INSIDE: Hermiston High alum heads school’s baseball program | PAGE B1
E O
AST
145th year, No. 119
COVID-19
Round-
Up still
on as
cases
climb
rapidly replicating
delta variant’s
impact not equal
across Oregon
By BRYCE DOLE AND
GARY A. WARNER
EO Media Group
PEN dlEtON
—
umatilla County officials
said they personally will not
take any action to prevent
the Pendleton round-up
from happening. But with
cases rising at greater rates
than almost anywhere else in
Oregon, they voiced concerns
about the state stepping in.
Joe Fiumara, director
of umatilla County Public
Health, said he is sure there
is a point the state would
act if the county did not, but
he does not know what that
point is.
“I don’t know what it
would take for them to do
that, but rising case numbers
I think do put Round-Up at
risk,” he said.
umatilla
County
Commissioner John Shafer
also said he’s fearful the
Round-Up could be at risk
of being shut down if cases
continue to climb, but added
he’s “cautiously optimistic” it
will happen.
“you won’t see the
commissioners shutting that
down,” Shafer said, referring
to Round-Up. “No way.”
He said the economic
and social benefits of the
event are why it’s essential
the round-up continues as
planned.
“It’s part of our heritage,”
Shafer said. “I think it’s too
important to shut that down.”
the county has reported
more than 400 COVId-
19 cases since the state
and county lifted nearly all
pandemic restrictions and
effectively reopened on June
30, according to state data.
It has consistently reported
daily case counts that rank
among the highest in Oregon,
rivaling even Portland metro
counties.
the county on thursday,
July 22, reported the highest
daily total in the state with 48
new confirmed and presump-
tive cases. the Oregon
Health authority the same
REGONIAN
Saturday, July 24, 2021
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
New housing projects begin
Pendleton housing market tight with just 10 homes for sale
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENdlEtON — at $1,500, the
monthly rent for larry lehman’s
home was nearly double the
median gross rent for the city of
Pendleton.
Nevertheless, when he put
the three-bedroom house on
the market a few weeks ago, he
received more than 40 inqui-
ries about the home. Many of the
inquires he received pleaded with
lehman to choose them for the
home, which he had begun renting
out eight years ago after downsiz-
ing to a condominium. despite all
the calls and messages, lehman
ultimately rented the house to the
granddaughter of a woman he met
at the real estate office.
lehman isn’t just any Pend-
leton landlord, but a former
city manager who oversaw city
government from 1993 to 2011.
“We’ve always been told about
our housing shortage,” he said.
“But not at this level.”
Pendleton suffers from the
same problem facing cities of all
sizes around the country: More
people want to live in Pendleton
than there are houses for them
to live in. according to the u.S.
Census Bureau, more than half
of Pendleton workers don’t reside
in the community, a fact city offi-
cials have used to argue that more
people would live in town if the
housing market weren’t so tight.
Housing construction has shown
signs of life in recent years follow-
ing an extended period of stagna-
tion, but 2021 is starting to show
larger breakthroughs on the hori-
zon.
On Wednesday, July 21, local
officials and stakeholders held a
groundbreaking for Wildflower
Apartments, an affordable hous-
ing development on Southwest
18th Street, near Olney Cemetery.
an apartment complex had been
planned at the site for years under
a previous developer, but the proj-
ect stalled as the developer sought
multiple changes to his incentive
deal with the city. In 2020, the
city brokered a deal with Chris-
man development of Enterprise
to buy the property and continue
the project.
at the ceremony, Mayor John
turner reminded the audience
the project was as much replace-
ment as it was addition, a devel-
opment the state is sponsoring to
offer victims of the 2020 Umatilla
River floods replacement hous-
ing. roberto Franco, the assis-
tant director of resources and
production for Oregon Housing
and Community Services, told
the roughly three dozen people
assembled for the groundbreaking
that the development also could
help newcomers to Pendleton.
“they can establish their
roots in this community as well,”
Franco said.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A group of local officials and stakeholders break ground Wednesday, July 21, 2021, on the 80-unit Wildflower
Apartments affordable housing complex in Pendleton.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pendleton Mayor John Turner speaks Wednesday, July 21, 2021, during
a groundbreaking for the new Wildflower Apartments, an 80-unit af-
fordable housing development on Southwest 18th Street in Pendleton.
“WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD
ABOUT OUR HOUSING SHORT-
AGE. BUT NOT AT THIS LEVEL.”
Larry Lehman, former Pendleton city manager
after the ceremony, developer
doug Chrisman said he expected
Wildflower — an 80-unit complex
comprised of two- and three-bed-
room units — to start housing
tenants by the end of 2022.
across town, the nonprofit
Horizon Project is proceed-
ing with South Hill Commons,
a 70-unit affordable apartment
complex on the east side of South
Hill. Having already acquired an
option on 3.5 acres of land from
the city, Horizon recently secured
funding for the development. In
an interview, Horizon CEO terri
Silvis said her organization still
has a number of steps it has to
undertake before it can begin
construction, but she hopes South
Hill Commons will break ground
in 2022.
While both projects were
announced years ago and haven’t
broken ground, Turner said in
an interview the 200-unit West-
gate apartments and a 33-unit
complex at the old u.S. Forest
Service building at Southwest
Hailey Avenue still are working
with the city to move those proj-
ects forward.
If every one of these projects
comes to fruition, it could mean
nearly 400 new rentals in Pend-
leton on top of any other projects
the city isn’t involved in. But the
for-sale market also is strapped for
new inventory.
Jef Farley, a real estate agent
with Coldwell Banker Farley Co.,
said Pendleton has only about 10
houses available for sale in what’s
considered a market that heavily
favors sellers.
Whether it’s familial connec-
tions to Pendleton or urban flight,
Farley said there’s a strong desire
from people outside the area to
move in.
“That’s the first time in my
career that I’ve been able to say
that,” he said.
turner said local developer
Dusty Pace is looking to build
new “executive-style” homes
south of Southwest 18th Street and
the city is continuing to talk with
other, unnamed developers about
single-family housing develop-
ments.
despite all the new housing
possibilities, both concrete and
potential, turner said he doesn’t
know whether they will be enough
to meet demand and make Pendle-
ton’s housing market more acces-
sible and affordable.
the Pendleton City Council is
reanalyzing its goals, but turner
said the plan is to keep its goal of
issuing 50 housing permits per
year, which the city has averaged
the past four years, in place until at
least the end of the year.
See Cases, Page A10
Beacon of the Sentinels rises over Pendleton
New art installation is near Highway 11
and Southeast Court avenue
By BEN LONERGAN
East Oregonian
PEN dlEtON – as
Johnny Blagg and Charles
denight watched the instal-
lation of the Beacon of
the Sentinels on tuesday,
July 20, in Pendleton, they
reflected on the years of work
that led to its creation.
“It feels just terrific to
have people showing up
to look at it,” said Denight,
a member of the Pendle-
ton arts Committee. “It’s a
strange feeling because at
the same time you’re excited
but you’re also relieved it’s
done.”
the new art installation
and park, rising from the site
of a disused fountain near the
intersection of Highway 11
and Southeast Court avenue
in Pendleton, began as a
much more humble project
in 2018.
then, Blagg, an air
Force veteran and a member
of Pendleton Veterans of
Foreign Wars went to the
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
See Art, Page A10
People explore the new Beacon of the Sentinels art installation at the Pendleton Military
Tribute during its unveiling Wednesday, July 21, 2021.