HERMISTON GIRLS AND BOYS TAKE DOWN LA GRANDE » PAGE A10
Wednesday, december 11, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.50
INSIDE
FATAL CRASH: A
Hermiston woman was
charged with manslaugh-
ter and DUII after a crash
that killed a woman Friday
night. A3
HOLIDAY RUSH: Herm-
iston churches, nonprofits
and businesses offer
visits with Santa and other
Christmas activities this
week. A6
TOY RUN: See photos of
this year’s Echo Toy Run
in memory of longtime
organizer Al Sells. A14
READY FOR THE REBUILD
BY THE WAY
Construction
on Geer Road
is underway
Drivers could see minor
delays on Geer Road after
work began last week on
installation of a new water
main.
The main is being
installed along the sec-
tion of Geer Road between
Theater Lane and Harper
Road, moving the water
system in Hermiston’s
northeast neighborhoods
from dead ends to a loop.
The benefits of the project
will include greater capac-
ity and water pressure,
reduced loss of service
during breaks and main-
tenance, better fire protec-
tion and improved water
quality.
Umatilla Electric Coop-
erative will be working on
an unrelated project along
Geer Road at the same
time, which could also
cause minor disruptions to
traffic this month.
• • •
Affordable
Family
Eyewear invites people to
check out their new digs.
A grand opening and rib-
bon cutting event is set
for Thursday from 5:30-
6:30 p.m. at 298 E. Gladys
Ave., Hermiston.
Be sure to drop in and
register for a chance to
win some great prizes. Up
for grabs during the cele-
bration include a night at
the Swayze Suite (www.
swayzesuite.com)
in
downtown
Hermiston,
See BTW, Page A2
HH file photo
Charred portions of the Funland play structure at Butte Park in Hermiston await demolition after an early-morning fire in May 2019. Plans for
a new Funland playground were presented Monday.
City council approves
fundraising push for
new Funland
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
A citizen committee will try to fund-
raise as much as $810,000 from the com-
munity in order to rebuild the Funland
playground “bigger, better and stronger”
after it burned down in May.
The goal is ambitious, but Hermis-
ton Mayor David Drotzmann praised the
group for dreaming big.
“This community has a rich history of
doing things better than average, better
than they’ve been done before,” he said.
The city currently has $752,000 in hand
from an insurance settlement and some ini-
tial donations that trickled in unsolicited
after the fire. It’s enough to build a play-
ground over bark chips, but the Funland
Park Reconstruction Committee hopes to
build a larger, more accessible and more
durable playground with new features
such as a restroom facility.
The largest cost of their vision — at
$336,000 — would be replacing the previ-
ous wood chips under the structure with a
spongy, wheelchair-friendly, fire-resistant
material made from recycled tires.
“The wood chips at the bottom of the
swings and slides were displaced con-
stantly,” parks and recreation director
staff photo by Jade mcdowell
Funland committee member Charlie Clupny and parks and recreation director Larry Fetter
present plans for a new Funland playground to the Hermiston City Council on Monday.
Larry Fetter said, noting new wood chips
would only cost about $20,000 upfront but
need to be replaced frequently.
The structure itself will be built from
materials less flammable than wood, such
as a compressed plastic made from recy-
cled milk jugs that has become popular
for new playgrounds. It will be designed
to reduce the number of hiding spots for
people up to no good, and will have an
upgraded security camera system.
The tentative design the committee
presented Monday would be broken up
into three main thematic sections, plus a
16-foot-tall structure in the center and a
separate area for swings.
The centerpiece of the adventure sec-
tion is a large pirate ship where children
can pretend to battle a mythological kraken
coming out of the “water.”
See Funland, Page A16
Winterfest lights up downtown Hermiston
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
8
08805 93294
2
Santa Claus made an early stop
in Hermiston on Thursday night,
checking in with the town’s lit-
tle ones about what they want
for Christmas during the annual
Winterfest.
The centerpiece of the event on
the festival street was a roughly
45-foot Christmas tree, decked out
in thousands of multicolored lights.
This year the privilege of flipping
the switch to light the tree went to
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner.
“This is probably the greatest
honor I’ve ever had as a state repre-
sentative,” he told the crowd.
Before Santa’s arrival, Smith
spoke about remembering the true
meaning of Christmas. He refer-
enced the song “Carol of the Drum,”
also known as “The Little Drummer
Boy,” and said that each person has
a gift they can give.
“Let’s remember what the season
is about,” he said. “It’s about family.
It’s about love. It’s about caring for
our Savior and those in need.”
As the large crowd huddled
around outdoor space heaters, wait-
ing for Santa’s arrival on a fire truck,
Smith conducted an impromptu
sing-along, pulling people up from
the audience to lead everyone in
their favorite Christmas carol.
“This is your chance — Ameri-
can Idol, Hermiston style,” he said.
Sutton Osborne, 10, led everyone
in “We Wish You A Merry Christ-
mas.” Later in the evening, while
staff photo by ben Lonergan
See Lights, Page A16
Majazzty, the Hermiston High School jazz choir, performs at the Winterfest
tree lighting ceremony in Hermiston on Thursday night.