“ALMOST, MAINE” DEBUTS THIS WEEKEND
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
INSIDE
CINCO DE MAYO
Hermiston celebrated
Mexican culture this
weekend with music, food
and the Miss Cinco de Mayo
pageant.
PAGE A3
AT HERMISTON HIGH SCHOOL, PAGE A9
HermistonHerald.com
$1.00
Samantha Steffey, playing
the character Sandrine,
kisses Aurelio Marin, playing
the character Jimmy, in
scene two, Sad and Glad.
triple
Seeing triple
SCREEN TIME
Families flock to
downtown Hermiston to
celebrate National Screen-
Free Week.
PAGE A8
RODEO MAN
Preston Pederson of Herm-
iston won the all-around
title while representing
Blue Mountain Community
College at the Northwest
Regional Finals.
PAGE A10
BY THE WAY
It’s Teacher
Appreciation
Week
This week is Teacher
Appreciation Week.
Teachers around the
state are rallying this week
to shine a spotlight on
the need for more fund-
ing for schools. While
some teachers are choos-
ing to walk out of their
classrooms, teachers in
Hermiston are planning a
“walk-in” on Wednesday
by inviting government
leaders to visit the school
Wednesday morning and
hear firsthand from educa-
tors about what is needed
to fund their classrooms.
• • •
The Northeast Oregon
Home Builders Associa-
tion Home Tour is sched-
uled for May 18. The tour
includes four homes built
by local builders who
“have lived in Hermiston
most of their life and like
giving their customers the
best home possible.”
One of the homes
was built by Hermiston
High School students for
their student home build-
ing class. Pictures of the
homes on the tour and a
map of the tour will be
available starting May 14
at www.neohba.com.
See BTW, Page A2
staff photo by e.J. Harris
Tammy and Josh Nycz hold their triplets, from left, Alexander, Amilia and Rylee while sitting on the couch in their Hermiston home.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
M
other’s Day will take on a whole
new meaning for Tammy Nycz
this year.
The Hermiston mom, whose
older children are now ages 19 and 20, gave
birth to triplets in March.
“It’s like starting all over again,” she said.
Fortunately she’s not alone — her hus-
band, Josh, is walking this journey with her,
and when the couple are exhausted the trip-
lets’ grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and
half siblings provide reinforcements.
Amilia, Rylee and Alexander (Xander for
short) came home two weeks ago. The trip-
lets were born March 11, but at less than 3
pounds each needed to spend some time in
the NICU at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in
Portland before coming home to Hermiston.
They now weight close to five pounds.
Tammy had already been at Legacy Eman-
uel for quite some time before they were born.
Her high-risk pregnancy required bed rest at
the hospital starting in January.
“I did a lot of Sudoku,” she said.
During that time she and Josh were fea-
tured in the Hermiston Herald’s Feb. 13 arti-
cle about dating online, which is where they
met six years ago. They said they wanted to
update people on how the family was doing
once the triplets arrived.
Triplets are unusual — less than one-tenth
of one percent of live births in the United
staff photo by e.J. Harris
Tammy Nycz holds out her finger as her son, Alexander, grabs it as he rests on the chest of his
father, Josh.
States. These particular triplets are even more
unusual. Amilia and Rylee are identical twins,
split from the same egg, while Xander was
born at the same time but came from a sec-
ond egg.
Until Amilia and Rylee begin developing
more distinct personalities, family members
can tell them apart by a small, light birth mark
on Rylee’s eyelid.
“The doctors suggested toenail polish,”
Josh said.
The ultrasound technician at Good Shep-
herd Women’s Center who discovered they
were having multiples said he had never seen
See TRIPLETS, Page A14
Washington legislature makes sales tax exemption more difficult
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
8
08805 93294
2
Umatilla County residents
who make regular shopping
trips into Washington will likely
start seeing sales tax added to
their bill in July.
Last week Washington legis-
lators passed Senate Bill 5997,
which would end the practice
of retailers taking sales tax off
of Oregonians’ purchases after
they show ID. Instead, out-of-
state residents who paid more
than $25 in state sales taxes in
a year would have to fill out tax
forms once a year asking for
reimbursement.
The bill is now on Wash-
ington Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk,
where he can choose to sign
it, veto it or take no action. It
would take effect July 1, and
proponents of the bill estimate
it would raise about $53 mil-
lion per biennium from visitors
who won’t bother to submit the
forms or won’t reach the $25
minimum.
The change has the most
impact on residents living on
the state line, such as Hermis-
ton residents who shop in the
Tri-Cities or Milton-Freewa-
ter residents who buy items in
Walla Walla.
Luann Garner, of Hermis-
ton, said she frequently shops
in the Tri-Cities and usually
gets lunch while she’s up there.
Now she plans to stay in Ore-
gon because she is tired of
being “taxed to death.”
See TAX, Page A14
Vehicles head across the river into Washington on the Interstate 82 bridge in 2018. Fewer
shoppers may head that way in the future if they have to pay sales tax in Washington.