COMMENTARY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
What would make Hermiston a better place to live?
What would make
Hermiston a more pleasant,
convenient place to live? I
certainly have some things
on my list.
A Fred Meyer and/or
Target store would be great.
I half jokingly posted
on Facebook
recently that
Hermiston
would be a
great spot
for In-N-Out
Burger’s sec-
ond location
Gary
in Oregon
L. West
after the Med-
SHADES
OF GRAY
ford location
opened. But,
honestly, I’m not a big
In-N-Out fan. I once lived
a block away from one
and only went there about
twice, and that was in the
days when I only ate at fast
food joints.
In the fast food realm,
I would much rather see a
Carl’s Jr., Del Taco, Burger-
ville or Five Guys Burgers
and Fries than In-N-Out.
The decisions about any
businesses we would like to
see come to town, though,
are in the hands of individ-
ual businesses, developers
and investors — the people
who put their money behind
their dreams and wish lists
for expansion plans.
But, there are ways
we, as local residents, can
inÀuence the future of what
amenities are located in
Hermiston through the use
of our tax dollars. The city
of Hermiston, in partnership
with the Greater Hermiston
Area Chamber of Com-
merce, Hermiston Futures
Task Force and Barney &
Worth consulting ¿rm, is
forming a committee to
look at those very issues
and ¿nd ways to make
dreams for Hermiston’s
future a reality.
The city is looking for
applicants to serve on the
Community Livability As-
set Oversight Committee.
Its ¿rst task will be to
address the future of the
Hermiston Conference Cen-
ter, or is that the community
center? Or the Chamber of
Commerce headquarters?
Or deluxe quinceañera
facility? Well, whatever
you call it, it has been the
home of civic events for
more than 20 years in its
most recent incarnation.
Before that, it was a vacant
eyesore for many years, and
before that it was a Safeway
grocery store.
The question is: What
will it be in the future after
the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center is opera-
tional?
It’s pretty clear that
the city doesn’t want to
subsidize two event centers,
at least not for very long.
That’s probably not the best
use of our taxes and fees,
either.
There is, understandably,
a strong af¿nity for the
Hermiston Conference Cen-
ter. It has served an import-
ant role in our community’s
growth and livability. It was
quite an upgrade to go from
holding large community
events in the corrugated
metal Quonset hut known
as Thompson Hall on the
fairgrounds to the Confer-
ence Center. People and
businesses contributed to
its renovation and are quite
concerned about what will
happen to it going forward.
Perhaps it does have a
future as a conference/com-
munity center. The need
for a facility that size will
likely remain, even after
the larger EOTEC main
structure is built. A key
question is, can the facility,
in whatever role it plays,
pay for itself? If so, perhaps
it has a future under private
ownership.
If not, and if it needs a
public entity as benefactor,
then that may come at a
price. It may mean other
civic needs cannot be met.
We must remember,
change is not necessarily a
bad thing. In fact, change
through growth has been
Hermiston’s mantra for
more than a century. The
purposes of buildings in
town have changed many
times. If a former shoe store
can become a church and
an abandoned grocery store
can become a community’s
center, then anything is
possible.
Help determine what’s
possible by applying for
one of the seats on the
committee. And if you can
help it come up with a new,
better name for the commit-
tee, that would be good too.
Community Livability
Asset Oversight Commit-
tee has all the makings of
How to get involved
To apply: Applications are available at
Hermiston City Hall and on the city’s website
at www.hermiston.or.us
Deadline: 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, 2015
another bad alphabet soup,
nonsensical acronym. We
don’t need CLAOC. We
already have EOTEC and
HAREC.
What we need is a Fred
Meyer. And a Carl’s Jr. And
maybe an indoor swimming
pool. More apartment hous-
ing would be good too. My
list is getting longer. What’s
on your list?
Gary L. West is editor of
the Hermiston Herald and
Hermiston editor for the
East Oregonian. Reach him
at gwest@hermistonher-
ald.com or follow him on
Twitter @GaryLWest or on
Facebook at www.facebook.
com/journalist.glwest.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Rail, road, river are our future
In light of the recent sur-
vey concerning our beloved
watermelon logo and new
slogan, I was inspired and
suggest strongly the water-
melon logo be kept.
It is our history and fu-
ture.
The slogan for me is ju-
venile and embarrassing. It
says nothing!
Consider making the
most of a few words for our
slogan.
Underneath our beloved
watermelon would read ....
Rail
Road
River
Hermiston
It’s your future
Sure it will cost money
to replace the current slo-
gan, but the result will be
inviting to new business
that will provide jobs and
revenue for our city.
Hermiston is the fastest
growing and largest city in
Eastern Oregon. Growth is
not the issue.
Bringing in business
providing living wages
and long-term job secu-
rity, is what we need. We
have the triad of success
for any business, rail,
road, river, let’s use it!
SAM CHAMPIE
HERMISTON
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