Tuesday, Oct. 07, 2008

Tri-Citians pull together to fix reservist's yard

By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

The desert surrounding Burke and Heidi Jensen's home in south Kennewick will soon have an army of workers installing an irrigation system and landscaping while he's on military assignment in Kuwait.

Volunteer workers and business owners will install the plumbing, roll out sod, plant shrubs and trees and place decorative rock and boulders on the property in the Oak Hills Country Estates while the 33-year-old Jensen is serving his country.

The Kennewick Navy reservist said Tuesday that he and his wife are overwhelmed by the support shown to them since Sunday's Herald told how the subdivision developer was pressuring them to get their landscaping done or face legal action.

Chick Edwards, the majority property owner in the 200-acre subdivision at the end of Oak Street, said Sunday that he was tired of looking at the barren property left when Jensen was called for duty. Edwards said he didn't care that Jensen had been called away, only that he hadn't fulfilled covenant obligations to complete landscaping.

Edwards' comments promp-ted dozens of people to call the Herald offering to help, and dozens more expressed anger and dismay on the Herald's website about the developer's attitude.

Edwards could not be reached by telephone late Monday and did not respond to an e-mail to his business Monday evening.

But he did tell KZOK-FM radio in Seattle earlier Monday he had "a bad hair day" when he was interviewed for the Sunday story, in which he called Jensen a "clown" for failing to landscape the property as required.

Tim Montgomery, who is spearheading the landscaping project, said, "It's our duty as citizens to help our troops in whatever manner is possible."

Montgomery Construction Sprinkler Systems Specialists is leading the all-volunteer effort that includes Red Mountain Feed and Sprinkler Supply of West Richland, West Richland's Home Depot, Bedrock Specialty Stone Products for rock and boulders and Woods Nursery.

Montgomery said it was Edwards' lack of understanding about Jensen's duty as a reservist that made him want to help. "I've got contributors for sprinklers, trees and rocks," he said, noting one retailer has agreed to provide sod and seed.

"We can pretty much do this with contractors and wholesalers we've got lined up, but I certainly invite anyone who wants to contribute. I don't want to leave anybody out," Montgomery said.

The Herald received 28 offers of help. They include a team from the First Christian Church of Pasco, a veterans support group called the WA Operation Thank You in the Tri-Cities, and several construction and landscaping businesses.

Montgomery said he wants to hear from all of the volunteers because there may be other things they can do in the months ahead. He said people wanting to participate can call him at 375-4700.

Jensen said he and his wife and their 3-month-old son don't plan to be back into the house until September or October next year.

"The only thing I can say is thank you from our hearts," he said in a phone interview from a relative's home in New Jersey on Monday night. "It shows the spirit of the community we joined, a very friendly community with great morals and ethics. The people are great."

Jensen said he is on leave after several months of training and will be heading to Kuwait by the end of the month.

The past year has been a whirlwind of change for the Jensens, he wrote in an e-mail to his attorney Tuesday that was provided to the Herald.

"Within 10 months we relocated from New Jersey to Washington, bought our home (in Kennewick), got married last December, had our child born and then had to leave our home for 20 months to support the Army's mission," he wrote.

Heidi Jensen said in the e-mail that she was grateful to neighbors and friends at the Columbia Christian Fellowship and her husband's employer, Energy Northwest, who have helped them through their yearlong struggle.

Jensen said some of his fellow employees have made personal contributions to help him cover expenses during the military assignment that has interrupted his income from Energy Northwest. He said he's had to pay about $3,000 a month to maintain the new, but barely lived in home, and has apparently lost money he paid a landscaper he hired last spring to green up his property.

w John Trumbo: 582-1529; jtrumbo@tricityherald.com