NEWS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Man shot in Safeway parking lot in Hermiston
HERMISTON HERALD
A Hermiston man was
shot Friday afternoon,
Aug. 21 in the Safeway
parking lot in Hermiston.
Julian Zapien, 27,
was airlifted from Good
Shepherd Medical Cen-
ter in Hermiston on Aug.
21 and remained in criti-
cal condition as of Mon-
day, Aug. 24, Hermiston
Police Chief Jason Edmis-
ton said.
The shooting, which
occurred shortly before
2:30 p.m. on Aug. 21, hap-
pened outside the west
entrance of Safeway, 990
S. Highway 395, in the
store’s parking lot.
Initial reports indicate
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Multiple police offi cers responded to a shooting in Hermiston on Friday, Aug. 21, 2020,
according to a press release from the Hermiston Police Department.
Zapien got into an alterca-
tion with a couple of males
in a vehicle directly in
front of the west entrance
to the grocery store. At
some point, a press release
stated, a shot or shots were
fi red from inside the vehi-
cle, striking him in the
stomach area.
Edmiston said that it
appeared the parties knew
each other and there was
no indication that the inci-
dent was connected to the
protests that happened
nearby later that night.
A social media post
by police stated that a
17-year-old male had also
been identifi ed as one of
the parties involved, and
police were still working
to identify the third person.
Edmiston said on Aug.
24 that police have state-
ments from witnesses at
the scene and are working
on obtaining search war-
rants to further their inves-
tigation, including a war-
rant to search the vehicle
that was allegedly used by
the shooter, which police
have impounded.
“We hope to get a little
clearer understanding of
what transpired,” he said.
Hermiston police have
been assisted by Ore-
gon State Police, Umatilla
Police Department, Pend-
leton Police Department,
and the Umatilla County
Sheriff’s Offi ce, according
to the press release.
City gives away free taxi rides
City votes to restructure
water treatment plant debt to encourage use of program
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
The Hermiston City
Council voted to save tax-
payers $1.4 million during
their Monday, Aug. 24,
meeting by approving a refi -
nance of loans taken out to
pay for the city’s recycled
water treatment plant.
The city entered into two
Clean Water State Revolv-
ing Fund Loan Agreements
totaling about $15.5 million
in 2010.
City manager Byron
Smith said as the city pre-
pares to sell bonds to pay for
a new city hall, he asked the
fi nance department to look
at what other debt they could
save money on by rolling a
refi nance into the bonds
being issued for the city hall
project.
According to Smith,
the restructure of the water
loans will provide an esti-
mated $880,000 in net pres-
ent value savings over the
life of the bonds and approx-
imately $1.4 million in gross
interest savings, without
extending the timeline for
paying the debt back.
Mayor David Drotzmann
pointed out that debt for the
treatment plant has been a
signifi cant factor in the city’s
need to increase water and
sewer rates in recent years,
meaning money saved on
that debt could help lessen
future rate increases.
“Why wouldn’t we want
to save the taxpayers $1.4
million?” he asked.
Also on Aug. 24, the
council approved the annex-
ation of 13.8 acres of land
into the city, helping clear
the way for a planned
31-home subdivision.
The property is located
on the south side of South-
west Desert Sky Drive and
west of South First Street.
According to city planner
Clint Spencer, developer
Jeff Newman is planning to
build a 31-lot single fam-
ily home subdivision there,
on lots of between one-third
and one-half acre.
During the Aug. 24 meet-
ing, the council denied a
request from area resident
Kelly Nobles to change
its accessory dwelling
unit code to allow for sin-
gle-wide mobile homes to
be used as accessory dwell-
ings to a larger home on
The most valuable and respected source of
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eomediagroup.com
ager Mark Morgan told
the council the program
had been underutilized,
West Umatilla County
and the city has so far only
residents can get 40 free
spent $35,000 since Octo-
taxi rides if they try out
ber 2019 even though it
the city of Hermiston’s
still has $246,000 avail-
West-End
On-Demand
able through June 2021.
Ride Cooperative by the
He said he hoped giv-
end of 2020.
ing away four free cards
On Monday, Aug. 24,
would encourage more
the Hermiston City Coun-
people to try out the pro-
cil approved the initiative
gram, which would then
to encourage
give the city
more people to
a
stron-
sign up.
“ ... THIS WILL HELP REDUCE ger applica-
The WORC
tion when it
A BARRIER TO CONNECTING
program was
reapplies for
more
funds.
created
in
WORKERS WITH THEIR JOBS.”
“ T h i s
October 2019
Mark Morgan, Hermiston assistant city manager
program is
to
expand
essentially
options
for
to get people
area residents
to get transportation to and
Through
purchasing to experience the program,
from work.
the vouchers, the rider get familiar with it and
If residents of the pays one-third of the cost become long-term users
Hermiston, Stanfi eld or of the ride while the city of the program,” he said.
Umatilla ZIP codes bring subsidizes the other two- “... Prior to the pandemic
a pay stub in to city hall, thirds using money for and associated unemploy-
they can purchase a card public transportation that ment rate, one of biggest
stamped with the address it receives from the state’s challenges heard from our
of their workplace that will public transit payroll tax. employers was just simply
grant them 10 taxi rides to The rider’s cost for a access to workforce and so
or from that address.
Hermiston-to-Hermiston this will help reduce a bar-
rier to connecting workers
Depending on how card is $25 for 10 rides.
much they paid for the
Assistant city man- with their jobs.”
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The Hermiston City Council voted to refi nance loans taken out
to pay for the city of Hermiston’s wastewater treatment plant.
“WHY WOULDN’T WE
WANT TO SAVE THE
TAXPAYERS $1.4 MILLION?”
Hermiston Mayor David Drotzmann
the same lot. Currently, the
city only allows single-wide
mobile homes inside mobile
home parks.
The denial followed the
planning
commission’s
recommendation.
Nobles, who lives in
Umatilla, told the council
he has some properties in
Hermiston where he wants
to create additional afford-
able rentals by placing a
mobile home on large lots
where another home already
exists.
“I can probably get a dou-
ble-wide in there but if I put
a single-wide I have room to
put some parking off street
that’s not required ... there’ll
be a little more room in the
footprint,” he said.
Councilors agreed with
the planning commission,
however, that the change
could allow for unsightly
trailers that bring down the
look of their neighborhoods.
“We sometimes have
poor images of single-wide
trailers that look broken
down and in bad shape and
I don’t think that’s what Mr.
Nobles would do, but that is
the potential that the plan-
ning commission was wor-
ried about,” Drotzmann said.
Smith also received a
one-year renewal of his city
manager’s contract on Aug.
24 after the council met in
executive session for his
yearly performance review.
Smith has worked for the
city for six years now, and
extension of the date was the
only amendment to the con-
tract this year.
“It’s been a pleasure to
work with you ... I think
we’ve accomplished some
excellent things,” Drotz-
mann said.
card, the other end of
their journey can be any-
where within the allow-
able radius.
On the cheapest card,
for example, a person
could get a ride from their
workplace inside Herm-
iston city limits to any
other address in Hermis-
ton. More expensive cards
allow for rides between
cities.
“I wear my mask for you, your family, all our families,
our communities. We are in this together.”
“Uso mi cubrebocas para ti, tu familia, todas
nuestras familias, nuestras comunidades.
Estamos en esto juntos.”
OFFICER ERICA SANDOVAL
HERMISTON CITY POLICE
Resume
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Date: August 27
Time: 1:00pm
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information to join online.
541-571-7771
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• Wear a mask in public
• Avoid indoor gatherings
• Stay 6 feet away from others • Wash your hands frequently
Help Reopen
Umatilla County
1160 W. Elm Ave., Hermiston • 541-567-6623 • www.lvseyedoc.com
Wearing a mask saves jobs and saves lives