Royal Council awards scholarship, approves parade

ROYAL CITY — A Royal City student received a boost to her education at the July 5 Royal City City Council meeting.

Rayne Sheriff, a 2023 graduate of Royal High School, was the winner of a $1,000 scholarship from the engineering firm Anderson Perry. Anderson Perry, based in La Grande, Oregon and Walla Walla, offers scholarships to students every year in the various communities in Eastern Washington and Oregon that it serves, said Anderson Perry Vice President Jake Hollopeter. Hollopeter came in person to present the scholarship because the program is near and dear to his heart, he said.

“I think now we've donated and given back just over $150,000 in scholarships to communities,” he told the council. “This year, we selected about 14 different communities, and Royal City was one of them. This year we had three outstanding candidates … The city reviewed all of the applicants and selected a very highly qualified young lady this year.”

Sheriff plans to attend Central Washington University and study environmental engineering, she said.

“This is really kind of nerve-wracking,” Sheriff said. “This really does mean a lot. I’ve applied for a bunch of scholarships, and it's very exciting to be able to be chosen for this.”

“Congratulations,” Council Member Michael Christensen, acting as mayor pro tem, told Sheriff. “We look forward to reading about you in the environmental science magazines.”

“We started (the scholarship program) back in, I think, the late 1980s, early ’90s, as a means to give back to the communities that we serve,” Hollopeter said in an interview afterward. “We're privileged to work for a number of rural communities. And it's important for us to give back in various areas, and that's one of the methods that we find is very rewarding, because we're giving back to future generations, particularly in STEM-related fields.”

The council also approved a request from St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish to hold its annual fiesta in Lions Park in September. The event will include a Mass and a parade, said city Finance Director Shilo Christensen.

“The reason we bring the event application to the council is we can choose to charge a fee for this special event,” Christensen said. “In years past, we have not charged a fee, because they've typically been good at preparing the park and cleaning up after themselves; it hasn't really taken many man-hours from the city.”

City Public Works Director John Lasen asked the council if there was a requirement that organizations wanting to hold a parade coordinate with city staff about street closures, as has happened in the past.

“That used to give me and the police department an opportunity to start dialogue with the organizers as to how we were going to coordinate the parade route, trying to direct traffic or keep traffic out of it for public safety,” he said.

“I believe it's still in your special event ordinance,” said City Attorney Katherine Kinison. “Whether they're exempt from the fee or not … they still need to coordinate with the city because they’re city streets. To the extent that they are obstructing traffic or interfering with traffic as pedestrians, then you need to have the ability to A, cover the city's potential liability and by making sure that they're adequately insured, and B, make sure that you're able to lock streets to protect the parade attendees and spectators as well as be able to still get traffic through town.”

The council voted to approve the parade with the condition that the parish submit its planned parade route to be approved by city staff.

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.