WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021
HermistonHerald.com
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Funland rises from ashes again
Third iteration of playground opened July 4 to raves from children and parents
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Children gather alongside Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann for the
ribbon cutting Sunday, July 4, 2021, of the new Funland Playground.
By BEN LONERGAN
STAFF WRITER
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Stilt walker Keith Ramsay, right, high-fi ves a child Sunday, July 4, 2021, during the grand opening of the new
Funland Playground in Hermiston.
“I’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO
THIS FOR TWO YEARS. IT’S A GREAT
DAY TO CELEBRATE.”
Larry Fetter, director of the Hermiston Parks and Recreation Department
HERMISTON — A group of
eager children gathered alongside
Hermiston Mayor David Drotz-
mann under the arching entrance
to the new Funland Sunday, July 4,
for the grand opening of the new
facility.
“Three, two, one,” the crowd
counted down before Drotzmann’s
giant scissors sliced the ribbon and
a fl ood of children fl owed across
the park.
“It’s amazing,” yelled one child
as he sprinted across the play-
ground. A stilt walker dressed like
Uncle Sam, a pair of pirates and
Santa Claus mingled amongst the
crowd, taking photos with chil-
dren as they explored the new
playground.
Elsewhere, Khloe Velasco
swung across the variety of play-
ground structures, taking in each
one. Velasco still remembers the
old Funland and said it was hard to
choose which one she liked better.
“I like both,” Velasco said.
“They’re diff erent, but both great.”
Velasco said she enjoyed the
variety of new slides and the many
buildings and storefronts to play in.
While slides and play structures
attracted Velasco’s attention, her
4-year-old brother Ivan Velasco
said his favorite part of the new
playground was the large concrete
IF YOU GO
Access to the playground is
limited until construction is
complete. Crews will work on it
from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The play-
ground will be open at 2 p.m.
on weekdays when construction
factors allow and open during
the day on weekends. It is rec-
ommended those interested in
using the playground drive past
after 2 p.m. to see if it is open.
corn near the front of the park.
“I want to go on the corn,” he
said before running off toward the
piece of play equipment.
Larry Fetter, director of the
Hermiston Parks and Recreation
Department, said the corn, and
other large concrete structures,
were unique to Funland.
“All of the cement structures are
custom to Hermiston,” he said.
The Funland Playground fea-
tures a variety of play structures,
including three main zones: the
Wild West, Adventure and Farm-
land. In addition to original play-
ground structures, the playground
features a soft, rubbery play sur-
face that has been designed to com-
plement the various areas of play.
For Fetter, the July 4 grand
opening marked a major milestone
See Funland, Page A8
Stanfi eld lights up the sky for the Fourth
Pyrotechnician Jim
Whelan oversaw show
for 40th and fi nal time
By BEN LONERGAN
STAFF WRITER
STANFIELD — For the last
51 years Jim Whelan has spent
his Fourth of July blowing up
fi reworks over the city of Stan-
fi eld, and Sunday, July 4, was no
diff erent.
Whelan, a career fi refi ghter and
licensed pyrotechnician, got his
start in fi reworks when he joined
the Stanfi eld Fire Department in
1970. Within a decade, he was run-
ning the annual show.
While Sunday’s fi rework show
started at 10 p.m., Whelan and a
small army of fi refi ghters took to
the Stanfi eld High School football
INSIDE
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Eldon Marcum ignites a fi rework during the Stanfi eld Fourth of July
fi reworks show Sunday, July 4, 2021.
A3 Hermiston High School
students complete seventh stu-
dent-built home
A4 Stepping up to help others
beat the heat shows best of the
community
fi eld three hours earlier to begin
setting up the display.
“You have to take into account
surroundings and wind,” said
Whelan as he used a rangefi nder to
check the distance from a nearby
building.
Whelan instructed a group of
fi refi ghters on the proper setup
of the launchers and remarked
on how the fi reworks show had
changed over the course of his
time, most noticeably the rules and
regulations.
“We used to not have any rules,”
he said. “It’d be by the grace of
God that someone didn’t get hurt.”
After 40 years of running the
show, Whelan said this year’s show
would be his last at the helm before
passing control to fellow pyrotech-
nician Tom Ramsey. Ramsey and
Whelan have worked closely on
the display for several years, and
while Whelan said he would prob-
A6 COVID-19 numbers are down,
but that doesn’t mean everything is
back to normal
ably still be helping out, Ramsey is
the future.
“Tom and electronics are the
future of the show,” Whelan said.
The modernization of fi reworks
has brought about the use of elec-
tronic fi ring. Electronic fi ring uses
an “e-match” to ignite the fi re-
work rather than the more conven-
tional hand-lit fuses, according to
Ramsey.
“Last year was the fi rst time I
used it at the Stanfi eld show,” he
said.
As Ramsey carefully wired up
the electronic fi reworks, Whelan
led a crew of fi refi ghters gently and
carefully distributing a collection
of 3- and 4-inch mortars into their
launchers. After each launcher was
loaded, Whelan took a stick and
pressed down on each one.
See Fireworks, Page A8
A7 Watermelon business still
thriving despite the prolonged heat
wave that has gripped the region