HERMISTON RELAY RUNNERS SHINE AT INVITATIONAL » PAGE A10
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.00
INSIDE
CAREER READY
Hermiston High School
students give immuniza-
tions, watch live births as
part of their internship.
PAGE A7
CITY GOALS
Hermiston plans to start
laying the groundwork for
a new city hall and new
aquatic center this year.
PAGE A8
PUPPIES!
We asked readers to send
us photos of their cutest
pup in honor of National
Puppy Day, which was
Saturday.
PAGE A15
BY THE WAY
Spring clean-
up at Sanitary
Disposal
Next week is spring
clean-up week at Sanitary
Disposal.
On April 1-7 residents
can dump free loads less
than 2.5 cubic yards and
get up to $14 off accept-
able loads at the transfer
station at 81444 N High-
way 395. Tires are billed at
the regular rate.
For questions, call
Sanitary
Disposal
at
541-567-8842.
On April 13, the city
of Hermiston will get in
on the action by hosting
its free recycling day in
the parking lot of Uma-
tilla Electric Coopera-
tive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Look for more information
in next week’s Hermiston
Herald.
• • •
If you’re a Trace
Adkins fan, you might
fi nd it worth your while
to mosey on over to
this year’s Pendleton
Round-Up. Adkins will
take the Happy Canyon
See BTW, Page A2
Photo contributed by Ashley Seibel
Hermiston dancers vie for the state championship in the “show” category.
Hermiston dance team wins state
competition
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Photo contributed by Ashley Seibel
Gio Flores and Alexa Murphy dance during the WIAA
state dance championships.
The Hermiston High School dance
team just won a state competition, but is
already chomping at the bit for their next
season.
“We started thinking of themes,”
said Logan Howard, a junior and team
captain.
In its fi rst year competing north of the
state border, the Hermiston High School
dance team took home a fi rst-place tro-
phy Friday at the Washington Interscho-
lastic Activities Association dance com-
petition in Yakima.
Hermiston, a 3A team, competed in
the Show division, one of several perfor-
mance categories. Twenty dancers per-
formed, and the theme of their show was
“Taken.”
Howard said they came up with the
theme based on a previous show they’d
done called “Witch Hunt,” where a solo-
ist danced and a group of witches came
out and attacked her.
Not wanting their dance to be too sim-
ilar, Howard said they came up with the
idea of having a solo dancer, Alexa Mur-
phy, sleeping on a bench near a forest. As
she wakes up, she opens a gate and wan-
ders into the forest. She’s drawn in by a
dancer in dark clothing and wild makeup
— Gio Flores. As he woos her in, the
rest of the dancers come out and pursue
Murphy. The rest of the dance portrays
See DANCE, Page A14
Hermiston’s New Horizons provides treatments for gambling addiction
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
8
08805 93294
2
Whether to win a few hundred
dollars or lose track of time, people
in Hermiston can fi nd somewhere to
gamble almost anywhere they look,
from convenience store counters to
almost any restaurant or bar.
For someone trying to over-
come a gambling problem, it can be
impossible to stay away.
“People do it for different rea-
sons,” said Iris, a Hermiston resident
who has been gambling for more
than 20 years. “Lots of people do it
for the gains, or because they think
they can gain. For me, it was just to
have a blank mind for a while.”
Iris, who chose to be identifi ed
only by her fi rst name, has been in
treatment for about two months at
New Horizons in Hermiston, a pro-
gram that offers counseling and
treatment for gambling addiction.
“I made a mistake — I went
beyond my resources,” she said.
“I’m still paying for that. Then I
decided it was time to give it up.”
Jose Garcia runs New Horizons,
one of only two providers in the
county that offers gambling treat-
ment. The other is Umatilla County
Human Services.
Garcia has a group of 12 problem
gamblers that meets weekly. He said
he gets most of his clients through
advertising, primarily in the Latino
community. He has also had clients
fi nd him by calling a quit hotline
number.
But Garcia said it can be diffi cult
See TREATMENT, Page A14
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Since 1999, 1 percent of Oregon Lottery revenue — over $99 million — has
been dedicated to funding problem gambling prevention and treatment
services.