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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2018)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN >> A15 INSIDE FREE BREAD Local business owners are sponsoring a free concert by cover band for the soft rock group Bread on Saturday. PAGE A6 A CLEANER HERMISTON City code enforcement department takes educational approach DAYLIGHT SAVINGS By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour on Saturday night M BY THE WAY Hermiston Warming Station in need of volunteers The Hermiston Warming Station is in desperate need of volun- teers and is holding train- ings for new volunteers Saturday from 2-5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon at the station, 1075 Highway 395. Trainings for returning volunteers are Nov. 7 and Nov. 10 from 6-7:30 p.m. Volunteers can set their own schedule throughout the season by signing up for shifts online whenever they are able. They must pass a background check. The warming station will provide a warm sleep- ing place for homeless individuals and families from Nov. 19 to Feb. 28. For more informa- tion, contact Teesie Hill at 541-289-2150. • • • Area veterans are invited to submit photos of themselves in uniform for a slide show during a breakfast sponsored by the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce. Photos must be submitted by Mon- day via kelly@hermis- tonchamber.com or at the chamber office, 1055 S. Highway 395, Suite 111. Honoring our Veter- ans, which is free to vet- erans, current military per- sonnel and their families, STAFF PHOTOS BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN The BP station, which was hit by a semi several months ago, is one of the buildings Mike Marcum keeps an eye on as the code enforcement officer. “When will the awning come down? I don’t know. The property owner is still waiting for the insurance claim.” Mike Marcum | Code Enforcement Officer ost people in Hermiston have noticed the gas station on Highway 395, with broken windows and an awning in shambles, and wondered why no one has taken it down. As Hermiston’s code enforce- ment officers will tell you, it’s not that simple. Whether a rusted vehicle in the front yard, over- grown trees or a destroyed build- ing on the highway, code vio- lations are the responsibility of property owners to fix, and it can be a long process getting them to comply. Mike Marcum, one of two code enforcement officers for the Hermiston Police Department, walked around the vacant build- ing and observed the damage, caused by a semi truck that sev- eral months ago backed into the building and then took off. “That’s one we’ve addressed,” he said. “Right now we’re on standby.” See CODE, A16 Code Enforcement Officer Mike Marcum looks at a ditch where people have dumped trash, behind the Hermiston movie theater. See BTW, Page A6 First lunch at Harkenrider Center draws crowd By JADE MCDOWELL STAFF WRITER The first lunch at the new Harken- rider Senior Activity Center was a record-breaking one. More than 100 people showed up for the inaugural meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables and cake on Thursday. The senior center opened at the end of September, but its twice-weekly meals had remained at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church until all of the equipment in the new kitchen was installed. Virginia Beebe, the senior center’s vice president, was one of the board members running around Thurs- day adding more chairs to tables and helping people with walkers navigate the line. While the old, smaller senior center’s lunches had been number- ing 50 to 60, she said she wasn’t sur- prised by the large turnout Thursday. “We expected this today,” she said. Based on a show of hands, most seniors at the meal had eaten at the former senior center on Orchard Ave- nue at least a few times before it was torn down in 2017. Since that time, the seniors have been having lunch at the Catholic church and dreaming of the day they would get their own new building. Edna Collier was grinning from ear to ear as she sat at one of the tables set up Thursday. She said she was “real thrilled” to be there. “It’s great,” she said. “We’ve needed it for a long time.” See SENIORS, A16 STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Guests line up to get cake during the first lunch service Thursday at the Harkenrider Senior Activity Center in Hermiston.
