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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2018)
POT TAX REVENUE GROWS EAST OREGONIAN ALL-AREA PLAYER OF THE YEAR SPORTS/1B NORTHWEST/2A FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2018 143rd Year, No. 27 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD HERMISTON Serving up a meal for all Staff photo by Kathy Aney Pendleton Round-Up President Dave O’Neill speaks during the annual Round- Up stockholders meeting on Tuesday night at the Let ‘er Buck Room. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Volunteers Taylor Greene, Karree Lucas, and Bryan Virgil, all of Hermiston, plate food on the serving line for to go meals during the Community Fellowship Dinner Thanksgiving meal on Thursday in Hermiston. Volunteers work overtime to make Fellowship Dinner By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian The first volunteers for the Community Fellowship Din- ner got to the kitchen at 6 a.m. Thursday and got to work ster- ilizing pans, carving turkey and putting food in the ovens for the hundreds of people that would soon gather at Hermis- ton High School for a Thanks- giving meal. Not 24 hours earlier, they’d been staring at a problem: clogged drains, which stopped Inside Salvation Army meal serves 200 in Pendleton/ 3A them from washing dishes and prepping turkeys. With 40 birds to prepare for the next day’s Community Fel- lowship Dinner, they didn’t miss a beat, instead working ahead on other parts of the meal until plumbers arrived. Despite the hiccup, things were running smoothly again the next morning, with volun- teers bustling in the kitchen and finding things to do. “We are so far ahead it’s scary,” said co-kitchen man- See MEAL/10A Rodeo reports record revenue, expansion projects By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian sales early, but Smitty’s Out- post saved some specials for Black Friday. Smith said diluting the holi- day shopping rush has pros and cons for retailers. “There’s not as much pres- sure, but it was also exciting and different, and the drama was kind of fun to manage,” he said. The Smiths are third-gen- The Pendleton Round-Up is often described as a big family comprised of hun- dreds of volunteers. Like any family, this one occasionally clashes, especially at large family gatherings such as the annual stockholders meeting. Tuesday evening started out on a buzz. Round-Up Association President Dave O’Neill lauded the accomplishments of the past year. The rodeo in December 2017 was named Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year (for the fifth time) by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. True West Magazine awarded the title of Historic Rodeo of the Year. The rodeo learned this week it is a final- ist in the Massey Ferguson Sowing Good Deeds Award. Record sales gave evidence that the event has evolved into a smoking hot tourist desti- nation. Stockholders had heard talk that the Round-Up had shattered revenue records over the past weeks, but now they gazed at actual hard numbers glowing from a screen. “We had a banner year,” said Jason Gray- beal, director of office and administration. Ticket sales exceeded $1,300,914, compared with $1,164,136 in 2017. Ticket holders num- bered 53,284. Trademark income increased 16 percent over last year to $2,145,434. Numbers are preliminary. Accounting firm Moss Adams will crunch them and create official financial See RETAILERS/9A See ROUND-UP/10A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Jennifer Hollenbeck, left, uses wooden dowels to squeeze mashed potatoes out of a bag held by Jeff Sparks, both of Hermiston, on Thursday at the Community Fellowship Din- ner Thanksgiving meal in Hermiston. Retailers adjust to shifting landscape for holiday retail Thanksgiving Day sales, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday spread out deals By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Black Friday just isn’t what it used to be. For years, the post-Thanks- giving shopping extravaganza used to mean waking up at 4 a.m. to snatch up cheap elec- tronics and deeply discounted designer shoes. Over the past decade, how- ever, Black Friday has been joined by Thanksgiving Day sales, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. This year, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy were offering “early Black Friday” sales before Thanks- giving week even began. Round-Up stockholders raise voices over director qualifications Randy Smith, who owns Smitty’s Ace Hardware and Smitty’s Outpost in Hermiston with his wife Tammy, said the morning of Black Friday itself has taken on less significance in recent years as sales have been spread out over November and December. “It’s taking a different form,” he said. “The urgency isn’t what it once was, but the deals are as good as ever.” Ace Hardware started its PENDLETON Council approves land agreements for airport hotel and apartments By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian At a meeting two days ahead of Thanksgiving, the Pendleton City Council found themselves in a more giving mood with one large-scale development than the other. The council unanimously approved a land lease with Makad Corp. to build a 74-unit hotel at the Pendleton airport and the sale of a Westgate property to I & E Con- struction to build a 204-unit apart- ment complex. The former had all of its incen- tives stripped and new assurances that it would complete the project on-time and as-described inserted into the lease contract. The coun- cil didn’t touch the latter’s incentive package, which is worth thousands of dollars. The 50-year airport hotel lease agreement, which is between the city and a subsidiary of the Vancouver, Washington company called Horse Valley LLC, had gone before the council for approval three times head- ing into Tuesday. At the last meeting, the council rejected the lease 4-3. The lease was able to win over the no votes by including several concessions and assurances from Makad Corp. • The rental agreement was changed from a percentage of gross revenue to a flat $7,500 per acre per year. The rent will rise each year based on the consumer price index, but no larger than 2.5 percent. Con- struction must start within a year of See COUNCIL/9A CHI St. Anthony Hospital Family Clinic is recognized as a Patient -Centered Primary Care Home. What does that mean for you? • Better-coordinated care. • Healthcare providers who will help connect you • Listening to your concerns and answering with the care you need in a safe and timely way. questions. • Healthcare providers who play an active role in your health. • After-hours nurse consultation. 844.724.8632 3001 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG Mon through Thurs, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. • Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat and Sun, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred.