WEST PARK CAKE BAKE SHOWCASES FAMILIES’ CREATIVE SIDES, PAGE A10
Wednesday, november 20, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.50
INSIDE
HAMLET COMES
TO HERMISTON
FOOD POD
Hermiston’s food truck pilot
program comes to an end this
month, but the city and ven-
dors expect the pod to return
in some form next year. A3
COMMUNITY
MEAL
Volunteers are needed for this
year’s free Community Fellow-
ship Meal on Thanksgiving. A4
SEVEN SEALS
A Hermiston employer received
an award from the Department
of Defense for his support of
employees in the National
Guard. A7
BY THE WAY
Good Shepherd
launches 12 Days
of Giving
staff photo by ben Lonergan
Hamlet, played by Hermiston High School sophomore Aurelio Marin, 15, is surrounded by a crowd of villagers during a dress rehearsal
for “The Hamlet Thrill-ma-geddon” at Hermiston High School Wednesday afternoon.
Hermiston High School
is trying a fresh take on
a centuries-old play
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
T
here will be zombies and
commercials, but not a lick
of iambic pentameter in
Hermiston High School’s
production of “Hamlet
Thrill-ma-geddon” by Dan Zolidis.
The production, directed by language
arts teacher and drama club advisor Beth
Anderson, is being brought to life by 40
high school students. And apparently,
it’s really funny.
“It’s very hard not to break character;
there’s lots of dark humor. If you don’t
like traditional plays, it’s one to come
to,” said senior Justin Goucher, 17, who
plays Polonius, the counselor to King
Claudius in “Hamlet.”
In Shakespeare’s famous work, Prince
Hamlet seeks revenge against his uncle,
who killed Hamlet’s father and married
his mother to gain access to the throne
in Denmark.
staff photo by ben Lonergan
Hermiston High School student Casey Larsen, patches XLR cables into the auditorium
soundboard during a dress rehearsal for the high school’s performance of The Hamlet
Thrill-ma-geddon Wednesday afternoon. The show runs November 22 and 23 at 7 p.m.
in the Hermiston High School auditorium
“Hamlet Thrill-ma-geddon” begins
when a student drama club faces serious
budget cuts and uses corporate sponsor-
ship and interspersed live commercials
to fund their production of “Hamlet.”
“It has ‘Hamlet’ in the title, but it has
nothing to do with Hamlet really,” said
sophomore Malachi Andersen, 16, who
Good
Shepherd
Health Care System is
launching its annual 12
Days of Giving event,
providing
community
members with an oppor-
tunity to help less fortu-
nate residents.
Each day from Nov.
25 to Dec. 6 gives a nod
to the classic song 12
Days of Christmas while
asking people to donate
items based on the theme.
On Monday, for example,
the “partridge in a pear
tree” encourages people
to bring in canned foods,
while other days are for
collecting
everything
from books to gloves. See
page A9 for the full list.
Items can be dropped
off at the main entrance
of Good Shepherd Med-
ical Center, the lobby
of the Good Shepherd
Medical Group Clinic or
the lobby of the Medical
Plaza.
• • •
Highland Hills Ele-
mentary School will
hold its holiday concert
on Thursday at 6 p.m. at
Armand Larive Mid-
dle School, 1497 SW
Ninth St. The theme will
revolve around giving
thanks, and will include
moments in the program
to thank teachers, classi-
fied staff, first respond-
ers, the armed forces and
more.
See Hamlet, Page A12
See BTW, Page A12
It takes a village
DHS seeks holiday help
for area foster kids
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
Photo contributed by marvin Hamilton
8
08805 93294
2
Employees at the Hermiston Goodwill got into the holiday spirit in 2018 when
store manager Jessica Fernandez organized a giving tree for area foster children.
A tug on your heartstrings sort
of moment was recently shared
among employees of the Herm-
iston Department of Human Ser-
vices Child Welfare office when
looking at a Christmas Wish List.
The program had distributed the
form to the 240 or so foster kids
in Umatilla and Morrow counties.
As a guideline, the list follows the
Four Christmas Gift Challenge —
identifying something they want,
something they need, something to
wear and something to read.
With assistance from a care-
giver, a 7-year-old boy identified
his Number 1 need as “Love,” —
followed by socks, jeans, beanies
and mittens or gloves.
Jaime Meakins, who works as
a case aide in the Hermiston DHS
office, said children sometimes
indicate on the list that they want
to go home or be with their mom.
“In years past, there have been
kiddos that have written ‘love,’”
Meakins said. “It kind of shows
you the trauma they go through.”
See DHS, Page A12