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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 NEWS Food plant has yet to find a buyer HH FILE PHOTO The Hermiston Foods plant is up for sale. By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY NATE RIVERA Hermiston city manager Byron Smith unloads watermelons at Pioneer Square in Portland on Friday. Hermiston gives away watermelons to Portlanders HERMISTON HERALD Portland residents got a taste of the sweet life Friday as the city of Herm- iston and Greater Hermiston Area Chamber of Commerce gave away 500 Hermiston watermelons in less than 20 minutes. Nate Rivera, superintendent of Hermiston Energy Services, was one of the city staff on hand. He said there was a line starting an hour and a half before the giveaway began in Portland’s Pio- neer Square. The event also included a seed-spitting contest between Herm- iston and Portland officials, won this year by Hermiston chamber board chairman Paul Keeler. Some years Hermiston has also given away other types of produce, but this year stuck to Hermiston’s signa- ture crop, donated by Walchli Farms and Bellinger Farms. The tradition started with former Hermiston mayor Frank Harkenrider in the 1980s and stopped in 2007 before being resurrected in 2015. Its aim is to build goodwill between the two cities and give their leaders a chance to get to know each other and discuss issues both communities face. For a photo gallery from the event, visit www.hermistonherald.com. A little over a year after announcing the closure of Hermiston Foods, its par- ent company NORPAC is still actively marketing the property but hasn’t had a buyer yet. NORPAC announced in early July of 2017 that it would close the vegeta- ble-processing plant south of Hermiston later in the year, and did so in Novem- ber 2017. Before its closure the plant was Hermiston’s ninth-largest employer. Commercial real estate firm Kidder Mathews is marketing the property at 2250 S. Highway 395 with a website, www.hermis- tonfoodsproperty.com. The website states that the property includes 137,300 square feet of “state-of- the-art food processing facility” on 45.3 acres. “With high clear height, very heavy power, expan- sion capabilities the facil- ity can be adapted to handle many types of manufacturing and dis- tribution,” it states. “The facility is considered rela- tively new in its construc- tion and features and has been methodically main- tained and is in excellent condition.” Hermiston Foods opened in April 1990. When it closed, the com- pany stated that its func- tions would be consol- idated with facilities in Brooks and Quincy, Wash- ington, for increased efficiency. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retrain- ing Notification sent to the state, 199 people were laid off, including 14 salaried employees, While the plant is no longer processing produce, spokeswoman Amy Wood said the offices there are still being used by the com- pany’s field department. Revamp takes Judge Temple off criminal cases Other judges will assign non- criminal cases to Temple Primus began filing motions a couple of weeks ago to block Temple from presiding over new crimi- nal cases. In affidavits, Pri- mus claims the state cannot receive fair and impartial treatment from Temple. Pri- mus has not specified what By PHIL WRIGHT led to the decision. STAFF WRITER Attorneys in Oregon can disqualify up to two judges Circuit Judge Eva Tem- for no reason. Defense attor- ple no longer will han- neys make the demand more dle criminal cases in Uma- often than prosecutors. tilla County. The change is An affidavit from a law- yer asserting the judge is effective Friday. Roy Blaine, trial unfair is rare. Blaine court administra- said prosecutors dis- qualifying a partic- tor for the 6th Judi- ular judge happens, cial District, said any but in his experience good organization the situation is “fairly reviews its business uncommon.” model to look for bet- ter ways to deliver Presiding Judge services. The dis- Temple Christopher Brauer trict has done that put together an before, he said, and in this “executive committee” con- case two major factors are sisting of himself, Circuit driving the redistribution of Judge Dan Hill, who is the cases and other changes: the past presiding judge, and coming retirement of Cir- Blaine. They came up with cuit Judge Lynn Hampton, a plan to redistribute cases, who handles family law, Blaine said, while improv- and District Attorney Dan ing court services to the Primus’ moves to disqualify public. According to the copy Temple. of the plan from Blaine, several changes take place immediately. Temple becomes the chief administrative judge for all case types other than criminal. This spans law- suits, small claims, mental health, domestic relations and more. She also hands most of her criminal case- load to Hill, who will man- age it for the near term. Brauer, Hill and Judge Jon Lieuallen will reassign their non-criminal cases to Temple. And all new crim- inal cases land in the either Brauer’s or Lieuallen’s courtrooms, which are both in the county courthouse in Pendleton. That will last until at least the end of 2018. Other changes are also in the works. Effective Sept, 1, service counters in Pend- leton, Hermiston and Hep- pner will close at 3 p.m. on Fridays instead of 4:30 for staff training and learning opportunities. And in January, Robert Collins takes over court- room 2 in Pendleton from Hampton, and he will get a share of Temple’s non-crim- inal work. Court staff also begin assigning all new civil and non-criminal cases ran- domly between Collins and Temple, and Hill’s caseload will undergo review, per the plan, “for equitable rebal- ancing” between his court, Lieuallen’s and Brauer’s. And with any new plan, Blaine said, this is a work in progress. Defense attorney John Ballard of Hermiston han- dled an intoxicated driv- ing trial Thursday in Tem- ple’s courtroom. He said he hopes for a resolution to the mess he saw in the cir- cuit court because the situa- tion as it stood “kind of puts an avalanche on the other judges.” Ballard said he likes Pri- mus and does not know his motive for disqualifying Temple, who he thinks is good at her job. “I’ve got no beef with Judge Temple. I find her to be fair. Every judge has their own little quirks. Not every ruling goes the way you want it or the way you think it should,” Ballard said, but “... That’s the nature of the beast.” Ballard said the disquali- fications also made him con- cerned about a defendant’s right to a speedy trial. The citation in his case came on July 23, 2016, he said, a bit more than two years ago. Ballard said he assumes any criminal case going to trial takes a year, and shutting off the flow to Temple’s court- room could add six months or more to that slog. “At some point you’re going to run into speedy trial issues,” he said. Blaine agreed, and said the plan is to mitigate that problem, but it does come with inconvenience for resi- dents on the west side of the county, who now may have to travel to Pendleton for their cases. Blaine also said the changes to Temple’s docket only apply to Umatilla County cases and have no effect on her Morrow County cases. Blaine also said no one should con- sider Temple a poor judge because Primus wants her off criminal matters. “Really, in my mind, it’s over a technicality,” Blaine said. “I think the district attorney has an opinion, and this is his tool for express- ing that opinion.” The East Oregonian tried to talk to other attorneys who have worked in Tem- ple’s courtroom, but only Ballard returned the call. Several others have written letters of support for Temple that have appeared on that paper’s opinion page. Hermiston August 31, September 1 & 2, 2018 Class of 1958 For information call 5 Theater Cineplex Check wildhorseresort.com for showtimes $5 Matinee Classics Every Wednesday Credit & Debit Cards accepted Cineplex gift cards available 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 High School Reunion Rita J. 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