Senior Times - August 2021

DELIVERING NEWS TO MID-COLUMBIA SENIORS SINCE 1982

Bronze Star recipient with Tri-City ties gets free home

By Annie Charnley Eveland Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

A wounded Army staff sergeant with Tri-City ties soon will move into a new mortgage-free home.

Ellis “Jerry” Majetich, a 1988 Kennewick High School graduate who suffered catastrophic injuries serving in Iraq, and his family broke ground on their future home in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

The home will be in a Del Webb community designed for active adults 55 and older and is being built by PulteGroup Inc., an Atlanta homebuilder whose Built to Honor program builds mortgage-free homes for deserving veterans.

A crowd of residents and future neighbors lined the streets of their community to welcome Majetich, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, and his wife Mary Ella, when they visited the site for the first time.

“Nothing has ever been given to us; everything we have we’ve worked for,” Majetich said in a news release. “We are both still overwhelmed with emotions – so thankful for everyone who is a part of this. To try to put our feelings into words is impossible, but we’re going to strive to pay it forward for the rest of our lives.”

Majetich joined the military after graduating from Kennewick, wanting to better his life while serving and protecting his country.

Majetich’s journey out of hell started with the 2005 ambush in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He was badly injured by a roadside bomb and an attack by eight Iraqi insuruMAJETICH, Page 2

AUGUST 2021

Vol. 9 | Issue 8

Kennewick golf pro eyes senior tour after U.S. Senior Open appearance

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

A Kennewick golf pro is considering joining the senior tour after he qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, held July 7-11 at the Omaha, Nebraska, Country Club.

Lionel Kunka missed the cut after he shot a 79 and 81 in the first two rounds. But it was a rewarding experience and his strong performance against difficult playing conditions prompted his biggest fan to push him to rededicate himself to the sport he played professionally in his younger years.

Kunka, 55, said he may well do it.

He played eight seasons on the Canadian pro golf circuit before settling in Kennewick 25 years ago with his wife and two daughters, now adults.

Photo by Wendy Culverwell Lionel Kunka, a Kennewick golf pro, is considering pursuing the senior tour after he qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, held in July in Nebraska. Kunka manages Golf Universe in Kennewick.

As he put it, he swapped the uncertainty of touring for the white picket stability of a family man. He helped establish what is now Golf

Universe on Clearwater Avenue in western Kennewick and remained on as its manager after Chris

uKUNKA, Page 6

Pasco lands not one but three new food processors

By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Two major food processors and one startup will spend as much as $1 billion to build plants in Pasco in the coming year.

The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, sister publication to Senior Times, recently reported the news that Darigold Inc., Reser’s Fine Foods and Local Bounti had all decided to invest in new facilities in Pasco.

It’s big food processing news for the Tri-Cities. Here’s our roundup of what’s coming:

Darigold Inc.

Darigold Inc. is the Seattle-based marketing and processing arm of the Northwest Dairy Association, consisting of 350 Northwest arm operations.

It announced it will invest up to $500 million to build a plant in the Port of Pasco’s future Reimann Industrial Center. It entered a purchase and sale agreement with the Port in July, but the final decision is contingent on Darigold’s assessment of how it is treated under Washington’s new environmental regulations.

The plant, described as a “milk

drying” facility, is technically a protein and butter plant. At 400,000 square feet, it will be the largest of its kind in North America and will be packed with environmentally friendly features to advance Darigold’s own environmental initiatives.

A final decision is due by the end of the year.

The nearest Darigold plant is in Sunnyside.

Reser’s Fine Foods

Reser’s Fine Foods is already a well-known corporate citizen both for uFOOD PROCESSORS, Page 7

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Seniors have the most to fear from wildfire smoke

Page 3

MONTHLY QUIZ

Chief Kamiakin: A leader, warrior and gentleman farmer

Page 11

In 1955, only three high schools existed in the Tri-Cities, Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. Which of the three had the dominant football team that fall season in inter-Tri-City play?

ANSWER, PAGE 9

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gents. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, severe burns and multiple injuries.

He has had 82 surgeries, earning him a place in medical history.

Because of his military training and assignments, “Jerry was on an insurgent hit list. They had bounties on him,” said brother Tom Majetich of Walla Walla. He told the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin that Jerry was blown up by an IED while in a Humvee. The two guys with him were never found, Tom said.

His captain pulled him out and he was able to return fire.

In addition to the injuries from the explosion, he was shot in the right shoulder and three times in the right leg. He suffered burns on more than one-third of his body, including his face and scalp, the loss of his ears and nose, right hand and fingers on his left hand to amputation, the removal of part of his intestines and stomach, a fractured spine and left foot.

He also suffers from PTSD. “We got the call that they didn’t think he’d make it,” Tom said. Jerry’s five brothers, including one from West Richland, flew to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to see him in the burn center.

It’s been a long haul for Jerry but along the way he has gone to military bases to speak with other soldiers.

“He gives them ideas, helps them get off morphine, helps the wounded and suicidal,” Tom said.

Over time, all the brothers helped care for him.

In 2006, Tom, who works in information technology at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, took three months of family leave to help Jerry’s family in Texas. “They were pretty messed up at that time,” he said.

The home under construction for Jerry in Florida is a good place for him to be because of the proximity to VA medical facilities, Tom said.

“There’s a lot of help out there. It’s really great what they’re doing for the veterans, especially with the house for Jerry and his family,” Tom said. Jerry’s family includes his wife, Mary Ellen, and daughter, Katy Majetich.

Jerry’s six brothers were all stationed

uBRIEF Registration underway for Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Registration is underway for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event set for Oct. 10 in Kennewick.

The event ceremony is at 1 p.m. at the Columbia Park bandshell, with the 2-mile walk following at 1:30 p.m.

Participants can join an existing team, create a new team, or register as an individual.

Courtesy Built to Honor Ellis “Jerry” Majetich, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient who graduated from Kennewick High School, will receive a mortgage-free home from PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program. It’s being built in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Majetich suffered multiple injuries after an IED exploded his Humvee in Iraq in 2005.

overseas at one point, Tom said.

Richard Posio of Michigan, served with the Army in Korea in the later 1970s; Tom Majetich, served in armored tanks in the Army; Ben Majetich, who is West Richland chief of police, was in Army combat mortar platoons at Fort Hood, Texas, David Majetich of Cohutta, Georgia, was with the Army military police at Fort Stewart in Hinesville, Georgia; and Hank Majetich, was a former Army MP in Texas and now a police lieutenant in Redmond, Oregon.

Jerry, the youngest, first served four years with the U.S. Marine Corps in ship security on an aircraft carrier, before serving 15 years in the Army, including with psychological operations in Iraq.

He was honorably discharged in 2007.

The boys’ mom, Margaret Majetich, lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. She brings the tradition of military service to her family, too. She was stationed as an Army nurse in Germany in the late 1950s. She’s particularly proud of a letter she received in 1994 from an Army colonel recognizing her contributions toward all six of her sons who served in the Army.

WTLV-TV First Coast News reported on May 25, 2021, that Jerry was the “first person in the world to have an experimental surgery on an upper ex-

tremity that could revolutionize prosthetics.”

His mangled right hand had been a 15-year source of unceasing pain, and in 2020, he chose to have it amputated.

He told Tom, “‘I’ve been in pain … for years.’ I understood after the amputation because it relieved the pain,” Tom said. “Jerry’s happy and feels so much better.”

Jerry had endured a 17-hour surgery on that hand, but it failed. He told them to take it off. “For me, the pain being gone has changed my life,” he told WTLV. Post amputation, Jerry volunteered to have an experimental surgery using an AMI procedure. The agonistantagonist myoneural interface method could revolutionize prosthetics, the WTLV story noted. The hope is it will help alleviate phantom pain and lead to better prosthetic function.

Tom and Jerry are hope these developments can help others.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to help the veterans that follow because you know, there are, there will be other wars, there’ll be other amputations and I want to make sure that things are better for those that fall behind me,” Jerry told WTLV.

Registration is free, but the event organizer, Alzheimer’s Association, asks every participant to make a personal donation.

Everyone who is registered receives a flower to carry during the walk in a color that represents their connection to the disease (blue for someone living with Alzheimer’s; purple for those who have lost someone to the disease; yellow for someone supporting or caring for a person living with Alzheimer’s; and orange for those who support the cause).

Those who raise $100 receive a T-shirt.

The Kennewick event’s goal is to raise $125,000. At the end of July more than $48,000 had been raised by 44 teams.

All money raised for Walk to End Alzheimer’s goes to further the care, support and research efforts of the nonprofit Alzheimer’s Association.

For more information, go to act. alz.org, or contact Erica Grissmerson at 509-552-7026 or emgrissmerson@ alz.org.

The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business contributed to this report.

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

3

Seniors have the most to fear from wildfire smoke Face it: Wildfire smoke is a torment to just about everyone. It burns your eyes and scorches your throat and keeps you indoors on summer days when you would rather be out and about.

For older people, wildfire smoke is worse than a discomfort; it is a threat to long-term health and wellbeing – even to life itself.

Why does wildfire smoke pose such a danger to seniors?

“Wildfire smoke does the most damage to the heart and the lungs,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for the Benton-Franklin Health District in Kennewick. “Older people are more likely to have pre-existing heart and lung conditions.”

Worse still, Person said exposure to wildfire smoke can uncover health issues that previously had been undiagnosed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ticks off specific conditions that wildfire smoke can exacerbate. It says, for instance, “People with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart disease need to be especially careful about breathing wildfire smoke.”

That heightened risk for older folks raises three questions: • What is it about wildfire smoke that makes it so dangerous?

• What are the symptoms to watch out for, that can indicate a dangerous response to wildfire smoke?

• How can you minimize your exposure to wildfire smoke, given that the heightened risk of wildfires in Washington state seems here to stay?

The answer to that first question comes from Dr. Mary Prunicki, director of air pollution and health research at Stanford University’s Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research.

Prunicki has studied blood samples from people exposed to wildfire smoke. What the studies showed was a build-up in humans of something very nasty called PM2.5.

“The PM means it is particulate matter,” Prunicki said. “The 2.5 means each particle is smaller than 2.5 microns.” It would take 100 microns side-by-side to equal the width of one human hair.

It is that very tiny size that makes PM2.5 so hazardous. The particles are drawn into your body when you inhale wildfire smoke. They can then pass through the lungs into the bloodstream.

“Your blood then carries the particles throughout your system – to your heart and kidneys and elsewhere – doing damage wherever

they go,” she said.

To answer to the second question, simply being outdoors on a smoky day is Gordon Williams bound to bothAmerican Red Cross er you.

Your eyes GUEST COLUMN will burn and your throat will feel raspy. Those symptoms alone should send you indoors until the smoke has cleared.

What you want to pay special attention to are signs that the smoke may be causing real – and lasting – damage.

Person ticks off some of the danger signs.

“Beware of shortness of breath, severe dizziness, chest pains that last for more than a few minutes and a cough that just won’t stop,” she said.

Person said heart-related trips to emergency rooms pick up after a community has been exposed to wildfire smoke. If you have a heart condition – or fear you might have such a condition – and you experience any worrisome symptoms, go directly to an emergency room if you can do so safely.

Which takes us to the third question about minimizing the risk when wildfire smoke is in the air.

As the adage goes, forewarned is forearmed.

The more you know about what is coming and the sooner you know it, the more you can do to protect yourself when smoke fills the air.

Start with the notion that wildfires and smoke are inevitable if you live in Washington state.

Severe drought and rising temperatures have increased the number and severity of wildfires, seen fires come earlier in the year and become more common even in western Washington where abundant rain once made fires a rarity.

Washington was 10th among U.S. states in 2020 with 1,646 fires and fourth behind only California, Oregon and Arizona for the number of acres burned – 842,370.

Pay attention to the news for updates on nearby fires.

Sign up for local notifications of nearby fires. Your local weather forecast will include red flag warnings – an indicator that local conditions are such that fire is a real danger. If your county is under a burn ban, that is a good indicator of a heightened fire danger.

Your weather forecast also will include a discussion of air quality.

If your county has a clean air

agency, check out what it has to report on air quality for your region.

“My own favorite resource is the Washington State Department of Ecology,” Person said. Find it at ecology.wa.gov.

Look for the Washington Air Monitoring Network. It is a map showing air quality throughout the state – kept up-to-date and highly useful.

When there is smoke in the air, get inside and stay there.

Keep all windows and doors closed. Try to set up at least one room that can be closed off from outside air.

If you have a central air conditioning unit, close the fresh air intake and set the unit to the recirculate mode.

Make sure the unit uses high efficiency filters. Set up a portable air cleaner or use HEPA furnace filters attached to a box fan to pull particles out of the air. “A fan with HEPA filters can make a pretty decent air purifier,” Person said.

The CDC warns against “using candles, gas, propane, wood-burning stoves, fireplaces or aerosol sprays to keep indoor air clean.”

Smoking is high-risk at any time but obviously it is a “don’t do” when the outside air is smoky. Avoid indoor cooking as much as possible.

When the threat of wildfire is high, stock up on ready-to-eat foods, so you do not fill the air with particles from the stove.

Person said that because you may be cooped up inside for days, make sure you have enough food and

water to feed the family for at least 72 hours and enough of all medications to cover you for at least that long.

The obvious question is whether to stay home or seek shelter if the air quality turns dire.

“It is always safer to shelter where you are,” Person said. “Any time you leave your home, you are exposing yourself to smoke particles. Only evacuate if fire is a real risk.”

Finding shelter is as easy as downloading the American Red Cross emergency app, going to RedCross. org or calling 1-800-RedCross to see if there is a facility with clean air and supportive services available near you.

One final thought is that while seniors are at special risk from wildfire smoke, it is a danger to everyone no matter what age.

The Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Department at the University of Washington studied the risks inherent in exposure to wildfire smoke. It concluded that, “People of all ages face a slightly increased risk of dying during and just after exposure to wildfire smoke.”

Seniors need to take extra care when there is smoke in the air, but the stay-safe rules listed above should be followed by everyone, young and old alike. Gordon Williams is a volunteer with the American Red Cross’ Northwest Region Communications Team.

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SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST 4

• Thunder on the Island featuring Groove Principal: 6-9 p.m., Clover Island Inn, 435 N. Clover Island Drive, Kennewick. Free.

• PNNL, “Supercomputers: Solving Big Science Problems”: 5-6 p.m. via Zoom. Details at pnnl. gov/events.

AUGUST 5

• Historic Downtown Kennewick Farmers Market: 4-7 p.m., 204 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick. For more information, call 509-5827221or email market@ historickennewick.org.

• HAPO Live @ 5 summer concert series featuring Groove Principal: 5 p.m., John Dam Plaza, 815 George Washington Way, Richland. Free.

Pasco. For more information, call 509-528-8131 or email omartinez@ downtownpasco.com.

• Mid-Columbia Libraries presents, “Celebration of Community, Diversity and Culture”: Noon-8 p.m., Columbia Park, Kennewick. Food vendors, sign up for a library card and check out books published in various languages. Free.

Boulevard and The Parkway in Richland. For more information, call 509-539-7229 or email herbsetal@ pocketinet.com.

AUGUST 11

AUGUST 18

• Thunder on the Island featuring Foolish Fortune: 6-9 p.m., Clover Island Inn, 435 N. Clover Island Drive, Kennewick. Free.

AUGUST 12

• Richland Farmers Market: 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., roundabout at Lee Boulevard and The Parkway in Richland. For more information, call 509-539-7229 or email herbsetal@ pocketinet.com.

• Historic Downtown Kennewick Farmers Market: 4-7 p.m., 204 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick. For more information, call 509-5827221or email market@ historickennewick.org.

• HAPO Live @ 5 summer concert series featuring Stompin Ground: 5 p.m., John Dam Plaza, 815 George Washington Way, Richland. Free.

AUGUST 7

AUGUST 13

AUGUST 6

• Pasco Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 101 S. Fourth Ave.,

• Richland Farmers Market: 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., roundabout at Lee

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AUGUST 14

• Pasco Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 101 S. Fourth Ave., Pasco. For more information call 509-528-8131 or email omartinez@ downtownpasco.com.

• PNNL, “The Invisible Catalysts in Your Life: How Playing with Atoms is Key to a Better Tomorrow”: 5-6 p.m. via Zoom.

Details at pnnl.gov/events.

• Thunder on the Island featuring Wasteland Kings: 6-9 p.m., Clover Island Inn, 435 N. Clover Island Drive, Kennewick.

Free.

AUGUST 19

• Historic Downtown Kennewick Farmers Market: 4-7 p.m., 204 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick. For more information, call 509-5827221or email market@ historickennewick.org.

• HAPO Live @ 5 summer concert series featuring Badlandz: 5 p.m., John Dam Plaza, 815 George

Washington Way, Richland. Free.

AUGUST 20

• Richland Farmers Market: 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., roundabout at Lee Boulevard and The Parkway in Richland. For more information, call 509-539-7229 or email herbsetal@ pocketinet.com.

AUGUST 21

• Pasco Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 101 S. Fourth Ave., Pasco. For more information, call 509-528-8131 or email omartinez@ downtownpasco.com.

• Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo Grand Parade: 10 a.m-noon, downtown Kennewick. For more information, call 509-222-3749 or visit bentonfranklinfair.com.

• Paws For A Cause Concert POPP: 6-10 p.m., Clover Island Inn, 435 N. Clover Island Drive, Kennewick. Tickets can be purchased by calling 509-943-4722.

AUGUST 24-28

• Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo: 10 a.m.-11 p.m., 1500 S. Oak St., Kennewick. For more information, visit bentonfranklinfair.com or call 509-222-3749.

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

5

Tri-City population continues to outpace the state In pandemic year 2020, the population in the greater Tri Cities grew among the fastest of all metro areas in Washington state. For Benton County, state Office of Financial Management (OFM) pegged the count at 209,300 residents; for Franklin County, at 99,500. That’s a gain of over 6,300 in 12 months.

These estimates imply year-overyear population growth in Benton County at 1.8% and Franklin County at 2.8%. Demographers at the OFM released their population estimates in late June.

This placed the two-county area third, after Clark County (Vancouver) and the greater Wenatchee area.

Among all counties in the state, Franklin County’s growth rate ranked first.

Why did the numbers jump so much? Three reasons. First is the circle of life. Demographers refer to the excess of births over deaths as the “natural increase.” In the two counties, that amounted to a little over 2,000.

In-migration was the second one. It was a larger force, as it has been over the past decade. At least 2,360 people found their way to the two counties.

The past five years have shown inmigration to range from 2,100 to 4,300 annually.

A third component is a bit of puzzler. It is a Census “adjustment.” The difference between OFM’s estimates and the 2020 Census count for Washington was about 49,000. This total was allocated over all 39 of Washington’s counties, according to their proportion of the 2020 estimates.

For the TriCities, this meant about 1,960 added to the population estimate. But OFM has not added the D. Patrick Jones amount to either Eastern of the two comWashington ponents. It is University this observer’s GUEST COLUMN hunch that the majority of that increase stems from net in-migration.

What’s behind the continued interest by people from outside in the greater Tri Cities? Usually, it’s the prospect of employment. But not last year.

As Trends data reveals, the pandemic led to an unprecedented drop in jobs of over 5,500 between 2020 and 2019.

It could very well be that the greater Tri-Cities continues to expand due to its attraction to retirees. Trends data clearly shows the swelling of the 65+ ages over the past decade. In 2010, their share of total population was 10.4%. By 2020, it had grown to 14.5%.

Some evidence of the 65+ crowd’s contribution to in-migration comes from the unemployment rate. If population is growing yet jobs are diminishing, one of the few explanations is a strong in-migration of people not looking for work.

Should most of the in-migrants be job seekers, one would expect the unemployment rate to rise, relative to the state. But for 2020, this wasn’t the case. For the metro area, the 2020

Franklin Benton

Walla Walla

Population estimate 2021 Benton County

209,300

Kennewick Richland

Numeric change 2020-21

Percent change 2020-21

3,600

1.75

85,940

980

1.15

59,570

1,020

1.74

West Richland

16,710

1,000

6.37

Prosser

6,310

90

1.45

Benton City

3,605

45

1.26

Franklin County

99,500

2,740

2.8

Pasco

79,580

2,480

3.22

Connell

5,275

-225

-4.09

Mesa

505

10

2.02

Kahlotus

165

0

0

STATE TOTAL

7,766,925

110,725

1.45

Source: state Office of Financial Management

unemployment rate rose from 5.6% the prior year to 8.4%, or by half. Yet the state unemployment rate doubled to 8.4% in 2020.

It is true, however, that since the start of this year, Franklin County’s unemployment rate is higher than the state average.

Monthly estimates can accessed on the Association of Washington

Business Foundation website at awbinstitute.org.

Undoubtedly some in-migration took place by those whose hopes for jobs were stymied, therefore joining the local ranks of the unemployed. But it seems likely that the 65+ population continued to loom even larger in 2020.

Robust population growth brings uPOPULATION, Page 10

6

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

KUNKA, From page 1

Eerkes of Sun Pacific Energy bought it years ago.

He oversees the driving range, 36-hole miniature golf course and a full-service pro shop and manages a weekly game and occasional tournament. He’s held onto his pro card and maintains a respectable 2+ handicap.

With support of Eerkes as well as friend and fellow sponsor Dave Retter, Kunka said he’s giving serious thought to returning to the life of a touring professional.

Retter is pushing him to enter the qualifying round for The Boeing Classic, a PGA tour being held Aug. 16-22 at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge. About 100 players will vie for four spots in the qualifying round on the Monday preceding the event.

“I’m thinking about it,” Kunka said. “Dave wants me to sign up for it and I think I will.”

Retter is president and owner of Retter & Co. | Sotheby’s International Realty, the MidColumbia’s largest residential firm.

Retter, together with Eerkes, sponsored Kunka’s trip to Nebraska after developing close friendships through their regular golf dates.

Retter liked what he saw in Nebraska. The man he considers the best golfer in the Tri-Cities missed the cut, but played well under challenging conditions, including grueling heat. He made par even after hitting the rough on several holes, an impressive recovery that might have sidelined a less experienced golfer.

“He did well,” said Retter, who

intended to serve as his caddy but had to bow out in the high humidity.

“He had a great experience, and he wants to continue on.”

Kunka’s road to professional golf began with ice hockey and a general love for sports. He was born in Manitoba and grew up in the Kelowna, British Columbia, north of the Washington border.

He was mad for hockey but hockey wasn’t mad for him. He was too slight to be taken seriously and would never reach 6 feet tall. He turned to other games, including baseball and golf.

He plowed earnings from a newspaper route into a set of left-handed clubs, unusual for a right-hander.

Kunka explained that he found it more comfortable to play left-handed after using an overhand grip as a hockey player. He moved to the TriCities for college, playing golf on scholarship to Columbia Basin College. His winning first year attracted attention, and scholarship offers came in from four-year schools.

He chose the University of Nevada, which made the best offer and spent the next few years in Reno.

After college, he returned to Canada and turned pro, playing alongside professionals who are fixtures on the senior circuit today.

There wasn’t much money from tournaments, but sponsors were willing to take a chance on young players, and the touring pros helped one another. Old hands helped the young ones up. He drove the vast distances to participate in tournaments and qualifying rounds.

“I honestly think I’ve been across Canada 10 times,” he said.

He spent winters in Palm Springs, playing the Golden State and Silver State and enjoyed a benefit of his pro card – playing any course, as long as he provided advance notice and respected the property.

The arrangement allowed him to play at Pebble Beach and other prestige courses.

He left tournament life after he married in 1997 and settled in Kennewick.

In time, his routine grew to include playing a regular foursome – with Retter, Mike Lundgren, president and general manager of Canyon Lakes Golf Course, and Dan Melior. The foursome was upended two years ago, when Melior died unexpectedly.

The loss was shocking and shot a hole in the close-knit group, who played together and vacationed together.

Kunka said he was in Palm Desert when Retter called with an idea to honor Melior: “Let’s try for the Senior Open.” Kunka was game and secured support from the golf community at his two regular courses – Canyon Lakes and Meadow Springs.

He entered the May 17 qualifying event at Riverside Golf & Country Club in Portland, where he shot a 72 and found himself in a playoff for one of two spots.

He lost to a Portland pro, but played well enough to be named an alternate. An official pegged his odds of playing in Nebraska at 75% since other qualifiers would drop out of the notoriously difficult tournament.

Kunka and his wife decided to travel to Nebraska for the tournament. As an alternate, he could at least count on being able to play practice rounds. He got word that he was in before they left.

With Retter and Eerkes as sponsors, he packed a dozen purple and

blue golf shirts with his sponsors’ logos and almost as many pairs of pants. He figured there wouldn’t be a chance to do laundry on the ground.

He needn’t have overpacked.

In Nebraska, players were greeted and treated like royalty from the moment they arrived at the airport and were handed keys to new Lexus sedans to drive for the tournament’s duration. Aides were only too happy to take care of personal tasks, from dry cleaning to keeping phones charged.

The tournament started well when he birdied on the first hole of his first round. It was strong enough to put him on the leaderboard, tied for sixth place. Friends flooded his phone with images they’d pulled from the Golf Channel, which aired the tournament.

Although he missed the cut, the Tri-Cities delegation considered the Nebraska outing a perfect success and suitable way to honor to their late friend.

To his sponsor, Retter, it showed that Kunka still had a passion and talent to continue on. He called it a great story about relationships, as well as an inspiration for the TriCities and encouraged him to consider “I’m all in for Lionel,” he said.

Kunka’s interest in returning to the tour comes at a time when newcomers are flooding to driving ranges to get out of the house.

Kunka said Golf Universe is busier than it’s ever been in his 25-year run, even if some of the products normally for sale in the pro shop have been on back order since 2020.

He credits the coronavirus pandemic for bringing newcomers to the driving range and to the miniature golf course.

“Right now, golf is booming,” he said. “People have money to spend and they don’t want to sit inside.”

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021 FOOD PROCESSORS, From page 1 its deli salads carried in most groceries and locally for its 110,000-squarefoot plant at the Pasco Processing Center.

The Portland-based, family-owned company quietly broke ground in July on a 250,000-square-foot new plant on 28 acres it purchased from Cox Family LLC to the east of Highway 395. The Port of Pasco bought a portion of the Cox farm as well, which currently sits just outside Pasco’s city limits and is slated for annexation.

Reser’s has not confirmed the budget for the new plant. Applying Darigold’s project budget of $1,250 per square foot ($500 million divided by 400,000 square feet), the price tag for the Reser’s plant could top $300 million. Reser’s neither confirmed nor denied the estimate. The company said it will repurpose its existing Pasco plant after the new one opens.

Local Bounti

Our last and possibly most intriguing news comes from Local Bounti, an indoor agriculture startup from Hamilton, Montana.

uBRIEFS Register now for the Lampson Cable Bridge Run

It’s time to register for the annual Lampson Cable Bridge Run, which begins at 9 a.m. Dec. 18 in Kennewick.

The run features 1 mile, 5K and 10K routes.

Early registration closed Aug. 15.

Regular registration is Aug. 16-Nov. 30. The fee is $24 per person without a shirt. Late registration is Dec. 1-15 with a fee of $34 per person. Last chance registration is Dec. 17 and the fee is $39.

Cotton shirts cost $7 and tech shirts cost $9.

Go to: bit.ly/ LampsonCableBridgeRun.

Alfresco Saturdays come to downtown Kennewick

A series of one-day road closures in downtown Kennewick will set the stage for pedestrian-oriented street markets.

Alfresco Saturdays will be held Aug. 28, Sept. 25 and Oct. 30.

Organized by the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership, the closure applies to West Kennewick Avenue and opens the way for pop-up street vendors and a mix of arts, crafts, food and other vendors as well as entertainment.

Cross streets will be open to cars and for parking.

Contact partnership@historickennewick.org for details.

Local Bounti cultivates leafy greens and herbs in high-tech greenhouses.

After starting with a modest facility in Montana, it has big plans to build eight more complexes in the western U.S., fueled by a merger and IPO deal with Leo Holdings III that values Local Bounti at $1.1 billion.

The first will be a 32-greenhouse complex at Oregon Avenue and A Streets on Pasco’s east side, in sight of the Lampson crane that soars over the Big Pasco Industrial Park. Local Bounti believes produce raised indoors is a potential $10.6 billion industry in the west alone and it is betting on Pasco to bring its products to Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

7

Courtesy Local Bounti Montana-based Local Bounti paid $3.1 million for 28 acres at Oregon Avenue and A Street north of Big Pasco Industrial Park. The indoor ag startup raises lettuce and herbs in high-tech greenhouses

8

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

uBRIEFS Cool Desert Nights, Hogs & Dogs are coming

Cool Desert Nights, the classic car, street rod and motorcycle event, returns Sept. 30-Oct. 3 to the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland. A related event, Hogs & Dogs, takes place Sept. 30 at the Bombing Range Sports Complex in West Richland.

IBEW 112 is the premier sponsor for Cool Desert Nights, which is open to all makes and models of vehicles and motorcycles.

The program includes cruises, a show ‘n shine, the traditional Kiwanis pancake breakfast, a kids’ zone, awards, vendors, food trucks and more.

Go to westrichlandchamber.org/ cool-desert-nights for event information and entry forms.

Hogs & Dogs will be held from 4-10 p.m. and includes a car show, motorcycle show, beer garden, vendors, music and more. West Richland Family Dental is the premier sponsor.

Go to HogsAndDogsTC.com.

Rotary duck race tickets on sale now

The annual Mid-Columbia Duck Race will be held Sept. 25 at Columbia Park in Kennewick.

The Rotary-sponsored program is a

major fundraiser to support local human service organizations, projects and student education. The program has raised nearly $3 million since it began 32 years ago.

More than 400 Tri-City Rotarians representing six local clubs are selling Duck Race tickets. They are available up to race day at Toyota of Tri-Cities, Ranch & Home, Garrison’s Home Appliance and Banner Bank branches.

The grand prize is a 2021 Toyota Tacoma SR5 with a suggested retail value of nearly $39,000. Tickets are $10 and include a chance to win other prizes. Each ticket comes with a free car wash from Autobahn Auto Care Center.

Participants must be 18 or older.

Go to tcduckrace.com

Kiona Vineyards shifts to lighter bottles

Kiona Vineyards is moving to bottle all of its vintages in lighter bottles, calling it an important move that will save money and reduce its carbon footprint.

The Benton City winery noted that empty glass bottles spend a lot of time in transit between manufacturer, the winery and their final destination.

Wineries have relied on heavier-thannecessary bottles to convey quality Kiona decided that was a mistake.

“That’s a lot of miles and a lot of

(carbon dioxide). We’ve been wasteful by making each leg of that journey heavier than it needs to be,” it said.

“We’re hoping to de-couple those two ideas in a way that will mean that in 10 years, a bottle is a bottle and the wine industry doesn’t have to spend the raw material and CO2 cost to convey quality.”

Moving forward, it will put all of its wine regardless of price in one of the lighter bottles available, though it will take time to use all of the heavier glass in its inventory.

It will use a 470-gram bottle, midway between the 340- to 905-gram range. All standard wine bottles hold 750 milliliters of wine regardless of weight.

It is marketing its new approach with the tagline “World Class in Lighter Glass,” which will appear on back labels.

Benton PUD holds virtual meeting

Benton PUD will hold a virtual hearing to take comments on Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act, signed into law in 2019. The act establishes milestones for utilities to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 and carbon free by 2045.

The first virtual meeting was held in July. A second will be held at 8:15

a.m. Aug. 24.

Go to BentonPUD.org/ ResourcePlanning.

Plastic bag ban taking effect for real this time

Washington’s plastic bag ban takes effect on Oct. 1 after a 10-month delay caused by bag shortages and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bag ban prohibits single-use plastic carry-out bags by restaurants, retail, small vendors and grocery stores.

Plastic bags are a common form of pollution that threaten human health, wildlife and the environment. They also are blamed for impeding recycling by jamming sorting machines and putting worker safety at risk.

The Washington Department of Ecology encourages people use reusable bags for groceries or to carry food out. They should be washed and properly stored between use.

Customers who choose compliant plastic or paper bags will be charged 8 cents, which is retained by the merchant. Food banks and pantries and individuals receiving food stamps, WIC, SNAP or other assistance are not subject to the new bag fee.

Exemptions include plastics used to wrap meat and product, bags for prescriptions, newspaper bags and drycleaning bags.

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

Just for Fun

Crossword

Across 1 First part of a Web address 5 Stylish 10 Via 11 Playful prank 12 Entrées 15 Ad follower 16 Classic Ford 17 --- -Man (arcade classic) 18 --- the crack of dawn 20 The Beatles’ meter maid 21 Settled 23 Head of the line 24 Pile 25 Cuckoo 26 And not 27 Trim, in a way

9

Solutions on page 11

28 Letters in an open slot 31 Temperature reading of a sort 34 Get to know 35 Love god 36 Old Democrat --Kefauver 37 About Down 1 WWW code 2 Like tom yum soup 3 Feeders 4 Low form of comedy 5 “Ivanhoe” writer 6 She was urged to come into the garden (Tennyson) 7 Loan abbreviation

8 Hospital breathing machines 9 Dog rewards 13 Clothed 14 Hightail it 19 Vigor 20 Manipulate 21 “Say it ain’t so!”

22 Persons in general 23 Deer in a petting zoo 25 Thugs 27 Bog 29 Rorschach test piece 30 Too 32 Southampton Insurrectionist --- Turner 33 Shooter ammunition

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Lime

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Lychee

Prune

Drupe

Mango

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Fig

Medlar

Seville

Filbert

Melon

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Rules of Sudoku - To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains ever number uniquely.

For more strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org and www.str8ts.com.

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 and 3x3 1 to 9 such that each row, column Aug. 1: “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” box contains every number uniquely. box contains every number uniquely.

5premiered on CBS. strategies, hints and tips, many strategies, hints and tips, 3For2manyFor visit www.sudokuwiki.org forits Sudoku Aug. 4:visit Apollo 15 and three astronauts left www.sudokuwiki.org for Sudoku 2and1www.str8ts.com for Str8ts. lunar orbit following thefor end of the manned and www.str8ts.com Str8ts.

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Aug. 20: TheiPhone/iPad USS Manatee (AO-58) spilled 1,000 gallons of fuel oil that washed up on President Nixon’s Western White House beach in San Clemente, California.

ANSWER Quiz answer from Page 1

None. Kennewick beat Richland 20-7, Richland beat Pasco 6-0, and Pasco beat Kennewick 27-20.

— Source: East Benton County Historic Society and Museum

10

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

POPULATION, From page 5

general as well as specific consequences. From a general economic perspective, it’s hard to see too many negatives, as economic activity should climb roughly proportional with population growth. Think taxable retail sales, and hence sales tax flows to local government. Or property tax rolls.

On the other hand, rapid population growth can bring a host of challenges. One is in the housing market, especially if housing doesn’t expand in measure with population.

Dramatically rising prices of residential real estate, found in Trends data, is one consequence. Of course, barriers to supply of homes matter, too.

Another challenge lies in physical infrastructure. New roads need to be built, current roads maintained and elevated demand for local government services paid for. Then there’s public K-12 schools. If enough of the population growth comes from families having children, then classrooms need to be added, leading ultimately to new schools, which of course have to be funded.

Another age-specific consequence might be the distribution of income and wealth. If in-migrants are largely well-heeled, their demand for goods and services might push up prices or

access in key markets. Again, think housing. Or the ability to find a primary care physician. To this observer, however, the current mix of income and ages in the greater TriCities is still a far cry from Aspen or even Coeur d’Alene.

Over the past decade, population has clipped along at an annualized growth rate of 1.5% in Benton County and 2% in Franklin County.

This rate placed Benton at third among all counties in the state (behind Clark) and Franklin at the very top. Looking forward, OFM’s forecast anticipates the two counties adding about 48,000 people by 2030.

It will be fascinating to track where all these people decide to live.

Will West Richland continue to lead the pack, on a percentage basis at least? Or will the more urban parts of the two counties gain in attraction, especially for the 65+ crowd?

8D. Patrick Jones is the executive director for Eastern Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis.

Benton-Franklin Trends, the institute’s project, uses local, state and federal data to measure the local economic, educational and civic life of Benton and Franklin counties.

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uBRIEFS Dams helped during heat wave, but so did conservation

The four lower Snake River dams played a key role in helping the Bonneville Power Administration keep the power on during the June 25-30, but not the only role.

Customers helped by turning back their thermostats and taking steps to reduce demand on the strained system too. BPA, the federal power and marketing agency, acknowledged the important role conservation played after neglecting to mention it in a July 22 press release praising the dams for helping the region power through the heat crisis.

A spokesman said there wasn’t room to address conservation in the press release, but confirmed customers played a big role in keeping total power demand below the system’s maximum power capacity – a precarious situation that can force system operators to rebalance through blackouts and other unpleasant steps.

BPA worked with Tri-City utilities to encourage local customers to turn off appliances and raise the temperature on air conditioning units as the system reached its maximum generating capacity.

The Franklin and Benton public utility districts, Benton and Columbia rural electric associations and Richland Energy Services encouraged customers to save energy through social media.

BPA used its entire generating portfolio to manage through the demand crisis. It canceled maintenance to ensure power would flow

smoothly. The Snake River dams were set above the minimum levels for juvenile fish migration, with each project filling overnight to ensure enough water for power and fish the next day.

The dams generated 439 to 1,009 megawatts during the heatwave and served as a reserve power source to help BPA manage unplanned outages. Ice Harbor Dam is of particular interest in the Tri-Cities for the role it plays in keeping local power on.

Without it, BPA said, there might have been local power outages.

Richland docs buy Pasco’s Cousin’s restaurant

The Richland doctors who established Health First Urgent Care at Columbia Point in 2020 have bought the Cousin’s Restaurant building in Pasco.

Dr. Prabjhot “Jyoti” Kahlon and Dr. Janmeet Sahota paid $2.3 million for the former restaurant building at 4605 Road 68, north of Interstate 182. The couple said they are working with the city of Pasco on potential uses before announcing if it will become a new outpost for their urgent care business.

Kahlon, who has worked in area emergency rooms, opened Health First Urgent Care in a former mattress store near Winco at Richland’s Columbia Point last August. Sahota practices at Tri-City Orthopedic.

Their private, independent Richland clinic treats nonthreatening conditions such as colds and flu, scrapes, cuts and broken bones.

Patients with life threatening conditions are encouraged to go directly to the nearest emergency room.

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

11

Chief Kamiakin: A leader, warrior and gentleman farmer

By East Benton County Historical Society

In Kennewick, there is a high school named for him.

In Sunnyside, Chief Kamiakin Elementary School honors his memory.

In his life, Kamiakin was a chief of the Yakama, the Palouse and the Klickitat peoples.

In treaty councils he argued for Native American causes. On the battlefield, he fought for the same.

Some 144 years after his death, Kamiakin is honored in various ways for his battles on behalf of Native Americans and their lands in the Yakima Valley of Washington state.

Lesser known is an honor he received for a quieter aspect of his personality and life but one which he took pride and great pleasure in: Gentleman farmer.

It was Kamiakin who introduced irrigation to the Yakima Valley.

He promoted the use of livestock to improve the lives of his people.

Therein lies “Kamiakin’s Garden.”

It is a little-known place near Yakima now said to be on private land. Most of the garden is said to have been cultivated by Kamiakin, his family and others of his tribe on a site south of Ahtanum Road.

For 45 years it has been in the National Registry of Historic Places for its historical significance to the Yakima Valley, which has become one of the most productive areas of agriculture in the nation.

Go there and you won’t find the stunning beauty of the world’s most elegant public gardens, like the sym-

metry and order of the gardens of Versailles in France with their flowers, sculptures and fountains dating back to King Louis XIV in the 18th century.

You won’t find 14,000 types of plants featured at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens in New York, or absorb the 55 acres of the Butchart Gardens near Victoria, B.C., with its 26 greenhouses and 50 full-time gardeners.

Kamiakin’s Garden cultivates history, not plants.

There isn’t a big sign to pinpoint it and little to define the irrigation canals which laid the groundwork of its historical significance.

In the 1840s, Kamiakin, who was born in 1800, was living with his family along Ahtanum Creek, some 12 miles east of what is today the city of Yakima.

When, in the late 1840s, Kamiakin and his brothers began using the fertile bottomlands to cultivate potatoes, peas, corn and later pumpkin and squash, they needed water.

Kamiakin looked to the Ahtanum Creek. He dug, with help, a half-mile long ditch from Ahtanum to bring water to the garden.

It became known to inhabitants of the area as “Kamiakin’s Ditch.”

Ahtanum Creek is a tributary of the Yakima River, and its name originates from the Sahaptin language, spoken by Native Americans living in the area.

Kamiakin had a close relationship with Catholic priests he invited to the area, and they built a mission in

Courtesy Kennewick School District Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama Nation was many things, including a gentleman farmer. His garden was entered into the National Registry of Historic Places in 1976 and is considered sacred and significant in the history of Washington state for being the birthplace of irrigation in the Yakima Valley.

1852 close to Kamiakin’s encampment and near today what is the community of Tampico.

For three years, from 1852-55, those at the mission and members of the Yakama tribe worked together building more canals and raising crops, including wheat and cabbage.

Kamiakin’s hope was that this might somehow benefit his people as more European settlers took up land, and that it would serve to

avoid conflict.

When it did not, Chief Kamiakin went to war on their behalf and participated in major campaigns in southeastern Washington.

The gentleman farmer also was a big proponent of livestock, and, again, influenced its introduction here.

He was 40 years old when he set uCHIEF KAMIAKIN, Page 16

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12

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

WIT Cellars finds new home in Prosser Wine Village

By Senior Times staff

A fast-growing Prosser winery is the latest addition to Vintner’s Village.

WIT Cellars, formed in 2016 by three former Kestrel Vintners winemakers, bought the Gamache Vintners four-acre property at 505 Cabernet Court for $1 million in June.

WIT owners Flint Nelson, Gina Adams and Cat Warwick were considering building their own winemaking facility and tasting room in the area. Opportunity knocked when Gamache Vintners owners Bob and Cris Gamache, along

with Roger and Paula Gamache, decided to sell their property.

The Gamaches will retire the brand when the sale closes.

The Gamaches blamed the pandemic for the closure, posting on their Facebook page: “After an unprecedented economic disruption last year, Gamache Vintners has made the difficult decision to close the winery/ tasting room facility on June 1.”

They are continuing to sell their wine online only with scheduled pickup appointments or shipping until they out of inventory.

“This is a great step forward with WIT. We are so jazzed about the WIT brand coming in, not only because the wines are fabulous, but because we are so looking forward to seeing WIT grow. We feel like it’s the right fit and facility for the next phase for WIT to keep growing and doing great things,” said Roger Gamache, who plans to continue to grow Cabernet Sauvignon at Dalee Vineyard in Red Mountain, as well as serve on the Wine Industry Foundation Board.

Courtesy WIT Cellars For WIT, the GamWIT Cellars owners share a toast with Gamache aches’ exit from the Vintners owners after WIT Cellars bought the industry offered the Gamache family’s winery and tasting room at perfect opportunity to Vintner’s Village in Prosser for $1 million. The secure two buildings. Gamache brand is retiring with the sale. Pictured One is a 3,400-square- from left are: Danielle Boyd, Cat Warwick, Flint foot space it will use Nelson, Gina Adams, Paula Gamache, Roger for a tasting room. The Gamache and Bob Gamache. other is 4,600 square feet and will provide three, two years ahead of schedule. room for storage and winemaking.

Warwick said the new property alWIT’s Warwick called the Gamache property a dream come true. The team lows it to consolidate in a single locawas making wine at Nelson’s home tion.

WIT Cellars closed its storefront at and was out of room. They heard about 2880 Lee Road the weekend of July 11 the potential listing and made an offer and plans to open in their new building within two hours of touring.

WIT opened in 2016 and produced on July 15. The winery also operates a about 1,350 cases in its debut year. It tasting room in Woodinville. reached its 5,000-case goal in year Go to witcellars.com.

Buying stocks or bonds to earn income? Here’s how that works One common concern for investors is seeking a reliable source of passive income.

Sometimes it is not immediately evident to those investors that an investment account can easily produce passive income.

Many investors who are new to investing in the broader stock market like to evaluate the investment alongside other investments for which they have a better understanding.

For example, an investor might own a rental property. The investor understands the assets (the rental property) and understands the income paid in the form of a monthly rental check.

This monthly income provides a reliable and regular paycheck that the investor can count on as income. That

Beau Ruff Cornerstone Wealth Strategies

GUEST COLUMN

same investor sometimes grapples with “income” generated through the investment account.

Also, it’s worth discussing just how an investment account can

generate “income.”

Let’s assume a client has a nonretirement investment account with $1 million in it and it is allocated 60% to stocks (in the form of equity mutual funds) and 40% to bonds (in the form of bond mutual funds). The “income” uRUFF, Page 16

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

13

Couple transform Flat Top Mountain property into lavender farm

By Robin Wojtanik

$30. Terri sold every pot she had available this year.

An unassuming West Richland lavender farm brims with purple and possibility as the owners dream well beyond U-pick bunches to becoming the largest lavender-cutting supplier in the state.

Terri and Steve Szendre operate SunKissed Lavender on Flat Top Mountain, off Collins Road, where they nurture 2,000 lavender plants, land once covered with weeds and sagebrush.

Their vision began simply: cover the space to reduce fire risk and maybe get a little lavender from the plants.

Now, “it’s all about the oil,” Terri said.

Her plants produce lavender oil, which the couple sells and infuses in beauty products, including lip balms, bath bombs, soaps, hand sanitizer, wax melts and more.

The Szendres also farm hundreds of culinary, or edible, lavender used as the base for Terri’s lavender cookie mix ($6), lemonade ($5) and iced tea ($3).

“This is like sugar. You could put it right into iced tea for a sweetener,” Steve said.

Lavender harvest

for Senior Times

Plant propagation

An equally big effort for the business is its lavender propagating, or cloning.

“It’s all science,” said Terri.

She estimates it takes her about 30 seconds to create a lavender starter, whipping through 72 plants in a single tray.

This year, she spent about two months working on lavender cuttings grown in a greenhouse to have the plants ready for sale by Mother’s Day. While most people prefer to give mom a flowering lavender plant, Terri said the best success comes from plants not yet blooming.

“You’re selling the roots, that’s where the energy is,” she said.

The plants will bloom later in the

Photo by Robin Wojtanik Steve and Terri Szendre started a lavender farm on their West Richland property five years ago and now sell many lavender products and plants and host special events.

summer, and as a perennial, they can return stronger each year.

“It took me about three years to learn how to do it,” she said.

The couple had their soil tested to confirm it would work for lavender.

Their West Richland property’s slope promotes good drainage for English and French varieties, including Grosso, Folate and Silver Frost, a white lavender bloom.

Terri found the Spanish lavender doesn’t work as well in the Tri-City climate.

She learned to cultivate lavender on a large scale from Victor Gonzalez, a lavender grower with a large farm in Sequim.

The Olympic Peninsula city is home to dozens of lavender farms and a yearly lavender festival the Szendres routinely visited.

Gonzalez brought 400 plants to the couple’s Flat Top property and taught the Szendres the tricks of the trade.

“But you don’t learn everything that way,” Terri said.

It was trial and error and Terri got the hang of it quickly, noting that nearly all

of the 2,000 starters survived the winter to be eligible for sale in the spring.

The success invigorated her and inspires her goal to keep increasing the number of clones she produces yearly, with a target of 20,000 plants.

“I want to be one of the main cloners in the state,” she said.

The cuttings potted and sold the same year bring in $10 each, and the larger, second-season plants go for

Harvest of SunKissed’s 13 varieties begins in mid-July and takes about a month, using a sickle to cut the blooms by hand in bunches.

“You grab it like a ponytail and whack it, keeping an eye on the blade,” Terri said.

To accomplish the daunting task of cutting, banding and drying the 2,000 plants at their West Richland property, Steve takes time away from his day job and their family helps. They also hire additional assistance.

Most of the lavender is run through a large copper still that separates the fat-and water-soluble parts of the plant.

The 45-minute steam distillation process handles about a dozen bunches at a time, creating about 4 gallons of pure lavender oil, along with a clear liquid byproduct called hydrosol.

Myriad uses

Lavender oil has a multitude of uses, including in beauty products, for first aid and to relieve anxiety. Hydrosol doesn’t smell the same as lavender; it’s more floral and woodier. Its thin viscosity allows for it to be sprayed from uLAVENDER, Page 14

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14

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021 LAVENDER, From page 13

Courtesy Terri Szendre

a bottle, often as a facial spritzer or acne fighter. Terri uses it on her hair.

“What makes our oil so special is that it’s 100% Grosso variety, straight from the plant. There’s no carrier oil or blend, so it doesn’t stain,” she said.

The lavender used for culinary purposes must be cleaned of all dust and dirt without wetting it. It’s frozen to kill any microbes before it’s added to the cookie or drink mix packages, which consistently sell out as quickly as Terri can make them.

It also can be used to make a simple syrup for lavender-infused cocktails.

Terri used it at a wedding hosted on their property, one of many ways the

farm has diversified.

The Szendres rent a 900-square-foot facility that comes with a commercial kitchen. They’ve hosted baby showers, birthday parties and recently a networking night offered by New York Life agent Erica Mata as a way to empower local women.

Mata first visited the farm to cut lavender and then rented the space for her sunset event that included wine tasting, oracle card readings, sage sales and a picturesque way to view the strawberry moon scheduled for the night.

The Szendres charge $100 an hour for the space, which allows private parties to enjoy an air-conditioned venue, patio and grounds.

Farm visits

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For those who hope to go home with a bundle of lavender or take pictures amid the acres of purple flower clumps, the couple charges $5 for as much lavender as you can hold in your hand, and there’s no charge to use the lavender rows as a backdrop for pictures.

The Szendres tend to each plant after harvest, trimming it down to a ball so that it returns hearty and strong the following season.

“These guys work for me. They’re my babies,” Terri said.

SunKissed Lavender Farm adds about 400-500 plants each year, and the couple looks forward to lavender honey produced by commercial beehives located on the edge of the property.

SunKissed lavender products may be purchased online or from the farm, and the cookie and drink mixes also are available at the weekly farmers markets held from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays at 3 Eyed Fish in Richland and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays at the Prosser Farmers Market.

SunKissed Lavender: 509-4301425; sunkissedlavender.com; @sunkissedlavender.

uBRIEF WSU Tri-Cities returns to in-person classes

Washington State University TriCities is returning to in-person classes with classrooms and laboratories operating at their normal, pre-pandemic capacities.

All WSU locations require individuals to receive a Covid-19 vaccine to access campuses, with exemptions available. Information about the exemption process will be released before the fall term starts, The Tri-Cities Office of Admissions has resumed campus tours for prospective students and their families. Go to tricities.wsu. edu/visit.

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021

15

Mexican ice pop shop’s icy treats keep you cool on hot days

By Jeff Morrow for Senior Times

Photo by Kristina Lord Paleteria La Jalpita in Pasco offers 26 different flavors of paletas. Adults favor strawberry and coconut flavors and kids love bubblegum, said Rom Romero, whose family owns the shop.

“I’ve worked in landPhoto by Jeff Morrow scaping and in the fields, Rom Romero stands next to his family’s store, helping harvest in Ha- Paleteria La Jalpita, at 202 W. Lewis St. in Pasco. waii,” he said. “I know legacy. what they went through.”

“It’s not just about making the prodIt’s another reason he’s decided these past few years to dive into the uct,” he said. “It’s about family and roots ... and it’s turned into the Amerifamily business.

Jesus is 65, and he still works every can Dream.”

La Jalpita: 202 W. Lewis St., Pasco; day, “but my dad is tired, and that’s 509-545-9551; www.la-jalpita.busiwhy I’m here to help,” Rom said.

Rom wants to continue the paleta ness.site.

SUBSCRIBE to Name to mail to _______________________________________________ Mailing address _______________________________________________ City _________________________________________________________ State ________________________ Zip_____________________________ Phone number ________________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________________ • Each issue is chock-full of essential business news about the Tri-City region.

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CELEBRATING

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January 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 1 | B1

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The historic heat wave that baked the state in early July helped to improve the family business.

“You walk in the freezer back there where we store everything, but the things fly out of there in the summer,” Rom said.

Even in winter, when the store shuts down, Rom says people still want their paletas.

“Everybody craves ice cream,” he said. “And when it gets to 70 degrees and is sunny, we open up.”

Expansion could be on the way.

“We’re trying to start something in the Caldwell/Nampa area,” Rom said.

He said the family bought a Fresno store earlier this year. “My youngest brother runs that one,” he said.

Jesus’ cousin, Ramon, started his own ice cream store in Los Angeles.

“And then he opened a second store in Fresno,” Rom said. “He asked my dad if he wanted to start one. He had all of the recipes.”

All of his children have either worked, or are working, in the business.

Jesus is a quiet man who’d rather not talk to the media. Instead, he throws himself into the work.

Rom said he grew up around the store.

“I remember running around here as a 5-year-old,” he said. “My dad would grumble and say, ‘This is not a day care.’ ” La Jalpita opened in 1993 in Pasco at its current location.

The store is named after Jalpa in the Mexican state of Zacatecas — where the family is from.

The Romeros come from big families.

“There are 16 siblings on my mom Rosa’s side,” Rom said. “And there are eight siblings on my dad’s side.”

Rom’s parents met while working the fields in Fresno. He got a taste of what they went through back then.

Journal of Business Tri-Cities Area Blvd., #A1-300 8524 W. Gage WA 99336 Kennewick,

For 28 years, Paleteria La Jalpita has been handcrafting icy Mexican treats on a stick in downtown Pasco.

“We have six pots a day, with each pot producing 800 paletas, for 4,800 total paletas a day,” said Rom Romero, whose dad, Jesus Romero, owns the shop.

Paletas are Mexican ice pops that come in a rainbow of colors and flavors, often boasting a richer flavor profile than the sugary treats-on-astick found in traditional grocery store freezers.

Rom, 31, is one of the many from the Romero family who helps make them.

In La Jalpita’s kitchen, workers staff an assembly line starting around 6 a.m. and wrapping up around noon, Monday through Friday.

They feed ice cream into molds, which are dropped into cold saltwater tanks. They’re then pulled out and wrapped in plastic before going into a freezer.

Altogether, La Jalpita offers 26 different flavors, ranging from the more traditional lime, vanilla, chocolate and coffee, to the more unusual hibiscus, tamarind, chamoy, pistachio, egg nog and chile pepino.

Customers have their favorites.

Children seem to enjoy the bubble gum flavor the most, Rom said.

“For adults, it’s tied between strawberry and coconut,” he said. “Coconut is really great. We use shreds of coconut in it.”

La Jalpita, which operates from a bright yellow building at 202 W. Lewis St. in downtown Pasco, sells them for $1 each, or $10.50 for 15. The shop also sells other cool treats, like bolis (ice cream in a tube), raspados (shaved ice) and ice cream in a cone or cup.

The Pasco shop also doubles as the distribution center.

Altogether, Rom said the family employs 10 people to work the assembly line and front counter.

But there are others.

On a recent day, Rom talked about a relative making deliveries to the Port Angeles area and another taking care of the Walla Walla region. Deliveries are sent as far away as Wyoming.

Locally, employees make sure the grocery stores and gas stations have plenty of supply.

La Jalpita also employs two men who spend their summers walking around Pasco with carts filled with paletas, ringing bells to draw attention.

“One of them has worked for us for 12 years doing that,” Rom said.

riverside tastin g room

in Vancouver

GF Blends soars on demand for gluten-free mixes

Mail to: Tri-City Area Journal of Business 8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336

16

SENIOR TIMES • AUGUST 2021 CHIEF KAMIAKIN, From page 11

very unsatisfactory to him, and he grew weary during the grueling sessions while missing the tranquility of working his garden.

“I have nothing to talk long about,” he is reported to have said at one point. “I am tired and I am anxious to get back to my garden. That is all I have to say.”

Kamiakin’s Garden was entered into the National Registry of Historic Places on Dec. 22, 1976, as it was considered sacred and significant in the history of Washington state for being, in the Yakima Valley, the birthplace of irrigation and raising stock, and also for its early religious association.

RUFF, From page 12

($109 a share). To create income at year end, the investor could sell 40 shares of ABC Company.

This would result in the investor owning 960 shares of ABC Company valued at $104,640 and a resulting “income” to the investor of the value of the shares sold or $4,360. It’s notable that, even though the investor sold a portion of her holdings, the overall holdings are still valued at a level higher than when she started investing.

Of course, it isn’t wise to rely on one stock for income. But when the portfolio is appropriately diversified and includes many companies such as ABC Company, it can become a much more reliable source of “income.”

This third source of “income” can be structured so that the payments come to the investor on a monthly basis, just like rent would be delivered on the first of every month.

One common rule of thumb for an investment account is the 4% rule.

That is, if a person has a broadly diversified portfolio, he or she should be able to take out 4% of the value of the portfolio (combined interest, dividends and sales) every year: without the portfolio running out of money ever; and allowing for the portfolio to grow commensurate with the rate of inflation.

This rule of thumb is just that – an imprecise tool to assist in determining an answer. Sometimes, the current market environment may suggest another rule.

Once investors understand those three sources of income, they are usually more comfortable with the investment in stock and better able to compare the investment in the market to other investments like real estate. Beau Ruff, a licensed attorney, is the director of planning at Cornerstone Wealth Strategies, a full-service independent investment management and financial planning firm in Kennewick.

out for Fort Vancouver in 1840 on a mission to trade for cattle. With help, he drove them to Yakima.

It is said to be the first herd to reach the valley. According to one historical account, indications are Kamiakin and his brothers went south to California to bring livestock, including horses, to the valley.

He not only had a good tact for bringing livestock here, but had a penchant for keeping the herd up by making purchases from immigrants.

Chief Kamiakin participated in the Treaty of Walla Walla in 1855 dealing with Native American land in the Yakima Valley, which turned out

can come from three places.

Interest from bonds

First, bonds pay interest income on the money invested.

Individual bonds can pay interest annually, semiannually, quarterly or even monthly. When pooled together in a mutual fund, the mutual fund likely will pay the interest earned to the investor on a monthly basis. So, the first source of income is the interest on bonds.

Dividend payments

The second source of income is from dividend payments.

As a reminder, some of the companies which are owned in the mutual fund pay (typically) quarterly dividends to the owners of the stocks.

Not all companies pay dividends and the amount paid varies from company to company. The portfolio also can be specifically developed to allow for greater dividend payments or less dividend payments (depending on the companies or the funds chosen).

These dividends are typically reinvested in your accumulation years but then paid to cash for spending in your retirement years.

Partial holdings sales

The third source of income is from partial sales of the holdings in the account.

This one is perhaps the least intuitive and requires the most explanation.

As an example, we will pick a company that doesn’t currently pay dividends. Let’s say that the investor owns 1,000 shares of ABC Company that has a current stock value of $100 per share for a total ownership value of $100,000.

Let’s also assume for purposes of this example that the company will follow, more or less, the long-term trajectory of the stock market and provide returns averaging 9% a year.

Accordingly, after the first year, the 1,000 shares are worth $109,000