Friday, July 19, 2019
East Oregonian
SHERIFF’S OFFICE
RECEIVES NEW
RESCUE UTV
A1
HERMISTON
LITTLE LEAGUE
OFF TO STATE
TOURNAMENT
REGION, A3
SPORTS, A9
FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2019
143rd Year, No. 196
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
UEC
hit with
lawsuit
PENDLETON BIKE WEEK
Lawsuit seeks $7.2M
for whistleblower
retaliation
• URAL THOMAS & THE
PAIN, The Lodge, Pendleton
• QUILTS OF VALOR EXHI-
BITION, Heritage Station
Museum
• ASTRONOMY: THEN AND
NOW, Pendleton Public
Library
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS
CHECK COMING EVENTS, A6
Weekend Weather
FRI
SAT
SUN
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
78/49
87/55
94/63
Carrie Bob (left) and Jose Gutierrez admire Bob’s 2018 Indian Scout Bobber. Gutierrez and Bob both own
Indian Scout motorcycles and took time to compare features and modifi cations on their rides.
The Lodge
gets another
grant
PDC’s facade
committee approves
second story grant
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The Pend-
leton Development Commis-
sion is the latest public agency
to fi nancially back The Lodge,
but how much money it’s giv-
ing has yet to be determined.
Charles Denight, the asso-
ciate director of the commis-
sion, said the facade committee
voted to approve a second story
grant for the 14 S.E. Second St.
bar and music venue at a meet-
ing Wednesday, but the discus-
sion over how much the proj-
ect will get will be continued to
the committee’s next meeting
in August.
Denight said in an interview
Thursday that the complexity of
the deal caused a meeting that
normally runs 30 minutes to
balloon to an hour-and-a-half.
One of the main issues, he
See Grant, Page A7
By ALEX CASTLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — As the sun
was still rising Thursday morn-
ing, packs of bikers revved out
from the Pendleton Convention
Center for the Rattlesnake 400
and the .45 Caliber Poker Run
as a part of the Pendleton Bike
Week.
The Rattlesnake 400 is a self-
guided ride of 400 miles that
stretches and winds through
Idaho and Washington before
returning back to the conven-
tion center, while the .45 Caliber
Poker Run sends riders around
to businesses in Umatilla
County to collect six stamps
and be entered for a chance to
win a .45 Caliber Citadel 1911
Pistol.
From impromptu to prudent
riders and the various choppers,
cruisers, or sport bikes they
bring with them, Bike Week’s
rides welcome an assortment of
people and bikes alike.
Jeff and Carrie Bob are from
Beaverton and are attending
Bike Week for the second year
in a row. And this year, the mar-
ried couple is well-prepared to
complete the Poker Run.
“I’ve got it all mapped out,”
Jeff said as he began to illus-
See Bike Week, Page A7
By ALEX CASTLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — If the bikes
and motorcycles around the
Pendleton Convention Center are
looking fresh and squeaky clean
this week, it may just be thanks to
the Blue Mountain Community
College women’s volleyball team.
The BMCC athletes traded
out their volleyballs and gym for
washcloths and asphalt begin-
ning on Wednesday for Bike
Week, where over the past years
head coach Ceanna Larson and
her team have taken donations for
washing bikes at the convention
center’s vendor village.
“We just try to raise whatever
we can,” Larson said.
Last year, Larson said the team
raised around $2,500. All of the
See BMCC, Page A7
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Faythe Schafer washes a 2016 Harley Davidson Road Glide Special
during a bike wash fundraiser for the Blue Mountain Community Col-
lege volleyball team. The event was a part of the Pendleton Bike Week
and starts daily at 12:30 p.m. through Saturday.
HERMISTON — Uma-
tilla Electric Cooperative and
its chief executive offi cer are
defendants in a lawsuit seek-
ing almost $7.2 million for
whistleblower
retaliation and
workplace
harassment.
Beth Loo-
ney of Portland
fi led the suit
in early June
Echenrode
in Multnomah
County
Cir-
cuit Court. She worked from
March 2016 to July 3, 2018,
for Pacifi c Northwest Gener-
ating Cooperative of Portland,
which does business as PNGC
Power. Umatilla Electric Coop-
erative general manager and
CEO Robert Echenrode serves
on the PNGC Power board of
directors. According to the
complaint, Echenrode pushed
for a “UEC industrial cus-
tomer” to receive special treat-
ment with a “carve-out” of
more than a certain percentage,
which would have “posed dis-
proportionate risks for PNGC
and its members.”
Looney claims she reported
what she believed was evidence
of Echenrode’s breaches of
fi duciary duty as a board mem-
ber, and Echenrode’s response
to her attempts to unmask his
actions were to bully, demean
and degrade her and under-
mine her authority and reputa-
tion at the company.
She claimed she reported
Echenrode’s actions and atti-
tude about her and his gen-
der-based harassment, yet
PNGC Power did not investi-
gate her reports, and the com-
pany did nothing to discour-
age Echenrode’s behavior nor
ensure he would not adversely
affect her job.
She claimed she met with
Echenrode on June 3, 2018, to
address their issues, but Echen-
rode again gave her “a demean-
ing and sexually appraising
look.” She contacted his fellow
board members the next day,
according to the complaint,
and some apologized for his
behavior.
About 10 days later, the
company demanded Loo-
ney apologize to Echenrode,
according to the complaint, and
on June 19 began investigating
Looney. The situation esca-
lated during the board meeting
of July 3, 2018, when she stated
she told the board “this is more
than bullying, this is harass-
ment.” The company fi red her
later that day.
Looney seeks more than
See Retaliation, Page A7
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