NEWS
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
HeRMIsTOnHeRald.COM • A3
$7.2 million lawsuit goes after UEC
Electric cooperative and
its boss face accusations
By PHIL WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
Umatilla Electric Coop-
erative and its chief exec-
utive officer are among
defendants in a lawsuit seek-
ing almost $7.2 million for
whistleblower
retaliation
and workplace harassment.
Beth Looney of Portland
filed the suit in early June
in Multnomah County Cir-
cuit Court. She worked from
March 2016 to July 3, 2018,
for Pacific Northwest Gen-
erating Cooperative of Port-
land, which does
rode’s breaches of
business as PNGC
fiduciary duty as
Power.
Umatilla
a board member,
Electric Cooperative
and
Echenrode’s
general manager and
response to her
CEO Robert Echen-
attempts to unmask
rode serves on the
his actions were to
Echenrode
PNGC Power board
bully, demean and
of directors.
degrade her and
According to the com- undermine her authority and
plaint, Echenrode pushed for reputation at the company.
a “UEC industrial customer”
She claimed she reported
to receive special treatment Echenrode’s actions and atti-
with a “carve-out” of more tude about her and his gen-
than a certain percentage, der-based harassment, yet
which would have “posed PNGC Power did not inves-
disproportionate risks for tigate her reports, and the
company did nothing to dis-
PNGC and its members.”
Looney
claims
she courage Echenrode’s behav-
reported what she believed ior nor ensure he would not
was evidence of Echen- adversely affect her job.
She claimed she met with
Echenrode on June 3, 2018,
to address their issues, but
Echenrode again gave her
“a demeaning and sexu-
ally appraising look.” She
contacted his fellow board
members the next day,
according to the complaint,
and some apologized for his
behavior.
About 10 days later, the
company demanded Loo-
ney apologize to Echenrode,
according to the complaint,
and on June 19 began inves-
tigating Looney. The situ-
ation escalated during the
board meeting of July 3,
2018, when she stated she
told the board “this is more
than bullying, this is harass-
ment.” The company fired
her later that day.
Looney seeks more than
$3.4 million from PNGC,
UEC and Echenrode for the
loss of future wages, bene-
fits and pension payments
and almost $3.8 million
for emotional and physical
harm.
Court records show the
plaintiff served copies of
the lawsuit to Echenrode
and the two power compa-
nies, but there are no legal
responses from the defen-
dants. Umatilla Electric
Cooperative, however, pro-
vided this response from
Echenrode:
“I’m proud of our work at
UEC to serve our members
by bringing power, progress
and opportunity to the com-
munity. I approach this mis-
sion with a commitment to
collaboration and supporting
an inclusive and safe work-
place for all of our employ-
ees. Those missions and
values guide my work and
remain my focus. I believe
the claims are without merit
and we will respond through
the appropriate legal pro-
cess, but my focus remains
where it should be — on car-
rying out our mission guided
by strong values on behalf of
our members and the com-
munity we serve.”
Herald, EO take prizes in state newspaper contest
HERMISTON HERALD
T
he Hermiston Herald
took home five awards
at the Oregon News-
paper Publishers Associa-
tion’s annual competition,
held Thursday and Friday at
the Salishan Resort in Glen-
den Beach.
Its sister paper, the East
Oregonian received 10
awards, including the top
prize, known as the General
Excellence award.
The awards are for work
done during the 2018 cal-
endar year. The contest was
judged by newspapers from
the Kentucky Press Associ-
ation and the Herald com-
peted against other weekly
Oregon newspapers while
the EO competed against
daily Oregon newspapers
with circulations less than
10,000.
The Hermiston Herald
took home third place in the
General Excellence category.
“I couldn’t be prouder of
the staffs in both Pendleton
and Hermiston — not only in
the newsrooms, but through-
out both buildings — and the
dedication they show every
day to put out the abso-
staff photo by Jade Mcdowell
The Hermiston Herald won third place for all-around General Excellence and prizes for four
stories during the 2018 Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association awards.
tor Jade McDowell won first
place for best government
coverage with ”Food for
thought,” a story about the
Hermiston city’s council’s
efforts to revamp its rules for
lute best product they can,”
Hermiston Herald and East
Oregonian publisher Chris
Rush said. “The awards are
the icing on the cake.”
For the Herald, news edi-
food trucks.
Community
Editor
Tammy Malgesini took sec-
ond place in best lifestyle
coverage for ”Families wrap
up holiday traditions,” about
area families’ Christmas
traditions.
Former reporter Jayati
Ramakrishnan took home
second place for best fea-
ture story for ”The 16.8 per-
cent,” a story about women
in the armed forces, and third
place for best educational
coverage for ”Experienc-
ing the English language,” a
story about English language
learners.
On the East Oregonian
side, McDowell took third
place for best lifestyle story
for ”Age of the Millennials.”
Ramakrishnan
and
reporter Kathy Aney took the
top two spots in the person-
ality feature category. Aney
took first place for her story
“Rural journal revived.”
Ramakrishnan took second
place for the story “Shining
a light on sexual abuse.”
Reporter Antonio Sierra
was a multiple winner, earn-
ing a first-place finish for
best education coverage
for his story “Homeless in
high school.” Sierra teamed
with Ramakrishnan in the
same category for the story
“United in protest.”
Former photographer E.J.
Harris was also a multiple
winner, taking the top spots
in the best feature photo cat-
egory. Harris’ photo “Ferris
Wheel Sunset” took top hon-
ors, while his photo “Speed
and Impact” took second
place. Harris also took a
third place in the best sports
photo category for his photo
“Purple Reign.”
Sports writer Annie
Fowler earned a third-place
award in the best sports story
category for the story “Glory
Days.”
The General Excellence
award, which the EO has
won eight of the past nine
years, is judged based on the
overall product, from news
and editorial content to pho-
tos and design to advertising
and reproduction. The sam-
ples are taken from three ran-
dom editions throughout the
year.
“It’s a tremendous honor
for any journalist to win and
be recognized for their hard
work and diligence through-
out the year,” Rush said.
“Another General Excel-
lence award is added confir-
mation that we are striving to
serve our readers as best we
can with relevant news, fea-
tures and information.”
Five people arrested by immigration officials near Hermiston
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
ive Guatemalan citi-
zens were arrested on
July 9 by Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
agents near Hermiston.
Mateo Demateo-Baltazar
and Rolando Pablo-Calmo
are facing pending immigra-
tion proceedings.
Higinio
Pablo-Calmo,
Teodoro Pablo-Ramos and
Mario Lorenzo-Pablo are
facing pending removal from
the United States.
Tanya Roman, a pub-
lic affairs officer for ICE in
Seattle, said last week she
is still working to confirm
if all five people are still in
custody.
According to Roman,
they all have prior criminal
records.
The ICE Online Detainee
Locator System lists Dema-
F
teo-Baltazar and Pablo-Ra-
mos as still in custody at the
Northwest Detention Center
in Tacoma, Washington.
According to the city of
Tacoma, the center is the
fourth largest in the nation,
with a capacity of 1,575
detainees.
Roman said the arrests
were in “no way associated
with any anticipated nation-
wide targeted enforcement
actions.”
Roman stated the arrests
were, instead, part of a tar-
geted enforcement action.
On July 12 — after the
arrests near Hermiston —
President Donald Trump
reported that ICE was plan-
ning raids across the country
to arrest thousands of undoc-
umented immigrants, start-
ing July 14.
Meanwhile, some local
residents are still on high
alert following the arrests
You Never Know What You’ll Find At
A Collectors West Gun & Knife Show!
Pendleton
Convention Center
7t4BUBQ 4VOBQt*OGPDPMMFDUPSTXFTUDPN
Roscoe is a middle aged sweet shy boy who came to rescue after he
was found with several other dogs in a house with his deceased
owner. He was quite shut down as his owner was the only
person he had known, but has warmed up and bonded to his
foster. Roscoe prefers women and will usually hide from men.
He can become possessive of his person and it leads to spats
with the other dogs. Although he is currently being fostered
with dogs and came from a home with 11 others, he would
do best in a home with no other dogs that he has to compete
with. He loves to snuggle under the covers and be in your lap.
He is crate trained but hates it and will be vocal. He is working on
leash training. He is potty trained but you need to watch his cues.
Neutered, vaccinated, microchipped. Roscoe needs someone who will
say; let me love you as you are. His world has been shattered with the loss
of his owner so he needs someone who can be unconditional in their love
for him and patient while he learns to feel safe with you.
a lot of fear. Not only for
migrant families, but for peo-
ple who are friends or rela-
tives to families,” Roa said.
“I think this community
is really resilient. I’m pretty
sure the community is going
to come together to help each
other.”
Irrigon Watermelon Festival
Saturday,
July 27, 2019
All Day Festivities at
the Irrigon Marina Park
Irrigon, Oregon 97844
BREAKFAST - 6:30 - 10:00am
Hot Coffee • Pancakes • Biscuits & Gravy
Ham & Eggs • Cinnamon Rolls
DOWNTOWN PARADE - 10:00am
Local Craft Vendors • Entertainment • Bingo • Kid’s Games
Giant Water Slide • Dunk Tank
LOTS OF RAFFLES ITEMS
MEET
E
O
C
S
RO
Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM
Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA
Small and Large Animal Care
541.567.1138
He said there were also
sightings in the Irrigon area.
Roa said that some peo-
ple were using vacation time
to avoid going out during the
sightings, and others were
leaving the area.
“(This) is tearing the com-
munity in half and adding
August 3 rd & 4 th
PET OF THE W EEK
Mon: 8-6
Tue - Fri: 8-5
Sat: 8-12
Emergency Service
and multiple ICE sightings in
the Hermiston area.
Jesse Roa, who works
with the Tri-Cities Immigrant
Rights Coalition, said a sight-
ing reported at the Hermis-
ton Wal-Mart was reported
by volunteers specialized in
spotting ICE officers.
80489 Hwy 395 N
Hermiston
www.oregontrailvet.com
PLACE
YOUR AD
HERE!
Contact Audra at
541.564.4538
Today!
Including a 50” screen TV • Silverwood Tickets
Pendleton Round-Up Tickets • Farm-City Pro Rodeo Tickets • Java Junkies
Many more items from our generous local businesses
FOOD • FOOD • FOOD
Hamburgers & Hot Dogs & French Fries • Homemade Pies• Ice Cream
BBQ Chicken • Corn on the Cob • Baked Potato & Coleslaw
Fresh Cut Watermelon & Cantaloupe
CAR & MOTORCYCLE SHOW
MAIN STAGE ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP
Gems & Gents Cheerleading • Community Lip Sync Contest
Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers • City Leader Seed Spitting Contest
Comedian, Jerry Miner • Round-Up City Cloggers • The Wasteland Kings
Street Dance with Desert Sounds Entertainment
ENTERTAINMENT SPONSORED BY:
If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application.
If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com
or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838
MORROW COUNTY
UNIFIED
RECREATION DISTRICT