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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2019)
Friday, August 2, 2019 REGION East Oregonian A3 Maxwell Farmers Market Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Juan Banata mixes up a batch of liquid nitrogen ice cream at the Maxwell Farmers Market in Hermiston Thursday afternoon. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Brenna Weyand hands a carton of mixed berries to Gail Cox at the Maxwell Farmers Market Thursday afternoon. The market continues through the end of the summer on each Thursday from 4-8 p.m. at 255 S. First Place in Hermiston. BRIEFLY Milton-Freewater closes public pool due to safety concerns MILTON-FREEWATER — The city of Milton-Freewa- ter closed its public pool this week for the rest of summer. City manager Linda Hall in an announcement reported the pool at the Joe Humbert Family Aquatic Center needs emergency repairs and is unsafe. “While this was not an easy choice to make, we are con- fident it is the only responsible option,” according to Hall. “We take the safety of our staff and patrons very seriously and despite many attempts at a resolution, we were unable to resolve the issues with the cloudy water.” The murky water hampers the ability of lifeguards to spot swimmers who are in trouble or could drown, Hall con- tinued, and as disappointing as the closure is, safety has to come first. The city also is offering refunds for swim lessons and season pass holders. For more information, contact Mil- ton-Freewater City Hall at 541-938-5531. COMING EVENTS FRIDAY, AUG. 2 WILLOW CREEK FARMERS MARKET, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Heppner City Park, 444 N. Main St., Heppner. Vendors will offer produce, baked goods, plants, jams and jellies, handmade and artisan items and more. Vendor space available for $25 adults, $10 school-aged children. (Andrea DiSalvo 757-285-5792) FREE FIRST FRIDAY, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tamastslikt Cultural Insti- tute, 47106 Wildhorse Blvd., Pendleton. Free admission all day. (541-966-9748) PENDLETON SENIOR MEAL SERVICE, 12-1 p.m., Pendleton Senior Center, 510 S.W. 10th St., Pendleton. Costs $3.50 or $6 for those under 60. Pool, puzzles, crafts, snacks, Second Time Around thrift store 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For Meals On Wheels, call 541-276-1926. (Tori Bowman 541-276-5073) FREE FRIDAY LUNCH, 12 p.m., Echo Community Church, 21 N. Bonanza St., Echo. Everyone welcome. HERMISTON SENIOR MEAL SERVICE, 12 p.m., Harkenrider Center, 255 N.E. Second St., Hermiston. Cost is $4 for adults, free for children 10 and under, $4 for Meals on Wheels. Extra 50 cents for utensils/dishes. Bus service available by donation. (541-567-3582) STORY AND CRAFT TIME, 2 p.m., Echo Public Library, 20 S. Bonanza, Echo. (541-376-8411) VFW BINGO, 6 p.m., Hermiston VFW, 45 W. Cherry St., Herm- iston. Doors open at 6 p.m., games begin at 7 p.m. Everyone welcome. (541-567-6219) COMMUNITY NIGHT OUT, 6-10 p.m., downtown, Main Street, Athena. Live music by the Wasteland Kings, all-ages street dance, 2020 senior class color run, sidewalk chalk contest, local vendors and more. Free. (April McKenna 541-310-9557) MOVIES IN THE PARK, 9 p.m., McKenzie Park, 320 S. First St., Hermiston. Bring a blanket or chair and snacks. Free. MOVIES IN THE PARK, 9 p.m., Community Park, 1000 S.W. 37th St., Pendleton. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Concessions available for purchase. Free. (541-276-8100) SATURDAY, AUG. 3 PANCAKE BREAKFAST, 7-10 a.m., Stanfield Community Cen- ter, 225 W. Roosevelt, Stanfield. Costs $6 for full breakfast/$3 for light meal. (Rose Emerson 541-449-1332) FREE FOR ALL, 9:30-10:15 a.m., Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., Pendleton. Free art classes for children up to age 12. Children under 8 should be accompanied by an adult. (Roberta Lavadour 541-278-9201) YARN CLUB, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Hermiston Public Library, 235 E. Gladys Ave., Hermiston. (541-567-2882) FREE FIRST SATURDAY, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Heritage Station Museum, 108 S.W. Frazer Ave., Pendleton. Free admission the first Saturday of the month. Everyone welcome. (Shannon Gruenhagen 541-276-0012) HIP & HANDMADE, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., Pendleton. Free drop-in project class for adults. (Roberta Lavadour 541-278-9201) SATURDAY SPIN-IN, 1-4 p.m., Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., Pendleton. For spinners, knitters, weavers, felters, fiber enthusiasts and folks who are just fiber-curious. Drop-ins welcome. (Roberta Lavadour 541-278-9201) ALS: WHAT IT IS AND HOW WE CAN HELP, 3-4:30 p.m., Pend- leton City Hall community room, 501 S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton. Learn about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), its effects, and the work being done to find treatment and support sufferers of the dis- ease. Refreshments will be available. Free. (Cassandra Adams 503-238-5559 Ext. 100) IRRIGON FARMERS MARKET, 6-9 p.m., Irrigon Public Library west lawn, 490 N.E. Main Ave., Irrigon. Vendors offer fresh agricultural products and occasional home crafted products. (Aaron Palmquist 541-922-3047) OLDIES NIGHT: THE ROLLING STONES, 7-10 p.m., Wesley United Methodist Church, 816 S. Main St., Milton-Freewater. BJ the DJ will spin tunes of the Stones’ long and storied his- tory, including their first U.S. hit, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Doors open at 6 p.m. for an extra hour of music. Free. (Bob Jones 541-938-7028) Shoppers pass through the new Maxwell Siding Pavilion during the Maxwell Farmers Market in Hermiston Thursday afternoon. Pilot Rock renews free legal program City council votes to participate in LOC pilot program By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian PILOT ROCK — When the Pilot Rock City Council needs to confer with an attor- ney, it will now be able to do so. Pilot Rock joined several other cities in Eastern Ore- gon at its city council meet- ing on Tuesday by renew- ing its participation in a pilot program from the League of Oregon Cities that provides small, rural cities with 10 hours of free legal advice per year. The decision was a no-brainer for the council. “It was approved because it’s 10 free hours of legal advice and we don’t have a city attorney,” Pilot Rock City Recorder Teri Bacus said. “It just saves the city money.” The program, which began during the 2018-19 fis- cal year, was extended until 2021 by the LOC Board of Directors in June. Of the 24 cities that previously partic- ipated, LOC general coun- sel Patty Mulvihill had already received notices of renewal from 15 cities as of Wednesday. The cities of Umatilla and Athena have already signed onto the program from Uma- tilla County, while Heppner, Lexington, Ione and Irrigon have signed on from Morrow County. That list didn’t include Pilot Rock because Mulvi- hill hadn’t yet received the city’s paperwork following its vote on Tuesday, though she expects others will also be renewing once each city council has had a chance to meet. As members of the pro- gram, cities can receive direct and free legal counsel such as help in drafting ordinances and other general inquiries. However, LOC won’t provide counsel in situations of liti- gation or possible litigation, employment law advice, or family disputes, which refers to conflicts between city officials. LOC doesn’t provide employment law advice because Citycounty Insur- ance Services (CIS), which was formed by LOC and the Association of Oregon Coun- ties, already provides free counsel to cities on employ- ment issues. Prior to its implementa- tion, LOC already provided what Mulvihill calls “mem- ber inquiry service” to all Oregon cities, which means if a city calls asking a ques- tion of how to ensure they are properly following a public meeting or other operational law, the LOC sends informa- tion that will help them. In the first year, Pilot Rock used the program three times for a total of 3.5 hours. According to the city coun- cil meeting’s agenda, LOC provided counsel on budget- ing questions, laws regard- ing feral cats, and whether an employee could volun- teer with the city’s downtown association. In total, LOC provided 60 hours of free legal coun- sel to cities in the program’s first year. While initially offered to all cities in regions 11 and 12, which are defined by the LOC as the areas west of Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook and Lake counties, only cit- ies from these regions with a population of 7,500 or below will be eligible for the next two years. That eliminates five cit- ies from eligibility — Herm- iston, Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City and Ontario. “Essentially all the cities that weren’t going to use us to begin with,” Mulvihill said. Mulvihill said the pro- gram came about after LOC noticed several smaller cities seeking legal advice without success because they couldn’t afford to employ or contract a full-time city attorney, unlike the region’s larger cities. With two more years of data for the LOC to collect, Mulvihill said there will be enough to determine whether the program should end, con- tinue as is, or expand to other regions in Oregon. Along with renewing the LOC program, Pilot Rock City Council approved rais- ing the city’s 11 employees wages by 3%. The city’s approval was informed by statistics from the U.S. Social Secu- rity Administration and the Bureau of Labor that showed cost-of-living in the Pacific region increased 3.1% from May of 2018 to May of this year. No more court-appointed cases for local attorney Robert Klahn has been practicing law for decades By JESSICA POLLARD East Oregonian PENDLETON — Attor- ney Robert Klahn has a long history of being in hot water. He recently found himself in a little more. The Oregon office of Pub- lic Defense Services has ordered that Klahn not take on any more court-appointed cases for the foreseeable future. “We’ve had complaints against him going back a long time,” said Eric Deitrick, the general counsel for PDS. Klahn, who’s been prac- ticing law since 1980, did not lose his license and will still be able to take cases privately. Deitrick said that Klahn was already in hot water last November, when Deitrick stepped into the general coun- sel position. “We started getting more complaints, we started doc- umenting. We were going to let him finish up his cases,” Deitrick said. But the number and severity of the complaints pushed PDS to direct Klahn to withdraw from his cur- rent court-appointed cases as well. Deitrick said there are no rules which allow PDS to permanently disqualify someone or put them on pro- bation, and he is unlikely to change his mind about Klahn any time soon. In the recent past, Dietrick said, Klahn had encouraged a prosecutor to press charges against his client. Another time, he showed up to court believing his client was being tried for a misdemeanor, when really it was for a felony, according to Deitrick. Klahn filed motions to withdraw from his current cases last month. He incor- rectly referenced Amy Jack- son, an analyst with PDS, as a state court administrator who had directed him to withdraw. “It’s a little troubling that Bob didn’t understand that,” Dietrick said. Currently, according to the Oregon Bar Associa- tion, there are two complaints against Klahn currently under investigation. One complaint states he failed to turn over all materials in a client’s file, and the other claims he didn’t PACIFIC NORTHWEST ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO, MONTANA REACH 3 million Pacific Northwesterners with just One Call! PNDC CLASSIFIED - Daily Newspapers 29 newspapers - 1,187,980 circulation Number of words: 25 Extra word cost: $10 Cost: $540 (Runs 3 consecutive days including wkds.) PNDN 2x2 DISPLAY - Daily Newspapers 27 newspapers - 1,016,864 circulation Size: 2x2 (3.25”x2”) Cost: 1x 2x2: $1,050 More info: Cecelia@cnpa.com or call (916) 288-6011 comply to attorney-client confidentiality. The OBA’s complaint pro- cess is separate from that of PDS. Klahn said he is currently unable to comment on the complaints, or withdrawals. “I’m getting to the age where I’m trying to slow down a little bit,” he said. He said he still enjoys criminal law, but will not be taking any more court-ap- pointed cases. In the past, he was rep- rimanded once in 2000 and once in 2005. He’s also been suspended from the practice of law three times in the last decade. The most recent sus- pension of his law license lasted 120 days and was a result of inappropriate con- duct around courtroom staff in 2018. Local public defense attor- ney Kara Davis said that Klahn often took on high-in- tensity cases with Blue Moun- tain Defenders, LLC, a local consortium of attorneys. She’s unsure how his with- drawal will affect the work- load of other attorneys. 8/2-4 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie Showing Wednesday Minions at 10 and Airplane at 12 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (PG13) 12:40p* 3:40p* 6:40p 9:40p Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (R) 11:50a* 3:10p* 6:30p 9:50p The Lion King (PG) 1:20p* 4:10p 6:50p 9:30p Spider-Man: Far from Home (PG13) 1:30p* 4:20p 7:10p 10:00p Toy Story 4 (G) 12:00p* 2:20p* 4:40p 7:00p 9:20p * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
