WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021
HermistonHerald.com
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Hermiston
School
District
covers
supplies
By NICK ROSENBERGER
STAFF WRITER
HERMISTON
—
Hermiston parents have
enough to worry about
as they send their chil-
dren back to school in a
few weeks, but paying for
all their school supplies
will not be one of them.
When students reenter the
classroom they will have
nearly all their basic sup-
plies covered — from
scissors to glue sticks to
notebooks.
The only thing Hermis-
ton School District Super-
intendent Tricia Mooney
asks students to bring? A
backpack, lunch bag and
water bottle.
“As far as the sup-
plies that students need
to complete instructional
tasks,” Mooney said, “we
are going to supply all of
those.”
All supplies will
remain in the classroom,
however, so students still
will need some materi-
als at home to complete
homework or indepen-
dent projects.
In addition to pro-
viding elementary and
middle school supplies,
Hermiston School District
also will be waiving pay-
to-play fees for grades six
through 12. Mooney said
while she expects the $85
athletic fee per sport to be
discontinued going for-
ward, families still have
to buy some equipment.
“We just want to off er
this opportunity for our
kids and not have that be
a barrier at all,” Mooney
said.
These two changes,
school supplies and ath-
letics fees, come from two
separate funding streams,
Mooney said. The school
district’s general fund
will cover the athletics
See Supplies, Page A10
Streets fi ll for
fair parade
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Members of the Umatilla County Fair Court wave to paradegoers from atop a fl oat Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, at the Umatilla County Fair Kick-Off Parade
in Hermiston.
After 18 months of being cooped up due
to the pandemic, Umatilla County Fair
paradegoers were ready, excited to be
doing things again in person
By NICK ROSENBERGER
STAFF WRITER
With the honk of a horn and a smattering of
applause, the Umatilla County Fair Kick-Off
Parade returned for 2021.
Veterans led the procession, which com-
menced rolling a little after 6:30 p.m. Sat-
urday, Aug. 7, along Seventh Street, turning
onto Hermiston Avenue, looping around city
hall and fi nishing on First Street and Locust
Avenue.
Thousands of attendees from all over the
county lined the streets, clapping and cheer-
ing as participants passed. Some had come a
day early to snag a spot for their folding chairs,
and many already lined up downtown Hermis-
ton well in advance of the offi cial start on the
other side of town.
After a year and a half of being cooped up
inside due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many
paradegoers were ready and excited to be
doing things in person again, despite increas-
ing COVID-19 case numbers from the delta
variant.
“It’s a bigger turnout this year, I think
because of COVID last year,” said Linnea
Grotz, who set up a chair outside of her friend
Pam’s house right on the parade route. “The
energy is awesome.”
All along the route children with plas-
tic bags collected candy thrown out by those
going past in a multitude of colors, outfi ts and
rides — from horses and carriages to classic
cars and beefy trucks burning rubber.
Sour Patch Kids and Tootsie Rolls dotted
the clear blue sky as the local youths hollered
and tried to snap up the best sweets. Bouncy
balls, beach balls and even a water bottle added
to the mix of projectiles chucked out windows.
For some, it was a continuation of a fam-
ily tradition going back generations. For oth-
ers, such as Jayden Yeigh and his friends Ryan,
Abel and Elvis, the parade was a way to kill
some time and enjoy the last two weeks of sum-
mer vacation before the school year started.
While they were disappointed the Optimus
Prime tractor-trailer didn’t show up this year,
they still managed to grab some candy and
thought the watermelon they’d been given was
the best part.
“It’s been great to get out with people,” said
Gary Hall, a Navy veteran who said he and his
wife, Roma, have been coming to the parade
for about 30 years.
Roma mentioned they had gone to larger
parades in Honolulu and San Francisco while
Gary had been stationed there, but that she
liked Hermiston’s better.
“I like to come and watch the people,”
Roma said. “You see the funniest outfi ts and
the funniest hairstyles. It’s just fun to watch the
people.”
Fair off ers COVID-19 vaccines
Ever since the pandemic canceled last year’s
fair, locals have been eager for the upcoming
week’s events. And the packed schedule sug-
gests another fun-fi lled fair.
The fair’s main gates will open to the public
at 10 a.m. Aug. 11. The Davis Shows North-
west Carnival opens each day at 2 p.m. and
will run until 11 p.m. All the while, the 4-H/
FFA competition will occur in diff erent areas
of the fair, with the grand champion market
animal selection announced at the Burns Pavil-
ion at 6 p.m. The livestock exhibition also will
occur in the three barns on the northeast end
of the fairgrounds. The Farm City Pro Rodeo
begins at 7:45 p.m. at the FCPR Arena. And
Stone in Love, a Journey tribute band, caps
the night with a performance on the Wildhorse
Main Stage at 9 p.m.
In addition, attendees can receive free
COVID-19 vaccines at two sites in the event
center throughout the event. People who
receive the vaccine will have their choice to
either receive two $10 fair food vouchers or
a free carnival wristband. There will also be a
COVID-19 testing site at the fairground.
See Fair, Page A10
TRCI inmates get to make a splash
State corrections uses
the Oregon Way to
humanize inmates, break
criminal cycles
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Members of an inmate work crew from Two Rivers Correctional Institution help clear fl ood-
damaged material from a home at the Riverview Mobile Home Estates in Pendleton Feb, 12,
2020. Ten adults in custody at the state prison in Umatilla get to participate in an outing the
morning of Aug, 20, 2021, at the Hermiston Splash Pad. The events are part of the Oregon
Department of Corrections eff orts to help inmates break cycles of criminal behavior.
INSIDE
A3  Echo farmer helps fi ght
Elbow Creek Fire
UMATILLA — Ten
inmates from the minimum
security section of Two Riv-
ers Correctional Institution
in Umatilla are heading for a
day in the sun outside prison
walls.
The group gets to visit
the Hermiston Splash Park
for two hours the morning of
Aug. 20, an event in partner-
ship with the city of Herm-
iston, Hermiston Parks and
Recreation and the Hermis-
ton Police Department.
The outing is part of
TRCI’s continual implemen-
tation of the Oregon Way,
the Oregon Department of
Correction’s program to
A5  West Nile virus found near
Boardman
help reintegrate inmates
into society by having them
spend time with their fam-
ilies beyond prison walls.
The eff ort hopes to break
what the state describes as
a multi-generational crimi-
nal cycle.
“We do have off enders
that have engaged in crimes
and will not be released
from prison because they’re
not safe and the commu-
nity isn’t safe,” said Mandy
Perry, assistant superinten-
dent at the prison. “But we
have to understand that we
have an even larger popu-
lation that is going out into
our communities. They’re
becoming our neighbors.
They’re becoming our base-
ball coaches. They’re going
to reintegrate back into our
society, and we would be
failing if we didn’t provide
opportunities to rehabilitate
them and get them prepared
for the community.”
In an email, Hermiston
A7  Threemile Canyon Farms
hires new president
Police Chief Jason Edmiston
said, “I wouldn’t say we are
a partner in/with this event
TRCI is holding, but we are
going to participate.”
He said the prison did not
ask for his offi cers to pro-
vide security but “wanted
to know if we could make
an appearance since many
children of inmates are hes-
itant to engage with police
offi cers proactively and
positively.”
“I am aware of the pol-
itics in play with this pro-
gram and my intent was
solely to engage the children
in a positive atmosphere
because law enforcement
would love nothing more
than to see crime cycles bro-
ken,” Edmiston said, adding
that his department is lend-
ing a hand despite being
down six offi cers. “For offi -
cers, there is nothing more
disheartening in this profes-
See Splash, Page A10
A7  State investigates COVID-19
outbreak from music fest