To the City.
I want to think you for such a fine broadcast of our televised Council meeting last night.
I feel like such an informed citizen now after sitting in front of a black screen.
All I could do was wait for some hypnotic message saying love your council to begin.
I hope it served your purpose to turn us citizens into zombies watching your black hole.
Next time could you serve a little KY Gel with it, to ease our pain?
You did however brush me up on my vocabulary a bit I must say.
Putting aside what I used to get my mouth washed out with soap for, lets get to the words my parents would prefer me to use.
Incompetence, inability, inadequacy, ineptitude, inexperience, amateurishness, ignorance, inability, ineptitude, ineptness, inexpertness, oafishness, rudeness, tactlessness, uncoordination, uncouthness, ungainliness, unskillfulness and lets not forget just out right useless.
Does that about sum it up for you?
So just how long is this City going to ignore the fact that this camera has a problem and needs to be addressed.
After all, it has had this very problem going on how many years now?
So what have you been waiting for, some magical fairy to fly in and sprinkle her magical fairy dust on it and shazam, the problem is solved?
Therefore the definitions I give you fit like a glove.
Now the fact of the matter is senior and disabled people depend on this service of the city to be informed citizens of this city.
As it stands our City Hall, much less the Council Chambers does not meet the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
That would require a total remodel of City Hall, to include the proper spacing of doors and halls, excess to bathrooms, approved seating, elevators and the like.
This Council is fully aware of that, as I brought this up, when you tried to stop televising the Council meetings and workshop sessions.
Do you remember that?
Yet have anyone of you addressed that issue?
So again you are in violation of that law which governments of the past passed the deadlines to correct.
Do you remember that?
So knowing that was not the fault of this Council I would expect that you would care enough about the people to fix the camera.
After all that would be much cheaper than an American with Disabilities Act violation wouldn't it.
Then I find it insulting that this City can spend money for new office furniture, to insure the city workers are comfortable, but as far as the people goes who cares.
Then it would be unbecoming of me to not mention the fact that you are stealing from the backs of your utility customers.
You have made sure the city gets its new toys and employees, but it seems to me if you want to steal from us that fixing this camera is the least you could do for the citizens.
But I have to remember that I am dealing with incompetence here.
Cody
41 comments:
I will get to the reply's from this and the last subject, when I finish up in Portland tommorrow.
I have been a little busy lately between family and trying to deal with this City outside of this.
Way to call them Cody - you forgot to mention all of the trips to DC that we paid for. They keep advertising for volunteers for committees. I have sent two letters and there has been zero acknowledgement. I think it is pretty funny, besides being insulting, that they turn down anyone who is not part of their clan. They cannot need volunteers too bad. Keep on top of them Cody.
Seems our lame duck mayor is determined to finish his reign with the same immature, hide his head in the sand attitude that dominated his two-year puppet show regime. His refusal to allow the issue of our city administrator’s recent election law violations to be brought before the city council and the public for discussion, certainly says it all for his concern for decency, integrity, and transparency in government affairs.
And of course our puppet master of a city administrator remains silent. No statement, no apology, no regret for his blatant attempt to manipulate the outcome of an election.
Good riddance to the mayor and now it’s time to clean house.
Right on.
You keep on huffing and puffing and you will blow their little house down.
Its zero minutes to countdown of the eve of their destruction.
Well just what is the city to do when all you whiners overlook the good that has been done.
Now I hear that this group wants to have Bernard fired.
Even if the City made an attempt to fix this camera you people would be an obsicle to that.
The it would be cry cry cry from you.
These things cost money or don't you realize that you ingrades.
You all just need to wake up.
You are not the voice of this city.
So think about that.
Good Gawd, learn to use your spell check. Do you honestly expect to convince anyone of your argument with spellings like obsicle (obstacle) ingrades (ingrates)?
There no one voice of the city, all sides and opinions need to be heard and respected. A quote for you:
"Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws--always for the other fellow. A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of the trees, and failed to shuck when we stood up. Because not one of those people said: 'Please pass this so I won't be able to do something I know I should stop.'[It] was always something they hated to see their neighbors doing. Stop them 'for their own good'--not because the speaker claimed to be harmed by it."
Just someone let me know when the f**k a citizen gets to talk in this town again - next year? Arnie played whiny little butt boy and got up to read a letter that he sent to the HR News (probably won't be printed with all the nasties he put in it). Before he began reading he looked at the camera and remarked it wasn't working, oh well. He insulted Pruit, Cramblett and Benson plus the new Mayor and Don Haight and the piece de resistance - threatening an uprising if they have the nerve to fire his precious city administrator. (I was gravely tempted to announce to Arnie that it didn't matter, Bernard is putting in applications to leave us anyway and that would at least save us the $$$ it would cost to fire him.) The Mayor sat there smiling and attempting but failing to look concerned. Kevin Benson (attending by phone) attempted to have Arnie detail his rumor-mongering but Brad pointed out it was Arnie's 1st amendment right (Okay, he remembered that much - for his faction) and IMO, Kevin just gave up, but Tiffany rebutted, quite nicely, most of what Arnie vomited about them. But then Gyda got mad, got up and scolded Brad - nailed him for over 5 minutes, as it happens. I politely raised my hand after to go up and beseech folks to lay down their swords and not keep doing the us vs. them crap that continues to divide this community. But, nooooo, Brad has his back up again and his temper barely in check and decides that instead of waiting to hear what I want to say, pre-judging as it were, he refuses to let me speak. You see, I don't agree that we should get rid of Bernard, I would counsel waiting and see how he works with a strong, self-confident Mayor who has more on his agenda than just bringing the Casino and putting his gallery in the news every chance he gets, even to the detriment of town. What is it with this self-important asshole that he cannot take criticism and places someone automatically in the anti-camp just because they don't agree with him. I do not always agree with people, I think for myself. I thought Gyda was wrong to do that, yet while understanding perfectly her urge, but after my first amendment rights were stomped on again by Brad, he can leave anytime he wants. Last time I try to defuse a situation around him. Let the bullsh*t hit the fan for all I care.
Is it any wonder why people do not attend these meetings.
These are supposed to be civil servants.
But I cannot find anything civil about this group.
Maybe you need to define civil for them.
All I can say is this next group better be better than this.
Fix the camera Cody is right.
What happened last night was a crock of you know what.
Ticked off
I have nothing to add to this.
This whooping is long overdue.
Well done.
S.D.
Oh who really cares, just another "hole in the fence gang" production. It was all orchestrated in advance.
Is that really the best Brad and his clan can muster? An idiot who smoked his lungs out to the point he can't even do a desk job and is now living on the dole? That's just type of the person I want to go to for advice on how to run a city...NOT Nothing like looking for advice from people with foresight and personal responsibility for their own actions ya know.
Also, didn't we kick Arnie the hacker off council recently? I guess he and Brad have that in common.
Hope you and Arnie had a good visit after the meeting Brad, I'm sure you had lots to talk about as you share the same IQ.
January 1, Good riddance to you, Mimi, Jeff H and the rest of you pigs. Go by a lighthouse or develop some property together, you all deserve each other.
Kate, you call Arnie a name, then you say you wanted to ask everyone to lay their swords down. ???
You should look in the dictionary under hypocrite.
I know there is a lot of anger.
I know it has been building for awhile.
A lot happened last night which deserves a voice.
A lot has been happening for a long time.
Lets be honest and realize that.
Now the last couple of days I have been driving here and there.
At each stop I waited in my car and did a lot of thinking.
Well waiting for women to Christmas shop can leave a lot of time to think.
I mean a lot of time.
This morning when I wrote this blog I was mad.
I was mad last night.
Truthfully I have been mad a very, very long time.
But today I realized that by getting mad I was letting them win.
Its not about what I wrote as that is how I felt.
I said what I said and I meant what I said, but I said it in anger.
I let politics become personal and I preach to my son about not doing that.
So why did I do it?
I cannot figure out why that camera made me so mad.
I knew it was going to happen.
We all did.
Now none of you would have known this had I not told you.
But when I came home tonight, I broke another golden rule, not to deal with the blog until the morning, get it done and live my life.
But I did, only to see the same anger I am feeling.
I had to remind myself that things will be different soon.
All this will leave a bad taste in my mouth but it will get better.
My believing that things will change at the click of my fingers is un-realistic.
All good things take time.
So over the next couple of days this blog is yours to say what you want.
Get it off your chests so we can heal. I hope?
Please do not get me into any trouble.
Keep it clean but keep it honest as well.
Cody
Right on the heels of the governors approval for a casino in CL, numerous carpetbaggers and opportunists came to our beautiful little town and named themselves "the new faces of CL". They immediately began the task of strengthening their small group. There have always been plenty of minions to serve their masters. Easy pickings!, and pick they did.
It is obvious by the tone of Brads contribution to the Locks Tender and Arnie's rant at city council, that this small group, having lost their hold, is now going to play the role of victim. What else is new? Remember Arnie's wife's pathetic resignation from the planning commission? You know, that planning commission position that Brad was appointed to by a bunch of lame ducks and all without notice? Red flag, anyone? They got away with it, and that set the pace. Red flag after red flag, yet few got it. Now, the majority gets it! There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Has anybody noticed? The chosen minions are, for the most part, a bunch of losers and has beens. This group had us by the xxxxs! Then, they geedily and arrogantly overplayed their hand again and again. Now, the new faces can join their new friends as losers and has beens. Not as smart as they thought, but smart enough to screw over this beautiful little town, and all of us in it. Maybe, the sleepwalkers will wake up now and see the blinding light. It was bad. Now, thanks to these carpetbaggers, their minions and sleepwalkers, it is worse.
The light at the end of this long dark tunnel is our newly elected city council, and our combined will to change things. Add the protection of the initiatives and we are looking pretty good. A lot to still do, but a lot already accomplished.
I wanted to be nice up until I was not allowed to talk AGAIN! Now I am just just sick and tired of the hypocrisy of Brad and his mean, vindictive behavior to me as the next person he dealt with after Gyda Ann reamed him. Whiny butt boy comment posted next day - after reaching the end of my rope with these idiots and their staged show.
P.S. I could have still called him butt boy and posted anonymously. Chew on that one.
I was not going to return until tomorrow but something I have been looking into I want to share with you.
This concerns the response time of our emergency services issue.
But the issue is far more than that.
Now I do not want you to hear it second hand from me, so I left an invitation to one of the family members effected to state what happened.
This person said they would.
As we were short of time where and how we came together tonight I gave this person the blog name.
I just hope it is remembered.
If I do not see something tomorrow night I will contact this person and get this on line or on the record as fast as I can.
I have also started arranging a meeting with this person and a City Councilor to meet and go over what happened.
All I wish to say is when I heard all this my jaw dropped.
I just want you to hear it from the source that was there.
So far so good and I thank you for keeping it clean and all.
I cleaned up obligations today and now I need a little time to catch up on what got behind at home.
I have requested the audio of the council meeting and as soon as I go over that, will determine my next subject.
Let me know if anyone wants me to uploaded it to the web server like I did for the violations of election laws.
I will do my best to make it fit in my available space.
So keep it real and keep it clean.
The hits this is getting is out unreal.
I left at around 1,475 and right now it is 1,714. Not even 2 full days.
I haven't even looked to take the multiple visitors away though.
Unreal!
Cody
Brad did need to go.
He created chaos and made a spectacle of the meetings.
(Cody; you missed a good blog video this time)
He ruled with a iron glove against citizens he did not like or agrred with.
He was rude to them if he really did not like them.
Bernard; he needs to go.
John M.; he needs to follow.
Tracy H; needs to pack his bags.
Shawn; needs to go.
Something needs to be done about all these Woosley's taking all these city jobs.
Now that would be good change.
It is more than a council to gain my trust in this money sucking pit that all goes to the city.
Arni's illness is the result of a one time occurrence of multiple pulmonary embolisms that damaged his heart and lungs.
Like many others we have saved for our retirement for the past forty years, we do not take one penny of public assistance.
Call me pathetic at your will...sticks and stones
While there are times I do not agree with your politics, I would never wish harm, or illness on any of you. Your own words show anybody that listens or reads, just what kind of people you are, and the hearts you have.
Have at it. We could care less.
Lynne and Arni,
I am so sorry that some posters have turned to personal insults. Your household and mine do not agree with our politics but I feel sad that the anonymous option exists as a hiding place for cowards to assail you for health issues. I do wish citizens would just post regarding politics and actions. If they were required to sign, perhaps some of the nastier comments could be avoided.
This is my story on the response time of our cities emergency crew, i do admit i know they are all, but one, volunteers and have to drive in order to get to the brand new fire station. Of course, so does Skamania county.
Anyways, back to my story, I was working my usual shift at the East Wind Drive-In (another issue I have with Seeger i will explain later), when my fiance called and told me our neighbor heard over the scanner my mother's house was on fire. As anyone would do, I drove up there as fast as possible to make sure she made it out okay, I beat our wonderful police officer to the scene and her neighbor informed me he got her out of the house and everyone was okay. About 4 minutes later Joel arrived on the scene to tell us the fire truck was right behind him. What he meant was the fire truck was just leaving the station, another 5 minutes went by and the city's new fire truck came rolling up the street along with the old truck and the fire chief's truck. By the time they got out of the trucks, Skamania County came rolling up the hill and were out of there trucks in the same amount of time as our guys, but there trucks were filled with guys much younger than i am (24) so there was around 25 firemen and no one running a house into the house because it was not hooked up to the hydrant yet.
About 5 minutes goes by and they are still exploring ways to get into the fire when the paid firefighters from Hood River made their way to the scene, but the fire was spreading through the breezeway by the time they got the water flowing and went straight into the fire, they took no time in getting things assessed and going.
All in all i was gone from work for roughly 30 minutes and the fire was just having water put to it when i left the scene, the response time was not adequate enough for a city that has the resources this one has, we just over-pay our city workers to compensate for not having protection in our own city and relying on outside sources to save us, which is a damn good thing all things considered, if Hood River didn't show up the house might have burned down. Anyways, i'm an advocate to having more fire protection in this town for sure, always have been since my apartment burnt 10 years ago and it took them 45 minutes to get their. Either way, think about it, if it was your house, would you want to rely on them?
Jeremy E.
Sounds disturbingly like response to the fire in September.
What's the point of spending like we do to have a local department, when other cities respond as fast or faster?
Don't most places require those being paid to actually spend their time at the fire house?
Is it possible that time spent outside our little town, like showing the county sheriff how to run the 911 radio system, is effecting our ability to respond here?
Whether you're a volunteer or not, is this good enough, should your house be the one on fire?
Talk, complain, excuse all you want, actual results are how you measure effectiveness. A 1/2 hour response time is worse than not even having a fire department. If there was no department at all, we wouldn't be expecting help to arrive any minute and would already know we are on our own.
see the point of my story is that we do a lot of spending to accomplish nothing i do not fault any of the volunteers for what happened, but why are we paying a fire chief if we are still going to rely on outside sources for help? we could have 2 paid EMT's here instead that would serve a much more meaningful purpose.
I am pretty sure without the fire chief Hood River and Skamania still would have made it here just as fast as they did.
In a metro area it takes one to two fire trucks for a small house fire, but because of the proximity of this house, we had at least 5 with a water truck to go with them and two hydrants right across the street. Yet, it still took the help of the Hood River department to get the hoses going. What is the chief doing then?
Arnie and Lynne.
I deeply apologize to you for what happened on the blog the past couple of days.
The fact is, citizen's claim a right to speak is being violated by the mayor by his bullying and rude tactics.
Yet those claiming this turn right around and do the same thing to you.
The pot calling the kettle black syndrome.
Hypocrisy, pure, plain and as simple as that.
So instead of stating disagreements with what Arnie said at the meeting.
Pokes at Arnie's health and with you Lynne were flung.
So instead of Arnie said this and I disagree.
We have Arnie says this, so here take this Arnie.
I have no room for these personal attacks on citizens here.
I am going leave it on here so others can see my point.
Government is fair game but not citizens and that you are, regardless of being a previous council member.
You are a citizen and have a right to your opinions.
Until proven otherwise.
Which was not the intention of these commenter's.
Their intention was to ridicule you and shame you in public.
It was childish at best.
Again I sincerely apologize.
Cody
Commenter's.
This blog is to go over the issues.
Not for you to wage you personal wars on citizens.
The purpose of this blog is for all citizens to go over the issues in our town.
Not just a selected few.
If you want to wage these personal wars it is easy enough to do your own blog.
Government is fair game but not citizens.
It was government's selected few agenda, which started this blog in the first place.
I want to hear from not only every citizen, but the selected few as well.
Then maybe we can go over the issues.
As adults!!!
Cody
Jeremy
First off thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Secondly, I think I can speak for us all in saying, we are sorry that this happened to your family and we are glad it did not turn out worse than it did.
I would like to ask for you or your family to get the call logs and the reports of this fire from the fire departments which were on scene.
Also get one from Deputy Joel.
The get them to me and I will post them on this blog.
I will also give a copy's to a council member looking into this matter.
I can also contact fire personal on the scene and ask them questions.
I want to run a blog on this and get all the facts of what happened so it can be discussed openly and not in executive session hidden from the public.
Now in the short amount of time we talked personally about this and on this blog you mentioned, "it took the help of the Hood River department to get the hoses going."
When we talked you gave very specific descriptions of the problems concerning this.
Can you go into those details here, as I found them to be very disturbing.
Could you also give a time frame as to how long this went on?
I know I am asking you to go back to that dreadful day, but if this City has a problem which must be addressed then we need to do so, as we want to correct this so it does not happen again.
I also think you and your family should contact the Hood River news on this and let the investigative reporters run with this as well.
Thank you very much for sharing this with us.
Cody
The main issue lies in the fact that sometimes people here just don't want things to be better. It's a weird, immoral, mental sickness.
Jeremy
My prayers are with you and your family.
I cannot say how sorry I am this happened to you and your's.
Jen
Cody,
Did you happen to see the news report by Margy Lynch KATU on the Saturday accident 8 miles east of Cascade Locks?
http://www.katu.com/news/local/112127964.html?m=y&smobile=y&c=y
30 minute response time due to communication problems.
IMHO the City needs to sit down with all of the emergency service providers in the gorge and put together a realistic responsibility and funding package for the gorge. The 1100 citizens of Cascade Locks cannot possibly fund all of the necessary equipment and manpower that is needed to provide emergency services for our city plus travelers on Interstate 84 and local area hikers, tourists and boaters.
What we are seeing is that the safety of our own people is being sacrificed in order for our small group of volunteers to provide coverage over too large an area. They are being asked to do an impossible task, so let's either get a larger pool of people and equipment or reduce the area to local service.
It was 8 miles WEST of CL - past exit 35. Here's the video:
http://www.katu.com/home/video/112138254.html
And don't some of our volunteers and one of our trucks live there?
I think the apologies to Lynne K. were more outrageous than the insults levied toward she and her husband, is there something I missed?
Did you listen to the content of Arnies presentation? Not only was it full of personal insults and exaggerations but included a couple of outright lies. Now, that leaves Arnie open for challenge both ideally and personally.
This small group of people have drastically impacted our community and our government. It is important to make it understood that it is not government that betrays its citizens, but the people who run the government.
This group has now, after defeat, set their sights on The Port where it takes only three for a quorum these are the same morally challenged, self promoting people who took our city to new lows.
Sorry Lynne, but if you are going to involve yourself in a would be "takeover", you are leaving yourself open to criticism, both politically and personally.
Higher road, Observant one, higher road. Of course I listened and I really listened to the comment about the 1st amendment rights that Brad prepared ahead of time. That's why I called him a butt boy, although the word sycophant might have been better. But I do draw the line at bringing up one's health issues. They do enough crap politically to smack they down with on a damn-near daily basis.
http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2010/12/wood_village_picks_former_gran.html
Peterson's experience includes 14 years as the Grants Pass city manager (that's the same as a city administrator)
Is it now?? I guess ones title is not as important as ones work. Business retention = concept.
I have been asked to inform readers that KATU is following up on the response story, concerning the accident on I/84 mentioned here.
If any one has comments, the telephone number is; (503) 231-4642.
Cody
On the lighter side: This guy is a male version of Mimi! Second story is the really juicy one.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/dec/22/feds-sue-washougal-man-over-zip-lines-gorge/
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/15/a-new-line-controversy-zips-into-clark-county/
Any New Year's resolutions(or ordinances)?
How about this for a resolution?
"People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?...It’s just not right. It’s not right."
-Rodney King
Kate,
Could you please find someone else other than a convicted felon to quote for a resolution.
Thanks much
Mark Fuhrman
You can't mean yourself then:
On July 5, 1996, Attorney General Dan Lungren announced that he would file perjury charges against Fuhrman and soon thereafter offered Fuhrman a plea bargain. On October 2, Fuhrman accepted the deal and pleaded no contest to the charges. He was sentenced to three years' probation and fined $200. As a result, Fuhrman is a convicted felon.
Well, well, seems the the puppet master and his 4 puppets have managed to pull off one final disgraceful act of defiance against the people of Cascade Locks.
I agree with you Gary, you couldn't squeeze a thimble full of integrity or intelligence out of the 5 of them combined. But at least the (unintended) result a step in the right direction for our city.
I'd hate to have to be the one to tell Arnie that his hero took the money and ran, I'm sure he'll be crushed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aXZ-6Ubs8Q
"Out of all my history, I have never, ever...."
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