YOUR GUIDE TO THE UMATILLA COUNTY FAIR, INSIDE
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019
$1.00
INSIDE
LAWSUIT
Umatilla Electric
Cooperative and its CEO
Robert Echenrode are
among the defendants in a
$7.2 million lawsuit.
PAGE A3
East Orego
nian/Herm
iston Herald
Umatilla Co
unty Fair 201
9 | B
3 ON 3
Hermiston hosts more
than 145 teams in the
annual Takin’ it to the
Streets 3 on 3 basketball
tournament downtown.
PAGE A8, A13
ROAD DIET
ODOT is receiving mixed
reviewed about a proposal
to take Highway 395 from
fi ve lanes to three through
Stanfi eld.
PAGE A9
Staff photo by
Jade McDowell
BY THE WAY
New town homes being
built in the Cimarron
Terrace subdivision in
Hermiston are one of
several new housing
options being added to
the area.
National Night
Out coming up
Each year, the Herm-
iston Police Depart-
ment celebrates National
Night Out, which encour-
ages people to get to know
their neighbors as a way to
build safer communities.
Leading up to the fes-
tivities, they hold a trea-
sure hunt. HPD will host a
block party in the person’s
neighborhood who fi nds
the golden medallion on
National Night Out, which
is Tuesday, Aug. 6.
See next week’s Herm-
iston Herald for a story
about National Night Out.
Also, beginning Tuesday,
July 30, daily clues of the
medallion’s whereabouts
will be published in the
East Oregonian. In addi-
tion, a bonus clue will be
printed in the July 31 Her-
ald. Happy hunting!
• • •
The Hermiston Her-
ald’s parent company EO
Media Group has sub-
mitted a bid for the Bend
Bulletin and Redmond
Spokesman,
supported
by fi nancial backers in the
Bend area.
At $2.5 million, the
company is the high bidder
out of three bids placed on
the Central Oregon papers.
The other two are Adams
See BTW, Page A2
By JESSICA POLLARD AND JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITERS
T
he announcements of new hous-
ing projects in the greater Herm-
iston area just keep coming.
Housing and jobs work hand in
hand — new jobs added to Herm-
iston, Stanfi eld and Umatilla bring more
people to the area, increasing demand for
housing, while the new housing increases
the labor pool in the area and attracts new
jobs.
Developer Don Howell is planning a
major 350-acre development off of High-
way 207 and Feedville Road in Hermis-
ton, called The Hayfi elds. He said new
jobs with companies like Amazon and
Lamb Weston are bringing more “wage
energy” to the area, making developers
feel more comfortable about building.
“It’s encouraging other develop-
ments,” he said. “I think things are pick-
ing up.”
Howell announced the Hayfi elds in
early 2018, hoping to break ground later
that year. He confi rmed this week that
he is still pressing ahead with the proj-
ect, but had to go back and commission a
redesign after hitting some “cost issues.”
The fi rst phase of homes are get-
ting moved closer to Feedville Road,
for example, to save on the expense of
extending pavement and utilities as far
into the property right off the bat. The
density will also increase from Howell’s
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A sign in Hermiston advertises one of the many areas where new homes are being
added.
initial vision of large open spaces and
homes with extra acreage.
Additional housing projects that
developers hope to launch in Hermiston
include a 39-home subdivision off West
Elm Avenue and a 53-lot subdivision
off of West Theater Lane. Other projects
are farther along — a 43-unit apartment
complex on Sixth Street is already under
construction, and on Monday the city
council approved the fi nal plat for the
eighth and ninth phase of the Highland
Summit subdivision, which includes
another 40 lots. The Cimmaron Terrace
See NEW HOMES, Page A14
Hermiston Athletic Club will rise from the ashes
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
8
08805 93294
2
Hermiston Athletic Club will soon fi ll the site of the former Columbia Court
Club at 80903 N Highway 395 in Hermiston.
Three years after a fi re gutted the
Columbia Court Club, a new ath-
letic facility is taking shape there.
The Hermiston Athletic Club
will open this fall at 80903 N. High-
way 395 after an extensive remodel
that is completely changing the
look and layout of the building.
“Anyone who has been in here
before is not going to recognize it,”
HAC manager Rodger Adams said.
There is still a lot of work to be
done — the front wall of the build-
ing is currently missing and the
roof is slated to be torn off next —
but Adams said they’re shooting for
an opening date at the end of Sep-
tember. The basketball court at the
back of the building is already open
and being used for youth basketball
clinics.
Adams said the Hermiston Ath-
letic Club will have standard gym
equipment, such as free weights
and treadmills, plus hydromas-
sage, a shooting machine and other
offerings. The new layout will
include space for racketball, an
indoor track, basketball and volley-
ball courts and a dedicated area for
youth sports training. The building
will also feature more parking than
the old club, with a more open and
accessible fl oor plan.
They will offer activities rang-
ing from a “full lineup” of fi t-
ness classes to nutrition counsel-
ing to adult basketball leagues.
Adams said they’re working to
See ATHLETIC, Page A14