NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
High winds cause power
outages, property damage
By NADA SEWIDAN
STAFF WRITER
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Hermiston High School graduates march during an honor walk on Friday, May 29, 2020.
Students donned their caps and gowns before parading through town after COVID-19
restrictions forced the cancellation of a conventional graduation ceremony. Graduates
will attend a commencement ceremony with limited attendees on Thursday, June 4, 2020,
where they will receive their diplomas.
Hermiston graduates
celebrate in unique ways
Students parade
through town,
prepare for ceremony
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
It has been a unique year
in a lot of ways, and Herm-
iston High School gradu-
ate are experiencing that
as they celebrate a major
milestone.
While most districts are
planning a drive-in style
graduation ceremony this
year because of COVID-
19, Hermiston School Dis-
trict will provide an oppor-
tunity for students to walk
across a stage.
On Thursday, June 4,
starting at 6:10 p.m., the
district will bring 24 stu-
dents and parents at a time
into the high school to give
each student a chance to
walk across a stage in their
cap and gown, and receive
a diploma in front of two
guests of their choice.
“It’s going to be the lon-
gest graduation in the his-
tory of Hermiston High
School, I can guarantee
you that,” Larry Usher, ath-
letics and activities direc-
tor, said.
Speeches will be lives-
treamed online prior to
Principal Tom Spoo hand-
ing out diplomas to stu-
dents in alphabetical order,
and the diploma presenta-
tion, which will take place
on the stage in the com-
mons, will also be streamed
for the rest of the students’
friends and family not
present in the room. Stu-
dents who participate will
receive a gift bag, includ-
ing gift cards and a T-shirt.
Usher said Superin-
tendent Tricia Mooney
received some blowback
from superintendents on
the west side of the state
about bringing people into
the school, but district
administrators felt it was
important to allow students
the opportunity to walk
across the stage.
“We’re trying to do the
best we can in a really bad
situation for our kids right
now, and we felt like mak-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Fireworks explode over Butte Park in Hermiston on Friday,
May 29, 2020, in recognition of the graduating class of
2020. Students and their families watched the display from
vehicles or spread throughout the park after participating
in an honor walk through town in their caps and gowns.
Diplomas will be handed out on June 4.
ing sure they got an oppor-
tunity to walk across the
stage, and making sure
their parents got an oppor-
tunity to see that, and any-
body else with our lives-
tream capabilities was
defi nitely going to be a
step in the right direction
for us,” he said.
The district already
honored students as a
group on Friday, May 29
with an honor walk along
Highland and Orchard ave-
nues, where parents and
other community members
clapped for them, followed
by a fi reworks display from
the Hermiston Butte.
Clad in bright pur-
ple caps and gowns, some
seniors got emotional as
they spoke of the abrupt
ending to their school year
in March.
“For me, personally,
it was very heartbreak-
ing,” Kylie Barker said of
the day she found out stu-
dents would not be return-
ing to their classrooms for
the rest of the year. “I cried
at home.”
Some students said they
didn’t really care that much
about what their gradua-
tion looked like, while oth-
ers said they were disap-
pointed they didn’t get to
fi nish out a normal school
year with their sports sea-
sons and other extracur-
ricular activities. Neveah
Cubbage said she thought
it was cool that her grad-
uation was different than
the same thing schools do
every year.
“I like this, because I’m
not traditional, so I like that
this is unique,” she said.
Jordan Franklin and
Destiny Vanfossen, walk-
ing side by side, said they
thought the strange ending
to their high school experi-
ence will make their gen-
eration more resilient and
prepared for the future.
“We’ll be prepared to
adapt to changes,” Vanfos-
sen said.
Tony Gonzales and
Pedro Martin said they
were glad to get a chance
to say goodbye to their
friends, and Paul Ernst said
he was glad they weren’t
just doing some sort of
online commencement.
“It’s really cool they’re
still trying to pull some-
thing together,” Ernst said.
Nazly Chavez was one
of the only students wear-
ing a mask to the event.
She said her robes were too
long for her, so the reason
her mask coordinated per-
fectly with her outfi t was
that her mother used the
scraps from shortening her
robe to make it.
She described partici-
pating in the honor walk as
“exhilarating.”
“It was really nice see-
ing friends that I’m grad-
uating with,” she said. “It
feels like I haven’t seen
everyone in forever, so it
was nice just being with
everyone one last time.”
Northeast Oregon res-
idents experienced power
outages and property dam-
age following winds of
more than 70 mph on Satur-
day, May 30.
Fast winds uprooted trees
and knocked down power
lines throughout Boardman,
Hermiston and surrounding
areas, such as Umatilla and
Stanfi eld, damaging private
residences, housing com-
munities and parks.
More than 9,300 resi-
dences total were affected
by the power outage and
some remained without
power for several hours.
Umatilla Electric Coopera-
tive crews worked through
the night to restore power
to as many locations as pos-
sible. According to Steve
Meyers, member services
administrator for UEC, ser-
vice crews are still working
on restoring power in some
areas.
“Approximately
500
or fewer members remain
out of power at scattered
locations in the Board-
man-Hermiston
areas,
with Irrigon the hardest
hit,” according to a June 1
update on the UEC website.
Larry Fetter, the director
of Hermiston’s Parks and
Recreation
Department,
said it is one of the stron-
gest windstorms he has
experienced in years. Fetter
said approximately 20 to 30
mature trees were toppled
in several parks through-
out the county, including
at Hermiston’s McKen-
zie Park, where large trees
fell on the Arc of Uma-
tilla County community
building.
“We are still assessing
damages and asking for
support from other orga-
nizations,” Fetter said. “It
will take approximately two
weeks to repair, remove and
restore damages.”
Mckenzie, Belt, River-
front and Newport parks in
Hermiston were the most
affected. Debris and other
hazards have been elim-
inated and the Oxbow
Trail and Hermiston Loop,
among other trails, are now
safe for use, according to
Fetter.
Wilson Road Mobile
Home Park in Boardman is
also among the residences
affected by the windstorm.
Lisa Ahumada, the mobile
home park manager, said
that approximately 30 to
50 trees in the mobile park
were uprooted, damaging
water lines and causing a
power outage. The commu-
nity was left without water
or power as a result.
The uprooted trees also
damaged six mobile home
trailers beyond repair,
according to Ahumada.
No one in the mobile park
was injured, but the mobile
park is looking for mattress
donations for those whose
trailers were lost as a result
of the windstorm.
“I’ve
been
manag-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Fire crews work to clear a tree from Highway 395 near Safeway
in Hermiston on Saturday, May 30, 2020.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A trampoline, blown by the wind, rests on the roof of a house
near downtown Hermiston on Saturday, May 30, 2020.
ing here for 12 years, this
(windstorm) is beyond any-
thing I’ve seen,” Ahumada
said.
It took approximately
200 community member
volunteers to help clean the
mobile park from debris
that weekend.
The Umatilla School
District also canceled their
planned drive-in graduation
due to the storm.
“We had planned for rain.
We had planned for hail.
We had planned for wind,
but we had not planned for
70 mile per hour winds that
would knock out our power
and internet and send things
fl ying,”
Superintendent
Heidi Sipe said.
She said she had just
arrived at the school with
umbrellas to hand out
when the storm hit and
she saw a full-sized dump-
ster tumbling by. The dan-
ger, combined with the loss
of power, caused her and
Principal Bob Lorence to
decide to cancel the cere-
mony. Staff quickly began
using their cellphones to
call each student, Sipe said,
but one still showed up in
the parking lot with his
car decorated.
“My heart just broke,”
she said.
The district has resched-
uled the event for Thurs-
day, June 4 at 6:30 p.m. at
Umatilla High School, with
a parade through town and
fi reworks at the marina to
follow.
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St., Hermiston
June 2nd-7th
Please wear a mask for your
protection & ours or call ahead
and use our Drive thru.
Purchase a face mask
inside for $5-$7
20 %
OFF
• Midnight Oil Goat
Milk Soap
• Honey Garden
Elderberry Syrup
• Spring & Summer
Dresses
• Turtle Man Turtles
50 %
OFF
• Reg Priced Clearance Items
$1.00 OFF
Take & Bake Pizzas
WAY TO GO
CLASS OF
2020!
EXERCISE &
NUTRITION FOR A
HEALTHY LIFE
POWERFUL TOOLS
FOR CAREGIVERS
June 3 • 12:00-1:00pm
Wednesdays, June 10-July 15
10:00-11:30am
MATTER OF
BALANCE
BETTER SLEEP
WORKSHOP
Mondays June 8 -July 27
1:00-3:00pm
June 12
12:00-1:00pm
LIVING WELL WITH
CHRONIC PAIN
LIVING WELL
WITH DIABETES
Thursdays June 18-July 23
2:00-4:30pm
Tuesdays June 18-July 23
2:00-4:30pm
To register: Contact 541-667-3509 or healthinfo@gshealth.org
*Computer or smart phone required to join classes*
We are so
proud of you!
We are so proud of you all!
BURNS
MORTUARY
of Hermiston
& Hermiston Crematory
Serving families with care and
compassion for over 76 years.
662 E. Main St., Hermiston
541-567-6963
685 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston • 541-567-6474
www.burnsmortuaryhermiston.com