REGION
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A3
Woman recounts her rescue from Umatilla River
Renata Burns was swept
away while cooling off
in the fast-flowing river
By ANTONIO ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Renata
Burns on the afternoon of
Tuesday, June 28, stopped by the
Umatilla River in Pendleton to
mourn the loss of her 18-year-old
service dog, Mama, nine days
prior. A moment later, she was in
the river and worried she might
not make it out until a bicyclist
stopped and saved her.
Burns recalled she saw goats
in the area, so she veered closer
to the river to get a better look.
While there, she sat down in the
river to cool off , using a stick she
found to keep her close to the
bank.
“Pretty soon, before I knew it,
the stick wasn’t holding on any-
more and I found myself drifting
down the current,” Burns said.
An inexperienced swimmer,
Burns fi nally reached an area
where she could stand up. When
she stood, though, she ran into a
problem: The quick current and
slippery rocks made her unable
to walk.
At fi rst, she suff ered through
the experience alone. A para-
medic fi refi ghter for 15 years
in St. Louis, Burns admitted
the situation embarrassed her.
So when several people rode
past her on the Pendleton River
Parkway above the river, Burns
said nothing to them.
Fear, though, crept into the
back of Burns’ mind. Finally, she
began to worry and called for
help, nervous she may become
weak and drown.
“I was standing there, the cur-
rent was too strong and the rocks
were too slippery,” Burns said.
“For an hour, I was standing
there in the middle of the river.”
Gary Taber was the fi rst
person to ride by while Burns
shouted for help. Hearing the
cry, he quit his ride and walked
out into the river, grabbing a
stick to help bring Burns ashore.
After the two slipped and
stumbled a few times each,
Burns said they both emerged
from the river, wet but alive.
Burns is especially grateful for
the rescuer that came in the nick
of time.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Renata Burns says she nearly drowned Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in the Umitilla River near the Eighth Street Bridge in Pendleton before Gary Taber rescued her. Taber was
riding his bicycle along the city’s river parkway when he heard Burns cry for help and saved her from drowning.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Renata Burns points Tuesday, June 28, 2022, to where she said she slipped into the
Umatilla River in Pendleton, and the rushing water carried her downstream before
a bicyclist stopped to rescue her.
“I could’ve died,” Burns said.
“I was scared for my life, and he
went out of his way to stop and
help me.”
Following the incident, Burns
thanked Taber again and again
and snapped a picture of him to
hold on to. She said she hopes
the incident serves as a reminder
to be careful around the Umatilla
River.
After record rainfall from
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Renata Burns’ boots, left, are still squishing from water after she nearly drowned
Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in the Umatilla River in Pendleton. The river, right, is
running with strong currents.
May through early June, the
river has been running much
higher than normal. While the
wetness has receded in the latter
half of the month, it is still
swifter than usual.
“People need to be careful,”
Burns said. “It might not look
like the current’s so bad, but it
can take you away in an instant.”
Former Hermiston schools employee sues over pandemic mandates
Jennifer Morrell
represented by
La Grande attorney
Brent Smith
By ANTONIO ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — A former
Hermiston School District
employee is suing the district for
more than $300,000, claiming dis-
crimination for having to wear
a mask due to pandemic safety
measures.
Jennifer Morrell, of Herm-
iston, who worked for the district
for nearly 20 years, cites emo-
tional damages and lost wages
as reasons for the lawsuit. La
Grande-based attorney Brent
Smith fi led the complaint for Mor-
rell on Friday, June 17, in Umatilla
County Circuit Court.
According to the document,
Morrell notifi ed the school on
Dec. 7, 2020, about a medical con-
dition that prevented her from
wearing the state-required face
mask. She and the district agreed
she could wear a face shield
instead, and Morrell did so for
nearly a year.
This changed in August 2021
when the Hermiston School Dis-
trict required vaccination for
all employees, of which Mor-
rell had “sincerely held religious
beliefs which prevented her from
receiving a COVID-19 vaccina-
tion,” according to the complaint,
which also questions the effi -
ciency of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Medical studies have repeat-
edly demonstrated the vac-
cines are eff ective in pre-
venting COVID-19 or decreasing
the severity of the disease’s
symptoms.
Following meetings discussing
her religious beliefs, the lawsuit
accuses the district of off ering
only demotions in return. Morrell,
who had recovered from COVID-
19, claimed the response was not
in line with the treatment other
unvaccinated employees received.
The lawsuit asserts the district’s
actions “were not motivated by
health or safety concerns but were
retaliation” against her due to her
medical conditions and religious
beliefs.
Morrell left the school district
under an extended Family and
Medical Leave Act in November
2021 and remained on leave until
her resignation on March 22.
The lawsuit also claims during
her time with the school district,
the district “did not make a good-
faith eff ort” to accommodate
Morrell’s beliefs. Once vaccina-
tions became required, instead of
allowing her to continue wearing
a face shield, the document claims
the district required Morrell to
wear an N-95 mask.
In addition to $4,950 in lost
wages, Morrell seeks an addi-
tional $300,000 in damages for
“emotional pain and suff ering,
inconvenience, mental anguish,
and loss of enjoyment of life.”
Hermiston School District
reported it does not comment on
pending litigation.
Wyden welcomes end to proposal to reduce care for Eastern Oregon veterans
Bipartisan group of senators plan to block
proposals to reclassify Walla Walla
veterans facility as outpatient clinic
The Observer
WASHINGTON —
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
announced the proposal
to make the Jonathan M.
Wainwright Memorial VA
Medical Center in Walla
Walla an outpatient clinic is
coming to an end.
Wyden in a press release
Wednesday, June 29, said
he welcomed the news
this week that Senate Vet-
erans’ Aff airs Committee
Chairman Jon Tester,
D-Montana, U.S. Sen. Patty
Murray, D-Washington,
and a bipartisan group of
senators will block the vet-
erans Asset and Infrastruc-
ture Review Commission’s
proposals to reclassify
the Walla Walla veterans
facility as a communi-
ty-based outpatient clinic
and to move its 31-bed res-
idential rehabilitation treat-
ment program 180 miles
north of Walla Walla to
Spokane.
This comes as Wyden
has been pressing the Vet-
erans Administration
through town halls he
hosted for Eastern Oregon
veterans, their families and
veterans ser-
vice providers
to ask top VA
offi cials about
proposed VA
cuts and ser-
vice changes
Wyden
that would
have gone to the AIR Com-
mission for consideration.
Wyden shared Eastern
Oregon veterans’ concerns
at a June 4 town hall about
VA recommendations to the
Walla Walla VA medical
center.
“What I heard earlier
this month from veterans
in Umatilla, Union, Wal-
lowa, Baker and Morrow
counties was their deep
and well-justifi ed con-
cern about how these pro-
posals would undercut the
quality and accessible care
they earned with their ser-
vice to our country,” said
Wyden, who also wrote a
letter last month to the VA
detailing the rural Oregon
veterans’ concerns. “The
end to the process that
could have led to poorer
and more distant care for
Eastern Oregon veterans
is good news, and I’ll con-
tinue to advocate for these
rural veterans to ensure
these ill-considered pro-
posals don’t resurface.”
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