WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2022
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Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Veronica Flores, right, and her wife Chacha Flores prepare food Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, during a fundraiser at their restaurant, Vero’s Kravingz in Hermiston. The fundraiser was for
the funeral expenses of Chacha’s mother, who died last week.
‘Always with us’
New restaurant owner honors mother-in-law
By ERICK PETERSON • Hermiston Herald
A
nticipation was building for about a week. As a new
Hermiston restaurant, Vero’s Kravingz was closed,
regular customers were eagerly waiting. When it opened
on Saturday, Feb. 12, people flooded into it.
The tiny restaurant at 1725 N. First
St., Hermiston, usually is busy. When it
reopened this past weekend, however,
people were gathered outside the door,
waiting their turn to enter. And while they
waited, many of them chatted about the
reason the restaurant was closed in the
fi rst place.
Irene Flores Jr., the mother-in-law of
the owner, Veronica Flores, had died.
In the days that followed her moth-
er-in-law’s death, the restaurant owner
said she would reopen. Then, when the
day came, it was too diffi cult. She put off
opening until Feb. 12, when she and other
loved ones could bear the grief.
As excited customers fi led into
Vero’s Kravingz, following the reopen-
ing, they passed by a collage of photos
of the well-loved Irene Flores. Then, as
they approached the register, they off ered
condolences to family members at the
counter as they purchased food that does
not typically appear on the menu — gour-
met hot dogs.
Feb. 12 was special, as it was a fund-
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Plates of fresh tacos line the table top
Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at Vero’s Kravingz.
raiser to bring in cash for funeral expenses
and a burial in Toppenish, Washington.
There was a jar for donations and raffl e
items for a drawing.
Chacha Flores, Veronica Flores’ wife,
was at the register for the reopening. It
was Chacha’s mother who died.
“My mom was wonderful,” she said.
Rudy Flores, Chacha Flores’ uncle and
Irene Flores’ brother, also expressed his
sadness over the death. His sister, he said,
was a special woman.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Chacha Flores, right, and Sosena Hernandez fi ll orders Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at Vero’s
Kravingz.
“Irene was a fun-loving person,” he
said. “She always brought everyone’s
spirits up. If you had a problem, you
could talk to her. She could bring you out
of a slump.”
His sister always was ready to laugh.
“You could call her with a sad moment,
and she’d turn it around and make it a
joking moment,” he said.
She also “was really good,” he added,
“about reminding you of God and that
God’s there for us.”
The family, Rudy Flores said, has had
a string of deaths recently. COVID-19
caused the deaths of cousins and other
family members, he said. Irene Flores had
the disease, but he attributed her death to
a busted vein.
“She was a big part of our lives,” Veron-
ica Flores said. “She was always with us.”
See Kravingz, Page A9
Highland Manor residents host yard sale ahead of vacating
Apartment tenants
discuss their
disappointments
and memories
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
HERMISTON
—
February is not typically
yard sale weather, but a
few Hermiston residents
may not be able to wait
until warmer months to
INSIDE
host sales at their home.
The tenants of High-
land Manor, a 46-unit
complex are on notice to
vacate their apartments.
Clover Housing Group
LLC, the new owner of
Highland Manor, has
off ered tenants $2,000 if
they leave by the end of
the month. Clover Hous-
ing reported it plans to
start renovations as soon
as the complex is empty.
So, a few residents
Saturday, Feb. 12, braved
temperatures in the low
30s, set up tables in the
apartment’s parking lot
and put out items for
sale. Saying they were
clearing out their homes
and trying to make a
few bucks before mov-
ing, they expressed dis-
appointment about their
situation.
Parting with a well-loved
home
Jennifer Baros, High-
land Manor resident, said
A3  Gubernatorial candidate visits
Boardman, Hermiston
she has lived in her apart-
ment for fi ve years and
she was happy with her
home.
“I’ve loved it,” she
said.
She said that she
appreciated her man-
ager, the apartment ame-
nities and the mainte-
nance. Whenever she had
problems with her apart-
ment, it always was fi xed
quickly.
See Sale, Page A9
A6  Inland Northwest Musicians
gifted a 9-foot Chickering
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
A7  Eastern Oregon prisons and
COVID-19
Karen Dela Cruz,
Highland Manor
resident, shows
the remains
of her garden
on Saturday,
Feb. 12, 2022.
She was selling
garden items,
household
goods and
paintings at
a yard sale at
the Hermiston
apartment
complex.
A8  Christmas Express donation
and more community news