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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2018)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Friday, July 6, 2018 Fireworks return to Pendleton Staff photo by E.J. Harris Rigo Garcia, owner of Tacos Garcia, serves customers at his food truck Thursday in Hermiston. TRUCKS: Most closed due to onerous regulations Continued from 1A Staff photo by Kathy Aney Fireworks lit up the sky Wednesday night in Pendleton. Criss, Carrie and Jordan Jenkins set up their lawn chairs on a prime piece of lawn almost two hours before the Pendle- ton fireworks show began. The Jenkins were visiting from Meridi- an, Idaho. Staff photo by Kathy Aney GLARE: ODOT, FAA signed off on project Continued from 1A the reflectivity of residen- tial and commercial reflec- tive surfaces. We are cur- rently working with a third party consulting partner to further analyze the project’s reflective light and take the appropriate mitigation mea- sures if necessary. Cypress Creek is 100 percent com- mitted to ensuring we follow any and all safety measures on our projects. It’s our top priority.” McKay’s comments about photovoltaic panels are echoed by a 2014 study on solar panels commis- sioned by the U.S. Depart- ment of Energy. The study states that it’s “a common misconception” that solar panels are a safety risk or nuisance to air pilots and citizens. While the study con- cedes that “certain situa- tions” might produce glint or glare, photovoltaic panels are designed to reflect ”as lit- tle as two percent of incom- ing sunlight.” Chrisman said the Federal Aviation Administration and the Oregon Department of Transportation signed off on the project when it started. Through its subsidiary NorWest 9, Cypress Creek Renewables started build- ing the 6-megawatt, 58-acre solar farm in May. In development since 2014, the power generated by the solar farm will be sold to Pacific Power. The Santa Monica, Cali- fornia-based company oper- ates 70 solar arrays across seven states, including Ore- gon, Idaho, North Caro- lina, South Carolina, Geor- gia, Indiana and Minnesota, according to the Cypress Creek website. Not including the in-prog- ress Pendleton facility, the company’s Oregon arrays generate more than 78 mega- watts across seven facilities in Bend, Nyssa, Ontario and Vale. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. SWEETNESS: Typical growing season this year Continued from 1A Watermelons absorb heat during the day, which the plants metabolize into sugar for energy. Once they cool off at night, the respiration pro- cess slows down and all that sugar gets stored in the fruit, hence their exception- ally sweet flavor. Walchli said this year has been a mostly typical grow- ing season, compared to last year when planting got off to a slow start. “Last season, we had a colder start and this year we had a more favorable May and end of April,” he said. “It’s hard to predict. Mel- ons are very reactive to the weather, more so than some of the other crops.” Scott Lukas, assistant professor of horticulture for Oregon State Univer- sity, recently started a new research program at OSU’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center with a partial focus on watermelons. He said growers have reported few issues with disease pres- sure, and for the most part the vines have been grow- ing well. “This has been a good season so far,” Lukas said. “I’ve heard the plants are looking good, and they are growing as they should.” Hired by HAREC in 2016, Lukas has spent the last couple of years study- ing treatments for soil- borne fusarium and ver- ticillium wilt diseases in watermelons. He plans to expand his program next year to include more irrigation tri- als using remote sensors to monitor soil moisture, and help farmers conserve water. Precision agriculture and modern technology have led to increased yields which in turn has helped to expand markets for Hermiston watermelons throughout the region, said Chris McNa- mee, a sales representative for Botsford & Goodfellow. Based in Clackamas with a field office in Herm- iston, Botsford & Goodfel- low handles all marketing for Hermiston watermel- ons. McNamee said water- melon sales have increased every year for the last five years, and the Hermiston brand has become firmly established in major metro areas including Portland and Seattle. “They’ve supported us really well,” McNamee said. “It’s allowed us to grow, which is great.” In 2012, Florida, Geor- gia, California and Texas accounted for two-thirds of all watermelon produc- tion across the country. Though Hermiston may account for just a blip on the national watermelon radar, McNamee said they are undeniably popular in the Northwest. “They get the sugar right, and they get them picked at the right time,” he said. “It stands out compared to the competition.” Jack Bellinger, with Bellinger Farms, said he has already cut about a dozen watermelons off the vine and is excited about this year’s quality, which he attributes to a consistent growing season. “People are getting excited to see them on their plates. And we are excited too,” Bellinger said. “The quality this year I think is going to be really exceptional.” In recent years food trucks have gained in pop- ularity nationwide, and the city has decided to recon- sider its mobile food vend- ing ordinance, particularly in regards to the three-li- cense limit. A survey about food trucks is available on the city’s website until July 15. Garcia said people may have pushed for an ordi- nance because there is a stereotype that food trucks are dirty and unsafe, but he buys high-quality ingredi- ents and follows the same food-handling guidelines as restaurants. “Some people think the taco trucks are dirty, but I’m very clean, person- ally,” he said. “I cook fresh meat every day. I clean the grill every day. I love my customers.” Not everyone is unhappy with the current rules. Tacos Paricutin, often parked behind Cottage Flowers, is one of the trucks that chose to remain open after the 2013 regulations were put in place. Maricela Medrano, who was serving up tacos to customers on Thursday afternoon, said her parents have run the business for 24 years and didn’t have an issue applying for a license and complying with city regulations. They hadn’t had to make many changes, and hadn’t been interested in providing seating anyway. “Everything’s good,” she said, shrugging. Hermiston’s current mobile food vendors are all taco trucks, but that wasn’t always the case. Pat- rick Hunt, who operates the Southern Twain BBQ truck in Pendleton, said he would love to bring some more diversity back to Hermis- ton’s food truck scene. Hunt, who lives in Herm- iston, said he applied for a license at city hall a cou- ple of years ago but was told that all of the licenses were taken. So he started his busi- ness in Pendleton instead. “I didn’t really want to leave Hermiston, because that’s where I’m at and peo- ple know me, but I was kind of forced to,” he said. Originally from North Carolina, Hunt brings his East Coast roots to his bar- becuing, and his brisket reflects time he spent in Texas. He moved to Oregon to work on wind turbines and began sharing his cook- ing with coworkers, which he eventually decided to turn into a career. “I was raised to cook BBQ as a celebratory thing,” he said. “I like to see people happy. I’m not going to be a millionaire off a food truck, but you get people together and help them be happy.” Hunt said he would love to see Hermiston change its rules, and would be inter- ested in starting a second location there. “I don’t think it would be right, just because Hermis- ton changed its rules, to take this food away from Pendle- ton. I’m not that kind of per- son,” he said. “But I would be looking for a second unit.” He said he believes Hermiston should start a food truck “pod” where sev- eral trucks could park at once (something one of the city’s survey questions asks about) or a regular “food truck night” that could bring in vendors from around the region. Walla Walla already has a food truck night, he said, and other nearby cities are considering food truck pods. “I want to make sure Hermiston knows if they don’t jump on the wagon, other towns will,” he said. When most of Hermis- ton’s food trucks closed up shop or moved their busi- ness elsewhere in 2013, Tacos Xavi owners Gabri- ela Rodriguez and Luis Diaz were one of the few that did apply for a license. Rodriguez said they had to make some adjustments to their truck and their business after the city adopted regula- tions, but they had decided it was worth it to do what they needed to continue operat- ing in Hermiston. “We live from that,” she said of the business. “It’s our income.” They have operated since 2010, first as a trailer on Main Street and then as a truck behind Payless Shoes. Diaz said they have grown during that time, adding two employees and expanding their offerings from three meats to eight. They also serve food at local events like Cinco de Mayo, Funfest and the Fourth of July cele- bration at Butte Park. He said they had looked into setting up a sit-down restaurant, but their custom- ers tend to be people who have 30 minutes for lunch and are looking to grab something quickly and be on their way. A food truck is more conducive to that. “People want their food fast,” he said. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. Food truck survey online The city of Hermiston is considering changes to its mobile food vendor ordinance and is conducting a survey. The survey is available in English and Spanish on the city’s website at hermiston.or.us until July 15. Residents can give feedback on the number of licenses for food vendors, the idea of a food truck pod, whether smaller food carts like hot dog stands should be allowed and whether the city should issue tempo- rary licenses. EPA: Former coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to be new agency head Continued from 1A for Pruitt’s resignation. “Scott is a terrific guy,” Trump said. “He came to me and said I have such great confidence in the adminis- tration I don’t want to be a distraction. ... He’ll go and do great things and have a wonderful life, I hope.” In his resignation let- ter to Trump, obtained by The Associated Press, Pruitt expressed no regrets. “It is extremely diffi- cult for me to cease serving you in this role first because I count it a blessing to be serving you in any capac- ity, but also, because of the transformative work that is occurring,” Pruitt wrote. Pruitt, a Republican, had appeared Wednesday at a White House picnic for Independence Day, wearing a red-checked shirt and loaf- ers with gold trim. Trump gave him and other officials a brief shout-out, offering no sign of any immediate change in his job. EPA Deputy Administra- tor Andrew Wheeler, a for- mer coal lobbyist, will take the helm as acting adminis- trator starting Monday. Pruitt’s resignation came days after two of his clos- est advisers spoke to House oversight committee inves- tigators and revealed new, embarrassing details in eth- ics scandals involving Pruitt. Samantha Dravis, who recently resigned as Pruitt’s policy chief, told investiga- tors last week that Pruitt had made clear to her before and after he became EPA admin- istrator that he would like the attorney general’s job, held then and now by Jeff Sessions. Pruitt “had hinted at that (sic) some sort of conversa- tion had taken place between he and the president,” Dra- vis told investigators.
