Gary Culp remembers when the pine trees outside the old Sunset Elementary School were so small, They had to be tied up to stakes to keep from blowing over.

More than four decades later, Culp watched this week as workers cut down the once-tiny trees that had grown into massive, stately sentries of the neighborhood.

Twenty trees along East Catherine Avenue were removed.

It just made me sick, said Culp, who grew up in Hermiston and attended Sunset. As I watched them tear down the old school, I never would have thought that they could be that callous. It seems to me they could have left some of them. They could have tried to plan or build around them.

But according to Heath Gardener of Fishel Consulting, bond project manager for the new schools in Hermiston, the trees had to be removed to make room for a drive loop in front of the school, drainage swales at the west end of the school, a parking lot and playing fields.

The trees were quite a ways away from the street, and that made it very difficult to maximize usage of the available land for playing fields, Gardener said. The district has really gone out of its way to make sure on every project that everything possible is being maximized for community usage.

But Hermiston resident Paula Stout accused the school district of deceiving Hermiston residents when the district was promoting the bond issue to build the new schools.

When they were asking for the bond, they had public forums to talk about their plans, Stout said. We all asked, What about the trees? and they indicated that theyd do their best to save them.

We were deceived. Ive seen the plans, and theres no reason they couldnt have saved some of those trees. If they ask for another bond, I guarantee you I will not support it. We were deceived as a community.

Culp said its not the first time trees have been cut down needlessly for a school project. He said a similar situation arose when Hermiston High School was remodeled and some large trees were removed for a parking lot.

It just seems like theres no sense of history, Culp said. I dont think the people on the school board are longtime Hermiston residents who really care about what has happened here.

Hermiston resident Diane Ramirez also attended Sunset, and made sure to attend the public forums.

We specifically asked about the trees, and the school board said they would try to save them, Ramirez said. Its not like we chained ourselves to the trees or anything like that, but we feel misled. Its a shame the district couldnt have done more.

Ramirez also said she was sick to see birds being displaced, particularly at this time of year.

There are birds flying all over the place and they dont know what to do, she said. All their nests, everything, are being torn down. Its just a shame.

Gardener said new trees will be planted on the site.

The removal of the trees has been on the plans from early on, Gardener said. It shouldnt be a surprise. Its just that when they actually go down, people take notice.

Stout, however, called the removal of the trees a slap in the face.

As a community, we were let down, Stout said.