NEWS
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Umatilla School District shows
renovations funded by bond
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
The students at Clara
Brownell Middle School
can see more clearly since
a $10.5 million 2016 school
bond funded the construc-
tion of new double-pane
tinted windows in class-
rooms, and much more for
the school district.
Umatilla School District
Superintendent Heidi Sipe
was pleased with the addi-
tions to the school.
“The windows are nice,”
Sipe said. “Everything else
is just what we needed.”
Sipe led a tour of the
school Friday, presenting
the newly refurbished facil-
ities to the public.
The Oregon Energy Trust
conducted studies during the
remodeling process, which
allowed the district to see the
long-term projected costs of
renovations.
The studies focused on
incorporating energy reduc-
tion and environmental pro-
tection into the new facil-
ities. The process earned
the district almost $70,000
in rebates, which were pre-
sented at a check signing and
dinner on Friday evening.
The rebates, Sipe said,
will in part go toward fi x-
ing the air conditioning unit
at Umatilla High School,
which gave out just days
before graduation.
McNary Heights Ele-
mentary, CBMS and UHS
all received updated secu-
rity systems, and updated
HVAC systems with direct
digital controls as part of the
bond. MHES also received a
new standalone gymnasium,
complete with solar panels.
The majority of the
changes, however, can be
seen at Clara Brownell.
The basis for the recon-
struction came from a pri-
vately contracted report
from the Wenaha Group,
a Pendleton-based project
management and consulting
fi rm that specializes in edu-
cation, tribal, public agency
and health care projects.
The report concluded, ulti-
mately, that while Umatilla
High School and McNary
Elementary schools were
in “fair” or “good” condi-
tion, Clara Brownell Middle
School was in “poor” condi-
tion and required major ren-
ovations or replacement.
The doors and windows,
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019
Kicking and cattle ranching
New Hermiston
graduate has a head
start on chosen career
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
Staff Photos by Jessica Pollard
Above, the gym at CBMS was recently refurbished as part of
$10.5 million bond project. Below, the hallways in CBMS now
display the outlines of the Umatilla River.
have been replaced to pro-
vide better natural light and
insulation.
The plumbing and heat-
ing systems called for a
revamp.
After digging through
6 inches of concrete to
reach the plumbing system
at CBMS, the school has
been reoutfi tted. Students
will now have regular hand-
washing sinks in the bath-
rooms, which are replacing
foot pump troughs.
The chimney on CBMS,
which served as a landmark
in some ways, according to
Sipe, was taken down due to
seismic concerns.
Other upgrades funded
by the bond include new
sound-reducing
rubber
fl ooring in classrooms, and
hallway fl oors painted to
look like the confl uence of
the Umatilla River.
The bond was the fi rst
passed in the district since
1998 when Umatilla High
School was constructed.
In 2006, a $6.5 mil-
lion bond was proposed to
help construct a new Clara
Brownell school build-
ing. The bond was defeated
510-436.
In 2008, another bond
was proposed which would
help alleviate overcrowd-
ing at McNary Elementary
School by building 14 new
classrooms as well as four
modular classrooms at Clara
Brownell.
The potential to pass the
bond seemed promising
when 46% of voters claimed
they would “fully or some-
what” support a school bond
that May.
But, due to what Sipe
thinks were economic stress-
ors caused by job layoffs,
the bond failed. The district
forged onward with the ren-
ovations, using $2.2 million
in district funds.
“This time we knew not
to ask for any more,” Sipe
said.
As Sipe walked the tour
out from the CBMS cafe-
teria Friday afternoon, she
pointed out to a patch of
ceiling they couldn’t afford
to repair during renovations.
Twenty or so years from
now, Sipe hopes that another
bond could pass. This time,
possibly to aid the construc-
tion of a K-2 building on a
plot of land owned by the
school district on South Hill.
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to schools
schools throughout
throughout the
the community.
community.
Emilio Leal recently
signed his letter of intent to
play soccer at Walla Walla
Community College in the
coming fall. But fancy foot-
work is not the only trick up
the recent Hermiston High
School graduate’s sleeve.
In fact, earlier in the day,
before the Hermiston Her-
ald came by to interview
him, Leal had hopped on
his horse Lucero to rope
his neighbor’s cow, which
had jumped a neighboring
fence
“It’s a Texas Longhorn,
they’re more wild,” he said.
At 18 years old, Leal
himself is the owner of 16
head of Angus cattle on
his family’s property in
Hermiston. His neighbor,
whom he fondly refers to
as Grandpa, helped to pave
the way.
When he was younger,
Leal longed to be a veteri-
narian. After much thought,
cattle ranching won his
heart over.
“There’s always some-
thing going wrong.” he
said, “We have to readjust,
rethink, and solve the prob-
lem. I like the thrill of it.”
He hopes he will be able
to learn a lot about animals
by continuing his ranch.
Leal will study business
and agriculture this fall in
hopes of one day expand-
ing his cattle operation. He
will be the fi rst person in
his family to attend college.
After gaining his associates
degree, he plans to go on to
a four-year university.
“I never had the help that
most kids have, [which]
pushed me to get into it
myself,” Leal said. “This is
all new for me and my par-
ents. As much help as they
can give me, they’re right
there.”
A soccer scholarship
will help cover some of the
tuition next year.
Leal has been playing
Staff Photo by Jessica Pollard
Emilio Leal stands near his neighbor’s steer.
soccer since he was 4 years
old. He’s known cows for a
long time too.
“It got to the point where
I grew up with them,” he
said. In his youth, his father
would buy two new cows
for Leal every year. The
deal was, if he fed the cows
every morning and night,
one day they would be his.
Day in and day out, Leal
rose early before school to
tend to the cattle. He rushed
home afterwards to feed
them before sunset. By
middle school, caring for
the cows became more of a
real job.
“The wintertime [was]
hard because it usually got
dark at 4:30. School got out
at 3:25 and I had to hurry
home,” he remembers.
By age 16, the cattle
were fully in his possession
and he could start buying
and selling steer.
It was a lot of work, but
some of growing up was
fun and games. He and his
father would ride horses
around the neighborhood
during the summer
Emilio remembers rid-
ing his horse to the corner
store to get a soda, tying
him up to a post like one
might a puppy.
In the summer, the cat-
tle require less attention,
which leaves room for
some much needed social-
izing. When he’s feeling
persuasive, Emilio has his
friends come up to the farm
to help out.
“It’s usually lifting bales
of hay,” he said.
Emilio says his dad,
who passed away last year,
played a large part in his
success as a soccer player
and cattle rancher. He
encouraged Emilio never to
skip a practice, and to enjoy
the wild ride that is raising
cattle.
“Homework was always
a hard thing. I’d come
home and my dad would
always have something for
us to do,” Emilio said.
But he graduated with a
scholarship, and a “program
completion” in marketing.
He will miss the tight
familiarity of his soccer
team, and happily recalls
the three-hour road trips
they used to take together
to get to tournaments, back
before Hermiston High
School joined the Washing-
ton Interscholastic Activi-
ties Association.
He’s ready, however, for
his soccer team next year.
“Now it’s at a point
where you really have
to work for a position,”
Emilio said. He’s excited to
live with a friend in Walla
Walla during college, and
to come back on the week-
ends, when he will continue
to care for his cattle.
“I always keep forward.
I’m going forward,” Emilio
said. “In soccer, my dad has
always said the exact same
thing: ‘Don’t go back! Go
forward.’ No matter what
happens, keep chugging.”
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