Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2019)
NEWS/SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2019 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 Planting seeds: Hermiston’s community garden teaches skills and responsibility By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR t Lovin’ Spadeful Community Gar- den, Bill and Ann Webb’s family is planting seeds. There are pumpkin seeds and marigold seeds and bell pepper seeds. But there are also seeds of knowledge, hard work and responsibility. “We want them to take a more active role and get a better idea of where our food comes from and how much work it takes to grow it,” Bill said, explaining why they signed their chil- dren up for a plot at the community garden this year after moving to Hermiston. The family visits the gar- den, located on Good Shep- herd Health Care System’s campus, a few times a week to take care of the variety of plants that are beginning to sprout. One of the advan- tages of the community garden is that all the tools, from a drip irrigation sys- tem to spades and hoes, are provided. “I think it’s a great pro- gram,” he said. “There’s a lot of value added to it.” Chelle Hankinson, who spearheads the garden, said a community garden can be a great option for people who live in an apartment or other situation where they don’t have the space or sup- plies to grow their own veg- etables or fl owers. But even homeowners with spacious yards participate in the gar- den for the camaraderie. Hankinson, for exam- ple, gardens there with her mother because they enjoy mingling with other garden- ers and learning from them. “Families at fi rst come in and have no idea what to do with tomatoes, and then they run into someone who gives them pointers,” she said. “People are talking to people they wouldn’t talk to otherwise, sharing tips and sharing vegetables.” Lovin’ Spadefuls started seven years ago with 40 plots and has since grown to 80. Seventeen are still available at a rate of $10 for the season. New amenities A Staff photo by Kathy Aney From left to right, Lianna Correa, Rosanna Valet, Neva Gilcher, Chelle Hankinson and David Martinez get ready to pull weeds on Wednesday at the Hermiston Community Garden. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by Kathy Aney Rosanna Valet places painted rocks in the Lifeways garden plot Wednesday at the Hermiston Community Garden. A tomato hangs from a vine Wednesday at the Hermiston Community Garden. continue to sprout at the site as a long list of local busi- ness donate sheds, benches, signs, fences, tomato cages, bark and other items. The garden also gets donated labor from people sen- tenced to community ser- vice, and students from Umatilla School District planted fl owers around the When the garden fi rst started, Hankinson said, there was a minor problem with thefts of produce. But since a camera system was installed and offenders were caught it has cleared up the problem. The Umatilla County Master Gardeners help teach gardeners at the site outside of the fence. “If anybody ever comes to me and says, ‘What can I give?’ I say ‘What do you have?’” Hankinson said. “I never say no.” She said her next goal for the garden is to get some raised beds that would be more accessible to people with limited mobility. and run an example plot that each year showcases innovations, such as verti- cal gardening. Participants have the option before the season starts of attending a six-week Seed to Supper class that mixes gardening and cooking tips. Melissa Garrett said she took the class this year and really enjoyed it. Her fam- ily has gardened at Lovin’ Spadefuls every year but one. “Before, I was just try- ing things and hoping that it worked, but I felt like I learned a lot,” she said. She said she usually brings her kids over in the evenings, and she is grate- ful for the chance to teach them about eating healthy and learning a valuable skill. “It’s very begin- ner-friendly,” she said of the garden. “It’s a great resource. All the tools you need are already there, and it’s not as intimidating as it seems.” Tomas Montoya’s fam- ily is going for variety over quantity in their fi rst year at the garden, growing zuc- chini, carrots, peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, pars- ley, eggplant, chard, cucum- bers, celery and basil. “Stuff is fi nally coming up through the soil, so that’s exciting,” he said. SOFTBALL Dawgs go 1-2 at state tournament BY HERMISTON HERALD Bailee Noland hit two home runs, including a key two-out, three-run blast in the top of the sev- enth inning, to help Herm- iston to an 8-5 victory over Holy Names in the consola- tion bracket at the 3A state softball tournament at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Washington. Hermiston’s tournament run would end with the next game as Snohomish escaped with a 4-2 victory. Hermiston fi nished its season with a 17-10 record. The Bulldogs trailed Holy Names 4-0 heading into the the sixth inning, where Noland hit a solo shot and Hermiston hung three runs on the board for a 5-3 game. Holy Names failed to score in the bottom half of the inning, putting the Bulldogs at the plate in the seventh. With two out, and Kalei Smith on third, Ashley Cameron hit an RBI single to push Smith across the plate and bring the Bull- dogs within a run. With Samantha Atilano on second and Cameron on fi rst, Noland sent a 3-1 pitch out of the park for an 8-5 lead. “We just fi nally started hitting the ball,” Hermis- ton coach Kate Greenough said. “The girls made adjustments. That was the big change there.” The Cougars left a run- ner stranded on third in the seventh to fi nish the game. “Holy Names has some scrappy hitters,” Gree- nough said. “You only have winners from here on out. Every team’s going to be good.” Noland, who drove in four runs, also pitched a complete game, scattering eight hits. Sydney Stefani and Cameron also drove in runs for the Bulldogs, who also got two hits and two runs scored from Smith. Chloe Sexton drove in two runs for the Cougars, while Caitlin Manning, Logan Luebbe and Syd- ney Esterberg each had two hits. Snohomish 4, Hermiston 2 The Bulldogs’ season came to an end with a loss to the Panthers in the con- solation round. The Bulldogs scored on a Bailee Noland fi elder’s choice in the fi rst inning, but the Panthers pulled away from there, scoring twice in the third inning and once in the fourth and sixth innings. Sydney Stefani went 2-for-3 with a triple for Hermiston, while Saman- tha Atilano was 2-for-4 and Daisy Maddox 2-for-3. Bonney Lake 5, Hermiston 0 Brooke Nelson threw a no-hitter and struck out 19 to lead the Panthers past the Bulldogs in the fi rst round of the state tournament. It was the fi rst state no-hitter for Nelson, who has signed with the Univer- sity of Washington. “She does a good job of setting up batters,” Herm- iston coach Kate Gree- nough said of Nelson. “We fell for some of her tricks. She’s about as good as they come.” Bonney Lake, the defending state champion, scored fi ve runs in the fi rst inning, but were held score- less the rest of the game. “We played really great defense the rest of the game, we just weren’t hit- ting the ball well in that fi rst inning,” Greenough said. Grace Brown and Hailee Hagins each hit a double for the Panthers. Bailee Noland gave up fi ve runs on six hits in the fi rst. Janelle Almaguer came on in relief and held the Panthers scoreless. “Janelle pitched awe- some,” Greenough said. “They didn’t get a runner to third base for the rest of the game.” VISIT US ON THE WEB AT HermistonHerald.com Hermiston athletes earn accolades in three sports son was named Coach of the Year. The Riverhawks fi nished the regular season Hermiston had four play- 8-0. ers selected to the Mid-Co- The Bulldogs fi nished lumbia Conference all-con- 5-3 in MCC play and earned ference boys soccer team. the top 3A seed to the Dis- Midfi elders Emilio Leal trict 8 playoffs. and Coleman Solano were Hermiston defeated Ken- named to the fi rst newick 1-0, then team, while goalie topped Kamiakin Juan Carlos Navar- 3-1 in the champi- rete and defender onship game. Matt Mendez were The Bulldogs lost named to the second in the fi rst round of team. the 3A state play- Navarrete In eight MCC offs, dropping a 2-1 games, Navarre- game to Mountain te’s goals against aver- View in a shootout. age was .888. He had shut- Baseball outs against Southridge and The Mid-Columbia Con- Kennewick. In three play- off games, he allowed two ference baseball honors included just one Hermiston goals. Walla Walla forward player — senior outfi elder Julio Tapia was named the Jordan Ramirez, who was named to the fi rst team. The Player of the Year. Chiawana’s Riley Dod- Bulldogs struggled in their By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER fi rst season in the MCC, fi n- ishing 1-15. Chiawana junior Riley Cissne was named Player of the Year. Kamiakin senior Trystan Vrieling was named Pitcher of the Year. Kamiakin’s Steve Woods was named Coach of the Year after leading the Braves to a 14-2 regu- lar-season record. Tennis Hermiston senior Hayden Cissna was named to the Mid-Columbia Con- ference second team. Cis- sna, who has signed to play for Treasure Valley Com- munity College, made it to the semifi nals of the MCC tournament before losing. The MCC boys Player of the Year is Etienne Chail- lot of Walla Walla. The girls top player is Quinci Fisher of Richland. “Scramble for Scholarships” Friday, June 7th 1pm Shotgun Start Big River Golf Course - Umatilla Golfers of all skill levels are invited to participate in the 26th annual “Scramble for Scholarships” golf tournament. Four person teams can sign up together or individual pairings can be made by the tournament committee. Your $70 entry fee covers green fees, a box lunch, and BBQ dinner, and makes a charitable donation to the foundation to use in awarding scholarships for local health care students. Register at scrambleforscholarships.eventbrite.com or by calling 541-667-3405. Entry deadline is June 5th. Great prize holes and Hole-in-one on #1 & #9 WINS A NEW CAR sponsored by Tom Denchel Ford and Hermiston Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram!
