Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2019)
DAWGS FALL TO PASCO IN SEASON OPENER HermistonHerald.com WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 | A8 $1.50 INSIDE FESTIVAL A new Farm to Junk festival downtown will focus on vintage and repurposed items. PAGE A4 WATER? PLEA DEAL One of the two men charged in the killing of Eric Navarrete pleaded guilty to fi rst-degree robbery. PAGE A6 COOL DOWN Police recently de- escalated two standoff s with armed, suicidal subjects without the use of force. PAGE A10 BY THE WAY Terror attacks remembered HH fi le photo An inground sprinkler system waters the lawn at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hermiston in July. “I’m going to have to look at raising rates for customers,” he said. As Greene and others continue to question rates, here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions: Hermiston residents question water rates By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR M onths after Herm- iston’s water rates increased, customers are still upset with the increase. Dozens of people showed up to the city council’s Aug. 26 meeting to voice their complaints, and on Monday Russ Greene added his two cents. Greene, who owns Five Star Car Wash and Five Star Auto Wash in Hermiston, said his busi- ness, which uses large amounts of water, had been hit especially hard by the rate restructure that charges higher rates for larger users. He said his water bill had gone up from $1,409 last August to $4,105 this August. How much did water rates go up? Previously, the city had charged a $19.82 base rate for 3,000 gallons, $1.50 per thousand gallons for 3,001-13,000 gallons and $1.25 per thousand for more than 13,000 gallons. Sewer was a fl at $27.25 fee. As of March 1, the rate changed to a $30 base rate, 50 cents per 1,000 gallons up to 15,000 gal- lons and $3.50 per 1,000 gallons above 15,000. Sewer is a $35 base rate plus $3.00 per 1,000 gallons of use, calculated using the cus- tomer’s average water use per month during winter months. A family using 20,000 gal- See WATER, Page A14 HH fi le photo A man speaks to the Hermiston city council Aug. 26 about frustrations with a March water rate increase. The audience for the meeting took up seats in the council chambers and spilled over into the lobby. Today marks the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that killed 2,977 people in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. We haven’t been made aware of any memorial events taking place in the area this year, but there are other ways to mark the day. Visitors to www. newseum.org/todaysfront- pages can look up Sept. 12, 2001 to see how news- papers in all 50 states and around the world covered the attacks on the next day’s front page. The Hermiston Her- ald reported on the attacks extensively in its next edi- tion, quoting residents about where they were that day and reporting on the Hermiston Munici- pal Airport’s closure and heightened security at the Umatilla Chemical Depot. The paper also had stories about a Hermiston woman’s brother missing and presumed dead at the Pentagon, a former Herm- iston resident surviving the attack, how schools han- dled the news and memori- als held locally at Walmart and a Hermiston High See BTW, Page A2 Critics push back on Walmart’s new gun policy By ALEX CASTLE STAFF WRITER L ast week, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced the retailer is discontinuing the sale of ammunition that can be used in assault weapons and discouraging its customers from openly carrying fi re- arms in its stores moving forward. Written in a memo addressed to the corporation’s associates, the announcement came exactly one month after 22 people were killed and 26 were injured in a racist shooting at its store in El Paso, Texas. “It’s clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable,” McMillon wrote in bold, continuing later in the memo to call for legislation from Congress requiring background checks on fi re- arms sales. With Oregon as an open carry state, the announcement has drawn criti- cism from local gun rights advocates and members of the Republican Party in Umatilla County while Walmart locations in Pendleton and Hermiston SEPTEMBER 9-14, 2019 8 08805 93294 2 See WALMART, Page A14 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Shoppers come and go from the Walmart in Pendleton on Wednesday afternoon. Walmart recently announced changes to its store policy regarding fi rearms and ammunition sales. 10% OFF Justin Boots $ 20 OFF All Rock & Roll Denim and Rock & Roll Cowgirl Jeans