KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Eastern
board
getting
out into
the region
E
astern Oregon University got it
right when it made the decision to
hold its annual retreat of the board
of trustees in Boardman.
The retreat, which kicked off this week
at the SAGE Center Gallery, will showcase
meetings with local and regional business
leaders and area stakeholders. Those meet-
ings are aimed outlining the university’s
role in business, industry and education.
The retreat is part of a more in-depth
agenda to stage fact-finding tours across
the region.
There is a lot of good to say about this
effort by the university. The university
really should be — and is — a jewel in the
crown for Eastern Oregon.
It is the only four-year university on this
side of the state. That, alone, makes the
university unique and places it in an opti-
mum position to help make a huge differ-
ence in the lives of many of us.
The decision to hold the retreat outside
of its home in La Grande shows the leaders
at the university believe in collecting input
from everywhere. That sends the message
of inclusiveness and reasoned, methodical
planning.
Yet while there is plenty to praise about
the university’s decision, those of us who
live in this great area also have a responsi-
bility to interact with the board members
and make their retreat a success. The trust-
ees can’t read minds and they are offer-
ing area stakeholders and officials a great
opportunity to give feedback.
The university clearly understands that
it serves a wide area and to know the chal-
lenges and triumphs our area faces, they
must get out into the hinterlands and listen.
That may seem like a common-sense
approach — and it is — but it isn’t as
common as some might believe.
There is no doubt that a kind of mission-
creep can develop with institutions like the
university regarding the region it serves. It
can seemingly be easy to stay focused on
the campus and ignore the region or forget
the diverse elements of our rural townships
and counties.
Thankfully, that hasn’t happened with
the leadership at the university. The retreat
shows that its leaders desire to gather as
much information as they can and to listen
to as many diverse opinions as possible on
the way to creating a first-class learning
opportunity for all.
That should be excellent news to every
voter in the region.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East
Oregonian editorial board. Other columns,
letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily that
of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
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of 400 words or less on public issues and public
policies for publication in the newspaper and on
our website. The newspaper reserves the right
to withhold letters that address concerns about
individual services and products or letters that
infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters
must be signed by the author and include the
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Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
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or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Dealing with false accusations
BLAINE
CLOOTEN
ASK AN ATTORNEY
Question: My neighbor keeps call-
ing the police and making false accusa-
tions. Now she says she is going to file a
restraining order against me. My fear is
that if the RO is upheld, I might have to
go to jail. Please help.
Answer: This question comes up in
so many different flavors that it’s worth
taking a dive into false accusations.
Before we begin the analysis, I’ll cut to
the chase: You need to speak with an
attorney.
This question breaks down into two
parts: I) false accusations; and II) the
fundamentals of a restraining order.
I. False accusations break down into
two larger categories: criminal and civil.
Let’s analyze each. The type of false
accusations will dictate your response.
A. Criminal context
Generally, false accusations in the
criminal context include an allegation of
a criminal offense. This alleged offense
may have even been reported to the
police. Frequently, criminal allegations
will be closely tied to restraining orders.
This is a fairly simple analysis. If
another person has made a false accusa-
tion against you in a criminal case, you
need to talk with or hire an attorney.
The right to remain silent is a right
that applies equally to a person who
is guilty, not guilty or somewhere in
between. Your answers could have
far-reaching impacts; well beyond the
current investigation.
B. Civil context
This could be through a pending
civil case, a former significant other or a
person smearing your good name online.
At a very basic level I believe that a
person needs to decide whether they are
going to fight back or let the allegations
blow over. There are pros and cons to
either decision and, generally speaking, a
person should have a larger plan in place
to win the war.
Regardless of your choice in response,
I’ll provide my basic guidelines for deal-
ing with false accusations.
If the allegations are indeed false, the
truth is on your side. Don’t stoop to their
level and make false accusations back
against the other person.
False accusations are deeply trou-
bling. They can cause you to feel alone.
They can cause a myriad of negative
emotions.
Do not be alone with your accuser in
the future. Make sure you follow record-
ing laws but have a recorder or bring a
witness.
Do not give the accuser additional
ammunition.
If you’ve hired an attorney, only
speak through the attorney. Don’t try to
go around the attorney and speak to the
person who has made false accusations
against you. It will only lead to more
issues.
If you don’t have an attorney, all
communications need to be in writing.
You should also carefully decide before
sending any communications.
II. Fundamentals of a restraining order
There are four requirements to qualify
for a restraining order: age, relationship,
abuse and ongoing danger.
A. Age: Generally speaking, everyone
needs to be 18 or older, but they are avail-
able to minors in certain situations.
B. Relationship: You and the accuser
must have a qualifying relationship. Your
accuser must be:
• Your current or former spouse or
registered domestic partner.
• Or someone you live with in a sexu-
ally intimate relationship (or used to).
• Or someone you have a sexually inti-
mate relationship with (or did within the
past two years).
• Or related to you by blood, marriage,
or adoption.
• Or the parent of your child
C. Incident of abuse in the last 180
days. In this case you caused:
• Physical injury to the accuser.
• Or tried to physically injure the
accuser.
• Or you made the accuser afraid that
you were about to physically injure them.
• Or you made the accuser have sexual
relations against their wishes by using
force or threats of force.
D. Ongoing danger: You must be an
imminent threat to the physical safety of
the accuser.
As you can see, the use of a restrain-
ing order is generally reserved for people
who were previously in a relationship
with the other person or who have a
familial relationship. In general, a civil
restraining order will only result in jail
time if you violate a provision of the
restraining order and are convicted of
contempt.
This being said, any time a person has
threatened or filed a restraining order
against you, it’s recommended that you
consult with an attorney before making a
decision on how to proceed.
You can find additional article
resources and videos by visiting my
website oregonlegalfirm.com. The
question posed today came through my
youtube channel. If you have a ques-
tion, you can submit it to me directly at
clootenlaw@gmail.com. Please do not
include any confidential information
concerning any potential or actual legal
matter an e-mail message. Your inquiry
does not create an attorney-client rela-
tionship and any confidential information
shared with Clooten Law in your inquiry
will not be protected as confidential.
———
Blaine Clooten is an attorney serving
Umatilla County with a focus on family
law, estate planning and personal injury
cases. Questions answered do not create
an attorney-client relationship. Facts
and law may vary; talk to an attorney
for more information.
that had large magazine capacity.
What Dr. Clark is proposing is not
only a reasonable step in fighting the
violent gun virus that has infected
American society (largely the white
male population at that), but one that
seeks to begin to curb the ability to bring
mass death down on helpless civilians
from the deranged.
Mr. Mehren attempts to skirt the
actual social concern by suggesting his
Second Amendment right is equated
with his right to free speech. Nothing
could be further from the truth as the
mantra from childhood plainly states:
“Sticks and stones (and guns) can break
my bones but names (free speech) will
never hurt me.” You can say anything
about me you want, but just don’t fire
your gun at me; the difference in effect
is startling. Further, he states that “Laws
restricting guns or accessories doesn’t
prevent murder or crime because crim-
inals obtain guns in many ways that
aren’t legal.”
In fact, most mass shootings are
carried out by no one who has a crimi-
nal record but an underdeveloped ability
to manage their emotions. Road rage,
gun rage, whatever you want to call it:
My girlfriend dumped me, I hate Jews,
my USPS boss pissed me off for the last
time, etc. In closing, I state again — my
constitutional right to live will always
trump your presumed “right” to take my
life away at the drop of a hat. Weapons
such as knives, bats and chains have far
less chance of taking out multiple lives
at once. Just ask those Black folks in
that church in Charlestown who cannot
answer for themselves unfortunately
because they’re dead.
Matt Henry
Pendleton
YOUR VIEWS
Sticks and stones (and
guns) can break my bones
In response to Mike Tehran’s reply to
Dr. Andrew Clark’s proposition to limit
magazine capacity as a means to help
gun control (East Oregonian, July 30,
2022), with all due respect, I believe
Mr. Mehren is dancing around the real
issue, i.e., the increasing propensity of
shooting deaths en masse in the United
States, precisely because of the amount
of ammunition that can be fired from
any particular type of gun.
Limited capacity obviously means
less ability to take a school child’s life.
Five deaths, while tragic, is preferable to
the 60 that died in Las Vegas at a coun-
try concert a few years back. Remem-
ber that one? From a hotel window,
the murderer gunned down dozens of
strangers with semi-automatic weapons