HERMISTON
HERALD
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
INSIDE, FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
GO! EASTERN OREGON
AUG. 31– SEPT. 7, 2022
Trevor Winder, middle,
plays the lead role of
Dewey Finn in “School of
Rock the Musical.”
Gather
Celebrate
La Grande
Celebrate
The East
Moraine
Explore
Whitman
Mission
PAGE 4
PAGE 12
PAGE 18
WWW.GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
>> Get ready
to rock!
‘SCHOOL OF ROCK
THE MUSICAL’ OPENS
SEPT. 9 AT ELGIN OPERA HOUSE
Jennifer Colton/Go!
Magazine
Popular magazine spotlights
the best in local entertainment.
LIGHTER SIDE
Photos by Yasser Marte/Hermiston Herald
Students navigate their way through the halls on the first day of school Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at Hermiston High School.
Three Minutes With ...
Robert Guerrero. A2
LOCAL NEWS
Boardman coal stack comes
down Sept. 15. A3
COMMUNITY
Steve Williams steps into
role of Rotary governor. A7
SCHOOLS
Local schools ready with updated
coronavirus guidelines. A7
Busy first day
Fall term brings
students back to
class in Hermiston
School District
BY MARCO GRAMACHO
Hermiston Herald
received their schedules in tables
according to their year — fresh-
man, sophomore, junior and senior.
The table for the freshman year had
the biggest line of students.
“They don’t know the school yet,
even though we had orientation last
week, explained family engagement
specialist Maria Durán. “But we un-
derstand that it is a beginning for
them, and accept that some of them
are late for their first class today.”
Inside the building, students
formed a line in the administration
room to register for classes. In the
other room on the opposite side,
some of the students were invited
to change clothes because they
were not under the dress code
of the high school, such as
showing their stomachs.
Hermiston School District had
a busy morning on the first day of
school for Monday, Aug. 29.
A reset of the electrical panel ini-
tiated a lockdown alarm at Armand
Larive Middle School. There were
traffic jams around the streets close
to the school with mostly parents
taking their children to the classes.
“After I dropped my daughter off
at school around 8 a.m., she texted
me saying that they were in a lock-
down,” said Audra Workman, East
Oregonian/Hermiston Herald ad-
vertising assistant. “Thank God it
was just a false alarm.”
The Hermiston School Dis-
trict on its Facebook page at about
9:30 a.m. explained what happened
and reported it was “all clear
Yasser Marte/Hermiston Herald
John Fischer, Think Big Space instructor for Hermiston High School seniors,
gives a tour of the 3D printing lab at the school Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, on the
first of fall term.
to enter the building.”
At Hermiston High School the
students were excited to begin
school. Outside the building they
See Busy / A10
Jeff Wenholz, incoming Morrow County
commissioner, subject of ethics investigation
BY MARCO GRAMACHO
Hermiston Herald
An incoming Morrow County
commissioner is the subject of a
state ethics investigation.
The Oregon Government Ethics
Commission on Aug. 19 voted to
investigate Jeff Wenholz for possible
violations. Wenholz in the May pri-
mary won a slim victory to serve
in Position 2 on the Morrow
County Board of Commissioners.
He takes office for a four-year term
in January 2023.
The ethics commission sched-
uled a public meeting to discuss the
finding of cause on Feb. 3.
Jonathan Tallman in March sent
the ethics commission a written
complaint against Wenholz, chair
of the Morrow County Planning
Commission, indicating Wenholz
may have used his position for fi-
nancial gain and may have failed to
report additional income on
his 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 An-
nual Verified Statements of Eco-
nomic Interest.
In the complaint, Tallman ex-
plained that Wenholz, besides the
commissioner’s position, is the vice
president of the board of directors
AGRICULTURE
He explained there is no
for the Umatilla Electric
conflict of interest because
Cooperative, and director
UEC is a 501(c) organi-
of LS Networks (a high-
zation.
speed business fiber inter-
This is a designation
net company).
under the United States
The conflict of interest,
Internal Revenue Code
according to Tallman, lies
Wenholz
that confers tax-exempt
in that Wenholz failed to
status on nonprofit orga-
disclose he is compensated
from UEC and failed to recuse him- nizations. Specifically, it identifies
self from discussion on several land which nonprofit organizations are
use proposals involving UEC in his exempt from paying federal income
role as a Morrow County planning tax.
“These accusations have no
commissioner.
foundation,” Wenholz said.
Wenholz denied there is any-
See Wenholz / A10
thing to Tallman’s claims.
OUTSKIRTS
Project to give boost
to Westland Irrigation
District. A8
Community could get
state funds to help
with flooding. A9
Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System
•
•
•
•
•
Dr. Marques Johnson | Dr. David Maccabee | Dr. Ann Rust
State-of-the-art Precision
Smaller Incisions
Less Pain
Shorter Hospital Stay
Faster Recovery
www.gshealth.org