A4
B USINESS
Hermiston
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
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By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
Next-generation homebuilders
are being trained early about the
bene¿ ts of energy ef¿ ciency.
Energy Trust of Oregon worked
with students in the Columbia Ba-
sin Student Homebuilders Program
Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Curt Berger, a 25-year teach-
er and now the coordinator of the
program, said bringing in experts is
key to education. Students building
the program’s ¿ rst home last year
used energy-ef¿ cient techniques
with help from local professionals,
but Berger said he wanted to go fur-
ther the second time around.
“When you’re trying to build
an energy-ef¿ cient home, a lot of
that starts right now with the fram-
ing and then later, of course, how
we seal things, and then we’ll get
into the appliances,” he said. “All
of that makes for a more energy-ef-
¿ cient home, and we think a bet-
ter-educated student on that process
while they’re out there swinging a
hammer is going to make us a bet-
ter house.”
The students learned about
building science, thermodynam-
ics, insulation, duct-sealing tech-
niques, as well as requirements
and incentives for Energy Trust
programs.
High school seniors Cameron
Meade and Rebecca Carr partici-
pated in the homebuilder program
last year but said the energy-ef¿ -
ciency training provided additional
information.
“I learned a lot more about the
general concept of heat in a house,”
Carr said. “I didn’t really think
about heat being a molecule until
they put it in those terms. Heat ris-
es, which I knew, but I didn’t think
about heat as a moving molecule,
so when it hits another molecule it
makes it move. That’s how it trav-
els. So when you have heat that’s
up in the air, it’s more likely to get
outside the house, and that’s why
we have the different barriers to
keep the heat inside.”
The students also learned about
Energy Trust’s scoring system that
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Cameron Welch, with Energy Trust of Oregon, talks about how to use a
Guct blaster to À nG leaks in the Guct system of a house on WeGnesGay
to a group of high school students in the Columbia Basin Student
Homebuilders Program in Hermiston.
rates the energy consumption and
carbon footprint of a newly con-
structed home. The energy score
— which varies from 0 to 200 — is
based on the amount of energy used
each year. The lower the score, the
more ef¿ cient the building. The
current home’s preliminary score
was 80, compared to 101 for the
same residence built only to re-
quired code standards rather than
using energy-ef¿ cient techniques.
Because the home uses less energy,
the eventual homeowners will pay
less in utility bills.
The students said energy ef-
¿ ciency is a signi¿ cant aspect of
modern homebuilding.
“And it helps our environment,”
Carr added. “Not only is it going
to keep costs down for the people
that live here, but it’s going to com-
pletely reduce the carbon footprint
that they leave, which is great be-
cause with global warming and all
the problems we are having cur-
rently, I can’t imagine how much
it would help if everybody had a
score of 80.”
Berger said the program’s
homes feature better furnaces, air
conditioners, heat pumps, insu-
lation and seals, as well as more
ef¿ cient appliances. Although the
process is just starting to catch on
in this region, he said it will contin-
ue to grow.
BRIEFCASE
BMCC off ers classes
for tax preparers
Among the fall offerings
at Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College are a trio of
specialized classes that can
assist participants in getting
a real estate broker license,
a ta[ preparation certi¿ cate
and learning how to work
with Microsoft Excel 2013.
The accelerated real estate
broker pre-license course of-
fered in Hermiston will pre-
pare students to take the state
of Oregon licensing exam.
The course, which com-
bines classroom instruction
and online study, began
Tuesday, Sept. 29. The class-
room sessions are Tuesdays
from 6-9 p.m. at BMCC
Hermiston, 975 S.E. Colum-
bia Drive. It continues for
10 weeks. The cost is $600,
which includes all course
materials and an eight-hour
intensive exam preparation
session at the end.
For more information
contact Linda Forbes at lin-
da@sts.careers or 541-510-
4106.
With a video-conferencing
format, the tax preparation
classes — BA220 and BA221
— provide the 80 hours of
coursework required to qual-
ify for the state of Oregon
Licensed Tax Preparer exam-
ination. The tuition for both is
$718, and the fees are $136.
The courses are broad-
cast from BMCC’s Baker
Center and will be available
to students through Zoom
video-conferencing technol-
ogy. Students may attend
from any computer, smart
phone, tablet or iPad that
has Internet, audio and video
capability. Both classes will
be recorded for viewing at
other times. The actual class
meetings are Thursdays from
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Upon successful comple-
tion of both courses, students
may take the exam in De-
cember and start preparing
taxes in January.
For beginners or those
muddling along, the Excel
class is offered at BMCC
Boardman. Participants will
learn about inserting shapes
and graphics; adding, delet-
ing and hiding data; copying
and pasting, formatting and
much more.
The four-week course be-
gins Thursday, Oct. 8, from
5-7 p.m. at 300 N.E. Front
St., Boardman. The cost is
$59.
The class will break down
the program into bite-sized
pieces, making it much eas-
ier to understand. In addi-
tion, each week participants
will receive a CD containing
what is covered in class, plus
working data ¿ les that are
ready for students to use in
practice.
It’s helpful if students
have basic keyboarding
skills and a working knowl-
edge of their computer. To
register, visit www.bluecc.
edu. For more information,
contact BMCC Boardman at
541-481-2099 or amorter@
bluecc.edu.
Register for the classes at
www.bluecc.edu. For more
information, call BMCC
Hermiston at 541-567-1800
or BMCC Boardman at 541-
481-2099.
Latino Network meets
Wednesday, Oct. 14
The Hermiston Chamber
of Commerce Latino Busi-
ness Network will meet at 9
a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at
the Hermiston Conference
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
Paul Barnett of Barnett
and Moro, P.C., will speak
about 2015 tax laws and
provide tips for preparing
returns.
Donuts and coffee will be
served. The event is open to
the public.
For more information,
call Debbie Pedro, 541-567-
6151.
Chamber seeks annual
awards nominations
The Hermiston Cham-
ber of Commerce is seeking
nominations for people who
have made a difference in the
community for consideration
for the 46th annual Distin-
guished Citizens Awards
banquet to be held Feb. 3.
Chamber award catego-
ries include man, woman,
business and volunteer of the
year and the community ser-
vice award.
Others include the Altru-
san Outstanding Young Cit-
izen Award and the Hermis-
ton School District educators
and administrator of the year.
Nomination and criteria
forms are available at the
chamber of¿ ce, 415 S. High-
way 395, or online at herm-
istonchamber.com. Nomi-
nations are due Jan. 4. For
more information, call 541-
567-6151.
accepts business news
announcements about job
changes and promotions,
business ownership
changes, renovations
and remodels, changes
in business hours and
new business openings,
business owner retirements
and related items. Submit
your business news and
photos to newsroom@
hermistonherald.com.
dia Group, according to a
district press release.
The designation was
based on surveys completed
by employees in spring of
2015 with questions focused
on organizational health.
Submit business
news for publication
The Hermiston Herald
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 54
Gary L. West | Editor • gwest@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4532
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4539
Sam Barbee | Sports Reporter • sbarbee@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4542
Kim La Plant | Multi-media consultant • klaplant@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4530
Jade McDowell | Reporter • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Sean Hart | Reporter • smhart@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4534
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media Consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
School District named
a top workplace
Hermiston School District
was one of 100 companies
and organizations in Oregon
and southwest Washington to
be named a 2015 Top Work-
place by The Oregonian Me-
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news,
advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• stop b\ our of¿ ces at 333 E. 0ain St.
• visit us online at: hermistonherald.com
The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN
8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston
Herald, 333 E. 0ain St., Hermiston, OR
97838, (541) 567-6457, FAX (541) 567-1764.
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