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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2019)
BULLDOGS STRIKE BACK DURING DOUBLEHEADER | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019 HermistonHerald.com A8 $1.00 INSIDE GOOD NEWS Middle school students surprised an Armand Lar- ive staff member battling cancer with the proceeds from their penny drive. PAGE A3 ENTERTAINMENT The Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers will highlight the Harkenrider Senior Activity Center’s spaghetti feed. PAGE A4 NEW CLINIC Good Shepherd Health Care System opened the Good Shepherd Family Health Center on Tuesday. PAGE A5 BY THE WAY School district offers online registration Hermiston School District will offer online kindergarten registration this year. Online registration is available from April 8 through April 22, for the 2019-2020 school year. Students must be fi ve years old by Sept. 1 2019 to register. If parents do not have a computer at home, they can go to the district offi ce on Thursday, April 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. to register. Parents must bring chil- dren’s birth records, proof of residence, and immu- nization records. Spanish translation services will be available. For more infor- mation, visit https://www. hermiston.k12.or.us/apps/ pages/enrollment. • • • Next week the Herm- iston Herald will be tack- ling the topic of suicide prevention as part of a statewide effort to break the silence that often sur- rounds the issue. If you would like to share about resources that have helped you or a loved one, please email us at editor@herm- istonherald.com. • • • Incoming high school- See BTW, Page A2 Staff photo by Jade McDowell Larry Fetter, Hermiston parks and recreation director, directs a driver with a load of plastic pallets during last year’s free recycling event in Hermiston. This year’s event takes place April 2013. SPRING CLEANING By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Whether your inspiration is Marie Kondo or the warm weather, now is the perfect time for Hermiston residents to do a little spring cleaning. City and area businesses are providing oppor- tunities to get rid of everything from paint to yard waste this month. At Sanitary Disposal, Spring Cleaning Week is in effect through Sunday. Area residents can drop off loads up to 2.5 cubic yards for free, and cash customers can get $14 off larger loads at the transfer station at 81444 N Highway 395. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Tires are billed at the regular rate, but Uma- tilla County residents can get rid of old tires for free the next week on April 13. That day, the city of Hermiston will be hosting its annual free recycling event in the Umatilla Electric Cooper- ative parking lot, 750 W Elm Ave., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. “We always get tons,” Parks and Recreation Director Larry Fetter said. “Last year we got nine tons of tires.” Fetter said the list of what residents can drop off for free to be recycled is similar to last year. It includes cardboard, paper, plastics, undam- aged car batteries, unbroken pallets, electronics, appliances (including those with freon), scrap metal, compost, upholstered furniture, concrete without rebar, latex and oil-based paints and stains, clean wood and tires. They will not be accepting pesticides and other hazardous materials, paper that needs shredding or motor oil. Even though the city will not be collecting motor oil, Fetter said they will provide people with a list of which area busi- nesses do collect it. He said the city is not plan- ning to provide shredding at the event, but Old West Credit Union is planning a shredding event for June. The free recycling event on April 13 is for Umatilla County residents only and cars with Washington plates will be turned away. For anyone who has an old vehicle (includ- ing cars, board, motorcycles or RVs), they can donate it to the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation. The foundation will arrange for free pick-up, and the donation can be used as a tax write-off. To donate, call 541-667-3419 or visit www.gshealth.org/foundation. Local thrift shops such as those operated by Goodwill, Desert Rose Ministries and Pet Res- cue accept donations of used clothing and other household items year-round. As for clean-up efforts around the city, the annual “I Love My City” cleanup event will take place May 18 this year from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will meet at McKenzie Park and be assigned areas of the city where they can sweep, pull weeds, pick up trash and otherwise spruce up the area. See SPRING, Page A12 Union Pacifi c layoff s at Hinkle yard in Hermiston draw safety concerns By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR 8 08805 93294 2 Union Pacifi c is asking Hermis- ton employees to do more with less after recent layoffs, and some have expressed concern about safety. The railroad company declined to release specifi c numbers relat- ing to its workforce reduction at the Hinkle rail yard near Hermiston. But two current employees who spoke to the East Oregonian off the record, due to concerns about how speaking to the media might affect their employment, estimate about 80 employees have been let go since October. Spokesperson Tim McMahan said in an email that when Union Pacifi c announced a workforce reduction in October, the company “indicated it was the fi rst of what likely will be additional workforce reduction initiatives through 2020.” When asked last week if Union Pacifi c planned to run fewer trains through Hinkle or make other reductions in workload to compen- sate for having fewer employees on shift, McMahan said no. Current and former employ- ees shared concerns that expect- ing fewer workers to get through the same number of inspections and maintenance tasks is affecting the safety of workers and of Union Pacifi c’s entire operation. One said fi ve employees per shift are now trying to inspect the number of trains nine used to handle. See LAYOFFS, Page A12 HH fi le photo Rail cars roll down the hump and into the yard at the Union Pacifi c Railroad Hinkle Locomotive Service and Repair Facility and Freight Classifi cation Yard near Stanfi eld on May 1, 2012.
