NEWS
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
HeRMIsTOnHeRald.COM • A3
Umatilla County among the six
under disaster declaration
HERMISTON HERALD
Umatilla County is
among the six Oregon
counties to qualify for fed-
eral disaster aid in recov-
ering from the April flood-
ing. Federal officials also
determined Curry, Douglas,
Grant, Linn and Wheeler
counties qualified as major
disasters.
The Office of the Gov-
ernor reported local, state
and federal agencies docu-
mented more than $8 mil-
lion in damages from the
staff photo by Ben lonergan
An inground sprinkler system waters the lawn at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in Hermiston Tuesday afternoon.
Water conservation tips
can help lower bills
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
S
ince water and sewer
rates increased in
March to pay for
repairs and upgrades to the
system, high water bills
have been a hot topic on
social media in Hermiston.
A petition on change.org
by Jacob Neighbors, which
gained 922 signatures, drew
comments from residents
who said they were having
to take shorter showers or
let their lawns go brown to
be able to afford their bill.
“Many residents have
experienced hard to swal-
low increases without any
changes in water quality,
volume, or accessibility,”
Neighbors wrote.
While discussion online
hasn’t sparked any discus-
sions at city council about
lowering rates again, there
are some conservation
steps that people can take
to lower their bill on their
own.
During warm weather,
the biggest cost for most
homeowners comes from
watering their lawns, gar-
dens and other landscaping.
Many people water their
lawn every day, but experts
say about four times a week
is sufficient for most of the
year.
Homeowners have the
option of removing plants
for “xeriscaping” options
like bark chips or rocks,
but if they are set on keep-
ing their green, grassy
lawn, they can take steps to
reduce the amount of water
they waste in the process.
Watering in the evening
minimizes the amount of
water lost to evaporation,
and avoiding windy days
keeps the breeze from car-
rying away droplets. Water-
ing in two shorter sessions
with a break in between
helps prevent losing water
to runoff as well.
Raising your lawn-
mower blades to a higher
level and keeping fertilizer
to a minimum can also help
the lawn retain more water.
Make sure sprinklers
are watering the lawn, not
the sidewalk or driveway,
and repair even small leaks
immediately. According to
WaterSense, the Environ-
mental Protection Agency’s
water conservation pro-
gram, a leak the size of the
tip of a ballpoint pen can
waste over 6,000 gallons of
water per month.
“Household leaks can
waste approximately nearly
900 billion gallons of water
annually
nationwide,”
the WaterSense fact sheet
states. “That’s equal to the
annual household water
use of nearly 11 million
homes.”
Water users in Herm-
iston pay a base charge
of $30 per month, plus 50
cents per 1,000 gallons up
to 15,000 gallons and $3.50
per 1,000 gallons there-
after. That means even a
small 6,000 gallon leak can
add an extra $21 per month.
The city offers the
EyeOnWater app for free
to all customers, which can
help detect leaks. The app
allows users to track their
water usage by the month,
day or time of day and can
be set up to send alerts to
their phone when usage
patterns indicate a leak.
Beyond leaks and lawns,
dishwashers and washing
machines can also be heavy
water users. According to
the city of Portland, about
22 percent of the water
used in a typical residen-
tial home is from washing
clothes.
Purchasing appliances,
faucets, shower heads, toi-
lets and more with the gov-
ernment’s WaterSense seal
of approval can greatly
reduce the amount of water
a home uses. But if new
appliances are not in the
budget, people can also
help reduce wasted water
by waiting to run a load of
clothes or dishes until the
machine is full.
They can also not let
water run any longer than
necessary while hand wash-
ing items in the sink or rins-
ing vegetables and fruit.
In the bathroom, letting
the sink run while brushing
your teeth or shaving and
letting the shower or bath
run while shaving your legs
is sending money straight
down the drain. WaterSense
suggests running a timer to
help keep showers shorter
as well.
You can check for toilet
leaks by dropping food col-
oring in the tank of the toi-
let and waiting several min-
utes to see if any shows up
in the bowl without flush-
ing. According to the EPA,
replacing old toilets with
new
water-conserving
models can save families
an average of 13,000 gal-
lons of water a year.
For more information on
ways to lower your water
bill, visit www.epa.gov/
watersense.
severe storms, flooding,
landslides and mudslides
April 6-21. A contingent of
Oregon’s federal lawmakers
reported the public damage
in Wheeler County alone
comes to more than $700
per person.
A major piece of dam-
age in Umatilla County
was the partial collapse of
a pedestrian bridge across
the Umatilla River in Uma-
tilla. Engineers in April esti-
mated it would cost more
than $3 million to replace
it. The county also saw
damage to Pendleton from
McKay Creek floods and
in Hermiston’s Riverfront
Park.
According to the gov-
ernor’s office, the disas-
ter declaration makes fed-
eral funding available to the
state and eligible local and
tribal governments and cer-
tain private nonprofit orga-
nizations on a cost-sharing
basis for emergency work
and the repair or replace-
ment of facilities that sus-
tained damage during the
storms and floods.
Stanfield open house to discuss
Highway 395 changes
In June ODOT employees pitched the
idea of including a “road diet” that would
take the highway down from five lanes to
three (one northbound, one southbound
and a center turn lane). The change would
be designed to encourage vehicles to obey
the speed limit and to help pedestrians cross
more quickly. City councilors voted to post-
pone the decision until they had held a pub-
lic meeting to gather feedback.
On Thursday, ODOT will give a presen-
tation about the proposed safety improve-
ments and take questions and comments.
For questions about the meeting contact city
hall at 541-449-3831.
HERMISTON HERALD
The city of Stanfield and Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation will hold a commu-
nity meeting Thursday to discuss planned
changes to Highway 395.
The meeting is at 6 p.m. in the Stanfield
Secondary School cafeteria, 1120 N. Main
St.
ODOT is funding an improvement proj-
ect for the highway between Harding Street
and Ball Avenue. Improvements will include
paving repairs, new wheelchair ramps, bulb-
outs and other features to improve pedes-
trian safety and slow traffic through town.
Two taken into custody after burglary, car prowls
with people not to leave
valuables in their vehi-
The Hermiston Police cles but inevitably it still
Department took two peo- happens.”
ple into custody
Hermiston resi-
dent Brenden Dion
Monday morning,
Erickson, 18, was
following a residen-
tial burglary and a
lodged at the Uma-
tilla County Jail
slew of car prowls
with the probable
which were reported
cause charges of
this week.
Burglary I, Theft I,
“Over the last
Erickson
Criminal Conspir-
decade,”
police
acy and Unautho-
chief Jason Edmis-
ton stated, “we have encour- rized Motor Vehicle Entry.
aged, begged, [and] pleaded
His alleged accom-
HERMISTON HERALD
plice, a 17-year-old male
who is also a Hermiston
resident, was placed into
the custody of the Uma-
tilla County Youth Author-
ity for the same probable
cause charges and Carrying
a Concealed Weapon.
The burglary occurred
around
10:30 a.m.
on
Monday.
Edmiston said that the
department is still inves-
tigating, and the pair may
be charged with additional
crimes.
Over
Thank you to
Hermiston High School’s
Project Graduation
Celebration
Sponsors & Donors
Willamette Valley Pie Co.
Americold – Hermiston, Or
Walmart – Hermiston, Or
Subway – Hermiston, Or
Swire – Pendleton, Or
60 Minute Photo – Hermiston, Or
East Oregonian
Hermiston Herald
Rick & Sarah Wells
Ericka & Laura Wells
Jenny Miller
Jenna Evans
Jason Bartman
Lupe Escobedo
Christie Carrera
Claudia Galdamez
Leticia Conejo
Salli Kertchersid
Martha Liebe
John Liebe
Timani Buck
Kelly Robison
Becky Robison
Nolan West
Josh Walker
Heidi Leroue
Kathy Shoop
Amanda Wells
... s well as, to all other parents,
...as
individuals, , and businesses (past
and present) who donated time,
money and/or supplies to help make
our party a huge success we say,
THANK YOU!”
HHS Project Graduation
Committee & HHS Class of 2019
.
Kerri Hodges
Natasha Ugarte
Val Juul
Tammy James
Erin Andreason
Terry Lorentson &
Debbie Lorentson
Becky Demmon
Dan Perkins
Lisa Reardon
Trevor Buck
Tania Hoeft
Ronda Wright
Janna Coleman
$35,000
The Umatilla/ Morrow County Relay For Life Committee would like
to thank the following for their generous contributions to this year’s
event. We could not have done it without you!
Raised
For Cance
Research r
Wildhorse
Resort & Casino
Bingo
Pendleton Police
Association
Town & Country
Property Storage
Blue Mountain
Foot Specialist
Masterprinters NW
CUJ | Wheatland Insurance | Smith Frozen Foods | Pendleton Sanitary Service
Wtechlink | Pendleton Bottling Company | Main Street Cowboys | Aarons Inc
Rogers Toyota of Hermiston
Chimu’s Tacoa
Pendleton Art center
Sips n Snacks
The Sign Man
Pratt Dental
Pendleton Record
Morrison Shaved ice
Pendleton Fire Department
Burke Family-petting area
Colton Morrison – music
Silent Auction:
EOCI prison wood shop
Courtesy rent to own
Joe’s Fiesta
Mazatlan
Deidre Byrd
OMG Burgers
Denny’s
Gianni’s fi ne foods
Shari’s
Tula Xii - Wendy Cannin
D&B supply
Inspirations gift shop
Portland trailblazers
Man cave barbershop
Pendleton Round up and
Happy Canyon
Wildhorse resort and casino
Tri city Americans
Elvis’s bar and grill
Rosemarie Atfi eld
Gert Hawthorne
Tupperware - Tondaleya Johnson
Walmart Pendleton
Pampered chef - Eva Richerson
Wellness Wave
Kind Leaf
Doterra - Lisa Foust
Les Schwab
Pendleton Ground Up
It Works - Jessica Preston
Boutique Air
Premium Tire and Lube
Rodan and fi elds - Lisa Foust
Great Pacifi c
Buckin Bean
Barhyte mustard
Hamley’s steakhouse & saloon
Dr. Jason Walker and Dr. Todd Oyama
Shay Nulf
Madeleine Winn
Scentsy - Danielle Rowley
Jordan Uhlman photography
Club 24
Blue Mtn Creations
Temple massage
Mac’s bar and grill
Cup Corset
MoePho noodles and cafe
Elaine Entermille
Sorbenot’s
Pendleton Record
Round up athletic club
Pendleton athletic
Smart Foodservice
1.800.227.2345 • 24 Hour Helpline
Relay For Life brings communities together, embracing their collective power to free the world
from the pain and suff ering of cancer. With every passionate step, Relayers demonstrate courage and
strength. They prove that, together, we are bigger than cancer. And together, we can raise the money
needed to help the American Cancer Society bring cancer to its knees.