WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
Hayfi elds
approved
for more
homes in
Hermiston
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
‘We had to do
something’
Development would add
more than 1,300 homes
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
The Hayfi elds development
would add more than 1,300 homes
to Hermiston.
The 353-acre site is in the city
limits near the intersection of
Highway 207 and Feedville Road
with Community Park to the east.
The Hermiston Urban Renewal
Agency — which also is the
Hermiston City Council — during
its meeting Monday, March 14,
approved a resolution directing
staff to prepare a plan for a new
urban renewal district along Feed-
ville Road.
The move came after a presen-
tation from MonteVista Homes.
Luke Pickerill, MonteVista Homes
owner, said this is a major step for
the city.
“At full buildout, we will have
1,300 housing units, which rep-
resents about 15% of the total pop-
ulation in today’s numbers of the
city of Hermiston,” he said.
He described The Hayfi elds as
a “master planned community,”
which means that it is “designed
to off er the very best in home life,
from the design of open spaces
and the architectural fi t within the
city to environmentally-friendly
technology and sophisticated
amenities.”
These are “not like old neigh-
borhoods where houses popped
up here and there with less or no
regard for the overall commu-
nity design,” his presentation slide
stated. Instead, the MPC provides
amenities such as parks and gath-
ering spaces for the enjoyment of
the neighborhood and the city.
Pickerill gave the council some
history of the area. Around 20
years ago, the land was annexed
into Hermiston, he said. Plans at
the time were to develop the prop-
erty into a golf course community.
This plan hit a snag during the
Great Recession of 2008.
Nearly a decade after the reces-
sion, Pickerill said, landown-
ers attempted to start a new hous-
ing development, but they lacked
the infrastructure and available
services.
“They found it wasn’t possible
without a public/private partner-
ship,” he said.
Between 2017 and 2021, land-
owners and the city of Hermiston
explored several options to make
the best possible use out of the site.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
People gather around a booth for Lamb Weston during a job fair March 16, 2022, at the Hermiston Community Center in Hermiston.
Employers, chamber and city mobilize for recent Hermiston job fair
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
M
eeting
employ-
ers at the entrance
of a recent job fair,
Val Hoxie said she felt over-
whelmed by the people’s
expressions of community and
warmth.
“People were looking for
ways to help,” she said.
There were 47 companies
represented at 52 tables at the
job fair Wednesday, March 16,
at the Hermiston Community
Center.
Hoxie, Hermiston Cham-
ber of Commerce executive
director, helped organize the
event in response to a mas-
sive layoff following the
Shearer’s Foods Hermiston
plant fire.
The company laid off all
231 of its employees at the
facility.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Companies line the Hermiston Community Center during a job fair
March 16, 2022, in Hermiston.
Companies look to put workers
to work
Employers at tables met
with an estimated 200 to 300
job seekers. By the end of the
fair, which took place between
9 a.m. and 4 p.m., the employ-
ers said they had met with
many people, including indi-
viduals laid off from Shearer’s.
They said it was a successful
event, and they hope to begin
hiring from the pool of these
job seekers soon.
At least one of the company
representatives had worked for
Shearer’s. Candice Chavez, a
rack decommission manager
for Amazon, said she worked
for Shearer’s in Hermiston
for around 10 years, ending in
November 2020.
She called her leaving “bit-
tersweet.” She said she enjoyed
working for Shearer’s. She grew
a lot during that time, she said,
and she left only because Ama-
zon gave her even more oppor-
tunities to grow.
She said she has seen the
Shearer’s site since the fi re, and
it fi lled her with “a lot of emo-
tions.” She put in a lot of hard
work there, she said, and it felt
miserable seeing everything go
up in fl ames, literally.
Still, she said, there is life
after Shearer’s. She was able to
move on after she ended her job
See, Jobs/Page A9
See, Homes/Page A9
Familiar face promoted to lead Morrow County schools
Mathew Combe
selected as new Morrow
County School District
Superintendent
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Mathew Combe will be
the new superintendent as
soon as he is approved by
the Morrow County School
Board. His fi rst offi cial day
will be July 1.
The
district
offi ce
announced the decision to
hire Combe in a Friday,
March 18, press release.
“After an exhaustive
search, the Morrow County
School District Board of
Directors is pleased to
announce that Mr. Mathew
Combe will become the dis-
INSIDE
Combe
Dirksen
trict’s next superintendent,”
the press release states.
This announcement came
as good news to the current
superintendent, Dirk Dirksen.
“Mat Combe has been a
long time Morrow County
administrator,” Dirksen said.
“He’ll do a real good job.”
The press release also
mentions that Combe was
among 13 applicants for the
position.
The only local candi-
date among three fi nalists, he
was praised by Becky Kin-
dle, Morrow County School
District Board chair. Kindle
said Combe, and the other
two candidates, would “do a
good job” if they were to be
chosen.
In the past week, Combe
and other fi nalists “spent
time in the district meet-
ing with staff , community
members and high school
students from each of the
three high schools,” accord-
ing to the press release that
announced the decision to
hire him. Also, the release
states that board members
“conducted extensive ref-
erence checks and fi nal
interviews before off ering
Combe the position.”
Following this decision,
the Morrow County School
District is negotiating with
Combe over his new con-
tract. It will then approve the
contract at the April 11 board
A3 Boardman remembers Barry
Beyeler
meeting.
Combe, currently the
Heppner Junior/Senior High
School principal serves the
school district as the direc-
tor of maintenance and facili-
ties. The district hired him in
January 2005. In more recent
years, he has served as ele-
mentary school principal and
the director of alternative
education.
Dirksen said that the selec-
tion of Combe will “help in
the transition,” as Combe is
someone who knows the dis-
trict well. Also, people know
Combe, Dirksen said, and
other people within the dis-
trict will fi nd it easy to work
with him.
The step from principal to
superintendent is something
of which Dirksen is familiar.
He said he has already spo-
ken with the incoming super-
A4 Kudos to employers at job
fair
intendent about what this pro-
motion will entail.
“I was the building prin-
cipal at Riverside (Junior/
Senior High School) before I
started the job 11 years ago,
and I went over some of the
things that I did to prepare
myself,” Dirksen said. Now,
he added, he is working
together with Combe to ready
him to be superintendent.
One of the big things
ahead, Dirksen said, is a
school bond, which will be
on the May 17 ballot. The
fi rst of the county’s school
bonds in over two decades, it
would give an upgrade to the
district’s schools. If passed, it
would raise $138 million, to
be supplemented with another
$4 million from the Oregon
School Capital Improvement
Matching Program.
“Combe has been actively
A6 Open Regional Exhibit focus-
es on photography
involved in the entire bond
process and looks forward to
utilizing his knowledge as the
district moves forward with
hopes of passing their bond,”
the press release states.
As important as this bond
is, though, Dirksen said it
is not the only concern for
Combe, who will need to
“build background” on the
position.
He will need to learn more
about the ins and outs of the
superintendent’s job, Dirksen
said.
“There is a diff erence
between being a building
administrator on a day-to-day
basis and being a superinten-
dent,” Dirksen said. “I know
that was a very important
thing for me to learn.”
Dirksen’s last day in the
position is June 30, Dirksen
said.
A7 Panda Bears 2.0 win Book
Brawl