HERMISTON SWEEPS PASCO
ON DIG PINK NIGHT
» PAGE A10
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
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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.