HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS GUIDE
INSIDE
HOME FOR
THE
HOLIDAYS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018
HermistonHerald.com
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INSIDE
BAZAAR TIME
Shoppers looking for a
unique local gift can find
holiday bazaars throughout
the next month.
PAGE A4
FAMILY TIES
Electrician Jeremy Kile’s son,
wife and parents are also
electricians.
PAGE A8
HOLIDAY
RUSH
ON THE JOB
Lamb Weston, Walmart and
other local employers find
ways to increase worker
safety and health.
PAGE A11
BY THE WAY
Happy
Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving
from the Hermiston Her-
ald. We’re grateful for
our subscribers, readers,
advertisers, sources and
others who make it pos-
sible for us to provide
local news coverage to the
greater Hermiston area.
In order to celebrate the
holiday with our friends
and family, our offices will
be closed on Thursday and
only open from 8 a.m. to
noon on Friday.
• • •
The old BP station,
which has been catch-
ing eyes on Highway 395,
is now gone. It was torn
down on Thursday, and
the lot is now empty. The
building had been dam-
aged by a semi truck in a
hit-and-run a few months
ago, which shattered the
awning and broke some of
the windows. The owner
of the building is Ken
Peterson. There is no
word yet on how the site
will be used.
• • •
Josh Goller, a Herm-
iston School Board
member received a state-
wide award for complet-
ing coursework through
the Oregon School Board
Association. Goller was
one of nine board mem-
bers around the state that
received a gold award
from the OSBA Lead-
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL.
Darlene Clark, left, Wyatt Johnson, Randy Smith and Carla Hoyt of Smitty’s Ace Hardware in Hermiston stand under a banner at the store
proclaiming Small Business Saturday.
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
A
fter the pie is eaten and the turkey leftovers are in the
refrigerator, a different holiday tradition begins: the
biggest shopping season of the year.
Over the past decade, Black Friday has been joined
by Thanksgiving Day sales, Small Business Saturday and
Cyber Monday. This year retailers including Amazon, Walmart
and Best Buy were offering “early Black Friday” sales before
Thanksgiving week even began.
Randy Smith, who owns Smitty’s Ace Hardware and Smitty’s
Outpost in Hermiston with his wife Tammy, said the morning of
Black Friday itself has taken on less significance in recent years
as sales have been spread out over November and December.
“It’s taking a different form,” he said. “The urgency isn’t
what it once was, but the deals are as good as ever.”
Ace Hardware has been running early “Black Friday” deals,
but Smith said there will still be limited-time offers at the Out-
post on Friday morning at 7 a.m.
He said diluting the holiday shopping rush has pros and cons
See BTW, Page A2
See RUSH, Page A16
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL.
A poster in downtown Hermiston advertises Small Business
Saturday.
Hermiston population passes 18,000
Umatilla County’s
west side growing
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston’s population has
passed the 18,000 mark.
Portland State University’s annual
population estimate places Hermis-
ton’s population at 18,200 — up 215
people from 2017.
The number secures Hermiston’s
title as the largest city in Eastern Ore-
gon for another year. The city passed
Pendleton in 2011, and the gap
between the two cities continues to
grow. Pendleton lost 80 people since
last year, bringing its new population
estimate to 16,810.
The U.S. Census in 2020 will pro-
vide a more complete picture of the
population, but the PSU estimate
includes births, deaths, employment
numbers, school enrollment and
voter registration.
Hermiston Assistant City Man-
ager Mark Morgan said Hermiston’s
growth has been fairly steady and
predictable in recent years, which
helps business and housing develop-
ers plan ahead. It also helps the city
meet demand for infrastructure and
services.
“You don’t want to be overly
ambitious on growth projections
because then you overbuild and a
smaller number of people are paying
See POPULATION, A16
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Late afternoon traffic begins to get heavy on Highway 395 on June 26, 2018
in Hermiston.