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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 LOCAL Morrow County students learn about manufacturing jobs By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Chris Stirk had a dilemma for a group of mid- dle schoolers. “I need you to help me solve a problem,” he said. “How do I get from this —” he held up an unpeeled onion in one hand — “to this?” He held up a peeled one in the other. Stirk stopped by the Port of Morrow’s inaugu- ral “Nuts, Bolts and Thing- amajigs” camp, a weeklong program to help 18 Morrow County middle school stu- dents learn about careers in manufacturing, processing and technology. Stirk, the Boardman Foods director of operations, talked to students about how onions are processed, help- ing them understand the pur- pose of different machines, production and waste. Drawing diagrams on the whiteboard, Stirk showed students the devices they use to make processing more efficient. He also talked to the stu- dents about the rise of auto- mated machines to do jobs once performed by humans. “What if the onion goes the wrong way?” He said. “Now, a person has to turn it. What I want to do is have a robot do it. Why?” Students speculated — it’s safer, you don’t have to spend as much money — both things that Stirk said were factors. He told kids that there STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Sunridge Middle School wood shop teacher Ken Jacobs gives instruction on how to assemble a pallet tray Tuesday during the Port of Morrow Camp in Boardman. Alexis Partlow, 13, of Boardman uses a nail gun to secure two boards with help from OSU Extension outreach coordinator Anna Browne while making pallet trays during the Port of Morrow Camp in Boardman. were many opportunities right in their own city to work in mathematics, sci- ence and agriculture. “Not everything in this world has been invented yet,” he said. “Guess what we need to invent new and better ways? Newer and bet- ter people.” The kids are spending the week listening to sev- eral speakers from Port of Morrow businesses, includ- ing Amazon Web Services and Boardman Foods. They spent time with Blue Moun- tain Community College instructor Jerry McMichael learning about industrial systems technology. They took some aptitude tests to find out what types of careers they might be interested in. They also got a chance to do some hands-on projects, applying the concepts they learned during the week. Ken Jacobs, a woodshop teacher at Pendleton’s Sun- ridge Middle School, was one of the instructors for the camp. He led the students in building two projects — a pallet tray and a cell phone speaker. “We’re going to take pieces of lumber that would otherwise go to waste,” Jacobs said. Students used a comput- er-aided drafting program called “SolidWorks” to design the cell phone speak- ers, and got to use tools such as a miter saw and a drill press. Alexis Partlow, an eighth grader from Boardman, said the most interesting part of the camp for her was the woodworking activity. “I’m looking forward to creating something new,” she said. Arianna Velasco said the camp had piqued her interest in some new things. “I learned a bit about hydraulics manufacturing, and electronics manufactur- ing,” she said. 1,700 tacos at a recent patient appreciation party for Dr. James West and Columbia Orthodontics at the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center. The orthodontist and his staff welcomed more than 600 patients to the pool in the 103 degree weather and offered tacos, Yo Country Yogurt and raffle drawings. “Columbia Orthodontics and Dr West are very thank- ful to be part of this commu- nity and are already making plans for next years party,” their office wrote to the Hermiston Herald. • • • A new byline appeared in the Hermiston Herald last week as the paper wel- comed Brett Kane as a news intern covering sports. Kane grew up in Hermiston and returned to the commu- nity after graduating from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. You can read his story “Sons of Speed” on page A10, and look for him at future sporting events around the community or email sports tips to him at bkane@eastoregonian.com. • • • Hermiston Police Department has welcomed three new reserve officers to its force. Bryce Ken- nedy, Shawnee Rodriguez and Sterling Hall earned their badges last week, the department reported, after completing the 2018 Multi- Agency Police Reserve Academy. To do so they had to work 200 hours of train- ing around their non-police jobs over the course of the last five months. • • • Good Shepherd Health Care System has welcomed pediatric gastroenterologist and hepatologist Lina Cas- tillo, M.D. to its staff. Castillo said in a news release that her parents are both doctors and she felt called to the profession. “I observed how hard they worked, the rela- tionships they built with patients, the long days and sleepless nights, and the deep sorrows that accom- pany the burden of deliv- ering a less than favorable diagnosis,” she said. “It is a sacred responsibility and one that I am willing to carry.” She did her residency at Miami Children’s Hospi- tal and completed a fellow- ship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Univer- sity of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She is welcoming new patients at the Good Shep- herd Pediatrics Clinic, 600 NW 11th Street in Hermis- ton. To schedule an appoint- ment call 541.667.3740. • • • Altrusa International of Hermiston recently added four new members to its club. Holly Woods, Marcy Rosenberg, Cynthia Tra- ner and Linda Monroe were presented by their club sponsors during the July 19 initiation meeting. Dawn Long is the current club president. Altrusans work together to create better communi- ties. The name “Altrusa” is derived from combining altruism and USA. To learn more about the club, contact hermiston- altrusa@gmail.com, visit www.districttwelve.altrusa. org or search Facebook. ——— You can submit items for our weekly By The Way col- umn by emailing your tips to editor@hermistonher- ald.com. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Wyatt Browne, 12, of Boardman watches as Ellie Sak, 10, of Boardman takes a measurement on a piece of wood Tuesday during the Port of Morrow Camp in Boardman. BTW BTW Continued from Page A1 • • • Medical bills are stack- ing up for a recent Umatilla High School graduate. Dayra Ugarte, 22, a paraprofessional at Desert View Elementary in Herm- iston, has undergone sev- eral major surgeries in the past six weeks, said Lynne Hamblin, who also works in the school district. A community fundraiser has been scheduled to help sup- port Ugarte. The event is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot at Smitty’s Ace Hardware, 1845 N. Fist St., Hermiston. A barbecue lunch offers hot dogs, potato chips, watermelon, cookies and water for $4. The event also features more than $4,000 of donated raffle items. Tickets are $1 each. And, a dunk tank will offer people a chance to send lacrosse team coaches into the water. For more information, contact Hamblin at lham- blin@eotnet.net. • • • Tacos Xavi served up Hermiston sets online student registration The Hermiston School District is preparing to assist parents with online registra- tion/renewal of information now through Friday, Aug. 10. Elementary and middle schools will have staff and computers available from 8-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3 p.m. Also, Hermiston High School parents and students may drop in Aug. 13-17 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to register and pay applica- ble student fees. Students returning to Hermiston schools will receive a letter in the mail. It will include their “snap- code” to login at www. hermiston.k12.or.us/apps/ pages/registration/ to update information. New students and those entering kindergarten need to visit the website to begin the registration process. In addi- tion, they also must visit the school to submit a record of their birth, proof of address, health record, and previous report cards or transcripts. The district’s open house will take place Thursday, Aug. 23. Elementary schools will be open from 5:30-6:30 p.m., middle schools from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and the high school from 7-8:30 p.m. The district encourages students and parents to attend and get acquainted with their teach- ers and school staff. For more information, parents can contact the school their child attends. The district office can be reached at 541-667-6000. Fighting Oregon wildfires have cost state $25.3m By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE CAPITAL BUREAU SALEM — The state has spent $25.3 million on fighting wildfires this year, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. That figure came before this week’s 10,250-acre Lake Wallula Fire outside Hermiston. Those are gross costs. The federal government will reimburse the state for some of that cost, but it can take years for the reimburse- ments to come through, a spokesman for ODF says. And that amount doesn’t include the agency’s “base budget” for fire protection, which is about $48 million for permanent personnel, equipment, facilities and the cost of fighting smaller fires. As of Friday, about 20,800 acres were burning in 585 fires across the state on ODF-protected lands. A spokesman cautioned that those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, as fires are dynamic by nature and their more precise size will take time to confirm. The Oregon Department of Forestry protects about 16 million acres of forestland — both public and private — from fires. Over the past 10 years, the average number of fires on ODF-protected land on July 27 has been 416 fires, with 13,405 acres burning. The state agency main- tains a public information site about the status of state wildfires at wildfireoregon- deptofforestry.blogspot. com. You can also check on smoke conditions in your community and throughout the state at oregonsmoke. blogspot.com. Man fails at armed robbery in Hermiston The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the suspect that tried but failed to pull off an armed robbery. Two employees of the Short Stop Gas, 32553 E. Punkin Center Road, Hermiston, were working outside Sunday morning at about 4:15 when an armed man approached on foot from the road. The sheriff’s office in a written state- ment reported the suspect held a black rifle and cov- ered his face in a dark green bandanna. “According to the employees,” the sheriff’s office reported, “the sus- pect ordered one of them to go inside the store. Instead, both employees ran across Highway 207 and called 911.” They also told law enforcement the suspect tried to open the store’s cash register, but it was locked. When he could not open the register, he bolted from the store, tak- ing nothing. He ran west on East Punkin Center and got into a white four-door sedan. The car headed west on East Punkin Center, the sheriff’s office reported. The employees told the sheriff’s office the suspect was about 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed approximately 120-140 pounds. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball cap, dark-col- ored gloves and white plaid shorts with lime green and navy stripes and white socks that covered his calves. “We are reviewing video footage from the store and the investigation is con- tinuing,” the sheriff’s office also reported. “Please contact the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office with any informa- tion at 541-966-3651.” POLICE LOG TUESDAY, JULY 24 5:35 a.m. — A missing person was reported at Southwest Sev- enth Place. 1:42 p.m. — Child abuse or neglect was reported at Northwest 11th Street. WEDNESDAY, JULY 25 2:11 a.m. — A prowler was reported at South Highway 395. 8:21 a.m. — Someone at West Tamarack Avenue reported that his daughter was assaulted last night by her boyfriend. THURSDAY, JULY 26 4:39 p.m. — Police responded to a death investigation on East Main Street. A 45 year-old man died in the parking lot of a car wash, of what police suspected to be a heart attack. FRIDAY, JULY 27 8:28 a.m.— A caller said at Riv- erfront Park on Southwest 23rd St., there has been a female at the park every morning for several weeks, approaching everyone and asking them for money. The caller said she is bothering everyone who is trying to use the park. SATURDAY, JULY 28 12:14 p.m. A caller reported a dog in a car with the windows rolled up at North First Street. 12:47 p.m. — Someone on East Sunset Drive, reported that the back window of her truck was broken out last night, but nothing was taken. 6:57 p.m. — A man had been down in the front yard on West Madrona Avenue since 9:30 a.m., near the blue shop. SUNDAY, JULY 29 8:16 p.m. — A caller said some- one on East Beebe Avenue was out of control, and pushed the caller. MONDAY, JULY 30 9:30 p.m. — A man was lying on the grass with an unknown medical condition, near the main entrance of a building on Southwest 11th Street. All addresses are in Hermiston unless otherwise noted.
