WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
POWER PLAY
Locals express concern about a project that
changes the landscape of Eastern Oregon
By ERICK PETERSON • Hermiston Herald
R
ichard and Jean Hemphill can look out the window of their Pilot
Photos by Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Rock home and see where massive towers will stand and carry the
Richard Hemphill on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, indicates where
the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line will cut across
his property near Pilot Rock.
Boardman to Hemingway transmission line.
Those towers will stand 100-140
feet tall, according to Idaho Power
Co., the primary force behind the
500-kilovolt line that would stretch
almost 300 miles from a substation
in southwestern Idaho to Boardman.
The Hemphills traced the route
with their hands. They said they felt
bad about a line that they believe
will mar the beauty of the area.
“I love it,” Jean Hemphill said of
her view, pre-B2H. “In the summer-
time, I sit out on the deck in the eve-
nings and enjoy this beautiful view
all the way around. I’m always sorry
when winter comes and I can’t do
that anymore. I truly love it.”
She and her husband are the
respondents in a petition for precon-
demnation that attorneys for Idaho
Power fi led. The petition, if a judge
grants it, would allow Idaho Power
to enter and survey their property.
The petition is one of seven Idaho
Power fi led in Umatilla County
to gain access to private property,
according to state court fi lings.
The company has fi led six petitions
in Morrow County and about two
dozen more in Malheur, Baker and
Union counties.
Jean Hemphill said her family
moved to a nearby property in 1942,
and she has lived there all of her life.
She and her husband moved into
their home after its construction in
the early 1970s.
“For us, who have lived here all
our lives, we cherish our lands and
our views,” Jean Hemphill said.
While many areas nearby have
grown a great deal, they said their
own view has changed little, by com-
parison, since they moved in roughly
half a century ago.
The region means a great deal
to them, they said. Both Hemphills
trace their family tree to ances-
tors who farmed the land with their
hands.
The land also is meaningful to the
Hemphills because of their dreams
for the future.
“My granddaughter’s starting a
sheep herd,” Jean Hemphill said.
She said it would be nice to have this
land available for her granddaughter
and future generations.
See Power, Page A8
ABOVE: Jean Hemphill
fl ips through a folder
of information on the
Boardman-to-Hemingway
transmission line
Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, at
her home near Pilot Rock.
BACKGROUND: The setting
sun silhouettes transmission
lines Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022,
near the future starting
point for the approximately
290-mile transmission line
in Boardman.
Apartment complex off ers buyouts to tenants willing to vacate
By ERICK PETERSON
HERMISTON HERALD
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Vehicles sit in the parking lot of the 46-unit Highland Manor apartment complex Friday, Feb.
4, 2022, in Hermiston. Residents on Feb. 2, 2022, received notices to vacate by March 1 so the
new owners can renovate the complex.
INSIDE
A2  In ‘Three Minutes,’ Charlie
Clupny tells us about his Valentine
Residents of a 46-unit
apartment complex in Herm-
iston have to fi nd new places
to live.
When the residents of
Highland Manor apartments
got home on Wednesday,
Feb. 2, they found a letter
posted on their doors.
The letter from the new
apartment owner, Clover
Housing Group LLC, com-
plimented residents for the
way they have taken good
care of the apartments. But
there was more to the letter.
“We will be vacating
the apartment complex for
remodeling and updating as
soon as possible,” the letter
states. “We know moving is
diffi cult and we do apolo-
gize for this inconvenience.”
The letter off ers $2,000
A3  Port of Morrow has yet to
begin search for a new director
payments to help with mov-
ing and the expenses. If they
could vacate by March 1,
one month after the letter’s
date, they would receive the
payout, plus a full refund of
their security deposits, “as
long as the apartment is rea-
sonably clean.”
Highland Manor, at 1205
W. Highland Ave., has 40
two-bedroom apartments,
fi ve one-bedroom apart-
ments and one three-bed-
room apartment.
“At some time in the near
future, we will be cancel-
ing tenancy for everyone at
Highland Apartments,” the
letter continues. “Currently
we are off ering this assis-
tance to help anyone willing
to move voluntarily.”
Isaac Pulido received the
letter. A Highland Manor
tenant since December
2020, he lives in an apart-
A6  American Legion has a heart
for veterans with upcoming dinner
ment with two beds and one
bath, and he pays $630 per
month in rent, he said.
Pulido reported feeling
“stressed out” by his situa-
tion, as there are not many
available places to live in
Hermiston.
Hermiston is a good place
to live, he said, because it is
close to his work at Ama-
zon Web Services. The pros-
pect of moving out of the
area, perhaps to the Tri-Cit-
ies, does not thrill him, he
said. He added, if he cannot
fi nd a new apartment in the
area, he might have to move
in with his parents and fi nd
another job elsewhere.
Looking at this situation,
he said he is not just con-
cerned about himself; he is
worried for other Highland
Manor residents.
See Manor, Page A8
A9  Blood shortage causes
problems at local level