Three officers sworn in to serve Othello

OTHELLO — The Othello City Council meeting Monday featured Mayor Shawn Logan swearing in three new officers to the Othello Police Department. The council also voted to rezone 18 acres of land and approved the Public Works Department to install four-speed humps along Fourth Avenue.

Officers Rene Sandoval, Mario Mercado and Brock Denney graduated from the academy a few weeks ago and performed the oath of office with the mayor in front of an audience of friends and families, as well as the new chief of police, David Rehaume.

“I'd like to say that first I’m really proud of all these guys and all the work that they’ve done,” said Rehaume. “It's been a long road for them to get here in this position and I really appreciate their dedication and commitment.”

Logan took each candidate through the oath before having them sign the official papers.

“Growing up here in Othello, this is an agency I have always looked forward to working for since I was a young kid, and I grew up here spending my time doing ride-alongs, spent a little time in dispatch,” Sandoval said. “I look forward to serving the community.”

Logan gave each officer a chance to speak about what the moment meant to them.

“I just want to thank the mayor and the chief for the opportunity,” said Denney. “I don't have much time in Washington, but I grew up in a small community that's about the same size as Othello, and the first couple times I visited … it brought me back to my hometown just seeing how tight the community is, so I'm very excited.”

After the oath of office, each candidate had his badge pinned to his uniform by family or significant others.

“I'm very thankful for the opportunity and for the chief … for believing me from the beginning,” Mercado said. “He has made it clear that wants me in the department and I'm very thankful for that … This is a dream come true and I'm very excited to be a part of Othello and a great department.”

The city council also performed several actions at the meeting, including unanimously approving a re-zoning request and the installation of several speed humps on Fourth Avenue.

Palos Verdes LLC submitted a request to the city council to rezone 18 acres of their property north of the existing Sandhill Estates, in the north end of Othello. Angel Garza recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

“This portion of their property is zoned Open Space Urban Reserve,” the city agenda memo said. “Therefore, (Palos Verdes LLC has) requested that it be redesignated to Residential and zoned R-4, which would give the most flexibility for residential development.”

After the zoning discussion, the council spoke with City Engineer Shawn O’Brien about installing several speed humps on Fourth Avenue to limit speeding. O’Brien said the council had several options, from installing two-speed humps to installing eight.

After discussion, the council approved city staff to contract the installation of four-speed humps using funds budgeted for traffic calming measures at less than $5000 per hump.

The council agreed to analyze traffic data before determining if more than four humps will be necessary to limit speeding on Fourth Avenue.

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.