COMMUNITY
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
THREE MINUTES WITH …
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
HERMISTON HISTORY
Forgery cases rise in Hermiston
AUDRA WORKMAN
Classifi ed Customer Service,
Hermiston Herald
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
I’ve lived here since I was 2.
Where is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
I like La Laguna that just opened up, and La Palma.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Usually I like to go on trips and go to the coast with
family. I like going yard sale-ing.
What surprises you about Hermiston?
How people help each other in times of need, and
businesses help each other.
What was the last book you read?
I mostly read the newspaper.
What website or app do you use most other
than Facebook?
IMDB, and lately it’s been the classroom app to see
what my daughter has to do for school.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you
go?
Ireland
What is the funniest thing that’s ever hap-
pened to you?
My whole life is humorous.
What is one of your goals for the next 12
months?
To stay employed
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My daughter
Umatilla County case
counts still too high for
in-person schooling
By ALEX CASTLE
STAFF WRITER
In a move that loosened
barriers for some schools
in the state to begin in-per-
son education, the Oregon
Department of Education
suspended use of the state’s
COVID-19 test positivity
rate metric for of September
on Thursday, Sept. 24.
The
decision,
fi rst
reported by Oregon Pub-
lic Broadcasting, has no
impact on schools in Uma-
tilla County, which reported
61 new COVID-19 cases the
week of Sept. 20-26, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority. That’s still well
above the requirement of
reporting less than 10 cases
per 100,000 residents (fewer
than eight new cases per
week for Umatilla County)
for three straight weeks
before returning all students
to classrooms.
However, a longer sus-
pension of the metric, if
not complete removal of it,
could signifi cantly impact
the county’s longer-term
prospects of returning to
in-person education.
“I don’t really know
where they’re going with
this, or if this is just the start
of this metric just not being
used anymore,” said Uma-
tilla County Public Health
Director Joe Fiumara.
A majority of Uma-
tilla County schools won’t
be permitted to reopen for
in-person instruction until
the county records a test pos-
itivity rate of less than 5%
for three consecutive weeks.
HH fi le photo
Maggie Ruby, 13, works with her class to clear branches around Sandstone Middle School in 1995.
25 YEARS AGO
Sept. 26, 1995
Whoever broke into Alvie
Acheson’s Hermiston home took the
usual items — a few guns and other
more portable property.
The burglar also took a book of
checks.
This has happened before, so
Acheson knows what to expect.
Fifty dollars worth of pizza here,
some new clothing there, groceries
somewhere else, all paid for by sto-
len checks.
She will call her bank and close
her account, then wait for angry calls
from creditors who feels they may
have been cheated themselves.
It is a story that police are hearing
more and more.
“We’re working a tremendous
amount of forgery cases,” said
Hermiston Police Offi cer Gretchen
Erickson.
50 YEARS AGO
September 24, 1970
“The Murder of Til Taylor, a
Great Western Sheriff,” by Ernest L.
Crockatt, formerly of Pendleton, has
just been published by Dorrance &
Company.
Six prisoners broke jail in July,
1920, leaving Sheriff Til Taylor of
Umatilla County mortally wounded.
The murder touched off the most
famous manhunt in the history of the
Northwest. The author tells of the
tragedy in which he was a posse-man
and gives a history of the county and
its environs, including Indian wars,
stagecoach holdups and saloon she-
nanigans. Of special interest is
Crockatt’s recounting of the evolu-
tion of the Pendleton Round-Up, part
of the permanent legacy of Til Tay-
lor. Taylor was one of its founders
and one of its presidents. The book is
illustrated and has a foldout map of
the Blue Mountain country of East-
ern Oregon where the manhunt took
place.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland,
Crockatt came with his family to the
United States in 1908. They settled
in Pendleton where the author fi rst
met Taylor. Crockatt attended col-
lege and after serving in the 10th
Canadian Infantry during World War
I, studied at the University of Ore-
gon School of Journalism. He was
news editor of the Pendleton Tribune
at the time of the murder.
75 YEARS AGO
Sept. 20, 1945
Construction of the E.P. Dodd
building and the new post offi ce
building on Main Street have
HH fi le photo
Brigette Brandhagen works with students learning Spanish at Sandstone
Middle School in 1995.
advanced rapidly during the past
week.
Frank P. Sargent Construction
company have placed the roof tim-
bers in place and have completed the
east wall on the post offi ce building,
and have poured the concrete plas-
ter on the 25-foot front building just
west of the post offi ce.
Shockman and Sons have started
putting on the plaster board on the
Dodd building Wednesday. The front
of the structure is ready for the lay-
ing of brick and then the windows
will be installed.
Dodd has started construction
of another building on Main Street
opposite the Oasis Theater which
will be 25x70 feet of similar con-
struction to his other new building.
Dodd states that the building has not
been rented as yet, although he has
had several fi rms desirous of using
the space.
2) Hermiston young ladies plan-
ning to leave for their respective
schools and colleges for the com-
ing term are reported by Supt. W. G.
Kersbergen’s offi ce as follows:
Mary Arnold, Lois Hunt, Martha
Jones, Ruth McCulley, Oregon State
College; Charlene Rowland, Myria
Gailey, Joy Reid, Margaret Som-
merer, Eastern Oregon College of
Education, La Grande; Hope Reyn-
olds, Opal Null, Reed’s College in
Portland; Donna Jean Myers, busi-
ness college in Walla Walla; Har-
riet Lind, nursing school in Seat-
tle; Rosalie Hammer, nurses training
at St. Luke’s hospital, Walla Walla;
Doris Ann and Dola May Dougherty,
a college in Chicago; Stella Weber,
nurses training in Spokane; L. V.
McGraw, nurses training in Walla
Walla.
100 YEARS AGO
Sep. 24, 1920
In the Portland Oregonian of
September 12, W. T. Noel of Pend-
leton says: “Motorists bound for the
Round-Up should be sure to turn to
the left for Arlington after crossing
the John Day River. This is the route
via Hermiston and it leads to the new
highway at Arlington.”
The recent rains have improved
the roads greatly and tourists all over
the Northwest are planning to drive
to the Round-Up.
2) A.J. Strader did some fi ne work
in smoothing up the city streets last
week, dragging a scraper behind a
truck, covering up some troublesome
mud holes and generally improving
the condition of the streets.
BY THE WAY
Hermiston looking for new city councilor to represent Ward IV
The city of Hermiston is taking applications for a new
city councilor representing Ward IV, covering the south-
east quadrant of the city.
Doug Smith recently resigned from the position, and
the city’s charter states that a special election must be
held on March 9, 2021, but the city may appoint someone
to fi ll that seat in the interim.
Applicants must live in the Ward IV boundaries,
which can be found on the city’s website at hermiston.
or.us. Applications can also be found on the website, and
must be returned to city recorder Lilly Alarcon-Strong
by 5 p.m. on Nov. 4 at 215 E. Gladys Ave., or by email at
lalarcon-strong@hermiston.or.us.
The city is also looking to fi ll several vacancies on
its committees. Available positions include seats on the
Budget Committee, Hispanic Advisory Committee,
Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center Committee,
Faith-Based Advisory Committee, Planning Commis-
sion and the Library Board.
For a full list of positions and the requirements
for each committee visit hermiston.or.us/article/
committee-vacancy-announcements.
• • •
If you’re missing sports, check out the Tuesday,
Sept. 29, East Oregonian in print or online at www.
eastoregonian.com to read Sidelined, a special section
with interviews from high school athletes around the
region who have had their sports seasons disrupted by
COVID-19.
Stories in the section feature local players, such as
three-sport Hermiston athletes Jayden Ray and Trevor
Wagner, who overcame a gunshot wound that at age 9
caused doctors to tell him he may never play sports again.
• • •
If you’re already wondering about what Halloween
will look like this year, Hermiston Parks and Recre-
ation is not planning to leave little ghosts and goblins
empty-handed.
The city is planning a drive-thru trick or treating expe-
rience downtown and other socially-distanced events for
Halloween this year. Stay tuned to future editions of the
Hermiston Herald for more details.
• • •
The Harkenrider Senior Activity Center continues
to provide takeout and delivery meals to senior citizens
in the community.
The menu for Thursday, Oct. 1, is chicken pot pie,
salad, fruit and dessert. Tuesday, Oct. 6, will be spaghetti,
garlic bread, salad and dessert.
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.