WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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Believers
bask in faith at
CityFest
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Rapper George Moss performs Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, at the Greater Hermiston CityFest with Andrew Palau in
Butte Park in Hermiston.
Almost 5,000 gather,
few wear masks or
keep social distance
By ERICK PETERSON
EDITOR/SENIOR REPORTER
Thousands of people crowded
the Hermiston Butte Park on Fri-
day and Saturday, Aug. 27 and 28,
to experience Greater Hermiston
CityFest with Andrew Palau, a cel-
ebration of Christ and fun.
Attendees included the Hard-
castle family of Pendleton. Scott
and Terri Hardcastle brought their
daughter and her four children to
enjoy music, bicycle stunts and
praise. Scott said he was looking
forward to meeting Christian artist
Danny Gokey at CityFest, while
his wife, Terri, said she already
had enjoyed her favorite part of the
event — seeing her granddaugh-
ter Lily get up on stage and play
a game.
This was a special event for
them, Terri said, because they have
rarely been able to get out of their
home for fun. They have been able
to do little more than go shopping,
she said.
Chris Hankel, New Hope Com-
munity Church’s lead pastor, said
creating this fun for the Hardcas-
tles and others had been in the
works for a long time. The Herm-
iston pastor had helped organize
CityFest, and he said that peo-
ple had been talking about it for at
least three years.
“We wanted to do this a year
ago and put this on hold,” Hankel
said.
Organizers delayed the event
because of COVID-19. The dis-
ease continues to hit Umatilla
County, which has reported at least
17 COVID-19-related deaths this
month. Still, they kept thoughts of
the festival in mind, and they were
seeing, more and more, the need
for a message of hope.
“I’ve dealt with more suicides
than I have ever dealt with in my
over 30 years of ministry, this
year,” Hankel said. He also said he
has seen an abundance of marital
problems and other signs that peo-
ple have been struggling.
The message of hope comes at
a good time, he said, adding God
loves us and walks with us through
diffi cult situations. People love us,
too, he said, which should make us
less isolated.
The message was not just for
Christian believers. Hankel said he
believes the church has not always
shared the message of God’s love
well, but believers “want to do this
better.” They want to show every-
one they are willing to love indi-
viduals regardless of their baggage
or other troubles.
They also want to show they are
present.
Believers were present the night
of Aug. 27, for a “Fiesta Latina”
preview of the event Aug. 28. This
scaled-down presentation was in
Spanish, with Spanish-language
singers and Spanish translation of
English speeches.
Dan Clark, church relations
director for CityFest, said the fi rst
day was important as outreach to
the Hispanic community.
“The good news should reach
everybody,” he said. “It shouldn’t
just be a certain denomination of
people or ethnicity of people. It
should be widespread.”
Clark added CityFest even tried
to present at local prisons with
bicycle stunts and music. Andrew
Palau, the headliner for this event,
even was planning to speak. The
plan was canceled, though.
“This is awesome,” said Daniel
Longhin, pastor of Hispanic minis-
tries at New Hope, of the Aug. 27
festival. He said he loves music.
Also, CityFest has an “interesting
approach,” sharing a message of
hope, which was also expressed in
the gospel.
He said, “we live in crazy
times,” with COVID-19, world-
wide violence, and instability. Still,
events like this make people feel
encouraged.
In contrast to the smaller crowd
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Evangelist Andrew Palau welcomes the crowd to the Greater Hermiston
CityFest with Andrew Palau on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, at Butte Park
in Hermiston.
on Aug. 27, the Aug. 28 event
attracted thousands of people.
Hankel said he was hopeful he and
others would be able to reach out
to people in need of mental health.
Perhaps he could be a friendly
voice to someone and share hope.
“I’m the guy who does the tri-
age,” he said. Following his meet-
ings with people, he planned to
direct those people in need to
proper mental health professionals.
He also was hopeful people
would not get sick from COVID-
19. He said his own church con-
gregation includes people who
have gotten sick with COVID-19
and knows at least one person who
died of the disease.
As he made his rounds during
the festival, he said he was most
looking forward to Palau’s mes-
sage. And many more people were
enjoying the activities on Aug. 28.
See CityFest, Page A9
Bulldogs out of the doghouse for fi rst day at school
Hermiston High School students, faculty and
staff began in-person learning on a positive note
By ERICK PETERSON
EDITOR/SENIOR REPORTER
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston High School was buzz-
ing with excitement Friday,
Aug. 27, as new students
entered for orientation.
Seniors, such as Yudith
Chavez-Flores, welcomed
incoming freshmen, who
have not had a full year of
school since they completed
the sixth grade. Perhaps sur-
prisingly, she said the pan-
demic lockdown was not all
bad.
“I don’t think I really ever
left my house,” she said.
During the lockdown, she
got to spend more time with
family and focus on school-
work, she said. Still, the
return to school is a joy. This
year, she enrolled in some
INSIDE
advanced placement classes
and signed up to be a bilin-
gual tutor.
Unbothered by rules that
require students to wear
masks, she said she is hope-
ful for a positive year and
wants to be a leader in her
school.
“I’m really, really happy
to be back in school, and not
just online,” she said.
Itzel Alatorre, a senior,
also expressed enthusiasm
for the start of school.
“I’m really excited,” she
said. “In-person school is
better because you learn a
lot more.”
She recalled having some
technical problems last year
when studying online, as
occasional internet failures
would lock her out of class.
This will not be an issue this
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Kendal Muniz, a junior at Hermiston High School, pairs up incoming freshmen during an
orientation exercise Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, at the high school.
year because she physically
will be in class. She also
said she has no concerns
A3  Umatilla County reports two
COVID-19 deaths
about COVID-19 because
she believes strongly in
masks and vaccinations.
A3  Water for irrigation
holds steady
This leaves her free to think
about other matters, such as
her AP classes, her work
A8  Echo Sage Run coming up
as a bilingual tutor and
her college applications.
She already has applied
to Western Oregon Uni-
versity, and she expects to
apply to other schools, too.
Senior Katelyn Heide-
man, a high school basket-
ball player, also is eager to
start school. She said she
had to fi nd ways to stay
motivated at home during
the lockdown. Now return-
ing, she is excited to play
sports, attend classes, see
her friends and involve her-
self in leadership roles.
A leader at the school,
who HHS success coach
Jay Ego praised, Heide-
man said she hopes to help
the incoming freshmen be
successful.
“You’ve got to come
in motivated and set goals
for yourself, and you’ll be
fi ne,” she said.
See School, Page A9
A10  The Next Chapter Bookstore
serves locals