DAWGS GRAB ROAD VICTORY OVER SOUTHRIDGE » PAGE A10
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
$1.00
INSIDE
BUSTED
Local law enforcement
targets drug traffi cking
organizations across the
county with dozens of
arrests.
PAGE A3
LOL
WHAT’S THE
HOLDUP?
Comedians are headed to
Hermiston this weekend
for the annual Melonville
comedy festival.
PAGE A4
REROUTE
Hermiston’s free public
bus system expands its
hours in the hopes of
accommodating more
workers.
PAGE A6
BY THE WAY
Legislature is in
session
The Oregon State Leg-
islature convened Tuesday
for the 2019 session.
Gun control, carbon
taxes, education funding,
rent control and paid fam-
ily leave are a few of the
hot-button topics legisla-
tors will discuss over the
next fi ve months.
Legislators will also be
vying for state funding of
local projects, such as the
$1 million the Greater
Hermiston Area Cham-
ber of Commerce received
last session to build a new
workforce
development
center. This time around,
Rep. Greg Smith (R-Hep-
pner) has said a mental
health-focused
upgrade
of the Umatilla County
Jail is his top capital fund-
ing priority. Although the
jail, located in Pendleton,
is outside Smith’s district,
he said he recognizes that
it provides vital services to
Hermiston and other parts
of District 57.
• • •
Tickets are now on sale
for the 10th annual Beach
& Beef fundraiser. Benefi t-
ting the Hermiston Edu-
cation Foundation, the
dinner and auction is Satur-
day, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. (doors
open at 5 p.m.) at Eastern
See BTW, Page A2
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Union Club was originally envisioned opening in the summer of 2018 in the Roemark’s building in downtown Hermiston.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
When someone announces a timeline for a
large construction project, it’s not a bad idea
to take the number of months and double it.
Maybe triple it.
It is possible, of course, to fi nish on time.
But a look at many publicly announced proj-
ects in the Hermiston area shows delays of
six to 12 months have been common.
Sometimes it’s a problem getting fi nanc-
ing. Other times it’s a shortage of subcon-
tractors, or an unexpectedly early start to
winter weather.
Often construction delays don’t come
down to one specifi c problem. Allan Lam-
bert of Affordable Family Eyewear said their
remodel of a building on the corner of North-
east Third Street and Gladys Avenue has
been prolonged by a combination of “self-in-
fl icted” problems and things out of their
control.
The sign on the building originally said
“Coming in Summer.” Then it was changed
to “Coming in Autumn.” Now Lambert said
he thinks they might be done in April.
“I guess we were a little optimistic,” he
said.
For Affordable Family Eyewear, there
hasn’t been one major roadblock, just a
series of smaller delays. Every time an
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A sign advertising an Autumn 2018 opening sits in the window for the new location for the
Aff ordable Family Eyewear on Tuesday in Hermiston.
appraiser or contractor says they’ll be there
in three weeks and it turns out to be eight,
that adds up, Lambert said. New banking
laws have also set up more hoops to jump
through before getting fi nancing, stretching
out the process.
“It used to be once you got the appraisal,
See CONSTRUCTION, Page A16
Hermiston march honors King’s legacy
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
8
08805 93294
2
Of all the timeless lessons Mar-
tin Luther King Jr. taught the world,
an individual’s responsibility and
power to make the world a bet-
ter place was a focus of Monday’s
annual march in Hermiston.
“It’s amazing what we can do
as people, as Americans,” keynote
speaker Joe Whitfi eld said.
Whitfi eld, who recently moved
to Hermiston, was born in Mont-
gomery, Alabama, four years after
Rosa Parks refused to give up her
seat for white passengers on a
Montgomery bus. As a child, he
helped his father bring water to
civil rights marchers and attended
segregated schools.
After students from his school
were integrated with students
from predominately white schools,
Whitfi eld said sports helped bridge
the gap between students of both
races as they learned to work as a
team. Today, he said, people should
still work patiently to fi nd common
ground and understanding with
those who are different than them.
“Sit down and work it out,” he
said. “You may not agree on every-
thing, but you can still work through
it, if you put in enough patience and
time.”
Whitfi eld shared King’s six prin-
ciples of nonviolence. Nonviolence
is built on love instead of hate, he
See LEGACY, Page A16
Staff photo by E.J. Harris/East Oregonian
John Witherspoon of Tri-Cities performs an original song titled “Lanes”
about being true to yourself Monday during a service for Martin Luther
King Jr. Day in Hermiston.