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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2020)
BUSINESS A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020 Increased tobacco tax spells the end for Cigarette Store By ALEX CASTLE STAFF WRITER Downtown District possibility for dwindling returns if the measure is actually successful in reduc- ing smokers in the state. “I continue to be nervous about a funding source that is reliant on an activity we’re trying to reduce,” Fiumara said. “The more success- ful we are, the less money we get. And while we want that end point, it’s a dan- gerous way to fund some of our programs, and so even- tually there’s going have to be another mechanism for doing that.” Andrea Jackson is the president of Tobacco Bever- age Companies, which oper- ates 67 stores in fi ve Western states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Arizona) including three in Eastern Oregon. Jackson said she’s con- cerned Measure 108 will hurt her businesses in Pend- leton, Hermiston and La Grande, where her stores primarily sell tobacco and vaping products under the name Big Smoke. She said her stores employ roughly 30 people in the region, but are hopeful that their stores’ additional sales of beer and some grocery items will help offset the reduced tobacco purchases. “I hope we make it,” Jackson said. While disappointed in the measure’s passage, Dietz and his shops already made the tough decision to close preemptively before the tax takes effect on the fi rst of the new year. But until then, he’s anticipating the smokers who have no plans of quit- ting in 2021 to keep burning through his product. “I anticipate these next two months are going to be barn burners,” he said. “Then it’s going to be all gone.” sient room tax, from the beginning. He said the city also helped provide informa- tion for a feasibility study before the project began. The study indicated a need for more hotel accommoda- tions in the Boardman area. Dayal said people working in Boardman often end up staying in Hermiston or the Tri-Cities instead. “This is a good oppor- tunity for them to capture some revenue for the city,” he said. For more informa- tion about the hotel, visit choicehotels.com/oregon/ boardman/sleep-inn-hotels/ or255. BRIEF Sleep Inn opens in Boardman A new hotel has opened in Boardman. The Sleep Inn, which opened on Monday, Nov. 9, is located at 125 S.E. Front St. in Boardman, just off of Interstate 84 next to Subway. Bob Dayal, a managing partner for the three-story hotel, said it has 64 rooms, a gym, a swimming pool and other amenities. It is part of the Choice Hotels brand family. Dayal said the hotel received funding assis- tance from the Port of Morrow and Morrow County Economic Devel- opment, and incentives from the city of Boardman. The hotel is receiving a three-year property tax break through the city’s enterprise zone, but Dayal said they will still pay other taxes, such as the tran- 17 MEN’S DAY Your Downtown Guide to Shopping & Dining Affordable Family Eyewear Alexander Daniel Jewelry Andee’s Boutique Cozy Corner Tavern Goss Family Jewelers Hale’s Restaurant Hermiston Drug and Gift Hermiston Public Library Ivy Med Spa JB Brick Company Lucky Endz Gifts Neighbor Dudes Taproom Neighborhood Books/Gifts Nookie’s/Hermiston Brew Pheasant Blue Collar Bar Sassafras Flowers by Shera Sugar Shack Two96Main Veg Out Wild Goose Design Yo Country Frozen Yogurt Downtown Friends priorities A hundred years from now it will not matter what My bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the Life of a Child. 2021 BUICK ENCORE MSRP $26,090 - $3,000 Customer Cash 23,090 Stk #B7899 VIN #KL4CJAS68MB313218 28 SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY ES’ DAY, FIRST THURSDAY DI LA 03 & TREE LIGHTING Thank you to our 40th Anniversary Sale! Your $ Price NOV are up to four times more likely to become cigarette smokers. “When you put a tax on something, it always reduces the number of people who pay for it,” said Umatilla County Public Health Direc- tor Joe Fiumara. “We like the side effect of that because data is pretty clear that the sooner you can quit using tobacco, the sooner your body can really bounce back from the side effects of it.” At the peak of his busi- ness, Dietz owned six shops specializing in the sale of tobacco with additional loca- tions in Washington and Idaho that have since closed as state taxes have risen in those neighboring states. Oregon hasn’t raised the state tobacco tax since 2002, and a measure most recently failed to pass in 2007. In recent years, Dietz said each of his active Cig- arette Shop stores averaged the sale of about 2,500 car- tons of cigarettes per week, which he estimated about 80% of are purchased by Washington residents will- ing to travel south for the lower costs. While his stores also offer beer, Dietz said those sales only account for about $150,000 of revenue per year. Dietz said the heightened taxes would result in his store paying roughly $3 mil- lion in both state and federal taxes, which he said can’t be outweighed by sales due to the expected reduction in Washington customers. Supporters of Measure 108 projected the tax to raise roughly $160 million in additional annual funding. Fiumara is supportive of directing that funding to other health programs, but is also concerned about the 27 BLACK FRIDAY DEC Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald The Cigarette Store in Umatilla and its companion store in Milton-Freewater will both be closing at the end of the year as a result of increased tobacco taxes. NOV Holiday liday Season Seas DEC After 26 years of operat- ing in Umatilla County, the last two remaining Cigarette Store locations are closing for good on Dec. 31. Sherdon Dietz, 79, is one of two remaining partners who own the small shops currently located in Uma- tilla and Milton-Freewater that specialize in the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, which are about to become more expensive to purchase in Oregon. Oregon overwhelmingly approved Measure 108 ear- lier this month with two- thirds of voters voting “yes” to increase the tax on ciga- rettes by $2 per pack, along with adding the state’s fi rst tax on e-cigarettes and increasing the tax on pre- mium cigars. The heightened rate will give Oregon the sixth high- est tax on cigarettes in the country — a category it cur- rently ranks 32nd in — but for Dietz it means cigarettes in Oregon will become more expensive to purchase than they will be across the bor- der in Washington. “The immediate effect is two stores, eight employees and a $16,000 a month pay- roll is gone as of Dec. 31,” he said. The funding raised through the new tax is almost entirely earmarked for the Oregon Health Authority, which will receive 90% of the funds for treating sick people, specifi cally those facing mental illnesses. The other 10% will be directed for tobacco cessation efforts to tribal governments and “other culturally specifi c heath programs.” Health offi cials are espe- cially hopeful that raising prices on these products will reduce the number of Ore- gon youth who are pick- ing up vaping products and starting habits that result in them ultimately picking up cigarettes. According to Ore- gon Health Authority data, smoking leads to approxi- mately 8,000 deaths of Ore- gonians per year and the number of Oregon’s youths who began vaping increased 80% from 2017 to 2019, while numerous national studies have concluded that teens who begin vaping Offer Offer ends ends November November 30, 7, 2020 2020 www.swainmotors.com 541-567-2277 80406 Hwy 395 N., Hermiston Top of the Hill American Printing • Anderson Hansell Anderson Perry • Banner Bank • Barnett & Moro Bendixsen Law, P.C. • Christianson Realty Group City of Hermiston • East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald Greater Hermiston Chamber of Commerce KayC’s Art & Collectibles • KOHU/The Q KRISanthemums • Mailing Made Easy P4 & More • Pioneer Commodities, LLC Simmons Insurance Group Washington Federal Credit Union
