NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Dorran, Beers emerge from primary Hermiston School
District to host ‘honor
for Umatilla County commissioner
walk’ for seniors
By ALEX CASTLE
AND JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITERS
Dan Dorran of Hermis-
ton and HollyJo Beers of Mil-
ton-Freewater emerged from
a crowded fi eld during the
May 19 primary to advance to
the November general elec-
tion in the 2020 race for Uma-
tilla County commissioner.
Dorran fi nished fi rst in
the primary with 34% of the
vote and 5,482 total votes
received, while Beers came
in second with 24% of the
vote and 3,935 total votes
received.
The two bested a trio of
candidates from Hermiston to
advance, with Pat Maier col-
lecting 13% of the vote for
third, Jonathan Lopez receiv-
ing 10% for fourth, and Mark
Gomolski fi nishing fi fth with
8%.
“We’re really happy and
humbled with how things
went,” Dorran said of his
campaign, noting he was
excited to receive as signifi -
cant a portion of the vote as
he did despite four other can-
didates entered in the race.
Though confi dent enter-
ing May 19, Beers said she
still felt pleasantly surprised
by the result and was looking
forward to the opportunity to
continue her campaign into
November.
“I’m very excited about
it,” she said. “I’m delighted
and humbled by all the people
who supported me.”
Both Dorran and Beers
voiced some disappoint-
ment in the county’s over-
all voter turnout, which was
reported at right around 36%
of the 45,240 eligible voters.
Regardless, the two will have
months more of opportunity
in a smaller, more concen-
trated campaign before voters
will make their fi nal choice
between them in November.
Hermiston Mayor David
Drotzmann ran unopposed
in the primary, securing his
seat as mayor for another
four years. Municipal Judge
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Ballots await sorting at the Umatilla County Elections offi ce ahead of the ballot deadline on
May 19.
Thomas Creasing also ran
unopposed.
State legislature
State Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, survived a primary
challenge on election night,
but still has to face off against
a Democratic challenger in
November.
Hansell, who is in his
eighth year of offi ce, received
92% of the vote in the Repub-
lican primary against Garison
Lee Alger, a Pendleton car-
penter. On the Democratic
side, Mildred O’Callaghan
of Joseph ran unopposed,
sweeping up 97% of the vote.
Hansell said he was “grat-
ifi ed” by the wide margin of
victory.
“Whenever you throw
your hat in the ring, you’re
always very pleased when it’s
chosen,” he said.
Hansell’s
Democratic
challenger,
O’Callaghan,
acknowledged that it would
be tough for a Democrat to
win District 29, but she said
she wanted to see Democrats
provide more opposition to
Republicans in red counties,
and to spark increased voter
turnout for Democrats in
November, when a presiden-
Beers
Dorran
tial election is on the line.
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Hep-
pner, didn’t have a primary
challenger for his seat repre-
senting House District 57, but
he will face off with a Demo-
cratic opponent in November.
Smith received 99% of the
vote as he ran unopposed to
keep the seat he has held for
10 terms after being elected in
November 2000. This is the
fi rst time he has had a Dem-
ocratic opponent since 2010.
He will run against Roland
Ruhe, a Democrat from Irri-
gon who owns a construc-
tion business. Ruhe ran unop-
posed in the primary.
Morrow County
The next Morrow County
commissioner will be decided
in November.
Incumbent Jim Doherty
staved off a competitive pri-
mary challenge from Joel
Peterson on election night,
Umatilla to hold May 30 graduation
HERMISTON HERALD
Umatilla High School
seniors will celebrate grad-
uation on Saturday with a
drive-in ceremony, parade
and fi reworks.
Graduation will start at
6 p.m., with students and their
families listening from their
cars in the parking lot of Uma-
tilla High School. Afterward,
they will parade through town
about 7 p.m., followed by a
fi reworks show courtesy of
the City of Umatilla.
According to a news
release from the district, 93
seniors will be graduating,
including a record number of
students graduating with their
Associates of Arts Trans-
fer Degree from Blue Moun-
tain Community College
along with their high school
diploma. The previous record
was six, and this year 12 stu-
dents have earned one.
Elizebeth Burres, Patri-
cia Burres, Yarectzy Carrillo,
Bryan Cervantes-Ortiz, Bri-
ana Duron Gutierrez, Rosy
Madrigal-Rodriguez, Yaretzy
Morfi n, Marisol Munoz-Or-
daz, Erika Ricardo-Ochoa,
Darian Smith, Ethan Smith
and Naomie Wyckoff will all
celebrate their high school
graduation May 30 and their
BMCC graduation June 11.
Superintendent
Heidi
Sipe credited the success of
the early college program at
the high school to the vision
of the school board and high
school principal Bob Lor-
ence, who “has worked to
build a culture of success at
UHS.”
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coming in fi rst in the nonpar-
tisan race with 41.56% of the
vote compared with Peter-
son’s runner-up fi nish with
38.25%.
But the two will have to
face off again in a Novem-
ber runoff because neither
received more than 50% of
the vote.
SaBrina Bailey Cave came
in fi rst in the race for trea-
surer, with 30.6% of the vote,
while only 16 votes separate
Jaylene Papineau and Erik
Patton in unoffi cial results
released on election night.
Papineau edged out Patton
with 684 votes to his 668,
sending her into a runoff with
Bailey Cave in November.
In the race for judge for
the Morrow County Justice
Court, incumbent Glen Diehl
ended up with 42.2% of the
vote. He will face off in the
November general election
against Theresa Crawford,
who received 39.7%. With a
third-place fi nish at 17.8%,
Kelly Doherty will not be on
the ballot again in November.
Diehl was appointed
as Justice of the Peace in
November 2019 after the
retirement of Judge Annetta
Spicer.
Hermiston seniors may
not have a traditional grad-
uation ceremony to look
forward to, but the school
district is providing an oppor-
tunity for them to experience
the cheers of friends and
family while donning a cap
and gown.
Hermiston School Dis-
trict announced Wednesday
that the district, in partner-
ship with the city of Herm-
iston, will host an “honor
walk” for the Class of
2020 on Friday, May 29 at
7:30 p.m. followed by a fi re-
works show at 9:30 p.m.
“During this diffi cult
time, it is important to honor
the students experiencing
this memorable situation,
which caused their senior
year to be cut short,” the dis-
trict stated in a news release.
Seniors dressed in their
cap and gown can line up
on the south side of Herm-
iston High School and walk
a parade route that will go
west on Highland Avenue,
around West Park Elemen-
tary School at Seventh Street,
and down Orchard Avenue to
return to the high school.
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment will shut down traf-
fi c along that route start-
ing at 7:15 p.m., allowing
seniors to walk spaced apart
on the road, and members
of the public can cheer them
on from the sidewalks. Indi-
viduals are asked to do so
“safely and respectfully” and
to follow social distancing
guidelines by staying 6 feet
apart from people who are
not in their household.
The evening will end
with a fi reworks show at
9:30 p.m. from the Hermis-
ton Butte, which people can
also enjoy from their homes,
vehicles, or spaced apart on
sidewalks.
The school district will
hold a virtual baccalaureate,
a nondenominational reli-
gious service that schools
traditionally hold for grad-
uates, on June 1 at 7 p.m.,
accessible by tuning in to a
livestreamed video on the
Hermiston School District
YouTube channel.
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