SCHOOL YEAR WRAPS UP WITH KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION, PAGE A13
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.00
INSIDE
DROWNING
Two boaters lost their lives
on the Columbia River on
Saturday.
PAGE A3
THE LEGACY OF
Greenwood Luster
LANDING DAYS
Umatilla gears up for its
biggest celebration of the
year this weekend.
PAGE A4
NEW COACH
Hermiston High School
welcomes Maloree Moss
as its new girls basketball
coach.
PAGE A8
BY THE WAY
Anniversary
concert
premiers new
work
Tickets are still avail-
able for the 20th anniver-
sary reunion concert of
the Inland Northwest
Musicians.
The event features the
world premiere of “Life of
Water,” written by Larry
Nash Groupe. The com-
poser has an impressive
musical resume in film and
TV as well as the concert
stage. He has four Emmy
awards and also has com-
posed music for a variety
of features that have been
screened at the Sundance,
Berlin and Toronto film
festivals.
The concert is Sunday
at 4 p.m. at the Hermiston
Community Center, 415
S. Highway 395. Although
there is no admission
charge, people need seat
reservations and donations
are appreciated.
The concert also fea-
tures a number of pieces
performed by the com-
bined
ensembles
of
the Inland Northwest
Orchestra, Inland North-
west Chorale and mem-
bers of the Willow Creek
Symphony. The pro-
gram includes “Carmen
Suite No. 1” by Georges
Bizet, “Overture Festivo
for Symphonic Orches-
tra” by D. Shostakovich
and“Alleluia” by Ran-
dall Thompson.
For more information
See BTW, Page A14
staff photo by Jade Mcdowell
Jackie Linton, center, poses for a photo with neighborhood children and family at Greenwood Park, which was named after Linton’s grandfather.
Hermiston’s smallest park gets new life
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
When Greenwood Luster helped create
Hermiston’s smallest park across from his
home, he had no idea it would someday be
renamed in his honor.
The half-acre park is tucked away on
Beech Avenue, on a dead-end street behind
Pizza Hut traveled almost exclusively by
the neighborhood’s residents. For most of its
life it didn’t have an official name — some
called it Jaycee Park after the youth organiza-
tion that helped Luster create the park, while
others called it North Park or the Northside
Playground.
It was well-loved by neighborhood chil-
dren, but over the years fell into disrepair.
By 2015 the restroom had long since stopped
working and the landscaping had been
reduced to nothing but bare dirt. The metal
merry-go-round, slide and swing set were
worn out and presented a safety hazard.
Many of the city’s most involved residents
didn’t even know the park existed.
“I didn’t even know about it until a friend
said, ‘North Park needs some help,’ and I was
like, ‘Where’s North Park?’” mayor David
Drotzmann said.
The city reached out to neighborhood resi-
dents and put together a committee to discuss
a complete redesign of the park in 2015. Last
Thursday the new park was unveiled.
staff photo by Jade Mcdowell
Jackie Linton shows off a photo of her grandfather, Greenwood Luster, who spearheaded the
original park on Beech Avenue. The city renamed the park from North Park to Greenwood Park
Thursday during a celebration of the park’s remodel.
“This was a park that needed a little care,
needed a little love and care, and I’m proud of
the community for stepping up,” Drotzmann
said at the ribbon cutting.
The celebration was attended by various
neighborhood children and descendants of
See PARK, Page A14
Lamb Weston cuts ribbon on $250 million expansion
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
More french fries than ever will
come out of Hermiston after Lamb
Weston cut the ribbon on a $250
million expansion of its processing
plant.
The 300,000-square-foot expan-
sion increases the facility’s capac-
ity and adds 150 full-time jobs to
what was already Hermiston’s larg-
est employer.
Chief Executive Officer Tom
Werner told the audience at Thurs-
day’s celebration that the facility
was a very important part of Lamb
Weston’s operations around the
world, and represented one of many
investments the company is making
toward its future.
“It’s an exciting time to be with
Lamb Weston,” he said.
According to a news release,
the company is the “leading global
supplier of frozen French fries and
other potato products to restaurant
customers around the world.” It
employs more than 7,000 people at
25 manufacturing facilities in North
America, China and Europe. At the
Hermiston plant, 570 employees
make approximately 750 million
pounds of potato products per year.
Other Hermiston residents com-
mute to the company’s Boardman
or Tri-Cities sites.
Rick Martin, chief supply chain
officer for Lamb Weston, told the
East Oregonian that the company
looked at a mix of factors, including
the availability of raw product and
See WESTON, Page A14
staff photo by Jade Mcdowell
Lamb Weston CEO Tom Werner, center, and other employees prepare to cut
the ribbon on the company’s new $250 million expansion of its Hermiston
plant.