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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 2019)
LOCAL Wednesday, september 4, 2019 HermIstOnHeraLd.COm • A3 Building character in the classroom By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER At Armand Larive Middle School, the eighth-graders in science teacher Katie Cor- ral’s class are sure to know each other’s names. After all, they spent 30 minutes dis- cussing them last week. “How many of you have been in a class and felt that a teacher didn’t know your name?” Corral asked the group. Several students raised their hands. “It made me feel like a ghost,” one student said. “It made me feel like I wasn’t actually there,” chimed another. Their conversation was sparked by the Character- Strong curriculum, which was introduced to Armand Larive this year. The CharacterStrong website describes the pro- gram as providing curricula and training that teach char- acter development and social emotional learning. Differ- ent versions of the program can be purchased by schools online. They range in price anywhere from $249 to $3,999. The Aug. 28 lesson was all about the importance of knowing one another’s names. Corral went around the class, naming her stu- dents one by one. Kids designed dance moves to go with their names in order to help each other remember who’s who. staff photo by ben Lonergan Armand Larive Middle School teacher Katie Corral organizes names during a CharacterStrong exercise Wednesday morning in Hermiston. staff photo by ben Lonergan Armand Larive Middle School teacher Katie Corral, left, leads a CharacterStrong workshop involving the importance of remembering names Wednesday morning in Hermiston. “If you know someone’s name, you can work with them. The point is to make people feel welcome,” Cor- ral told her class. The in-class lessons like last Wednesday’s are supple- mented with videos, activi- ties, and “Character Dares,” which encourage students to break out of their com- fort zones by compliment- ing their peers or holding doors open for people. Staff are encouraged to participate as well. Principal Stacie Rob- erts said that Armand Larive introduced some of the Char- acterStrong concepts toward the end of last school year. “It wasn’t immature. There’s all kinds of things you can find for elementary, and it was great that (Char- acterStrong) adhered to our secondary students,” she said. Parts of CharacterStrong are being taught in Hermis- ton High School’s leadership classes as well. Roberts said Sandstone is using a similar program called Second Step. Second Step and Charac- terStrong are two of many social emotional learning — or SEL — development pro- grams available for schools to purchase online. According to The Collab- orative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, SEL is “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive rela- tionships, and make respon- sible decisions.” And it’s something that’s been on the forefront of many administrators’ minds over the past few years. In 2018, growing emo- tional problems among stu- dents was the top concern for a sample of K-8 principals in the United States, according to a 10-year study released by the National Associa- tion of Elementary School Principals. It’s something that didn’t even make the top three back in 2008, when principals expressed more worry over student assessment and insti- tutional practices. Also in 2018, the Aspen Institute’s National Com- mission on Social, Emo- tional and Academic Devel- opment released a research report that found that nine in 10 parents thought schools had a role in helping chil- dren develop “life skills.” The same study revealed four in five teachers who were surveyed wanted more support to address social and emotional development in classrooms. For Roberts, the social emotional learning taking place at Armand Larive this year is part of a much bigger picture. “In middle school, it’s a hormone explosion,” she said. “If we can help accli- mate and adjust a student to everything going on in their life, that’s the ultimate goal. We found something that has fun activities, and hope- fully we’re creating better people.” Hermiston water tower Local man on hook for attempted arson nearing completion By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The new water tower in northeast Hermiston has almost reached its full height. The 124-foot-tall water tank itself is expected to be completed Sept. 18. Paint- ing will take place Sept. 19 to Oct. 2, and the city will begin using the tank for pressure in early Novem- ber before completing the final punch list by the end of the year. Premiere Excavation of Pasco is completing work on the roughly $4 million project. This week and next week the company is also installing pipe under Pun- kin Center Road near the tower. During the instal- lation process a section of the road has been reduced to one lane, with delays as flaggers direct traffic. The water tower and new pipelines around the tower are being paid for using money from Lamb Weston. In lieu of property taxes, the french fry com- pany agreed to pay $1 mil- lion per year, split between the city of Hermiston and Umatilla County, for the first 15 years of their fac- tory expansion completed earlier this year. The county agreed to give Hermis- ton the first $2 million of its share to be used on the water tower, with Hermis- ton using its first $2 million to cover the rest. The 1-million-gallon tower will expand Hermis- ton’s water storage capac- staff photo by Jade mcdowell A new water tower on the corner of Northeast 10th Street and Punkin Center Road in Hermiston is in the final stages of construction. ity in the event of an emer- gency and will open up hundreds of acres of resi- dential property for devel- opment at a lower cost. It will also benefit a future elementary school Herm- iston School District hopes to build on Theater Lane. Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said for now the tower will be painted the same beige as Herm- iston’s south water tower, minus the watermelon logo. “The tank is located off the beaten path, and due to the height and diame- ter, we really weren’t sure how visible any messaging painted on it would be from various locations in town,” Morgan wrote in an email. “Therefore, the plan has been to erect the tank first (and get it painted with the necessary protective coat), and then we’ll know for sure how visible any mes- saging will be and where it needs to be oriented.” Timothy Allen Kelly of Irrigon faces attempted arson charges. Court records show the crime has roots going back to when Kelly avoided a murder rap in 2014. Kelly, 28, pleaded not guilty on Aug. 1 in Uma- tilla County Circuit Court to six counts of first-degree attempted arson, one count of possessing an explosive device, one count of sec- ond-degree criminal mis- chief and two counts of reck- lessly endangering others. The case began almost a year earlier, Aug. 14, 2018, when Umatilla County Fire District 1 received a call- out just before 5 a.m. for a fire at 1100 W. Sunland Ave., Hermiston. According to the search warrant affidavit by Hermiston Police Depart- ment Lt. Randy Studebaker, firefighters found a burning Molotov cocktail in broken glass in a rock bed directly beneath a bedroom window. The incendiary device consisted of a glass soda bot- tle with duct tape securing a cloth rag for a wick with gas- oline remaining in the bot- tle. The window was open to accommodate an air con- ditioner on one side, and the bomb struck and broke the outer pane. Seven people were in the house, including two children. Hermiston police later that day received a tip, accord- ing to the affidavit, identify- ing Kelly as the person who threw the Molotov in retali- ation for one person in the house stealing his guns. Kelly has convictions in 2013 and 2014 in Uma- tilla County for delivery of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. The court docu- ments do not reveal how he acquired the guns. The Blue Mountain Nar- cotics Enforcement Team the following day raided the house and confiscated guns. Hermiston police returned to the home and questioned one of the occupants. She was related to Dan- iel Dechand, the man Kelly shot and killed in 2014 out- side Hermiston. A Umatilla County grand jury found Kelly acted in self defense. Still, the court record states, there was tension between Dechand’s relative and Kelly, and they knew that through mutual acquaintances. They also saw each other not long before at stor- age units in Hermiston. 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Police soon tracked down Kelly, who confirmed he was the victim of a storage unit burglary but denied having anything to do with the Molo- tov cocktail. Police watched video from the storage busi- ness that showed the bur- glary of Kelly’s unit, the affi- davit states, and also showed Kelly and two others tried to break into the unit belonging to Dechand’s relative. The affidavit noted Kelly claimed to be out of town at the time of the burglary, which was 32 minutes before the report of the fire. The case had a pre-trial proceeding Thursday morn- ing in Pendleton, and Cir- cuit Court Judge Christopher Brauer set a trial readiness hearing for Sept. 12 with the trial starting Sept. 23. Kelly has three other cases open, all in Umatilla County. He pleaded not guilty last September to burglary, theft and criminal mischief. That case goes to trial Sept. 25. He also pleaded not guilty in February to failure to appear in the burglary case. And Kelly on Aug. 1 pleaded not guilty to menac- ing. The state has alleged he committed the misdemeanor against a man in February 2018. That case goes to trial Sept. 25. Oregon Hermiston/Pendleton Local Program #510 would like to thank local businesses and individuals which helped make our annual golf tournament a success. The tournament was able to raise over $6k to support our local athletes! ONSORS GOLD MEDAL SP • Roger’s Toyota of Hermiston • Umatilla Electric Cooperative • Our Lady of Angels The Knights of • Purswell Pump Co • Wyatt Harris/Northwest Mutual Columbus Council #3999 • A&A Mini Storage NSORS silver MEDAL SPO • Parkins Garage Door Co • Inland Pool & Spa Centre • Burns Mortuary of Hermiston • Swain Motors Inc • Dan & Christine Aguirre Family • Schroth Financial Services • Paul Burns/Burns Property LLC • Barak & Associates hoLe SPONSORS • Oregon Trail Homes • Hermiston Drug & Gift • Lifetime Vision Source • Gary Culp Machine • Fence Tite Rite • Mary Bousquet • Horace Mann Insurance • Doris Boatright • Sach & Miyoko Mikami • Dan & Christine Aguirre Family • RDO Equipment Inc • R&R Sports Trophies • Jeff & Lisa Smalley • Eastern Oregon Telecom • Jonas & Jessica Oltman • O So Kleen Inc • Walker Wells Financial Advising • Entune CBD/Jeff Edmundson • Burns Mortuary of Hermiston S other SPONSOR • Lesa Bunton • Parkins Garage Door Co • Eastern Oregon Mobile Slaughter • Rita McDougal prizes team prizes & door • Randy’s Pro Shop • Club 24 Express Fitness • Norco • Desert Lanes • Les Schwab Tire Center • Ste. Michelle Wine Estates • Smitty’s Ace Hardware • Hagerman Trucking • Deanna Plum/Tastefully Simple • Midway Tavern • Obie’s Express • Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe • Rick’s Car Wash • Pizza Hut • Yo Country Frozen Yogurt • Neighbor Dudes • American Printing • Hale’s Restaurant • Northwest Farm Supply luncheon Lunch sponsored by Tom Huxoll, owner of Cascade Automotive, & was served by The Knights of Columbus, & Special Olympics coach Doris Boatright. Hermiston Safeway & 7-Eleven also contributed to the luncheon. Special Thank You to Randy Sperr for your help on behalf of Echo Hills Golf Course
