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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2017)
INSIDE SPORTS BULLDOGS BLANK BENGALS, BOOST RECORD TO 1-1 PAGE A9 Hermiston Herald ld WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017 HermistonHerald.com Dayshawn Neal of Hermiston exults after recovering a fumble during Friday’s non-conference game against Lewiston at Kennison Field. $1.00 ALMOST READY TO LET FLY INSIDE 3 MINUTES WITH MEET DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY JACLYN JENKINS PAGE A3 BIKING ADVENTURE HERMISTON MEN RECALL A CYCLING ADVENTURE 50 YEARS AGO PAGE A4 INSIDE HER SHOES EXCUSE ME, CAN’T YOU SEE I’M HOLDING A VIAL OF URINE? PAGE A4 NEW DISTRICT HIRE HERMISTON SCHOOL DISTRICT HIRES A NEW GRADUATION COORDINATOR PAGE A11 STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI (Left) Several discs sit on the tee pad of the fi rst hole at Hermiston Desert Disc Golf. The course will be dedicated Sept. 20. (Right) The Oxbow Trail is the home of Hermiston Desert Disc Golf. (Background) The fi rst tee pad for the Hermiston Desert Disc Golf course is near the gazebo at the Oxbow Trail. BY THE WAY La Palma reopening coming ‘soon’ Disc golfers to rattle chains at Hermiston course By TAMMY MALGESINI COMMUNITY EDITOR Area disc golf enthusiasts will soon have another course where they can get out and rat- tle some chains. A number of players have had a hand in developing the Hermiston Desert Disc Golf course, said Larry Fetter, director of Herm- iston Parks & Recreation. In addition to the city of Hermiston, the project is the result of cooperative efforts between the Hermiston Irrigation District, the Good Shepherd Com- munity Health Foundation and the board and administration of Good Shepherd Health Care System. A dedication ceremony for Hermiston Des- ert Disc Golf is set for Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Oxbow Trail, located at 1100 N.W. Elm Ave. The fi rst phase of the course, which includes nine holes, will be available to the public free of charge. “The nice part of it is the Oxbow Trail me- anders through the area,” Fetter said. Scott Zielke, who works in the maintenance department at Good Shepherd, said the course correlates with the walking trail, but doesn’t require players to toss discs over the path. The hospital foundation, Fetter said, pro- vided a $15,000 grant for the fi rst phase of the project. In addition to the health benefi ts, the foundation found the project appealing be- cause it’s available for participants at no cost. “They tend to favor things that are wellness related,” Fetter said. “They like the idea that it gets people out walking and exercising.” The project, Fetter said, started out as a grassroots effort with a small group of disc golfers approaching the city to brainstorm about possible locations for a course. Zielke and hospital co-workers Jake Flemmer and Kathy Williams were aware of some hospi- tal-owned acreage. Although the plot of land wasn’t large enough for a course, coupled with irrigation district property it makes for a more than viable location for an eventual sprawling 18-hole course. A chance encounter between Zielke, a nov- ice disc golfer, and Matt Richmond and Gin- ger Wilkinson, both offi cers with the Umatilla Disc Golf Club, provided further enthusiasm for the possibility of a course in Hermiston. While returning a boomerang Richmond accidentally tossed on Zielke’s daughter’s house, Zielke noticed a disc golf sticker on Richmond’s truck. Wilkinson, Richmond and Zielke started talking about how great it would be to have a course in Hermiston. Ziel- ke told the couple about an upcoming commu- nity planning meeting. “I told him, ‘I’m on board, where do I need to be and what meeting do I need to attend?’” See DISC GOLF, Page A8 We’re as anxious as everyone else to see our downtown neighbors La Palma re-open, but when we checked in with George Avila recently he told us that while the restaurant will be ready to start serving food again “soon,” they hit a cou- ple of snags in the re-model process and were delayed from their plan to open the end of August. • • • Joseph Franell, CEO of Eastern Oregon Telecom, shared that the Umatilla County Fair was well-con- nected. As guests, vendors, contestants and volunteers spent the second week of August at the Eastern Or- egon Trade and Event Center, the new venue for the fair and Farm-City Pro Rodeo, there was a lot going on in cyberspace. With more than 25 miles of fi ber op- tics and dozens of commer- cial wireless access points on site, Franell said people could connect online like never before. In fact, while at the fair and rodeo, he said people initiated 7.75 million web sessions, downloading See REOPENING, Page A8 Board delays decision on graduation venue Members say they want to vet issue more thoroughly with community By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Hermiston High seniors will have to wait at least another month to fi nd out where their 2018 graduation will be, after a surprise motion at Monday night’s school board meeting led the board to postpone the deci- sion until October. The board voted 5-2 to revisit discussion of a new graduation venue at their October meeting, using the next few weeks to gath- er more input and look at oth- er options. Mark Gomolski and Karen Sherman voted against postponing the decision. The board released an agen- da last week, stating that Interim Superintendent Tricia Mooney would recommend the board ap- prove a motion to hold Hermiston High School’s June 2018 gradua- tion at the Toyota Center in Ken- newick, then revisit local venues for graduation in 2019. Board members had discussed the pos- sibility at two previous meetings and issued a community survey. Several local options had also been discussed, including using the high school’s Kennison Field or the new EOTEC rodeo arena. But as the motion was intro- duced at Monday night’s meet- ing, board member Jason Middle- ton introduced another. “I’d like to allow the district more time to look at different op- tions in regard to keeping it local and revisit this in October,” he said. The motion was seconded by Dave Smith. Middleton said he was interested in seeing if they could get some in-kind donations from the community to help make the local options more cost effec- tive. Other board members ap- peared to be against postponing the decision. Ginny Holthus said the big- gest deterrent for people against the Toyota Center was emotion- al, but that line of thinking could obscure a decision that might be best for students. “I think we need to embrace the fact that this is a big deal, and take the recommendation of the people who have done the re- search,” she said. Mark Gomolski asked board members to consider the fi nancial benefi ts of holding the event at the Toyota Center. At a previous meeting, Hermiston High School principal Tom Spoo reported that the Toyota Center would be the least expensive option. Renting the venue would cost between $3,500 and $4,000 per year, not including costs to transport students and staff. The district See VENUE, Page A8