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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2020)
HERMISTON RALLIES TO DEFEAT BOMBERS » PAGE A8 Wednesday, February 5, 2020 HermistonHerald.com $1.50 INSIDE Making computer science green SHERIFF Sheriff Terry Rowan says he plans to run for re-election. Page » A3 CORONAVIRUS Local health officials say it’s unlikely the Wuhan corona- virus will hit Umatilla Coun- ty, but they are prepared. Page » A7 TURNING 60 Columnist Tammy Malgesini muses about an upcoming birthday. Page » A12 BY THE WAY Whisky Music Fest adds performers The music lineup for the fifth annual Pendle- ton Whisky Music Fest is coming together. Randy Houser, Brett Kissel and Pendleton Music Fest regular DJ Sovern-T have been added to this year’s list of performers, event orga- nizers announced. The trio of artists will join headliners Eric Church and Macklemore, who were announced in late November, to round out the list of performers for this year’s concert. Tickets for the July 11 concert go on sale Friday at pendletonwhiskyfest. com. While this will be Houser and Kissel’s first Whisky Fest, DJ Sovern-T has served as the event’s disc jockey since its inaugural year in 2016. In addition to enter- taining crowds between sets, DJ Sovern-T will perform at the annual Main Street kick-off party on July 10. • • • Windermere Group One recently added Les- lie Pierson to its Realtors in Eastern Oregon. Pierson, a Boardman resident, will provide pro- fessional real estate ser- vices throughout Morrow and Umatilla counties, according to a news See BTW, Page A14 staff photo by Jessica Pollard Senior Rogelio Lemus, 17, uses tweezers to guide the extruded plastic filament onto a new spool. This recycled filament was made with many different colors of plastic, and came out coral pink. Hermiston High School students can now recycle plastic waste from 3D printers By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER ecent grant funding from the Hermiston Education Foun- dation is changing the way that Hermiston High School’s Computer-Aided Design classes handle their excess plastic. The plastic comes from 3D printers, which build three-dimensional objects from computer models, using layers of material in a process known as “additive manufacturing.” This year, computer technology teacher Robert Theriault applied for a grant to “make computer science green,” on behalf of CAD students using the printers, particularly 17-year-old Roge- lio Lemus. “When we’re 3D printing, there’s a lot of waste,” Lemus said. “In our testing so far, we’re able to recycle some of it.” Lemus, a senior, is planning on enter- ing a science, technology, math or engi- neering (STEM) field after graduation. He has two 3D printers at home, and this year he’s devoting an independent study class to learning how to recycle the excess materials they produce. He said he’s already taken all of the CAD classes that Hermiston High has to offer. Theriault said it took Lemus just one R staff photo by Jessica Pollard Once shredded with the filament grinder, students will sift the plastic and melt the smallest pieces down. Using an extruder, students will be able to re-spool the filament and use it for future 3D printing projects. day of fiddling to learn how to properly recycle the plastic materials called fila- ment— which is purchased on a spool, like thread— that students use in the 3D printer to make models of their designs. Lemus said that Hermiston High School CAD classes typically utilize polyactic acid filament, which is derived from corn starch or sugar. It costs about $15 to $30 a spool, and he said the classes go through about 20 spools each year. When a design goes awry, or has a sup- port structure that becomes waste after the print, the excess plastic is rendered unus- able. But now Lemus and other students can grind that plastic down by hand, melt it, and restructure it onto a new spool with the help of an extruder. “It’s definitely time-consuming,” Lemus said. Both he and Theriault hope to purchase a blender to make breaking down the plas- tic pieces a little bit easier, because other- wise the grinding is done completely by hand. The heating and spooling process is time consuming. Lemus said the whole process can take about four hours. In the back of the CAD classroom, a cardboard box of odd plastic shapes in all colors and sizes waits to be reprocessed. So far, Lemus and other students have reproduced half a role of filament. The extruder and grinder arrived last week, and cost $1,700 total. “We figure this will eventually pay for itself, and divert waste from the landfill,” Theriault said. In 2019, the Hermiston Education Foundation distributed $16,600 in fund- ing to seven teachers district-wide. The foundation also awards multiple scholar- ships to students each year. See Plastics, Page A14 Accountants share tips for tax season By ALEX CASTLE STAFF WRITER 8 08805 93294 2 Break out your records and receipts; tax season is here. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began accept- ing federal tax returns on Monday and most source of income documents should have been sent by employ- ers by Friday, meaning it’s time to start preparing to file your 2019 return. “My advice would be just try to make a mental note of all the income that you received in 2019,” said Corey Neistadt, a certified public accountant at Pendle- ton’s Newhouse & Neistadt. “And be looking for the doc- uments that back that up to be emailed to you or sent to you via regular mail. That’d be first and foremost.” While filing early in the season has a number of ben- efits, such as potentially receiving your refund or finding out what you owe sooner, tax professionals in Umatilla County agree that at least gathering the nec- essary information can be helpful in guaranteeing your return is done accurately and on time. “The further and further away we get from Dec. 31, the fewer things we remem- ber right,” Neistadt said. “While it’s fresh in your mind, I think it’s great to accumulate the data and maybe start putting it into an envelope or something to give to your tax preparer.” Individual tax returns are due to the IRS by April 15 (unless issued a 6-month extension waiver), so you’ll eventually need to accumu- late that data. But much of the stress of tax season can be eased by gathering it throughout the year. “It’s all about record keeping,” said Dennis See Taxes, Page A14 staff photo by ben Lonergan Mitch Boylan, a C.P.A. with accounting firm Barnett & Moro in Hermiston, prepares tax documentation for clients on Friday afternoon.
