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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2018)
Eastern Oregon’s Best CONFUSION ON THE BORDER REGION/3A SPORTS/1B FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2018 142nd Year, No. 176 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD ECHO Your Weekend Pendleton attorney serves out suspension Photo contributed by Stu Gillard • • • Hodaka Days revs up in Athena/Weston Orquestra Pacifico Friday on Main Street Movies in the park in Ione, Pendleton Klahn can legally practice for first time in 120 days For times and places see Coming Events, 6A Weekend Weather Fri Sat 84/55 81/57 Sun By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian 91/63 Can ODOT fire employee for advocating for shooting? By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau A state DMV employee who is accused of posting a comment on Facebook that migrants should be shot at the border has been put on paid leave while the Ore- gon Department of Trans- portation investigates the comment. Thousands of callers and commenters have called on the agency to dismiss Lori McAllen for the post, and the incident has drawn inter- national media attention. “We take this matter very seriously and very person- ally,” the agency posted on its Twitter account Thurs- day, June 21. “The comment doesn’t reflect our agency values and is disturbing and hurtful. Thank you for your patience as we complete the investigation.” McAllen, a Linn County resident who has worked for the DMV for about 10 months, earns $2,883 per month as a full-time trans- portation service represen- tative, said David House, an ODOT spokesman. It’s unclear whether the agency can legally fire McAllen for the comment. The outcome could depend Pendleton attorney Robert Klahn finds himself facing new standards, for the law and his own behavior. Klahn has practiced law in Pendleton for 37 years. He has won more than 100 jury tri- als. He said on 10-15 cases he lost, his client won on appeal. But there was no appeal of the deal he made in February with the Oregon State Bar to serve a 120-day suspension of his law license that began Feb. 18. He returned to work Tuesday. The suspension was not related to his per- formance as a criminal defense lawyer, which the Oregon State Bar disciplined him for in the past. This time, his behavior landed him in trouble. Klahn on Wednesday said he did not want to get into details. He said he came to an agreement with the bar that his behavior was out of line. Klahn, 65, said complementing a female clerk on her appearance was the way he grew up, but those days are no more. “Saying she looks nice today or something — but you can’t do that,” Klahn said. The Bar reported it has received 20 com- plaints about Klahn during his career and dis- missed seven. His first reprimand came in 2000 and his second in 2005. The Bar sus- pended his license for 60 days in 2008 for not communicating with clients. The second sus- pension lasted 90 days for failing to explain legal matters so a client could make informed decisions. Klahn’s latest trouble was for more than trying to deliver compliments. Klahn in early 2015 represented a young mother who faced a conviction for drunk driv- ing. She wanted to take a plea deal to avoid jail time because she was breastfeeding her infant. Klahn tried to engage women court employees about breastfeeding and if they, like cows, could receive medication when their milk dries up. The Oregon State Bar’s trial three-mem- ber discipline panel heard those complaints in May 2017 in Hermiston. According to Bar documents, one employee told Klahn to stop Staff photo by E.J. Harris James Shelton asks questions about changes to a noise control ordinance during the Echo City Council meeting on Thursday in the VFW hall in Echo. The 1910-era hall reopened to the public after renovations this spring. City renovates historic VFW hall By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian T he old VFW hall in Echo is back in community use. The hall was closed during much of the spring for extensive renovations, but was used for a city council meeting Thursday. “It’s pretty well done except for a couple of minor things,” city administrator Diane Berry said. The renovation has included laminate flooring to replace the worn-out carpet, an awning to keep rainwater from pooling outside the front door, a new sidewalk, interior and exterior paint and a remodel of the bath- room. A wall was also removed to expand the kitchen area. No one knows the exact year it was built, but Berry said she knows it dates back to at least 1910. “This is just another step in Staff photo by E.J. Harris The historic VFW hall in Echo is more than 100 years old. our efforts to rejuvenate and give new life to historical build- ings instead of tearing them down and rebuilding something lesser in their place,” she said. According to a history com- piled on the city of Echo’s website, the town was settled in 1860, platted in 1880 and incorporated in 1904. The city provides a brochure outlining a walking tour of 23 histor- ical sites that date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s. The building that houses city hall and the community center was See VFW/8A “This is just another step ... to rejuvenate and give new life to historic buildings.” — Diane Berry, Echo mayor See KLAHN/8A HERMISTON Harmony Club smaller but still going after 80 years By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian See ODOT/8A Photo contributed by the Harmony Club This undated photo from the Harmony Club’s scrapbook show members in the club’s early days. Eighty years after the women liv- ing on Loop Road decided to form an official social club, the club is still going. The Harmony Club, which had a high of 107 members, has only seven today, including its first non-Loop Road member. But during fall, win- ter and spring the ladies meet twice a month for at least two hours. “The object was to get better acquainted with neighbors and be of benefit to others,” vice president Carol Pomeroy said, showing off a piece of paper with official club rules and objectives. “There’s the constitu- tion, so they did it legit.” Pat Wagner, club secretary-trea- surer, said she has all the minutes of each meeting going back to 1938. According to an account written for the group’s scrapbook in 1955, the Harmony Club was the brainchild of Agnes Harrick. She lived on Loop Road, which loops from East High- land Avenue in Hermiston all the way down to Stanfield, and wanted to get to know her neighbors better. Wagner is the club’s member who doesn’t live on Loop Road. She felt like getting out of the house more, and club president Polly Van De Brake asked the group to take a vote on letting her in. Van De Brake said the club may be smaller than it used to be, but it is still something that its members enjoy. “We’re keeping it going,” she said. “So many of the ladies on See HARMONY/8A Title Sponsor Saturday June 23, 2018 • 8:30 AM - Roy Raley Park $25.00 Includes Water bottle & T-shirt Register today at https://stanthonymuttstrut.itsyourrace.com Proceeds will Benefi t the St. Anthony Hospital Alternative Therapy Program (including Pet Therapy) and P.A.W.S. Animal Shelter in Pendleton. For more information call 541-278-2627 or email EmilySmith@chiwest.com 2801 S T A NTHONY W AY , P ENDLETON , OR. 97801 WWW . SAHPENDLETON . ORG
