FROM PAGE ONE
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
A fi refi ghter drops a fi rework into a launcher while setting up for the Stanfi eld Independence
Day fi reworks show Sunday, July 4, 2021.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Fireworks:
Children and parents on Sunday, July 4, 2021, explore the new Funland Playground during the
grand opening of the park in Hermiston.
Continued from Page A1
Funland:
“You have to ensure
they’re well seated so
that you get the maxi-
mum height out of the fi re-
works,” he said.
After the fi reworks were
loaded, the group ran a
piece of tape over the top
of each launcher so one can
easily see which fi reworks
have properly fi red.
With an hour or so to
go until the show, Whelan
gathered the crew of
roughly 15 fi refi ghters and
began giving directions on
where fi re trucks should be
stationed to respond to any
potential spot fi res.
“My favorite show is
one that goes off with no
one getting hurt,” Whelan
said.
The fi re trucks dispersed
throughout the area, and
Whelan gathered a folding
chair, hard hat and earplugs
from his truck and set up to
watch the display. Whelan
counted down the minutes
until 10 p.m. before Ram-
sey hit the button to start
the show’s introduction
electronically.
As the initial volley
of shots came to a close,
fi refi ghter Eldon Marcum
began lighting the next vol-
ley of fi reworks by hand.
Whelan craned his neck
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Fireworks explode over the football fi eld in Stanfi eld in
celebration of Independence Day on July 4, 2021.
to look at the fi reworks
directly overhead.
Roughly 23 minutes
later the display came
to a close, the fi nal fi re-
work igniting a small
brush fi re on the hillside
above the fi eld. Fire crews
quickly doused the fl ames
as Whelan and Ramsey
celebrated.
“It was a success,” said
Whelan. “No major fi res,
and no one got hurt.”
in the completion of the
project. While some light-
ing, fencing and sod con-
struction remains, Fetter
said it was “exhilarating” to
be able to see children on the
playground once again.
“I’ve been looking for-
ward to this for two years,”
he said. “It’s a great day to
celebrate.”
Also to come is a monu-
ment and fence recognizing
the project’s donors. In addi-
tion to a $752,000 insur-
ance payout from the previ-
ous playground, the Funland
Fundraising Committee, in
partnership with the Herm-
iston Parks and Recreation
Department, set out to raise
an additional $810,000
toward the playground’s
$1.75 million price tag. The
city acknowledged the sup-
port of the Rotary, Kiwanis,
and Lions clubs as well as
others who helped fundraise
for the project.
The new Funland is the
third iteration of the play-
ground, originally built in
1996. The fi rst playground
burned down in 2001 and its
replacement burned down
in May 2019 in a suspected
case of arson.
Due to Funland’s history
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Alex Julian, 11, fl ies out of the end of a slide Sunday, July 4,
2021, at the grand opening of the new Funland playground
in Hermiston.
with fi res, the city of Herm-
iston has said the new struc-
ture was built with fi re-resis-
tant materials and features
surveillance cameras to fur-
ther deter vandalism.
Greg Collins explored the
playground with his daugh-
ter during Sunday’s event.
Collins, who said he helped
with some of the fi nal con-
struction of the playground,
said the playground was
unlike anything he’d seen
before.
“I think it’s amazing,” he
said. “I have never seen a
park on this scale.”
As a parent, Collins said
he felt the park off ered a
variety of engaging play
areas and said he would have
loved to have something
similar as a child. He said
he thought the park would
become a frequent destina-
tion for his family and oth-
ers in the community.
“The other parks in
Hermiston,” Collins said,
“are going to be feeling
a bit empty.”
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