A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
FROM PAGE A1
HOUSE:
continued from page A1
when they started the walls,
which they completed this
week.
Jaime-Garcia said building
houses in the United States is
a little different than what his
family did in Mexico.
In Mexico, Jaime-Garcia
said his family didn’t use the
tools that are commonplace in
the United States. There were
no nail guns, electric saws or
air compressors. Rather, Jai-
me-Garcia said the only tools
his and other families used
were a hammer, nails and a
handsaw.
“It was hard back in Mexi-
co,” he said. “That’s just how
it was. It was all they had.”
The group of students,
who are supervised by al-
ternative education instruc-
tor Shawn Franks, are using
equipment, including elec-
tric table saws to hammers
MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTO
Umatilla High School senior Cody Boggs uses a level to see if the surface of their tiny house, a
STEM Academy afterschool class project, is uniform.
and levels, which were pur-
chased with 21st Century
Learning Center grant funds.
Jaime-Garcia said he is fortu-
nate to be working with such
equipment.
Eventually, Jaime-Garcia
said he would like to use his
experience through the high
school construction project
to get a construction job and
one day build his own home
in the mountains.
“Once I build my real
house, it’s going to be at least
twice as big,” he said.
Additionally, Jaime-Gar-
cia said he is happy to be par-
ticipating in the home-build-
ing project.
“I’m excited to see how
the whole building (process)
is done,” he said.
Josh Ego, the STEM
Academy after-school coor-
dinator, said the idea for the
construction of a tiny house
actually came from Umatilla
Superintendent Heidi Sipe.
“We both happened to
watch the same documentary
on tiny houses at the (same)
time, as it is a growing trend,
especially here in Oregon,”
he said. “She just thought,
‘Why couldn’t our kids build
one of those?’ ”
Ego said the district has a
budget of about $20,000 for
the project, and when it is
built, the house will be sold,
and the money will be used
to fund the next tiny house
project.
Ego said the project is a
great way to teach students
skills they can use after high
school.
“We are teaching the kids
construction skills, all forms,
including plumbing and elec-
trical, budgeting skills, prob-
lem-solving skills and inter-
personal skills as they work
with vendors to get pricing
quotes on materials,” he said.
“Before they could start to
EXLOG WKH\ KDG WR ¿JXUH RXW
what it would cost them in
materials. Basically, they are
doing the job of a contractor
and all that entails, just tiny.”
The house will have many
features in a normal home:
a kitchen, bathroom, living
room, lofted sleeping quarters
DQGSRVVLEO\D¿UHSODFH7KH
house will have water and sew-
age hook-ups similar to those
in a recreational vehicle.
Ego said the district al-
ways welcomes construction
professionals who are willing
to help guide the students in
the construction process. He
said, to get involved, people
can contact him at egoj@
umatillasd.org.
ESCAPE:
months left on their sentenc-
es qualify to work on crews
outside the institution.
continued from page A1
“Two Rivers Correction-
occurrence, the Department al Institution is committed
of Corrections reviews each to ensuring the safety of the
incident.
public and providing skilled
“The department has a supervision of inmate work
solid history of successful crews in the communi-
community work crews,” ty,” Iles said. “Inmates are
she said. “On average, DOC screened and must meet
has approximately 300 in- VSHFL¿FHOLJLELOLW\FULWHULDWR
mates out on work crews be assigned to a work crew.
daily statewide, and we ex- Criteria include clear con-
perience very few incidents. duct, program compliance
If a walk-away does occur, and an established work
we work cooperatively with history with DOC. Inmates
state and local law enforce- who are convicted of certain
ment to ensure the inmate is crimes, such as sex crimes,
apprehended and taken back are prohibited from working
to custody quickly.”
on outside crews.”
Iles said, depending on
Iles said, in Oregon, no
labor demand, between one LQPDWHVZDONHGDZD\LQ¿V-
and three 10-man work cal year 2014, with two in
crews supervised by one ¿VFDO\HDUDQGWKUHHLQ
FRUUHFWLRQDO RI¿FHU XVXDOO\ ¿VFDO \HDU DQG PRVW
leave TRCI to perform var- were returned to custody the
ious projects.
same day, with the longest
She said TRCI work escape lasting 10 days.
crews operate within the cit-
“We also conduct a re-
LHVRI6WDQ¿HOGDQG8PDWLOOD view any time we experi-
and at local school districts, ence a walk-away,” she said.
the Umatilla County Fair- ³7\SLFDOO\ ZKDW ZH ¿QG LV
grounds, West Extension Ir- that the individual has sim-
rigation District and Finley ply made a poor decision to
Butte — the site near Board- walk away. Sometimes it’s
man from which inmate Ste- because of things happening
ven Fox walked away Feb. at home.”
25 before being apprehend-
Fox entered DOC cus-
ed about 24 hours later near tody Dec. 7, 2010, for one
South First Street and East FRXQW RI ¿UVWGHJUHH EXU-
McKinney Avenue outside glary, one count of unlaw-
of Hermiston.
ful use of a vehicle and
Iles said Fox, 49, had no one count of second-degree
prior incidents while housed robbery from Multnomah
in the minimum security fa- County and one count of
cility at TRCI, and he has ¿UVWGHJUHH EXUJODU\ IURP
since been returned and is Umatilla County. Before his
now housed in the medium escape attempt, the earliest
security facility.
he could have been released
She said only certain from prison was Aug. 12,
inmates with less than 48 2016.
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BREAK:
has done its best to leave no
rock unturned in planning
for the transition.
continued from page A1
“There will be nothing
services such as speech pa- that will pose any great risk
thology, special education or concern,” he said. “Our
and more.
ultimate goal is that parents
“We have always been and family see an equal or
pleased with the level of better service level for what
service that the ESD has we will be offering. We also
provided,” he said. “This is commend the ESD for the
just a move that had many years of services they have
different parts that affected given us.”
the reasons why. We just
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hope to continue the great Wilson’s position as Rocky
level of service that the Heights Elementary School
ESD has provided.”
principal, the district will
Smith said, because also hold a meet and greet
Hermiston already offers VHVVLRQ ZLWK WKH WKUHH ¿-
most of the services in-dis- nalists selected from a pool
trict the ESD otherwise pro- of applicants. The meet
vides, he doesn’t anticipate and greet will take place
any major disruptions to from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
student learning or overall Wednesday at the Rocky
operations. He said the dis- Heights library.
trict already provides about
People are asked to re-
90 percent of IMESD’s ser- main for the entire session
vices in-house and main- in order to meet all the can-
WDLQV LWV RZQ VWDI¿QJ DQG didates and provide feed-
services in areas such as back to the selection com-
technology,
curriculum, mittee through anonymous
some of the special educa- comment cards.
tion services and nursing.
7KH ¿QDOLVWV IRU WKH SR-
Smith said the district is sition include Jerad Farley,
now preparing for current an instructional coach for
Rocky Heights Elementary the Othello School District,
School Principal BJ Wilson Michelle Jensen, who cur-
to transition into the role of rently serves as the coordi-
special education director. nator of the Hermiston On-
He said the district is also line! program and academic
hiring for nine other staff- support, and Stacie Rob-
ing positions, including erts, who currently serves
three school psychologists, as the assistant principal
three speech and language of Armand Larive Middle
pathologists and three School. For a more com-
speech and language pa- prehensive account of each
thologist assistants. He said candidate’s
background,
those should be the only visit the Hermiston School
new staff the district needs. District website at hermis-
Smith said the district ton.k12.or.us.
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