NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Traffi c changes coming on Hermiston home
East Diagonal Boulevard manufacturer sued for
Hermiston City Council
alleged civil rights violations
also adopts law giving
city manager authority
to declare emergency
By PHIL WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
Housing developments
along East Diagonal Boule-
vard are prompting a reduc-
tion in speed for a portion of
the road and the addition of
a four-way stop.
The Hermiston City Coun-
cil approved both with unan-
imous votes at its meeting
Monday, July 26.
The city is going to install
the new four-way stop at the
intersection of Northeast
10th Street and East Diago-
nal Boulevard.
Clinton Spencer, Hermis-
ton’s planning director, told
the council that upgrading
the intersection to a four-way
stop when development war-
ranted has been a recommen-
dation in the city’s transporta-
tion system plan since 2014,
and that time has come.
“Specifi cally, when we
were reviewing the traffi c
impact analysis for the Dia-
mond Run subdivision, their
traffi c engineer said a four-
way stop would be merited
when this division has built
out,” he said.
Diamond Run is under
construction, he said, and
installing the stop now makes
sense before the project wraps
up and the school year starts
in the fall. The change will
make the intersection safer
for students traveling to Sand-
stone and Highland Hills
schools. The subdivision also
includes a new walking path
along Northeast 10th Street,
creating a safer off -street
route for pedestrians.
Drivers also are going to
have to slow down on East
Diagonal Boulevard between
Seventh and 10th streets due
to the new Santiago Estates, a
199-unit manufactured home
park. The council approved
lowering the speed limit from
35 mph along the stretch to
25 mph
Spencer said this change
comes from a recommenda-
tion from the city’s planning
commission, which has dis-
cussed the need to ensure safe
routes for children traveling
from the park to schools south
of Diagonal. The Santiago
Estates also will have a school
crossing at the park’s entrance
to allow students to access the
multi-use path in the south
side of East Diagonal.
Mayor David Drotzmann
said he was glad to see the
city taking action on the
street, adding with all the new
housing and schools nearby,
it’s going to be busy.
In other business, the
council:
•Amended the city’s
“Water Shortage Emergency”
section of its code to bring
it in compliance with the
adopted Water Management
and Conservation Plan. This
ordinance only updates the
process for declaring a water
shortage emergency and does
not declare a shortage. The
change becomes eff ective in
30 days.
•Approved a city law
allowing the city manager to
declare an emergency.
City Manager Byron
Smith said staff were pre-
paring the city’s emergency
plan and discovered there is
no authority in city law or the
charter to declare an emer-
gency. He said he crafted a
proposal based on sugges-
tions of similar ordinances
from the League of Ore-
gon Cities. He also said the
27-page draft of an emer-
gency plan aligns with Uma-
tilla County’s plan and with
Umatilla County Fire District
1, but this is for what happens
in Hermiston.
The council amended the
draft to require the council
to meet within seven days
of an emergency declara-
tion. The change to city law
becomes eff ective 30 days
after passage.
County approves contact
tracers, COVID-19 billboards
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners on Wednes-
day, July 21, approved pay-
ments for COVID-19-re-
lated billboards and contact
tracers.
Joe Fiumara, the coun-
ty’s public health director,
requested the county extend
its contract and fund four
billboards that for months
have included COVID-
19 and vaccine messaging.
The commissioners unani-
mously approved the pay-
ment of $25,440 for the bill-
boards to stand for another
year.
In addition, the com-
missioners approved the
health department’s request
to employ its seven contact
tracers permanently.
The contact tracers have
worked in the county since
May 2020. The health
department has enough
funding from the Oregon
Health Authority to fi nance
the positions through sum-
mer of 2022, Fiumara
said. The commission-
ers approved the request
unanimously.
The meeting then moved
on to local community
grants and payables. The
commissioners
approved
$35,000 in federal stimu-
lus funds for a city park in
Adams and $75,000 for
fl ood control in Echo.
“These will help com-
munities in most incredible
ways,” Commissioner Dan
Dorran said.
Commissioner George
Murdock noted residents
and infrastructure in Echo
have been in “desperate”
need of support after the
2020 fl ooding event. Dor-
ran said they are more than
desperate.
“There are property own-
ers losing ground right now
without the engineering to
support the permits,” he
said, adding the funding will
assist 61 ranchers and 131
land owners.
“This is critical to not just
one or two people,” Dorran
said.
And at the top of the meet-
ing, the Umatilla County
Public Health Department
received recognition for its
service during the COVID-
19 pandemic from the Pend-
leton Honor Task Force.
Susan Bower, president
of Eastern Oregon Busi-
ness Source and Umatilla
County commissioner can-
didate, represented the orga-
nization that on occasion
has called attention to honor
local individuals or groups.
The health department had
at least 16 personnel present
at the meeting.
Bower said the team at
the health department had
done an “absolutely out-
standing job” during the
past year and a half.
Murdock added his praise
to the department.
“I certainly will be happy
when COVID is in our rear-
view mirror,” he said. “But I
will say, if there’s one pos-
itive upside, it has been a
new spotlight on public
health. It’s been an after-
thought by the state of Ore-
gon. Now, I don’t think it
will ever be again.”
In all, Umatilla County
has reported 9,079 COVID-
19 cases since the pandemic
began — more than 11% of
its population — and the
second-highest case rate
among counties in Oregon,
according to the OHA. The
county continues to report
infection rates higher than
densely populated urban
areas of Western Oregon.
Less than 40% of Uma-
tilla County residents have
been fully vaccinated against
COVID-19. The county’s
vaccination rate ranks sixth
lowest in Oregon, according
to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
By EMILY CURETON
OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING
HERMISTON — Two
former employees of a
Hermiston home manufac-
turing company claim they
endured years of anti-Black
racism, discrimination and,
in one woman’s case, sexual
harassment, only to be fi red
after reporting the incidents
to managers, according to a
lawsuit fi led in federal court
last week.
The complaint comes
from two Black women who
worked for Marlette Homes
between 2018 and 2020. The
company also does business
as Clayton Hermiston, and
is registered as CMH Man-
ufacturing West, Inc., part
of billionaire Warren Buf-
fett’s Berkshire Hathaway,
which controls a manufac-
tured home empire, and has
itself faced criticism in 2015
for allegedly exploiting peo-
ple of color through preda-
tory lending practices.
Twin sisters Lisa Wil-
liams and Angela Pierce,
both 55, accuse the com-
pany’s Hermiston branch
of a hostile work environ-
ment, sexual harassment,
race-based discrimination,
wrongful termination and
whistleblower retaliation.
“Ms. Williams and Ms.
Pierce heard and saw (the
n-word) used in their envi-
ronment, saw swastika
symbols in the bathroom of
Defendant, and were subject
to physical assault and other
dangers,” according to the
complaint.
“We have no comment at
this time,” Marlette Homes
Human Resources Man-
ager Erinn Gailey-Genack
said when reached by phone
Wednesday, July 21.
The Tennessee-based cor-
porate offi ce for CMH Man-
ufacturing did not respond to
requests for comment.
State records show the
company denied similar
allegations of illegal conduct
earlier this year, while admit-
ting to racial slurs appearing
in company bathrooms.
The lawsuit describes
times when Pierce and Wil-
liams were the only Black
employees, “and this seemed
specifically targeted at
them.” Since 2017, the com-
pany has reported hiring six
employees who self-iden-
tifi ed as Black or African
American.
Last year, the sisters sent
complaints to Oregon’s
Bureau of Labor and Indus-
tries. In its response, Clay-
ton Hermiston agreed Pierce
reported off ensive language
written in the bathrooms to
management.
“Each time this has
occurred, (Clayton Herm-
iston) has fully investigated
the incident and took steps to
prevent future occurrences,
including by restricting
access to Sharpie markers,”
attorney Krishna Balasubra-
mani wrote to BOLI investi-
gators, adding the company
“has never been able to iden-
tify who wrote the off ensive
racial slur on the wall or even
determine whether it was an
employee or a visitor that did
so.”
The sisters claim the
bathrooms were repeatedly
defaced with swastikas and
the n-word. At the time,
Pierce was a janitor who
cleaned these spaces. Wil-
liams worked on fi nishing
the mobile homes and clean-
ing them. The complaint
alleges Williams was sub-
jected to an excessive work-
load and sexual harassment
by a coworker. The lawsuit
names individual supervisors
for allegedly aiding and abet-
ting the behavior.
According to attorney
Meredith Holley, Williams
wrote a letter in August
addressed to Warren Buf-
fett himself, asking for help.
“Due to my legitimate
complaints … I have been
retaliated against through
bogus and untrue disci-
plinary write ups,” reads a
copy of the Aug. 8 letter pro-
vided by Holley.
Three weeks later, Wil-
liams was written up again.
The document, also provided
by her attorney, barred her
from continuing to discuss
“this or any prior incidents,
curse, or otherwise disrupt
your team in any way.”
“You will also not send
any more letters or com-
plaints to Home Office
unless it (sic) a new or dif-
ferent issue.”
Williams refused to sign
the formal reprimand. She
was fi red 10 days later.
In its response to the
BOLI complaint, Clayton
Homes denied reprimand-
ing Williams for contact-
ing the corporate offi ce. It
asserts she was terminated
“for legitimate, non-discrim-
inatory reasons.”
Clayton Hermiston told
state investigators that Pierce
was fi red for “hostility and
aggressive, insubordinate
behavior.” Pierce alleged she
was terminated for interven-
ing in a meeting to support
her sister in making discrim-
ination claims.
Last month, the state
labor agency suspended its
investigation without reach-
ing a determination because
the women withdrew the
complaints to pursue a fed-
eral lawsuit.
Clayton Hermiston has
reported having about 190
employees. Nationwide,
Clayton Homes’ building
affi liates employ more than
12,000 people, according to
the company’s website.
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