One incumbent and one newcomer have filed for Hermiston city council so far, but Hermiston residents have until 5 p.m. on March 6 to file for one of the four ward-specific seats up for grabs this May.

Doug Smith, who was first elected to Ward IV four years ago, is running for his seat once again. Clara Beas Fitzgerald, who has served on the council representing Ward II for the past four years, is not running again, but her husband Shean P. Fitzgerald has filed for the seat. Shean said Clara decided she was too busy with other time commitments, including pursuing an advanced degree, serving as chair of the Cinco de Mayo committee and sitting on the Oregon Commission for Women, and so he decided to step up.

Incumbents for the other two seats up for election in May are Jackie Myers and Lori Davis. Both said they are not yet ready to announce whether they will be running again.

For a full story on the council race and details about how to file, see next week’s Hermiston Herald.

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The Hermiston School District joined the other 196 school districts throughout Oregon to celebrate January as “School Board Recognition Month.”

School board members include Dave Smith, Karen Sherman, Jason Middleton, Mark Gomolski, Ginny Holthus, Josh Goller and Bonnie Luisi.

Interim superintendent Tricia Mooney said school board members spend countless hours of unpaid time working to support educational opportunities for the district’s students.

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The Hermiston Lions Club recently made a $500 donation to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4750 in Hermiston.

While the Hermiston Lions Club’s main mission is to help provide eyeglasses and hearing aids to those in need, they also contribute to other important organizations or projects within the Hermiston community, said Phil Hamm. The local VFW group will utilize the donation through its emergency fund or for other needs within the post.

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The latest Umatilla School District students featured in “The Promise of Oregon” public education support campaign are Tristan Cole and Loreli Ortiz.

Both Umatilla High School students, they completed the sentence beginning with, “I am the Promise of Oregon and staying on track to graduate because…” Cole said he wants to earn a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and change lives through his passion for art. Ortiz is interested in pursuing further education to become a dentist to help people maintain healthy dental hygiene.

The statewide public education support campaign officially debuted in November 2014. It aims to create public support to help meet the state’s 40-40-20 goals and increase student achievement and graduation rates. To view photos and information about the student and more about the Promise campaign, visit www.promiseoregon.org.

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