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East Oregonian
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Grass fire: Residents rushed to help save their homes
Continued from Page A1
went out to see what was
happening.
“I thought they had it con-
tained,” he said as he saw the
flames being fought further
down the hill. “Then it went
up the hill and there was
nobody covering it.”
Thinking quickly as
the fire headed towards his
neighbor’s home, Taber
grabbed a garden hose and
shovel from his neighbor’s
yard and tried to contain the
fire line. A truck driver who’s
often on the road, Taber said
he always worried about not
being home when a fire struck
and didn’t think his neigh-
bors were there Monday.
“It’s just amazing how fast
it moves, that’s why they’re so
scary,” he said. “It’s always in
the back of your mind if you
live here that this place could
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Smoke wafts up from the charred ground following a fire on the South Hill just off of South-
west Third Drive in Pendleton.
go up in flames because I’ve
seen it happen.”
A neighbor banging on
their windows alerted Dar-
shae Hunter and Phil King.
Hunter and King said
they opened the door and
the neighbor told them his
drone battery “exploded”
and ignited the fire. Neither
Hunter nor King said they
knew the neighbor’s name
but they grabbed hoses and
buckets to help.
Fellow neighbors Erika
and Cory Egan, Chris Bounds
and others snatched up more
hoses and buckets to try and
help the fire from crossing
the gravel road toward their
row of homes.
“It’s a great way to meet
your neighbors, that’s for
sure,” Hunter said, laughing.
“There’s nothing better to do
on Labor Day.”
The fire blackened an
eastern hillside below South-
west Third Drive, and under-
brush and bark snapped and
popped and flames burned
through the clump of trees
near more homes in the
shadow of the hillside lead-
ing up to Interstate 84.
Pendleton fire kept one
water tender on Southwest
Third Drive while crews
made their way to higher
ground. Narrow dirt roads
in the neighborhood provide
limited access. Pendleton
police officer Chase Addle-
man helped at the scene and
connected a fire hose to the
hydrant at Southwest Third
Drive and Isaac. Fire crews
from Pilot Rock, Umatilla
Tribal Fire Department and
the Oregon Department of
Forestry responded with
brush rigs and more.
Crews cleared the scene
around 5:30 p.m. Shawn Pen-
ninger, assistant fire chief
with Pendleton, said the
fire appears accidental. The
drone operator told them the
device crashed in the field,
and the battery malfunc-
tioned and set off the fire.
The flames charred between
10 to 15 acres, he said, but
firefighters protected people
and property from harm.
Labor: Oregon labor laws among the strongest in the nation
Continued from Page A1
that category, which each
allow teachers, firefighters
and police to engage in col-
lective bargaining; legalize
project labor agreements; and
do not have “right-to-work”
laws.
The final part of each state’s
score was based on a list of 14
different worker protections,
ranging from paid sick leave
to recourse for sexual harass-
ment. Oregon ranked third in
that category. It checked all
of the boxes except paid fam-
ily leave, which will not take
effect statewide until 2023.
Currently seven states offer
paid family leave.
Babic said as corporations
have increased their “grip”
on workers, it has become
more important than ever for
states to push back. In the
retail industry, for example,
chains have moved to using
computer algorithms to set
employee schedules at the last
minute based on fluctuating
customer levels. Being asked
to be on call at all times makes
arranging for childcare, col-
lege classes or a second job
difficult.
“A lot of workers rely on a
series of part-time jobs to sup-
port them and their families,
and it just becomes so precari-
ous,” Babic said.
Oregon passed a law in
2017 requiring employers in
the retail, hospitality and food
service industries with more
than 500 employees world-
wide to give their employ-
ees at least seven days notice
of their shifts (changing to 14
days starting July 1, 2020).
Exceptions are made if the
employee has volunteered to
be placed on a stand-by list to
be given the opportunity to fill
in for a coworker last-minute
if needed.
EO file photo
Workers sort red onions on a conveyor belt while working at
the River Point Farms packaging facility outside of Hermis-
ton in 2016.
Employers who fit the
above criteria are also not
allowed to schedule an
employee for a second shift
within 10 hours of finishing
their previous shift.
Oregon has increased
other worker protections in
recent years as well. In 2016
it became the fourth state to
mandate sick leave. Employ-
ers with at least 10 employ-
ees must offer at least 40
hours of paid sick leave per
year, and smaller employers
must allow at least 40 hours
of unpaid sick leave.
Oregon employers are
also required to provide an
unpaid, 30-minute lunch
break for employees working
more than six hours at a time,
and an additional meal break
should be added for shifts
over 14 hours. Employees are
also given a paid 10-minute
rest break for every four hours
worked.
Starting Sept. 29, employ-
ers will be required to allow
breastfeeding mothers of chil-
dren under 18 months old to
take a break to pump their
breast milk as many times as
there is a “reasonable” need.
Beginning Jan. 1, employers
will also be required to pro-
vide “appropriate” accommo-
dations to pregnant employ-
ees, including additional rest
periods from manual labor if
needed.
For a list of guidelines on
other workplace laws in the
state, including whistleblower
protections, child labor laws,
holiday pay, drug testing,
internships and more, visit
www.oregon.gov/boli/TA/
Pages/T_FAQ_Tafaq.aspx.
Workers whose rights
have been violated can seek
recourse through the Oregon
Bureau of Labor and Indus-
tries. Saul Hubbard, commu-
nications director for BOLI,
said the bureau enforces labor
laws such as minimum wage,
overtime meal breaks, prevail-
ing wage on publicly funded
projects and sick leave.
BOLI’s civil rights divi-
sion also investigates poten-
tial cases of illegal discrim-
ination in the workplace on
the basis of protected classes
such as race, sexual orienta-
tion and religion. The bureau
also protects whistleblow-
ers from retaliation after fil-
ing a complaint or reporting
illegal activity.
Steele: Local man wins back property, more from ‘long con’
Continued from Page A1
never did anything wrong
to Steele. They represented
themselves and brought one
of their daughters. Elizabeth
Avila cried while testifying
they had no means to pay
Steele. The couple claimed
they were ignorant of court
orders or whether they should
have signed property deeds
over to Steele.
But Circuit Judge Rob
Collins had none of it.
Collins, polite but res-
olute, told the Avilas prior
hearings covered their argu-
ments. Circuit Judge Dan Hill
previously ruled they took the
homes and money improp-
erly from Steele. Friday’s
proceeding, Collins said, was
about one thing — could they
prove they retuned Steele’s
money and homes?
They could not.
Collins concluded the
hearing with the order grant-
ing Steele his deeds and
the money judgement for
$127,336.59 plus interest.
The judge’s order did not go
over well with Pedro Avila.
“I still have two daugh-
ters I can give to him,” he
exclaimed.
Collins warned him for
being out of line.
Brent Smith, Steele’s
attorney, speaking Monday,
said Elizabeth Avila is a good
liar, and some parts of her
story were true, which made
sifting bogus claims from
reality all the more difficult.
But the order is a boon for
Steele.
“First of all, he has clear
title to his property,” Smith
said, and the judgement “qui-
eted” the titles, ending any
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Steve Steele, left, speaks with his attorney, Brent Smith, be-
fore Friday’s hearing at the Umatilla County Courthouse.
disputes over the proper-
ties. And the money judg-
ment means Steele can gar-
nish wages and such from the
Avilas, but Smith said it may
be a long shot for Steele to get
back any money.
“They took more than
$127,000 from Steve, but it
was how much we were able
to prove,” he said.
Steele’s case relied on
a protective order for elder
abuse rather than following
a route of a lawsuit. Smith
said such orders are relatively
new to Oregon courts, but
the process expedited certain
matters.
“We needed them out of
his life right away,” he said,
“and we needed them off the
property.”
Steele said he moved back
into his home in Stanfield
earlier this year after a police
raid rousted drug dealers
from the place and a neighbor
changed the locks for him.
He lives on $819 a month in
Social Security disability and
is renting out the Hermiston
home for $600 a month, he
said, but the money does not
go far after expenses. He also
cannot care for the property
on his own.
“Basically I’m relying on
the kindness of friends to sup-
port me,” Steele said.
His aim is to sell the
homes, he said, leave behind
the chaos of recent years and
“live out my life as best I
can.”
Friday’s hearing did not
wrap up everything. The
last attorney to represent
the Avilas, Garrett Sharp of
Hood River, withdrew in
June. However, Smith said
the Avila’s paid Sharp with
Steele’s money. Smith said
he has to work out a way to
conclude that.
Elizabeth Avila is not
done with Steele. She took
to Facebook on Saturday
and lamented how the court
was unfair. She asserted she
is preparing to post evidence
on Facebook supporting her
claims.
Her next court date in the
theft and mistreatment case
is Sept. 27.
Fire station: Pendleton openly solicited proposals for new usage
Continued from Page A1
restaurant. Tsiatsos said he
had been looking for other
places to try out the con-
cept, and his architect con-
tacted him about the oppor-
tunity in Pendleton.
He said it was still a “pre-
liminary” idea, but Tsiatsos
wants to turn the fire sta-
tion’s ground level into a
restaurant and turn its upper
story into a boutique hotel.
The city’s property also
includes two houses it rents
out. Under Tsiatsos’ pro-
posal, he would demolish
them and either put in more
parking or retail space.
The concept isn’t set in
stone yet because Tsiat-
sos said he would need to
see engineering studies to
determine whether the sta-
tion could sustain a second
story development.
Tsiatsos considers his fire
department proposal a “high
risk/high reward” concept,
and if the council selected
his project, he would want
to seek out funding from
the urban renewal district to
make the project feasible.
Hart, the owner of a dirt
bike equipment retailer in
Hillsboro, confirmed he
also submitted a proposal
for the fire station, but after
consulting with the city,
he declined to discuss the
details of his proposal.
Joseph Hull, the direc-
tor of business develop-
ment/operations for McCor-
mack Construction Co., said
McCormack was partnering
with Hart on the proposal,
but he deferred questions on
the proposal to Hart.
McCormack has already
established a working rela-
tionship with the city, hav-
ing been the general con-
tractor and construction
manager for the new fire
station.
Hart’s business, Moto
Stuff, sells dirt bike equip-
ment like brake systems and
foot pegs, advertising itself
as offering “Trick Stuff for
the Greatest Dirtbikes on
Earth!”
The process
The city wants to with-
hold information on the
proposals until the coun-
cil interviews, which Cor-
bett said will take place at
the last council workshop
in September, which is set
for Sept. 24.
He said he didn’t know if
the interview would be open
to a public audience, but
Oregon open meetings law
states any council decisions
have to be held in an open
session.
Sept. 24 may also be the
first chance the public gets
access to the proposal docu-
ments, which the city denied
in the East Oregonian‘s
public records request.
In an email, City Attor-
ney Nancy Kerns explained
why the city was rejecting
the request.
“The request for propos-
als which was issued by the
City specifically provided
that proposal materials
would be exempt from pub-
lic records disclosure until
after preliminary evalua-
tions were completed,” she
wrote, later citing specific
public record disclosure
exemptions spelled out in
Oregon state law. “The City
did this to insure propos-
ers that they could have the
opportunity to submit and
present their proposals with-
out risk of another proposer
gaining access to the infor-
mation contain therein.”
Although the fire station
property is unappraised,
Kerns said the value of
the property is relevant
to the material and could
also exempted from public
disclosure.
In the request for pro-
posal document, the city
states that it will keep the
submissions
confidential
until the preliminary selec-
tion of the proposal “within
the bounds of public records
law.”
Locals don’t bid
Whoever ends up with
the fire station will have
a uniquely situated neigh-
bor. The fire station shares
a wall with The Muffler
Shop, which is both its lit-
eral name and a descriptor
of its services.
The
Muffler
Shop
co-owner Mason Carlson
was among a group of busi-
ness owners who lobbied the
city to repeal its river quar-
ter building requirements
for the area, which the coun-
cil did in late 2018.
Without its repeal, Carl-
son said the city would be
unable to sell the fire station
because of the river quar-
ter’s onerous standards.
Carlson said he might
have bid on the neighboring
fire station if it was a tradi-
tional sales process, but he
didn’t want to have to cater
to the city to acquire the
property.
He didn’t imagine busi-
ness changing too much
once the fire station changes
hands, but he didn’t rule out
entertaining an offer from
the new owner.
“Everything’s for sale,”
he said, adding that it was
just a matter of whether the
new owner could afford it.
Well before the coun-
cil established a request for
proposal process for the
fire station building, Darrin
Umbarger expressed inter-
est in it.
In April 2018, the CEO
of Clearview Disability
Resource Center told the
council that he wanted to
use it to consolidate Clear-
view’s medical supply closet
and other operations in one
building.
Despite the early interest,
Umbarger said he ultimately
decided against submitting
a proposal because a city
official told him his concept
didn’t fit the city’s vision for
the property, declining to
name who the official was.
While the nonprofit
wouldn’t have added any-
thing to the property tax
rolls, Umbarger said Clear-
view offers a different kind
of value through the hun-
dreds of thousands of dol-
lars in savings to commu-
nity members through the
supply closet.
Umbarger said he’s
moved on from the fire sta-
tion, but he’s still looking
to expand Clearview into a
regional service.
Corbett said the request
for proposal process wasn’t
meant to exclude anyone.
“We wrote the proposal
to be inclusive of everyone
who had expressed an inter-
est in that facility,” he said.
“The council, as a group,
did not take a position one
way or the other, either
encouraging or discourag-
ing people from making
proposals.
Corbett said he never
told Umbarger that Clear-
view wasn’t a good fit
for the fire station, but he
couldn’t account for other
city officials.