MASCOT HELP GOOD SHEPHERD LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS PAGE A7 VIKES AT HOME UMATILLA GIRLS TO HOST PLAYOFF TILT PAGE B1 Hermiston Herald SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011 YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER HERMISTONHERALD.COM 8 08805 93294 2 Hermiston Herald $1.00 © 2010 East Oregonian Publishing Co. Mostly sunny High: 38˚ Low: 24˚ • Full report on Hermiston’s quest for fifth-straight state title COMING IN WEDNESDAY’S HERALD • SUNDAY Cloudy High: 51˚ Low: 33˚ • MONDAY Showers High: 52˚ Low: 36˚ A complete weather forecast is featured on page A2. TODAY’S WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR LOCAL BREAKING NEWS www.HermistonHerald.com NEILL WOELK HERMISTON HERALD Editor Census figures confirm inevitable O K, it’s official.Not that anyone should be surprised, but Hermiston is now the biggest city in Umatilla County. According to 2010 U.S. Census statistics released earlier this week, Hermiston checked in with a popula- tion of 16,745 while Pendle- ton had 16,612 on the books. Again, no big surprise. While Hermiston’s popula- tion has been growing steadily, Pendleton’s has been stagnant now for at least a decade. Given the ac- tivity and economies of both cities, it has been only a matter of time before Her- miston surpassed Pendleton. Still, there were some who thought Pendleton would hold onto the “title” for at least another few years. After all, 10 years ago, census numbers had Pendleton with 16,354 resi- dents and Hermiston with 13,154. That was enough of a difference that some re- cent projections had Pendle- ton maintaining its lead for the near future. But since 2000, Hermis- ton has added 3,591 people to its population while Pendleton increased by just 258 in that same period of time. Other tidbits? • Umatilla County grew by 5,341 people in the last 10 years, meaning Hermis- ton absorbed more than SEE EDITORIAL/A4 2000 Population 2010 Population Hermiston takes lead U.S. Census data released this week confirmed what many thought was in- evitable: Hermiston has surpassed Pendleton as the largest city in Umatilla County. The 2010 figures showed Hermiston with 16,745 resi- dents while Pendleton’s population is listed as 16,612. That is a significant change from the 2000 2010 CENSUS CITY Pendleton Hermiston Umatilla Boardman Stanfield Irrigon Echo 2000 16,354 13,154 4,978 2,855 1,979 1,702 650 CITY Hermiston Pendleton Umatilla Boardman Stanfield Irrigon Echo 2000 16,745 16,612 6,906 3,220 2,043 1,826 699 Census shows city passes Pendleton HERMISTON HERALD And the winner is... JENNIFER COLTON PHOTO Students help DiAna Allison and Paula Thompson demonstrate their live auction prize — Date Night Babysitting Services — on Tuesday evening during Desert View Elementary’s fourth annual Auction and Raffle. See story, Page A4. SEE CENSUS/A6 The government is not offering cash rebates for those who paid property taxes early and scammers do not dis- criminate — even when they’re trying to pull a fast one on the county tax of- fice. The latter became evident Tuesday morning, when Umatilla County tax as- sessor Paul Chalmers was contacted by an individual claiming to be from Pennsylvania. When Chalmers re- ceived the message and called the num- ber back, a man with a Middle Eastern accent named “Chris Jones” told him he owned money for legal fees from a website, CashNetUSA. “Basically, they said I owed them $490 and some change, but if I paid them today with Western Union, I would only have to pay $370,” Chalmers said. “He even mentioned verifying that I was a legitimate Amer- ican citizen, asking if he could get my Social Security number to verify that.” Chalmers contacted the FBI to report the call and learned it is a common type of scam. CashnetUSA.com is a legiti- mate payday loan business, and the company has become aware of the scam and offers tips to recognize fake callers. “Our in-house collectors follow strict policies and procedures, industry best practices, and comply with the law. These fraudulent collectors do not,” the website states. The company also notes that people should be suspicious if: • They have never received a cash advance from the company. • They have received a loan but paid it back in full. • The caller threatens violence or uses foul language. • The caller threatens arrest. •The caller is unable to provide loan agreement information or payment his- tory when you ask for it. The website also said people who have reported the scam said the callers had a strong Indian, Asian or Middle Eastern accent, poor English-speaking skills and attempt to show legitimacy Knerr Const. wins bid for pump station The City of Hermiston awarded Knerr Construc- tion of Hermiston with a contract for just more than $500,000 for the construc- tion of the Joseph Pump Station. The contract bid in- cludes bonuses if the proj- ect is finished ahead of schedule. Knerr Construction was the only bidder for the project, which is sched- uled to be finished by early August. The water pressure boost station is designed to be a prefabricated struc- ture that will ensure ade- quate water pressure for the residential neighbor- hood around W. Joseph Avenue and S.W. 11th Street when the new Ar- mand Larive Middle School opens in the fall. The new pump station will boost residential water pressure to 65 pounds per square inch. State law requires at least 20 psi for residential water during high-flow usage. City officials said the new station is designed in anticipation of residential growth. According to John Eck- hardt, project manager for BY LUKE HEDGAL HERMISTON HERALD Scam artist can’t fool county tax office Chalmers contacts FBI after call BY JENNIFER COLTON HERMISTON HERALD “He even mentioned verifying that I was a legitimate American citizen.” —Paul Chalmers Jennifer Spurlock started her SUV to let it warm up while she went back into the Last Chance Tavern in Her- miston, where she works. A few minutes later the Lincoln Navigator was gone. Richard Dare parked his soft-top Jeep in front of his house and discovered thieves had taken a pair of binoculars and speakers, and then jabbed a hole in his plastic window. Jackie Wheelhouse re- turned home after work to find her front door (solid oak) kicked in, glass scat- tered across the floor and all her jewelry gone. In all, there were 22 re- ports of break-ins and thefts, including attempted burgla- ries, and two assault reports in Hermiston in the first 22 days of February. According to Hermiston Police, the numbers are pretty typical for winter months. Spurlock and her husband, Nat, did find their vehicle again, thanks to Jennifer Spurlock’s insistence that they drive around and look for it. “We found it about four blocks away,” Nat Spurlock said. “It was just pure luck that I happened to see it.” Despite recovering the ve- hicle, the Spurlocks reported several important items missing, including birth cer- tificates, insurance informa- tion and a bottle of perfume Nat had purchased as a Christmas present for his wife. “They just ransacked the vehicle,” Nat Spurlock said. Dare and the Wheelhouses also claim extensive dam- ages to their property, as well as having items stolen. For Dare, the largest cost to him was the damage to his Jeep’s cloth top. He will have to replace the whole top, which costs about $1,000 new, according to Dare. “They didn’t have to dam- age the top,” Dare said. “It’s the kind of thing you’d like to catch somebody doing and beat them with a stick.” Mike Wheelhouse said that in addition to the loss of 30 years worth of jewelry, their solid oak door was smashed in violently. Break-ins, thefts top February crime chart First 22 days produced 22 theft reports BY LUKE HEGDAL HERMISTON HERALD SEE SCAM/A6 SEE CRIME/A6 Project to be finished by fall SEE PUMP/A6