WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
Hermiston’s woman and man of 2021 named
By PHIL WRIGHT
Hermiston Herald
A pair of beloved Hermiston community mem-
bers March 2, took the stage to receive the honors of
Woman of the Year and the Man of the Year for 2021.
Many of Hermiston’s top community members
were present in one room for the Hermiston Chamber
of Commerce’s 52nd Annual Distinguished Citizens
Award Gala that recognized local people and business
for their contributions in 2021.
Woman of the Year
The Woman of the Year Award went to longtime
community volunteer Alberta Wilkerson.
Presenter Shirley Parsons, past Woman of the Year
recipient, said Wilkerson has been an active participant
Broadcast
excellence
in the greater Hermiston area for more than 47 years.
“Her life represents a life of serving others, sharing
her talents, gifts and time to both children and adults,”
Parsons said. “Always striving to make her commu-
nity a better place, helping those in need and adding a
touch of beauty along the way.”
Her community involvement includes more than
20 years of service as a leader in 4-H, participation
with Bloomer Girls Garden Club, volunteering with
Relay for Life and at the Hermiston Warming Station.
Wilkerson worked on the Funland Playground con-
struction and rebuilds, was involved in Special Olym-
pics and even opened her home to two interns of the
Hermiston Herald. And she has participated each year
with I Love My City.
See Chamber / A9
Photos by Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Alberta Wilkerson, left, and Steve Williams, right, accept the Woman of
the Year and Man of the Year awards on March 2, 2022, at the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce’s 52nd Annual Distinguished Citizens Awards at the
Hermiston Community Center.
Splicing together a new
PARTNERSHIP
Armand Larive students earn
national recognition for TV
program
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
On the afternoon of March
1, a middle school teacher and a
handful of students busied them-
selves with the production of a TV
broadcast.
They set up lights, turned on
a teleprompter and took to their
spots. When everyone, and every-
thing, was ready, a young producer
cued her anchors, and they began
presenting the news.
“Good morning, Bullpups,” one
student anchors announced.
Thus, Armand Larive Televi-
sion, the student-created program
of Armand Larive Middle School.
Hermiston, started another show.
ALTV produces and broad-
casts morning student announce-
ments, which it transmits to all of
the school’s students in their class-
rooms. On occasion, ALTV lives-
treams Bullpup sporting events.
The students also create a monthly
storytelling show in which they
interview interesting people and
present these interviews in in-depth
stories.
“You can call it a middle school
version of ’60 Minutes,’” Rob
Doherty, Armand broadcasting
advisor and teacher, said of the sto-
rytelling programs.
Recently, ALTV did more than
present the news; it became the
news. The Student Television Net-
work Convention awarded ALTV
with second place in the Broad-
cast Excellence competition for a
Christmas program.
The episode included stories on
Christmas spirit, women in science
and foster parents who are making
a diff erence.
“This is a big deal,” Doherty
said of the placing.
ALTV’s history began in 1997,
starting as a school club that cre-
ated weekly announcements for
students. It has undergone changes
since, growing in recent years.
Doherty is the broadcasting advi-
sor and teacher, and he said the
second-place victory was the high-
est placing ever for ALTV. He said
he has more 150 students a day
involved in the program. These
students rotate in and out to study
and practice journalism, the advi-
sor said.
In addition to adding students,
ALTV has accumulated technol-
ogy. Doherty said in 2012, ALTV
only had one camera. Now, it has
12, as well as additional other
equipment — microphones and a
formal setup for our show.
The shows, dating to 2012, are
available to watch on the ALTV
website, altv.us.
Doherty expressed pride in his
students, who not only created an
award-winning product; they did it
on their own.
“I didn’t help the students put
that show together,” Doherty said
of the particular program that won
second place. “They did it entirely
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Students watch as Demond Lofton, of Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, teaches the proper use of a visual fault locator during a fi ber optic
splicing course Thursday, March 3, 2022, that Amazon Web Service and Blue Mountain Community College off ered in Hermiston.
Amazon teams up with BMCC on tech focused course
By ANTONIO SIERRA
Hermiston Herald
A
mazon Web Service
attempted inconspic-
uousness when it fi rst
came to Umatilla and Morrow
counties by operating under a
pseudonym. Now the web giant
is openly trying to build good-
will in the Columbia Basin,
and in its latest endeavor has
partnered with Blue Mountain
Community College on a fi ber
optic splicing course.
On the afternoon of Thurs-
day, March 3, Demond Lofton
of Sumitomo Electric Light-
wave was demonstrating an
optical time domain refl ectom-
eter — a device that tests fi ber
cables. As Lofton joined two
fi ber lines, a red light glowed
from the center.
A student asked the instruc-
tors what would happen if they
looked directly at the lasers
being emitted by the lines.
While the human eye was
supposed to naturally avert
it’s gaze, trying to intention-
ally stare at the light was not
encouraged.
“Again, don’t look into the
eye of the laser,” Lofton said
to laughs from the class.
In an interview, Michael
Punke, vice president of pub-
lic policy for Amazon Web
Services, compared fi ber optic
splicing to a middle school
project where students worked
with copper wires to con-
duct electricity. As the world
becomes increasingly reliant on
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Demond Lofton, of Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, demonstrates a visual fault locator Thursday, March 3,
2022, at Blue Mountain Community College in Hermiston.
the cloud to store digital data,
Punke said skills such as splic-
ing together fi ber optic lines are
coming into higher demand.
The reasons behind why
a group of students from the
Umatilla Indian Reserva-
tion wanted to take the course
varied.
Colton Star said he’d
worked in sales and construc-
tion but was interested in the
course as a way to explore
a new career path. Mollee
Minthorn had experience in
programming and coding and
thought fi ber optic splicing
could be another asset to her
skill set. Vivan DeMary is semi
retired and self-identifi ed as a
tribal elder but still liked the
idea of picking up new skills
she could bring back home to
the tribes.
“I feel like this is the
future,” Star said.
It was a sentiment shared
by Punke, who said Amazon
intends to establish itself in the
community in part by off ering
training that could land them
jobs in the tech industry.
“This is a 21st century
industry,” he said. “It’s going
to be a 22nd century indus-
try. We very much hope to
be long term members of the
community.”
Large tech companies
largely are associated with
urban areas, such as the San
Francisco Bay and Seattle. But
these companies have sought
rural communities for their
data centers, where they can
fi nd large quantities of water to
See Splice / A8
See TV / A8
INSIDE
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toes