UMATILLA COUNTY FAIR » New grand marshal, entertainment acts and more announced for 2018 |
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018
HermistonHerald.com
PAGE A3, A17
$1.00
INSIDE
CRUISE TIME
Beach & Beef dinner will
raise money for classroom
grants • PAGE A4
HERMISTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
RED ALERT
Illnesses and weather
push blood shortage to
critical level • PAGE A6
(10 POINTS
BEHIND
STATE
AVERAGE)
DUAL MEET
Hermiston wrestlers best
Hood River in hard-won
matchup • PAGE A12
BY THE WAY
HPD Facebook post
shows off humor
Hermiston
Police
Department’s
recent-
ly-expanded use of social
media has been prompt-
ing some extra attention
for the department lately.
A recent post on Facebook
was shared more than 250
times. “Have you been
ripped off by your drug
dealer? Are you running
out of space to store sto-
len property? Have you
done something horrible,
and feel like you should
tell
somebody?
The
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment, in business since
1907, may have the solu-
tion for your problem,”
the post read, before offer-
ing up variety of services
including “trained opera-
tors” answering calls 24/7,
house calls and free eve-
ning and weekend service.
The department has
leveraged the increased
attention on Facebook
to call attention to more
serious matters, includ-
ing unsolved robber-
ies, resources for vic-
tims of sexual assault and
advice about deterring car
thieves.
• • •
Highland Hills Ele-
mentary School stu-
dents were using porta-
ble toilets, bottled water
and hand sanitizer Mon-
day after a rusted pipe
sprang a leak outside the
school. Water was turned
off during the afternoon
so that city crews could fix
the problem, and by 3 p.m.
the leak had been fixed.
Umatilla increases rate
by 10 percent, touts follow
through from principal
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
T
he 2017 graduation rates are
in, and Hermiston’s are show-
ing room for improvement.
Hermiston School Dis-
trict’s graduation rate of 65.8
percent — a slight up-tick from the
previous year — is more than 10
points below the statewide gradua-
tion rate of 76.6 percent, according
to figures released by the Oregon
Department of Education on Thurs-
day. The figure is derived from the
percentage of students who receive
a diploma four years after they begin
high school.
Stanfield, Echo and Umatilla
were all above the state average,
with a 10 point jump for Umatilla
over its 2015-2016 rates.
Hermiston School District
Hermiston’s rates have been lower
than the state average for the last few
years, and this year was the low-
est rate in Umatilla County. Overall,
their rate is the 21st worst in the state.
Hermiston
administrators
acknowledged that the rates are not
where they had hoped.
“I would love to at least hit the
state average next year,” said Herm-
iston High School Principal Tom
Spoo. “And that would be a huge
jump. The state average has been
steadily climbing.”
See GRAD rates, A18
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Members of the 2017 Hermiston High School graduating class celebrate at
the end of Saturday’s graduation ceremony.
“I would love to at least hit the state
average next year. And that would be a
huge jump. The state average has been
steadily climbing.”
TOM SPOO | Hermiston High School Principal
See BTW, A18
Festival street construction begins Thursday
Street will be closed until Memorial
Day, altered to host outdoor events
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
The street in front of Hermiston City
Hall will close Thursday and not re-open
until Memorial Day as contractors trans-
form it into a festival street designed to
host events.
Moreno & Nelson Construction of
Walla Walla will begin work on Northeast
Second Street between Main Street and
Gladys Avenue this week. An ad-hoc com-
mittee of business owners helped create
the street’s design, which was then final-
ized by city engineers Anderson Perry &
Associates.
CONTRIBUTED IMAGE
See STREET, A18
This concept image shows the proposed Hermiston festival street improvement project.