REGION
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Hermiston library showcases local artist
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — As an artist with a social
media following, Hermiston resident Amy
Fuentes is used to attention. Now, though, a
new venue is housing her work.
The Hermiston Public Library chose Fuen-
tes as its artist of the month. Her paintings will
be on display in the library throughout Septem-
ber.
The 22-year-old artist said she is ﬁ guring
out her future. Currently a personal banker
at Washington Federal in Hermiston, she has
been living in town since the seventh grade.
She graduated from Hermiston High School,
and she took art classes for three of her four
years there.
But it was back in elementary school where
she “discovered” herself as an artist. Her uncle,
an artist, introduced art to her.
“I’d watch him draw, and it intrigued me,”
she said. He showed both her and her sister
how to draw. He is a pencil artist, but also does
pen and graﬃ ti-style work. She keeps in close
contact with him by sending him her work. He
responds by telling her how proud he is of her.
Meanwhile, Fuentes’ sister also continued
her drawing but began work in fashion, draw-
ing dresses.
Fuentes draws subjects that interest her.
Music is a topic to which she frequently returns.
She has drawn JayCool, Kendrick Lamar and
Drake.
She likes the messages of these rap artists.
JayCool, for instance, speaks to the meaning of
life — life is more than money and fame. Little
things matter. Family matters.
When she started painting at age 19 she
was merely trying to decorate her room. She
viewed decor on social media and she would
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
The work of Hermiston artist Amy Fuentes is
on display at the Hermiston Library during
September 2021.
use it for inspiration. This was a good way to
save money.
Painting on canvas, moving away from
pencil, she developed as an artist. She contin-
ued painting, and she shared her work on her
own social media. Then, one day, the library
called.
“I was really surprised,” she said. “I was just
posting for myself and maybe to get my work
out there, but you never know who is watching.”
She is excited to have ﬁ ve paintings on
display. They are of the rappers she likes,
people who inﬂ uenced her. One work, in partic-
ular, features Kendrick Lamar and JayCool.
This painting is the recreation of a concept she
saw online, which was hopeful of a collabora-
tion between the two rappers.
Fuentes has never tried rapping, but she
enjoys getting involved with rap through paint-
ing.
She also is doing non-rap-related work. She
is working on a mural in DailyFix Nutrition, a
Hermiston store she frequents.
She said that working on a larger canvas, as
she is now with the mural, is daunting. Still, a
person needs to try new things, she said. The
painting will be something simple involving
ﬂ owers.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Connell accepts
lead advisor role
East Umatilla Fire and Rescue/Contributed Photo
Fire bursts Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, from the top of the Long Branch Cafe & Saloon, Weston.
HER MISTON
—
Umatilla Electric Cooper-
ative Business Resource
Center hired Kristin Connell,
a Hermiston native, as the
led business
advisor serv-
ing the UEC
service terri-
tories.
Con nell
s p e nt t he
last 27 years
Connell
in the staff-
ing industry
helping local businesses hire
qualiﬁ ed employees.
“The opportunity to
continue working with
business owners and being
actively involved in my
community means a great
deal to me,” Connell said. “I
look forward to one-on-one
business advising with new
and existing business to help
support and grow their busi-
ness.”
Greg Smith, the center’s
executive advisor, said, “We
are pleased to have some-
one with the connections to
businesses in the Hermis-
ton and surrounding areas
that Kristin has. This will
go a long way in developing
and strengthening partner-
ships which beneﬁ t business
owners and help grow and
sustain the local economy.”
Smith also the Republican
representative in the Oregon
House for the 57th District,
which includes Hermiston.
The Business Resource
Center team specializes in
helping business owners
access the capital they need
to start or grow their busi-
ness. It provides one-on-one
business advising, access to
COVID-19 relief v, webinars,
and training opportunities.
To schedule a free and
confidential appointment,
call 541-289-3000, or email
uecbrc@gmail.com.
Fire damages Weston’s iconic
Long Branch Cafe & Saloon
East Oregonian
WESTON — A fire on
Sunday, Sept. 5, tore through
Weston’s Long Branch Cafe
& Saloon.
The blaze seriously
damaged the iconic business
on Main Street, according to
photos from the East Umatilla
Fire and Rescue. The ﬂ ames
bulged high from the top of
the building and collapsed its
ceiling, the photos show.
In an email, East Umatilla
spokesperson Suzie Reitz
said ﬁ reﬁ ghters responded
to the scene of the fire at
4:50 p.m. A person was in
the building but got out safely
as ﬁ reﬁ ghters arrived, Reitz
said.
East Umatilla reported it
sent an engine, a ladder truck,
ambulance and more along
with 11 firefighters. The
Milton-Freewater Rural Fire
Protection District responded
as well with five firefight-
ers and provided mutual
support with an engine and
a command vehicle.
Firefighters have yet to
determine the cause of the
ﬁ re, and no injuries have been
reported.
Umatilla business couple
enjoying side-by-side stores
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — Techla Fish and Travis
Mix have had some ups and downs during
the pandemic. On a sad note, they have lost
family. They also havw gotten sick with
COVID-19, twice. In short, this has been a
trying time. Still, there has been something
good during this time. They started new busi-
nesses.
A ﬂ ower shop, called Uptown Floral, and
a game store, Game Forge, occupy side-by-
side storefronts on Sixth Street in Umatilla.
They are not new to business, as they have
owned stores in the past. Fish even grew up
in a ﬂ orist family, as her mother and grand-
mother had a shop under the same name she
has for her store.
Flowers
It is a family tradition, she said. Advised
by her sister on the name Uptown Floral, Fish
said the store had to be named after her fami-
ly’s old store.
“It could not be any other way,” she said.
The pair had been working. Fish was
employed at H&R Block. Mix was at
Amazon. During the pandemic, they were
suddenly unemployed. And it was during this
time, they started thinking about what they
wanted to do with their lives — not what they
had to do, but what they wanted to do.
They wanted to follow their passions, so
that is what they did.
They took their savings and money from
pandemic checks, and they put it into a new
business. They started the ﬂ oral business
ﬁ rst, placing it in their garage. It was a safe
bet, they ﬁ gured, because Fish had a lot of
experience. Also, a major ﬂ orist in the area
was closing, which would mean less compe-
tition. They knew it would not take long to
develop a clientele.
They were right. Business took oﬀ , Fish
said, and they quickly built a solid customer
base. This allowed them to purchase leases on
the two spots in Umatilla, stores that would
be next door to each other.
Fish was ready to move her ﬂ owers into
the building, so it opened ﬁ rst, around Octo-
ber/November 2020. It took a little longer for
Game Forge, because Mix still had to build
an inventory. Its grand opening was July 17.
Games
“These are vastly diﬀ erent businesses,”
Fish said. She spends her days arranges
bouquets, while her husband sells games and
organizes game events next door.
Still, they enjoy being close to one another.
Their stores are joined by a door in the back.
They even share a bathroom.
“That part can be a little stressful, actu-
ally,” Fish said, laughing about the bathroom.
Mix said one of the best things about this
arrangement is being close together and to
their son, Rodger, who spends much time in
their stores.
“It’s really, really fun,” Rodger said.
Spending time in the store, he gets to play
games and paint miniatures. He also likes
meeting customers and recommending
games, such as Zombie Kids, Ticket to Ride,
Pandemic, and Small World.
Mix said enjoys doing something he likes
— working for himself, rather than working
for someone else.
A gaming fan, he is surrounded by Risk,
Dungeons and Dragons and more.
“I like board games,” he said. “Now, I
don’t have to spend much money on them.”
One other bonus: He buys games for
himself at a discount.
But Mix also said he is happy to contribute
to his community. He likes to provide fun for
people who might not otherwise have much to
do. At his shop, he hosts various gaming tour-
naments and activities. Some days, people
even bring their televisions and consoles to
play at tables in Game Forge.
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PASCO — A Milton-Free-
water woman was hospital-
ized Saturday, Sept. 4, in a
two-car crash with a Burbank
man on U.S. Highway 12
inside Pasco city limits,
according to a release from
Washington State Patrol.
Erica Mijangos, 35, of
Milton-Freewater, was trav-
eling west on Highway 12
when she turned left onto
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East A Street, failing to yield
right of way to eastbound
traffic, according to the
release. She was injured and
transported to Lourdes Medi-
cal Center in Pasco.
Jose Segura, a 31-year-old
Burbank man traveling east
on Highway 12, struck the
side of Mijangos’ car.
Segura received no signif-
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the WSP. Both vehicles were
totaled. Drugs and alcohol
were not involved, accord-
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the agenda include:
• A 150-acre expansion of
the city of Umatilla’s urban
growth boundary.
• Two grants for system
sustainability projects in
Hermiston and Pendleton.
• An appointment of
the Board of Property Tax
Appeals.
• An annual notice of
the tax foreclosure process,
which the East Oregonian
publishes.
• A regional homeless
shelter.
Commissioners
consider new
livestock district
Council to look at
convention center
booking policy
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners this week
considers a petition for a
new livestock district in
Meacham.
The intended district is east
of Interstate 84 and would be
more than 2,000 acres. The
county plans to hold a public
hearing on the district on Oct.
20. The principal petitioner for
the district is Kent Madison,
of Echo, according to county
documents.
Commissioners also vote
on a new service coordina-
tor position for the county’s
developmental disabilities
program.
The proposed position
would assist the county in
conducting a service equity
study and plan over the next
two years, as required under
the county’s contract with the
Oregon Office of Develop-
mental Disabilities. The posi-
tion would cost approximately
$102,500, and state funding
would pay of it, according to
county documents.
The board meets Wednes-
day, Sept. 8., starting at
9 a.m., in room 130 at the
Umatilla County Court-
house, 216 S.E. Fourth St.,
Pendleton. Other items on
PENDLETON — In
its last meeting before the
Round-Up, the Pendleton
City Council will consider
changing its booking policy
for the Pendleton Convention
Center and the Vert Audito-
rium.
If the council approves
the resolution at a Tuesday,
Sept. 7, meeting, the conven-
tion center will prioritize
economic impact, hotel stays,
repeat business potential and
longstanding community
events should there be two
events vying for the same
date, time and space.
The council also will
hear reports from Kimberly
Lindsay of Community
Counseling Solutions about
the organization’s services
and Pendleton Fire Chief
Jim Critchley about the
department’s travel volume
du r ing the COV I D -19
pandemic.
The council meeting will
be Tuesday at the council
chambers in city hall, 500
S.W. Dorion Ave. The meet-
ing also can be accessed
virtually via Zoom at https://
bit.ly/3jKiFQy.
— EO Media Group and
the Walla Walla Union-Bul-
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