REGION
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Hermiston pub draws crowd for jalapeno popper contest
To test their poppers, they
agreed to bring their foods to
the bar to try one another’s
poppers and decide who was
the popper king.
“They put their money
where their mouths were, and
it went well,” McCoy said.
Management at Neigh-
bor Dudes took notice of the
private contest and decided
to hold a competition of their
own.
“What we did was charge a
$5 entry fee,” Speelman said,
speaking of the contest. “They
could make a popper at home,
bring it in, and it would be
judged on three categories —
best fl avor, presentation and
most unusual.”
Thirteen popper dishes
were entered into the contest,
and the bar was fi lled. McCoy
said it was unusual for there to
be so many customers in the
place. Ordinarily, she said,
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Three
guys entered a bar could be the
start of a joke. But in this case,
it is the beginning of what
could be an annual tradition
at a local pub.
Neighbor Dudes, the
taphouse at 405 N. First St.,
Hermiston, on Saturday,
Feb. 19, held its fi rst Pop-off , a
contest to fi nd out what local
resident has the best jalapeno
poppers.
Ta m my S p e el m a n ,
manager, and Renee McCoy,
server, explained the contest
and its history.
They said three regulars
were at the bar a few weeks
ago. The guys were chatting,
and their conversation drifted
to jalapeno poppers. Each of
the three men argued their
poppers were the best.
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Casidy Blair holds up her prize-winning jalepeno poppers
Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, at the Pop-off contest at Neighbor
Dudes, Hermiston.
there might be around 15-20
people there on a Saturday
afternoon. On the day of the
popper contest, there were
around 50. The bar had to
bring in another server to help.
“Everyone loves poppers,”
Speelman said.
Though Neighbor Dudes
does not usually serve poppers
or other foods, she said she
was confi dent people would
take to this contest — just not
this much. The large crowd
was more than what even she
expected.
At least one of the three
original popper makers were
at the contest. Buzz around
the bar was that he was the
“popper king.” Looking
around at his competition,
though, Jeff Kraupp, of Herm-
iston, said he might not win
this particular contest.
“I don’t think I’m going
to win today, but I think I’m
going to learn a lot,” he said.
Other competitors
expressed a little more confi -
dence. Mena Dudley, Ryan
Stant, Jennifer Sword and
Allen Sword spoke excitedly
about their poppers, which
were the result of a collabora-
tion. Their dish was made with
homemade pork sausage.
“We’ve been making these
for a couple of years now,”
Allen Sword said, “but we
haven’t done a competition
before.”
It was Casidy Blair who
won the contest, though. The
new popper queen took home
$55 cash as a prize.
“I love jalapeno poppers, so
I’ve been making them for a
while,” she said.
Her husband, Ben Blair,
stepped in to say that she has
been cooking poppers for
around 15 years.
She made her poppers with
candied jalapenos, cream
cheese, various other cheeses
and bacon.
McCoy said Neighbor
Dudes is likely to host another
contest in the near future.
“I think we’ll do wings
next,” she said. She and the
manager said they would talk
more and decide on a date.
New dispensary looking to open in Pendleton Construction business
owner joins packed
commissioner race
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The city
of Pendleton could add a fi fth
cannabis dispensary later this
year.
The Pendleton Planning
Commission at its upcoming
meeting is holding a public
hearing on a conditional use
application from an unnamed
dispensary with a proposed
location of 31 S.W. Nye Ave.,
sandwiched between the
Social Security Administra-
tion offi ce and the Hampton
Inn.
The owner of the store is
Bimalpreet Bath of Walla
Walla, who owns a chain
of head shops called Vape
‘N Goods in Walla Walla
and Milton-Freewater. Also
attached to the development
is Wave Design Group, a
Kennewick-based fi rm that’s
designed restaurants, offi ce
spaces and government build-
ings in the Tri-Cities area.
The dispensary’s applica-
tion states the building will
be a 5,000 square foot store
that shouldn’t have any traf-
fi c or security impacts on the
surrounding area.
Should the planning
commission approve the
dispensary, the business
would take one of the few
remaining locations a mari-
juana business could establish
itself.
After Oregon voters legal-
ized marijuana consumption
and sales in 2014, the state’s
Phil Wright/East Oregonian
A new cannabis dispensary plans to open at this vacant lot
at 31 S.W. Nye Ave., Pendleton, between the Social Securi-
ty Administration offi ce and the Hampton Inn. According
to the notice at the site, the Pendleton Planning Commis-
sion is holding a public hearing about the store at 7 p.m. on
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in the city council chambers at
Pendleton City Hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave.
only requirement for cannabis
business locations was they
not be within 1,000 feet of a
school. But the state allowed
cities and counties to make
their own rules, and even opt
out of legal marijuana sales
entirely.
As Pendleton voters
approved marijuana sales
in 2016, the city council
approved more stringent
location requirements: canna-
bis businesses could not be
located within 1,000 feet of
a park or another marijuana
business. Given that cannabis
businesses only could exist in
commercial or central mixed
use zones, it left a handful of
areas where they could locate.
That didn’t stop three
dispensaries — Kind Leaf
Pendleton, Pendleton Canna-
bis and High Desert Cannabis
— from opening their doors
in 2017, the fi rst year legal
marijuana sales were allowed
in Pendleton.
Thur’s Smoke Shop tried to
join their ranks the same year,
but the site the business was
targeting on Southwest Tutu-
illa Creek Road ran into oppo-
sition from members of the
neighborhood and the Pend-
leton School District, which
objected to the proposed
dispensary’s proximity to
school bus stops and student
walking routes. The owner of
Thur’s eventually pulled his
application, found a diff er-
ent property on Southeast
Court Avenue and opened the
dispensary in 2019.
While Pendleton could
have five cannabis dispen-
saries in the near future, the
city remains one of the few
communities in Eastern
Oregon that allows for legal
marijuana sales.
On the same night voters in
Pendleton gave cannabis sales
the green light, Hermiston and
Milton-Freewater residents
voted to maintain their bans.
The rest of Umatilla County’s
city and county governments
kept their prohibitions in
place as well through council
or board action. Today, Pend-
leton is not only the sole city
with legal marijuana sales in
Umatilla County, but the near-
est place to buy legal weed for
many residents in neighbor-
ing Union and Morrow coun-
ties.
The planning commission
will hold a public hearing
on the proposed dispensary
on Nye Avenue at 7 p.m. on
Thursday, Feb. 24, in the city
council chambers at Pend-
leton City Hall, 500 S.W.
Dorion Ave. The meeting
also can be accessed online
through Zoom by visiting bit.
ly/3I89uDd.
East Oregonian
UMATILLA COUNTY
— The race for Umatilla
County Board of Commis-
sioners Position 1 contin-
ues to grow ahead of the
March 8 fi ling deadline.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, Bob
Barton of Hermiston joined
a fi eld that already included
four other candidates. Barton
is the owner of Barton Laser
Leveling, a construction
business that specializes in
land clearing, excavation,
demolition and site prepa-
ration. A graduate of Herm-
iston High School, Barton
holds an associate’s degree
from the Oregon Institute of
Technology.
The Position 1 seat
is open after incumbent
Commissioner George
Murdock decided to retire.
Prior to Barton joining the
race, four other candidates
already fi led for the position:
Jesse Bonifer of Athena, the
owner of Advanced Tarps
and Covers and an Athena
city councilor; Susan Bower
of Pendleton, the owner of
Eastern Oregon Business
Source; Cindy Timmons
of Milton-Freewater, a
co-owner of Marv’s Glass
Shop; and Alvin Young of
Hermiston, the manager of
Elmer’s Irrigation.
The only other county
offi ce up for election in 2022
is Position 2 on the board
of commissioners, where
incumbent Commissioner
John Shafer is running
against conservative activ-
ist HollyJo Beers. If no other
candidates join the race for
Position 2, Shafer and Beers
won’t appear on the ballot
until the Nov. 8 general elec-
tion. For Position 1, all candi-
dates will compete for the
top two spots during the May
17 primary. Regardless of the
results, the top vote-getters
will advance to a November
runoff .
LOCAL BRIEFING
$600k approved
for motel
renovation project
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton Development
Commission is offi cially an
investor in the MotoLodge
project.
In an interview after
the Tuesday, Feb. 15 meet-
ing, Charles Denight, the
development’s commis-
sion’s associate direc-
tor, said the commission
approved applications from
the Portland-based Cascadia
Hospitality for a $500,000
Rejuvenation grant and a
$100,000 Jump Start loan.
Cascadia plans to use the
money to renovate a vacant
40-room motel at 310 S.E.
Dorion Ave., rechristening it
as the MotoLodge.
T he g r a nt a mou nt
represents 40% of the proj-
ect’s cost. The loan is expected
to be paid back over the next
three years at 3% interest.
Cascadia, which operates
similar hotels in Portland,
Bend and Hood River, is
planning a quick turnaround
on the renovation. Cascadia
plans to reopen the motel by
Memorial Day in the hopes
of attracting lodgers ahead of
Pendleton’s summer events
season.
— EO Media Group
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