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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2017)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2017 NEWS Taco Bell employee known for jokes, hard work Horizon Project links developmentally disabled people with jobs By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL Mark Krawczyk, left, and his wife Tammy at Hermiston City Hall. Hermiston finance director finds hospitality up north By JADE MCDOWELL HERMISTON HERALD Hermiston’s brand new finance director is still get- ting settled in, but he and his wife can’t stop mar- veling about how friendly everyone is. “It’s a very welcoming community,” Mark Kraw- czyk said. “Other places I’ve been to, you have to be there six months to a year to get people to talk to you. Here I’ve never met a stranger.” His wife Tammy Kraw- czyk had the same first impression when she arrived in Hermiston for the first time. “He had some training to do, so I just roamed around, and I never met a rude per- son,” she said. Mark grew up in Okla- homa and Tammy grew up in Florida and they had been living in Texas. This is their first time living in the Pacific Northwest. They moved away from three children in Texas but will be closer to their other two in Washington and Idaho. “We kind of left one half of the family to be closer to the other half,” Mark said. Mark — previously assistant finance director for the city of Fort Worth, Texas — started his job as Hermiston’s finance direc- tor on Dec. 11. Tammy left behind a job as an educator and administrator at a small community college and said she hopes to be able to continue to work in higher education here. They’re a little appre- hensive about what a north- ern winter might be like, but they are also looking forward to the new oppor- tunities for hiking, biking, hunting, boating and other outdoor recreation now within a short drive. “I want to learn how to snowboard,” Mark said. For now, however, he is still settling in to the new job, and the couple is look- ing for a home in Hermis- ton’s tight housing market. Mark’s previous expe- rience includes banking, municipal finance, finance for a utility company, and time handling personal finances for millionaires in the oil industry in Texas. They had sold a company for $2.3 billion and were looking to build “genera- tional wealth.” He said each type of financial challenge taught him new lessons, from dealing with government regulations to handling problems that arose when people didn’t heed his fidu- ciary advice. Mark likened jobs he has held to his time going on camping trips as an Eagle Scout and trying to follow the principle of leaving the campsite better than when he found it. “I have tried to do that with every job I’ve had and I hope to do that here,” he said. He said he is also on the faculty for the Gradu- ate School of Banking at Louisiana State Univer- sity, which offers a two- week course each spring, and loves the “light-bulb moments” when he helps small-town bank owners understand ways they can successfully compete with the country’s largest banks for local customers. Tammy said she is look- ing forward to finding a new job in the area. She said the couple has always been in the habit of involving them- selves in the communi- ties where they have lived. She is enjoying Hermis- ton so far, and said every- thing from the investment in schools to the cleanli- ness of the roads shows that residents take pride in their community. She also appreciates the town’s offerings of restaurants and businesses. “I like the mom and pop shops, the drug store on Main,” she said. The Krawczyk name (pronounced “Crossick”) is a little hard to spell, but Mark said it’s as com- mon as “Smith” in Pol- ish. His father emigrated from Poland to America as a baby, but Mark said he doesn’t remember much from the informal Polish lessons his father used to give him as a child. Regulars at the Herm- iston Taco Bell on week- day afternoons expect to be greeted with a smile by Mark Leach, one of the store’s most enthusiastic workers. “I love my job,” he said. Leach, 52, has been working at Taco Bell for a year and a half through an employment program at Horizon Project that helps individuals with develop- mental disabilities hold jobs. LaTonya Avila, a Horizon Project employee who accompanies Leach to his job, said he is well- known by many customers, some of whom even leave him tips. “There’s people who always recognize him, who really notice how hard he works,” she said. Hermiston’s own Mark Leach can be found restocking the napkins, wiping down tables and emptying garbage in Taco Bell’s lobby on most days. He calls himself the lobby supervisor. “I help the customers that need it with their pops, like the little kids that need help to put their lids on,” he said. Kelly Shockman of Horizon Project said keep- ing the front of house orga- nized and stocked with cups, napkins, hot sauce packets and other items is his “pride and joy.” He also has the import- ant job of emptying used grease from the fryers into a special dumpster, and sweeping up garbage from the parking lot. Avila said seeing all of the cigarette butts on the ground out front always makes him frustrated that people don’t clean up after themselves. He keeps a good atti- tude, though. “He’s a huge jokester,” she said. “Your shoe’s untied,” he responded, looking at Shockman. She laughed, but refused to fall for the trick. “I tease these guys all the time,” Leach said. When he’s not working at Taco Bell, Leach builds model cars, erector sets and other hands-on projects. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Mark Leach cleans a table in the dining area at Taco Bell on Tuesday in Hermiston. One of his favorite things to do is shop at Hobby Lobby in the Tri-Cities for new models and then “tinker- ing” with them. Leach grew up in Cali- fornia, then moved to Ore- gon with family after his brother got a job in Nyssa. After both of his parents WORSHIP COMMUNITY the best thing about Sundays 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 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 First Christian Church “Proclaiming the Message of Hope, Living the Gospel of Love” Sunday School 9:15am Worship Gathering 10:30 am Children’s Church 10:30 am 567-3013 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston MEDICAL DIRECTORY COUNSELING FAMILY DENTISTRY Seventh-day Adventist Church Saturdays Sabbath School........9:30 a.m. Worship Service......11:00 a.m. English & Spanish Services 567-8241 855 W. Highland • Hermiston Family Dentistry LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH ~ N ew Patients Welcome~ 541-567-8161 995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S . 125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232 Pastor David Dever MENTAL HEALTH URGENT AND FAMILY CARE LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS! HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE & • Adult, Child and Family Therapy • Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment • Mental Health and Crisis Services • Confidential and Professional Care LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON 331 SE 2nd St., 595 NW 11th St., 866-343-4473 Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston, OR 97838 Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG Office: 541-567-2536 PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY Call Today! 541-289-5433 1060 W. Elm, Suite #115, Hermiston, OR (across from Good Shepherd Medical Center) www.apd4kidz.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm URGENT CARE Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 7:30am-7:00pm 541-567-1137 236 E. Newport, Hermiston (across from U.S. Bank) VISION CARE Eye Health & Vision Care Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC Optometric Physician 115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130 541-567-1837 To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call: Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538 passed away, Leach moved to a group home run by Horizon Project, which he has been involved with for nearly a decade. Horizon Project started in Milton-Freewater in 1978 and expanded its ser- vices to Hermiston in 2002 and Pendleton in 2004, according to their web- site. The organization aims to give individuals with intellectual disabilities more independence and an opportunity to partic- ipate in activities outside their home. The organiza- tion offers employment ser- vices such as job training, community job placement and direct employment at their recycling operation in Milton-Freewater. They also offer housing services, including group homes and semi-independent living arrangements, and provide daytime activities for indi- viduals who are not able to be employed. Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm www.hermistonlmbc.com 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 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 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 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” 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 To share your worship times call 541-278-2678