COMMUNITY
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
THREE MINUTES WITH …
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
HERMISTON HISTORY
City jail has two escapes in one week
KIMBERLY RILL
Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Director
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
I grew up in Hermiston and left for college, but
returned shortly after graduating. I love it here.
Hermiston is “home.”
Where is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
I love a lot of places, but my go-to places are Mid-
way Bar and Grill or Delish Bistro. I also frequent
Ye Old Pizza Shoppe, Veg Out and USA Subs.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I spend a lot of time with my husband and family
enjoying the outdoors. I also love to read and listen
to podcasts regularly.
What surprises you about Hermiston?
The growth of Hermiston in the last few years has
been exciting to watch! It isn’t surprising to me, but I
love seeing new businesses open and fl ourish.
What was the last book you read?
“Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist
What website or app do you use most other
than Facebook?
I love Instagram and Apple Podcasts.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you
go?
I would love to visit Ireland or Italy.
What is the funniest thing that’s ever hap-
pened to you?
I’m not sure.
What is one of your goals for the next 12
months?
I have a personal goal of starting a new business!
I hope to share information about it and get things
going in the next 12 months. For the Chamber, my
goal is to meet our funding goal to get our new busi-
ness center built.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
I’m proud that I paid for my college degree on my
own without student loans and purchased my fi rst
home at 22.
Umatilla County
announces three new
cases of COVID-19
Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health announced three
new confi rmed COVID-19
cases on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The county’s report
on Sept. 15 listed a total
of 2,719 confi rmed cases
since the pandemic began
and 41 deaths of county
residents
positive
for
COVID-19.
As of Sept. 15, the county
had three hospitalizations
of COVID-19 patients, and
155 presumptive cases,
which are defi ned as cases
where patients are show-
ing symptoms of COVID-
19 after coming into con-
tact with a confi rmed case,
but have not received a test
result, either because they
have not been tested or the
results have not yet come
back.
As of Sept. 15, Oregon
Health Authority reports
29,662 total cases since the
pandemic began, and 519
deaths.
HH fi le photo
Hermiston fi re department clown “Fred” entertains children at the grand opening of the Hermiston Community Center in
1995.
25 YEARS AGO
Sept. 12, 1995
About 250 people attended the
ribbon cutting festivities Saturday
presenting the Hermiston Commu-
nity Center to a public that gave
$665,000 to its renovation.
Mayor
Frank
Harkenrider,
Greater Hermiston Area Chamber of
Commerce president Vicki Storment
and community center committee
chairman Bryan Wolfe addressed
the crowd, congratulating them on
accomplishing a long-standing com-
munity goal.
“Your city offi cials were willing
to step forth and say, ‘Take a look,
friends of Hermiston, do we need
such a facility?’ The answer was a
resounding yes,” Wolfe said.
2) The case for a king-sized com-
munity playground is expected to go
before the public in a town meeting
tentatively scheduled for Monday.
The meeting is to let people
know about the project and to recruit
between 12 and 25 adults to serve as
a steering committee.
“We need people to get this
going,” said Kathy Blankenship.
“We can’t do this by ourselves.”
50 YEARS AGO
Sept. 10, 1970
It is said that if a prisoner wishes
to escape, he should do so as soon as
possible.
Two prisoners in the Hermiston
city jail escaped in the past week
after being behind bars no more than
one day.
A 17-year-old AWOL soldier,
Samuel Walter Brown, was picked
up at 4:30 p.m. Sunday hitchhiking
on Highway 80N at the junction of
Highway 32. He was brought to the
station at 5:20 p.m. and was heard
escaping through the skylight of his
cell at 9:14 p.m.
What astonished city police was
that the 5 ft. 11 in., 150 lb. Brown
had to climb through a narrow open-
ing in the bars beneath the skylight
in order to get out. Brown had been
stationed at Ft. Gordon, Georgia.
Timothy Harman, 22, had to wait
longer but had an easier time getting
away. Given duties to perform out-
side his cell, he merely walked off
the job after being in jail one day. He
was reported missing at 11:30 a.m.
Monday.
75 YEARS AGO
Sept. 13, 1945
There will be a meeting Mon-
day, the 17th, at 8 o’clock, at the
USO building for the purpose of
HH fi le photo
A Hermiston police sergeant shows the bars that an escapee squeezed through
before exiting a skylight and escaping the city’s jail in 1970.
forming a fl ying club. Anyone
interested in fl ying and starting a
club is urged to attend. IPlans are
under way for a temporary land-
ing strip to be built near Herm-
iston and a defi nite location has
been established.
2) Sgt. David Hamm, son of
Mr. and Mrs. W.L. Hamm, who is
now with the Fourth Marine Reg-
iment, had the honor of being in
that group when they made the
fi rst sea-borne landing on Japa-
nese soil.
The original members of the
Fourth Marine Regiment were
at Corrigedor and Bataan when
those objectives were captured
and it was thought they were all
lost.
However, the Fourth was such
a famous regiment, it was decided
to reactivate it around the Marine
Raiders and it is to this group that
Sgt. Hamm is attached.
A late news item indicates
that a few of the original Fourth
Marine Regiment have been lib-
erated recently from Japanese
prison camps and these have
rejoined their regiment.
100 YEARS AGO
Sept. 10, 1920
Over 1,000 visitors are expected
to attend Field Day, Sept. 11, at the
Umatilla Experiment Farm. The
weather man “has been fi xed,” and a
huge time is anticipated. A fi ne pro-
gram of games, music, speeches,
“eats,” etc. has been arranged. Drop
your troubles for a day, bring the
family and do a little “neighboring.”
Several candidates will represent
different districts in a friendly con-
test for a prize to be offered for the
most beautiful man present. The pur-
pose is to show the benefi cient effect
of irrigation on manly pulchitrude.
Only the women will be permitted to
vote. The decision will be rendered
by ballot, each woman being allowed
one vote for each year she is old.
The management realizes a great
many ladies may hesitate to exer-
cise their franchise and it will prob-
ably be necessary to have the ballot
secret. A manager will be appointed
for each candidate who will be
allowed to extol and exhibit the rare
beauty of form and feature of his
candidate.
BY THE WAY
Symphony starts season Saturday with drive-in concert
The Oregon East Symphony will kick off its 2020-
21 season by presenting its fi rst ever drive-in concert —
“Let ‘Er Bach!” — on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m.,
in the Pendleton Convention Center parking lot, 1601
Westgate.
This unique and free-to-attend production will fea-
ture a masked and socially distanced 13-member cham-
ber orchestra performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s
“Brandenburg Concerto No. 3” and Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.” Concert attendees
will enjoy the music from the comfort and safety of their
own vehicles by listening to the concert over an FM radio
transmission.
To ensure everyone’s safety and to adhere to Oregon
Health Authority guidelines, capacity will be limited to
250 individuals and contact information of all attendees
(fi rst and last names, phone and address) must be collected
for contact tracing purposes. Preregistration is highly rec-
ommended in order to expedite attendees’ check-in pro-
cess and ensure a reserved spot.
Attendees may preregister online at OregonEastSym-
phony.org or by calling the symphony offi ce at
541-276-0320.
• • •
Training off ered for young adults
The Worksource Oregon offi ces in Pendleton and
Hermiston are offering workforce training opportunities
to young adults of Morrow and Umatilla counties, age
16-24.
To learn about program, call 541-564-5696 or 541-
276-9050 ext. 224.
• • •
State sets up fi re information website
If you’re interested in keeping up with all the latest
wildfi re news in Oregon, the state has compiled informa-
tion into a one-stop shop online at wildfi re.oregon.gov.
The website includes links to up to date emergency
alerts, fi re maps, road closures, emergency shelters and
air quality levels as well as general information, such as
mental health resources and instructions on how to fi le a
homeowner’s insurance claim, get a ballot or replace a
driver’s license after losing your home.
• • •
Senior meals include chicken and fi sh
The Harkenrider Senior Activity Center continues
to provide takeout and delivery meals to senior citizens
in the community. The menu for Thursday, Sept. 17, is
baked chicken, rice with gravy, beets and dessert. Tues-
day, Sept. 22, will be baked fi sh, coleslaw, fruit and des-
sert. For a Meals on Wheels delivery, call 541-567-3582
before 10 a.m. to place an order. To pick up a meal from
the center at 255 N.E. Second St., call the same num-
ber before 11 a.m. Meals are $4 and can be picked up
between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.