LOCAL
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Tickets now on sale for fair’s main stage shows
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
T
ickets are on sale now
for this year’s main
stage concert line-up
at the Umatilla County
Fair. The acts include:
Country musician Tracy
Byrd, who’s known for
“Watermelon Crawl (Tues-
day, Aug. 6); Jackson
Michelson, an up-and-com-
ing country musician from
Corvallis (Wednesday, Aug.
7); Southern rock band The
Georgia Satellites (Thursday,
Aug. 8) Latino Night with
artists still to be announced
(Friday, Aug. 9); and nu
metal rock group Sugar Ray
(Saturday, Aug. 10).
Byrd’s 1993 hit “Hol-
din’ Heaven” soared to the
top of the Billboard Coun-
try Charts — making him a
household name. Byrd has
continued to climb in pop-
ularity. After a performing
hiatus from 2010-13, Byrd
became rejuvenated, releas-
ing a new album in 2016.
Michelson offers high-en-
ergy rhythm and is riding a
wave of 150 shows last year.
He opened for the likes of
Blake Shelton, Lady Ante-
bellum and the Zac Brown
Band.
Founded in 1985, The
Georgia Satellites cranked
up their amps — perform-
ing such hits as “Keep Your
Hands to Yourself,” “Can’t
Stand the Pain” and “Hippy
Hippy Shake.” They con-
tinue to pack houses around
the globe with their blister-
ing brand of Southern rock.
Sugar Ray’s break-
through song, “Fly,” put
them on the music map in
1997. The band continues
to deliver hits — selling
more than 8 million records.
They’ve had numerous TV
appearances. In addition,
frontman Mark McGrath
was featured in “People”
magazine’s Sexiest Man
Alive issue in 1998.
In its third year at East-
ern Oregon Trade and
Event Center, organizers
are excited to announce that
concert tickets for the Wild-
horse Resort & Casino Main
Stage shows are on sale now.
Fair-goers can sit in general
admission seating for the
concerts. For an additional
fee, people can reserve seats
in advance. The reserved
ticket prices remain the same
as the past two years at $12.
Also, premium seats at $20
offer an up-close experience
in front of the stage.
Reserved and premium
seats for the fair concerts can
be purchased at www.uma-
tillacountyfair.net. The con-
cert tickets do not include
fair admission, which is $10
for ages 13 and up, $8 for
seniors, $6 for ages 6-12 and
free for kids under 6 — sea-
son passes also are available.
For questions, contact
541-567-6121, fair@uma-
tillacounty.net or stop by
the fair offi ce, located at
EOTEC, 1705 E. Airport
Road, Hermiston.
Contributed photos
TOP: Sugar Ray is the Saturday (Aug. 10) main stage act during the 2019 Umatilla County Fair. Reserved tickets and premium
seats are now on sale for the August shows.BOTTOM (L-R) 1) Country musician Jackson Michelson of Corvallis; 2) Tracy Byrd; 3)
Southern rock band The Georgia Satellites.
Water and sewer rate increases to pay for capital projects
Since the city does not
have meters to measure cus-
tomers’ wastewater output,
usage is based on an average
of the customer’s December,
January and February water
usage when all of their water
is presumably going down
the drain and into the city’s
sewer system instead of into
their lawn. Each March, the
city will recalculate the cus-
tomer’s sewer bill based on
the most recent winter, mean-
ing the sewer rate customers
saw on their March bill is the
one they will be paying for
the next 12 months.
Water users now pay
a base charge of $30 per
month, plus 50 cents per
1,000 gallons up to 15,000
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Capital improvements
to Hermiston’s water and
sewer systems are mov-
ing forward as the weather
warms up, but the improve-
ments come with a price
— literally.
In March, the city’s
increased
utility
rates
kicked in, prompting com-
plaints on social media
and to city hall from resi-
dents on a tight budget who
weren’t expecting to see as
much as $40 a month added
to their bill. Jerald Carlson,
a Hermiston resident, wrote
to the Hermiston Herald
that his bill had increased
by 50 percent.
The rate restructure for
water and sewer was voted
in during the Oct. 8 city
council meeting.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said he’s
been getting phone calls
asking why rates went up,
and he has explained that
the city had been “under-
charging” for water and
sewer since it opened a new
wastewater treatment plant
in 2014. The result was that
so much of the city’s water
and sewer budget was going
toward paying off the debt
for the plant that “we didn’t
have any money at all” for
needed improvements to
the rest of the system.
“Nobody likes to see
their rates increase, but
costs continue to rise,” he
said.
Now that the city has
additional revenue fl ow-
ing in it has gotten started
on projects, such as tearing
up Southeast Seventh Street
between Main Street and
Newport Avenue to replace
650 feet of sewer line. The
IL 27, 2019
R
AP
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
MEDICAL DIRECTORY
S U CC
5K FUN
HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE &
URGENT CARE
Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries
We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY
HOURS: Mon.-Sat.
7:30am-7:00pm
541-567-1137
236 E. Newport, Hermiston
(across from U.S. Bank)
WALK
/
N
RU
Join us for the Steps to Success
5K Fun Run and Walk
Participants receive a FREE bottled
water, a piece of fruit, granola/cereal bar
AND a lunch with your registration!
Saturday, April 27
8:30 AM
Proceeds from this event will go to support
the Hermiston Special Olympics.
Rifer Front Park
Hermiston
This is a family friendly event!
This event is organized in part by the
employees of Good Shepherd Health Care
System and the Good Shepherd Health Care
System Wellness Committee.
For more information
please call 6s 541.667.3050.
Or register at
http://stepstos6ccess.itsyo6rrace.com
See you at the finish line!
Call Today!
LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS!
541-289-5433
• Adult, Child and Family Therapy
• Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment
• Mental Health and Crisis Services
• Confidential and Professional Care
LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON
1060 W. Elm, Suite #115,
Hermiston, OR
To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call:
Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538
TO
S
S
S
ST E P E
Southeast Seventh Street is closed as crews work to install a new, larger sewer line to serve the
south side of town.
The rates
city began work last week on April 17 at noon at the
The new water and sewer
and the project is expected corner of Punkin Center
to take 45 to 60 days.
and Northeast 10th Street. rates implemented in March
The previous 8-inch The public is invited to the aren’t a straight percentage
increase, but rather an over-
sewer line there was too event.
small to support continued
The tower and 2 miles of haul of the entire rate struc-
development on the south water mains surrounding it ture. The city implemented a
side of town, according to will be paid for completely base charge of $35 a month
the city, and had resulted in by payments in lieu of taxes for sewer service plus $3 for
crews installing a tempo- by Lamb Weston, which is each 1,000 gallons of use.
rary bypass system during undertaking a major expan- Previously customers paid a
$27.25 per month fl at fee.
the Umatilla County Fair sion outside Hermiston.
each year.
Other upcoming proj-
ects include new pumps
Previously Known as:
and lift stations, replacing
Backyard By Design
Same Owners & Products,
the computer system that
Just a New Name!
runs Hermiston’s water and
Enhancing the Art of Outdoor Living
sewer and replacing what
Morgan called the “Swiss
541-720-0772 or PATIO WOVERS·PERGOLAS
cheese pipes” built in the
PATIO & SUN SHADES
1920s.
wn 509-308-1354
Free Es�mates!
One water project not
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paid for by the rate increase 102 E Wolumbia
SWREEN ROOMS
Dr. Kennewick 99336
is a new water tower that the
(Call for hours of operation)
SOLAR
SWREENS & MORE!
city plans to break ground
www.nwshadeco.com
License #188965
gallons and $3.50 per 1,000
gallons thereafter. Mor-
gan said the large increase
in price for gallons above
the 15,000 gallon threshold
means residents’ water bills
will go up by a larger per-
centage some months than
others.
In a chart comparing the
old rates and new rates for
an “average” single family
home with yard, for exam-
ple, a customer using 3,850
gallons in January would
pay $21.10 under the old
rates and $31.93 now. But if
watering their lawn in July
pushes them up to 33,775
gallons, their bill will jump
from $60.79 last year to
$103.21 this year.
(across from Good Shepherd Medical Center)
www.apd4kidz.com
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
Eye Health & Vision Care
Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC
Optometric Physician
115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130
541-567-1837
331 SE 2nd St.,
595 NW 11th St.,
866-343-4473
Pendleton, OR 97801
Hermiston, OR 97838
Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG Office: 541-567-2536
Family Dentistry
~ N ew Patients Welcome~
541-567-8161
995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston
Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S .