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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2018)
BULLDOGS END THEIR FAREWELL TOUR, START NEW CHAPTER PAGE A9 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2018 HermistonHerald.com $1.00 INSIDE VIOLENT WEEKEND Stabbing, shooting happen hours apart in unrelated incidents in Hermiston. PAGE A3 LANGUAGE OF SUCCESS MARVIN HOZI One of Hermiston High School’s 10 valedictorians this year, sports two sashes he will wear during the graduation ceremony. STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY Baghdad-born student reaches top of the class VIRAL COPS Local police departments find challenges in striking the right tone on social media. PAGE A6 By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER W hen Marvin Hozi walks across the stage to receive his diploma, he knows exactly where his next steps will fall. Hozi, one of 10 Hermiston High School valedictorians in the class of 2018, will attend George Fox Uni- versity in the fall to study computer science, and will pursue a master’s degree at Stanford immediately after. He has secured full scholar- ships for both institutions. But the path to success wasn’t always easy. “I lived in Baghdad (Iraq) from birth to 2006,” he said. When he was six, his family fled from the violence and war in his home coun- try to Jordan, and about a year later, came to the United States as refu- gees. From New York they moved to California, and then to Oregon. Hozi didn’t learn English until he was in seventh grade, about two years after he arrived at the Hermis- ton School District. When he started fifth grade in Hermiston, no one in his family spoke English. Hozi said he felt he needed to figure out a way to learn, to start supporting his family. “I started by listening to music, watching movies, listening to how people talk,” he said. He soon picked up the language, and has since maintained perfect grades. He still speaks Arabic at home with his parents — his father owns a jewelry business and his mother does embroidery work. Hozi has not been back to Iraq since he left due to violence in the region. But he still has some rela- tives there, and hopes to return for a visit. “I’d like to go back once things improve,” he said. Hozi’s hard work has paid off in many ways, but it also led to a challenge when he was selecting a college. He applied to George Fox Uni- versity, and decided while he was at NEW RULES Hermiston School District publishes transportation information, rules for new graduation venue. PAGE A8 BY THE WAY Free summer meals for students This summer, students needing a place to eat meals they normally get at school will be covered, as most cities in the area will be offering free sum- mer meal program for kids and teens. Echo: July 9-August 2, Monday-Thursday, 11-11:30 a.m., Echo School, 600 E. Gerone St., Echo. Hermiston: June 11-June 22 at Armand Larive Middle School and Hermiston High School, and June 12-29 at Sun- set Elementary School. Breakfast 7:30-8:30 a.m., Lunch 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Stanfield: June 11-July 19, 12-12:15 p.m., Stan- field Public Library, 180 W. Coe Ave., Stanfield. Umatilla: June 18-August 17 (exclud- ing July 4), Monday-Fri- day. Kiwanis Park, 12:30- 1:20 p.m.; Marina Park, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; Umatilla High School, 8-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-12 p.m. • • • Thanks are in order to Hermiston Herald read- ers who responded to an April 4 By the Way entry from Ivy Young . A fourth- grade student at Char- See HOZI, A14 Grad walk Story | A8 Photos | A13 See BTW, A14 Foundation offers new way to give The Greater Hermiston Community Foundation will start giving grants after it raises $200,000 By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER For Hermiston residents who want to give back to their commu- nity, there is no shortage of options. Rather than adding to that list, the Greater Hermiston Community Foundation is creating a sustainable fund it hopes will benefit the region for years to come. The newly created founda- tion’s goal is to harness some of the area’s well-known generosity into an endowment fund that will allow donors’ gifts to give perpetually through interest earned on the fund’s investments. “This community is dedicated to making itself better and if we can help with that we will succeed in our mission,” board member Nate Rivera said. Dennis Barnett, of accounting firm Barnett & Moro, said he came to Hermiston just after college with nothing but a degree and “a few shekels in my pocket.” All of the career success and wealth he has gained since then has been thanks to the community, he said, and he STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL See FOUNDATION, Page A14 A wall lists donors for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center.
