OREGON GETS
READY TO
FALL BACK
CROSS-COUNTRY:
DAWGS FINISH FIRST
IN HOME MEET
REGION, A3
SPORTS, B1
E O
AST
143rd Year, No. 256
REGONIAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Your Weekend
Hidden
• Oktoberfest Pendle-
ton, Pendleton Round-Up
Grounds
• Echo Corn Maze, Echo
• Boardman Quilt Show,
Boardman Senior Center
FOR TIMES AND LOCATIONS
CHECK COMING EVENTS, A5
Weekend Weather
FRI
SAT
SUN
58/30
59/40
60/37
Initiative
process for
folks with
power
A system hailed for
giving people power
doesn’t work for
political outsiders
By SAM STITES
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — David Smith wanted
to create meaningful change.
The retired Eugene real estate
appraiser of 45 years watched year
after year as seniors in his commu-
nity were forced from their homes,
unable to keep up with climbing
property tax rates.
He decided to seek a change in
Oregon law to reduce seniors’ prop-
erty tax burden by 75 percent. He
set out to get his idea put on the bal-
lot in Oregon to let voters decide.
Smith fi led his prospective peti-
tion with the state Elections Divi-
sion in July, but he quickly encoun-
tered a system better suited to those
with political power or a vast lobby
behind them.
“The process was so onerous
that it’s almost impossible unless
you have an entire fl eet of people
disabilities
Living with
disabilities not
easily seen
presents unique
challenges
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Echo resident Vera Burres faces diffi culties fi nding appropriate resources for dealing with her hidden disabilities due to her lack of prox-
imity to those resources.
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
E
CHO — When people meet Vera
Burres, they don’t always know she
has a disability.
Burres fell down the stairs at
a friend’s home in 2004 and spent four
months in a coma after striking her head.
Now she said, her entire left side occasion-
ally goes numb, putting her at risk of falling
if it happens while she’s walking. She can’t
drive because she’s at a high risk for sei-
zures. She said she also experiences other
side effects off and on, such as short-term
memory loss, favoring one side while walk-
ing and or jumbling her words if she speaks
too quickly.
“People don’t believe me,” she said.
“They say, ‘You’re just drunk.’”
The skepticism can hurt, but sometimes
it goes beyond that. Burres said she has
had requests for accommodations denied
in the past, such as when the post offi ce in
Echo turned down her application to have
mail delivered to her home instead of a post
offi ce box downtown.
Darrin Umbarger, CEO of Clearview
Disability Resource Center in Pendleton,
said when he travels to workplaces and
schools to advocate for accessibility, he
See Disabilities, Page A8
“A LOT OF DISABILITIES ARE INTERMITTENT,
YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY, A BAD DAY. IT’S
REALLY HARD WHEN YOU DON’T LOOK
LIKE SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YOU, BUT
INSIDE YOU’RE DYING.”
— Darrin Umbarger, CEO of Clearview Disability Resource Center
RESOURCES FOR LIVING WITH DISABILITIES
The Aging and Disability Resource Con-
nection of Oregon website (www.adrco-
foregon.org) connects people with local
resources, searchable by ZIP code and by
the type of service needed. The information
is also available by calling 1-855-673-2372.
Department of Human Services at 1-855-
503-7233.
Accredited Centers for Independent Living
can provide peer counseling and other
resources for individuals living with disabil-
ities. The Eastern Oregon Center for Inde-
pendent Living’s Pendleton offi ce is at 322
S.W. Third St. or by phone at 541-276-1037.
The Senior Medical Patrol works to em-
power seniors and adults with disabilities to
prevent health care fraud and abuse. They
can be reached at 1-855-673-2372.
Clearview Disability Resource Center is
located at 307 S.W. Sixth St. in Pendleton or
by phone at 541-276-1130.
Suspected abuse, neglect or fi nancial ex-
ploitation of elderly people or adults with
disabilities can be reported to the Oregon
Disability Rights Oregon provides advo-
cacy and investigations into violations of
rights for people with disabilities. They can
be reached at 1-800-452-1694.
Crimes motivated by prejudice against a
person’s disability or perceived disability
are hate crimes. Hate crimes should be
reported to the local police and can be
followed up by tips to the Oregon De-
partment of Justice (justice.oregon.gov/
crimereporting/hatecrime) and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (1-800-225-5324).
See Power, Page A8
Downtown projects seek to obtain, or hold onto, public money
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The business
formerly known as The Lodge is
going electric, in more ways than one.
Crews from Gordon’s Electric were
in and out of the old Elks Lodge at 14
S.E. Third St. this week, preparing
the building for its relaunch as Elec-
tric Sundown.
Owner Lance Leonnig started
a new limited liability company to
manage the building called Cowboy
Lodge, but the facility will do busi-
ness under the more unusual title.
“I wanted something that defi nitely
popped,” he said.
Leonnig said he’s already started
booking private events for Electric
Sundown and is in discussions with a
teacher to let a gymnastics class use a
portion of it for a studio.
It’s a shift in focus from when the
business was known as The Lodge,
which centered around a monthly
series of concerts hosted at the sec-
ond-fl oor auditorium.
The Lodge operated for fi ve months
before Leonnig dissolved the com-
pany and dropped two local business
partners, referencing “heavy losses”
taken during Round-Up week.
Although he’ll miss the big shows
on the second fl oor, Leonnig said he’s
turning his attention to the Stag Bar
on the ground fl oor.
He also wants to spend time
improving the exterior. While the
original vision for The Lodge included
a vintage electric sign that would
hang out front, Leonnig said he’s now
See Downtown, Page A8
Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File
The scaff olding was removed from the renovation on the second
story of the Sister’s Cafe building last year, exposing the fi ve grand
windows on the facade of the old Robinson building on Main Street
in Pendleton. The owners of the building received a $126,000 fa-
cade grant from the Pendleton Development Commission.