INSIDE SPORTS
AREA RUNNERS COMPETE IN UMATILLA. PAGE A10
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
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HermistonHerald.com
INSIDE
St. Peter’s
opens doors
to future
3 MINUTES WITH
LEARN MORE ABOUT SPORTS
WRITER ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
PAGE A2
MASTERING
GARDENING
OSU EXTENSION OFFERS MASTER
GARDENER COURSE.
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BUSINESS
LOCAL FAVORITE RESTAURANT
REOPENS AFTER REMODEL
PAGE A6
BY THE WAY
Umatilla grad
honored with
Colorado memorial
of BD Ables Construction, beekeeper James
Simpson of Baker City, Hermiston Glass,
Lloyd Piercy, Jake Broyles, the Echo Fire
Department and a score of Kiwanis volun-
teer laborers.
The future plans for the building are up in
the air, but the consensus is the Fort Henri-
etta Foundation and the Echo Kiwanis want
to save the structure.
“People that see it, whether they are
Catholic or not, they love this place,” Duffy
said.
The Fort Henrietta Foundation and Echo
Kiwanis are hosting an open house to hope-
fully increase interest in the building and
maybe get some ideas on how to move for-
ward. Organizers also are hoping to hear
more about the building’s history.
The open house is Sunday from 2-4 p.m.
at 33208 Marble St., Echo. Refreshments
will be provided by H&P Café. In addition,
Staff Sgt. Austin Bie-
ren, who died of natural
causes March 28 while on
active duty in Syria, was
recently
memorialized
in Colorado. The 2010
Umatilla High School
graduate was among fi ve
service members honored
from both the 21st Space
Wing and the 10th Spe-
cial Forces Brigade who
lost their lives in the line
of duty. Bieren’s wife,
Rachel Bieren, attended
the Aug. 20 ceremony at
Mount Pisgah Cemetery
in Cripple Creek, Colo-
rado, where the service
members names were
added to a memorial wall.
Col. Kathleen Flarity,
Offi ce of the Surgeon
General, provided com-
ments and conducted the
Laying of the Wreath.
The High Frontier Hon-
or Guard performed a
rifl e salute and the cere-
mony concluded with the
playing of “Taps” in their
honor. Dedicated in 2007,
the Memorial Wall, with
385 names engraved on
it, offers a place to refl ect
on the sacrifi ces made by
service members.
• • •
First-time blood donor
Muna Satter was among
the 48 donors who par-
ticipated in the Sept. 18
American Red Cross
blood drive at Good
Shepherd Medical Cen-
See ST. PETER’S, Page A16
See BTW, Page A16
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
St. Peter’s Catholic Church was constructed in 1913 in Echo. De-consecrated in 1996, the building was donated by the Diocese of Baker to the
Fort Henrietta Foundation. An open house is planned Sunday from 2-4 p.m.
Open house set for Sunday
at historic church in Echo
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
A
historic symbol of bygone days in
Echo, St. Peter’s Catholic Church
has sat mostly empty for more than
20 years.
Constructed in 1913, the church was
de-consecrated in 1996. Echo City Admin-
istrator Diane Berry said the Echo Alter So-
ciety didn’t want to see the building become
privately owned, which resulted in the Dio-
cese of Baker donating it to the Fort Henri-
etta Foundation.
The idea was that it would become a mu-
seum. Constructed in the Portuguese Colo-
nial Revival style, it features a distinctive
stucco facade. The interior houses ornate
statues and a faux marble altar.
Shortly after being gifted to the founda-
tion, an architectural study was conducted
on the building. A Kinsman Foundation
grant provided funding for a new roof and
some basic stabilization, Berry said. It was
subsequently added to the National Reg-
ister of Historic Places on Aug. 28, 1997.
However, that’s when most activity with the
building came to a standstill.
According to Phyllis Shovelski, the Echo
Kiwanis approached the Fort Henrietta
Foundation last July, offering to raise mon-
ey and work towards minimizing the build-
ing’s degradation. The group helped raise
money through an Oktoberfest celebration
in 2016 and has arranged work crews and
received assistance through reduced rates
and in-kind labor.
Michael Duffy, Echo Kiwanis president,
said local help has generously come from
Dick Snow of Muleshoe Ranches and Rock
Pit, Dave Smith of O So Kleen, Larry Ables
City assists pavilion project for skate park land
By JADE McDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
A deal between the city of
Hermiston and Mitco Invest-
ments will spur public and private
development along South First
Place.
Mitco plans to build a 5,000
square foot event pavilion be-
tween Locust Avenue and Or-
chard Avenue by June 1, 2018.
The Maxwell Marketplace will
feature restrooms, roll-down
glass doors and a 65-space park-
ing lot.
Mitch Myers of Mitco Invest-
ments said the space could host
everything from a farmer’s mar-
ket to a car show to Oktoberfest.
“There are just a lot of great
ideas being thrown at us,” he said.
ARTWORK FROM MITCO INVESTMENTS
This conceptual drawing shows plans for the Maxwell Marketplace.
The Hermiston City Council
approved a letter of intent Mon-
day, pledging $220,000 toward
the project in exchange for the
lease to a parcel of land across
from the police station where the
city plans to build a skate park, as
well as an agreement from Mitco
to allow the public free use of the
parking lot at the Maxwell Mar-
ketplace.
New businesses locating with-
in 500 feet of the parking lot will
be able to count the lot as the
parking they are required by city
ordinance to provide, a require-
ment that Mark Morgan, assistant
city manager, said has created
barriers to new development.
Morgan said the city already
owned a small triangle of land
across from the police station to
build a planned skate park, but
it would be small with no park-
ing. The rest of the land along
the railroad tracks between Or-
chard Avenue and the Hermiston
School District maintenance shed
is leased by Mitco Investments
from Union Pacifi c Railroad.
When Mitco gives up the lease to
the city, it will allow for a larg-
er skate park as well as parking
and landscaping along the entire
See SKATE PARK, Page A16