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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2017)
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 Local woman cleans up one bag at a time Ainsworth picks up litter every day on her morning walks By JADE MCDOWELL EAST OREGONIAN Every morning after she drops her son off at kinder- garten, Miranda Ainsworth laces up her waterproof walking shoes and gets to work, cleaning up after Hermiston’s litterbugs. On Wednesday she was wading through waist-deep grass alongside Highway 207 on the south edge of town, using a plastic trash-grabbing claw to pull empty beer cans and plastic bags from the weeds. So far this month, Ainsworth said she has picked up 23 kitchen-sized garbage bags full of trash. Last month she filled 49 bags. Ainsworth isn’t paid for her work, and her commu- nity service isn’t court-or- dered. She’s just an average citizen who decided that she could be putting her morn- ing walks to better use. “I try and do my part to help around the communi- ty,” she said. Ainsworth said she start- ed a few years ago in Kent, Washington, before con- tinuing the practice when she moved to Hermiston in February. She said she has always noticed litter in parks and along roadways, and it bothers her. “It speaks a lot about the community,” she said. First she started bringing along the plastic grocery bags so she could grab a few things along the way, but after she ran out of grocery bags she switched to larger garbage bags and started getting more serious about planning her walks around areas of town that have litter problems. Bev- erage containers, cigarette packs and paper are the most common items, but sometimes she makes more STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL Miranda Ainsworth picks up trash along Highway 207. interesting finds, particular- ly along the railroad tracks. “I found part of a TV. I found a vacuum cleaner,” she said. “It was tossed along the roadside and had a lot of dirt on it.” Once she found a collec- tion of used needles and let the police department know so that they could be dis- posed of safely. She said there are areas with high-speed traffic that BMCC enrollment up 11 percent BMCC recruiters go full throttle By KATHY ANEY STAFF WRITER Last year, J.J. Hill drove about 10,000 miles from high school to high school in his ride — a silver Sub- aru Crosstrek emblazoned with the Blue Mountain Community College logo. Last week, the BMCC recruiter chatted with 25 Echo High School seniors about college. “We’re going to do a lit- tle word association,” Hill told the students. “When I say ‘community college,’ what’s the first word that comes into your head?’” Words flowed back to Hill: small, cheap, more af- fordable, future, cost. Hill flung out another phrase — four-year college — and got another stream of words: big, scary, expen- sive, huge, money, dorms and debt. He segued into a discus- sion of why small can be good. BMCC has an av- erage class size of 15, he said, quite different from four-year institutions where STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS BMCC recruiter J.J. Hill speaks to a classroom of senior high school students on Wednesday in Echo. freshmen often find large lecture halls and little or no one-on-one time with instructors. Students asked about programs, financial aid and how to find schol- arships. What Hill is doing seems to be working. BMCC reported enroll- ment of 11 percent more students compared with last fall term — while the na- tion’s community colleges are collectively experienc- ing a downward trend. Lane Community College in Eu- gene, for example, experi- enced a 6.5 percent decline compared with last fall according to an article in “The Torch,” the college’s media organization. East- ern Oregon University’s en- rollment is also down this year. The BMCC number, which is 2,766 students, up from 2,491 in 2016, is just a snapshot, a moment in time, but administrators are ecstatic. BMCC Vice-Presi- dent of Student Affairs Di- ane Drebin said the Pendle- ton college has managed to buck a trend. “It is unusual to see a rise in enrollment when it isn’t associated with a decline in the economy,” Drebin said. BMCC President Ca- mille Preus credits a switch in recruitment strategy that began three years ago. It didn’t — “Shazam” — just happen, she said. The college got inten- tional about face time with potential students and out- reach is at full-throttle. Hill treks to each high school in BMCC’s 18,000-square- mile district at least twice a year. The other full-time re- cruitment person, program assistant (and BMCC grad- uate) Abby Pierson, focuses on younger students. Pier- son engaged several dozen Hermiston middle school students during a recent campus tour. She explained federal aid, the cost of at- tending college and the re- lationship between educa- tion and future earnings. A list of all 70 BMCC degrees and certificate programs flashed onto a screen. Pier- son sped up, slowed down, changed gears and pulled them along. Afterwards, the students toured campus. By the time they climbed back on the bus, they could imag- ine themselves at BMCC. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 941-966-0810. she feels more comfortable cleaning up now that her son is in school and not ac- companying her on walks. She tries to be careful by walking toward traffic along roadways with larger WORSHIP COMMUNITY Grace Baptist Church 555 SW 11th, Hermiston 567-9497 Nursery provided for all services Sunday School - 9:30 AM Worship - 10:45 AM 6:00 PM Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM “Proclaiming God’s word, growing in God’s grace” Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church 565 W. HERMISTON AVE. DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday ...............................English 7:00 am Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm ...............................Spanish 7:00 pm SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am ..........................Bilingual 11:00 am ..............................Spanish 1:00 pm Offi ce..............................567-5812 Seventh-day Adventist Church Gas plant devaluation hits school budgets By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER The Oregon Department of Revenue knocked $54 million off the assessed value of the Hermiston Generating Company. The devaluation means a drop in local property tax revenue of $934,672 for 2017-18, with education taking the brunt of the loss. Linda Blacklock with the revenue department’s valuation section said strict confidentiality laws prohibit revealing what led to the downgrade at the natural gas plant. The Hermiston Generating Co., 78145 Westland Road, Hermiston, had a real market value of $180 million and an assessed value of nearly $155 million for 2016-17. Blacklock said the plant’s real and assessed values for 2017-18 are each $100 million. Umatilla County mailed tax bills this week. The power company’s new values show up on its latest tax statement. Paul Chalmers, director of county assessment and taxation, said the devaluation amounts to about 1 percent of the county’s total assessed value. And the state would not tell him why Hermiston STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS The Hermiston Generating Co. power plant on Westland Road had its assessed value lowered by $54 million by the Oregon Department of Revenue. Generating’s value fell, he added. County tax records show Hermiston Generating paid more than $2.43 million in property taxes for 2016- 17, with $900,000 of that for education: $89,877 for the InterMountain Education Service District; $96,520 for Blue Mountain Community College; and $713,602 for the Hermiston School District. The decrease in the company’s assessed value dropped the portion for the school district to almost $400,000, BMCC’s to about $54,000 and the service district’s to roughly $50,000. Tricia Mooney, Hermiston schools interim superintendent, said the district planned for growth at about 3 percent, but that’s now down to around 1.9 percent. She said the district will have to address the situation going forward, and it’s too early to say what might result from the revenue decline. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0833. STOREWIDE SALE 20% OFF shoulders, which reduces the chance of being hit by a car. Sometimes she gets dirty looks, she said, from people who see her in grub- by clothes carrying garbage bags and don’t seem to re- alize what she is doing. But other times people take the time to ask her what she’s doing, and respond with en- thusiastic thanks when she explains. Ainsworth said some- times she gets busy and only goes out two or three times in a week, but for the most part she is out there five mornings a week pick- ing up trash for at least an hour. She is looking for a part-time job, which may cut into her walking time, but for now she hopes her habit inspires others to take better care of their commu- nity. “When people see some- thing clean, they generally try and keep it clean, but if it’s already dirty they think, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter,’” she said. Saturdays Sabbath School........9:30 a.m. Worship Service......11:00 a.m. English & Spanish Services 567-8241 855 W. Highland • Hermiston St. Johns Episcopal Church Join Us On Our Journey With Jesus. Scripture, Tradition and Reason Family service 9am Sunday N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston t. PH: 567-6672 We are an all inclusive Church who welcomes all. First United Methodist Church Hermiston 191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002 Nursery available Check us out on Face Book Worship Livestream at herfumc.com Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH 125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232 Pastor David Dever Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm www.hermistonlmbc.com The Full Gospel Home Church 235 SW 3rd Phone 567-7678 Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker Sunday: Sunday School........10:00 am Worship...................11:00 am Evening Service........7:00 pm Wednesday Service..7:00 pm “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Pet. 5:7 First Christian Church “Proclaiming the Message of Hope, Living the Gospel of Love” 1255 Hwy. 395 S. • 567-5834 oasisvineyard.us Sunday School 9:15am Worship Gathering 10:30 am Children’s Church 10:30 am Worship 10:00 AM 567-3013 “come as you are” 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston NEW BEGINNINGS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Worship Service 10:30 AM Sunday School 9:00 AM Pastor J.C. Barnett Children’s Church & Nursery Available 700 West Orchard Avenue P.O. Box 933 Hermiston, Oregon 541-567-8441 Echo Community Church 21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR Phone: (541) 376-8108 Sunday School • 9:30am Worship • 10:45am Children’s Church • 11:15am Potluck & Communion ~ First Sunday of the Month *not on consignment & Chocolate* November 1st thru 22nd • 2017 Monday – Saturday: 10 AM - 5:30 PM SHOP EARLY FOR THE HOLIDAY SUNSHINE GOURMET SHOPPE 29 Southeast Dorian • Pendleton OR 97801 • 541-276-4974 Purveyors of fine products and foods 1520 W ORCHARD AVE Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE, SERVING PEOPLE www.hermistonnazarene.org To share your worship times call 541-278-2678