OFF PAGE ONE
A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019
Toy run
Continued from Page A1
The generosity of the bik-
ers lasts well beyond the hol-
iday season. In addition to
providing gifts to kids in the
hospital during Christmas,
toys are available for staff to
give to children who might
benefi t from having their
spirits lifted throughout the
year. Also, Sanders said they
share some with the Herm-
iston Police Department’s
Christmas Express program
and other needy children in
the community.
As word of Sells’ pass-
ing spread throughout the
biker community, people
were already talking about
carrying on the tradition he
started with the help of for-
mer owners of the old Echo
Saloon. Daughters Amanda
Silvani of Umatilla and Tia
Barden of Arlington, Wash-
ington, were overwhelmed
with the interest in con-
tinuing the annual holiday
season toy run. Less than
a week after their father’s
death, plans were starting to
gel for this year’s event.
“It’s been really easy
because a lot of the motor-
cycle groups want to see
Council
Continued from Page A1
adequate sewer and water
infrastructure ready to serve
the site, and that even worst
case scenario traffi c num-
bers would fall well within
what surrounding roads
were designed to handle.
The request for annex-
ation into the city and zon-
ing the land with a mixture
of commercial and residen-
tial designations was met
with no opposition at Mon-
day’s public hearing, but it
did get a notable endorse-
ment from former city man-
ager Ed Brookshier.
“I fi rst started discussing
the concept with Lloyd very
casually two or two and a
HH fi le photo
Participants in sixth annual Echo Toy Run place toys in bins in the
parking lot at Good Shepherd Medical Center. In its 16th year,
the Dec. 7 event will be held in memory of longtime organizer Al
Sells, who died earlier this year in a motorcycle crash.
it continue,” Silvani said.
“Everyone says, ‘Let’s keep
this going in his memory.’”
Barden emphasized that
her father’s legacy goes
beyond just the Echo Toy
Run. It’s her hope that peo-
ple will continue to give
back to their communities in
a variety of ways. Charita-
ble efforts of the biker com-
munity, she said, are often
overlooked.
“It’s a different perspec-
tive of what most people
think about people who ride
a Harley and wear leathers,”
Barden said. “His giving
back was amazing.”
Sanders agreed, saying
people might have viewed
Sells as a little rough around
the edges. However, he was
quick to point out that Sells
and the other bikers who
regularly participated in the
toy run have hearts of gold.
“Our community is a bet-
ter place because of Al Sells
and the infl uence he had on
so many,” Sanders said. “Al
was a genuine man who
made a difference in our
community. I’m pleased that
the toy run can continue in
his name.”
The 16th annual Echo
Toy Run is Saturday, Dec.
7. It will depart at noon from
Main Street, Echo. Bikers
will lead the way with cars
half years ago, and it excited
me from the very begin-
ning,” he told the council.
He pointed out that
Hermiston’s other entrances
into town have seen devel-
opment and beautifi ca-
tion over recent years, but
its entrance from Highway
207 “lacks character.” The
Piercys’ project, he said, has
the opportunity to set the
tone for people coming into
town from that direction.
He said developing that
particular piece of land
won’t be easy, but he has
faith in the their ability to
see it through.
“I’ve watched the Piercys
in other work, and their qual-
ity and attention to detail is
outstanding,” he said.
Hermiston resident Eric
Reise also said he was
excited about the opportu-
nity for Hermiston and was
impressed with what the
Piercys had done for Echo.
City councilors asked
questions about the pro-
posal, which had been vet-
ted and recommended by the
planning commission. Spen-
cer said some questions —
such as whether the speed
limit would be adjusted
along Elm Avenue — were
preliminary and would come
as the developers continued
through the process.
City councilor Rod Har-
din noted that the number of
senior citizens in the United
States is expected to double
in the next 10 years, and said
that he had recently visited
a similar project in another
city, where 95% of its 80
senior units and 92% of its
regular family units had
been leased.
“I feel there’s a demand,”
he said.
In addition to the 36 acres
for the Piercys’ project, city
staff also worked with Uma-
tilla Electric Cooperative
to include the utility’s sub-
station on Elm Street in the
annexation to avoid creating
an “island” of county land in
the city.
The zoning and annex-
ation
were
passed
unanimously.
The council started Mon-
day’s work session with state
Sen. Bill Hansell, who high-
lighted bills he helped pass
during the 2019 legislative
session. During the upcom-
ing short session in Febru-
ary, senators are allowed a
single bill while representa-
tives are allowed two bills.
They sent their bills for
legal review on Friday, and
Hansell said his bill would
call for funding to study crit-
ical groundwater issues in
the Columbia Basin.
The senator noted that
he had decided to run for
another four-year term next
year, and said it would
likely be his last, although
he knows to “never say
never.” He said he had
been approached about
running for federal offi ce
when Congressman Greg
Walden recently announced
his retirement, but decided
against it.
“I think every Republi-
can elected offi cial in the
statehouse had someone call
them and say, ‘You ought to
run,’” he said.
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
Amanda Silvani, fourth from left, visits with bikers who attended a celebration of life gathering
in August for her father, Al Sells. The 16th annual Echo Toy Run is being held in memory of the
Stanfi eld man.
and trucks following as they
deliver new unwrapped toys
to Good Shepherd. Hospi-
tal employees will greet the
group when they arrive and
offer coffee, hot chocolate
and pastries. Afterwards,
participants are invited to
gather at the “Fallen Biker
Bench” at the Hermiston
Cemetery.
For more information,
call/text Silvani at 541-
720-9304, contact Sand-
ers at 541-667-3413, ksand-
ers@gshealth.org or search
Facebook.
During Monday’s meet-
ing the council passed sev-
eral housekeeping items,
including minor updates to
its found property and ani-
mal sections of the code of
ordinances, adoption of a
formalized written set of
standards for the Hermiston
Municipal Airport and a sup-
plemental budget to close
out several old accounts with
small amounts of money left
over from past projects.
The council removed an
item from its agenda to adopt
fi ndings of fact for their land
use decision from Nov. 12
that declined to rezone a
piece of property on North-
east Fourth Street, which
Eastern Oregon Develop-
ment LLC had hoped to turn
into mini-storage.
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