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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2019)
NEWS Wednesday, august 14, 2019 HeRMIstOnHeRaLd.COM • A3 El Paso shooting rattles Latino community By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR W hen news of another mass shooting begins to spread, certain elements can bring the tragedy home for the people who weren’t there. A shooting at a church might make the religious take pause, or country music fans might scope out the nearest exit more carefully after a shooting at a concert. After a gunman posted a racist screed against Latinos before killing 22 people in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart, members of Hermiston’s Latino community are feel- ing that extra measure of concern. “This realized a lot of fears people have that it is this bad, that the hate can be on this level,” city councilor Roy Barron said. Barron is a member of a small local grassroots orga- Roman Barron nization called Raices — Spanish for “roots” — that has helped put together edu- cational forums and ral- lies on immigration-re- lated issues in Hermiston area. He said he worries that the El Paso shooting, which appeared to be tar- geted against Hispanic immigrants, will keep peo- ple home from such gath- erings out of a fear that a violent white supremacist would find them an attrac- tive target. Barron said he hasn’t personally been the tar- get of violence based on his skin color or been ver- bally attacked by a stranger on the street. But in the past few years, he has seen what he feels is more comfort on social media in express- ing racist views. He worries that words will morph into actions in some cases. “People use the excuse of freedom of speech,” he said. “They almost phrase it as being more Ameri- can, that ‘I’m more Amer- ican because I’m using my freedom of speech.’ But freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from con- sequences. Words can hurt people or put them in fear.” While some people have directly blamed President Donald Trump for the El Paso shooting, noting places where the shooter’s man- ifesto mirrored language Trump has used about an immigrant “invasion,” Bar- ron said he wouldn’t go that far. The shooting was the shooter’s choice. He did say, however, that he feels some people have felt emboldened about shar- ing racist views from “the very first day (Trump) was coming down the elevator calling Mexicans rapists.” “I don’t see how people can just laugh it off and say, ‘He’s just joking; you guys are snowflakes,’” Barron said. A different political moment sticks out to Yes- sica Roman, a Latino Herm- iston woman who echoed some of Barron’s worries. For her, the El Paso shooting brought to mind a Trump rally in Florida in May, when an attendee yelled “Just shoot them!” as Trump was talking about undocumented immigrants crossing the border. “At a rally someone said ‘Just shoot them,’ and they all started laughing like it was something funny,” she said. The El Paso shooting was anything but funny. Although the shooter appeared to seek out Lati- nos, Roman said mass shootings are shocking to her no matter who is the vic- tim. As a new mother, she was particularly affected by hearing about Jordan Anchando, who died shield- ing her 2-month-old baby from bullets. “It made it more per- sonal,” she said. “It’s so scary to think about it. I hav- en’t been to the store (since the shooting) but now it’s like, ‘Will I come home?’” She worried that people have become too desensi- tized to mass shootings as they increase in frequency. Zaira Sanchez, born and raised in Hermiston and also a member of Raices, said she has discussed the El Paso shooting with close friends and family. “Overall there’s a feel- ing of sadness and fear, but we’re also just exhausted from the same thing repeat- ing itself,” she said. She worries about the problem of mass shootings in general, but also violence against Latinos. Trump gave a speech after the shooting con- demning racism and white supremacy, but she said the “messed up things” he has said about immigrants throughout his presidency has an effect. “He speaks from a place of misconceptions, invoking fear and hate,” she said. Sanchez, Barron and Roman all noted that the El Paso shooting was far from just a racial issue — it also invoked questions about security in public places, gun control, mental health and the traumatization of a nation. “I think it creates more fear around everyday things,” Sanchez said. “Peo- ple have to think, ‘Should I go to the store today? Is it a good idea to go to school, or church today?’ Those are things people of every race need to do.” Police say shooter, victims argued before gunfire By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER T he Hermiston Police Department contin- ues its investigation of last week’s shooting that left two Kennewick teens with non-life threatening bullet wounds. The suspect, Carsen Dain Rawe, 19, of Uma- tilla, remains in the Uma- tilla County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail on four felony counts. Police chief Jason Edmis- ton said the investigation found the three teens know each other and are at least “associates.” The shootings occurred at about 6:40 p.m. at West Cherry Avenue and North- west Second Street. Edmis- ton said Rawe and the vic- tims, one 15 and one 17, may have beefed on social media and earlier that day, Aug. 5, and had “some kind of exchange of words” in a confrontation at a car wash not far from the scene of the shooting. While none of the three lived in Hermiston, Edmis- ton said they all have family in the town. Rawe also grew up there and in 2018 gradu- ated from Hermiston High School. Still, Edmiston said, Hermiston police have to deal with its share of crime from people who don’t live in the community. Hermiston police have solid relations with Washington agencies, Hermiston school board member, Dave Smith, resigns By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER The Hermiston School District is seeking appli- cants following the resigna- tion of board member Dave Smith at Monday’s regular board meeting. Smith said he was unable to attend the meeting due to prior commitments, and the board read his letter of res- ignation in his absence. “Mr. Smith always had the best interests of the stu- dents at heart,” said Board Chair Karen Sherman at the meeting. “I’m hoping he felt respected and valued.” Smith, whose been with the board since 2011, said he was leaving his position due to the expansion of his restoration and cleaning business, O So Kleen. He said he’d recently purchased existing resto- ration businesses in Spo- kane, Washington, and Lewiston, Idaho, and is busy getting situated with new employees and buildings. “It’s important that someone (can) spend more time and energy than I was able to do,” he said. Looking back through the years, Smith said one of the most challenging moments of his school board career came when the district voted to pull out of the InterMountain Educa- tional Service District in 2015. He was one of two board members to oppose the move. “I felt Eastern Oregon had a sense of commu- nity. When Hermiston was pulling out, I felt we let our community down,” he said. “Once the vote was passed, I supported it. For the district, it’s been very positive.” As for highlights, Smith said graduation each year reminded him why he loved his work on the board. He said he felt particularly emotional this year, shak- ing hands with each student after they’d been handed their diploma. Those interested in applying for the vacant school board position must complete and submit an application to the superin- tendent’s office by 3 p.m. Aug. 23. Candidates will be inter- viewed on Aug. 26. The selected candidate will take the oath of office immedi- ately and may run for elec- tion in May 2020 to fill the remaining term of office through June 2023. Applicants can con- tact Briana Cortaberria at 541-667-6010 or briana. cortaberria@hermistonsd. org for more information. he said, particularly the Ken- newick Police Department and Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Offenders don’t recognize state lines, he said, while they also know they are there. Some who make trouble on this side of the Washington border work to high-tail it back across to evade police. Edmiston added pin- ning down how much crime in town was due to out-of- towners is difficult to quan- tify. Plenty of vehicles in Hermiston sport Washington plates, for example, he said, but those vehicles belong to locals. Rawe so far faces two counts each of second-de- gree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. staff photo by tammy Malgesini Law enforcement from area agencies investigate reports of shots fired Aug. 5 in the vicinity of West Cherry Avenue and Northwest Second Street, Hermiston. Garbage rates to rise in some Police release name of man found dead parts of Umatilla County HERMISTON HERALD HERMISTON HERALD Umatilla County cus- tomers of Sanitary Dis- posal Inc. will pay more for garbage service come Sept. 1. The rate change affects customers out- side of Hermiston city limits, but not Hermiston residents. The company holds the waste collection franchise for Hermiston and asked the county to approve a rate increase. Mike Jew- ett, president of Sanitary Disposal, told the county board of commissioners at its meeting last week that the company has about 3,200 customers in the county and most would pay $20.10 per month for service, an increase of $1.70. He said Sanitary Dis- posal lost approximately $296,000 last year due to the lack of recycling stem- ming from China no lon- ger taking plastic recy- clables from the United States. The rate increase would account for infla- tion for 2019, 2020 and 2021, Jewett said, and make up for the loss in revenue. He added Morrow County approved the rate increases, which went into effect in Boardman in July and becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020, in Irrigon. Umatilla County com- missioners approved the rate increase on a 3-0 vote. The police have identi- fied the man whose body was found on South High- way 395 last month as Guadalupe Avina, 34, of Hermiston. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said Avina had a gunshot wound and was found with a gun, but that the autopsy report has not yet been released. Police responded shortly before 11 p.m. July 26 to a report of a body or injured person in the bushes near 1050 South Highway 395. On July 27, police iden- tified the body but did not release the name. Awnings · Patio/Sun Shades Pergolas ·Patio Covers · Solar Shades Solar Screens & More! 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