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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2020)
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 HermistonHerald.com EasternOregonMarketplace.com PANDEMIC ADJUSTMENTS Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald Signs featuring the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce advise shoppers that businesses are open on Friday, Nov. 20. Businesses not deterred as they prepare for holiday shopping season By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR L ike everything else, the holiday shop- ping season will look a little different this year. Despite the challenges of oper- ating during a pandemic, however, local businesses say they’re still gearing up to serve customers on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Julie Lara, who co-owns JB Brick Com- pany in Hermiston with her husband, said their LEGO store had its best sales days of the year on Black Friday and Small Busi- ness Saturday last year after opening a few months prior. They will be offering holi- day deals again this year, while sticking to rules the state has in place about masking, sanitizing and keeping stores at 75% capac- ity during the current two-week, statewide “freeze” to crack down on the spread of COVID-19. She said the store has been popular during the pandemic, as kids have been “cooped up and bored.” Some customers have told her they are using LEGOs purchased at the store as rewards for their children doing well in their online schooling. “I don’t want to say we’re essentially, exactly, but for parents’ sanity we might be essential,” she said. Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald See Shopping, Page A10 Signs for the Hermiston Downtown District thank shoppers for shopping at small businesses on Friday, Nov. 20. Population estimates show Hermiston is still growing By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Hermiston continues to expand its lead as Eastern Oregon’s larg- est city, adding an estimated 360 new residents between July 2019 and July 2020, according to Port- land State University’s Population Research Center. It now stands at 18,775 inside city limits. The center released its prelimi- nary estimates for the year on Nov. 15. They showed Umatilla County as a whole gained an estimated 335 people, bumping the population up to about 81,495 residents. As Hermiston’s population has grown, its housing stock has too. According to a news release from the city of Hermiston, the city INSIDE issued permits for 83 new homes inside city limits in 2020 through the end of October. Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said the city has worked to promote addi- tional housing development in sev- eral ways, including the invest- ment in a new water tower and other infrastructure to bring down the cost of developing housing in the northeast part of the city. “Hermiston, Umatilla, and Stan- ¿HOGFDQUHDOO\DOOEHWKRXJKWRIDV neighborhoods in a larger west- end real estate market,” he said in a statement. “Our hope with these targeted public investments was certainly to drive housing in north- east Hermiston, but also to allow private developers to negotiate bet- ter prices for land region-wide.” Hermiston’s neighbors also saw A3 Hermiston car rebuild gets national attention growth in the past year, accord- ing to PSU’s estimates. Umatilla added 135 residents for a total of 6WDQ¿HOGDGGHGUHVLGHQWV for a total of 2,280. Echo added 10 residents for a total of 720. To the east, Pendleton added ¿YHUHVLGHQWVIRUDWRWDORI To the west, Boardman added 75 for a total of 4,580 and Irrigon added 10 for a total of 2,040. Mor- row County as a whole grew by an estimated 145 residents, up to 12,825. More housing is on the way in the region. Umatilla has been build- ing about 100 new homes a year, and City Manager David Stockdale Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald told the Hermiston Herald in July that the city was continuing to work From July 2019 to July 2020 the city of Hermiston added an estimated See Population, Page A10 A6 Theater company presents ‘A Christmas Carol’ 360 new residents, according to Portland State University’s Population Research Center. A7 Club 24 stays open despite gym closure mandate A8 Hermiston High School cooking class has tasty homework
