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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2020)
WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY LANDS HERMISTON’S TOP DEFENSIVE LINEMEN » PAGE A9 Wednesday, February 19, 2020 HermistonHerald.com $1.50 INSIDE CITY HALL City of Hermiston staff answer questions about a proposed new city hall. Page » A3 NEW LAW A proposed law would bar the state from suspending driver’s licenses for nonpay- ment of traffic fines. Page » A7 DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS FLOOD Gov. Kate Brown awards medals to Oregon Nation- al Guard members who conducted the largest search and rescue operation in state history. Page » A12 BY THE WAY Tax deadline coming up The Umatilla County Assessment & Taxation Office reminds every- one doing business in the county that the dead- line for returning personal property and real property tax returns is coming up. The returns must be submitted to the Assess- ment & Taxation Office (216 S.E. Fourth St., Pendleton) or postmarked by Sunday, March 15, 2020, to avoid a late fil- ing penalty. Paul Chalm- ers, assessment & taxa- tion director, said if a new business hasn’t received tax filing papers in the mail, it is their respon- sibility to call the per- sonal property appraiser at 541-278-6217. • • • Stephanie Hughes, first vice president of Altrusa International of Hermiston, recently spearheaded an effort to help provide assistance to flood victims in the area. After posting a request on the service club’s Face- book page for donations of money or cleaning sup- plies, the response came flooding in. People provided rub- ber gloves, spray bottles, bleach, towels, flat shov- els, brooms, mops, buck- ets, toilet paper and dust masks. After contact- ing the American Red Cross, Hughes, her hus- band, Bob, and Altrusa staff photo by ben Lonergan The Medelez brothers accept Medelez Inc.’s Business of the Year Award at the 50th Annual Distinguished Citizens Awards in Hermiston Wednesday night. Hermiston honors its civic and community leaders at event By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Amid tears, cheers and standing ova- tions, Hermiston honored some of its most giving citizens at the 50th annual Distinguished Citizens Awards. When it came time to accept their awards, however, most were reluctant to take any credit for themselves. Lou Lyons — Man of the Year — jokingly tried to duck backstage rather than make his way to the podium. Once he took the award, he thanked his employees at Elmer’s Irriga- tion, many of whom have been with him since he purchased the business 27 years ago. “We’re here, we’re proud to support the community, and that’s what we intend to do,” he said. Lyons came to Hermiston in 1989 to work with the business’s founder, Elmer Georgeson. Presenter Steve Frasier noted Lyons is a strong supporter of youth in staff photo by ben Lonergan See Citizens, Page A14 Cindy Meyers reacts to winning the Woman of the Year Award at the 50th annual Distinguished Citizens Awards in Hermiston on Wednesday night. InsIde: For more photos from the event, see Page A13 See BTW, Page A1 School district honors top educators By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER 8 08805 93294 2 By the time she was just 10 years old, Hermiston School District’s 2020 Edu- cator of the Year Tammy Fisher knew she wanted to be a teacher. “That’s when I started teaching swimming les- sons. As cheesy as it sounds, it felt like a calling. I loved the opportunity to work with people, to share skills and learn from them. I never fal- ter on that,” she said. Fisher grew up in Pend- leton and before receiving her master’s degree in cur- riculum and instruction, she got her teaching license and literacy specialist endorse- ment from Eastern Oregon University, where she also studied English. “I studied it just for fun. I thought I wanted to teach elementary,” she said. And while Fisher has taught practically every grade level K-12 in her 13-year teaching career, she currently holds a posi- tion as an English teacher at the high school. Her lit- erature know-how came in handy after all, much to her surprise. Her favorite piece to teach is “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. “It has really interesting ties to history,” Fisher said. In addition to teach- ing her regular curriculum to freshman and junior stu- dents, Fisher took on inter- vention classes brought to the school district this year through the Read180 cur- riculum. It’s designed to get students who read below grade level back up to speed. Fisher said that growing up, her brother had trouble learning to read. It’s part of why she’d like to continue studying adolescent read- ing, a passion which admin- istrators can sense. She was See Educators, Page A14 staff photo by ben Lonergan Tammy Fisher speaks after winning the award for Districtwide Educator of the Year at the 50th Annual Distinguished Citizens Awards in Hermiston on Feb. 12.
