By the way: Tax season starts this month – Hermiston Herald

The Internal Revenue Service has confirmed Jan. 27 as the first day the tax agency will accept and begin processing 2019 tax returns.

The deadline to file tax returns for 2019 and pay any owed taxes is April 15, which this year falls on a Wednesday.

Taxpayers may prepare returns through the IRS Free File program or tax software companies and tax professionals before the start date, but processing returns will begin after IRS systems open later in January.

Officer Sterling Hall of the Pendleton Police Department is among the recent graduates of Basic Police Class 394. Hall, who graduated from Hermiston High School in 2014 and previously served on the reserve officer corps with the Hermiston Police Department, attended the 16-week course through the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. The class concluded with a graduation ceremony Jan. 17 at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. For more about the training, visit http://www.oregon.gov/dpsst.

An upcoming Museum After Hours program at Fort Walla Walla Museum will feature Mike Denny, an author, conservationist and past president of the Blue Mountain Audubon Society.

The program is Thursday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m. in the museums Grand Hall, 755 Myra Road, Walla Walla. There is no admission charge.

Denny has also been involved with the Secret Life of the Forest series on the Blue Mountains, which aired on Blue Mountain Television in 2019. He will speak about the early naturalists and collectors who explored and documented the Walla Walla region in the 19th century, including Lewis and Clark, Thomas Nuttall, John Kirk Townsend, David Douglas, John C. Fremont, Charles E. Bendire, and Dr. Lee Raymond Dice.

The museums regular hours are daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free to members and kids under 6, $4 for children ages 6-12, $8 for seniors/students and $9 for general admission. For more information, call 509-525-7703 or visit http://www.fwwm.org.

Governor Kate Brown signed House Bill 2896 into law last week, authorizing loans to nonprofits to create programs to help people be able to afford to replace their outdated manufactured homes with something much more energy efficient.

The law, which was sponsored by Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, and supported by Umatilla Electric Cooperative, passed in the 2019 session.

Keeping Oregonians in affordable homes is crucial to ensure our communities continue to thrive, Smith said in a news release. The funding options created by this bill will enable more low and moderate-income families to replace their housing without taking on considerable debt. Keeping people in their homes while building a better supply of affordable, efficient homes is a win-win!

UEC general manager Robert Echenrode also called the bill a big win for rural Oregon.

The menu at the Harkenrider Senior Activity Center for Thursday is chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, salad and birthday cake. Friday is clam chowder, coleslaw, garlic bread and dessert. Monday is pizza, green salad, fruit and dessert. Tuesday is tuna noodle casserole, peas, carrot salad and dessert. Next Wednesday is BBQ beef sandwich, potato salad, fruit and dessert.

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By the way: Tax season starts this month - Hermiston Herald