WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
FROM PAGE A1
HOME:
Fieldstone No. 1 home
amenities:
continued from page A1
nity to close on the home.
Allowing for 45 days for
the sale to go through, the
home should be ready to
move in by late summer.
Smith said, while the
district had the option to
sell the house following
a more traditional route,
he has spoken to at least
three people who have
expressed interest in pur-
chasing the house, which
prompted the school dis-
trict to pursue the bidding
process.
“Technically we could
go out and pound a sign
into the ground ... but
with all the interest, I
think we might have a
rush of people with ear-
nest checks trying to pass
me the checks before the
sale sign is pounded into
the ground,” Smith said.
“Because we received so
much interest from peo-
ple, this seemed to make
the most sense.
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SMUGGLER:
continued from page A1
a horrible, horrible situa-
tion.”
Hackett
contacted
Northwest Medical Teams
in Beaverton, Oregon,
which agreed to provide the
supplies. United Airlines al-
lowed Hackett to bring ¿ve
cases free of charge when
he traveled to the area, he
said, but the bulk of the
supplies were sent across
the ocean in two large ship-
ping containers.
“A large church in Ohio
paid for us to get the con-
tainers from Portland to
New York, and a shipping
magnate agreed to take the
containers into the Adri-
atic (Sea) at no cost,” he
said. “Then we arranged
for private boats — they
were under siege, so all
the ports were closed — so
we had private boats come
out into the Adriatic. They
picked up all those medical
• Three Bedroom plus Office/Den, two Bath,
2050-square-foot home
• Premium home with top-of-the-line amenities
• Energy Trust-certified home with enhanced insula-
tion, premium efficient windows, conditioned space
sealed ductwork, and state-of-the-art heating/
cooling systems
• Energy efficient lights, and high-end appliances
(double ovens, gas cook-top)
• Exposed beam, vaulted great room, with tongue
and groove ceiling (Rest of home 9 ft ceilings)
• Whole-house sound system with built-in enter-
tainment speakers
• “Smart Home” with high speed fiber internet
• Custom wood trim, cabinets, and doors
• Hardwood floors and custom tile work
• Granite counters
• Central vacuum system
• Security system
• Water softener
• Custom master bathroom, with jetted Jacuzzi tub
and walk-in tiled shower
• Double sinks in both bathrooms
• Gas fireplace
• RV parking, with utilities
• Fully landscaped yard with sprinkler system and
perimeter fence
• Covered front and back porches
• Insurance-backed home warranty
“I think this is the best
of both worlds,” Smith
added.
The school district
plans to hire an appraiser
to value the home to help
determine a minimum
purchase price that will
be announced prior to
bids opening. Smith said
the reserve price will pro-
vide a reasonable starting
point for prospective buy-
ers based on fair-market
value as well as minimum
funding the district will
need for students to build
the second home next
year.
Smith said students in
the homebuilding pro-
gram, including some
from Stanfield and Uma-
tilla, are currently finish-
ing up the home’s exteri-
or and will next focus on
installing the hardwood
floors, kitchen cabinets
and
countertops
and
plumbing fixtures.
Smith said the home-
building program is an
educational opportunity
for students on a number
of levels. Students in the
program, as well as other
classes, are involved in
every step of the process,
from the actual construc-
tion, to landscaping and
marketing. Smith said
Hermiston High School
student Meghan Greene,
who is interested in law,
worked with him and a
local attorney to draft
all the covenants and re-
strictions for the devel-
opment.
“So there’s so many
different things for stu-
dents to get involved in
beyond swinging ham-
mers,” he said.
Smith said the district
hopes people will attend
the open house June 1,
whether they are inter-
ested in purchasing the
home or not.
“It is truly a top-tier
home,” he said. “It is gor-
geous.”
People can review the
timeline, bid information
sheets and other associat-
ed documents on the stu-
dent homebuilding site at
http://columbiabasinstu-
denthomes.org/.
supplies and took them in
through private docks and
smuggled them into Croa-
tia.”
Hackett said he helped
hide the goods he brought
on the plane in the “wheel
wells and stuff” of private
vehicles, which smuggled
them in from the north. It
was nearly 20 years, how-
ever, before he learned the
fate of the shipping con-
tainers.
“The hospital in Osijek,
Croatia, had been bombed,
and the doctor refused to
leave the patients. She
stayed there through the
entire war, though it was
on the front lines. I had
the privilege, ¿ve years
ago, of meeting her for the
¿rst time,” he said, as tears
welled up in his eyes. “All
those supplies got to her.”
their children to follow in
their footsteps. They have
three children in full-time
Christian ministry and two
near Croatia.
“In ’99, our middle
daughter went to Croatia
as a missionary and was
working in what had been
the front lines, working
with war victims,” he said.
“This was during the Koso-
vo War, and she was within
20 miles of the bombing.
There were towns and vil-
lages where she was at that
not a building was stand-
ing. People were still living
there. You’d see these can-
dles all over, (people) living
in the rubble, because that
was home — not a building
standing.”
He said another daughter
traveled to the area in 2004.
Both are still there. Hackett
said both daughters married
people who were affected
by the wars.
“Both of their families
lost everything,” he said.
“One son-in-law, he and his
family, their house was tak-
en over by Serbia. They got
out with the clothes on their
back. His brother was se-
verely wounded in the war.
His dad lost everything be-
cause the factory where he
worked was leveled to the
ground.
“My other son-in-law,
he lived in the city of Za-
greb, so he wasn’t at risk
because only one rocket
ever reached the city, but
his family, who lived in
Dalmatia, they lost every-
thing,” Hackett said. “They
literally Àed over the moun-
tains by foot with some
cheese in their pocket and a
couple loaves of bread and
the clothes on their back.”
pursued their ministry in
other countries.
“I think one of the most
exciting things for Wanda
and I, in the late ’80s, we
began going into Eastern
Europe, what, at that time,
was behind the Iron Cur-
tain,” he said. “We have
smuggled Bibles, and we
have done some other
things. We’ve had some
amazing encounters.
“We snuck into the
Kremlin one time and
prayed throughout the
Kremlin behind that red
brick wall — that was in-
teresting,” he said. “We
did a prayer journey into
Tashkent, Uzbekistan. We
were constantly followed
and harassed by the Se-
curitate. We saw some
amazing miracles in those
trips.”
Hackett said he has
learned many lessons
during his time in the min-
istry.
“I think one of the re-
ally important things that
both my wife and I learned
was — the ¿rst time we
had gone behind the Iron
Curtain and we came back
to the West — how amaz-
ingly blessed we were to
be born and raised in the
United States and how
much we take that for
granted,” he said. “It’s far
more joyful to live life
giving and not getting,
and I think our American
culture has shifted from
that. No matter how rich
you are, that is a poor way
to live.”
Hackett said people
should also be willing
to forgive others and be
thankful.
“No matter the circum-
stances, just be thankful
and live in joy,” he said.
“Every one of us has so
much to be thankful for.”
Returning to Croatia
Hackett and his wife,
Wanda, returned to the war-
torn country after inspiring
Lessons learned
along the way
Before focusing their
efforts on the former Yu-
goslavia, the Hacketts
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