REGION
Saturday, October 29, 2016
East Oregonian
Free fishing trip for cops
draws ethics question
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Four members of the
Umatilla County Sheriff’s
Office were treated to a free
four-day salmon fishing trip
in September, courtesy of a
pro-police organization.
Other local police ques-
tioned if the trip could be
considered a gratuity, and
while the trip doesn’t appear
to conflict with state law, they
noted that perception is highly
important.
Dion Hess, of Ridgefield,
Washington, created “Kings
for Cops” to honor law
enforcement with a four-day
trip the weekend of Sept.
10 that included fishing for
salmon on the Columbia
River out of Woodland,
Washington, according to a
statement from the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office.
Woodland and Ridgefield
community members, police
associations and private busi-
nesses funded the trip to cover
the cost of hotels, restaurants
and more. Professional fishing
guides also donated their time,
boats and equipment for the
trip. KGW News in Portland
covered the event.
Umatilla County sheriff’s
deputies Rick Carter and
Mike Gallaher went, as did
his brother Tim Gallaher,
retired from Oregon State
Police, along with sheriff’s
detectives Kacey Ward and
Erik Palmer.
Hess put together the event
after gunmen in July targeted
police in Dallas, Texas, and
Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
injuring a total of eight
officers and killing 12. Hess
invited more than 100 police,
according to the sheriff’s
statement, and the local group
joined several officers from
the Pacific Northwest and the
police departments of Dallas
and Baton Rouge.
Sheriff Terry Rowan said
the deputies who went were
off-duty and drove their
own vehicles, and he didn’t
consider the trip a gratuity. He
didn’t specify how he came to
that decision.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts also received
the invitation, but said in
an email he did not pass the
invitation to his staff.
“Albeit I think the gesture
is/was generous and well-in-
tended,” Roberts stated, “I
do not think it passes the
public perception test that
law enforcement seems to be
struggling with right now.”
Public
employees,
including
police,
can
receive gifts due to their
positions,
according
to
state statue 244.040, which
covers government ethics.
Employees have to determine
if the gift is free of influence
and how much the gift is
worth, and they cannot accept
gifts worth more than $50 in
a year from a source that has
a legislative or administrative
interest.
A police sergeant in charge
of purchasing body armor for
a department, for example,
could violate the law if he
received a gift of more than
$50 from a body armor
vendor. Nothing indicates the
fishing trip came with those
kinds of strings.
Roberts said Oregon laws
are “pretty complex” when it
comes to evaluating whether
something is a gift or hono-
rarium. Thus as a matter of
practice, his department does
not consider invitations.
“The most basic mecha-
nism of evaluation,” Roberts
said, “that is drilled into
my staff is ... if something
is offered to you that is not
offered to the general public
because of your position/job
as a public employee, you/we
should not consider it.”
Roberts said answering
that question is simpler and
cleaner than scrolling through
the law to find exceptions.
“There is no gift or
honoraria,” he said, “worth a
sanction and/or your job.”
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said he had
not heard of the trip at the time,
but he would have called the
Oregon Government Ethics
Commission to get a reading
on whether attending would
have been appropriate.
Edmiston said he is “super
sensitive” to even the appear-
ance of gratuity and dealt with
that situation a few weeks
ago.
The Chuckwagon Cafe,
Hermiston, toward the end
of September donated 35
$15 gift certificates to the
Hermiston Police Depart-
ment. Edmiston wrote a letter
thanking the business for its
generosity, but also explained
why the department could not
accept the certificates.
“Inasmuch as your kind
act may not directly represent
a gift, I as the agency head
must make the determination
if it rises to the level of a gift,”
Edmiston wrote. “Unfortu-
nately, I believe it would be
a slippery slope for me to
accept and disseminate the
certificates to our folks.”
Edmiston said he returned
the letter with the certificates.
Restaurant owner Cathy Stolz
and her staff offered another
suggestion on what police
could do with the gifts —
have officers give them to
people for doing good deeds.
Even how to handle that,
Edmiston said, required a
staff meeting because police
must have a legal reason to
stop someone. Police can
follow good Samaritans until
they park somewhere and
then hand them a certificate.
PENDLETON
Wildhorse CEO
joins school board
statement. “I look forward
to developing partnerships,
From a deep field of attor- improving education and
neys, educators and other making Pendleton the
high-level
professionals, place to be.”
Before taking the helm at
the Pendleton School Board
Wildhorse, George
selected Wildhorse
worked as a senior
Resort & Casino
growth manage-
CEO Gary George
ment planner for
to take the place
Wa s h i n g t o n ’ s
of departed board
Snohomish
member
Bob
County, a U.S.
Rosselle.
Census
Bureau
According to a
supervisor
and
Pendleton School
the
executive
District
press
director of the
release, George George
CTUIR. George
beat out nine other
has a bachelor’s degree in
candidates for the position.
“Gary strengthens our urban and regional planning
board’s breadth of talent from Eastern Washington
and background, bringing University and also is a
additional expertise and member of Oregon Gaming
the
Oregon
diverse experiences that we Alliance,
know will help us positively Native American Business,
impact the education of all Entrepreneurial Network,
of our Pendleton students,” and an ex-officio member of
board Chairwoman Debbie the Pendleton Chamber of
Commerce.
McBee said in a statement.
George has already shep-
George’s
addition
means the board now has herded two children through
a member of the Confeder- the Pendleton school system
ated Tribes of the Umatilla and has another child
Indian Reservation in a attending Pendleton High
district where 12.6 percent School.
The person who is
of the students are American
selected will have to run
Indian.
“I am excited to get for a four-year term in the
started and be involved May 16 election to continue
with Pendleton School beyond June 30, 2017, when
District,” George said in a his term ends.
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
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East Oregonian
PENDLETON
EOCI delays inmates for outside work crews
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Eastern Oregon Correc-
tional Institution halted plans
for its own inmates to work
outside the fence.
The
medium-security
prison in Pendleton aimed
to have the crews in the
community by Oct. 24. But
EOCI superintendent Jeri
Taylor in a written statement
Friday announced that
changed.
“This was a difficult deci-
sion and one that I do not take
lightly,” she stated. “Trying
to identify enough offenders
that meet the eligibility
requirements has proven to
be a bigger challenge than
we originally planned.”
EOCI houses about 1,700
inmates, according to Oregon
Department of Corrections
statistics, and prison spokes-
person Jackie Peck said there
are about 200 in minimum
custody, but only 45 of those
could possibly qualify for
inmate work crews.
Criminal past and the
security level are major
factors in qualifying for a
work crew, but Peck said
there are other considerations
as well, including an inmate’s
behavior in the prison and if
the person is under a medical
restriction, such as for a bad
back.
Minimum
custody
inmates also qualify for
other programs in Oregon
prisons, she said, such as fire
crews. And the corrections
department moves minimum
custody inmates nearing their
release date to prisons with
minimum security facilities,
such as Two Rivers Correc-
tional Institution, Umatilla.
Peck said inmate crews
from TRCI will continue
to operate in the Pendleton
community. Two Rivers
has about 120 inmates in its
minimum custody facility,
according to the state, and
Peck said the prison there
designated 30 inmates for
crews.
The Pendleton City
Council in May voted to end
the 29-year-old agreement
with the state that banned
inmates working outside the
prison. Peck said it may not
ever be possible for EOCI
to have inmates work in the
community.
Page 3A
Danita Smith, of Third
Day Creations, LLC,
Hermiston,
recently
earned the certification
administered
by
Promotional
Products
Association International.
Individuals with the
certification are considered
industry leaders who have
attained a higher standard of
professional competence,
knowledge and experience.
Those
attaining
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