Category: General Interest

Submitted By: elaskey86@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

I’m posting this on Linda’s behalf, Thank you Linda!

ERIN HAS MY VOTE
There are two candidates for Director 2 position on the board of North County Recreation District. Both candidates express a passion and energy for making changes at NCRD. Here is why Erin Laskey-Wilson has my vote.
First, I’m voting for Erin because I support her goals to bring back the fully inclusive “learn to swim” program and to grow the youth sports and family activities at NCRD. As a young parent whose children use the facilities, she is aware of the need in this community for expanding inclusive children and family services.
Second, as a lifelong patron of NCRD for swim lessons, child care, children’s activities, adult fitness, she has a broader, deeper awareness of the programs, services, and needs of the organization.
Erin believes in the greatness of NCRD and has a passion for making it greater. I believe that Erin is the best candidate for Director #2 position on the NCRD board.
Linda Makohon

Submitted By: Moliver@nvcarecenter.org – Click to email about this post

Looking for entertainment of any kind (volunteers are always welcome) for our residents at Nehalem Valley Care Center. Please contact me if you’re interested! Wishingfortherain@gmail.com

Submitted By: bachase411@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

If you want to be an informed voter in our county, you must become a persistent detective. Thanks to our local media for publishing letters as one way to learn about candidates!

In this election, voters will determine leadership of the Nehalem Bay Health District (NBHD) Board. As a Wheeler resident, I first became aware of this Board when it was doing little to improve local health outcomes. More recently, the reconstituted Board is remarkable for what it is delivering: a strategic plan shaped by citizen involvement, a vision for the future of local health services, and a range of funding resources to make it real.

All of this and more has been accomplished during Marc Johnson’s Board tenure. Results have taken time, expertise, and persistence. I attribute Marc’s leadership as a major factor in how the NBHD Board is serving us all.

My personal experience with Marc has demonstrated his effectiveness. Marc was a member of the Education and Engagement Committee I chaired for the Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay. Marc was thoughtful, collaborative and invaluable in applying his experience to create more effective messages to our community about emergency preparedness. While I served on the Tillamook County Library Board, Marc was president of the North Tillamook Library Friends, the non-profit that provides and maintains the library building while the County provides staff and materials. Marc was an excellent steward of this win-win partnership. Marc is a leader who builds relationships that produce results; just one example is $3 million in federal funding for the new Nehalem Bay Health Center with the support of Senators Wyden and Merkley. Marc Johnson is the right leader to bring the new Nehalem Bay Health Center to completion. He deserves your vote!

Betsy Chase
Wheeler

Submitted By: barbaraandchuck@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

Please join me in voting for Constance Shimek for the NCRD board, position 2.

I have known Constance for almost 10 years as a friend and fellow Nehalem Bay Garden Club member and know her to be a very hard worker and conscientious. She is right there doing whatever needs doing for the Club: from planning meetings and outings and making connections to hauling dirt and plants and making signs for the annual sale.

She is always thinking, looking for ways to make a difference. She is not afraid to think out of the box or to speak her mind. We haven’t always agreed and we have always remained friends because she is also a collaborator wanting to include other voices and isn’t attached to getting her way. If she sees something that needs attention she doesn’t just complain, she speaks up and offers solutions. These qualities are a winning combination in my way of thinking.

She is very passionate about the North County Recreation District. She has been on the Friends of NCRD board and attends NCRD board meetings regularly. She is deeply committed to making sure the pool gets built–a pool that is so very much needed and supported by our community. And she actually enjoys and is good at fundraising!

She is also passionate about transparency and making NCRD more available to all residents of the district.

Her heart, energy, enthusiasm, positivity and many skills are a great asset to our community and to NCRD in particular.

Please vote for Constance.
Thank you, Barbara McLaughlin

Submitted By: tinnindeb@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

This is the story of one man’s relentless “war” with Manzanita’s City Council and City Manager as disclosed in a review of public records. We, the undersigned Manzanita voters, describe this story below in the interest of full transparency and in the hope that Mayor Deb Simmons will step up and stop this clandestine and destructive interference in our city’s affairs.

For the past five years, Randy Kugler, who was a city manager here 30 years ago, has persistently pushed his personal agenda on the Council and city administration because of what he calls “inept” public officials and a “complacent citizenry.” In 2018 and 2019, he pestered city staff to advance his budget and city hall proposals. Though unappointed and unelected, he pressured the Hoffman Center for the Arts Board to sell its property as part of an unauthorized city hall scheme. He issued imperious demands to the city manager if his requests were not answered quickly enough. Even now he continues a campaign of harassment of the current city manager. Mr. Kugler’s contempt for our entire community is best illustrated by his dismissal of “80-year-old EVC volunteers” as participants in a scheme to promote Manzanita as a “disaster destination.”

When he came in dead last in his 2020 bid for election to the Council, Mr. Kugler settled the next year on a new tactic—what he termed the “Simmons project.” As part of that project, Mr. Kugler joined forces with Bill Simmons, a similarly disgruntled resident. They chose Deb Simmons, Bill’s wife, as someone with the necessary “star power” to be the spokesperson for their positions on local issues. Mayor Mike Scott’s unexpected withdrawal from the 2022 mayoral race on June 2 presented the opportunity to put Deb forward as a candidate for mayor, which she announced three days after Scott withdrew.

After her uncontested election, Mr. Kugler began coaching Mayor Simmons for the role of mayor and dispensed advice to her and Councilors Brad Mayerle and Jerry Spegman as a self-appointed “trusted advisor.” He also prepped Mayor Simmons before Council meetings. Describing their campaign of disruption as a “war” in a March 9 email to Ms. Simmons, Mr. Kugler congratulated her on getting “Lelia [sic] to say some dumb things that I will further investigate.” He urged Mayor Simmons to be content with winning some “skirmishes” before moving on to “a battle here and there.” He encouraged her by saying, “You are getting better with each meeting. We’ll do some practice for next month.”

Did Manzanita voters elect Mr. Kugler as Mayor? Or did we elect Ms. Simmons? It appears from these public records that Mr. Kugler is pulling the strings behind the curtain. We do not object to the Mayor seeking advice from a trusted advisor, but Mr. Kugler has been an obsessive faultfinder for many years. He has consistently shown disdain for any opinions other than his own—on a new city hall, allocation of overhead costs, and short-term rentals.

We urge Mayor Simmons to sever her relationship with a man who has harassed our city managers and sought to tear this city apart rather than to bring people together as the Mayor has said she wants to do. We also urge the City Council to support the City’s employees and protect them from harassment.

Deb Tinnin
Judy Sugg
Doug Sparks
Kim Rosenberg
Ben Rosenberg
Connie Burton
Bruce Burton
Linda Kuestner
Mark Kuestner
Cindy Kenne
Jack Kenne
Paula Peek
William Peek
Brad Hart
Christopher Mullins
Lee Hamilton
Laura Bailey
Jenny Greenleaf
Mary Marken
Toni Greening
Richard Neuman
Thomas Aschenbrener
Trevor Eastman

Public records request link
This link provides access to 478 pages of records dating back to 2018 provided by the City of Manzanita in response to a public records request.

Sources for this document
Paragraph 2: February 13, 2018, Kugler email to Alamillo and Scott; August 26, 2019, Kugler email to Alamillo; August 2, 2021, Kugler email to Aman; February 16, 2023, Kugler email to Simmons, Spegman, and Mayerle; April 29, 2023, Tillamook County Pioneer op-ed

Paragraph 3: August 28, 2021, Spegman email to Kugler; November 11, 2021, Kugler email to Spegman; June 6, 2022, BBQ post

Paragraph 4: Kugler emails dated January 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 22, 23, 25, 2023; February 16, 19, 2023; March 6, 9, 14, 21, 2023; February 26 and March 9, 2023, Simmons emails to Kugler)

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

We are lucky to have four fine candidates for two open NCRD Director positions. I’ll be voting for Constance Shimek for Director Position #2.

I’ve known Constance for twenty years as a fellow learner, a client, a neighbor, and a friend. In our community, there are few people who bring so much energy and thoughtfulness as a volunteer to SO MANY efforts. I may not always agree with her but she has my confidence and respect.

Other supporters have written at length about her experience and efforts in the community and how they believe she’ll deal with NCRD’s challenges. In reading her own statements, here are a couple of items that really stood out for me:

1. About being a cancer survivor Constance wrote:

“I say welcome the diagnosis, we can only impact that which we are aware of.”

This kind of steely resolve can bring some dynamism to a board that’s had a few stumbles recently and will also be invaluable in hiring a new executive director who has the background, skill & courage to bring transformative change.

2. Constance made a specific point of talking about her hands-on participation in fundraising, not just for NCRD but for many other community causes. In fact, she seems to like doing it! This is reassuring to me when I think about the new pool project because we’re breaking ground without sufficient funds to finish. It will take a person like Constance, unafraid to make powerful requests, to succeed.

Please vote for Constance!

Submitted By: andynorris21@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

But what about all the lies?? And there were many, many, many of them:

And:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEl8NKSqThg

Submitted By: ben.killen.rosenberg@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Posting on behalf of Kim Rosenberg loretta.kim.rosenberg@gmail.com

Transparency and Compensation

When I taught Writing as Critical Inquiry at PSU, I always told my students to go to the primary source material before writing that 5,000 word final paper on whatever subject they chose related to our text—a behemoth of a book titled American Earth. They could have any opinion they wanted, of course, but an opinion without source material cited in their bibliography wasn’t ever going to cut it for me. Oh, and 5,000 words means 5,000 words and they better be spellchecked, honey.

There’s been some talk about a raise or a bonus for the City Manager. It’s on the agenda for the next council meeting Wednesday May 3, at 6pm. I was recently with some folks and the subject of a raise for the City Manager came up. People chimed in with their opinions but it struck me that it would be a good idea to have more information—some kind of source material and not just beach gossip or coffee talk between friends, in order to form an opinion.

The City Manager’s performance review was completed a few weeks ago in an executive session. The public couldn’t attend the meeting or read the materials presented so there’s no information about why a raise is justified now or what kind of work she’s been doing.

Performance reviews are usually completed every year to identify the areas you excel in as an employee and the areas in which you don’t. You make career goals as an employee and have a discussion with your boss to help you reach those goals. If your job involves oversight of other staff, there’s input from that staff to see what kind of leader you are.

In a private company all that information goes into your personnel file where it hangs out in a drawer until the next year. Nobody sees it except you, your boss and HR until it’s hauled out again to see how you’re doing. Raises in compensation above the cost of living increases that I sincerely hope you always get or got are tied to your performance. If you do your job well, the company can reward you with a raise or a bonus or like at the mobile home factory where I worked for one sad year–a frozen turkey at Christmas.

As Council President, Kozlowski has traditionally taken the lead on performance reviews. She also has a long career and experience in human resources. She’s one of two councilors who have worked with the current city manager since she was hired. Plus, Kozlowski’s worked with a number of the previous city managers during her time on council. She put together the review form for staff and the council to submit. Three of the five on council are new and have only worked with the city manager for a few months.

Kozlowski summarized the performance review for the public at last month’s council meeting, but because the review itself took place behind closed doors justification for a raise isn’t clear to the public and neither is how well she does her job or what challenges and obstacles she’s faced in performing her job.

Performance reviews can be done in public sessions and review materials can be made public after the fact, if the employee agrees. The city manager gave permission to share the documents with the public.

You can read Aman’s performance review materials including staff and council’s input and community comments on the city’s website by clicking the City Manager Employment Agreement link. The review materials begin on page 7.

Four of five councilors feel Aman has exceeded her role as City Manager. Staff input shows Aman to be a “transformational manager.” These are the people who work with and for her every day—staff and council. I trust their opinions.

The only way to let the light in is to open the curtains. As they say in the 12 step groups, we are only as sick as our secrets.

Kim Rosenberg loretta.kim.rosenberg@gmail.com

City Manager Contract and Performance Review (pages 7-15)
ci.manzanita.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Council-Packet-Additional-Materials-RS-Item-H-05032023.pdf

Submitted By: kimmarkc@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

The Tillamook County Retired Educators and Teachers, TREAT, PAC endorses school board candidates who want to secure the future of public education in Tillamook County.

TREAT’s endorsed candidates (below) bring a variety of skills that will keep the positive momentum going at TBCC. They understand state and district curriculum policies and budget issues and have communication skills that will ensure that board business is conducted in a collaborative and cooperative manner. They also have extensive experience in finance, business, and building construction. Above all, their highest priority is providing a strong foundation for all students, whether that be preparing to transfer to a four-year college or preparing for a career in the trades through the many TBCC certificate and apprenticeship programs.

In addition to the three TBCC candidates below, TREAT supports the election of candidates Andrea Goss and Shannon Hoff who are running unopposed. They need your support, too.

For information about each endorsed TBCC board candidate, visit the TREAT website at: www.tillamookretiredteachers.org. When you reach the website, be sure to sign up for the TREAT mailing list so you receive the latest election updates.

TREAT is also on Facebook at tillamookretiredteachers.

Your VOTE matters!

Submitted By: andynorris21@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

www.the-sun.com/news/8007124/jeffrey-epstein-calendar-noam-chomsky-meetings/

If you thought Noam was just a nice old man, this news might come as a shock.

But Noam advocated starving me (see below), so for me, it is no leap to see him befriending a known gun-dealing bank-rigging Mossad/CIA-agent/pedophile.

smartfish.substack.com/p/letter-to-noam-chomsky

Submitted By: andynorris21@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Glenn is gay, he lives with his husband and several of their rescue dogs in Brazil. Glenn is anti-war. He is for gay rights and fiercely supports the civil rights of individuals worldwide. He is a true liberal, and an environmentalist.

So when the ‘left’ goes after Glen for being anti-war, when they chastise him for being concerned about the tens of thousands of Ukrainian men being conscripted then murdered in Biden/NATO’s/Zelensky’s war, it must be because Glen is pro-Putin??

It’s called a psy-op. Without the work of the intel agencies that run the mainstream media, who on earth would think of Glenn Greenwald as ‘pro-Putin’?

Again, were we ‘pro-Saddam’ when we protested Bush/Cheney attacking Iraq for reasons fabricated by the same intel agencies trashing Glenn?

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1653042092006862849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1653042092006862849%7Ctwgr%5Eefb456fe67b188235bec5b343da61158bf781233%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.infowars.com%2F

Submitted By: ben.killen.rosenberg@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Posting on behalf of Kim Rosenberg loretta.kim.rosenberg@gmail.com

Transparency and Compensation

When I taught Writing as Critical Inquiry at PSU, I always told my students to go to the primary source material before writing that 5,000 word final paper on whatever subject they chose related to our text—a behemoth of a book titled American Earth. They could have any opinion they wanted, of course, but an opinion without source material cited in their bibliography wasn’t ever going to cut it for me. Oh, and 5,000 words means 5,000 words and they better be spellchecked, honey.

There’s been some talk about a raise or a bonus for the City Manager. It’s on the agenda for the next council meeting Wednesday May 3, at 6pm. I was recently with some folks and the subject of a raise for the City Manager came up. People chimed in with their opinions but it struck me that it would be a good idea to have more information—some kind of source material and not just beach gossip or coffee talk between friends, in order to form an opinion.

The City Manager’s performance review was completed a few weeks ago in an executive session. The public couldn’t attend the meeting or read the materials presented so there’s no information about why a raise is justified now or what kind of work she’s been doing.

Performance reviews are usually completed every year to identify the areas you excel in as an employee and the areas in which you don’t. You make career goals as an employee and have a discussion with your boss to help you reach those goals. If your job involves oversight of other staff, there’s input from that staff to see what kind of leader you are.

In a private company all that information goes into your personnel file where it hangs out in a drawer until the next year. Nobody sees it except you, your boss and HR until it’s hauled out again to see how you’re doing. Raises in compensation above the cost of living increases that I sincerely hope you always get or got are tied to your performance. If you do your job well, the company can reward you with a raise or a bonus or like at the mobile home factory where I worked for one sad year–a frozen turkey at Christmas.

As Council President, Kozlowski has traditionally taken the lead on performance reviews. She also has a long career and experience in human resources. She’s one of two councilors who have worked with the current city manager since she was hired. Plus, Kozlowski’s worked with a number of the previous city managers during her time on council. She put together the review form for staff and the council to submit. Three of the five on council are new and have only worked with the city manager for a few months.

Kozlowski summarized the performance review for the public at last month’s council meeting, but because the review itself took place behind closed doors justification for a raise isn’t clear to the public and neither is how well she does her job or what challenges and obstacles she’s faced in performing her job.

Performance reviews can be done in public sessions and review materials can be made public after the fact, if the employee agrees. The city manager gave permission to share the documents with the public.

You can read Aman’s performance review materials including staff and council’s input and community comments on the city’s website by clicking the City Manager Employment Agreement link. The review materials begin on page 7.

Four of five councilors feel Aman has exceeded her role as City Manager. Staff input shows Aman to be a “transformational manager.” These are the people who work with and for her every day—staff and council. I trust their opinions.

The only way to let the light in is to open the curtains. As they say in the 12 step groups, we are only as sick as our secrets.

Kim Rosenberg loretta.kim.rosenberg@gmail.com

Submitted By: kimmarkc@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Tillamook County Retired Educators and Teachers, TREAT, endorses school board candidates who support public education (which is for ALL students), have experience in administration and the field of education, understand state and district curriculum policies and budget issues, and have communication skills that will ensure that the business of the board is conducted in a collaborative and cooperative manner.

For more information about each endorsed candidate, visit the TREAT website at www.tillamookretiredteachers.org.

Your vote matters!

Submitted By: marc@manythingsconsidered.com – Click to email about this post

Marc Johnson here. President of the Nehalem Bay Health District board.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to “Questions for Candidates” from the Tillamook County Pioneer.

Please take a moment to review my responses to questions about Nehalem Bay Health District priorities, including my thoughts on the Health District’s bond measure on the May 16 ballot.

www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/2023-may-special-election-tillamook-county-pioneers-questions-for-the-candidates-nehalem-bay-health-district/

FWIW … I have an opponent in the election who declined to respond to any questions about the Health District.
www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/2023-may-special-election-tillamook-county-pioneers-questions-for-the-candidates-nehalem-bay-health-district/

Submitted By: marc@manythingsconsidered.com – Click to email about this post

I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to “Questions for Candidates” from the Tillamook County Pioneer.

Please take a moment to review my responses to questions about Nehalem Bay Health District priorities, including my thoughts on the Health District’s bond measure on the May 16 ballot.

FWIW … I have an opponent in the election who declined to respond to any questions about the Health District.

Submitted By: jettkeyser@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

We are just beginning Pema Chodron’s book,
When Things Fall Apart. We are a buddhist inspired meditation Sangha that meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at St Catherine’s Sanctuary between Manzanita and Nehalem. This is an inclusive group welcoming all faith traditions.
We share a little silence, some focused study, and sharing. Nothing is required, not even the book.
Always open to interested persons. Free to all.

Submitted By: sdawagner@icloud.com – Click to email about this post

I fully endorse Constance Shimek for Position 2 on the North County Recreation District Board of Directors.

Constance really knows how to get things done. She is an enthusiastic supporter of NCRD and has been involved in MANY fund raising projects for them. Constance has been to almost every NCRD Board Meeting in the past 3 years. She will work hard to get our new pool built. She has many good ideas to help move NCRD forward through the years.

I have known Constance since 2007 when she moved here. We have been involved in many Garden Club activities over the years. Great ideas keep flowing from her, with the energy and follow-through required for completion. She has a great sense of humor, knows how to organize, works well with others, is efficient, and cares deeply about NCRD.

Her heart is in this endeavor. She will put her heart and soul into working on the NCRD Board. A vote for Constance Shimek is a vote for moving our community forward!
Thank you, kathleen moore

Submitted By: andynorris21@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

I wasn’t intending to chime in on this largely functionary position, but I can’t shake an email I received from Constance.

After I pointed out that she was flirting with a violation of election law, she emailed me.

She was very nice, and that makes me feel a little bad writing this. And she thanked me for pointing out the election violation potential.

But then she wrote, in reference to the NCRD requiring SARS-CoV-2 experimental gene-therapy shots from Mode RNA, Astrazenica, J and J or Pfizerv being required for those wishing to enjoy certain NCRD offerings, as ‘water under the bridge.”

I’m sorry, but it is not ‘water under the bridge’. Not in your wildest dreams lady.

The NCRD victimized me.

And everyone else who was smart enough not to shoot Big Pharma’s junk. And we talk about it.

But I won’t be a victim. We won’t be victims.

It is NOT water under the bridge, and I will NEVER use NCRD services or facilities again. EVER.

And because this is the second time Constance has been incredibly blind, I need to chime in.

First, if I were on the board at NCRD I would not want her as a co-board member. She will likely need to be watched over, to make sure the NCRD does not get sued. I am very serious.

She was ready to engage in a ‘pay for votes’ scheme, and she would have done so had I not pointed it out.

This is basic common knowledge: you can’t pay people to vote for you.

And you want her to direct the NCRD?

Get ready to be sued.

Second, as a filmmaker, I wouldn’t hire her as a producer.

She just doesn’t have what it takes. And that job has roughly the same skill-set required as directors of corporate entities.

Finally, I see her yellow signs all over town, we all do.

But that only shows that she can drive around town and ask her friends to put up signs, and that alone does not make one qualified to direct the NCRD. I hope everyone can see through the signs everywhere nonsense.

Alas, this race doesn’t concern me.

But her blind-spot email sure does.

Andy Norris

Wheeler

Submitted By: LeveretteForTCTD@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

News broke late last week that the Sunset Empire Transportation District, headquartered in Astoria, was suspending all operations on Saturday, April 30, 2023. The Daily Astorian article (April 27, 2023 www.dailyastorian.com/news/local/sunset-empire-transportation-district-to-suspend-operations/article_ac06e038-e55a-11ed-9751-7f2d3c260b1f.html), described the dire financial straits facing the District. How did this situation happen? What happens next? Answers to these questions will come. More importantly to me, is that the article told the human side of this sad story, that of the dozens of citizens who would be left stranded come Monday and be unable to get to needed medical and legal appointments, school or work. This story shines a defining light on the need for public transportation: that public transportation is critically intertwined with necessary medical care, important appointments, school and jobs and can lead to potential isolation when the bus no longer shows up. Especially hard hit will be those who cannot drive and who do not have family or friends on whom to rely.

The Tillamook County Transportation District thankfully is solvent and has buses and drivers. It is my hope that the Tillamook County Transportation District will extend a hand, or buses, to Clatsop County for a short time by offering limited routes, even if these are infrequent, to help citizens in need. We can be a good neighbor and an ongoing support to our Tillamook County residents that have important business beyond our county line.

I am running for a position on the Tillamook County Transportation Board. I understand how important public transportation is to our community, to individuals, our lives and livelihoods. If elected to the Board, I will work tirelessly to ensure that the Tillamook County Transportation District Board remains fiscally sound and responsibly managed. You have my commitment on this.

Mary Leverette
maryleverette.com

Submitted By: andynorris21@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Another war in the works.
I’ll make the anti-war signs if you stand on HWY 101.
In my view, Kim has surpassed Amy Goodman (I met her, she was the best for years) as the bravest and most relevant American female journalist.
Biden’s CIA overthrowing Sudan?:

and this:

and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbEiHnPDUy0

Submitted By: nehalemmast@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Just a reminder that there’s lots of puppy love to be had at local shelters and rescues that are in need of homes. (Their mamas too!!) You can always donate those charges instead to them also if you like. Let’s be kind to female dogs and not use their bodies to make money for us.

Submitted By: rkinor@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

In an attempt to offer examples of the City Hall staff efforts to provide administrative support for the operation of our Water Fund the City Manager claimed “ the water system, they pay their own insurance premiums on their property. Who negotiates that? That would be me, who is involved in that?, me and Nina .. one example of a million things.”

I emailed the City Manager and asked if she could confirm that the above insurance premiums that she claimed to have negotiated for the water system property were for the property and liability coverage with City County Insurance (CIS). No response.

I asked if she could provide the year and month that these negotiations took place and who at CIS she had conducted these negotiation with. No response.

Since the City Manager indicated that the Accounting Manager had been involved in these negotiations, I emailed the Accounting Manager and asked if she could briefly describe her role in these negotiations including who at CIS was involved and when this took place. No response.

Failing to get any answers, I contacted the Property/Causality Trust Director for CIS and asked if a city can negotiate with CIS over costs for insurance coverage. The answer was “ We do not negotiate the cost of coverage”.

The City Manager also stated “we process significantly more invoices to the tune of about 50% of all of the financial transactions that occur in the City are for the water department and that is clearly indicated in the analysis that shows in the Materials and Services.”

A simple fact check of water department invoices processed by City Hall staff are nowhere near 50% of the annual Material and Services transactions claimed by the City Manager and is yet another exaggeration of City Hall support services to justify transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars of Water Fund revenue to the General Fund.

The City Manager claimed “other cities that I have worked in all have used an indirect cost method.” Since the City Manager’s resume only indicates previous city employment with one city, I emailed the City Manager and asked what other cities she has worked in and also in what capacity that would have allowed her to be this knowledgeable about their overhead allocation and budget policies to make this statement? No response.

This is not the first time that I had pointed out factual misstatements made in a public meeting by the City Manager and asked that she simply correct the public record so that citizens were not being mislead. In a response to this request, she emailed the Mayor and Council stating that I or apparently other citizens who point out her public misstatements are making “personal attacks” on her and she advises “we must discourage or even ignore them if necessary”.

The above instances of non responses to simple questions seeking clarification of her public statements on important community topics seems to confirm the City Manager’s determination to discourage and ignore those citizens that are asking questions that she does not have answers for. This is a clear instance of blacklisting. Citizens who are considered by a particular authority or group to a problem because of their insistence that public officials communicate truthfully should be relegated to second class status in their community. This policy would seem to extend to instructing other City staff to also follow her lead.

The routine misstatements and exaggerations are in themselves troubling. The boldness of any public official however, that suggests that they are entitled to recommend ignoring or discouraging any citizen in our community who seeks to hold them accountable for their statements is stunning.

Randy Kugler

Submitted By: vivi@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

Endorsements

Tillamook County ballots arrived are arriving in mailboxes this week and we have until May 16 to complete and turn them in.

Here is a list of candidates on our north county ballots that we three support. All have shown dedication to community service and support the mission of the organization they seek to serve.
Many are incumbents.

Tillamook Bay Community College—these are all incumbents.
Mary Jones
Andrea Goss
Shannon Hoff
Betsy McMahon
Mary Faith Bell

Transpiration District
Position 1: Jim Hefferman

Neahkahnie School District #56:
Zone 6: Michele Aeder
Zone 7: Joseph Carr (Although Tim Borman’s name appears on our ballots for Zone 7, he has suspended his campaign, and gives his endorsement to Joseph Carr.)

North County Recreation District:
Mary Gallagher

Nehalem Bay Health District:
Marc Johnson

Nehalem Bay Health District Bond Measure:
Yes

Bottom line: PLEASE VOTE!

Barbara McLaughlin
Lane deMoll
Vivi Tallman

Submitted By: constanceforncrd@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Hello, I’ll be in Wheeler, next to the Rice & Shine tomorrow (Saturday) from 1-2pm. I’ll be there to meet, share ideas, concerns, suggestions and/or answer any questions and of course, earn your vote for Constance! This is also an opportunity to support our locals; the Rice & Shine and/or The Roost by purchasing any deliciousness and come on over, tables/chairs available!

Submitted By: diannerbloom@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Vote for Strong Leadership

I am a retired nurse and clinical nursing specialist. Because I am concerned about our community’s health care, I have been attending the Nehalem Bay Health District (NBHD) Board meetings for the past 12 years. The changes that have occurred due to the hard work of the Nehalem Bay Health District Board under the leadership of Marc Johnson are awesome and inspiring.

The Health District has gone from being a land lord managing rentals, to being a driving force advocating for better health care for our community. We recently lost two local skilled care facilities for seniors. I never thought I would see the day that the quality of care at the Nehalem Valley Care Center would improve. But it has! A needs assessment was performed, a new management company found, staff hired, and strong is oversight provided by NBHD. I never thought anyone would have the foresight or be bold enough to try to renovate the Nehalem Valley Care Center, let alone help the Nehalem Bay Health Center and Pharmacy (formerly Rinehart Clinic and Pharmacy) get a new building. (Vote YES for local Health Care!) All of this extradorinaiy planning and foresight has occurred due to strong performance of the NBHD Board under the formidable leadership and drive of Marc Johnson. I strongly encourage you to vote for Marc Johnson for the NBHD Board in this upcoming election. His track record is outstanding and we could not do better.

Dianne Bloom BSN, MSN, CNM

Submitted By: john.m.bloom@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

I would like to encourage every eligible voter in the Community to vote in the up coming election for the North County Recreation District (NCRD) candidate of your choice.

These are important positions that benefit the Community over all. I only ask you to keep in mind that these Board seats are about the ‘“US’s” of the community not the “ ME’s”. It is about supporting an institution that started as a scrappy startup and over the years has grown into an extraordinary strong and vital institution to our Community – NCRD. We received International Financial recognition when Standard and Poor’s evaluated NCRD as a A+ Investment Grade Bond issuer and that must be preserved. NCRD is a living testament to the “US’s” of our community.

NCRD has been able to grow and prosper because of the Community’s willingness to devote their Time, Energy and Money to this extraordinary institution not for the sake of any individual ego’s but for the good of the Community over all.

In that spirit, we invite the entire Community to: 1). VOTE! 2). join “US” at the Pool Ground Breaking on May 9, 2023 at 4PM. Please bring your own trowel or shovel. There will be no “Officials” there to take credit but instead NCRD gives credit where it belongs, to the Community as a whole…..the Community did it without help from any officials. We, the Community, did it ourselves! Please come celebrate!

Jack Bloom
Board President