WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A1
FORMER BULLDOG BOB COLEMAN WINS PAC-12 TITLE >> A10
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
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INSIDE
NEW HOME
TOUGH TREK
Carol Clupny doesn’t let
Parkinson’s disease keep
her from exploring the
world.
A4
STUDENT SUCCESS
Meet Brittany Mustoe,
Highland Hills Elementary
School’s teacher of the
year.
A9
BY THE WAY
Book Bombers
take home
Battle of the
Books title
Don’t forget Rep. Greg
Walden is coming to visit
Hermiston on Friday,
hosting a town hall from
4-6 p.m. at the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center.
• • •
Hermiston elementary
schools participated in a
Hermiston Battle of the
Books competition this
year, with teams of four
students answering ques-
tions about 16 different
books.
Each school held their
own tournament in January
and February to fi nd their
top team: Desert View’s
Chamber of Books, High-
land Hills’ Tales of the
Readers, Rocky Heights’
Book Bombers, Sun-
set’s Fantastic Wonders,
and West Park’s Wildcat
Bookworms.
Those teams then com-
peted on March 9 for the
title of Hermiston Cham-
pion. The Book Bombers
of Rocky Heights, working
together for their third year
in a row, are Catherine
Doherty, Eleanor Larsen,
Glyn Lystrup, and Caden
Lloyd.
• • •
Several
Hermiston
student musicians had
TOO SOON
TO VOTE?
Hermiston students debate
pros, cons of lowering the
voting age in Oregon
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
H
ermiston teens aren’t sure
they’re ready to vote yet
— but the students in
one social studies class
thoughtfully debated the
pros and cons of lowering the
voting age to 16, something that
could become a reality in the next
couple of years.
A group of Oregon legislators
have introduced a bill to amend
the state constitution, and lower
the voting age from 18 to 16. The
bill is expected to go before vot-
ers in 2020. Oregon 16 year-olds
can already pre-register to vote, so
that they will receive a ballot for
elections after they turn 18.
In Aaron Davis’ senior social
studies class at Hermiston High
School, the majority of the stu-
dents said they didn’t think low-
ering the voting age was a good
idea, but had varying reasons.
Harrison Temple said there
were likely students during the
2016 election who had enough
awareness to make an informed
choice.
“But in other circumstances,
there are people who don’t pay
attention,” he said. “It’s just
another vote for their parents.”
“I believe at 16, we’re not
well-informed of our views,” said
Lucia Wiley. “We rely on social
media. It’s not reliable, and we’re
impressionable. I believe we
wouldn’t be voting for what we
believe, but what our friends, or
parents believe.”
Several other students echoed
the idea that 16-year-olds
wouldn’t take the time to
get informed, but simply go with
what those around them thought.
Alexis Perez said he felt turn-
out for the youngest group of vot-
ers was already low.
“Sixteen-year-olds
proba-
bly don’t have the knowledge
or base understanding,” he said.
“There’ll probably be even less
voter turnout.”
Sam Smelser said he likes that
the voting age is 18, because it
means most students have com-
pleted high school, and will hope-
fully have some more understand-
ing of government.
“By that time, they’re already
most of the way through civics
class,” he said. “At 16, most of
them haven’t had that.”
Taylor Greene said she was
opposed to lowering the voting
age, but said that maybe the solu-
tion was to teach those courses to
underclassmen.
“Then maybe we wouldn’t be
so hesitant,” she said.
Jessica Ferguson said she was
in favor of the change.
“At 16, I’d have appreciated
the right to vote,” she said. “It
was an election year, and con-
sidering the results of that elec-
tion will probably affect my fi rst
Lucia Wiley, a student in Aaron Davis’ civics class at
Hermiston High School, shares her thoughts Thursday on
lowering Oregon’s voting age to 16.
See VOTE, Page A11
Illustration: Getty Images
The Greater Hermiston
Area Chamber of Com-
merce has found a location
for its new offi ces.
A3
See BTW, Page A11
Maxfest christens new Hermiston event center
By KATHY ANEY
STAFF WRITER
8
08805 93294
2
A.L. Maxwell — we raise a
glass to you.
Not much is known about
Maxwell, the railroad offi cial
after whom the Maxwell Siding
railroad station was named. The
Hermiston railroad station popped
up when trains started delivering
freight to Eastern Oregon rather
than by freight wagons pulled by
teams of mules or oxen. The Max-
well Siding Pavilion, sitting in the
station’s footprint, bears the sta-
tion’s name.
Beer afi cionados fi lled the
brand new event center on Sat-
urday evening during Max-
fest, the fi rst offi cial event at the
4,600-square-foot event space.
Their $30 tickets gave them tastes
of craft beers and wines from
about 20 local breweries and
wineries.
We don’t know if Mr. Maxwell
liked beer, but one can only hope
that he did.
Events center owner Mitch
Myers probably would have
bought Maxwell a beer had he
miraculously stepped through the
door. He happily surveyed the
crowd. The fading daylight shone
in through 16 glass sliding doors
that made up the building’s walls.
People stood around little round
tables sampling microbrews and
eating seafood. Others sat at tables
in two tents that butted up against
the building, staying warm under
heat lamps.
A band, The Wasteland Kings,
warmed up at the opposite end of
the building.
See MAXFEST, Page A11
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Ashley Lovejoy, Danielle Baldwin and Jordan Richards converse as they
sample beers Saturday at the Maxfest Craft Beer Festival at the Maxwell
Siding Pavilion in Hermiston.