NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
Dispute over right-of-way prompts standoff
the alleged confl ict to be
resolved soon.
Waine said he’s fi led an
emergency injunction to halt
the project before the full
case can be considered but
its status remains unclear.
Umatilla County Trial
Court Administrator Roy
Blaine said Friday that
paperwork was coming in
for the lawsuit and a judge
may begin to look over the
facts of the case this week.
However, Blaine wasn’t
sure how soon a ruling
could come or if one could
be made without an offi -
cial hearing, which likely
wouldn’t happen until June.
Umatilla County pushes
on with Airport Road
project despite protests
By ALEX CASTLE
STAFF WRITER
In the midst of a global
pandemic and pending liti-
gation from property own-
ers disputing its claim to
a right-of-way, Umatilla
County charged ahead with
construction of its project
on Airport and Ott roads
in Hermiston last week,
prompting a standoff of
sorts with aggrieved prop-
erty owners in the process.
“You can’t come out
here and damage someone’s
property on a hunch,” said
Chris Waine, who lives on
the southwest corner of Air-
port and Ott roads and fi led
a lawsuit in the county cir-
cuit court with his wife,
Monique, against the county
and city of Hermiston in
hopes of halting the project.
The $1.2 million proj-
ect’s goal is to expand the
roads that connect High-
way 395 to the Eastern Ore-
gon Trade and Event Center
into two lanes, plus a cen-
ter turn lane. The county
has billed the project as a
needed road improvement
for increased traffi c and
dust in the area during the
Umatilla County Fair and
other events.
“All someone would
have to do is stand out
there during the fair and it
becomes awfully apparent
how needed the project is,”
said Umatilla County Com-
missioner Bill Elfering.
According to a 2017
agreement between Herm-
iston and Umatilla County,
the road project is also an
obligation of the county to
complete in order to offi -
cially dissolve the inter-
governmental
agreement
between the two entities
and transfer ownership of
EOTEC to the city.
Hermiston City Man-
ager Byron Smith said Fri-
Standoff starts as project
breaks
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
HollyJo Beers, left, Duane Ehmer and Chris Waine discuss what Waine believes is the true
boundary of his property at the corner of South Ott Road and East Airport Road near Hermiston
on April 23.
ONLINE
See more photos and
a longer version of this
story at Hermistonherald.
com
day that the city won’t be
commenting on pending
litigation.
Waine, who is also pres-
ident of the Hermiston Air-
port Road Neighborhood
Association, doesn’t oppose
the project’s concept for
improvement, but merely its
design and execution.
Under its current plan,
Waine says he’ll lose 11
feet on the north end of his
property and 5 feet on the
east end, which will cost
him upward of $10,000 by
requiring him to perma-
nently move his septic sys-
tem and impact trees, fences
and other assets of at least
four other properties in the
neighborhood.
While Umatilla County
claims its surveying and
engineering indicates the
land is rightfully its right-of-
way to use for road improve-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Chris Waine holds a metal tag that he found near what he
believes is a charred post, a historical property marker, after
construction crews began grading the road surface along his
contested property line on April 22.
ments, Waine claims the
county is relying on mistak-
enly erroneous surveys and
other survey records of his
property going back to 1907
and historical markers dis-
pute this claim.
Waine’s lawsuit, which
was fi led in the Umatilla
County Circuit Court on
March 16 and served to the
county and city on April 6,
seeks the property title to
be cleared of the alleged
erroneous survey records
and a permanent injunc-
tion enacted to prevent that
stretch of land of being
used or trespassed on by the
county.
But until a ruling is made,
the county will move ahead
with construction under its
initial plans despite the dis-
puted boundary.
“I have not heard any dis-
cussions about pausing it,”
Elfering said, while not-
ing the county stands by its
survey records and expects
Waine and other property
owners in the neighborhood
said they received no prior
notice or a timeline for the
project before crews began
tearing up Airport Road the
evening of April 20.
Waine was greeted by
another surprising sight the
morning of April 21, when
employees with Anderson
Perry, the La Grande-based
fi rm hired to engineer the
project, began congregating
outside his house alongside
Matt Kenney from the coun-
ty’s surveying department
and two deputies from the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Offi ce.
The meeting, which
Waine fi lmed and posted
to his Facebook page, was
called by project manager
Mike Lees of Anderson Perry
without Waine’s knowl-
edge, he said, though the
group was waiting to speak
with him about the impend-
ing removal of his fence that
rested in the disputed right-
of-way easement.
From Waine’s perspec-
tive, the meeting was an
attempt to intimidate him
into complying with the
county’s wishes.
“What this looks like to
me is a bully,” Waine can be
heard saying to Lees in the
video of the meeting.
In an attempt to block
the county, Waine gathered
all the vehicles and farm
equipment he and his neigh-
bors could fi nd and began
to line the fence with them
later that day. But in what
Waine calls another attempt
to bully them into submis-
sion, Larry Rowan, a code
enforcement offi cer with the
county, was sent to tag each
vehicle and have it towed.
Excavation began a few
feet into the disputed ease-
ment April 21, but stopped
there for the week. But
Waine remains concerned
about historical markers
that have been exposed, and
the possibility of evidence
he needs for his court case
being tampered with as a
result.
So, Waine kept the vehi-
cles parked along the dis-
puted boundary and called
for his neighbors and friends
in the community to come
and help him hold the line
against the project.
HollyJo Beers, lead of
the Umatilla County Three
Percenters and a candidate
in the May 19 primary for
Umatilla County Commis-
sioner, spent time the after-
noon of April 23 at the
Waine’s property, pledging
her and her group’s support
for their cause and felt the
county’s actions have been
premature.
“I just feel like the county
should at least wait for adju-
dication before tearing up
his property,” she said.
As the confl ict evolved
last week, Waine couldn’t
help but wonder what would
have happened if Umatilla
County granted his request
earlier this year to have a
public hearing on vacating
the right-of-way.
Instead, the Umatilla
County Board of Commis-
sioners ruled unanimously
on Feb. 5 against a public
hearing, stating they felt
concerns over the project
had been mitigated and the
aggrieved parties had their
opportunity to be heard.
OREGON'S 2ND
OREGON'S 2ND
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
REPUBLICAN
DEMOCRATIC
CANDIDATE FORUM
CANDIDATE FORUM
Get to know the Republican candidates
for U.S. Congress without leaving home.
Get to know the Democratic candidates
for U.S. Congress without leaving home.
Primary election is May 19
Primary election is May 19
Forums will be video recorded without audience
due to COVID-19 concerns.
Forums will be video recorded without audience
due to COVID-19 concerns.
Streaming live on this newspaper’s
Facebook page:
Streaming live on this newspaper’s
Facebook page:
Saturday May 2, 2020 • 5 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Friday, May 1, 2020 • 6:30
Watch after the event on this
newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv
Watch after the event on this
newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv
Submit your questions in advance by email to:
CD2forum@eomediagroup.com
or on Facebook Live during the event.
Submit your questions in advance by email to:
CD2forum@eomediagroup.com
or on Facebook Live during the event.
Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher,
EO Media Group
Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher,
EO Media Group
Live stream and video by EO Alive TV
Live stream and video by EO Alive TV
• A forum for the Democratic candidates
will be held on May 1 •
• A forum for the Republican candidates
will be held on May 2 •