BULLDOG BOYS, GIRLS OUT DUEL PENDLETON AT NET
WINS GIVE
MOMENTUM
INTO TENNIS
DISTRICTS THIS
WEEKEND
SPORTS »
PAGE A10
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018
$1.00
INSIDE
AN EVEN SPLIT
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH
Umatilla County and the
city of Umatilla disagree
over what constitutes a
fair share of money from
new data centers.
PAGE A3
MIND, BODY & SOUL
ROCK SHOW
Agates, petrified wood
and other natural
curiosities on display this
weekend in Hermiston.
PAGE A4
BOOK BATTLE
Hermiston School District
gives explanation
for labeling Battle of
the Books selection
inappropriate.
PAGE A7
BY THE WAY
Local paramedic
battles cancer
A Hermiston paramedic
is battling cancer, and his
colleagues are trying to
help him pull through.
Mark Johnson, a para-
medic with the Umatilla
County Fire District
and in Hermiston for the
past 18 years, was diag-
nosed with lymphoma a
few months ago. Umatilla
County Fire District Bat-
talion Chief Jimmy Davis
said Johnson is receiv-
ing treatment at a Seat-
tle hospital, and the fire-
fighter’s union has set up
a GoFundMe page, asking
the community to assist
with costs the family is
facing.
Davis said Johnson’s
cancer was determined
to be job-related, which
will alleviate some of the
medical bills. He said the
GoFundMe was to help
the family keep up with
other bills and costs.
• • •
A Hermiston clinic has
welcomed a provider back
into the fold after a decade
away.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Clara Brownell Middle School eighth-grader Kyleigh Wheeler, left, and seventh-grader Evelyne Avita are in the leadership class that hand made signs
and placed them around the school.
Umatilla shows its students that physical
and mental health go together
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
J
umping rope or eating an apple is
good for more than just your physi-
cal wellness — it can help keep your
mind healthy, too.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month,
and the city of Umatilla and the Umatilla
School District are going all in with a focus
on mental health and the many things that
contribute to it.
Events held in Umatilla parallel the
national Mental Health Awareness Month
theme “whole body,” and will help resi-
dents understand the connections between
physical activity, nutrition, and mental
well-being.
The school district has released a calendar
with daily suggestions for improving men-
tal health, broken down into weekly themes
that encourage families to do a different
exercise or activity each day. There will also
be free events throughout the month, includ-
ing parent classes and a 5k run/walk.
Selene Torres-Medrano, a Umatilla city
councilor and school district employee, is
the driving force behind the monthlong rec-
ognition of mental health and wellness. She
said several local organizations will be at
the events, including Lifeways, Commu-
nity Counseling Solutions, Domestic Vio-
lence Services and Good Shepherd Health
Care System.
Torres-Medrano, an ELL Family Out-
reach Coordinator at the Umatilla School
District, said she has directly observed the
need for students to have mental health
services.
“Umatilla is a very high-poverty area,”
she said. “With that comes domestic vio-
lence, drug abuse — it all comes down to
mental health. People don’t get the help
they need.”
See MENTAL, A16
Mental health tips
and self-care activities
-Tell at least one person how you are feeling
-Tell someone two positive traits about yourself
-Repeat five times: “I am strong, I am special, I am
beautiful, I am brave”
-Write a list of the things that worry or stress you
-Go outside for 15 minutes and identify the sounds
around you
-Take five deep breaths
-List five things you are grateful for
-Go for a 10-minute walk
-Dance to three of your favorite songs
-Eat three servings of vegetables
-Make your own food today
-Drink at least three cups of water
-Try a new fruit or vegetable
Events for Umatilla Mental
Health Awareness Month
Tuesday, May 16 - Parent Zumba class, 6-8 p.m.
Saturday, May 19 - 5K Race/Walk and mental
health fair, 10 a.m.,Village Square Park
Thursday, May 24 - Parent cooking class, 6-8 p.m.,
McNary Heights Elementary School.
See BTW, A3
Hermiston Raceway rebranded, streamlined
Walden family rejuvenates racetrack north of town
By ERIC SINGER
STAFF WRITER
HERMISTON — The three-
eighths-mile paved oval racetrack
that sits off Highway 395 just north
of Hermiston has been known by
several different names in its exis-
tence, from Umatilla Speedway and
Race City USA to Columbia Motor
Speedway and Hermiston Super
Oval.
This year the aging track has yet
another new name — Hermiston
Raceway — and another chance at
life with the help of former racer and
Tri-Cities native Greg Walden.
And no, not the U.S. Representa-
tive from Oregon.
This Greg Walden, 55, signed a
three-year lease with an option to
buy to operate the track in February,
aiming to make Hermiston Race-
way a destination again for race fans
at the same time that similar tracks
have closed down around the region.
He had interest in leasing the Yakima
Speedway this winter, but turned his
focus to Hermiston when Yakima
was sold and closed.
“This track was available so we
were like, ‘Well, let’s see what we
can do,’” Walden said during an
interview inside the track’s office on
Saturday. “And we’re only two races
in now, but there’s hope and there’s
early signs of life.”
Walden brings nearly four decades
of experience in the local racing
world as a driver, a promoter, and a
See RACEWAY, A16
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER
Tri-Cities natives Wayne Walden, left, and his son Greg Walden, right,
are the newest operators of Hermiston Raceway. Wayne operated their
hometown Tri-City Raceway in the 1980s and ’90s and Greg used to race at
Hermiston during his racing career spanning three decades.