WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL
Superintendent to resign
at end of school year
School board chair Scott
Morris said he didn’t totally
expect Liscom’s resigna-
Stanfield School Dis- tion, but he had been aware
trict Superintendent Shel- that she didn’t see eye-to-
ley Liscom announced eye with the board.
Morris said the
plans to resign
board was sched-
at last Wednes-
day’s school board
uled to have an
meeting. She will
executive session
stay through the
on Wednesday to
discuss an investi-
end of the school
gation into a com-
year, serving her
plaint against Lis-
last day with the
com, but the wrong
district June 15.
policy number was
Liscom
sent Liscom
listed on the agenda,
an email message
to district staff Thursday so they postponed the execu-
morning informing them tive session until this week.
At that point in the
of her decision.
“There really is not a meeting, he said, Liscom
big story or scoop to tell — handed in her resignation.
Morris said they will
over the last few months it
has become apparent that I likely still discuss the find-
do not share the same phi- ings of the investigation
losophy and beliefs as the at the executive session
board members,” Liscom Wednesday, just to com-
said in her brief email. plete it. Morris said the
She thanked teachers for board will also set a time-
allowing her to serve the line fairly soon for hiring
Liscom’s replacement.
community.
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
STAFF PHOTOS BY JADE MCDOWELL
City of Hermiston staff, elected officials and their families assemble 420 food boxes assembly line-style during their annual
holiday party at the Hermiston Conference Center on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Christmas Express to feed hungry
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Canned corn and boxes of
stuffing were practically fly-
ing into boxes at the city of
Hermiston’s annual office
holiday party last week.
Staff, elected officials and
their families lined up along
a conveyor belt set up in the
Hermiston Conference Cen-
ter, working together assem-
bly line-style to fill 420 boxes
with food for needy families
in the community. The food,
along with toys for families
with young children, is being
distributed via Hermiston’s
Christmas Express program.
“Henry Ford’s got noth-
ing on these guys,” said Ric
Sherman as he watched on
Dec. 12.
Sherman said he has been
helping coordinate the food
drive for Christmas Express
for 37 years, but this year
was the first time he had
actually watched the food be
packed into boxes. He said
the program, administered by
the Hermiston Police Depart-
ment, is a shining example of
Hermiston generosity.
“This is Hermiston’s fin-
est hour,” he said.
Police Chief Jason Edmis-
ton said the department had
purchased $4,000 worth of
turkeys and $6,200 in other
food items, to be added to the
13,925 food items collected
by Hermiston schools and
the fresh produce donated by
three local farms. The food
was loaded into boxes and
then shrink-wrapped onto
pallets within 45 minutes.
Extra food that didn’t go into
the boxes for about 420 spe-
cially chosen families will be
donated to the Agape House
to be used where the non-
profit sees the most need.
Christmas Express started
48 years ago when a local
businessman had some toys
he wanted to donate and
asked then-police chief Bob
Shannon whether he knew of
anyone in town who needed
them. From that grew a pro-
gram that now serves hun-
dreds of struggling families
in Hermiston each year, nom-
inated by churches and other
local agencies to receive food
and presents for Christmas.
Edmiston said he was
born and raised in Hermis-
ton but didn’t understand the
depth of the community’s
generosity until he became
involved with Christmas
Express in 2004.
Man stabbed, dumped from car by ‘friends’
HERMISTON HERALD
A Umatilla man was
treated for non-life threat-
ening injuries Monday
night after he reported an
acquaintance stabbed him
and threw him from a vehi-
cle in the 800 block of North
First Street, Hermiston.
Hermiston Police said
they received a call around
9:45 p.m., saying a male
victim had been thrown
from the vehicle. When
officers responded they
found that the victim, Jen-
try P. Wedge of Umatilla,
also had been stabbed in the
abdomen. He was taken to
Good Shepherd for treat-
ment of non-life threatening
injuries.
Officers arrested Alex
Ortega, 25, for second-de-
gree assault and lodged
him in the Umatilla County
Jail. Ortega, of Hermiston,
also owned the 1996 Honda
Civic where the stabbing
allegedly happened.
Officers also arrested
Nina J. Hodges, 22, of
Hermiston, on a probation
violation, and lodged her at
the Umatilla County Jail.
The
vehicle
was
impounded and a search
warrant was served Tues-
day morning.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said the
investigation is ongo-
ing, and that it was an iso-
lated and quickly contained
incident.
“[It] involved three per-
sons known to each other
with what we believe was
a very unique ‘friendship’
leading to a dispute taking
place inside a moving vehi-
cle,” Edmiston said in a
press release.
Edmiston said police
believe they have a confes-
sion from Ortega, and all
three people involved have
a history with police in the
area.
Hermiston Police were
assisted by the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office, the
Stanfield Police Department
and the Oregon State Police.
Hermiston School District
swaps Theater Lane parcel
HERMISTON HERALD
Whenever the Herm-
iston School District
builds its next elementary
school, it will be on a new
site — due to a land swap
with the Hermiston Irriga-
tion District conducted at
this week’s school board
meeting.
The board exchanged
their parcel of land, a
19.24-acre plot on East
Theater Lane, with a par-
cel of identical size at the
corner of East Theater
Lane and Northeast 10th
Street, formerly owned by
the Irrigation District.
“The purpose was that
the access to the site was
much more favorable for
the school district, with
access to both Theater and
10th Street,” said Herm-
iston School Board chair
Karen Sherman. “The
access to the property
we held was very nar-
row, except from Theater
Lane.”
Sherman
said
the
topography of the new
site was also a little flat-
ter, meaning less money
would have to be spent to
excavate the property once
a school is built there.
The district will even-
tually have to pave all of
East Theater Lane, and
put in a sewer line. Herm-
iston Director of Opera-
tions Brad Wayland said
no immediate work would
be done on the property,
and any work such as pav-
ing or sewer line installa-
tion would only be done as
part of a school construc-
tion project.
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