WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2022
3
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
Morrow Co. schools shift administrators
Hermiston Herald
Morrow County School District re-
cently announced it shifted around
staff for the 2022-23 school year in the
wake of the sudden resignation of Da-
vid Norton, former principal of River-
side Jr/Sr High School.
John Christy, the principal, Windy
River Elementary, is transferring to
Riverside to take on the principal role
there. Steve Sheller remains as vice
principal. Christy is a long-time em-
ployee of the school district and has a
strong history with
Riverside.
“We are excited to
see the direction that
RJSHS goes under
his leadership,” said
Erin Stocker, director
Combe
of Human Resources
for the district.
Stephanie Ewing is transitioning
from his principal position at A.C.
Houghton Elementary to Windy River
Elementary. Ewing has more than 10
years of experience as an elementary
principal.
Jill Ledbetter, then, is transferring
from Sam Boardman Elementary to
the principal job at A.C. Houghton.
Ledbetter has a strong history with
A.C. Houghton and the community of
Irrigon.
And the district has promoted Jami
Carbray from vice principal to prin-
cipal at Sam Boardman, while Laura
Browne Winters steps into the vice
principal slot.
Carbray has worked side by side
with Ledbetter this year to establish vi-
sion and action steps, so Stocker said
the district is confident in her ability
to create that continuity. Winters has a
strong connection to Sam Boardman as
well as a working knowledge of the spe-
cial programs there.
“We are excited to have her return to
the staff of SBE to support the students
and families,” according to Stocker.
New district Superintendent Matt
Combe, who started in the position
Local students Rose and Texidor earn history honors
A NEW DOCUMENTARIAN
Texidor had never participated in NHD.
She had never even made a documentary.
As part of a required history class she took
at Griswold High School, she had to make a
documentary as an assignment.
After initially being interested in the Cu-
ban Missile Crisis, Texidor decided to nar-
row the scope and present on the Executive
Committee of the National Security Council
meetings that occurred during the crisis.
While only four of the 10 students in the
class finished the presentations, Texidor
pushed through, learning the software the
week before and turning in the project on
time. Though she got it in, Texidor admitted
she did fall a bit behind at points.
“There was a lot of procrastination in-
volved with this project trying to find in-
formation because it was way harder than I
thought it would be,” Texidor said.
BY ANTONIO ARREDONDO
Hermiston Herald
Two local students earned top honors at
the National History Day virtual confer-
ence, presenting projects
regarding the nation’s
history.
The National Museum
of American History
honored McKenzie Rose
of Echo for her project,
while Helix’s MayaBella
Rose
Texidor earned the Out-
standing Affiliate Award
for her documentary.
Rose and Texidor were
part of the half a million
students who prepped
for the National History
Day contest, a program
Texidor
where students conduct
original research on a his-
torical topic and present it to judges.
THE PROCESS
Rose found newspaper clippings from
1861 and memoirs containing firsthand
information about the Trent Affair. She
would stay up until 11 p.m. working, miss-
ing time with friends.
“Often I would wonder if it was really
worth all the over-scheduling and stress to
compete,” Rose said.
Texidor struggled to find sources on
the EXCOMM council. Because President
John F. Kennedy’s council regarding the
Missile Crisis was secretive, there weren’t
many around to talk about it.
“Finding someone to interview about
EXCOMM was almost impossible.” Tex-
idor said, “I reached out to a lot of people
trying to discuss the crisis with them but
AN EXPERIENCED HISTORIAN
For Rose, the project was no new trek;
this was the Echo High School juniors’ fifth
time taking part in NHD and her fourth
time attending nationals. Rose’s first ap-
pearance at nationals was in the sixth grade.
While other works have come naturally to
her, this year’s project idea did not.
“Honestly, I just started looking up his-
torical events on the internet and kept com-
ing across the Trent Affair,” Rose said.
The Trent Affair — an American Civil
War conflict that nearly saw the British side
with Confederate soldiers after a naval dis-
pute — fit the project’s theme well, and Rose
decided to go with it.
almost no one responded.”
Eventually, Texidor contacted local
Bonnie Harper, and the two talked about
Harper’s crisis experience as a teenager.
They compared the crisis to the Rus-
sian-Ukraine conflict, an element Texidor
used in her project.
NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
After all of their hard work, the two sent
their projects off to the national competi-
tion. NHD was online due to the pandemic,
with three full days of activities. Neither one
was present.
While Texidor was on a family vacation,
Rose was in Washington, D.C., for a school
trip — the same city she would normally be
for the in-person festivities.
Neither may have been there, but both
projects received rave reviews. One judge
said of Texidor’s work, “that this documen-
tary was your first attempt at video-mak-
ing is astonishing to me. I sincerely hope it
won’t be your last.”
Meanwhile, Rose’s project earned a spot
in the Smithsonian Learning Lab’s virtual
showcase.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Despite her back-to-back honors, Rose
is unsure if she will return for competitions
next year. With so many other activities, the
soon-to-be-senior knows that her schedule
won’t get any lighter.
Even if her future is doubtful, Rose has
discovered a new passion. She writes history
pieces for the Hermiston Herald.
“History is a love of mine,” Rose said, “We
can learn so much from the past, and it’s just
downright fascinating at times.”
Stabbing leaves Hermiston man dead
BY BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
A 64-year-old Hermiston
man was stabbed to death
Friday, July 8, at the Hells
Canyon Overlook in south-
eastern Wallowa County ac-
cording to a press release
from the Wallowa County
Sheriff ’s Office.
Dan Ridling got into an al-
tercation with an Albany man
and was stabbed in the torso,
Sheriff Joel Fish said July 11.
He died at the scene.
“They got in an alterca-
tion in the parking lot,” Fish
said. “It was a fight between
two guys, and he ended up
stabbed.”
He said the weapon used
was a fixed-blade sheathed
knife similar to a hunting
knife.
The 911 call requesting
medical assistance was made
at 11:36 a.m. Oregon State
Police Major Crimes Unit re-
sponded to a request to assist
with the investigation, the re-
lease stated.
The man who is believed to
have done the stabbing coop-
erated with the investigation,
www.hermistonherald.com
Fish said. Law enforcement
also interviewed Ridling’s wife.
No charges have yet been
filed. Officials are awaiting
the results of an autopsy be-
fore making any decision on
charges.
“Once we get it all done, it’ll
go to the grand jury,” Fish said.
“He’s not been charged with
anything.”
As a result, Fish declined to
identify the Albany man.
Fish stated in the release
that there are no known
threats to the public following
the incident.
WHERE YOUR HEARING IS MY CONCERN
Ears of Experience!
to help with your hearing needs
Industry-leading rechargeability
Verna Taylor HAS
Verna’s Hearing Care Center
Phone: (541) 667-9104 • Fax: (541) 233-2971
600 NW 11th St Suite E-21 , Hermiston, OR. 97838
vernashearingcarecenter@gmail.com
vernashearingcarecenter.com
SPECIALS: July 10-15
$1.00 off
your
Blueberry Cheesecake
Smoothie
Liver Detox &
Blood Refresh by
Irwin Naturals
local health food store & more ppp
Combat toxins that build-up from various
environmental and lifestyle factors. This
formula includes powerful liver support
along with traditional blood detoxifying
botanicals to help support your health
when you need it most.
60 soft gels.
20 % OFF
Liver Refresh by Now
Help support liver health
and your body’s vital
detoxification process.
90 veg caps
While you’re here - check out our deli specials!
2150 N First St. (Hwy 395), Hermiston, OR • 541-567-0272
“Eastern Oregon’s security company of choice.
“Eastern
ecurity company
of Oregon’s
choice. security company of choice.
We make your safety and security our top priority.”
Residential - Commercial Security Systems • Fire Alarm Systems
Video Surveillance • 24-Hour UL Monitoring
541-564-9398 • 541-276-4847 • www.smithsecurityllc.com
CCB#209095 WA: SMITHSL842C6
July 1, said while these changes are un-
expected, administrators configured
the new team with the best interests of
students, staff and families at heart. He
said administrators reached out to staff
to make introductions and answer any
questions.
In a previous press release, the dis-
trict announced that Rose Palmer was
named the new principal at Irrigon Jr/
Sr High School and Ryan Gerry was
named the new principal at Heppner
Jr/Sr High School. Principals at Hep-
Hermiston police
cite ambulance
driver in crash
Hermiston Herald
A Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 ambulance
transporting a patient Friday,
July 9, collided with another
vehicle, and Hermiston police
cited the ambulance driver af-
ter the crash.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston reported of-
ficers were assisting Uma-
tilla County Sheriff’s Office
and Oregon State Police that
morning at a crash involving
a vehicle and a motorcycle
just outside the city limits on
Highway 395. The fire dis-
trict reported it was taking
one of the crash victims to
Good Shepherd Medical Cen-
ter, Hermiston, to rendezvous
with a helicopter ambulance.
A Hermiston police officer
decided to follow the ambu-
lance at a distance to ensure it
made it to the hospital without
any interference from drivers,
according to Edmiston. The
officer was operating without
lights and sirens and kept sev-
eral hundred yards behind the
ambulance, which had lights
and sirens going, when it en-
tered the intersection of North
First Place and Elm Avenue/
Highway 207 and collided
with another vehicle.
“In this case, the
collision was caught
on camera.”
— Jason Edmiston, Hermiston
police chief
The officer immediately ac-
tivated his body-worn camera,
according to Edmiston.
“Those cameras constantly
record and once activated, the
recorded clip begins 30 sec-
onds prior to activation,” he
explained. “In this case, the
collision was caught on cam-
era.”
And after a thorough in-
vestigation, Edmiston also re-
ported, police cited the driver
of the ambulance, William
Dewitt, 34, Hermiston, for
failure to obey a traffic control
device.
The fire district reported
a second ambulance arrived
shortly after the crash and
transported the initial patient
to Good Shepherd.
Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict No. 1 also reported one
of its employees was injured
in the collision at North First
Place and Elm Avenue, and an
ambulance took the employee
to Good Shepherd.