WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.50
INSIDE
Holiday Guide
Find schedules for area holiday
events, decorating tips and
more in this year’s Home for
the Holidays guide.
Inside
Big tree
TOY RUN
REVS UP
HOLIDAY
SPIRIT
Hermiston’s biggest Christmas
tree yet arrived downtown on
Monday.
A3
Concert photos
Photos tell the story of this
year’s Highland Hills Elementa-
ry School winter concert.
A16
BY THE WAY
Macklemore
and Eric
Church
coming to
Whisky
Music Fest
Country music star
Eric Church and Seattle
rapper Macklemore will
headline the 2020 Whisky
Music Fest at the Pendle-
ton Round-Up Grounds.
The two performers
will hit the stage on Sat-
urday, July 11. Church
is a three-time Coun-
try Music Association
and six-time Academy of
Country Music Award
winner who released
his critically acclaimed
album “Desperate Man”
atop the Billboard Coun-
try Albums chart in late
2018. The North Carolina
native is nominated for
two Grammy awards for
best country album and
best country song.
Grammy award-win-
ning artist Macklemore
will also take the stage
to perform several Bill-
board hits and enter-
tain the crowd with
his high energy show.
HH File photo
Al Sells leads the pack during the 2009 Echo Toy Run. In its 16th year, the Dec. 7 event is being held in the Stanfi eld man’s memory.
16th annual event honors longtime organizer
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
T
he Echo Toy Run wraps up the spirit of the season by pro-
viding gifts to kids in the hospital.
In its 16th year, this year’s event will be special. It is
being held in memory of longtime organizer, Al Sells, after
he died Aug. 1 in a motorcycle crash.
Sells led the pack each year, as anywhere from dozens
to more than 100 bikers from across the region rode the approximate
10 miles from Echo to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermis-
ton. Straddling Cooter, his 2004 Harley Wide-Glide, the Stanfi eld
man always had stuffed animals strapped to the front of his bike and
on the back, a large American fl ag waved in the wind.
“I appreciate Al’s efforts to organize and keep the toy run going,”
said Kelly Sanders, vice president of human resources at Good Shep-
herd Medical Center. “He was always the fi rst to arrive and last to
leave and seemed to do it all out of the kindness of his heart.”
See BTW, Page A11
See Toy run, Page A16
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
A display of photos and motorcycle memorabilia graces a table at
the August celebration of life gathering for Al Sells. Friends and
family of the longtime organizer of the Echo Toy Run are holding
the 16th annual event in the Stanfi eld man’s memory.
Hermiston city council approves
annexation for new subdivision
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
8
08805 93294
2
A 36 acre parcel between Diagonal Boulevard and East Elm Avenue was
annexed into the City of Hermiston by council vote Monday night. The
annexation allows for development of the site into a multi-use neighborhood
that includes single and multi-family dwellings as well as “neighborhood”
businesses.
The Hermiston City Council
approved an annexation and zoning
changes Monday that could trans-
form the northeast entrance to town.
Developers Lloyd and Lois
Piercy of Hat Rock, who have com-
pleted projects around Hermiston in
the past and helped revitalize down-
town Echo, hope to turn 36 acres
at the intersection of Elm Avenue
and Diagonal Road into a multi-use
neighborhood.
Their vision includes 25 acres of
“moderate” single family homes,
plus walking trails, a few “neigh-
borhood” businesses such as a mar-
ket or hair salon, and a selection of
duplexes and triplexes providing
approximately 45 accessible units
designed for residents age 55 and
older. They plan to start construction
in the fall of 2020.
“There is a fair supply of usable
land for housing (in Hermiston) but
very few tracts large enough to cre-
ate a community,” Lloyd Piercy told
the council.
Part of the project would include
an off-road pedestrian trail along
Northeast 10th Street and improve-
ments to the road. City planner Clint
Spencer said studies included in the
application materials show there is
See Council, Page A16