A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015
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WITHERS:
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first year, Withers raised
$665.
“I wanted to help kids
with sick hearts, and so
that’s just what I did,” he
said. “It feels great. I love
it.”
Withers has continued
to do the program every
year since and has raised
more money every year.
This year, however, fol-
lowing the retirement of
Cody and the hiring of a
new teacher who hadn’t
planned on doing the pro-
gram, the school didn’t
participate. That did not
get in the way of With-
ers’ hopes to donate to
the cause that has created
so much joy. This year,
Withers decided to do it
on his own.
Withers, with the help
of his mother, made a
video about his efforts
to raise money for the
American Heart Asso-
ciation’s Jump Rope
for Heart program. Gail
Withers shared the video
on her Facebook page so
family and friends could
see what he was trying
to accomplish. Blake and
his mother also visited
businesses as far away as
Tri-Cities, Washington,
to see if people wanted to
donate. Their efforts paid
off more than they could
ever imagine.
Despite the fact Blake
and his mother missed
two weeks of the sched-
uled four-week fundrais-
RATES:
continued from page A1
1,500 kilowatt hours, the
total bill will increase from
$101.45 to $112.50.
Non-residential
cus-
tomers will also see higher
rates: average increases of
7.45 percent for small com-
mercial customers, 11.84
percent for large commer-
cial customers and 6.34
percent for irrigation cus-
tomers, according to infor-
mation from Rivera.
At a previous council
meeting, Rivera said the
increase was necessary to
keep up with increasing
wholesale power costs and
to maintain and improve
transmission lines. He said
HES last adjusted its rates
in 2003, and, even with the
increase, HES is still the
least expensive provider in
Hermiston and one of the
cheapest in the state.
Mayor Dave Drotzmann
said the city seriously con-
siders all rate increases and
that this increase was nec-
essary to continue provid-
ing “reliable, low-cost ser-
vice to members.”
In other council news:
• Council members
unanimously approved a
resolution to submit an ap-
plication to renew the city’s
enterprise zone, which of-
fers temporary property tax
abatement to new industrial
developments. According
to a staff report from City
Manager Byron Smith,
since 2004, DuPont-Pio-
neer Seed and Shearer’s
Foods utilized the zone for
$83 million in expansions,
ing period because they
were ill, they still raised
more money than in pre-
vious years. At the end
of the fundraising peri-
od, Blake Withers said
they had raised $3,002,
which brought his total
donations since his sec-
ond-grade year to more
than $7,000.
His efforts did not go
unnoticed by communi-
ty members and officials
from the American Heart
Association, either. With-
ers received the Umatilla
Lions Club “Acts of Kind-
ness” award this year for
his efforts. The American
Heart Association is also
sponsoring an overnight
stay at a Portland hotel
in April, and, the next
day, Withers will attend a
Trail Blazers game where
his story will be shown
during halftime. He and
a few other children will
jump rope in front of the
crowd, as well.
“I’m excited for that,”
Withers said smiling.
He said what makes
his fundraising efforts so
special is meeting people
who have been impacted
by heart disease.
Last week, when Gail
Withers went to purchase
her son a Guitar Hero
game someone was sell-
ing, the woman she was
going to buy the equip-
ment from told her she
wouldn’t accept her mon-
ey because of Blake’s ef-
forts.
“She had a little boy
who died when he was 15
months of a heart condi-
which created 278 full-time
jobs with an annual payroll
of $7.9 million in 2014.
He said the tax exemption
will expire for one of the
expansions in July, which
will bring in approximate-
ly $180,000 in new gener-
al fund tax revenue for the
city alone, while also ben-
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tricts. Drotzmann said the
zone has been “a very good
tool for the city” to entice
new business investment.
• Council members
unanimously approved a
motion to change the rules
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Council meetings. Smith
said several items on the
agenda will be consoli-
dated, and the opportuni-
ty for public input will be
expanded. He said people
will still have the opportu-
nity to address the council
about items not included
on the agenda during an
initial period, and public
comments about agenda
items will now be allowed
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when the council is con-
sidering each issue before
a vote occurs. Smith said
the procedure would “be a
little different” but might
allow for smoother discus-
sion. Councilman Doug
Smith said he believed the
new format would be more
“user friendly” for the pub-
lic.
• After an executive
session for a city manager
performance review, Drotz-
mann said Smith performed
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months on the job.
“It’s been nice to have
you on board,” he said.
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tion,” Gail Withers said,
as tears welled in both her
and her sons’ eyes as they
recalled the woman’s story.
Blake Withers said it
is moments like talking
with the woman whose
child had died of a heart
problem that make him
feel good about what he
is doing. He said he just
wished he and his moth-
er hadn’t gotten sick this
year so they could have
raised even more money.
“Imagine what we
could have gotten in four
weeks,” he said.
Gail Withers said for
every $50 donated, a child
receives treatment for a
heart condition, and, with
the money her son raised
through the years, more
than 140 children have
been treated. When he
heard that number, Blake
Withers said he couldn’t
believe he has helped so
many people.
“Wow, that is so cool,”
he said. “I didn’t know it
was that many.”
Blake Withers said,
because this year’s fund-
raising campaign was so
successful, he might con-
tinue in middle school.
“This year, with it be-
ing my last year in ele-
mentary school, we want-
ed to go out with a bang,
but it might not be over,”
he said.
Gail Withers said they
haven’t yet committed to
a time frame, but, because
of their success fundrais-
ing in the last few years,
they hope to continue.
“He’s able to soften
people’s hearts because
he just has the gump-
tion,” she said. “We hav-
en’t committed yet, but it
could be a good thing to
strive for.”
Blake Withers said he
has continued to get bet-
ter at jump roping, and, at
his best, he can jump 50
consecutive times with-
out stopping, even though
he doesn’t practice regu-
larly.
“Every once in a while,
when I remember to get
it out, I’ll take it outside
and practice,” he said of
his jump rope.
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