eugene, said she’s still
learning about Hermiston School
District and its students, but there
are many similarities between all
school districts. So far, she’s just
See NEW YEAR, Page A14
We now have a group page
on Facebook to go along with
our weekly feature that runs
in this space and we would
invite you all to join us there.
The group is called “By The
Way, Hermiston” and is
a place to share comments
questions and interact with
the Hermiston Herald staff
on, well, whatever is on your
mind. So, check it out, it’s
free to join and participate in,
or start, discussions on top-
ics of interest to the greater
Hermiston community.
• • •
Craig Engbretson, Don
Obrist, Craig Lockwood and
Randy Henderson recently
pitched in to help with a beau-
tifi cation project at Big River
Golf Course in Umatilla. The
foursome installed railroad
ties along the fi rst and ninth
holes. Megan Olsen, general
manager, expressed apprecia-
tion for the men’s efforts, say-
ing it looks “fantastic.”
Also, Olsen said the 2017
Thursday Night League is
offi cially in the books and
congratulations are in order
to Josh Browning and Pat
Kerrigan, who placed fi rst.
Other top teams were Mike
Webb and Gunner Olsen;
Mike Frink and Keith Mor-
See BY THE WAY, Page A14
Offi ce closed for holiday
The offi ces for the Herm-
iston Herald and East Ore-
gonian, 333 E. Main Street,
Hermiston, will be closed on
Monday, Sept. 4, for the La-
bor Day holiday.
In general, if you need
news or advertising sched-
uled for the Sept. 6 issue of
the Hermiston Herald, please
contact our staff before 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 31.
The advertising deadlines
for the Sept. 6 edition of
the East Oregonian are also
moved up to 5 p.m. Friday,
Sept. 1.