NEWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Restaurants and bars get new look during shutdown
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
When patrons return
to their favorite bars and
restaurants, some of them
may look a little differ-
ent since the last time they
visited.
Some businesses that
had extra time on their
hands while they were
shut down during Umatilla
County’s return to baseline
used the time to remodel,
clean and perform mainte-
nance on their building.
The Cozy Corner Tav-
ern on Main Street in
Hermiston
redecorated
with new tables, paint and
an upgraded bar.
“It was just a little
facelift,” Anna Shuttle-
worth said.
She said all of the work
had been needing done for
a while, and the shutdown
was a good excuse to do it.
The tavern had not yet
reopened its full kitchen
between the fi rst baseline
shutdown in March and the
second in July, but Shut-
tleworth said they have
reopened the kitchen now
and are back to offering
their regular menu. They
also have new hours.
At Ye Olde Pizza
Shoppe in Hermiston, the
restaurant is in the process
of getting a fl oor-to-ceiling
upgrade and will soon get
a new exterior paint job as
well.
During
Hermiston’s
major growth spurt of
the 1940s, homes were
often made of old wooden
ammunition boxes from
the Umatilla Army Depot.
Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe
co-owner Kim Gillette said
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The redecorated Cozy Corner Tavern on Main Street in
Hermiston sits empty shortly before opening on Tuesday,
Sept. 1, 2020.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A message on a newly installed chalkboard at the Cozy Corner Tavern on Main Street in
Hermiston welcomes patrons back to the redecorated bar on Sept. 1, 2020.
she has acquired the boxes
from a home being torn
down and is using them
throughout the remodel,
including over the bar.
Even the rope handles are
being repurposed into light
fi xtures. The restaurant
will also hang historical
photographs of Hermiston
buildings.
“We were trying to do
something fun and local. ...
I wanted to do something
with the history of Herm-
iston,” she said.
The fi rst fl oor currently
has about six tables open
for dine-in, Gillette said,
but most customers are still
using takeout. She said the
restaurant has been fortu-
nate through the pandemic
that they have not been hit
as hard fi nancially as some
other eateries.
“We miss our cus-
tomers, but people were
already used to carry-out
and delivery,” she said.
The Hermiston Tavern
didn’t do a major renova-
tion during their shutdown,
but did do small upgrades,
such as new signs and an
upgraded jukebox. They
also added plexiglass bar-
riers between video lottery
machines to help keep cus-
tomers safe.
Manager Bill Foster
said most of what they did
was cleaning and reorga-
nizing so that more tables
and chairs would fi t in
the space. They also went
through and cleaned and
organized the back areas
that customers don’t typi-
cally see, but had accumu-
lated four decades worth of
miscellaneous items.
“We got rid of a lot of
behind-the-scenes clutter,”
he said. “It will be nice for
us to be able to use that
space.”
Although bars and
restaurants were allowed
to offer food on a takeout
and delivery basis during
baseline status, Foster said
the Hermiston Tavern only
offers a few snack items,
so they closed down com-
pletely when the county
returned to baseline.
“Financially, it would
have made zero sense for
us,” he said of trying to do
takeout.
Desert Lanes Fam-
ily Fun Center still can’t
open its bowling back
up until Umatilla County
moves back to Phase 2,
but the center offered take-
out meals in baseline and
now offers dine-in options
as well. In the spring and
early summer, staff took
the time during the closure
to upgrade lighting, tables
and other features in the
bowling area, and remod-
eled the center’s lounge,
which is now a more fam-
ily-friendly area open to
minors accompanied by an
adult.
In Umatilla, Java Junk-
ies completed a remodel in
June.
The original shutdown
in March also inspired
Daren and Paulette Dufl oth
of Umatilla to trans-
form the Riverside Sports
Bar and Lounge into The
Bridge. The change —
which moved the business
from a sports bar and strip
club to a family-friendly
bistro — included a fl oor-
to-ceiling remodel of the
inside of the building.
Daren Dufl oth said
the remodel is complete
indoors, although the
restaurant is still wait-
ing on city approval for
the plans to install a shade
structure over the new out-
door seating area.
“Other than that, we’re
pretty much online,” he
said.
Dufl oth said so far the
support has been “fantas-
tic” for their new look and
new menu, particularly
their pizzas. Since Uma-
tilla County moved back
into Phase 1 they are offer-
ing dine-in and takeout.
Umatilla County being
sent back to baseline a few
days after the business’s
grand reopening was a set-
back, however, Dufl oth
said. They shut down com-
pletely for 10 days, and
then reopened for take-
out only for another week
and a half before they
were able to move back to
dine-in services.
“We had some really
good momentum, and then
(the governor) shut us
down, and we’re trying to
get that momentum back,”
he said.
Blue Lives Matter parade shows support for police
Photo contributed by Mary Cahill
Marion Hatley and his wife Charlene Hatley watch a car parade
out the window of their home for Marion’s 87th birthday on
Aug. 28, 2020.
A socially distanced
birthday greeting
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
As COVID-19 contin-
ues to put a damper on cel-
ebrations, particularly for
people in high-risk groups,
car parades are becoming
a popular way to celebrate
milestones.
On Friday, Aug. 28,
longtime Hermiston resi-
dent Marion “Sarge” Hat-
ley turned 87. According
to information sent to the
Hermiston Herald by his
family, friends and family
decided to show their sup-
port for Marion and his wife
Charlene by putting together
a parade past their Hermis-
ton home.
Family, friends, grand-
children and great-grand-
children circled the block
with signs on their vehicles.
According to the mes-
sage from the Hatleys’ fam-
ily members, the couple
have only left their home for
medical appointments since
the fi rst of March, and have
only been able to meet their
newest great-granddaughter,
who is now 4 months old,
and see other grandchildren
through the window.
“It’s hard on a daily basis
for so many missing fam-
ily now, and we couldn’t let
the day go by without let-
ting him know how special
he is to all, and celebrate
Photo contributed by Freedom of the Road Riders Club
Motorcycles and cars drive through Umatilla County for a “Blue Lives Matter” parade on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020. The long
line of motorcycles, classic cars and pickup trucks paraded through Umatilla, Stanfi eld and Hermiston in a show of support
for law enforcement. The parade went past police stations in each of the towns and the Oregon State Police offi ces. According
to fl iers advertising the event, it was open to “all those who support law enforcement” as a way to show support for police.
Organizers estimated after the event that there were about 40 motorcycles and 50 vehicles participating.
Photo contributed by Mary Cahill
Family of Marion Hatley wish
him a happy 87th birthday
through the window of his
home on Aug. 28, 2020.
his special day. It was small
but with big sentiment, ‘We
love you Papa!’” wrote fam-
ily friend Jacque Prior, who
planned the event.
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St., Hermiston
September 1st-6th
Call ahead and use
our Drive thru.
Purchase a face mask
inside for $5-$7
$
1
.00
OFF
Mango Madness
Smoothie
Take & Bake
Pizza
ONE DAY SALE
Sept. 4th 8 am -6 pm
With more than
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 12, 2020
HermistonHerald.com
UPDATES
Umatilla
County
opens
COVID-19
relief
small
business
program
HERMISTON HERALD
Small businesses in
Umatilla County can get
a $5,000 grant as money
from the federal govern-
ment’s COVID-19 relief
package continues to
trickle down to Umatilla
County.
Umatilla County Eco-
Development
nomic
announced the start of a
new small business relief
program in a Aug. 6
press release, stating the
county intends to distrib-
ute $5,000 grants to qual-
ifying businesses propor-
tionately throughout the
county.
According to the city
of Hermiston, the city is
partnering with the county
to provide extra funds
for the program from the
city’s portion of the fed-
eral CARES Act, reserv-
ing a total of $745,000
VSHFL¿FDOO\IRU+HUPLVWRQ
businesses.
The county states
that eligible businesses,
including sole propri-
etors, must be directly
affected by the state’s
orders,
COVID-19
through a closure or other
mandated changes to the
business. Business must
d and
headquartere
also be
operating in the county
and employ 50 people or
fewer.
only
can
business
A
submit one application
DQG QRQSUR¿WV DUH QRW
eligible.
The deadline to apply
is Aug. 26 and business
owners can apply for the
grants at www.umatilla-
county.net/grants. Paper
applications are avail-
able at local city halls,
where they can also be
submitted.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Umatilla County
taken on the fi rst day of the 2020
her lamb prior to having her picture
Katelyn Griffi n takes a moment with
Event Center in Hermiston.
at the Eastern Oregon Trade and
Show on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020
Youths drop off animals for a socially distanced
Fair week for the Umatilla
County Fair kicked off, like
everything else in 2020, in an
unprecedented way at 6 a.m. on
Tuesday, Aug. 11.
There were no corn dogs or
rides, no concerts or jugglers. But
there were still animals.
Youths (or their parents)
showed up early Tuesday morn-
ing with their lambs, saying
goodbye for the week before
the animal they spent the sum-
mer raising was weighed, photo-
graphed and sent off to await the
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Youth Livestock Auction at the
day of
end of the week. Other animals
the livestock check-in on the fi rst
Juliann Bruce leads her lamb to
will get their turn throughout the
ed Youth Livestock Show on Tuesday,
the 2020 Umatilla County Fair Modifi
and Event Center in Hermiston.
week.
11, 2020, at the Eastern Oregon Trade
Blake Betz, an 18-year-old Aug.
FFA student who has shown ani-
mals at the fair every year since
KH ZDV ¿UVW ROG HQRXJK VDLG KH
would miss the usual experiences
of fair week, even though he still
got the experience of raising his
steer, Lil’ Smoky.
“In years previous I’ve looked
forward to seeing friends from
— Kendall Cooper6WDQG¿HOG
other towns that I don’t usually
get to see, and get a week off and
“IT’S SUCH A VITAL THING THAT
THE COMMUNITY IS NOT JUST
GOING TO FORGET ABOUT IT.”
eomediagroup.com
50
Please maintain 6 feet social
distancing while in the store.
For more photos
from the fair, see
this story at
hermistonherald.
com.
have fun hanging out,” he said.
Kendall Cooper, 17, an FFA
VWXGHQW IURP 6WDQ¿HOG VDLG WKLV
ZDV KHU ¿IWK \HDU UDLVLQJ D PDU
ket hog for the fair. She said her
hog, a Yorkshire-Hampshire cross
named Belle, was looking good
and should make weight.
She said when the FFA stu-
dents got their animals in March,
school had just shut down and so
they had an inkling that if they
went through with raising an ani-
mal to show, fair week probably
wouldn’t look exactly the same as
they were used to.
Cooper said normally during
the week, particularly during the
Youth Livestock Auction, she is
making connections with people
See Fair, Page A12
Council OKs $9.6 million
in bonds for new city hall
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
20% Off
The most valuable and respected source of
local news, advertising and information
for our communities.
county fair
Online
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
30
% Regular Retail on
OFF Clearance Items
Fair Modifi ed Youth Livestock
An early goodbye
ALL
% COMPENDIUM
OFF BOOKS &
(excludes Thoughtfulls Cards) JOURNALS
WEEK LONG SALE
All Solaray Products
14,500
copies
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
of land, near the city’s wastewater
the possibility of off ering 8 acres
The city of Hermiston is weighing
for senior citizens.
plant, for a potential housing development
INSIDE
A3 Hermiston Herald inserts
masks into newspapers mailed to
subscribers
treatment
A3 Four candidates so far for
Hermiston City Council race
The Hermiston City Council
authorized the sale of up to $9.6
million in bonds to pay for a new
city hall and renovation of the
lower level of the Hermiston Pub-
lic Library during their Monday,
Aug. 10 meeting.
The city plans to build a new,
larger, three-story city hall on the
site of the current city hall at 180
N.E. Second St. The interior of
the previous city hall was dam-
DJHG GXULQJ D ¿UH LQ WKH EXLOG
ing’s HVAC system in December
2019, but the council had already
set a goal to start working toward
building a new city hall sometime
A7 Chamber puts land up for
sale
in the next few years. They cited
overcrowding that had pushed
staff into other buildings, and a
lack of wheelchair accessibility.
City Manager Byron Smith
told the council that based on pre-
liminary designs, ArchitectsWest
had given a “high-level” estimate
of $9 million for the project, but
the $9.6 million approval would
give some wiggle room if costs
came in higher than expected.
Smith said they expect to have a
¿UPGHWDLOHGFRVWHVWLPDWHRQFLW\
hall by mid-October.
Paying off $9.6 million in
bonds would require a $470,000
annual payment, Smith said,
See Council, Page A12
A11 School district narrows new
school names down to three
of the Hermiston Herald now mailed
directly to homes in west Umatilla
County and north Morrow County,
there has never been an easier way
to get your message into thousands
of local homes each week.
Reach new customers
in new ways with the help
of advertising professionals
at the Hermiston Herald.
Jeanne Jewett
Angela Treadwell
541-564-4531
541-966-0827
