INSIDE SWIM TEAM TALENT SHOW | PERFORMERS MAKE A SPLASH » WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018 HermistonHerald.com SEE STORY | A4 PHOTO PAGE | A15 $1.00 INSIDE TAX BREAK FIND OUT HOW LONG LAMB WESTON WILL SKIP PAYING PROPERTY TAXES ON ITS $220 MILLION EXPANSION A3 SECOND TRY HERMISTON GRADUATE RYAN BOUNDS RE-APPOINTED TO NINTH CIRCUIT COURT A8 JENSON REMEMBERED ‘DEAN OF THE HOUSE’ BOB JENSON DIED SATURDAY A5, A11 HERMISTON CUISINE Try it. You’ll like it. BY THE WAY New meters allow smarter energy use Hermiston drivers will be seeing more Umatilla Electric Cooperative trucks around as workers complete projects down- town and along Northeast Fourth Street. Starting Thursday the city will begin changing out the light poles in the downtown area, replacing the standard utility poles with decorative black ver- sions featuring hanging fl ower baskets and LED lights. Crews will start east and work west toward Highway 395 and there will be times that park- ing spaces in front of busi- nesses will be blocked by equipment. UEC crews have also been performing “re-con- ductoring” work on North- east Fourth Street, which involves replacing wires. The work is related to the new Hermiston East sub- station that was recently completed, and is in some cases blocking a lane of traffi c during the day. Starting in the next week or two and continu- ing until May 1, Hermis- ton Energy Services cus- tomers will also see their meters replaced, allowing them to use an app to track their electricity usage by the day, the hour or even STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Chef Diwash Neupane checks on some tandoori chicken cooking in a traditional Indian tandoor oven Friday at Indian Kitchen and Steakhouse in Hermiston. Hermiston sees increase in diff erent types of cuisine By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER H ermiston is experiencing something of a food Renais- sance, with restaurants fea- turing the cuisines of several differ- ent countries springing up in the last few years. A yet-to-open Italian restaurant is the latest in a string of eateries in town offering new options to diners. Last week, an Indian restaurant opened in the old Stockman’s Steakhouse, and in November, a second sushi restau- rant opened up on 395 and Elm — only a year after the fi rst one. Gaurav Bhatia, co-owner of the new Indian Kitchen and Steakhouse, said he thinks people are eager for some different choices. “People have been asking,” he said. “People want to try new stuff. They wanted to try Chinese, Thai, Japanese — and Indian, too.” Bhatia’s restaurant will feature a rotating buffet with Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, as well as some of the American fare featured at the old Stockman’s restaurant. He said he knew the combination was unusual, but people seemed to be interested even if they were new to Indian food. Zoe Zhou, the manager of Shiki Hibachi Sushi, the second sushi restaurant to open in Hermiston in a See CUISINE, A16 See BTW, A16 New focus on ‘community’ Council changes name, policies at former conference center By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER The Hermiston Conference Cen- ter will now be known as the Hermis- ton Community Center after the city council approved a series of changes in policy and pricing at the building. The city of Hermiston’s parks and recreation department took over management of the center from the Greater Hermiston Area Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 1. During Monday’s city council meeting parks and recreation direc- tor Larry Fetter said the goal of the policies adopted by the city is to “retain the original intent of the com- munity center as a gathering space and home for diverse cultural and recreational programming.” The city hopes now that the Eastern Ore- gon Trade and Event Center plus the new Maxwell Siding Event Center can take over some of the weddings and Quinceñeras previously held at the community center, the re-named Hermiston Community Center can be used to foster more community art, music and theater opportunities. “We will evaluate programs that use the community center and see if maybe there isn’t a better home for them,” he said. See COUNCIL Page A16 STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS The Hermiston Parks and Recreation department will be changing the name and the signage at the Hermiston Community Center.