REGION
Saturday, July 31, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
UEC celebrates 2,000 days without accident
By NICK
ROSENBERGER
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Every
morning, families across
Umatilla County click their
lights on, fl ip the switch on
their coff ee makers and take
showers warmed by an elec-
tric current. Their work-
places are air conditioned
and laptops charged by wires
threading through the coun-
ty’s golden countryside —
wires with enough voltage
to kill with a simple mistake.
The men and women at
Umatilla Electric Cooper-
ative work with these live
wires every day so we can
enjoy these simple pleasures.
While the worst workplace
injuries in most industries
might be a joint injury or
broken bone, those working
with these currents face a
diff erent kind of danger.
“These guys miss the
wrong thing and it kills industry alone. This number
does not include
them,” said Chris
nonfatal injuries.
McMahon, UEC’s
administrative safety
Another Bureau
assistant.
report in December
But over the last
2020 found there
nearly 5-1/2 years,
were 750 fatalities
or 2,004 days to be
related to exposure
exact, Umatilla Elec-
to electricity across
tric Cooperative has
all industries from
McMahon
avoided all accidents
2015 to 2019.
leading to lost time,
“The motive to
which McMahon
constantly be learn-
described as an acci-
ing and to be dili-
dent where someone
gent in what we do
injures themselves
is paramount in what
during work-related
happens,” McMahon
duties and is not able
said, “because the
simplest of mistakes
to work.
Echenrode
This is not a
can easily kill some-
simple achievement with body.”
electrical work posing such
Whether working on
a risk for injury or death. construction, doing repairs
According to the Bureau of or making sure trees are
Labor Statistics, there were pruned away from high-volt-
75 fatalities in the fi ve years age power lines, the dangers
between 2014 and 2019 in the are persistent — especially
electrical power transmis- as brutal heat continues to
sion, control and distribution pound the Pacifi c Northwest
and puts a strain on the state’s
electrical system.
There also is a potential
for a backfeed of electric-
ity from somebody running
a generator because their
power went out. When
employees go out to do a
simple repair there may be
dangerous levels of electric-
ity from the generator that
unintentionally fl ows back-
ward towards workers.
“It’s a day-to-day occur-
rence that these guys are
constantly in that environ-
ment,” McMahon said.
“I stand with Umatilla
Electric employees who
have demonstrated safety
for their community and
safety for one another,” said
Robert Echenrode, UEC’s
general manager and CEO.
“In my years in the utility
industry, this is a milestone
I am most proud of and want
to express to each employee
my appreciation for continu-
ing to keep safety at the front
of their minds and reaching
this incredible achievement.”
According to McMahon,
UEC made safety a top prior-
ity to make it so far without
injuries, starting with hiring
people with the right mindset
and who are cautious about
their work.
“It’s a culture of safety
that we develop here at
Umatilla Electric,” McMa-
hon said.
While they have their
daily actions, procedures,
policies and safety meet-
ings, UEC employees also
study near misses. Whether
it is their own near misses or
those in other facilities, the
information is accessible and
open to review.
“A near miss is essen-
tially something that poten-
tially could have been a lost
time accident, but it was not
just due to the grace of God,”
McMahon said. “We’re able
to look at that and learn from
other people.”
On Tuesday, July 27, its
2,000th day without an acci-
dent, UEC held a celebra-
tory dinner for employees
and families at the Maxwell
Event Center, Hermiston.
The cooperative had employ-
ees anonymously vote for
someone they felt went above
and beyond and embodied
the safety culture in the orga-
nization and named Glen
Saul the Umatilla Electric
Safety Champion.
“They’ve shown that
they can do this,” McMa-
hon said. “They got it down.
They understand and they’re
constantly practicing.”
“Collectively it takes
everybody to be able to do
something like this and
to constantly be engaged
in what happens each and
ever y day,” McMahon
said, “because compla-
cency kills.”
Pendleton hosts Oregon’s return Sheriff ’s sergeant arrested in
to championship swimming
domestic violence incident
By NICK
ROSENBERGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — With
more events returning to
Oregon and Umatilla County,
Pendleton is moving fast
to play host, including for
Oregon Swimming’s 2021
Championships from to July
22-25 for swimmers 11 years
and older.
Oregon Swimming, a
local swimming committee
of USA Swimming, put on
the championships, which
normally take place at Mount
Hood Community College in
Gresham. But, Mount Hood
made the decision during
COVID-19 to not open for any
events this summer, forcing
Oregon Swimming to fi nd a
new venue for their champi-
onship event.
“Initially we didn’t even
know if we would be able to
hold a championship meet,”
said Debbie Laderoute, the
executive director of Oregon
Swimming.
With 28 teams in atten-
dance, approximately 35 offi -
cials, 50 coaches and nearly
500 athletes (down from
around 800 in 2019) plus
family members, Laderoute
estimated the event helped
Pendleton see an influx of
more than 1,000 people during
the course of the competition.
Swimmers from Port-
land to Bend to Medford
converged on Pendleton and
were well supported by the
community, she said. Pend-
leton, with one of the few
50-meter swimming pools in
the state required for the long
course swim season running
from April until the end of
August, seemed like a good
choice. Better yet, the Pend-
leton pool was outdoors,
which would help prevent
COVID-19 from spreading.
Laderoute and the team at
Oregon Swimming reached
out to Jeff Hamilton, a recre-
ation supervisor for the city
of Pendleton, who agreed to
host the championship at the
Pendleton Aquatic Center.
“They were really excited
to help us plan this event,”
Laderoute said. “They
helped make it happen for
us.”
Additionally, the Pend-
leton Aquatic Center and
Pendleton Swim Association
loaned Oregon Swimming
the use of all of their equip-
ment for the event, which
was generous, she said. The
Main Street Cowboys also
were in attendance to help
and donated two canopies for
coaches to escape the sun.
“Our families and teams
are extremely thankful to
Pendleton and the aquatic
center and to the Pendleton
Swim Association,” Lader-
oute said.
All this, despite the Pend-
leton Swim Association and
Umatilla County residing
outside of the boundaries
of the Oregon Swimming
committee. The local swim-
ming organizations instead
are in the Inland Empire
Swimming committee, which
also consists of parts of Idaho
and counties in Eastern Wash-
ington. Only members from
within the Oregon Swim-
ming LSC were allowed to
compete in the Pendleton
event, however.
“For a lot of our kids, this
is the fi rst event that they’ve
had an opportunity to be a part
of since COVID,” Laderoute
said. “We had a short course
championship meet at the
beginning of March and that’s
in around the time that things
started shutting down.”
And, with no host team
this year, Laderoute said she
was proud of how the Oregon
swimming community pulled
together to make this event a
reality.
“It really felt like our
community coming together
to make it happen,” she said.
Additionally, Laderoute
credited volunteers who trav-
eled from across the state to
take part in the return of
championship swimming
in Oregon.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Council will talk
contracts at next
meeting
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton City Council
has scheduled a light meet-
ing for Tuesday, Aug. 3, but
members still are poised to
approve a couple of contracts.
The council agenda
includes items about a
proposed $150,000 contract
with Interstate Concrete &
Asphalt to patch over util-
ity cuts and a proposed lease
with American Sprinklers
Inc. to rent land at the Pend-
leton airport.
The council meeting will
be held Tuesday at the coun-
cil chambers in city hall, 500
S.W. Dorion Ave. The meet-
ing can also be accessed
virtually via Zoom at https://
bit.ly/3iaPLbo.
shops on Facebook and Insta-
gram.
A social media shop allow
businesses to sell products
directly on Facebook and
Instagram without an addi-
tional e-commerce platform.
Business owners also can inte-
grate an existing e-commerce
platform into their Facebook
or Instagram shop.
Part two, “Driving Traf-
fi c” is Wednesday, Aug. 4,
9-10 a.m. and teaches how
to set up ad campaigns on
Facebook and Instagram.
To register, go to: https://bit.
ly/2WECxeT.
Facebook and Instagram
ad campaigns allow busi-
nesses incredible precision in
who and where they advertise,
according to the press release..
This session is a follow-up to
the previous session about
setting up Facebook and Insta-
gram shops.
–EO Media Group
You Never Know What You’ll
Find At A Collectors West
Gun & Knife Show!
AUGUST 7-8
Pendleton Convention Center
3
7
Free series show
how to sell on
social media
PENDLETON — The
second of a two-session series
on how to sell on social media
is Wednesday, Aug. 4.
The Blue Mountain Small
Business Development Center
in a press release announced
the series, which is free due to
funding from the 2020 federal
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act.
Part one, “Setting Up
Shop,” is live now on
YouTube. The session covers
how to set up social media
Tickets include Free Admission to the Umatilla County Fair
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
WESTON — A sergeant
with the Umatilla County
Sheriff ’s Offi ce went to jail
after a domestic violence
incident that occurred over
the weekend at his home in
Weston.
The sergeant, Roy Swiger,
reported himself to the
Oregon State Police Monday,
July 26, according to Under-
sheriff Jim Littlefi eld. State
police arrested Swiger and
took him to the Umatilla
County Jail that day. Little-
fi eld said Swiger called the
sheriff ’s offi ce after he called
the state police to report the
incident.
Littlefi eld described the
incident as an “altercation”
between Swiger and his wife
that was “completely out of
character for Sgt. Swiger.”
He said he did not know
Swiger’s condition when he
was arrested.
Littlefi eld said Swiger was
“booked like any other person
and then issued a court date
in the future,” and Sheriff
Terry Rowan made the call
to promptly cite and release
Swiger from jail due to the
“totality of circumstances,”
which included concerns for
his safety in a jail with people
he had arrested.
The sheriff ’s office
placed Swiger on paid leave.
According to the county’s
human resources depart-
ment, Swiger makes $6,992
a month.
Oregon State Police
is investigating the inci-
dent, Littlefi eld said. Once
the sheriff ’s offi ce receives
information from the crim-
inal case, Littlefi eld said the
agency plans to launch an
administrative investiga-
tion to determine if Swiger
violated sheriff ’s offi ce or
county policies and proce-
dures.
Littlefi eld said the sher-
iff ’s offi ce does not believe
Swiger to be a fl ight risk and
added Swiger has no disci-
plinary history with the sher-
iff ’s offi ce since he started in
2017. Swiger has worked in
law enforcement for almost
20 years, but Littlefi eld said
the sheriff ’s offi ce does not
have any knowledge of disci-
plinary issues with other
agencies.
The Oregon Crimi-
nal Justice Information
Records Inquiry System
shows Swiger started his
law enforcement career as a
reserve for the Milton-Free-
water Police Department.
He rose to the rank of offi cer
and left in 2005 to take a job
with the Forest Grove Police
Department.
Swiger worked as an
offi cer there until October
2017, then resigned a month
later and joined the Umatilla
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce as a
senior deputy before promot-
ing to sergeant in 2018.
Hotrod-a-rama rolls into town
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Cars line the parking lot of
the Heritage Station Mu-
seum on Friday, July 30,
2021, for Hotrod-a-rama
in Pendleton. The event,
featuring hundreds of hot
rods and classic rides, as
well as music and vendors,
runs through the late eve-
ning hours of July 31.