Last week was a mixed bag of sadness and happiness, and the print edition of the Hermiston Herald included stories on both.

Let’s start with the sad story.

Thomas McCann dies

The long-serving mayor of Stanfield passed away on Saturday. Tom McCann died of a heart attack, leaving many people grieving. His wife and other family members expressed their feelings of loss, as did other members of the mayor’s community.

Tom arrived in Stanfield in 1977, having come from Arizona. He served in the police department for years, before becoming mayor in the 1990s. People described him as a kind and excellent public servant, and they said he is already missed.

Meanwhile, there were other stories in the paper, which left us with some good news.

Food pod fills up

For months, the Hermiston Food Pod, a collection of food trucks near downtown Hermiston, was under construction. When it reopened, after having been closed to add new infrastructure, there were only two or three trucks. Now, there are nine.

In the paper, some of the vendors, old and new, discussed their excitement about the pod. Diners, too, expressed their feelings. Everyone spoke of their enthusiasm for the pod.

Umatilla plans new footbridge

Also on the positive side of things, the city of Umatilla completed all of the necessary red tape so it could move on to a major project.

A new footbridge, at the cost of over $7 million, will be built over the Umatilla River. This bridge replaces one destroyed by flooding in previous years.

The city manager said it will be an excellent addition to the town, as the old bridge has been missed. Around 100 school children used to cross the bridge each day on their way to and from school.