A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
OPINION/NEWS
Let the sunshine in
T
he best advice I’ve
ever seen on the inter-
net may be the meme
that advises, “Dance like
no one is watching, email
like it may one day be read
aloud in a
deposition.”
Journal-
ists often get
their hands
on emails
that the
sender never
Jade McDowell intended for
public con-
sumption. Sometimes that’s
the result of someone for-
warding the information to
us, but other times govern-
ment employees and elected
officials are surprisingly for-
getful that “we the people”
have a right to read the com-
munications they send and
receive about their taxpay-
er-funded work.
It was only four years
ago that former Oregon Gov.
John Kitzhaber resigned
after journalists successfully
waged a legal battle to make
First Lady Cylvia Hayes’
emails public — emails
that showed her asking
Kitzhaber’s taxpayer-funded
staff to book hotels for her
private business trips. At the
same time, then-New Jer-
sey Governor Chris Chris-
tie’s approval ratings were
at an all-time low as he dealt
with the fallout of journal-
ists obtaining an aide’s infa-
mous email that it was “time
for some traffic problems in
Fort Lee.”
Journalists will be cele-
brating public records during
Sunshine Week all week, but
public records laws aren’t
only for investigative jour-
nalists. You have the exact
same rights as any reporter
to access emails, police
reports, building permits,
campaign contributions,
meeting minutes, salaries,
contracts, voting records,
budgets and a long list of
other information.
In fact, according to
the Columbia Journalism
Review, these days only 7.6
percent of public records
requests filed under the Free-
dom of Information Act are
filed by journalists.
What might you do with
public records if you’re not a
journalist? They might sup-
port your side of the story
in a lawsuit, help you do
due diligence on a piece of
property you want to buy
or allow you to get a better
understanding about how a
piece of legislation came to
be. You might have to pay a
fee to help the agency recoup
the cost of the staff time for
filling the request, but they
have to give them to you.
I started my career as
a journalist with a partic-
ular appreciation for pub-
lic records, as my student
reporter days were spent
at Brigham Young Univer-
sity. While BYU had a won-
derful journalism program,
we faced unique challenges
in covering the university
because it was privately
funded. Records that would
have been available to stu-
dent reporters at our rival
University of Utah — police
reports about high-profile
campus incidents, the con-
struction budget for a new
building, coaching salaries
— were not public records,
and BYU was not inclined
to voluntarily provide the
information.
It caused a scandal, then,
when someone leaked a
copy of a semester’s bud-
get for the student leadership
organization and our news-
paper published a report
outlining how much of the
budget was going toward
dinners and other perks
for the student body coun-
cil itself instead of activi-
ties for the student body at
large. There was pushback
from the BYU Student Asso-
ciation, but there were also
many campus organizations
that suddenly decided the
time was ripe to implement
written policies on responsi-
ble use of department credit
cards.
That’s why public records
are so important — it’s
human nature to behave bet-
ter when someone is looking
over our shoulder. So happy
Sunshine Week, and may
all of your public records
requests be granted.
I would like to express my
gratitude and sincere appreci-
ation to the Hermiston School
District for their commitment
to continuing a reading tradi-
tion that began at Highland
Hills Elementary in 1983 —
Battle of the Books.
A citywide Battle of the
Books Competition occurred
at West Park Elementary
School this last Saturday.
This event was the culminat-
ing activity for students who
had battled their way to earn
the privilege of representing
their school after reading and
studying in depth 16 titles
selected by the elementary
teachers last spring.
This program involves
many hours of preparation
and execution. First year ele-
mentary librarian Megan
Reeve took on this challenge
with the help of various staff
members and with the sup-
port of parents and carried
it to a very successful con-
clusion celebrating the ben-
efits of reading. These types
of programs ensure that stu-
dents continue to experience
the importance of the written
word and teamwork.
I have witnessed first-
hand the improvements in
reading skills motivated by
this unique program. In fact,
the spokesperson for one
of the teams was a student
who was reading well below
grade level several years
ago. The student and his par-
ents both credit Battle of the
Books programs as a major
influence on his reading
improvement.
Kristi Smalley
Thanks to ALMS
Kindness Club
As a board member of
The Arc of Umatilla County
I would like to express my
sincere appreciation to the
five members of the ALMS
Kindness Club who came
out on February 16th to sup-
port The Arc’s Valentine’s
Dance. These caring young
people signed and distrib-
uted Valentines to all of the
individuals in attendance so
that everyone would receive
multiple cards. They also got
involved by dancing along-
side of attendees and encour-
aged participation in vari-
COURTS
Sentences
PENDLETON — The follow-
ing felony sentences have
been imposed in Umatilla
County courts:
FELONy
•Bernabe Guardado Escalan-
te, 32, Hermiston, pleaded
guilty to Delivery of Metham-
phetamine and Conspiracy
to Commit Class B Felony:
sentenced to 13 months
Oregon Dept. of Corrections
(DOC) and 2 years post-prison
supervision for each count.
•Joe Matthew Rivera, 23,
Hermiston, pleaded guilty to
Failure to Appear I: sentence
to discharge; pleaded guilty
to Theft II: sentenced to 180
days jail-suspended, 2 years
probation and $140 restitu-
tion.
MISDEMEANOR
•Santana Cruz Angel Munoz,
20, Hermiston, pleaded guilty
to DUII: sentenced to 30 days
jail, 150 days jail-suspended,
2 years probation, 80 hours
community service, $1,000
fine, $1,755 fine-suspended
and 1 year driver’s license
suspension, plus court costs
and fees.
Suits Filed
PENDLETON — The follow-
ing suits have been filed
in Umatilla County courts
(interest, court costs and
fees not listed):
•Portfolio Recovery Associates
LLC vs. Keyla Roman of Herm-
iston: seeks $2,348.31.
•Portfolio Recovery Associ-
ates LLC vs. Celeste Owen of
Hermiston: seeks $834.82.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thanks for
continuing Battle
of the Books
WEDNESDAy, MARCH 13, 2019
ous dances such at the Hokey
Pokey and the Chicken
Dance.
These students showed
what kindness looks like by
stepping out of their com-
fort zones to make the day a
whole lot brighter for peo-
ple with developmental/intel-
lectual disabilities. I am also
grateful to their staff adviser,
Mariangela Summers for
facilitating this valuable vol-
unteer opportunity for these
students.
It is very easy to talk
about kindness yet it takes a
real effort on the part of the
individual to actually make
a positive influence on oth-
ers by showing kindness.
These students from ALMS
definitely “walked their talk”
and should inspire all of us to
reach out to others in a real
way. Let’s all ask ourselves
what we did today to show
genuine kindness to another
person. As one student com-
mented to his adviser while
at the event, “I just feel so
happy inside!” Thank you
Kindness Club for being
a conduit of happiness for
others!
Kristi Smalley
Hermiston
•Health Services Asset Man-
agement LLC vs. Carol L. Geer:
seeks $978.48.
•Health Services Asset
Management LLC vs. Lauri R.
Huxoll: seeks $1,420.28.
•Asset Recovery Group Inc. vs.
Maria I. Walchli of Hermiston:
seeks $888.
•Evergreen Financial Services
Inc. vs. William Michael Stew-
art: seeks $42,354.10.
•HAPO Community Credit
Union vs. Cheira L. Mendoza
Carrillo of Umatilla: seeks
$23,075.65.
•Capital One Bank vs. Derek
L. Portillo of Hermiston: seeks
$4,350.63.
•Capital One Bank vs. Barbara
E. Barboe of Hermiston: seeks
$3,925.71.
•Evergreen Financial Services
Inc. vs. Christy and William
McMillen of Hermiston: seeks
$326.86.
•Evergreen Financial Services
Inc. vs. Briana Reyes of Herm-
iston: seeks $1,602.65.
•Discover Bank vs. Richard
Methvin of Hermiston: seeks
$8,070.06.
•Ray Klein Inc. dba Profession-
al Credit Service vs. Elizabeth
Weems of Hermiston: seeks
$503.42.
•Portfolio Recovery Associates
LLC vs. Casandra Leonard of
Umatilla: seeks $875.92.
•Portfolio Recovery Associates
LLC vs. Ryan Meiers of Stan-
field: seeks $1,030.78.
•Credits Inc. vs. Jason Beyers
of Umatilla: seeks $3,952.35.
•Atlas Financial Services vs.
Kyle William Fraunfelder of
Hermiston: seeks $1,677.33.
•Credits Inc. vs. Dakota J. and
Lorena S. Hodges of Umatilla:
seeks $573.66.
•Credits Inc. vs. Luis R. Gutier-
rez of Irrigon: seeks $1,147.83.
•Ray Klein Inc. dba Profession-
al Credit Service vs. Kaden
L. Stice of Umatilla: seeks
$329.26.
Judgments
PENDLETON — The follow-
ing judgments have been
rendered in Umatilla Coun-
ty courts (interest, court
costs and fees not listed):
•Evergreen Financial Services
Inc. vs. Tia Warren of Hermis-
ton: judgment for $1,000.
•United Finance Co. vs. Isabel
Alvarez Ramirez of Stanfield:
judgment for $6,660.67.
•Cach LLC vs. Marty Stewart
of Hermiston: judgment for
$8,059.91.
•Credits Inc. vs. Sarahi H. Men-
doza (Hernandez) of Hermis-
ton: judgment for $591.49.
•Ray Klein Inc. vs. Clark D.
Thomason of Hermiston:
judgment for $1,747.61.
•Credits Inc. vs. Christina A.
Fritz of Hermiston: judgment
for $697.80.
•york International Corpora-
tion-UPG vs. Columbia Basin
Heating and Cooling LLC
of Umatilla: judgment for
$6,674.20.
•Atlas Financial Services vs.
Austin Fowler of Hermiston:
judgment for $1,962.78.
•Credits Inc. vs. Dawn M.
Raymond of Hermiston: judg-
ment for $2,005.77.
•United Finance Co. vs. Alfon-
so Colin Gutierrez of Board-
man: judgment for $722.78.
•Credits Inc. vs. Ernesto Guti-
errez and Belen Carrillo Guti-
errez of Umatilla: judgment
for $2,340.47.
Divorces
PENDLETON — Divorce de-
crees were signed in Umatil-
la County Courts for:
Steven Mendoza Estrada and
Ada Alicia Castillo of Herm-
iston; Rob Rankin and Tina
Rankin of Hermiston.
Marriages
PENDLETON — Marriage
licenses have been regis-
tered in Umatilla County
for:
Michael Elliott Baskins, 28,
and Amanda Hope Nycz, 34,
both of Hermiston.
Richard James Koenig, 74,
and Merla Darlene Hurd, 64,
both of Echo.
Sebastian Perez Ramirez, 23,
and Maria Jimenez Ramirez,
26, both of Hermiston.
Julio Cesar Aparicio Perez, 44,
and Olivia Luna, 52, both of
Boardman.
Kevin Von Scherrer, 65, and
yvonne Manning, 55, both of
Boardman.
Hermiston Rotary offers scholarships
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Rotary Club
Foundation has multiple
scholarship opportunities
for graduates of west Uma-
tilla and Morrow County
schools.
These
scholarships
are available to all col-
lege level students includ-
ing trade school students:
upper division students
including junior, senior,
and graduate levels; lower
division students including
freshmen and sophomores;
and trade and technical
school students of any age.
Apply online at www.
hermistonrotaryclub.com.
The link is also available
on the Hermiston Rotary
Facebook page. Applicants
may also download a hard
copy of the application
form and guidelines. Mail
application and supporting
documents to Hermiston
Rotary Club Foundation,
P.O. Box 142, Hermiston,
OR 97838.
Application must be
received by April 1, 2019.
Interviews will be sched-
uled beginning the third
week in April.
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