WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
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‘Beloved by all’: Stanfi eld mayor dies of heart attack
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Thomas McCann, Stanfi eld mayor and
beloved community leader, died on Satur-
day, April 16, of a heart attack.
“He had a really lengthy service to the
public,” Stanfi eld City Manager Benjamin
Burgener said.
The city of Stanfi eld website has a list
of McCann’s public work. It mentions he
was president of the Oregon Association of
Chiefs of Police, president and board chair-
man of the Oregon Special Districts Asso-
ciation, Stanfi eld Fire District fi refi ghter,
Stanfi eld chief of police, Umatilla County
Marine Patrol deputy sheriff and more.
The website states he had 37 total years
of law enforcement experience, as well as
crediting him for being a family man. Mayor
McCann was married to his wife, Sharone
McCann, for 50 years and had fi ve chil-
dren, as well as many grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.
Coming to Stanfi eld to serve
According to Burgener, McCann came to
Stanfi eld from Arizona, where he served as
a narcotics offi cer. In 1992, he left the Stan-
fi eld police, and then became mayor in 1995.
“His life was in public service,” the city
manager said. “He looked for ways to serve
the community, protect the community and
improve the community his whole life.”
McCann brought many projects to his
city, Burgener said.
“Most recently, we’ve been work-
A full
ing through our down-
town repaving project with
(the Oregon Department of
Transportation),” he added.
“The improvements, which
we’re still undergoing, will
bring in lights, add side-
walks and make for a bet-
ter business and community
environment for the city.”
McCann
See, McCann/Page A8
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Diners congregate at the Hermiston
Food Pod on Friday, April 15, 2022.
pod
Nine vendors now are open at Hermiston hot spot
By ERICK PETERSON • Hermiston Herald
T
aking a rare break during a busy day, Patrick
Hunt leaned against his food truck and chatted
about the success of the Hermiston Food Pod.
The pod, a collection of food
trucks gathered at 240 S.W. Third
Street, across from the post offi ce,
is full. Its nine trucks are present
and open for business. The fi nal
holdout was Krack Burger, which
opened Friday, April 15.
Hunt manages the pod, coordi-
nating the individual business own-
ers and acting as a liaison with the
city of Hermiston.
“I’m grateful to the community
for making this happen,” Hunt said.
He added that he was appreciative
to the city government, too.
The pod had been closed so
the city could renovate the prop-
erty. Plumbing and electricity were
added, making it possible for addi-
tional trucks to set up shop. In
recent months, the pod reopened,
with between two and four trucks
present at any given time.
Hunt’s mobile restaurant, South-
ern Twain BBQ, was among the few
that opened early. At the restaurant,
he cooked and served sausages,
sandwiches, nachos and more.
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Maureen Dickens motions to her new food truck restaurant, Twisted Filipino
Variety Cuisine, Friday, April 15, 2022.
Slowly but surely, more trucks were
added until the lot was full.
The current fl eet of trucks off ers
a variety of food. One can pick up
barbecued ribs, grilled hamburg-
ers, kalua pork, tacos, biscuits and
gravy and more, depending on the
particular truck from which one
wants to dine.
Hunt said the diversity of
foods was important to him.
Many restauranteurs wished to
open at the pod, he said. He added
that he turned some down, just
because he wanted to avoid having
redundancies.
“We can’t have too much of the
same stuff ,” he said. “There were
vendors who wanted to off er more
tacos and I had to tell them that I
See, Food/Page A8
Hermiston City Council candidates talk growth, homelessness in forum
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Toward the end of a candidate
forum Tuesday, April 12, in Herm-
iston, a couple of city council can-
didates pointed out distinctions
between this event and ones like it
at higher echelons of government.
“City council is diff erent,”
Roy Barron said.
INSIDE
An incumbent who is running
for reelection May 17, Barron
stated this sort of forum is more
contentious at state and federal
levels.
Sharing this sentiment, candi-
date David McCarthy voiced his
approval of the entire group of can-
didates, including his opponent.
“Anyone here would do a good
job,” McCarthy said.
A3 New bridge planned for
Umatilla
Organized by the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce, this candi-
date forum was held at the Hermis-
ton Community Center. It involved
most of the candidates for the
upcoming election. Four of eight
seats, all ward positions, are up
for election this year. Three of the
incumbents are being challenged,
each with a single opponent.
Jackie Myers, city councilor for
A6 Umatilla students selected
for capital tour
Ward 3, is running unopposed and
was not present.
Candidates present were Lori
Davis, Ward 1 councilor and her
challenger, Jackie Linton; Bar-
ron, Ward 2 councilor and his chal-
lenger, Stan Stradley; and Phillip
Spicerkuhn, Ward 4 councilor and
his challenger, McCarthy.
Angela Pursel, Hermiston busi-
ness owner, moderated the forum.
A7 Budget cuts coming for Blue
Mountain Community College
She had candidates present open-
ing and closing statements and
in between asked them questions
about important topics of the day.
The questions were of her own
making.
Val Hoxie, chamber execu-
tive director, said she was pleased
with the questions, which hit upon
See, Candidates/Page A8
A9 DEQ states Lamb Weston’s
Hermiston plant polluted groundwater