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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
FALL SPORTS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE 2018 SEASON FALL SPORTS A complete guide to WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 the 2018 season $1.00 HermistonHerald.com INSIDE GUN PLEA Tyree Houfmuse pleads to a single count of felon in possession of a firearm in connection to the 2017 shooting death of James Cragun. PAGE A3 FOOD TRUCKS The city of Hermiston opens up more licenses for mobile food vending, relaxes rules. PAGE A3 MEMORIES Hermiston is seeking more contributions for a time capsule to be buried in honor of the new Harkenrider Senior Activity Center. PAGE A7 BY THE WAY Pep rally set for Friday In honor of the foot- ball team’s season opener this Friday, Hermiston High School students can get up bright and early for a pep rally the morn- ing before the big game. KEPR, The TV station from Pasco (whom the Hermiston Bulldogs will play that night) will be at the school to film the rally. Maple bars, gift cards and a pizza delivery to that night’s game will be given away. The rally is open to the public and starts at 6 a.m. in the Hermiston High School gym, at 600 S. 1st St., Hermiston. Kick-off for Friday’s game is at 7 p.m. at Ken- nison Field. • • • The city of Hermiston has been chosen to partici- pate in an affordable hous- ing pilot program for the state. Mayor David Drotz- mann said during Mon- day’s city council meeting that the opportunity will include some dollars to explore new ways to solve affordable housing short- ages in the city, with the hopes that those ideas can then be applied to other parts of the state. STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Teacher Theresa Stangel reads instructions for students to write a short biography about themselves in a Bulldog catering class Monday at Hermiston High School. For more first day of school photos from around the district, see A15. New teachers hope to give students marketable skills By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER H ermiston’s youngest group of students start school today, joining schools that are bigger and busier than ever. Two days after the rest of the district’s students began, Hermiston’s kindergarteners arrive Wednesday. Hermiston superintendent Tricia Mooney said they wel- comed about 5,000 students on Monday, and anticipate about 450 more from the kindergarten class. At the elementary and middle levels, students streamed through the doors on Monday and hugged their teachers and friends, eager to start school — a feeling mixed with apprehen- sion for their parents. “I said hello to a mom and a child, and asked how they slept last night,” said board chair Karen Sherman when greeting stu- dents at Sunset Elementary on Monday. “The kid said he slept great. The mom said she got one hour of sleep.” Students at the high school are getting ready to jump into classes, and in some case, real-world experience. Hermiston High School welcomed several new teachers this STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Teacher Brent Parks gives a walk though of the shop to new students during the first day of class Monday at Hermiston High School. year, including some in three career-focused subjects: family and consumer sciences, welding and woods, and health services. Brent Parks, the new welding and woods teacher, is stepping See TEACHERS, Page A16 See BTW, Page A16 Superintendent resigns on first day By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER The Hermiston School Board has voted unanimously to accept the resignation of its superinten- dent, Dr. Fred Maiocco. The board will pay Maiocco $281,346 as part of a separation agreement. The majority of that money, $243,368.30, will be paid in a lump sum. The district will pay him $27,456 in PERS con- tributions, and $10,521.70 in a health benefit account. Maiocco is currently on active military leave, serving with the U.S. Army Reserves in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The decision came after the board said they were informed in June that Maiocco’s deployment had been extended until January 2020. Previously, he was sched- uled to return to his job as super- intendent in January 2019. The board approved a separa- tion agreement at a meeting on Monday, which stated that they appreciated Maiocco’s service to the district and with the mili- tary, but that both parties recog- nized the negative effects Maioc- co’s prolonged leave was having on the district. The official date of Maiocco’s resignation in the agreement is June 30, 2018, the end of the last fiscal year. “We started having the con- versation shortly after Dr. Maioc- co’s deployment,” said board vice-chair Josh Goller. “We knew there was a possibility it could be extended — and then we received word his deployment was extended.” Goller said the board received a letter dated May 26 about Maiocco’s deployment extension in early June. Board chair Karen Sher- man read out a brief resignation statement from Maiocco, which thanks the board and praises the staff and students. “The current world situa- tion demands that I remain in uniformed active military ser- vice beyond the term which we originally contemplated when the board granted me a leave of See MAIOCCO, Page A16 Fred Maiocco
