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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
Hermiston Herald WEDNESDAY JULY 1, 2015 SPORTS www.HermistonHerald.com Taxi service SECOND COMPANY TO START SERVICE PAGE 4 ABOUT TOWN PAGE 8 $1.00 Plan your 4th festivities GOLFING LEGEND VISITS NORTHWEST LINKS PAGE 3 Quinceañeras can cost mucho dinero STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART Spectators look on as Outlaw Lawn Dragsters member Billy Loftin, right, New Plymouth, Idaho, races member Lisa Olson, New Plymouth, at the 2014 Funfest in downtown Hermis- ton. Funfest planned for July 11 Hermiston’s 10th annual Fun- fest will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 11 in downtown Hermiston. The Hermiston Rotary Club will serve breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on North Second Street. More than 50 booths and activ- ities will be on site. Modi¿ ed lawn mower drag races and chain saw carvings will return this year, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry will set up a hands- on exhibit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Shade and a cooling station will be provided. Entertainment will be provided throughout the event from per- formers such as the Dakota Brown Band, Jacob Looper, Dallin Puzey and the Fiesta Foods Mariachi Band. The Cool Rides Car Show will take place at McKenzie Park. For more information about Funfest, call the chamber of¿ ce, 541-567-6151, or visit hermiston- chamber.com. Hermiston Cooling Station open weekends PHOTO COURTESY MARIA SANCHEZ Yessenia Garcia-Sanchez, 15, stands next to the cake and cupcakes made by a family friend for her quinceañera in March. Sponsors, called padrinos, often help ease the burden of the cost of quinceaneras by assuming responsibility, À nancial or otherwise, for some elements of the celebration. BY JESSICA KELLER Latin American family tradition takes root locally HERMISTON HERALD While quinceañeras in the Hispanic com- munities have religious aspects, a 15-year- old Latina’s rite of passage from a child into a young woman and introduction into soci- ety is often feted with a celebration, which can range from modest to quite extravagant. Hermiston’s Maria Sanchez said her daughter, Yessenia’s, quinceañera in March was a typical celebration, featuring many of the traditional aspects, including a party with dancing and a meal. As far as quinceañeras go, her daughter’s cele- CULTURE bration was on the mod- est side, she said. “I’ve seen some girls who’ve had their quinceañera low key, and others, oh my gosh, literally they can spend from a couple thousand, like three, maybe up to $10,000, it kind of depends on how they’re looking at it,” Sanchez said. “Some are nice and sim- ple, and others you can see the wow of it.” How big a Latina girl’s coming-of-age party is depends on her preferences, San- chez said. Her daughter’s was not as extrav- agant as some, but still cost about $4,000. On the other hand, when Clara Beas Fitz- gerald celebrated her quinceañera in Tijua- na in the 1970s, hers was vastly different. “Back in those days it wasn’t as reverent Quinceañeras common but diff er by family and church BY JESSICA KELLER HERMISTON HERALD JESSICA KELLER PHOTO At Adamari’s Boutique in Hermiston, Hispanic girls can buy elaborate dresses to wear at their quinceañera celebrations. Esperanza Ochoa, the boutique’s owner, said dresses range in price from $190 to about $1,000 for the designer ones. or elaborate as it is now,” she said. While she wore a long white dress and had a cake at her quinceañera, hers was not an elaborate party, instead celebrated at her godmother’s house with mostly adults and a While quinceañeras combine indige- nous Mexican and European inÀ uences that spread throughout Latin America, the cultural and religious coming-of-age celebration for a 15-year-old Latina has also formed roots in the United States. In Hermiston, Hispanic Catholic and Christian churches have adopted the quinceañera tradition, although the cer- emonies differ. Father Luis Flores at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Hermiston said quinceañeras in Mexico became popular under President Pirforio Diaz, SEE ROOTS/A16 SEE PARTY/A2 Pot rules can harsh your mellow Many actions still prohibited even with the pot legalization BY SEAN HART STAFF WRITER Today, it is legal to use marijuana just for the fun of it, but there are things you should know before you light up. Oregon joins Colorado and LAW Washington as the third state to allow recreational marijuana use. While the law allows people to legally possess, use and grow marijuana, it also includes many restrictions. For example, even though pot is legal in neighboring states, it is still against federal law to transport marijuana across the state lines. Em- ployers can also maintain policies that prohibit employees from using pot. Hermiston Foods General Manager Trent Wal- dern said the company will not be changing its personnel policies with the new law. He said em- ployees must pass a pre-employment drug screen- ing and marijuana use will still disqualify an ap- plicant. The Hermiston Cooling Sta- tion will be open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays during the summer at 224 E. Main St., Hermiston. Recently, local temperatures have reached re- cord highs. Starting with Friday of last week, temperatures have consistently been in the 100s, with a record-setting June week- end setting blistering tempera- tures of 107 degrees in Hermis- ton, a June 28 record. It was also one degree from tying an all-time June record set in 1961. Accord- ing to Weather.com, the coolest upcoming temperatures is a high of 101 on Monday. Thursday and Friday of this week are set to be scorchers, with temperatures of 106 and 105, respectively. These temperatures are comparable to the ¿ rst week of July 1942, when four straight all-time highs were set. The cooling station is avail- able for anyone seeking relief from the heat. Water and free Wi-Fi will be available. For more information, call 541-289- 2150, or email warmingstation@ gmail.com. Water and sewer rates increase today Hermiston residents will see their water and sewer bills go up by 4 percent starting July 1. The rate increase is the final step in a series of four increases that started in 2014. The series of increases, total- ing 16 percent, were approved by the Hermiston city council to help pay for the city’s new recy- cled water treatment plant. For residential users the new sewer rates will be $23.56 per month plus $1.30 per 1,000 gallons over 5,000 gallons used, Water rates will increase to $17.14 a month for the first 3,000 gallons, $1.30 for every 1,000 gallons over 3,000 gal- lons and $1.08 for every 1,000 gallons above 13,000. STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART Smoke City employee Dakota Ballard displays some of the smoking accessories offered at the business in Hermiston. Ballard said she is unsure the impact the legalization of recreational marijuana will have on the business. “Nothing has really changed for us,” he said. “Federal laws do precede the state laws. We have to abide by the federal laws because we are doing business with the federal government. ... From a business standpoint, especially in this area, po- tentially it could make it tougher for us to ¿ nd SEE POT/A2 STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART Hermiston water rates are going up, effective July 1.