REGION
Friday, August 7, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
STANFIELD
HERMISTON
First Thursdays thriving Council bans
pot businesses
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Lucky Endz Gifts was crowded with
customers Thursday night as Hermiston
residents took advantage of the refresh-
ments, sales and longer hours that come
with First Thursday.
“I’ve never been in here before and
I freaking love this place,” said Destiny
Irevia as she browsed through a rack of
colorful blouses.
Her enthusiasm is what First Thurs-
days are trying to create.
Judy Currin-Pederson of Lucky Endz
Gifts said the point of the events, which
she helped start this summer as a member
of the Hermiston Downtown Association,
is to get people into downtown businesses
to meet the owners and become familiar
with their products and services.
“It’s nice if people buy but we don’t
expect them to buy,” she said. “We just
want them to see what we have to offer.”
The idea was working for the Irevia
family. Destiny’s mother Debbie Irevia
said she heard at work that she could
get scrubs from the downtown business
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the month. Afterward she and her children
browsed the sales at other downtown
businesses.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “I like the
evening hours for people who work.”
The family was headed to Sharon’s
Sweet Treats next, which was offering
a single baby back rib with coleslaw,
a pulled pork slider or a glass of water-
melon lemonade for a dollar apiece.
Down the street, Bonnie Cobb was
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and Indulge, where free refreshments and
sales were drawing customers in.
“I hadn’t taken advantage of the fact
that we had new businesses on Main
Street and I wanted to come check them
out,” she said.
She said she read about First Thurs-
days in the newspaper and thought it
sounded like a great idea.
Currin-Pederson said the events have
really taken off with downtown business
owners, an increasing number of whom
are volunteering to extend their hours on
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By SEAN HART
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Abigail Hernandez performs outside of Defining Details on Main Street
during First Thursday.
offer special deals and giveaways to get
people out and about.
“Everyone’s just really jumping on
board,” she said.
She said customers seem to like them,
too, and she hopes that word of mouth
continues to build the event.
“You can snack, walk, and shop and
then end the night with a nice dinner,” she
said.
The event was started by the Herm-
iston Downtown Association, formerly
known as the Hermiston Downtown
Merchants Association. The group of 21
businesses meets once a month to brain-
storm ways to help promote downtown.
They help sponsor events like Funfest, act
as the “go-to” for all things downtown for
entities like the city and the chamber of
commerce and create marketing activities
like the passports customers were getting
stamped to be eligible for a door prize
drawing.
In the past the health of the downtown
business area, especially Main Street,
has drawn concerns from city leaders
who worried about empty storefronts.
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lately.
Currin-Pederson said she could think
of seven new businesses that have opened
up shop downtown this year, and as far as
the Downtown Association is concerned
things are really looking up for Main
Street these days.
She said downtown merchants are
grateful for Hermiston residents who
support them by shopping local, and they
try to do what they can to give back to the
community.
For this summer’s set of First Thurs-
days, they have worked on raising money
to buy new back-to-school shoes for
children whose parents can’t afford them.
Before Thursday’s event about $800 had
been raised, Currin-Pederson said, and
efforts that night such as Nookies’ pledge
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helping increase that number.
There will be no First Thursday
event in September but Currin-Pederson
said the Downtown Association plans
to run them in October, November and
December.
———
Contact
Jade
McDowell
at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com
or
541-564-4536.
Pot businesses will not
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City Manager Blair
Larsen said the city council
unanimously
approved
an ordinance Tuesday
prohibiting both medical
and recreational marijuana
facilities.
While the majority
of Oregon voters in
2014 approved Measure
91 — which legalized
recreational
marijuana
and created a permitting
process for pot businesses
— 63 percent of Umatilla
County voters opposed it.
House Bill 3400, passed in
the legislative session this
year, allowed local govern-
ments in counties where at
least 55 percent of voters
opposed the measure to
ban pot businesses.
Larsen said that after
House Bill 3400 passed
he informed the council,
which instructed him to
draft an ordinance enacting
a ban.
“I found some examples
(of similar ordinances) and
brought it before them,
and it was unanimous,” he
said. “I don’t think it really
changes anything because
I don’t think we were in
danger of having any shops
open up.”
Larsen said, however,
the ban has consequences.
He said the city will no
longer be entitled to the
tax revenue generated from
marijuana sales, but he did
not believe it would not
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impact on the city.
“Our population is so
small that I don’t know that
we would have gotten that
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said. “And then after two
years, they’re not going on
population (for tax distri-
bution), they’re going to
base it on where the retail
shops open up, so the only
way to get any tax money
is if you have a shop and
it’s based on how many
shops you have.”
Larsen said the facilities
ban does not affect the
non-business aspects of
Measure 91. Possession
and private use of mari-
juana by adults and the
private cultivation of up to
four plants at a residence
remains legal.
“You can still use in
the privacy of your own
home,” Larsen said. “I
believe you can still grow
in your back yard as long as
it’s out of public view. You
just can’t open up a shop.”
The ordinance, which
took effect immediately,
states the city will use
“any and all enforcement
remedies available” to
shut down any facilities in
violation of the ordinance,
including nuisance laws
and court action.
It also repealed a
previous ordinance that
regulated the time, place
and manner of medical
marijuana sales because
the businesses are banned
entirely.
HERMISTON
MILTON-FREEWATER
Muddy Frogwater seeks backyard grillers Winning the gold
in front of Hitler
the barbies at 7 a.m. Meat
will go to the judges by 1
p.m. In addition, ribs and
For bragging rights and
salads will be available for
a chance to win Ranch
purchase after the awards
+RPH JLIW FHUWL¿FDWHV
are announced at 3 p.m.
or a Pit Boss Pellet Grill,
Other park activities
backyard grillers are invited
during the cook-off include
to register for the Muddy
a
community
worship
Frogwater BBQ Cook-Off
service at 9 a.m., followed
Competition.
by a Christian concert at 10
Barbecue rib masters
a.m. People can browse the
are encouraged to grab
vendor booths from 10 a.m.
their favorite rib recipe
to 4 p.m. And the beer and
and put together a team
wine garden is open from
to compete in the event,
noon to 2:30 p.m. Shaniko
which is Sunday, Aug. 16
will rock the stage from
with check-in from 6-7 a.m.
EO file photo
12:30-3:30 p.m.
at Yantis Park during the
To register for the
Muddy Frogwater Country Boardman firefighters Gene and Tammy Shepperd add
Classic Festival. Although seasonings while competing in the Buckaroo BBQ Chal- rib cook-off or for more
contact
there’s no registration fee lenge in Pendleton. Backyard grillers have an opportuni- information,
to compete during the Muddy Frogwater BBQ Cook- the
Milton-Freewater
to enter the contest, partic- ty
Off Competition in Milton-Freewater.
Chamber of Commerce at
ipants must provide their
which was donated by receive $150 and $75 gift 541-938-5563, mfmdfrog@
own ribs and spices.
mfchamber.com or visit
7KH ¿UVW SODFH ZLQQHU Ranch & Home. Second FHUWL¿FDWHVIURPWKHVWRUH
3DUWLFLSDQWV ZLOO ¿UH XS www.mfchamber.com
will receive the pellet grill, DQGWKLUGSODFH¿QLVKHUVZLOO
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
City council approves road crack seal project
East Oregonian
While the Pendleton City
Council continues to debate
how best to use funds for
major road repairs, work
on minor road damage will
commence much sooner.
The city council unan-
imously voted to award a
$45,235 bid to Kerry Fuller
Enterprise Inc. of Bend to do
a citywide crack seal project.
According to a report
written by City Engineer Tim
Simons, the project will cover
seven miles of road and will
be applied to streets that were
overlaid within the last 12
years.
Simons said crack seals
work best on new streets and
help stave off the need for a
new overlay, which costs 100
times more per linear foot
than crack seals.
Most of the chip seals will
be applied to Pendleton’s
busiest streets, which have
received the bulk of the city’s
$300,000 pavement preserva-
tion budget. Neighborhood
streets recently built in subdi-
visions or upgraded through
local improvement districts
could also be included in the
project.
To avoid drawing money
from the city’s paltry pave-
ment preservation budget, the
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the crack seal project sepa-
rately from pavement preser-
vation with the intention of
continuing it in future years.
Simons said this will be
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a municipal employee that the
city has done such a project.
The council also approved
a $241,875 bid from Pioneer
Construction Inc. to overlay
Northwest Carden Avenue,
from the Pendleton High
School entrance to Northwest
10th Street, and Southwest
Providing the Most Advanced Digital
Hearing Technology
A family run business for over 50
Years
541-276-3155
1-800-678-3155
29 SW Dorion
Pendleton
236 E Newport
Hermiston
www.ruhearing.com
Second Street, from South-
west Dorion Avenue to
Southwest Emigrant Avenue.
Other topics discussed
during the meeting include:
• The city council unani-
mously approved to set up a
public hearing for a $296,000
local improvement district
for the second and third phase
of the Pendleton Heights
development.
Under the terms of the
district, the city would
provide a bridge loan to build
roads and infrastructure that
would service the develop-
ment, which the developers
would need to pay back in
full.
The second phase, which
the developer has already
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units and the third phase is 18
units.
3HQGOHWRQ +HLJKWV¶ ¿UVW
phase, comprised of 22 units,
opened late last year with
plans to ultimately expand
the subdivision to a total of
72 units.
• The council also
approved an intergovern-
mental agreement with the
city of Pilot Rock to provide
administrative services for its
police department.
Due to the absence of a
police chief in Pilot Rock
since Jan. 30, the city of Pilot
Rock will pay Pendleton
$4,000 a month to provide
administrative
services
including
training
and
employee evaluation.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts said the agree-
ment balanced Pendleton’s
ability to be a good neighbor
while avoiding completely
subsidizing Pilot Rock’s
police force.
Pendleton police will
not have to provide patrol
services as a part of the
agreement.
Lorena Sanchez
Auto
Health
Home
Life
Lorena Sanchez
Family Insurance Agent
541/289-3300 • 800/225-2521
The Stratton Agency
Hermiston/Pendleton • stratton-insurance.com
Speaker to share
memories of 1936
Olympic victory
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Umatilla County resi-
dents can get a glimpse
inside the head of the
1936 Olympic gold medal
rowing team that beat the
Germans in front of Adolf
Hitler.
The nine men from the
University of Washington
who rowed their way to
an improbable victory in
Berlin are all dead, but
Jack Roth, 97, joined the
crew two months later and
stayed with them for four
years. Altrusa International
of Hermiston is sponsoring
a visit from him Tuesday
at 7 p.m. at the Eastern
Oregon Higher Education
Center. Roth will share
his memories of the crew
featured in Daniel James
Brown’s book “The Boys
in the Boat,” and their dedi-
cation. Their determination
to succeed meant Roth and
the rest of the crew found
themselves
practicing
through storms and ice.
“Day after day that’s the
kind of weather we went
out in,” Roth said.
He said more than
anything else crew taught
him a sense of determi-
nation, which sustained
him through the Great
Depression, serving in the
Navy during World War II
and afterward becoming
an avid outdoorsman and
wood craftsman.
More than anything,
though, the thing he misses
about crew is the “boys in
the boat.”
“I think it boils down to
the camaraderie,” he said.
“Crew was something that
took 100 percent of your
extra time and efforts.”
When the team won the
Olympic gold medal for
men’s eight-man rowing,
it was considered one of
the biggest upsets of the
games. The blue collar
farm boys and lumberjacks
from Washington were on
a choppy outside lane and
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they pulled off an impres-
sive win against several
highly polished European
teams.
“Can you just imagine
what it was like with Hitler
standing there? He wanted
to prove his dominance,
and to have that taken
away by a three foot loss ...
“ Roth said, trailing off.
His daughter Carol Roth
will also speak Tuesday.
She said reading “The Boys
in the Boat” really helped
her understand her father
and his constant drive and
focus. She said she grew
up in the outdoors, sailing
and climbing mountains
with her father since she
was a child.
“When Dad talked
about crew he would tell
funny stories but I never
really understood the disci-
pline and perseverance
required,” she said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at
jmcdowell@eastore-
gonian.com or 541-564-
4536.