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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2018)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018 LOCAL NEWS Bounds bound for judicial committee Hermiston lawyer nominated twice for powerful bench rules when the rules don’t suit you is bad enough, but in government it fuels cyni- cism, partisanship, and pub- lic disgust.” Neither senator has issued By ANTONIO SIERRA a “blue slip” in favor of STAFF WRITER Bounds, a stamp of approval from senators when the pres- Ryan Bounds will go ident nominates a judicial before the Senate Judiciary candidate from their home Committee on Wednes- state. Federal judge candi- day, bringing him one step dates don’t usually advance closer to the bench of the to a committee hearing with- Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of out a that slip. In a student-run pub- Appeals despite the objec- tions of Oregon’s lication Stanford two senators. University in the A Hermiston 1990s, Bounds, native and an assis- then an undergrad- tant U.S. Attorney uate, railed against for the District of “multiculturalists” on campus, uni- Oregon, Bounds versities that pun- was twice nomi- nated by President Ryan ished or expelled Bounds Donald Trump for students accused of the court, and was rape without prov- recommended for a hearing ing their case “beyond a along with three other can- reasonable doubt,” students didates by a bipartisan com- protesting a union-busting mittee appointed by Sens. hotel, and the idea of “sensi- Ron Wyden and Jeff Merk- tivity” after intoxicated ath- ley as well as U.S. Rep. letes vandalized a gay pride statue. Greg Walden. Wyden and Merkley, After the op-eds were both Democrats, released a publicized, Bounds said joint statement on Monday he regretted “the objec- excoriating the Senate Judi- tionable words and views ciary Committee, which is recited from three or four of controlled by Republicans, my college op-eds (that) do for holding the hearing in not reflect the views I have the wake of their objections hewn to as a lawyer and, because of “inflamma- frankly, as a grown-up.” tory writings revealing his Although both Oregon archaic and alarming views senators oppose Bounds, about sexual assault, the neither sits on the Senate rights of workers, people Judiciary Committee. of color, and the LGBTQ If Bounds receives community.” approval from the commit- “It’s a shame the U.S. tee and confirmation from Senate Judiciary Committee the full U.S. Senate, the is further diminishing any 44-year-old will achieve a sense of respect for comity historical rarity. The last time federal and fairness in the Senate,” the senators wrote. “For six judicial nominees advanced years while Democrats con- to the Senate Judiciary trolled the Senate and Pres- Committee without a blue ident Obama was in office, slip from both home state no judicial nominee moved senators was in 2003 and forward over the objec- 2004, and none of the four tions of the home state sena- candidates were confirmed, tors. Refusing to play by the according to McClatchy. STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL Clara Beas Fitzgerald, left, encourages the eating contest’s youngest competitor during Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo celebration Saturday. More photos on page A15. Cinco de Mayo offers celebration of culture By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo event spread across more real estate than ever this year as the celebration of Mexican heritage took over the grassy acres of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. Rainstorms Saturday and Sunday afternoons may have kept a few people away from the weekend-long event, but crowds were still enjoying a mixture of carni- val rides, food booths, con- tests, a beer garden and live entertainment. State and local political candidates were also out in force, set- ting up booths and meeting with constituents ahead of next week’s election. Itzahiana Uriarte, one of the three Cinco de Mayo court members, was enjoy- ing a few tacos Saturday before stepping up on stage to introduce the court and GoodHealth LIVE WITH CHRISTOPHER K. SCOTT, D.C., CHIROPRACTIC MEDICINE The Chiropractor & You Join Dr. Christopher K. Scott as he shares common chiropractic conditions he cares for right here in Hermiston. Wednesday, May 30 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Good Shepherd Health Care System Conference Center 1 and 2 610 NW 11th Street | Hermiston, OR 97838 A healthy dessert with light refreshments will be provided Space is Limited. Register today! Call 541.667.3509 or Register Online at Eventbrite Can’t Make it to the Event? Watch Live at www.facebook.com/gshcsnews help with an eating contest. She said she saw her role on the court as a representa- tive of Latino culture in the community, and was hon- ored to speak at the Hermis- ton city council recently. “It was mostly my mom’s idea because she thought, I don’t know, that I was capa- ble, and then I got excited about the thought of it,” she said. People sometimes incor- rectly refer to Cinco de Mayo as “Mexican inde- pendence day,” but Uriate explained the celebration marks the day that Mex- ico defeated a larger and more well-equipped army in the Battle of Puebla. Uri- ate said winning the battle was a “great victory” to cel- ebrate as a way for Mexi- can-Americans to recognize their Mexican heritage and culture. Jessica Rodriguez, who was visiting the celebration from Pasco with Ricky Chi- cas, also alluded to Cinco de Mayo as a celebration of heritage. “It just brings back mem- ories of the culture, and we can interact with people who came from the same area as us,” she said. Part of that cultural cel- ebration, of course, is also the traditional food, she said as she started in on a plate of authentic tacos from her parents’ food stand set up at EOTEC. Rodriguez and Chicas said they were impressed with Saturday’s event, and Chicas said he was looking forward to the live bands starting later. Alejandra Aviles, who was watching some of the contests going on Satur- day afternoon, said she was also looking forward to the bands. She said she comes to Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo celebration every year in anticipation of the music. Before the bands came on, a series of contests were held on the stage. The first was an eating contest, which challenged a table full of children to eat six Gansitos, a chocolate-covered cake with cream and berry filling. The winner of the day (and the La Palma gift cer- tificate) was Edwin Velasco, 9. “I feel great, and I say thank you to the other kids who worked hard to win too,” he said after his big win. Before the contests began, the national anthem of Mexico and the national anthem of the United States of America were both sung, and city councilor Clara Beas Fitzgerald thanked everyone for coming and the sponsors of the event, which was in a new location this year after outgrowing down- town and Butte Park. “Every year it is bigger and more beautiful,” she said in Spanish.
