A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018
THREE MINUTES WITH ...
HERMISTON HISTORY
KRISTIN CONNELL
General Manager, Express
Employment Professionals
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
I was born and raised here.
What is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
Hales — we’ve been going there a lot lately. I love
their French dip.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I don’t have a lot of spare time. I have two kids that
keep me busy with sports and dance. I’m coaching
basketball for my daughter right now. But when I
have time by myself, I love to read.
What surprises you about Hermiston?
How big it’s gotten. Since I was born and raised
here, the changes are just crazy.
What book are you currently reading?
“On Fire” by John O’Leary. I’m re-reading it. It’s
probably my favorite book right now.
What app or website do you use most often?
I’ve been using Instagram a lot, or I use sports apps
for my kids’ games.
If you could travel anywhere, where would
you go?
I’d love to go to Ireland.
What is the funniest thing that’s happened to
you?
When I was in high school, I fell down the bleach-
ers after a game. There were lots of people around.
It was pretty embarrassing.
What is one of your goals for the next 12
months?
What everybody wants at the beginning of the year
is to lose weight and exercise more, but realistically,
as a parent and a working mom, I would really like
to get my house organized.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Obviously my children, but also, I’ve been in this
job about 25 years. I’m very proud of being able to
stay, and make a career for that long. In this indus-
try, that’s really unheard of.
Printed on
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VOLUME 112 • NUMBER 49
Jade McDowell | Reporter • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jayati Ramakrishnan | Reporter • jramakrishnan@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4534
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4539
Annie Fowler | Sports Editor • afowler@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4542
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Dana Tassie | Offi ce Coordinator • dtassie@eastoregonean.com • 541-564-4530
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CORRECTIONS
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are
discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on
the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the
online versions of our stories.
Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com
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SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the Hermiston Herald readers
to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but
longer letters should be kept to 250 words.
No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. The Hermiston Herald
reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content.
Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers. Anonymous letters
will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be
reached for questions. Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
OBITUARY POLICY
The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include small
photos and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be
published at no charge. These include information about services. Obituaries may be
edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style.
HH fi le photo
Detective Poncho Rio directs West Park Elementary School fi rst graders in loading cans of food headed for the
Hermiston Police Department’s Christmas Express in 1993.
iston fi re departments
answered the call but were
too late to save the build-
ing, but were instrumental
in keeping the fl ames from
spreading to the nearby
gasoline and fuel oil stor-
age tanks.
25 YEARS AGO
DEC. 14, 1993
It took the tie-breaking
vote of Mayor Frank Har-
kenrider to pass a motion
at Monday’s city council
meeting to reopen Hodge
Park during weekdays.
“Dick and Lorna Hodge
donated Hodge Park not
for the grownups, not for
the high school kids; they
donated it for the little
kids,” Harkenrider said.
“It is Stoner Park and
will continue to be,” said
Councilor Gary Quick. “I
don’t give it a week and
we’ll be back with more of
the same problem.”
The council closed the
park — reputed to be a cen-
ter of illegal activity — in
October in the wake of a
rash of violence at or near
the high school.
City administrator Ed
Brookshier recommended
that the council consider
reopening the park as a
“good neighbor” gesture to
the Hermiston Plaza, which
has been beset by young
people who used to congre-
gate at the park.
50 YEARS AGO
DEC. 12, 1968
Mrs. Robert (Betty)
Pitzer of the Hermis-
ton Veterinary Clinic says
the number of local dogs
treated at the clinic for dis-
temper each week brings
the frequency to a near epi-
demic level.
During the past six
weeks, approximately 10 to
15 dogs have been treated
weekly for this disease,
which could have been pre-
vented with simple vacci-
nation shots which are quite
painless to the animals.
Most of the dogs die
from the disease, says Mrs.
Pitzer, and if they do sur-
vive they quite often suffer
permanent brain damage
or partial loss of muscular
control.
• Al Frost, Jaycee chair-
100 YEARS AGO
DEC. 14, 1918
HH fi le photo
Hermiston High School’s Keith Johnson pulls away an
off ensive rebound in 1993.
man in charge of having
Santa make calls to local
children in the area, says
Santa has been making
calls fast and furious every
evening this week from
7 to 9 p.m., and although
tonight was scheduled to
be the last night for San-
ta’s pre-Christmas calls, the
response has been so over-
whelming that Santa will
stay for another day and
make calls for an additional
evening.
75 YEARS AGO
DEC 16., 1943
Residents who hap-
pened to be looking out
of the window Wednes-
day morning were startled
to see through the fog and
haze a large building go rid-
ing down the street. Upon
observation it was discov-
ered that workmen had cut
the Sterr grocery building,
located west of the tracks,
in half and were moving it
to a vacant lot just east of
Hermiston Auto Co. Here it
will be placed on a concrete
foundation.
Although
Charles
Hodge, owner of the Herm-
iston Auto Co., is out of the
city, it is understood that he
has purchased the building
and vacant lot and plans
to sell International trac-
tors and farm machinery,
including parts for same.
• A damaging fi re of
some unknown origin
razed the loading docks
and offi ces of the U.S.
Army oil terminal at Uma-
tilla Tuesday evening about
4:30. The fl ames spread
so quickly that absolutely
nothing was saved from the
offi ce, including all equip-
ment, fi les, records and two
dogs which could not be
released.
The Umatilla and Herm-
Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Stew-
art, northeast of town, have
received the following let-
ter from their son Carl:
My Dear Folks: You
will notice that my address
is changed and I am now
with a division that is much
talked of lately and has a
fi ne reputation on the front.
The boys are a fi ne bunch
and I expect to have a very
pleasant time, if one can
possible say war is a plea-
sure, although I can imag-
ine life under such cir-
cumstances far worse than
this. Since I started this
I received your letters of
August 16th and 20th and
was indeed most pleased to
get them.
Well, Austria is out of
it and before you read this
everything will be over, and
as I write this Nov. 3rd it
looks as if I might be home
for Christmas. With best
love, I am your son Carl.
• Ora, the nine-year-old
son of Mr. and Mrs. John
McElroy, Minnehaha dis-
trict ranchers, came might-
ily near having his left eye
torn out Saturday while
playing buzz saw with a
string and button.
While buzzing the but-
ton the string broke, thus
releasing the button, which,
still revolving, struck the
eyeball, lacerating it so
severely that the parents
were compelled to take
him to Pendleton to an
eye specialist, who had to
take a stitch to close up the
wound. While uncertain as
to the outcome of this acci-
dent, it is thought by the
specialist that the sight will
not be impaired.
Debbie Pedro to leave Hermiston Chamber of Commerce
By JADE MCDOWELL
Staff Writer
Debbie Pedro is step-
ping down as president and
CEO of the Greater Herm-
iston Area Chamber of
Commerce.
In an email to chamber
members Tuesday after-
noon, she wrote that there
are “other opportunities
professionally and person-
ally I am looking forward
to sharing with you soon.”
Her last day with the cham-
ber is Dec. 21.
After sending out the
email, Pedro told the
Hermiston Herald she was
touched by the response to
the announcement.
“My phone has been
ringing off the hook, I can’t
keep up with my text mes-
sages, I’m getting emails
galore,” she said. “It’s so
sweet.”
While she couldn’t share
where she is going yet, she
said it was a opportunity
she was excited about and
one that would allow her to
File photo
Debbie Pedro speaks after being named the Woman of
the Year during the Hermiston Distinguished Citizens
Awards Banquet in 2016 in Hermiston.
continue with partnerships
she has formed over the
years in the region.
While the board searches
for a new chief executive
offi cer, board chairman
Paul Keeler and marketing/
communications manager
Kelly Schwirse will over-
see chamber operations.
The chamber board was
notifi ed in November of
Pedro’s decision to leave.
“Debbie has been an
invaluable,
motivated
leader for our organiza-
tion and Hermiston,” Kee-
ler said in a statement. “Her
ability to advocate for busi-
ness, build partnerships and
drive the organization for-
ward serves as a model for
those who follow. While
we are sorry to see her go,
we are so very fortunate to
have benefi ted from Deb-
bie’s leadership, and we
wish her every success in
her new position.”
Pedro has led the Herm-
iston chamber since Janu-
ary 2001. She has overseen
a variety of changes and
new endeavors during that
time, including a recent
move of the chamber’s
offi ces from the Hermis-
ton Community Center
to the Cornerstone Plaza.
In February, the chamber
was awarded $1 million in
the state legislature’s cap-
ital construction bill for
new offi ces and and a visi-
tor center, which are still in
development.
Pedro said she looks
forward to the chamber’s
continued progress, par-
ticularly the new building,
and the chamber has many
exciting ventures coming
up in 2019.
“It’s exciting times for
the chamber,” she said.