REGION
Saturday, May 21, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Pendleton’s Westgate Apartment Homes project moves ahead
permits. We have more hous-
ing starts on the way and
should be on track to issue
about 300 new permits in
2022.”
The mayor said he is
encouraged with the progress
on aff ordable housing.
“The Wildfl ower complex
next to Olney Cemetery will
begin renting units in July
and will eventually off er 80
units of aff ordable housing,”
according to Turner’s state-
ment. “In September, the
Horizon Project is planning
to break ground on another
70 units of aff ordable hous-
ing on the east side of Pendle-
ton. Both of these apartment
complexes have been made
possible by partnering
with Oregon Housing and
Community Services.”
Turner also stated the
future of more single-family
homes is starting to focus on
several plots of land.
A cluster of about 20 new
houses eventually will go on
the land near the entrance to
the Sunridge Middle School.
A group of developers from
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Work
commenced this month on
Westgate Apartment Homes,
a 204-unit housing complex
at 2701 Westgate, Pendleton.
Haley Hawkins, portfo-
lio manager at C&R Real
Estate Management Group,
Portland, provided project
details.
The complex will offer
studio, one bedroom, two
bedroom and three bedroom
apartments with open fl oor
plans, air conditioning,
9-foot tall or vaulted ceilings,
include cable and internet
and more. In addition, resi-
dents will have access to a
large clubhouse with a recre-
ation room, fitness center,
sports and business facilities.
“This is not subsidized
housing,” Hawkins said.
“Rents are not yet set but will
be refl ective of the amenities
and features of the commu-
nity.”
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner in the city’s newslet-
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Construction workers build a retaining wall Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at the site of the fu-
ture Westgate Apartment Homes in Pendleton.
ter for May called attention to
Westgate Apartments as well
as other housing projects.
Housing studies in 2011
and 2016 showed Pendleton
needs new housing for all
levels of income, and Turner
reported cited leaders see a
direct link between scarce
housing and a lack of work-
force in Pendleton.
One study showed a need
for 1,000 new housing units
in the next 20 years, so in
2017 the city council adopted
“more housing” as a city
priority with a goal of build-
ing 50 new units each year.
“After six years of build-
ing relationships with land
owners, developers and
contractors, our eff orts are
HERMISTON
MILTON-FREEWATER
Student drivers take the wheel
Driving program
set to return to
high school
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Driv-
er’s education is returning to
Hermiston High School.
“We haven’t had a class
since spring of 2019, so
people have been waiting
for it to come back,” Steve
Anderson, Hermiston High
School teacher, said.
Anderson is one of the
two driver’s education
teachers for classes that
began Wednesday, May 18,
and end July 1. He said the
program was put on hold in
2019, by order of the Oregon
Department of Education.
There are private companies,
which were not under the
same restrictions, and they
were able to off er classes, he
said; the Hermiston School
District was not so lucky.
For months, while these
classes were on hiatus,
students frequently asked
him about driver’s educa-
tion, Anderson said. Now
that it is available once more,
he added, the buzz about it
has been positive.
“People are really excited
about it,” he said.
Class sign-up started, and
Anderson said the class fi lled
quickly. Thirty students are
presently enrolled in the class
that begins and ends.
The application for the
program shows students must
pay a $300 fee before starting
the class, though a student
may qualify for reduced
tuition of $225. In addition to
paying the fee, students must
have their Oregon Instruction
Permit.
According to a Hermis-
ton School District brochure,
students will attend class fi ve
days a week for one hour and
drive and observe for three
hours one day a week for
seven weeks.
Anderson commented
on one special thing about
the class. According to the
instructor, students will
receive a driver’s education
program certifi cate and may
qualify for a waiver so they
won’t have to take a DMV
drive test.
Anderson said that his
program was vetted by
the Oregon Department of
Transportation against the
DMV test. The school’s fi nal
drive test is just as rigorous as
the DMV one, he said.
The only shortcoming,
according to Anderson, is
that the program does not
have more teachers. There
are two for the summer,
though more teachers are
on the way. He said three
teachers are set to be trained
during the summer, and they
will start in the fall. At that
time, the school has plans to
off er classes to 60 students,
with the potential for 90, if
necessary.
These teachers, Anderson
said, are young. Anderson
said he is retiring and plan-
ning to return to the district
for part-time work. These
new teachers, on the other
hand, may stick around for
years.
He stressed, however,
that a driver’s training does
not begin and end with this
program. It is very import-
ant, he said, for parents to set
good examples for their kids.
“If you drive with one
hand on the steering wheel,
they’ll do the same thing,”
Anderson said. Likewise, he
added, if parents use their
phones or yell at other people
on the road, young people
will follow suit.
For more information,
email Anderson at steve.
anderson@hermistonsd.org.
Pendleton schools have new principals
East Oregonian
Pendleton — The Pend-
leton School District early
t h is week a n nou nced
it completed the hiring
process for several build-
ing-level administrator
openings and made the
following selections. The
school district board took
official action Thursday,
May 19, to approve the hires.
PSD selected Piper Kelm
as the principal at Sunridge
Middle School. She serves
as the assistant princi-
pal at Sherwood Elemen-
tary School, where she has
worked for the past three
years and also served as
dean of students.
Kelm started her career
at Pendleton High School
as a science teacher and
taught there for 28 years.
She replaces SMS Princi-
pal Dave Williams, who
resigned eff ective to take a
position with InterMountain
Education Service District.
Coree Terjeson is taking
on the role of principal at
Washington Elementary
School.
Terjeson serves as the
assistant principal at Wash-
ington Elementary, where
she is completing her fi rst
year in this position. Before
being at Washington she
was a dean of students,
starting to pay off ,” accord-
ing to Turner.
Pendleton in 2016 issued
10 new housing permits, then
averaged 50 housing permits
a year from 2017 to 2020.
“We issued 163 new
permits in 2021,” Turner
reported, “and in the first
four months of 2022, we
have already issued 215 new
the Tri-Cities is working
with the city to build houses
and townhomes on about 56
acres between the Middle
School and Southwest Nye
Avenue. The city also is
working closely with a group
of landowners on the east
side of Pendleton to eventu-
ally develop about 250 acres
that stretches from the water
fi ltration plant west to High-
way 11.
This major construction
project will require the city
to build a water booster pump
station near the water fi ltra-
tion plant and widen Goad
Road for better access.
“We intend to form a reim-
bursement district, which
will require the developers
to pay the city back its infra-
structure costs as they sell
the houses,” Turner stated.
New housing in Pend-
leton, according to Turner,
means a larger workforce,
more children in Pendleton
schools, more shoppers in
stores and restaurants and an
increase in property tax reve-
nues for the city.
special education teacher
and intervention specialist
for the Hermiston School
District.
Her teaching career
started in the Pendleton
School District in 2010 as
a special education teacher.
Terjeson will replace Wash-
ington Principal J.P. Rich-
ards who resigned eff ective
to take a position closer to
family.
Heidi Paullus is succeed-
ing Terjeson as the assistant
principal position at Wash-
ington Elementary.
Paullus now works for
the InterMountain ESD as
the Virtual Online Acad-
emy principal. For nine
years prior she worked as an
instructional coach for the
ESD. She also taught sixth
grade at Sunridge Middle
School for three years,
fourth grade for fi ve years
in the Hermiston School
District and fourth grade for
eight years in the Jeff erson
County School District.
T. J. P resley is t he
district’s selection as the
new assistant principal
at Sherwood Elementary
School.
Presley is the 6-12 grade
principal and athletic direc-
tor in the Pilot Rock School
District. He began his teach-
ing career in the Pilot Rock
School District as a middle
level math teacher. Pres-
ley succeeds Kelm as she
moves into the principal job
at Sunridge Middle School.
4 caught in connection to graffi ti
East Oregonian
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Milton-Freewater police
Chief Doug Boedigheimer
reported law enforcement
has caught three teens and
one adult related to numer-
ous cases of graffi ti.
Boedigheimer in a press
release Friday, May 20,
reported members of the
Milton-Freewater Police
Depa r t ment a nd t he
Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Office “collaborated
on the detention of several
juveniles and one adult
who had been involved
in a month’s long spree of
criminal mischief to public
and private property in the
Milton-Freewater area.”
Residents have reported
multiple cases of graffiti
since, according to the press
release, but police had no
suspects.
Police and sheriff ’s depu-
ties, with the assistance of
Milton-Freewater Unifi ed
School District staff , devel-
oped several juvenile
suspects. Boedigheimer
reported that led to refer-
ring three juveniles to the
Umatilla County Juvenile
Department, as well as
the arrest of Harry Dwain
Shaul, 19, of Milton-Freewa-
ter. Police on May 13 booked
Shaul into the Umatilla
County Jail, Pendleton.
“The graffiti involved
in this spree was not of an
apparent gang nature,”
according to Boedigheimer.
He explained police do
not think the Nazi swas-
tika, which is one of the
graffi ti symbols, indicates
white supremacist activity
in Milton-Freewater, and
it has not been specifi cally
linked to the aforementioned
individuals.
“The investigation into
their crimes, as well as the
swastika, is ongoing,” he
stated.
Law enforcement also
is tallying the cost of the
damages from the graffi ti
for the purpose of helping
the Umatilla County District
Attorney’s Offi ce determine
charges.
Boedigheimer credited
the eff orts of law enforce-
ment and the school district
as an example of “what
can be accomplished when
school districts and law
enforcement across various
agencies work together.”
CHOOSE FROM 12 OF
YOUR FAVORITE NEW
2022 TOYOTA MODELS
CAMRY, CAMRY HYBRID,
COROLLA, COROLLA HYBRID, HIGHLANDER,
HIGHLANDER HYBRID, RAV4, RAV4 HYBRID,
TACOMA, TUNDRA & TUNDRA HYBRID
%
2.75 60
APR FINANCING
WITH $ 17.86
PER $ 1,000
BORROWED
MO.
TUNDRA
TACOMA
Please join us for a
Retirement Reception for
VIRGINIA CONRAD
HIGHLANDER
May 24th 4-7pm
RAV4
Hosted at
Pendleton Book Company
125 S Main Street
TOYOTA.COM
See Your Local
Toyota Dealer
*
Excludes Tacoma TRD Pro models. Prototypes shown with options. Extra-cost colors shown. Offers end 5/31/2022. APR on
Coffee and Cake provided
approved credit from Toyota Financial Services. 2.75% APR financing for 60 months with $17.86 per $1,000 borrowed.
Annual Percentage Rate available to buyers with approved Tier 1+ through Tier 1(excellent) credit. All offers subject to
approved credit, see dealer for more information. Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer available in AK, ID, MT, OR,
WA regardless of buyer's residency; void where prohibited. Does not include College Grad or Military Rebate. Does not
The most valuable and respected source of
local news, advertising and information
for our communities.
eomediagroup.com
In lieu of gifts,
please donate to your
preferred charity
include taxes, license, title/registration fees, dealer fees and Oregon tax (.05%).
ToyotaCare covers normal factory
scheduled maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first. Certain models require a different
maintenance schedule as described in their Maintenance Guide. 24-hour Roadside Assistance is also included for two
years, unlimited mileage. Roadside Assistance does not include parts and fluids, except emergency fuel delivery. See
Toyota dealer for details and exclusions. Valid only in the continental U.S.