FROM A1
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
A girl speeds down the hill on her sled on Tuesday.
BTW
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Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
Richard Pierce drove his Traxxas remote control car on the snow on Tuesday.
SNOWDAY
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commutes.
“If you do not have to
drive in these conditions,
please don’t,” he stated.
“If you are not comfortable
driving in these conditions,
please don’t. It requires a bit
of practice and experience.”
Even four-wheel drive
vehicles might provide bet-
ter going on snow-packed
roads, but Eynon advised
they do not stop any better
than other vehicles. Use it if
you have it, he stated, “but
drive it sensibly.”
The police captain also
reminded drivers of the dan-
BUSINESS
Continued from Page A1
long ago, who said the street
his business is on gets pretty
dark, and gets broken into.”
Lopez said the man
requested some assistance
with getting some bet-
ter outside lighting for his
business.
According to numbers
from a U.S. Census survey
of Umatilla County busi-
ness owners in 2012, there
were 4,648 businesses in
the county. Of those, 339
— about 7 percent — were
Hispanic-owned. According
to a 2017 Census population
estimate, 26.8 percent of the
county’s residents are His-
panic or Latino.
Another
organization
based in Salem, the Latino
Business Alliance, provides
similar services — network-
ing and education for busi-
ness owners. The group’s
website stated that while the
number of Latino business
owners is growing through-
out the state, many of those
owners aren’t versed in
fi ling business taxes or
employment law, and don’t
take advantage of — or are
unaware of — resources
to help them grow their
businesses.
“These knowledge gaps
not only put Latino small
business owners in a vulner-
able position, but threatened
the future health and pros-
perity of the Latino commu-
nity,” the website stated.
Roy Barron, a Herm-
iston city councilor, said
he wasn’t surprised by the
disparity.
“It tends to go all the way
up,” he said. “Especially in
business, with permits, it
creates bigger obstacles.”
Barron said he hasn’t
heard directly from any
business owners, but he has
observed some that he feels
could use more assistance.
gers of intersections.
“They tend to get the ici-
est and therefore the slick-
est,” he stated. “Plan ahead
for intersections and slow
your vehicle far in advance
of the intersection so when
you do use your brakes
for the fi nal stop, you can
actually stop rather than
slide through the intersec-
tion and/or hit a vehicle for
pedestrian.”
Eynon suggested drivers
pack extra food and water,
extra medications, a snow
shovel, broom, jumper
cables, blankets and a cell-
phone charger.
Jeremy Gierke, a lieu-
tenant with the Boardman
Rural Fire Protection Dis-
trict, said since Monday,
they had responded to 12
weather-related
crashes,
both on Boardman roads
and on nearby highways.
But he said there had been
no major injuries from those
crashes.
Hermiston is expected
to get more snow on Fri-
day, Saturday, Sunday and
into next week. The Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion recommends anyone
planning travel during the
inclement weather check
www.tripcheck.com or call
511 (inside Oregon) or 800-
977-6368 to get an update
on closures and conditions.
“If they knew a little bit
more about resources —
part of it is that they may not
be very familiar,” he said.
The network’s biggest
project has been the annual
career and resource fair,
which the group has orga-
nized for the last four years.
“The goal was really to
help agricultural workers on
the front end,” said Debbie
Pedro, former director of the
Chamber of Commerce.
But the fair has since
expanded to be a more
general job fair, open to
any vendor or potential
employee. The group, too,
has expanded to include
more than just Latino busi-
ness owners.
“Anyone that works for
a business or organization
can participate in the Latino
Business Network,” Pedro
said.
Martin Villanueva, owner
of El Rodeo Club restaurant
and Quality Inn Hotel, both
in Umatilla, has been a part
of the Latino Business Net-
work for a couple of years.
He said the group has been
helpful to both Latino and
non-Latino businesses.
“It’s a liaison to Latino
business owners or any
immigrant business own-
ers,” he said.
He added that while peo-
ple from immigrant com-
munities often have thriv-
ing businesses, it doesn’t
always translate to civic
participation.
“Sometimes, the police
department or the fi re depart-
ment might have a meet-
ing,” he said. “Latinos don’t
show up because there’s no
information, no organization
for them. Some Latinos are
afraid or don’t feel welcome
sometimes.”
The knowledge that there
will be Latino leadership, he
said, may encourage more
participation.
“The community is one,”
he said. “I think American
businesses should embrace
it — it’s a connection to the
Latino market for them.”
He said the network is a
connection to resources and
a chance to share ideas and
events with other businesses.
“It’s very positive,”
he said. “It can show the
Latino community and
other immigrant communi-
ties that there’s programs to
help them. Jobs, things they
might not know about.”
He said that as it devel-
ops, he sees the potential to
serve as a model for other
local communities.
“Boardman, Stanfi eld,
Hermiston, Umatilla — all
these little cities, we all ben-
efi t from each other,” he
said.
The city of Umatilla does
not have a specifi c group for
Latino business owners, but
Umatilla Chamber of Com-
merce treasurer Salud Cam-
pos said some business own-
ers, like those at restaurants
Novedades Cruz and Frute-
ria Piqui, would like to have
more communication about
what resources are available.
She said the owner of
Novedades Cruz, who has
owned the business for 15
years, did not have any prob-
lems opening a business, but
said she’d like more help
from the city with promo-
tion or advertising. The
owner of Fruteria Piqui, she
said, would have benefi ted
from knowing if there were
programs that would help
new businesses fi nancially.
Villanueva
said
he
would like to see the net-
work expand to have some
more focused business train-
ing about safety in the agri-
cultural industry, as well as
training about good business
practices.
“It would be helpful to
everyone to know where
there are federal funds for
small businesses,” he said.
featured during their trip to
Oregon this spring.
Information on inter-
esting collections can be
phoned in to 1-855-OLD-
RUST
(653-7878),
or
emailed to AmericanPick-
ers@cinefl ix.com.
• • •
The city of Hermis-
ton is doing maintenance
work on a pump system
that serves the area south
of Highland Avenue and
east of South First Street.
Water customers may expe-
rience some temporary fl uc-
tuations in their water pres-
sure during the work period.
Work is expected to wrap
up by March 31. For more
information call city hall at
541-567-5521.
• • •
The March 1 deadline is
approaching for more than
600 privately-funded schol-
arships listed through the
state’s Offi ce of Student
Access and Completion.
Scholarships
include
options for high school stu-
dents, undergraduate col-
lege students, graduate stu-
dents, vocational school
students and more. Students
can browse available schol-
arships at oregonstudentaid.
gov, and in some cases apply
for up to 40 scholarships
with a single application.
• • •
Hermiston’s pile of
recycled Christmas trees
at Butte Park is no more.
RDO Equipment provided
a wood chipper and vol-
unteers to turn hundreds of
trees into mulch last week,
which Hermiston’s parks
and recreation department
will use in landscaping at
city parks.
Parks and Recreation
director Larry Fetter said
RDO is a great community
partner that has helped the
city provide the free dis-
posal option to the commu-
nity for several years.
• • •
People with library over-
due fees at the Hermiston
Public Library can have
their debt forgiven.
Food for Fines will for-
give $1 in fi nes for each
non-perishable food item
donated, up to $5. Dona-
tions will waive library
fi nes, not fees for lost or
damaged books.
People can stop by the
library between Feb. 1-16
to take advantage of the pro-
gram. Food collected will
be donated to the local food
bank to be distributed to
those in need in the commu-
nity. Food must be in orig-
inal, undamaged packaging.
Also, donations must not
include food items beyond
the expiration date.
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