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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2019)
OFF PAGE ONE Friday, August 2, 2019 East Oregonian A7 Boquist: Oregon lawmaker’s email threats triggered fear Continued from Page A1 also told Senate President Peter Courtney that “hell is coming to visit you per- sonally” if he sent the state police after him. The threats by Boquist, a military veteran, deeply disturbed some people, the emails show. The mes- sages, obtained through a public records request, were redacted to keep confiden- tial the identities of those who expressed concerns and those who relayed them. One email, sent on June 20, described to Jessica Knieling, the Legislature’s interim human rights direc- tor, fears shared by three people. One “called me yes- terday, crying and expressed concern that (name omit- ted) was scared to come to work.” Another “was wor- ried that Senator Boquist’s behavior may escalate and that he should not be pro- voked.” The third person said although Boquist may not act violently outside of work “he may be violent in the capitol if his behavior continues to escalate.” The emails show the extent to which Boquist’s threats unnerved many, as tensions over a climate change bill pushed by Dem- ocrats were ratcheting up. The GOP senators staged AP Photo/Andrew Selsky Oregon Sen. Brian Boquist poses outside his office in the Oregon Capitol in Salem. a walkout on June 20, pre- venting the majority Dem- ocrats from voting on the bill that would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions and charged companies that exceeded emissions limits. The walkout inspired protests at the Capitol by the Republican sena- tors’ backers. The Capitol was closed one day after a purported militia threat that never materialized. The Republicans returned on June 29 after Court- ney announced Demo- cratic senators lacked votes among their caucus to pass the climate bill. The ses- sion ended soon after. Boquist did not respond to a request for comment on the release of the emails. Boquist is suing legislative officials and Courtney, say- ing he is being punished for engaging in free speech. He had previously said state police had no authority to apprehend senators. On June 20, another per- son told Knieling that “a staff member was visibly distressed as a result of the comments by Sen Boquist” and was feeling unsafe at the Capitol. In response to the emails, Knieling made several security recommendations in a June 22 message to the chiefs of staff of Court- ney and House Speaker Tina Kotek. Her email rec- ommended that staffers be offered an escort to and from their parking space to their workspace, that work areas be guarded by state police with the public not allowed in, and that one or more state police officers be stationed at the dais where Courtney stands. “I would always defer to OSP guidance on the best measures to take, but would encourage we ask for more guidance in light of increas- ing concerns from staff,” Knieling wrote. On July 8, a Senate com- mittee ruled that Boquist must give notice before coming to the Capitol, giv- ing time for state troopers to beef up their presence. At the hearing, Boquist refused to be questioned by committee members. Walmart: Church and community stepped up to help Continued from Page A1 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan A Tesla car charges at the Tesla Supercharger in the park- ing lot of Wildhorse Resort & Casino. The Tesla Super- charger network spans 1,600 stations around the world, however, the use of those stations is reserved exclusively for Tesla owners. Charging: Station would fill gap for Interstate 84 Continued from Page A1 six hours. McDonald said it will cost about $10 for a full charge, but the price could depend on the individual vehicle’s charging capacity. McDonald said the new charging station will fill a gap for Interstate 84 electric vehicle drivers. For most of them, there isn’t a charging station between the Space Age gas station near Herm- iston and La Grande. McDonald noted that there is a Tesla charging station at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino on the Umatilla Indian Reserva- tion, but it doesn’t serve any vehicles that aren’t manu- factured by Tesla. “Tesla’s market share is big, but it’s not that big,” McDonald said. The Pendleton charging station will be an open access station that will be able to charge most vehicles made in the past 10 years. McDonald, who is the husband of Pendleton City Councilor McKennon McDonald, said the goal is to have the revenue gener- ated by charging fees cover the cost of the charging sta- tion’s operation, with the hope that increased usage will eventually lead to a profit for the city. Since the grant works on a reimbursement basis, the Pendleton City Coun- cil will have to approve the expense. Public Works Direc- tor Bob Patterson said the council should consider it at its Tuesday meeting. Once the project clears some of the regulatory hur- dles, McDonald expects it to move quickly. His optimistic projec- tion for the charging sta- tion’s completion date is November. electrician, coached track and was the father of a young girl. Surgery was not possible because of the type of injury. Instead, Ashley spent most of a year on his back and immobile so he could heal. The injury cost Ash- ley his job, which the fam- ily depended on for income, Cheng said, and took a toll on Ashley, who family and friends viewed as “pretty much invincible” until this. “He could not even pick up his young daughter,” Cheng said. “Even help- ing around the house, doing laundry, would put him in excruciating pain.” The church and Mil- ton-Freewater community helped support the family, Cheng said, and two years later Ashley has a job, he is taking care of his fam- ily. But problems from the injury persist, particularly with memory. “He’ll have the same conversation with people over and over again,” the lawyer said. “He kind of feels out of place in a lot of this situations.” Joshua Ashley seeks $250,000 in economic damages and $2 million in non-economic damages for the pain and adverse affects the injury had on his daily life. Katie Ashley seeks $1 million in non-economic damages for distress and loss of care, comfort and companionship. Cheng explained he handles product liability cases. Walmart bought this Court document The box that the Bubble Ball was sold in, advertising it as the “Most Extreme Contact Sport Ever!” ball from a Chinese com- pany and sold it for about $60, Cheng said, but the instructions are shoddy and lacked upper age or weight restrictions. Higher quality inflatable balls have those restrictions, he said, but even cheaper products should be safe. Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove provided this statement in an email: Portland archdiocese settles 8 abuse cases for $4M PORTLAND (AP) — The Roman Catholic arch- diocese in Portland, Oregon, will pay a total of nearly $4 million to eight individu- als who alleged they were molested by a priest in the 1970s and 1980s on the Oregon coast, a newspaper reported Thursday. The settlement resolves lawsuits claiming sex- ual abuse by the Rev. Pius Brazauskas, who died in 1990, The Oregonian/Ore- gonLive reported. Three men filed a lawsuit in 2018 alleging Brazaus- kas abused them when they were between 5 and 12, and five more men came forward after the lawsuit was filed. The lawsuit marked the first time anyone publicly named Brazauskas as an alleged child abuser, said the men’s attorney, Peter B. Janci. Most of the eight indi- viduals had served as altar boys, Janci said. Brazauskas was assigned to Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in North Bend at the time. Brazauskas immigrated from Europe to the United States in the 1940s, accord- ing to news articles. In Ore- gon, he worked as a chap- lain at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene from the 1950s to the early 1970s, when he moved to North Bend, where he began his work at Holy Redeemer and at St. Cath- erine’s Residence Nursing home. His obituary in The Ore- gonian says he retired in 1980 but remained involved at Holy Redeemer and the nursing home until his death in 1990 at 84. A Eugene Register-Guard article featuring Brazauskas in 1957 said children were a “special delight” to him and that he was known to them as “Dr. Bubblegum” because he always had gum or candy to hand out to them. Oregon law allowed the men to take civil action last year because they had rec- ognized the trauma that the alleged abuse had caused in their lives within the prior five years. The settlement was reached after mediation and months of negotiations. Portland’s archdiocese was the first Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy in 2004 over sex abuse allegations after settling more than 100 cases. By the time the bank- ruptcy was complete three years later, the archdiocese had settled over 300 claims and paid out nearly $90 mil- lion in claims and attorney fees. “This is to my knowledge the largest group of victims who’ve come forward in the post-bankruptcy era,” Janci said. “The fact that no pub- lic allegations were made until 25 years after he passed shows how difficult it was for these men to overcome the stigma and the fear of com- ing forward.” Anna Helton, the lawyer representing the archdiocese who handled the cases, urged a federal judge to accept the settlement, noting the money would come out of a trust set up during the bankruptcy proceeding to handle any future claims, according to court papers. Helton did not immedi- ately respond to an email form The Associated Press seeking comment. “We expect our suppliers to provide products that meet all applicable laws. We are reviewing the complaint and will respond as appro- priate with the court.” Cheng said he awaits that response. The Oregonian reported that similar lawsuits have been filed elsewhere result- ing from injuries suf- fered by people wearing inflatable balls. A Missouri man who suffered paralysis after renting Knockerball’ equipment at a mall won a nearly $45 million jury award in 2017. Knocker- ball, also called “bubble soccer,’’ allows players to participate in a high-con- tact game cushioned by the inflatable plastic bubble surrounding them. Marketing: Plan focuses on business building and private development Continued from Page A1 media accounts that would be managed by a newly hired employee, and an advertis- ing campaign that would include local media, trade magazines, and direct mail. Denight estimated it would take nearly $70,000 to implement the market- ing plan: $43,661 for busi- ness recruitment and another $25,884 for developer recruitment. In the appendices, Denight included a mock-up of an advertisement the com- mission could use to market the urban renewal district, including the slogan, “Build- ing Upon a Legend.” The plan also includes creative briefs for videos the commission could produce to promote the district, like testimonials in support of the Jump Start program. According to the plan, the size of the land parcels in the downtown area means most development projects are restricted to the $1 million to $3 million range. Unless the developer is specifically focused on small projects, the plan wants to target either local developers or developers from Tri-Cit- ies, Yakima, or Spokane. The plan is currently being considered by the development commis- sion’s advisory committee, which is set to convene next on Sept. 5.
