Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 Herald Business Holiday Inn Express to open on Halloween By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer Hermiston’s newest ho- tel is expected to open on Oct 31. The four-story Holiday Inn Express, currently un- der construction on High- way 395, was originally ex- pected to open this month. But InnSight Hotel Man- agement Group President Richard Boyles said there was about a three-month delay on starting construc- tion after the bank that the company had used in the past was acquired by anoth- er ¿nancial institution. “They were unable to get that loan closed before the merger,” he said. Starting oYer on the ¿- nancing process cost the company time, but Boyles said since then construc- tion has been going well. The general contractor is Integrity Structures, with subcontractors hired from various places, including Construction continues on the Holiday Inn in downtown Hermiston. some local businesses. The 90-room hotel will be Holiday Inn’s new For- mula Blue model, which includes amenities such as a spacious lobby, indoor pool, ¿tness area, meeting rooms, continental break- fast, guest laundry and in- novations like curved head- boards designed to reduce noise between rooms. The hotel is expected to employ an average of 25 people, with some seasonal Àuctuation. Boyles said it’s a little early for InnSight to start advertising for most hotel positions, but they have hired Steven Ar- rasmith as general manager. Boyles said one of Inn- Sight’s pillars of corporate culture is community in- volvement, including vol- unteer work with education programs like SMART (Start Making a Reader To- day). “I would expect we will be very involved in the community of Hermiston,” he said. Boyles said the company looks forward to helping re- vitalize the downtown area. “I think the building itself is a lovely addition to the city of Hermiston,” Boyles said. The new hotel is in Hermiston’s Urban Re- newal District, meaning extra tax revenue generated through the boost in prop- erty value will support the district’s downtown revital- ization projects, including a planned festival street in front of city hall. The hotel received a $36,400 façade grant from the Urban Re- newal Agency. Carty Generating Station in service Workers finishing cleanup work By GEORGE PLAVEN Staff Writer Though workers are still putting the ¿nishing touch- es on the Portland General Electric’s new Carty Gener- ating Station near Boardman, the natural gas-¿red power plant is of¿cially in commer- cial service as of Friday. PGE announced the de- velopment in a ¿ling with the U.S. Securities and Ex- change Commission, meet- ing its startup deadline of July 31 set by the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Construction on the plant be- gan in 2014. A rate increase took effect Monday to cover the initial estimated cost of the project — $514 million — as previ- ously approved by the PUC in its 2016 Rate Case Order for Carty. However, the actu- al cost will range somewhere between $640-$660 million after the original contrac- tor, Abeinsa, allegedly per- formed shoddy work and failed to pay some employ- ees. PGE ¿red Abeinsa and as- sumed construction of Carty in December, and is now su- ing two surety companies to recoup a $145.6 million per- formance bond on the work. More than 50 subcontractors have also ¿led liens against the property. The utility says it will pro- vide additional information on its strategy moving for- PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC The Generation Building at the Carty Generating Station became operational in July 2016. ward in another SEC ¿ling due Wednesday, as well as its quarterly earnings confer- ence call also scheduled for Wednesday. Unless the bond is recovered, PGE has said it intends to ask for another rate increase to recoup the full cost for Carty. Carty has been built in the shadow of the Board- man Coal Plant and works on a combined cycle sys- tem, with one turbine run- ning off the combustion of natural gas and the other running off of steam. The power is carried ¿rst to the Grassland Substation about a mile away from the site, and from there fed onto the Bonneville Power Adminis- tration transmission system in Gilliam County. The Carty Generating Station was identi¿ed in PGE’s 2009 long-range en- ergy plan to ¿ll a customer demand growing at a rate of 1-1.5 percent every year, ac- cording to spokesman Steve Corson. PGE serves roughly 840,000 customers primarily in the Portland metro area and Salem. Measure 98 could bring $1M to Hermiston High School By ALEXA LOUGEE Staff Writer A campaign spokesper- son with ballot Measure 98 spoke to Hermiston Cham- ber of Commerce members at Tuesday’s chamber lun- cheon. Oriana Magnera gave a short presentation about the measure, which seeks to give Oregon high schools an additional $800 per student to support career technical education, advanced place- ment and dual credit cours- es and provide assistance to students at risk of not grad- uating. The measure would be funded by surplus general fund dollars that have not been earmarked for another use. Supporters of the mea- sure want to make sure new revenue is allocated to high schools. The measure would not take money away from already existing allocations, nor is it a new tax. Some have expressed concern that the way the measure is written would not allow the new money to go to existing school pro- grams. Magnera said that the money could be used for ex- isting programs, and bolster temporary and short-term grant-funded programs. “Instead of crossing your ¿ngers and hoping the grant comes through each year,” Magnera said the measure would provide a more sus- tainable funding source. Schools could also use the money to expand current programs by pur- chasing new equipment, repairing equipment, build- ing new facilities or hiring teachers. The purpose of the language in the mea- sure explaining how this additional money could be used was to ensure schools used the additional fund- ing to expand services, not merely put more money in other areas like athletics or administrative costs. The additional funding could also be used to sup- port dual credit programs in high schools, such as the Eastern Promise program. It would also allow for the hiring of additional tutors or counselors to help students at risk of dropping out ¿nd ways to succeed. According to 2014-2015 enrollment numbers, Herm- iston High School would receive $1.1 million in additional funding, Pend- leton High School would get $687,200 and Umatilla High School would receive $327,200. Supporters of the mea- sure include Stand for Chil- dren Oregon, the Latino Network, the Coalition of Communities of Color and former Gov. Ted Kulongos- ki. The Oregon Education Association, which is the state’s teacher’s union, does not support ballot measure 98. The organization says it supports technical edu- cation at the secondary lev- el, but does not believe the measure creates the funding needed to support it and will instead earmark too much of the general fund money to high schools. The associ- ation also said the measure takes away local control from the district by telling districts to spend money in a certain way. Oregon voters will de- cide on the measure in No- vember. Follow us on Twitter @HermistonHerald Wheat & Barley Pub closing down By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer A staple business of downtown Echo is clos- ing its doors Aug. 20. Brad and Shelby Dodson are closing the Wheat & Barley Pub to fulfill a dream of selling most of their posses- sions and roaming the United States in an RV. “We’ve been making excuses for years, and we’ve decided we’re just going to go,” Shel- by said. The pub — with its local craft beers and wines, meats smoked in-house, fresh local produce and a rotating menu more typical of Portland than a small Eastern Oregon town — has garnered rave reviews over the past few years, including five-star Yelp reviews describing it as a “real Eastern Oregon jewel” and a “little gem of an upscale pub.” Three years since the Dodsons took over, Shelby said business is still good and the eatery isn’t closing over “any- thing like that.” But the couple wants to travel. She said they don’t have any specific itiner- ary, they just want to see “what’s out there.” “We have a map of the U.S. and a pen, that’s it,” she said. She said the couple have made great friends during their time in Echo and will miss their loyal customers. The red brick building on Main Street is up for sale (as are most of the Dodsons’ possessions) but they would also be willing to rent to a tenant who would run some sort of upscale eatery or oth- er business that would draw people to Echo’s Main Street. “We’re looking for potential renters inter- ested in doing something similar,” Shelby said. “We built this place up and it would break my heart to see it empty.” The Dodsons are hosting a “Grand Clos- ing” celebration over their last two days open, inviting people for one last meal or round of drinks at the pub over live music. The cele- bration will take place Aug. 19-20 from 5 p.m. to midnight at 201 W. Main Street in Echo. Training set for landlords Landlords can gain in- formation about how to complete proper paper- work and deal with col- lections or small claims with problem tenants. From Inspections to Evictions, a training is being offered by Chris- tian Bryant, president of the IRC Real Estate En- terprises. The event is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge, 428 S. Main St., Pendleton. The cost is $40 for members of the Umatilla County Rent- al Housing Association and $45 for non-mem- bers. In addition, lunch can be purchased at the lodge for $6. Those planning to at- tend must register with Let’er Rent by Thurs- day. For more informa- tion or to register, call LaVonne or Teri at 541- 215-1770. Clean Spot heads up charity support The Clean Spot Laun- dromat and Car Wash is excited about a partner- ship with faculty, staff and students of Clara Brownell Middle School in Umatilla in supporting some of the First Nation People of Canada. With a high rate of suicide and unemploy- ment, the First Nation people have been suffer- ing a huge crisis and are in need of support. The Umatilla business laun- dered clothing that was left behind at the school district and shipped them to be distributed to needy families. For those who would like to further help in pro- viding support, contact thecleanspot@hotmail. com, 541-571-4299 or stop by 1251 Switzler Ave., Umatilla. BABYSITTING BASICS For babysitters ages 10-15. Learn childcare techniques, children's developmental stages and what to expect, basic first aid and infant and child CPR. $30, includes lunch & all class materials. 9:00am - 3:00pm July 16 or August 6 Must pre-register and pre-pay, call 541-667-3509 The Family of Ervin Williams would like to thank all of the family and friends that have shown their support and love to Erv during his fi nal days on this earth. A few special individuals and groups we would like to name who generously gave their time to Erv’s Celebration of Life; • Echo Community Church (all the members and the little children who sang “Jesus Loves Me”) 5-6 $7 • Echo Fire Department Justin Morris and Crew • Frank and Laurie Nelson who played Christian Music • Kiwanis Mr. Duffy and Mr. Doherty who played Irish Music • The Boy Scouts who came in full uniform. • The fl ag ceremony performed by the Navy Offi cers. • Desert Springs Staff who Barbequed • Girl Scouts who cleaned up • Daniel (Buster) and Dee Rock who arranged the food • NW Metal Fabricators Robert Harris who arranged all the equipment. We would like to thank Good Shepherd Hospice (Carolynn and staff) as well as the staff of Good Shepherd Hospital for their excellent care. We would also like to thank everyone who donated money in Erv’s memory to the Echo Community Church, sent fl owers to the service, brought food to our homes and the Celebration of Life, and for showing up to celebrate his life with us that day. We are sure that Papa Erv has been looking down from heaven laugh- ing, smiling, crying and feeling very, very, very honored and loved by all of you. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! HEALTHY FRIDAYS FREE health screenings & health coaching: Blood pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass index, cholesterol and glucose. First & Third Friday of each month 9:30 - 11:30am GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept) UNDERSTANDING & RESPONDING TO DEMENTIA RELATED BEHAVIORS Learn behavior triggers and strategies to help intervene with some of the most common behavioral challenges of Alzheimer's Disease and dementias. July 26 • 6:00 - 7:30pm GSMC Conference Room 1 Information or to register call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org www.gshealth.org
