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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
HERMISTON SWEEPS PASCO ON DIG PINK NIGHT » PAGE A10 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 HermistonHerald.com $1.50 INSIDE AMAZON BREAK Umatilla County adds its approval to a tax break for a new Amazon develop- ment in Hermiston. INISDE » A3 HERMISTON TO CONSIDER POSSIBLE SALE OF CENTER HELPLESS Area residents share stories of coping with a family member’s serious mental illness. INISDE » A8 BY THE WAY Hermiston offi cer an award fi nalist Hermiston Police Department detective Victor Gutierrez was a fi nalist recently for the United States Attorney General’s Award for Dis- tinguished Service in Policing. While he did not receive the award, chief Jason Edmiston wrote in a news release that it was a tre- mendous honor for Gutier- rez to be a fi nalist — one of only 44 nationwide. Gutierrez became a United States citizen in 1998 and a police offi cer in 1999. He served in the Army National Guard until being honorably dis- charged in 2001, and has been married for 25 years. Edmiston said Gutier- rez works with “passion and compassion” in his job and is an asset to the department. • • • Hermiston School Dis- trict is taking nominations for its sixth annual Distin- guished Alumnus award. Nominations must be submitted by Dec. 2. Can- didates must be a grad- uate of Hermiston High School and have attended for at least two consecutive years before graduation, be a leader in their cho- sen fi eld with “at least 10 years verifi able and suc- cessful professional expe- rience,” serve as a role model for youth, be recog- nized for signifi cant career Staff photo by Ben Lonergan The city of Hermiston is making plans to sell the Hermiston Community Center to a private business. By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR private business is interested in buying the Hermiston Commu- nity Center. City of Hermiston staff said they are not at liberty to reveal the potential buyer’s identity until a formal offer is made, but confi rmed to the Hermiston Herald that they have been in discussion with a business that approached them about a possible sale of “city-owned downtown property, includ- ing the Hermiston Community Center.” A The sale is far from a done deal — any offer from the developer would have to be voted on by the city council in an open meeting, advertised to the public in the newspaper and on the city’s website. Options to mitigate the loss of the event space and for spending proceeds from the possible sale would be presented at that time, according to the city. “Hermiston is a pro-business commu- nity and supports private sector growth and investment,” City Manager Byron Smith said in a written statement. “As discussions develop, we will continue to do our due diligence as we balance the community’s needs with the oppor- tunities this project may offer both our downtown and private sector.” Building history The building at 415 S. Highway 395 was built in 1968, according to the Herm- iston Herald’s archives. It served as a Safeway for 10 years before the company moved to its current location just down the road. Afterward it cycled through vacancies and use as various retail stores, including Family Bargain Center. See Center, Page A16 HH fi le photo The Hermiston Community Center is pictured when the city of Hermiston purchased the building — a former Safeway — in 1994. See BTW, Page A16 Local school districts get their report cards 8 08805 93294 2 A slight increase in the percent- age of freshman students on track to graduate has administrators at Hermiston School District smiling, as the district meets the state aver- age of 85%. “We’re excited about that. That’s a predictor of overall graduation rate,” superintendent Tricia Mooney said. The Oregon Department of Edu- cation released its At-A-Glance Pro- fi les for schools and districts Thurs- day — brief dashboard summaries of how schools are doing, with data on attendance, student achievement and whether students are on-track to graduate. Mooney said the district’s new graduation coach is likely in part responsible for the increase in freshmen on track to graduate. The coach, Omar Medina, was hired in 2017. His role is to identify at-risk students in their early high school years and to provide extra support for them. “For some of our kids, it’s just about having a conversation regu- larly,” Mooney said. For the 2018-2019 school year, the average percentage of eighth- grade students meeting profi ciency standards for math was 39%. The average percentage of third-graders meeting English Language arts pro- fi ciency standards was 47%. Across the board, the district’s At-A-Glance results level up with state averages. The district is 2% above the state average for English Language Arts profi ciency at the HH fi le photo See Report Cards, Page A16 Hermiston High School graduates walk out on to the fl oor at the Toyota Center for their commencement ceremony on June 6, 2019, in Kennewick, Wash.
