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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2018)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Saturday, October 20, 2018 Avakian wants legislative leaders held in contempt ment Friday that its motion for the contempt order was “unprecedented.” This summer, Avakian, a Democrat whose term ends in January, accused leg- islative leaders of allow- ing a hostile work environ- ment to fester at the Capitol and reacting too slowly to various reports of sexual harassment. Avakian filed what’s called a commissioner’s complaint with the Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the subpoenas, in early August. Avakian believed the Legislature wouldn’t cooperate or be “reliable,” court documents show, and feared the records would be destroyed. Avakian now wants a judge to order Senate Pres- ident Peter Courtney, Speaker Tina Kotek and Sen. Jackie Winters, along with other legislative staff, to comply with the subpoe- nas, and to level $1,000 fines against them for every day that they have not done so since Aug. 20. “State respondents are not above the law and their con- duct is not beyond all scru- tiny,” an attorney for the Bureau of Labor and Indus- tries wrote in the motion, filed Wednesday in Mult- nomah County Circuit Court. “This case is about inves- By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE and AUBREY WIEBER Capital Bureau SALEM — Outgoing Oregon Labor Commis- sioner Brad Avakian is again taking the Legislature to task over sexual harassment, this time in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Avakian wants a state judge to find legislators and staff in contempt for failing to comply with subpoenas in the administrative case he’s brought against them over their handling of harassment allegations. He’s seeking a massive trove of documents, includ- ing all documents pertain- ing to reports or allegations of harassment involving leg- islators, employees, student interns or lobbyists since Jan. 1, 2011. Avakian also wants cop- ies of the Legislature’s per- sonnel rules, any draft per- sonnel rules proposed since 2011, policies and proce- dures for placing student interns at the Capitol, as well as documents that could identify any student interns working at the Legislature since 2011. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Nov. 19. While the bureau com- monly subpoenas docu- ments, it said in a state- Pamplin Media Group Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian has asked a judge to hold legislators and staff in contempt for failing to comply with subpoenas in the administrative case he’s brought against them over their handling of harassment allegations. tigating allegations from women who were harmed in the Capitol, and the Legisla- ture’s failure to address their experiences,” the bureau said in a written statement Friday. “Now, after pro- fessing cooperation with the investigation, the Ore- gon Legislature is continu- Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Hazy sun Hazy sun Hazy sunshine More sunshine than clouds Periods of clouds and sunshine 69° 41° 67° 41° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 68° 42° 67° 43° 67° 42° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 69° 38° 68° 39° 69° 40° 69° 43° OREGON FORECAST 69° 43° ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 64/42 70/42 69/36 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 70/45 Lewiston 67/42 67/36 Astoria 65/40 Pullman Yakima 68/35 62/36 72/43 Portland Hermiston 73/44 The Dalles 69/38 Salem Corvallis 73/39 La Grande Yesterday Normals Records 71/40 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 73/39 76/38 75/43 Ontario 71/36 Caldwell Burns 66° 31° 64° 38° 77° (1973) 15° (1949) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 73/41 0.00" 1.14" 0.35" 6.29" 7.52" 6.91" WINDS (in mph) 71/38 71/25 0.00" 1.39" 0.62" 7.91" 13.01" 9.56" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 71/39 73/41 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 69/41 74/41 67° 36° 62° 39° 82° (1940) 15° (1911) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 61/38 Aberdeen 67/39 66/42 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 62/46 Today 83/43 Sun. NE 3-6 N 4-8 Boardman Pendleton Medford NE 3-6 NNW 4-8 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 75/32 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 7:18 a.m. 6:01 p.m. 4:43 p.m. 2:48 a.m. Full Last New First Oct 24 Oct 31 Nov 7 Nov 15 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 94° in Camarillo, Calif. Low 2° in Bodie State Park, Calif. ing to ignore the experiences of these women and refuses to provide information nec- essary in order to uncover the truth and, if the law has been broken, find redress for those who were harmed.” Legislative leaders are contesting Avakian’s moves. “I think it’s very sur- prising and I think it’s very unfortunate and frankly sad, because the commis- sioner knows that the Con- stitution of Oregon doesn’t give him the authority to either impose or apply rem- edies,” said Edwin Harnden, an attorney representing the Legislature. The Legislature has already provided several hundred pages of docu- ments outlining its response to sexual harassment in the Capitol. Avakian filed the admin- istrative complaint Aug. 1, nearly a year after the rise of the #MeToo movement and an investigation into sex- ual harassment allegations against a state senator from Roseburg. Avakian’s complaint alleges that on multiple occasions, legislative staff, NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY including attorneys and human resource officials, failed to properly handle reports of sexual harassment. Avakian said the com- plaint was requested by two employees and two student interns who sought redress for “the harm they suffered and to remedy the intolera- ble conditions that respon- dents have failed to correct.” In Avakian’s complaint, he details a history of sex- ual misconduct in the Capi- tol going back years. In 2015, a legislative employee reported that a man who had sexually assaulted her had since been hired as a legislative intern, according to the complaint. She had recently found out that the intern had also assaulted a friend of hers. The employee also reported that since being hired, the intern had asked her about her sexual rela- tionship with someone else. The employee reported the conduct, and legislative attorney Dexter Johnson and employee services man- ager Lore Christopher told her that the harasser is not to contact her again, the com- BRIEFLY Man awaiting trial on sex abuse charges disappears REDMOND (AP) — A Redmond man who was awaiting trial on several sex abuse charges has removed his GPS moni- toring ankle bracelet and is missing. The Bulletin reports Friday that Michael Tallman, the former director of a Redmond charter school, was supposed to go to trial Tuesday but police found his ankle brace- let in the Bend area and believe he is plan- ning to flee the state. The 45-year-old Tallman changed his name from Michael Bremont last year. He has already served prison time for sexually abusing two female students under the age of 18 at Redmond Profi- ciency Academy and at Central Linn High School in Halsey, where he worked as a principal until 2006. Another academy student came forward after his release in 2014 and he was await- ing trial in that case. Two students sickened after eating marijuana-infused Oreos Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s cold front — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays www.eastoregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to www.eastoregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2018, EO Media Group 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front high 110s low MEDFORD (AP) — Two students at South Medford High School were taken to a hospital by ambulance after eating Oreo cookies drizzled with marijuana-infused oil. The Mail Tribune reports Friday that the students were conscious and able to talk while they were being transported on Thursday afternoon. District spokeswoman Natalie Hurd tells the newspaper that a third student got sick on Tuesday and may have also ingested Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings off cover price EZPay $14.50 41 percent 52 weeks $173.67 41 percent 26 weeks $91.86 38 percent 13 weeks $47.77 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday Circulation Manager: Bonny Tuller, 541-966-0828 plaint recounted. His intern- ship was nearly finished, and the employee was told that she would be notified if her alleged assailant was hired again, according to the complaint. Christopher and Johnson also warned the employee about speaking publicly about the issues, saying it could be seen as retaliatory or defamatory, according to the complaint. Also in 2015, a legislative employee reported to John- son and Courtney’s chief of staff, Betsy Imholt, that Courtney’s communications director had inappropriate contact with her at a bar, and then sent her lewd song lyr- ics over Facebook. Johnson told the employee he was working out an informal settlement between her and the communications direc- tor, and that she was not to contact him or talk about the allegations, according to the complaint. In March, 2016, state Sens. Sara Gelser and Elizabeth Steiner Hay- ward reported inappropri- ate touching by state Sen. Jeff Kruse of Roseburg. A student intern working in Kruse’s office also reported Kruse was inappropri- ate toward her, calling her “sexy,” “little girl,” touch- ing her thighs despite being asked to stop and saying her husband was lucky, accord- ing to the complaint. In early 2017, a different legislative intern in Kruse’s office reported experienc- ing unwanted touching by Kruse, including touching her breasts and hips while he hugged her, according to the complaint. The woman told other legislative staff- ers about the conduct, who responded they had heard similar things before. Harnden, of the Port- land law firm Barran Lieb- man, said prior to the com- plaint, the labor bureau and the Legislature were work- ing well together to fix the issues. Taking legal action, he said, “lacks common sense.” “To politicize it and legal- ize it, I think it’s just frankly horrible,” he said. ADVERTISING Regional Publisher and Revenue Director: Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com Advertising Services: Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 • gbubar@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Kimberly Macias 541-278-2683 • kmacias@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com marijuana, but the evidence isn’t as clear. The district says it is seeing an increase in the use of marijuana edibles among students. Medford police and the school district are still investigating the cause of the first reported overdose on Tuesday. Man accused of killing wife with drug-laced ice cream SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A Washing- ton man faces charges of killing his wife by lacing her ice cream with a lethal dose of pain medication. The Spokesman-Review reports David Pettis of Cheney appeared in Spokane County District Court on Thursday after he was arrested Wednesday by Spokane County sheriff’s deputies. Judge Patti Walker set Pettis’ bond at $1 million, which his defense attorney, Robert Sargent, says is unreasonable because Pet- tis earned significantly less than indicated in the pretrial findings, which estimated his monthly income at $5,000 to $7,000. Sargent says Pettis’ income was closer to $2,500 a month, and because that income came from a logging business, it’s not always consistent. Sargent says Pettis maintains his inno- cence and plans to enter a not guilty plea at the next hearing. Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. 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