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BULLDOGS BATTLE FOR MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE TITLE » WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2019 HermistonHerald.com PAGE A10 $1.00 INSIDE Off to see the HONORED Dan and Terri Dorran, this year’s Umatilla County Fair court and others were recognized at the Fair Appreciation Dinner on Saturday. PAGE A3 SCORE Meals, hotels and more add up for the local econ- omy when 4,000 people come to Hermiston for a sports tournament. PAGE A7 WIZARD RESCUE Morrow County Sheriff ’s Offi ce deputies rescued two men after they became stranded in the snow. PAGE A9 BY THE WAY Exclusion Day coming for students without immunizations As of Monday there were 36 confi rmed cases of measles and 11 sus- pected cases in Clark County, Washington, mostly among children who have not been vacci- nated against the disease. The outbreak has spread across the river into Port- land, and The Bulletin is now reporting that a sus- pected measles patient vis- ited Bend and may have exposed residents there. Students in Ore- gon who do not have the state’s required immuni- zations and whose parents have not signed a belief- based exemption will be excluded from school starting Feb. 20 until they are either immunized or exempted. With that in mind, Umatilla County Public Health is offering immu- nization clinics Feb. 14-15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Hermiston (435 E New- port St.) and Feb. 19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Pend- leton (200 S.E. Third Staff photo by E.J. Harris Actors William Kern, Brooks Bellinger, Joy Love Breshears and Louis Parra reacts to the voice of Wizard of Oz, played by Shawn Conant, during a dress rehearsal for the Hermiston High School production of “The Wizard of Oz” on Monday in Hermiston. By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR s Dorothy hopped and skipped her way around Oz on Monday night, an army of students and volun- teers were working in harmony to make the magic she encountered come to life on the Hermiston High School stage. It was the fi rst dress rehearsal for the high school’s pro- duction of “The Wizard of Oz,” which debuts Friday. “It’s gonna be a bumpy ride, but that’s OK,” director Beth Anderson encouraged the students as they prepared to go for the full effect of the show for the very fi rst time. The fi rst actors came onstage at 5 p.m., but work started well before then as costume, make-up and technical crews made sure the students looked the part and were wired for sound. Sounds of the student orchestra warming up drifted over the auditorium, and stage managers were making sure set pieces and props were in order. “It’s extremely easy to lose track of props and costumes backstage,” assistant stage manager Ava Tixier said. The sophomore said she had done costumes and make-up for the school’s past productions of “Seussical” and “Game of Tiaras” but she was particularly enjoying the chance to A Staff photo by E.J. Harris A chorus line performs a musical number during a dress rehearsal of the Hermiston High School production of “The Wizard of Oz” on Monday in Hermiston. get a broader view of how a show comes together backstage. Actors have to have confi dence to get onstage in front See WIZARD, Page A8 See BTW, Page A8 Hermiston, Umatilla close the graduation gap By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Photo contributed by Shara Giordano 8 08805 93294 2 Graduating senior Jessica Giordano walks through her old elementary school, Highland Hills, before graduating in 2018. Hermiston saw a large increase in graduation rates in 2018. The Oregon Department of Education released its 2017-18 graduation rates Thursday morn- ing. Umatilla County’s schools all hovered within a few points of the state average, but superinten- dents say they’ll continue to work toward improved performance for all students. Hermiston now sits at 74.2 per- cent for their four-year graduation rate. Last year, the district’s grad- uation rate was 8.4 points lower, at 65.82 percent. The number is still a few points below the state’s average of 78.68, but Hermiston Superintendent Tri- cia Mooney said the district is pleased with the growth. But she said they didn’t want to just focus on graduation numbers. “There are two numbers we were really looking at,” Mooney said. “The four-year cohort gradu- ation rate, and the four-year cohort completion rate.” Mooney said the completion rate includes students who received a GED or an extended diploma. The completer rate for 2017-18 was 87.47, fi ve points above the state’s four-year completion rate of 82.53. She said the work of students and staff showed in the improved graduation rates, but she was also excited about the above-average See GRADS, Page A8
