This is the very first thing I have ever heard about Oregon that was positive and they tried to present it as horrible.
October 18, 2024 Noelle Crombie - The Oregon
Oregon Department of Forestry officials met this week at an iconic western saloon, where speakers addressed wildfire funding while standing in front of artwork depicting nude women.
The decision to meet at Hamley & Co. in downtown Pendleton comes a week after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported on complaints from Forestry employees who alleged the agency’s culture is hostile toward women.
The Wildfire Funding Work Group, coordinated by the Forestry Department and the Oregon State Fire Marshal, gathered at Hamley’s meeting and event space, Slickfork Saloon.
Casey Kulla, state forest policy coordinator for Oregon Wild, estimated a few dozen people, many of them state officials, attended the meeting, including State Forester Cal Mukumoto.
Tuesday’s meeting took place before Forestry’s two-day retreat this week. All of the meetings were held at Hamley’s.
Kulla, who was there representing his statewide advocacy organization, said Doug Grafe, Gov. Tina Kotek’s wildfire and military adviser, gave his presentation while standing in front of one of the nudes.
“These are, like, fully naked ladies,” Kulla said. “As one (Forestry) staffer put it to me, ‘There are a lot of boobs in that room.’”
Kulla said one of the pieces of art, for instance, depicted a nude woman on a daybed petting a cat.
Grafe didn’t respond to a request for comment; neither did Kotek’s spokesperson.
Kulla called it “hugely inappropriate” for the state to do official business in bars and said it’s particularly problematic “given the issues that have been raised about the agency’s culture.”
Records released last week by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services included complaints from multiple Forestry employees, including those who alleged the agency is an “old boys club” that sidesteps state hiring rules. Others alleged they fear retaliation if they speak out.
Mukumoto said in public remarks Thursday that the agency is pursuing “inclusivity at every level.”
“I talk and I interact with people who are very dedicated to the mission and are proud of this organization,” he said in his public remarks. “It saddens me that some of the media that’s occurred has caused them to feel that they’re being criticized unrightly.”
Mukumoto’s comments came during the Forestry Department’s two-day “fall retreat and social” at Hamley & Co., a century-old western store, steakhouse and saloon in downtown Pendleton. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation owns the business, which stands at First Street and Court Avenue.
John James Hamley, one of Hamley’s founders, helped organize the first Pendleton Round-Up in 1910 and the company has produced more than 80 trophy saddles for the rodeo over the years.
A Hamley’s employee who in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive described the art as “pictures of naked girls,” said the state requested that the three large, gold-framed pieces come down after the wildfire funding meeting.
The employee, who asked not to be identified, said he didn’t know about the artworks’ provenance or who created them.
In an email, Joy Krawczyk, a Forestry spokesperson, said no one registered a complaint about the nudes, but agency leaders “recognized that they could be viewed as offensive and worked with event staff to have the paintings taken down while we’re using the venue.”
She said the agency contracts with local businesses when it holds meetings and events outside of Salem. She did not know how much the state spent to hold the meeting at the saloon.
Krawczyk said the art depicting nude women was a novel situation for the agency, “so it’s a lesson learned for us that we’ll absolutely incorporate into our site reviews in the future.”
https://americanmilitarynews.com/20...meeting-in-saloon-with-nude-women-on-display/
Oregon Forestry officials held meeting in saloon with nude women on display
October 18, 2024 Noelle Crombie - The Oregon
Oregon Department of Forestry officials met this week at an iconic western saloon, where speakers addressed wildfire funding while standing in front of artwork depicting nude women.
The decision to meet at Hamley & Co. in downtown Pendleton comes a week after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported on complaints from Forestry employees who alleged the agency’s culture is hostile toward women.
The Wildfire Funding Work Group, coordinated by the Forestry Department and the Oregon State Fire Marshal, gathered at Hamley’s meeting and event space, Slickfork Saloon.
Casey Kulla, state forest policy coordinator for Oregon Wild, estimated a few dozen people, many of them state officials, attended the meeting, including State Forester Cal Mukumoto.
Tuesday’s meeting took place before Forestry’s two-day retreat this week. All of the meetings were held at Hamley’s.
Kulla, who was there representing his statewide advocacy organization, said Doug Grafe, Gov. Tina Kotek’s wildfire and military adviser, gave his presentation while standing in front of one of the nudes.
“These are, like, fully naked ladies,” Kulla said. “As one (Forestry) staffer put it to me, ‘There are a lot of boobs in that room.’”
Kulla said one of the pieces of art, for instance, depicted a nude woman on a daybed petting a cat.
Grafe didn’t respond to a request for comment; neither did Kotek’s spokesperson.
Kulla called it “hugely inappropriate” for the state to do official business in bars and said it’s particularly problematic “given the issues that have been raised about the agency’s culture.”
Records released last week by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services included complaints from multiple Forestry employees, including those who alleged the agency is an “old boys club” that sidesteps state hiring rules. Others alleged they fear retaliation if they speak out.
Mukumoto said in public remarks Thursday that the agency is pursuing “inclusivity at every level.”
“I talk and I interact with people who are very dedicated to the mission and are proud of this organization,” he said in his public remarks. “It saddens me that some of the media that’s occurred has caused them to feel that they’re being criticized unrightly.”
Mukumoto’s comments came during the Forestry Department’s two-day “fall retreat and social” at Hamley & Co., a century-old western store, steakhouse and saloon in downtown Pendleton. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation owns the business, which stands at First Street and Court Avenue.
John James Hamley, one of Hamley’s founders, helped organize the first Pendleton Round-Up in 1910 and the company has produced more than 80 trophy saddles for the rodeo over the years.
A Hamley’s employee who in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive described the art as “pictures of naked girls,” said the state requested that the three large, gold-framed pieces come down after the wildfire funding meeting.
The employee, who asked not to be identified, said he didn’t know about the artworks’ provenance or who created them.
In an email, Joy Krawczyk, a Forestry spokesperson, said no one registered a complaint about the nudes, but agency leaders “recognized that they could be viewed as offensive and worked with event staff to have the paintings taken down while we’re using the venue.”
She said the agency contracts with local businesses when it holds meetings and events outside of Salem. She did not know how much the state spent to hold the meeting at the saloon.
Krawczyk said the art depicting nude women was a novel situation for the agency, “so it’s a lesson learned for us that we’ll absolutely incorporate into our site reviews in the future.”
https://americanmilitarynews.com/20...meeting-in-saloon-with-nude-women-on-display/
