WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2022
3
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL NEWS
Veteran journalist Marco Gramacho
joins Hermiston Herald as reporter
BY YASSER MARTE
Hermiston Herald
The Hermiston Herald has added a
new member to its team.
Marco Gramacho, 47, of Pasco by
way of Brazil, joined the Herald on
Aug. 16. He already has covered a num-
ber of significant events and is delving
into larger stories in Hermiston and the
surrounding area.
“I’m kicking back to my origins,
which is exactly how I started my career,
a general reporter,” Gramacho said. “But
now I have way more experience.”
Gramacho was a journalist in his
hometown of Salvador, Brazil, and at
times had to cover stories in the cities
of Sao Paulo and Rio. During his career,
he would report on a wide range of sub-
jects, including general news, politics,
technology and fashion.
Although he began his writing career
in newspapers and magazines, his jour-
ney into journalism took a few turns
along the way.
He moved to the United States af-
ter getting accepted to the University
of Florida where he pursued a Ph.D. in
art history and delved into the spiritual
world of Aztec and Mayan culture.
With his knowledge, he got accepted
into Washington State University, where
he finished his degree in cultural stud-
ies and social thought education, which
focused on the issues of culture and
power in the contemporary and his-
torical contexts of education.
“As a journalist in Brazil, with more
than 20 years of experience work-
ing with newspapers and magazines,
I wanted to share a different under-
standing of reading and writing of the
world,” Gramacho said. “Through that
program, I found my path.”
Gramacho’s culture is deeply rooted
in Salvador, Brazil.
Through his upbringing in South
America and residency in the United
States, Gramacho is able to speak
three languages — Portuguese, Spanish
and English.
Gramacho lives in Pasco and works
in Hermiston, which he said has simi-
larities to his hometown.
“My father’s origins are from the
Boardman
coal stack
comes down
Sept. 15
Hermiston Herald
Yasser Marte/Hermiston Herald
Marco Gramacho, 47, the new reporter for the Hermiston Herald, conducts an interview Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, at the Cathy Wams-
ley Center for Early Learning for Umatilla-Morrow Head Start in Hermiston. “I’m looking forward to getting to know more of the
community,” Gramacho said.
“As a journalist in Brazil, with more than 20 years of experience
working with newspapers and magazines, I wanted to share a
different understanding of reading and writing of the world,.
Through that program, I found my path.”
— Marco Gramacho, Hermiston Herald reporter
countryside of Brazil. I grew up
going to my grandparent’s farm,”
Gramacho recalled.
“Although this is a completely differ-
ent country, I feel that the country’s soul
is similar. It’s a familiarity that reminds
me of when I was a kid. It’s personal in
a way that pleases me being in a small
town and covering these stories.”
Gramacho said seeing and under-
standing the differences between a de-
veloped versus undeveloped country
has had an effect on his worldview, such
as understanding the economic strug-
gles in the United States in comparison
to the hardships of Brazil.
“It’s very different. I’m learning a lot,
it’s fascinating,” he said.
Hermiston Herald editor and senior
reporter Erick Peterson remains out
while attending to a health issue.
The Herald and East Oregonian are
part of the EO Media Group. As a re-
porter for the Herald, Gramacho also is
BRIEFS
part of the EO news team.
“Marco brings a real passion for jour-
nalism,” EO Regional Editorial Director
Andrew Cutler said. “I think
he has a unique background in newspa-
pers, and I think it will serve
Hermiston very well and he will do a
fantastic job.”
As Gramacho takes on reporting lo-
cal news, he immerses himself in getting
to know and understand the commu-
nity of Hermiston.
“That’s the nature of journalism, ev-
ery day we travel to different things. I
research as much as I can before
an interview, and when meeting dif-
ferent sources everybody’s been nice,”
Gramacho said.
“I’m looking forward to getting to
know more of the community.”
The 656-foot-tall stack
and boiler at the decommis-
sioned Boardman coal plant
is coming down.
Portland General Electric,
the plant’s owner, announced
contractors the morning of
Sept. 15 are knocking down
the last coal fired power plant
in Oregon.
“Careful placement of ex-
plosives, handled by engineers
and explosive specialists, will
allow the stack and boiler
to complete a controlled fall
within a specified location,”
according to PGE’s announce-
ment. “Explosives placed at the
base of the stack and around
the supporting structure of
the boiler will be triggered
within seconds of each other,
causing the stack and boiler to
come down quickly; the dem-
olition is expected to take less
than a minute.”
The Boardman plant pro-
vided energy to Oregon
from 1980 to 2020, when
PGE ceased operations at
the facility.
“Boardman’s closure has
been factored into PGE’s plans
since 2010, and the utility has
implemented solid resource
plans to ensure an ongoing
reliable supply of power for
customers,” according to PGE.
“These plans focus on renew-
ables and other non-emitting,
clean energy resources, includ-
ing Wheatridge — a first-of-
its kind wind, solar and battery
storage plant less than 30
miles away.”
Leading up to the milestone
event of the plant coming
down, PGE is holding a cere-
mony featuring remarks from
Eastern Oregon community
representatives and local clean
energy leaders.
www.HermistonHerald.com
Attack at soccer tournament
leads to two arrests
Hermiston police reported arresting two men
after an attack on two others Sunday, Aug. 28, at
an adult soccer tournament.
Andres Chales Lorenzo, 29, and Rufino Me-
jia Ramirez, 19, are in the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, on one count each of third-degree as-
sault and riot as well as two counts of second-de-
gree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Police Chief Jason Edmiston reported multi-
ple 911 callers at 11:46 a.m. reported a person at
Sandstone Middle School, 400 N.E. 10th St., was
trying to fight people.
Officers arrived and discovered the incident
occurred during the tournament, according to po-
lice. Witnesses stated Chales, Ramirez and three
other unidentified males arrived at the tourna-
ment and jumped Patricio Ramirez, 25, and Edvin
Pablo, 18, both of Hermiston. Ramirez suffered an
injury to the back of his neck when he was struck
with a glass bottle.
All suspects were gone prior to law enforce-
ment arrival, but police a short time later found
and arrested Chales and Ramirez and booked
them into the county jail.
During processing, according to Edmiston, law
enforcement found the pair were in possession of
counterfeit documents.
The case remains under investigation.
— Hermiston Herald
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