Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2018)
SPECIAL ELECTION EDITION | MEET THE CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES » PAGE A16 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 $1.00 HermistonHerald.com INSIDE JUDICIAL RACE Two Pendleton attorneys square off for circuit court judge PAGE A8 THE RACE IS ON City councilors discuss housing, economic development TAXING DISTRICT Voters faced with choice on tax increase to support extension service PAGE A8 By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER H ousing, economic devel- opment and the East- ern Oregon Trade and Event Center were all topics of concern during a forum for Hermiston City Council candi- dates Wednesday night. The seven candidates took ques- tions presented by the Greater Hermiston Area Chamber of Com- merce. Michael Engelbrecht (Ward 4) was not at the forum after announcing to the Hermiston Her- ald that he is in the process of sub- mitting paperwork to formally withdraw from the race due to a changing employment situation that means he may not be living in Hermiston next year. Incumbent Jackie Myers (Ward 3) was also absent from the council portion. Questions covered a variety of problems facing Hermiston, giving candidates one minute each to pres- ent a solution. STATE RACES A large crop of Republicans vie for an opportunity to challenge Governor Kate Brown, while a field of Democrats eyes Rep. Greg Walden’s Congressional seat. PAGE A8, A11 STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS State routes/highways Rural routes Train tracks Metro area Urban Growth Boundary 395 W. Punkin Center Road N.W. 11th Street Ward III E. Theater Lane N. River a 207 395 ad Ro go Dia W. Hermiston Avenue S. Townsend Road W. Ridgeway Avenue nal E. Main Street W. Orchard Avenue E. Highland Avenue S.E. 10th Street h S.W. 1 7t S.W. 11th Street W. Highland Avenue W. Moore Avenue St. W. Joseph Avenue Riv Hermiston Municipal Airport ay rt W po Air Eastern Oregon Trade & Event Center S. Ott Road Uma til W. Gettman Road S. First Street Ward II S. Ott Road Uma N.E. Fourth Street p oo 207 E. Elm Avenue 207 N. First Street L le till nd Pri e W. Elm Avenue lac st P Fir Ward I E. Punkin Center Road N. Ott Road Ward Candidate I Jackie Linton Lori Davis Mark Gomolski II Roy Barron Shean Fitzgerald III Jackie Myers Kyran Miller IV Doug Smith la Minnehaha S.E. Airport Road Ward IV 395 Raod A team of robotics stu- dents from Umatilla High School are in Houston, Texas, this week for the world finals FRC robotics championship. Team 4125 Confi- dential had a strong sea- son, according to super- intendent Heidi Sipe, that included winning the prestigous Chairman’s Award during the quar- terfinals in Clackamas, semi-finals in Yakima and another Chairman’s Award at the Pacific Northwest Championship. The team will be updating their Facebook page during the trip and when they return will host a baked potato feed to share stories and pictures from the trip and raise start-up money for next year’s season. • • • The state legislature’s new Joint Committee on Student Success will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. at Hermiston High School. The committee is holding a listening tour Map legend Voters will be asked on May 15 to vote for one city council candidate from each ward. er Robotics team at world finals Hermiston City Council wards Road BY THE WAY Hermiston City Council candidate Jackie Linton answers a question during a candidate forum at Armand Larive Middle School in Hermiston. 1,000 feet 207 Source: City of Hermiston Jade McDowell and Alan Kenaga/E.O. Media Group Feedville Road Feedville Road See BTW, A11 EOTEC A hot topic for the city recently has been how to make the new $17 million Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center financially self-sustainable. Several candidates mentioned keeping VenuWorks, which was recently contracted to run the center’s day to day operations, accountable and making sure the professional venue management company is yielding good results. “We need to keep their feet to the flame,” Mark Gomolski (Ward 1) said. Roy Barron (Ward 2) said he believed that EOTEC’s current rental fee structure is unafford- able for most prospective clients, and that hurts the center’s ability to attract events. He cited EOTEC being passed up by the Hermis- ton School District as a graduation venue as an example. He also said the facility needs to expand the ser- vices it provides to people renting the event center. Shean Fitzgerald (Ward 2) said he thought the city should also seek private donations and volunteer work to help supplement the city’s support for EOTEC. Housing One of the council’s current goals is tackling a shortage of affordable housing for families moving to Hermiston. Jackie Lin- ton (Ward 1) said she believes the See CITY RACE, A16 Opposite stances in contested county races By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock answers a question about the county budget during a candidate forum on Wednesday at Armand Larive Middle School in Hermiston. Murdock is running against Tom Bailor and Rick Pullen. Umatilla County commissioner candidates managed to take some shots at each other last week in spite of rules banning exchanges during a forum on April 11. Rick Pullen and Tom Bailor are challenging Commissioner George Murdock for Position 1 on the county’s three-member board. All three live in Pendleton. And Athena Mayor John Shafer aims to unseat Commissioner Larry Givens of Umapine from Position 2. The five men sat at the same table last Wednesday night for a forum at Armand Larive Middle School, Hermiston. The Hermiston Chamber of Commerce helped sponsor the event, which attracted about 50 people. Under the rules, a modera- tor asked each candidate the same question, but the candidates were not allowed to debate each other. The topics ranged from economic development and housing to men- tal health, from law enforcement to balancing the county budget. Givens led off with economic See COUNTY RACE, PAGE A11