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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 $1.00 HermistonHerald.com INSIDE WARM-UP Find tips for readying your home and garden for spring in a special section INSIDE NICE BEARD Find out how Doug Primmer’s wife Karen made a memorable first impression on him. PAGE A2 WALMART DISTRIBUTION CENTER 20 YEARS IN HERMISTON BULLSEYE A former Navy captain sets his sights on governor’s mansion. PAGE A3 BY THE WAY School safety drill this week Morrow County School District staff will get to prepare for every worst-case scenario during the all-day emer- gency drill at all three Boardman schools Friday. All district staff will congregate at Sam Boardman and Windy River elementaries, and Riverside Junior/Senior High School, to partici- pate in an emergency drill that will go over how the district would respond in a situation like a natural disaster, a gas leak, or a violent incident. The day of the drill is a no-school day for students, but some stu- dents will still assist with the practice, said Mor- row County School Dis- trict superintendent Dirk Dirksen. A press release from the district said locals should be aware that during the drill, it will seem like a real emer- gency is happening, and that law enforcement will be traveling to and from the schools and perform- ing work they’d do in a real emergency. • • • Eighth graders from both Hermiston middle schools got some advice about what to expect when they join high school at Friday’s annual Girls Night In event. Girls from Armand Larive and STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS Divisional vice president Chad Ducote talks about the accomplishments achieved by the Walmart Distribution Center during a ceremony celebrating 20 years in operation. More Hermiston Walmart Distribution Center photos from over the years, Page A15. By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER I Manager Josh Burns welcomes guests to a 20-year celebration for the Walmart Distribution Center on Tuesday in Hermiston. “You are one of our most productive distribution centers.” Greg Smith | Walmart executive vice president of supply chain f all of the more than 1.3 billion cases shipped from the Hermiston Walmart Distribution Center since its opening in April 1998 were laid end to end, they would circle the earth 13 times. Those goods passing through Hermis- ton over the last 20 years represent about $54 billion in revenue, according to general manager Josh Burns. “That’s a pretty good chunk of change,” he told the crowd at the distribution center’s 20th anniversary celebration on Tuesday. The economic engine represented by the center — which has 26 acres under its roof and could fit 10 Walmart stores inside — can be hard to comprehend. But distribu- tion centers like Hermiston’s are vital to Walmart’s efforts to stay competitive in a digital age. Greg Smith, executive vice president of Walmart’s supply chain com- pany-wide based in Bentonville, Arkansas, told the group that the Hermiston DC has “distinguished itself across our distribution centers.” “You are one of our most productive dis- tribution centers,” he said. See WALMART, A16 See BTW, A16 Nurse on mission to help hurricane-stricken children By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Tamie Cline of Hermiston took off Saturday to the United States Vir- gin Islands. Not for any vacation, but a medical relief mission. Cline is a surgical nurse at Good Shepherd Medical Center, Herm- iston, and one of 22 nurses nation- wide going to help school children as the United States territory recov- ers from the devastation that back-to- back category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria delivered in September. The massive storms, she said, wiped out classrooms, school gyms and cafeterias. The government consolidated thousands of students onto the most viable campuses, she said, and school nurses there are overwhelmed. “Those kids are not having any screenings at all,” Cline said. The Clinton Global Initiative identified the U.S. Virgin Islands, home to almost 103,000 citizens, as a priority for recovery from the rage of the two storms. The American Feder- ation of Teachers put together a plan to address the student health screen- ings, which former President Bill Clinton announced Tuesday. The federation is the second larg- est nurses union in the nation and an affiliate of the Oregon Nurses Asso- ciation. Federation spokesperson Andrew Feldman said the U.S. Vir- gin Islands are “still a mess” with widespread ruin in once-vibrant communities. Some areas, he stated, resemble the aftermath Hurricane See NURSE, A16 STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Hermiston nurse Tamie Cline will be headed to United States Virgin Islands to help in the ongoing relief efforts to rebuild the islands after being struck by category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria last September.
