Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2015)
A18 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2015 FROM PAGE A1 ZONES: continued from page A1 would be more appropriate to be downtown transitional, some ar- eas that are downtown transition- al that are more appropriate for downtown commercial and then a couple areas that are general commercial that would be more appropriate as neighborhood commercial, given the area and the types of uses that you would SLIDE continued from page A1 will be enclosed, rather than open like the other one, and the city contract- ed with AquaBlue to en- gineer, manufacture and install it. “We wanted a different type of slide, instead of putting in a secondary slide that was really similar,” he said. “With it being en- closed, they’re just a little faster in general, and, be- cause it has to go out under the other one, it’s going to have a little bit of a steep- er slope to it, so this slide should be faster than the one we currently have. So anticipate.” He said a general commercial zone in the South Hill area was one of the zones the commission recommended changing to neigh- borhood commercial. A portion of the McNary area is also currently zoned general commercial, and Searles said the commission discussed adding a VL[WK]RQHWR¿WWKHDUHD “They were thinking that we might want to create a new zone for that, something that is may- this should be more fun in that sense for those look- ing for a little bit more of a thrill.” Earp said the slide was paid for through Transient Room Tax money designat- ed to Parks and Recreation for major projects. The city collects TRT funds when people stay in temporary lodging such as hotels. He said some of the cost may also be recovered through increased attendance at the center. Even without the addi- tional attraction, Earp said the aquatic center has been popular. Last year, he said, the facility exceeded the City Council’s cost-recov- ery goal, and an estimated SEAN HART PHOTO Adam Cornelius, a subcontractor for slide company AquaB- lue, bolts together halves of a piece of the new enclosed slide at the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center Thursday. CANNELL: expo center. “There’s a niche out there, and we’re going to continued from page A1 ¿OOLWYHU\TXLFNO\´KHVDLG Until she has a physical Barton Laser Leveling event center to run, much of has been working since De- Cannell’s job will be mar- cember on grading and un- keting the EOTEC project derground utilities for the to get it on event coordina- site. On Friday, the board tors’ radar. Her salary will prepared to start “vertical be paid from the tourism construction” by awarding promotion assessment fund a bid for construction of generated for marketing by the event center building to quarterly payments from G2 Construction of Kenne- local hoteliers and RV park wick. owners. The company beat out Board member Ed Knerr Construction of Brookshier said Cannell Hermiston and Apollo Inc. ZDVDJRRG¿WIRUWKHMRE of Kennewick. “What impressed me ³$OO WKUHH ¿UPV ZHUH from the very beginning is YHU\ YHU\ TXDOL¿HG´ SURM- that she really got, and un- ect manager Gary Win- derstands, what we’re do- sand said. “It was a tough ing here,” he said. choice.” Dorran called EOTEC a Winsand said the bids “tweener facility” that will for the event center came offer something for events in just “a smidge over” the that have outgrown fair- $2.8 million budget esti- grounds and conference mate for the event center FHQWHUVEXWFDQ¶W¿OODODUJH construction. EOTEC’s be a little bit along the lines of the downtown transitional zone, something that is compatible with pedestrian and small- to medi- um-scale auto-oriented uses,” he said. “... I need to take a look at some of the uses that are already out there and try to be as accom- modating to those as possible.” Searles said that, at Tues- day’s meeting, the commission also reviewed the ordinance language for the bulk of the project specifiying what uses 60,000 attendees “came through the door” for the various offerings, including public swim time, swim- PLQJ OHVVRQV ¿WQHVV SUR- grams and private events. He said the center hires about 65 life guards and swimming instructors for the summer season, along with another 25 front desk, concessions and superviso- ry employees. “This is a huge, huge portion of our program in the summer time,” he said. “Summer is, by far, our busiest season. We offer a lot of camps and other pro- grams, but a majority of our focus goes into this center. This is the main attraction in Hermiston in the summer time. We really put a lot of attention trying to make this a really fun, safe expe- rience. Safety is obviously really important for us, so that people feel like they can send their kids here or come here with their families and don’t have to worry about much but just enjoy the nice sunshine that we get.” People can try the new slide when the aquatic center opens June 6, and Earp said the facility will continue to be updated to keep people coming back for more. “This is, by far, the big- gest improvement we have made to the aquatic center since it opened with a new slide, but every few years we do try to add new fea- tures to increase its popu- larity,” he said. “This isn’t the end. We do have plans to make improvements in the future. We’re looking for different options, and we’re always looking to en- hance the experience here.” overall project budget is a little more than $12.8 mil- lion. G2 Construction presi- dent Doug Gunther said his company was grateful for the opportunity to become part of the project, and he planned to start attending EOTEC meetings regularly. Next month, the EO- TEC authority plans to approve Frew Develop- ment’s design for the ro- deo arena and livestock barns and release bid packages for construc- tion. According to a re- port Winsand handed the board, sitework will begin “in earnest” in late March. Dorran said the board has not had time yet to speak to Umatilla Coun- ty about replacing board member Chet Prior, who ¿OOHG D FRXQW\DSSRLQWHG seat on the EOTEC au- thority until his death Feb. 15. INSULATE FOR SAVINGS & COMFORT FREE ESTIMATES TAKE YOUR HOME FROM CHILLY TO COZY BY MAKING INSULATION & WINDOW Cash incentives UPGRADES available for insulation and windows from Energy Trust of Oregon or your local utility. ASK US! As an approved Trade Ally contractor of Energy Trust of Oregon, we are qualified to improve the ener gy efficiency and comfort of your home. CALL TODAY FOR DETAILS & FREE ESTIMATE! (541) 567-2348 • (541) 276-0097 • 1-800-265-2348 are allowed in each zone. The current ordinance language is similar in all of the commercial zones and does not list what uses are allowed. By specifying the allowed uses for each of the zones, the proposed changes differentiate the zones and ef- fectively regulate where certain businesses will be allowed to open. Strip clubs and marijua- na dispensaries, for example, would only be allowed in the general and highway commer- cial zones. Searles said, because the changes would affect each of the commercial zones, every property owner in those areas would receive an individual no- tice before the public hearing. The changes will only affect new or expanding businesses, not those already in operation. The next Planning Commis- sion work session begins at 5:30 p.m. March 24 at Umatilla City Hall. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Hermiston High School senior Tymek Chrzanowski, far right, and HHS junior Elizabeth Herrera pose for a photo with RIÀFLDOVIURPWKH3RHWU\2XW Loud Competition after receiv- ing awards for competing Mon- day night. Chrzanowski earned the highest score of the night and will participate in another competition March 7 in Salem. POETRY: continued from page A1 day. “I did get pretty ner- vous,” he said. Chrzanowski recit- ed “Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats and “Ozyandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his performances earned him the top prize for the night. He will next perform at the central regional competi- tion March 7 in Salem. To prepare, Chrzanows- ki said he wrote both po- ems down on paper and practiced them as he walked to school each day. “Both of them were pretty short, so they were easy to memorize,” he said. When it came time to perform, Chrzanows- ki said he chose to use a lot of intensity and vocal dynamics to portray the theme of the poems. “These poems are very dramatic,” he said. “I used an authoritative tone, and you kind of have to get a bit worked up.” Herrera performed “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou based on the book “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.” She then recited “Ecology” by Jack Collom. In each, Her- rera said she found a deep connection to the poems. “ ‘Caged Bird’ makes me think about how frus- trated she must have been,” she said. “I can’t re- late to the segregation part, EXW,FDQGH¿QLWHO\LGHQWL- fy with how she feels. I challenged myself to try to come to the level she’s at and try and portray to the audience what she was feeling.” Even though Herrera said she had some expe- rience public speaking in speech and debate, she was a bit nervous because she had never recited po- etry before. She let her nerves work to her advan- tage, however, by allowing herself to get lost emotion- ally in her recitations. “When I did ‘Caged Bird,’ her book is very deep,” she said. “I got a lit- tle choked up. I know what part of the book it was re- ferring to when I was recit- ing the poem.” Both competitors said they enjoyed competing. Chrzanowski said compet- ing has helped him over- come his fear of public speaking. “Having the opportuni- ty at the high school level to do things like this when there is not a lot at stake is good practice,” he said. “It is useful for jobs, inter- viewing and many other things. Many jobs require the ability to speak in front of people.” Herrera has already used her public-speaking experience in a larger con- text. This week, she and her fellow students in the Columbia Basin Student Homebuilding Program traveled to Salem and spoke before the Oregon House of Representatives about their experience and how it had impacted them and their school careers. After competing Mon- day, speaking to Oregon’s legislators was easy, Her- rera said, adding one told the students they should become lobbyists.