A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
FOOD
Continued from Page A1
must be at least 400 feet
from other restaurants and
in the city’s outlying com-
mercial zone, which does
not include downtown.
Trucks must move every
night, can only operate
until 10 p.m. and cannot
provide seating.
About 89 percent of
respondents to the survey
so far have said that the city
should allow food trucks
downtown. Similar num-
bers supported temporary
licenses for mobile ven-
dors and the creation of a
“pod” where multiple food
trucks could park. About
80 percent of respondents
supported an amendment
that would allow small
carts that can be pushed by
hand in addition to the cur-
rent large trucks.
On Monday Jose Gar-
cia, chair of the Hispanic
Advisory
Committee,
said he knew of another
woman who, like Hunt,
had applied for a license
and was told there were
none available. So she
packed up her family and
moved to Pasco to start a
taco truck there.
Among the city’s three
current mobile vendors,
opinions are mixed on pos-
sible updates to the rules.
Rigo Garcia drives
his taco truck down from
Pasco and parks across the
street from the Hermiston
post office every morning,
firing up the grill in time to
open by 10 a.m. Customers
park in the public lot there
and order up tacos, carne
asada, torta and more to
eat in their cars or sitting
on their tailgates.
Garcia is grateful to
have the opportunity to
operate in Hermiston, but
he said some of the city’s
rules for mobile food ven-
dors make it difficult. He
wishes he could provide
seating, for example, and
that he didn’t have to drive
his truck back up to Pasco
every night.
“I don’t understand why
they say I have to move,”
he said.
Garcia said people may
have pushed for an ordi-
nance because there is a
stereotype that food trucks
are dirty and unsafe, but he
buys high-quality ingredi-
ents and follows the same
food-handling guidelines
as restaurants.
“Some people think the
taco trucks are dirty, but
I’m very clean, person-
ally,” he said. “I cook fresh
meat every day. I clean the
grill every day. I love my
customers.”
Tacos Paricutin, often
parked behind Cottage
Flowers, is one of the
trucks that chose to remain
open after the 2013 regu-
lations were put in place.
Maricela Medrano, serv-
ing up tacos to custom-
ers last week, said her par-
ents have run the business
for 24 years and didn’t
have an issue applying for
a license and complying
with city regulations.
They hadn’t had to
make many changes, and
hadn’t been interested in
providing seating anyway.
“Everything’s good,”
she said, shrugging.
Tacos Xavi owners
Gabriela Rodriguez and
Luis Diaz also chose to
stick around after the new
regulations were put in
place.
Rodriguez said they had
to make some adjustments,
but they had decided it was
worth it to do what they
needed to continue operat-
ing in Hermiston.
“We live from that,” she
said of the business. “It’s
our income.”
They have operated
since 2010, first as a trailer
on Main Street and then
as a truck behind Pay-
less Shoes. Diaz said they
have grown during that
time, adding employees
and menu items. They had
looked into setting up a sit-
down restaurant, he said,
but their customers tend
to be people who have 30
minutes for lunch and are
looking to grab something
quickly and be on their
way. A food truck is more
conducive to that.
“People want their food
fast,” he said.
During Monday’s city
council meeting coun-
cilor John Kirwan, who
was on the committee
that wrote the ordinance
along with Manuel Guti-
errez and then-councilor
George Anderson, said
that while the city is con-
sidering changes to the
ordinance they needed to
remember it was adopted
in the first place because
there had been issues with
mobile vendors. Many of
them were “mobile” in
name only and spread out
to become eyesores, he
said. There were problems
with how people were dis-
posing of their wastewater,
and customers of the food
trucks were loitering and
then using the bathrooms
of nearby businesses.
“There still needs to be
some regulations,” he said.
Mayor David Drotz-
mann told Hunt and oth-
ers who testified in favor
of changing the rules that
the council did understand
that they may be too strict
and was open to the idea of
making some changes.
“Sometimes the pen-
dulum swings too far,” he
said.
After the online survey
at hermiston.or.us closes
on Sunday, city staff plan
to bring back recommen-
dations for a city council
vote on possible amend-
ments to its mobile food
vending ordinance.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018
FROM A1
WATERMELONS
Continued from Page A1
melons absorb heat during the day,
which the plants metabolize into sugar
for energy. Once they cool off at night,
the respiration process slows down and
all that sugar gets stored in the fruit,
hence their exceptionally sweet flavor.
Walchli said this year has been a
mostly typical growing season, com-
pared to last year when planting got
off to a slow start.
“Last season, we had a colder start
and this year we had a more favorable
May and end of April,” he said. “It’s
hard to predict. Melons are very reac-
tive to the weather, more so than some
of the other crops.”
Scott Lukas, assistant professor of
horticulture for Oregon State Univer-
sity, recently started a new research
program at OSU’s Hermiston Agri-
cultural Research and Extension Cen-
ter with a partial focus on watermel-
ons. He said growers have reported
few issues with disease pressure, and
for the most part the vines have been
growing well.
“This has been a good season so
far,” Lukas said. “I’ve heard the plants
are looking good, and they are grow-
ing as they should.”
Hired by HAREC in 2016, Lukas
has spent the last couple of years
studying treatments for soil-borne
fusarium and verticillium wilt diseases
in watermelons. He plans to expand
his program next year to include more
irrigation trials using remote sensors to
monitor soil moisture, and help farm-
ers conserve water.
Precision agriculture and mod-
ern technology have led to increased
yields, which in turn has helped to
expand markets for Hermiston water-
melons throughout the region, said
Chris McNamee, a sales representative
for Botsford & Goodfellow.
Based in Clackamas with a field
office in Hermiston, Botsford &
Goodfellow handles all marketing for
Hermiston watermelons. McNamee
said watermelon sales have increased
every year for the last five years, and
the Hermiston brand has become
firmly established in major metro areas
including Portland and Seattle.
“They’ve supported us really well,”
McNamee said. “It’s allowed us to
grow, which is great.”
In 2012, Florida, Georgia, Cali-
fornia and Texas accounted for two-
thirds of all watermelon production
across the country. Though Hermis-
ton may account for just a blip on the
national watermelon radar, McNamee
said they are undeniably popular in the
Northwest.
“They get the sugar right, and they
get them picked at the right time,” he
said. “It stands out compared to the
competition.”
Jack Bellinger, with Bellinger
Farms, said he has already cut about a
dozen watermelons off the vine and is
excited about this year’s quality, which
he attributes to a consistent growing
season.
“People are getting excited to
see them on their plates. And we are
excited too,” Bellinger said. “The
quality this year I think is going to be
really exceptional.”
Follow us on
Facebook!
Switch and get
iPhone 8
$ 0 on us
No Trade-In Required
Food truck survey online
The city of Hermiston is considering changes to
its mobile food vendor ordinance and is conducting
a survey.
The survey is available in English and Spanish on
the city’s website at hermiston.or.us until July 15.
Residents can give feedback on the number of
licenses for food vendors, the idea of a food truck
pod, whether smaller food carts like hot dog stands
should be allowed and whether the city should issue
temporary licenses.
Golfers to tee off for
Eastern Oregon Mission
Golfers interested in
teeing off for a cause are
encouraged to participate
in an upcoming tourna-
ment that will benefit East-
ern Oregon Mission.
Scramble for Food is
Saturday with check-in
at 8 a.m. and the shot-
gun start at 9 a.m. at Big
River Golf Course, 709
Willamette St., Umatilla.
A four-person scramble
format, those who plan to
participate should register
as soon as possible.
The cost is $60, which
includes pastries in the
morning, 18 holes of golf,
prizes on every hole, lunch
and awards. Registra-
tion forms are available at
Agape House, 500 Harper
Road, the Hermiston
Community Center, 415
S. Highway 395; and Ben-
dixsen Law, 245 E. Main
St. For questions, call
Dave Hughes at 541-571-
7293. To reserve a golf
cart, call 541-922-3006.
Eastern Oregon Mis-
sion is the parent organi-
zation of Agape House and
Martha’s House, which
serve individuals and fam-
ilies in need. For more
information, to volunteer
or make donations, call
541-567-8774.
iPhone 8 is a new generation of iPhone. Designed with the most durable
glass ever in a smartphone and a stronger aerospace grade aluminum band.
Charges wirelessly. 1 Resists water and dust. 2 4.7-inch Retina HD display with
True Tone. 3 12MP camera with new sensor and advanced image signal processor.
Powered by A11 Bionic, the most powerful and smartest chip ever in a
smartphone. Supports augmented reality experiences in games and apps.
With iPhone 8, intelligence has never looked better.
Promotional pricing requires Total Plan with Unlimited Data, new line, new customer port-in, credit approval and Device Protection+, and comes via monthly bill credit on a 30-mo.
Retail Installment Contract. Taxes, fees and additional restrictions apply.
Things we want you to know: New consumer or small-business (20 lines or fewer) Total Plan with Unlimited qata and port-in required. Purchase of a qualifying device via 0% APR 30-month Retail Installment
Contract, credit approval and qevice Protection+ required. Tax due at sale. A Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee applies; this is not a tax or government required charge. Additional fees, taxes, terms, conditions and
coverage areas may apply and vary by plan, service and phone. Offers valid at participating locations only and cannot be combined. See store or uscellular.com for details. Minimum monthly price of qevice
Protection+ is $9.99 per Smartphone. A service fee/deductible per approved claim applies. You may cancel anytime. Property insurance is underwritten by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida and
provided under a Master Policy issued to U.S. Cellular. ® You will be the certificate holder on U.S. Cellular’s Master Policy for loss/theft benefits. Service Contract Obligor is Federal Warranty Service Corporation in
all states except CA (Sureway, Inc.) and OK (Assurant Service Protection, Inc.). Limitations and exclusions apply. Ask an associate for more details. For information on the underwriter and administration of qevice
Protection+ as well as additional details, please visit uscellular.com/phone-tablet-protection/index.html. Offer applies to base-memory model only. iPhone 8 Offer: Regular price $699 or $23.30/month; bill credit
amount is $23.30/month. iPhone X Offer: Regular price $999.60 or $33.32/month; bill credit amount is $23.32/month. Balance comes via monthly bill credit on a 30-month Retail Installment Contract; 0% APR.
Bill credit applied within three bill cycles and ends when balance is paid. Line must remain in good standing. In the event of cancellation of service, customer will be responsible for the entire Retail Installment
Contract balance. The early upgrade program is not available with this offer. Kansas Customers: In areas in which U.S. Cellular receives support from the Federal Universal Service Fund, all reasonable requests for
service must be met. Unresolved questions concerning services availability can be directed to the Kansas Corporation Commission Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at 1-800-662-0027. Limited-time
offer. While supplies last. Trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. ©2018 U.S. Cellular 1 Charging mat sold separately. 2 iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are splash, water, and dust
resistant and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions with a rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance might decrease
as a result of normal wear. qo not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to the user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage not covered under warranty. 3 qisplay size is measured diagonally.