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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2015)
A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015 LOCAL WEATHER Pet of the week Today's Weather Hi, my name is Buddy. I am a male Australian-mix available for adoption at the Humane Society of Eastern Oregon Pet Rescue in Hermiston. I was a Hermiston stray, and I need a new home. I’ve already had my shots, and I am good with children and other dogs. I about 1 to 2 years old and can be adopted for $125. I come with a free vet check and a three-day return policy. If I am neutered within 60 days of adoption, my owner will receive a $50 refund. If you are interested in welcoming Buddy to your family, please stop by the humane society at 1844 N.W. Geer Road, Hermiston, or call 541-564-6222. Local 5-Day Forecast Sat Sun 3/7 66/34 67/37 The Hermiston Eagles Lodge will host a corned beef and cabbage dinner as a fundraiser for a muscular dystrophy char- ity from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 14 at the lodge, 160 N.W. Second St., Hermiston. The event costs $7 and will also feature a silent auction, cake walk and dance. For more information, call 541-567-2909. FEES: continued from page A1 to Amazon but a recognition that there are other places they can go ... This is taking a close look at our compet- itive situation for those data centers.” Finance Director Melissa Ince said, at the 3.5 percent rate, UEC is estimated to contribute about $420,000 in fees next year. Future growth would cause UEC to reach the cap and limit the city’s reve- nue, Ward said, but the growth may not occur without it. Ward said the increased property tax revenue collected by the city from new develop- ments would also offset the reduction in franchise fees. Al- though the Amazon facilities are not currently paying prop- erty taxes during the tempo- rary abatement period granted within the city enterprise zone, Ward said the city will begin receiving property tax revenue next year. “I understand that this puts us in sort of a delicate situa- tion,” he said. “We are lim- RATES: continued from page A1 Rivera said HES also incurs costs to maintain transmis- sion lines and could reduce long-term expenditures by proactively planning and addressing problem areas. HES last adjusted its rates in 2003, Rivera said, and the bill for the city utility, which serves 5,229 customers or 63 percent of Hermiston, would still 71/39 69/45 Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Sunrise Sunset 6:24 AM 5:52 PM Sunrise Sunset 7:22 AM 6:53 PM Sunrise Sunset 7:21 AM 6:54 PM Sunrise Sunset 7:17 AM 6:57 PM Portland 67/39 Salem 68/38 Willow Creek Symphony will perform at 4 p.m. March 15 at the Irrigon Jr/Sr. High School Gym. The program will fea- ture music for the whole family. The con- cert is free, and a reception will follow the performance. The Willow Creek Symphony is an Inland Northwest Musicians West- ern-oriented youth/preparatory sym- phony comprised of approximately 30 members. The concert is sponsored by the Morrow County Unified Recreation District. Corporate sponsors also in- clude U.S. Bancorp Foundation, PGE Foundation and The Oregon Community Foundation. 6WDQ¿HOG&RPPXQLW\&HQWHU breakfast today The Stan¿eld Community Center will host its monthly breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. today. This is a fundraiser for oper- ations of the Stan¿eld Community Center. Prices for a breakfast meal cost from $3 to $5. iting our ability to generate revenue from our franchise fee, but we are also poten- tially sending out a message that we are friendly to large businesses, large electric cus- tomers, and I think that that probably is going to be, for a variety of reasons, something we’re going to be looking at in terms of bene¿ting from a much larger scale than we currently are. I think that’s a valuable consideration here.” The 20-year agreement also includes a ¿ve-year ad- justment clause, Ward said, so the city could make changes to both the rate and the cap, if necessary, in ¿ve years. UEC Finance Manager Kevin Ince said the coopera- tive passes the franchise fees it must pay directly onto its members as a separate line item on commercial and in- dustrial bills and included in the rates for residential cus- tomers. He said, although the cooperative does not “want to incentivize” any of its mem- bers, this issue could impact future development. “We typically retain a rel- atively neutral position,” he said. “Having said, we made some sizable investments in bringing the electrical ca- pacity to those sites in antic- ipation of their full build-out plans, so we appreciate the council’s consideration here because not imposing the cap, which you’ve acknowl- edged is reviewable every ¿ve years, may lead them to invest more heavily in other areas, which I don’t think would be in either the city of Umatilla or Umatilla Elec- tric’s best interest.” Mayor Dave Trott said, with this agreement, city of¿cials would send the message that the city has a “business friendly atmosphere.” Councilwoman Mary Dedrick agreed. “I think that it is a good message, and it would be nice to see more businesses out in the port area than what has been going on for quite a while,” she said. Although the Paci¿c Pow- er agreement that was updat- ed about two years ago does not include a cap, Ward said a similar limit would presum- ably be included when it is renewed. be less than the other two electric providers within the city. For 1,500 kilowatt hours, Umatilla Electric Cooperative would charge $121, and the company for which the city took over in 2001, Paci¿c Power, would charge $193, according to a graph from Rivera, which shows an Oregon average of $158 and a national av- erage of $208. The U.S. Energy Infor- mation Administration esti- mates the average residen- tial price nationally is 13 cents per kilowatt hour, Ri- vera said, compared to the HES proposal of 6.8 cents. 541-667-4184 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm • Sat 10am-5pm 1055 S. Hwy 395, Ste. 333 • Hermiston, OR 97838 facebook.com/essenceemporium97838 Sunrise Sunset 7:19 AM 6:56 PM Eugene 66/37 Medford 72/35 Pendleton 62/32 Hermiston 66/34 La Grande 64/31 Bend 62/28 Ontario 64/33 Burns 59/29 Klamath Falls 66/29 Area Cities City Albany Ashland Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Eugene Hi 67 71 61 62 62 66 59 62 67 66 Lo 39 36 37 30 28 44 29 40 39 37 Cond. mst sunny mst sunny mst sunny sunny pt sunny mst sunny sunny pt sunny mst sunny mst sunny City Florence Grants Pass Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Lakeview Lincoln City Mcminnville Medford Hi 63 71 66 62 66 64 65 63 67 72 Lo 40 36 34 33 29 31 28 42 38 35 Cond. pt sunny mst sunny pt sunny sunny mst sunny sunny pt sunny pt sunny pt sunny mst sunny City Newport Pendleton Portland Redmond Roseburg Salem Springfield The Dalles Tillamook Vale Hi 59 62 67 66 69 68 67 69 63 64 Lo 40 32 39 29 40 38 34 40 38 34 Cond. pt sunny sunny pt sunny sunny pt sunny pt sunny mst sunny pt sunny mst sunny sunny Cond. sunny mst sunny pt sunny mst sunny sunny City Houston Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis New York Hi 62 81 80 38 38 Lo 50 55 70 24 33 Cond. cloudy sunny pt sunny pt sunny mst sunny City Phoenix San Francisco Seattle St. Louis Washington, DC Hi 77 72 61 58 47 Lo 52 50 38 33 36 Cond. sunny sunny sunny sunny sunny National Cities City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Hi 60 36 42 58 53 Lo 35 26 25 44 28 Moon Phases UV Index Sat 3/7 Full Last New First Mar 5 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 ©2010 American Profile Hometown Content Service Sun 3/8 Mon Tue 3/9 3/10 Wed 3/11 3 3 3 3 3 Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate The UV Index is measured on a 0 - 11 number scale, with a higher UV Index showing the need for greater skin protection. 0 11 Corrections It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories. Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald. com or call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report errors. For Herald news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • email info @hermistonherald.com • stop by our offices at 333 E. Main St. • or visit us online at www.hermistonherald.com Rivera’s recommenda- tion would also increase costs for average small commercial customers by 7.45 percent, large com- mercial customers by 11.84 percent and irrigation cus- tomers by 6.34 percent. $20.00 East Oregonian & Hermiston Herald our Y d n i F f P o t s o ! G old Call Paula 541-278-2678 Yard Sale Kits - $5.00 From Dr. Hibbert, Lacee, Jessica, Bailey, Heather, and Sarah 541-612-3707 68/45 Sunshine. Highs in Times of sun and the low 70s and lows clouds. Highs in the in the upper 30s. upper 60s and lows in the mid 40s. 25 words, 3 days, private party only • Accessories 3/11 Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 30s. Place a Yard Sale Ad • Vapor Shop Wed 3/10 Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afte. Baby Affair takes place today in Willow Creek Symphony Hermiston performing in Irrigon Hermiston Eagles Lodge hosting fundraising dinner Tue 3/9 Oregon At A Glance NEWS IN BRIEF The Baby Affair, a health expo for fam- ilies with young children, will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Hermiston High School, 600 S. First St. The event helps families learn about resources in the community, with opportunities for vision screenings from the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University and ages and stages developmental screening. Information will be available about lac- tation support, car seat safety, gestational diabetes, gardening, dental health, karate for kids, postpartum depression, building healthy relationships, nutrition and more. Mon 3/8 Includes 2 signs & stakes, price stickers & coupons The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday at Hermiston City Hall, 180 N.E. Second St.