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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 4, 2018)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM JOBS said, as he sorted through a box full of sprinkler heads that had been pulled out of Continued from Page A1 the blueberry fields. “It’s all He said the rapid on-the-job training. It’s just changes in technology has common sense.” also altered the way farms For many teens, secur- ing a seasonal job is easier operate. In less than 20 years, if they know someone in the most machinery has become industry. automated, which limits “It’s kind of a network- ing thing,” said Jack the number of jobs Bellinger, owner of teens are needed to Bellinger Farms. do. “When I was He said he hires growing up, you anywhere from five saw more younger to 10 teens per sum- mer, and many are people working sim- pler jobs on a farm, friends of his high like picking ber- Ditchen school-age sons, or ries,” he said. “You people they already don’t see that anymore. For know. so many kids, their first job Most teens work on is at 16. And they’ve never the sorting line, process- ing, weighing and dividing been around a farm.” He said that lack of famil- up melons. They will help iarity requires employers to pack them into boxes for spend more time training small-market orders, and kids on how to operate and make lids and pallets. be safe around equipment. “Some drive forklifts — “I’ve turned a lot of kids not very many,” Bellinger away this year,” he said. said, noting that kids have “The jobs are out there, but to be a certain age to oper- ate machinery. it’s a hard job.” Still, Ditchen said, he Rarely are teens out in likes hiring high school the field, Bellinger said. and college kids to work “It’s definitely manual for him. This year, he hired labor,” he said. eight high school students Larger companies like and three college students. Atkinson Staffing hire stu- Trevor Horn, 17, is a dents every summer to work Hermiston High School stu- in the fields starting at age dent in his first year work- 15, mostly weeding around ing for Ditchen. crops in Hermiston and As he drove a combine Boardman. harvesting Kentucky blue- Some agricultural jobs in grass seed, Horn said he has the area are more research- been asked to do every type based. The Hermiston of task on the farm since Agricultural Research and he started working a few Extension Center, oper- ated through Oregon State weeks ago. “I probably enjoy help- University, hires a handful ing in the mechanical shop of high school students, as most,” he said. “Mostly well as college and graduate because then I understand students, to assist with lab as much as I can.” work every summer. Operating the combine “The principal investiga- is a close second, he said, tor will hire students based but he’s had to remind him- upon need,” said center self how big the machine is director Phil Hamm. While — even if it doesn’t travel high schoolers don’t have to faster than 2 miles per hour. have a science background Sammy Moore, 16, is to get hired, it does help. in his second summer at “It gives them the poten- tial to learn about some- Golden Valley Farms. “It’s farm labor — any- thing they never knew about thing and everything,” he before, and potentially to do WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 2018 FROM A1 as a career,” he said. Raegan Aldred, 17, and Benjamin Moore, 18, are both in their second year working at the experiment station, and are assisting with research in the ento- mology lab. The two help collect data and read samples from the field. Before starting work, the students have to go through safety training to learn how to be around farm equip- ment, and when it’s safe to go in the fields after pesti- cide has been applied. Both are interested in wildlife, and have been able to apply the skills they’ve learned in some way. “For me, it’s more been learning how scientists put data together,” Moore said. “It’s helped me out with some science classes.” Dallas Fridley, a regional economist for the state employment department, said in the third quarter of 2017, teens ages 14 to 18 held about three percent of the jobs in Umatilla County, or about 1,047 jobs. The number of agricultural jobs for youth increased in 2017, from about 40 to about 200. “There has been more competition for these jobs from older workers,” Frid- ley said in an email to the Hermiston Herald. “Cer- tainly the situation was more difficult for youth fol- lowing the recession — but with unemployment rates at historic lows, the job mar- ket for youth should be bet- ter now than it has been in recent years.” He said the top employer of youth in Umatilla County is the leisure and hospitality industry, providing about 370 jobs. Many local employers said they will start their high school students at minimum wage, but are happy to give raises if they come back the next year, or show initiative in the job. “The labor force out there is not plump,” Bellinger said. “We’re always looking for qualified people.” Stay safe with fireworks HERMISTON HERALD As the Fourth of July approaches, American Red Cross and the Uma- tilla County Fire District 1 are reminding people to be safe, and to use com- mon sense when lighting fireworks. Fire marshal Scott Goff asked people to make sure they light fireworks in areas clear of vegetation, stored items, and away from structures. “Make sure you get a good plan to dispose of them,” he said. “A bucket with water, give them a BTW Continued from Page A1 the public have approached the city council about issu- ing more licenses and cre- ating an area where food trucks can gather. The city survey asks for opinions on increasing the number of licenses, creating a food cart pod and possible amend- ments to the ordinance. • • • The Hermiston Cham- ber of Commerce is gear- ing up to put FUN in the festival. See next week’s Hermiston Herald for information about Hermis- ton Funfest. The free fam- ily-friendly event is Satur- day, July 14 in downtown Hermiston. • • • The East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald have a new intern for the summer. Brittany Norton, a native of Eugene, is a 2018 graduate from the Univer- sity of Oregon School of Journalism and Commu- nication. She graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and media studies, and has an inter- est in feature writing. She has written for student-run good soak and make sure they’re out before throwing them in the trash.” It’s important to make sure kids are supervised when they light fireworks, he said, and Red Cross warns not to give any fire- works to young children. The fire department often sees problems with people lighting fireworks too close to a house or out in the yard, Goff said, where parts of the land- scape will catch fire. Goff said the department usually has a few extra people on hand during the Fourth of July holiday, as they usually see a few fires just after dark. He said as far as he knows, all the fireworks sold in the area are licensed and permitted through the state fire marshal’s office. “The problem is typi- cally stuff coming from out of state,” he said. “Things that fly in the air, explode, those kinds of things tend to cause us problems.” The Red Cross sug- gests storing fireworks in a cool, dry place where chil- dren and animals can’t get to them, and to keep your pets indoors the night of the Fourth of July. publications Ethos Mag- azine and OR Magazine, and has published freelance work in Eugene Weekly and 1859 Magazine. She will be joining the newspa- pers through the Charles Snowden for Excellence in Journalism program, which is run through the University of Oregon. You can check out her story on job vacancies on A5, and contact her with story ideas at 541-966- 0809 or at bnorton@eas- toregonian.com. • • • Kayak Public Tran- sit will be making stops in Echo starting July 1. The free public bus system run by the Con- federated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation will make multi- ple stops per day at City Park between Bridge and Dupont streets. Echo residents can take the Hermiston Hopper into Stanfield, Hermiston, Uma- tilla, McNary or Irrigon in the morning and return in the afternoon. They can also take the bus into Pend- leton, with connections to La Grande and Walla Walla. Susan Johnson, man- ager of Kayak, said people can find the full schedule at ctuir.org/tribal-services/ planning/kayak-pub- lic-transit and encour- aged riders to call dis- patch at 541-429-7519 with questions. “Our dispatchers are here to help people plan their trips,” she said. “It can be confusing for riders to figure out the schedule, but they are very helpful.” • • • U.S. Sen. Jeff Merk- ley — who recently con- firmed he is “exploring” the possibility of a presi- dential bid — is holding a series of town halls in East- ern Oregon, including stops in Umatilla County. On July 8, Merkley will stop at the Pendleton Early Learning Center (455 SW 13th St. in Pend- leton) for a town hall at 1 p.m. That same day, he will move onto Boardman, where he’ll hold a town hall at the Port of Morrow Riv- erfront Room (2 Marine Drive NE in Boardman) at 4 p.m. ——— You can submit items for our weekly By The Way column by emailing edi- tor@hermistonherald.com. C OME ENJOY GREAT BREWS , FAMILY AND FRIENDS 125 N. 1st, Hermiston • 541-289-7415 • Curb side food service after 5pm • 541-704-1224 facebook.com/HermistonBrewingCompany • facebook.com/Quickfoodnotfastfood (Nookie's 2 go) Cozy rustic charm makes this a perfect place to hold an event. 120 Maxium capacity with additional lighted patio space. Maxwell Siding Event Center seats up to 100 inside with additional seating on the covered patio and is within walking distance of Nookie's Restaurant and the Holiday Inn Express Business Meetings • Retirement Parties • Receptions • Weddings • Bachelorette Parties • Birthday Parties • Baby Showers • Class Reunions Contact Miranda Torres at 541-561-1047 for a reservation! • 145 N. 1st Place • Hermiston • maxwelleventcenter.com Catering and Alcohol Services available through Nookie’s & Hermiston Brewing Co.
