COMMUNITY
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
THREE MINUTES WITH …
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020
HERMISTON HISTORY
City closes Hodge Park to quell crimes
LUCAS EIVINS
Sandstone Middle School teacher
Hermiston Herald, File
When and why did you move to Hermiston?
I moved to Hermiston in August from Iowa because
I was offered a position to teach social studies at
Sandstone Middle School.
Where is your favorite place to eat in
Hermiston?
As a large vegetarian man I love the variety and
portion sizes that Veg Out offers, and of course Papa
Murphy’s is always solid.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I enjoy lounging around and spend-
ing time with my partner.
What surprises you about Hermiston?
I was surprised by the amount of horses in the town.
What was the last book you read?
The last book I read was “The Rise of Rome” by
Livy.
What website or app do you use other than
Facebook?
Probably Reddit or YouTube
If you could travel anywhere, where would you
go?
Rome, Italy
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened
to you?
The funniest thing that has ever happened to me was
when I was in high school theater I fell off a chair
while I was saying the opening line of the play. It
was a drama, but after that everyone remembered it
as a comedy.
What is one of your goals for the next 12
months?
One of my goals is to improve as a teacher and save
some money.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
I am a fi rst generation college graduate, so my
proudest accomplishment is graduating from col-
lege. Next up, grad school.
Health advisory
lifted at reservoir
HERMISTON HERALD
The Oregon Health
Authority lifted a recre-
ational use health advi-
sory issued for Willow
Creek Reservoir in Morrow
County, according to a press
release.
The health advisory was
issued on Sept. 3.
Water monitoring shows
that the level of cyanotox-
ins in Willow Creek Reser-
voir are below recreational
guideline values for people.
However, offi cials advise
recreational visitors to be
alert to signs of cyanobac-
teria blooms. Blooms can
develop and disappear on
any water body at any time
when bloom conditions are
favorable. Only a fraction of
waterbodies in Oregon are
monitored for blooms and
toxins.
People, and especially
small children and pets,
should avoid recreating in
areas where the water is
foamy, scummy, thick like
paint, pea-green, blue-green
or brownish red in color, if
a thick mat of blue-green
algae is visible in the water,
or bright green cells are sus-
pended in the water.
Police offi cers from Umatilla Police Department and Oregon State Police confer at the scene of a fatal Thanksgiving
Day shooting between cousins in Umatilla in 1995. Police said the two men were arguing over a woman they were both
romantically involved with before one allegedly shot the other and fl ed the scene.
25 YEARS AGO
Nov. 28, 1995
It was once called the Hodge fam-
ily’s gift to Hermiston and “Stoner
Park” in the same Hermiston City
Council meeting.
It was closed two Octobers ago
and reopened three months later.
This morning, barricades are up
at Hodge Park again between 6 a.m.
and 5 p.m. during weekdays.
The closure, approved by the
council, came at the recommenda-
tion of Hermiston Police Chief Andy
Anderson. Anderson told the coun-
cil by memo the park has seen a rise
in illegal activity. Last Tuesday, offi -
cers arrested people for possession
of methamphetamine and marijuana.
Minors were taken into custody for
illegal possession of tobacco and
alcohol, he said.
None were students at nearby
Hermiston High School. Those
arrested were — and much of the
larger problems are caused by —
students at the Umatilla ESD alter-
native high school or by non-stu-
dents, Anderson said.
By closing the park, offi cers will
be able to cite those inside for sec-
ond-degree criminal trespassing.
Police plan to start writing tickets
right away.
Hermiston Herald, File
Peter Kijenaas, left, and Michelle Marain, of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival,
put on a show for Hermiston High School students in 1995.
equipped with restaurant equip-
ment which includes three ranges,
sinks, toasters, coffee urn, heating
stoves, boilers, etc.
Moore will go to Camp Abbott
and salvage the material in the
building and ship the lumber and
equipment to Umatilla.
After completing the contract
he will build Tiny’s Service Club
which will be erected northwest of
Hermiston near the Standard Oil
Company bulk plant.
50 YEARS AGO
Dec. 3, 1970
Hermiston area residents, while
they were in Montana, Saturday
evening lost two-thirds of their
house and most of its contents to
fi re.
Lateness in discovering the
blaze, according to Assistant Fire
Chief Ed Lynch, permitted Mr. and
Mrs. Edwin E. Cripe on East Pun-
kin Center Road to lose as much as
they did. A grandson of the Cripes,
who has been residing with them,
was also in Montana at the time.
The Hermiston Fire Department
received the alarm at 8:16 p.m.,
which Lynch said was long after
the fi re started. John Walchli, South
Edwards Road, discovered it two
miles away as he was driving. He
drove to it and, seeing that no one
had turned in an alarm, went to the
nearest available house (located at
a point on the hill where the fi re
could not be easily seen) and turned
in an alarm.
75 YEARS AGO
Nov. 29, 1945
An air-minded group met at
Hermiston Herald, File
Susy Dewald works on crafts for the
Hermiston Holiday Bazaar in 1995.
100 YEARS AGO
Dec. 3, 1920
the USO building Tuesday eve-
ning, Nov. 20, and formed a fl y-
ing club to be known as the “Sky
Roamers.” Offi cers elected are Fred
Dunning, president; Bill Penny,
vice president; and E.W. Hoosier,
secretary-treasurer.
The club met again Tuesday eve-
ning and Pat Grubbs and Clay Por-
ter of the Pendleton Airways, Inc.,
assisted the group in plans for the
purchase of a plane by the club.
The chief problem confronting
the club now is a designated fi eld
and hangar facilities, both of which
are of vital importance.
2) S.A. Moore of Umatilla
received notice this week from
the U.S. engineers’ offi ce in Port-
land that he is a successful bidder
on one of the mess halls at Camp
Abbott. The building is completely
Word was received in the form
of a telegram Friday morning to J.S.
West, telling of the death of his son,
Robert R. West, which occurred in
Panama the day previous.
According to the dispatch, he fell
from the roof of a building and died
soon after reaching the hospital.
Robert R. West, or “Bob” as he
was more familiarly known to most
residents of Hermiston and the vicin-
ity, was one of the fi rst to enlist from
the city, serving throughout the war
and continuing in the service up to
the time of his death.
During his service he rose up the
ranks to chief engineer, and held that
position until his untimely death.
The
grief-stricken
parents
have the sympathy of the entire
community, in this, their great
bereavement.
BY THE WAY
Navy to conduct explosive demolition disposal in Boardman
The U.S. Navy plans to conduct an explosive demo-
lition disposal at the Naval Weapons System Training
Facility in Boardman on Wednesday, Dec. 9, sometime
during “daylight hours.”
According to a news release, nearby residents or
passerby may notice a dust cloud, smoke, booming
noise or ground vibrations during the demolition.
“Safety and fi re prevention precautions will be imple-
mented to ensure operations pose no threat to people or
property,” the release stated.
For more information, call the Navy’s public affairs
offi ce at NAS Whidbey Island, 360-257-2286.
• • •
Umatilla County hires
epidemiologist
Umatilla County now has its own epidemiologist to
provide expertise in the tracking, analyzing and control of
infectious diseases.
Halley Maloy, 34, started the job in October. She is
originally from Wichita, Kansas, and will help the county
not only with its COVID-19 response but also with
addressing other diseases.
An interview with her and thoughts from Uma-
tilla County Public Health Director Joe Fiumara
on the future of the role can be found in the Nov. 24
East Oregonian or online at www.eastoregonian.com/
coronavirus.
• • •
Farm Fair goes virtual
The 47th annual Hermiston Farm Fair is being held
in a virtual format this week on Dec. 2-4 from 8 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. each day.
Registration is open for all sessions hosted by the
Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Cen-
ter at agsci.oregonstate.edu/harec/farm-fair.
Potato-related topics are covered Dec. 2, special agri-
culture and modern technology on Dec. 3, and vegetables
and hemp on Dec. 4.
• • •
Senior meals include roast beef, pot pie
The Harkenrider Senior Activity Center has
reopened after its Thanksgiving break.
The menu for Thursday, Dec. 3, is roast beef, baked
potato, veggie and dessert. Tuesday, Dec. 8, is chicken
pot pie, salad, fruit and dessert.
For a Meals on Wheels delivery in Hermiston, call
541-567-3582 before 10 a.m. to place an order.
To pick up a meal from the center at 255 N.E. Sec-
ond St., call the same number before 11 a.m. Meals
are $4 and can be picked up between 11:45 a.m. and
12:15 p.m.
The Boardman Senior Center is now providing meal
delivery. Meals are $4 paid upon delivery. Call 541-481-
3257 to order.