SO SCARED THEY LIE!!!

My, oh my! A new web site for those in office and/or their supporters springs forth.
 

It is called Locksnews.com and it is registered to Open Locks. P.O. Box 176, Cascade Locks, Oregon, 97014.
Now there is also a phone number being 541 399-4282.
The link will follow.

Now taking an excerpt from their very web site, they are asking for reporters.

“On some topics we need reporters.  Hey, this is a community thing and we aren’t going to do everything!  Have you ever secretly wanted to be a reporter and tell the world what you have heard?  Well, contact us, we’ll keep it a secret until you get a byline.”

So does anyone on this blog wish to report on who this P.O. Box and phone number, found in public, who’s who, records belongs to? If so report on it please. We all have a right to know who is behind this propaganda campaign.

Oh and what have they done so far? They are forcing us to fix what they broke as I see it. 

Even better is they want people to report on "what you have heard". I believe that is called gossip or second hand information and far from the truth. In court it is called hearsay and has no legal basis to be allowed to be testified in a court of law.  

Now taking another excerpt from their very web site, let’s see how their web site compares with the freedom of speech and the right to redress our grievances, their very government allows, in defiance to our bill of rights, at their council meetings.

“We want people to feel comfortable about posting here.  That is why we require everyone to sign up.  We will moderate every post to be sure no one starts name calling or ridiculing any once else.

We want people to feel comfortable talking about issues.  We don’t want people making baseless claims or accusations.  We will contact you if your post doesn’t pass our “issue” smell test.”

So they have a smell test and if you do not pass it they will not publish it.
So in effect, they want you to hear what they want you to hear and if they disagree with you, oh well, you and your views are not a part of their agenda and to hell with you. Just like the present council meetings.

But good luck getting a comment in. It seems that it, as well as their links do not work? Yet I see four comments. Which tells me that it is all from those in charge of the web site. Such deception never works, if we know how it works to begin with.

I am also glad to read that I am personally getting to them. So much so, that they refer to me even though their statements are not even close to the truth.
Yet it was worth a laugh for today.
But once again they have their agenda and I am glad to have gotten in the way as they reflect. But as they see here, I am not going anywhere and they cannot silence me.

Just to be fair to them, if these people are so sure that they are correct and I am so wrong, I will make them an offer.
Let’s have a public debate! I dare them!
Then you will all see if I have been right or wrong and let the people decide. Not them or I. The people decide. 
Which is how it should have been all along. But instead they stole from us our right to vote away with their first act. 

Now I like how Lance has the audacity to call himself an incumbent mayor in his article.
What Lance is, is a self appointed mayor, who planned a coup and went along with taking the rights of the people, to vote our government into office away. Lance is nothing more than that. That is as Un-American as one can stoop so low to be.
That very action took away any chance they had in this election alone, followed by all the taxes to fix what they broke.

Now this web site of theirs, is the biggest propaganda campaign I have ever witnessed in my life. This is so inaccurate and full of downright lies and a total misrepresentation of the truth, to have ever come out of this city.
My question is why. What have they got to gain, from such deception in such a small city?
Their reputation's are already gone here. So why?

Now judge for yourselves’ and just like their recent post concerning the city administrator selection, where they portray it to appear, that, Tom Cramblett did not care enough to be there.
The truth is Tom and his son had long ago made plans to go to the Oregon Duck, Colorado football game on that day.
He made that clear to these appointed council members when they set up that meeting. He also told them that at the citizen meet and greet.
But like everything else, they want it to appear Tom does not care enough to be our mayor. So they downright slanted the truth to serve their agenda. If that meant slandering Toms name they did not care. Because they have an agenda folks and it is not in our best interest.
As if we are not going to vote for Tom to be our "elected" Mayor.

Since July, their web site has had only 4 (web site owner) comments.
Boy that number speaks for itself now doesn’t it?
I guess that happens when you do not allow public comment to be open like my blog.
I guess that is why looking into their traffic stats, nobody cares. What a joke.
They would have better advertising on my blog and I would not censor them.
As a matter of fact I would love to debate them on the issues like before. Yet they hide from me now.

So in the interest of transparency with my opposing opinion of everything on this web site. I will let you, the public have the same laugh I had today.
Seems they think gardening can fix our city. 

Have fun as I have.

 

THEY TRIED TO HIDE THIS FROM YOU.

Cody

Is this council as fiscally responsible as they portray themselves as being?

Let’s talk about fiscal responsibility in this post and answer that question for ourselves.

Now for those of you that do not know the budget this council approved began July first. Now the first quarter of this budget ran from July first through the month of September.

Now I am going to put the link for the city’s last council packet on line here with a link so you can see for yourselves that we are in some serious trouble here.

Now this document shows what each department of our city was budgeted to operate on by this council and their budget committee. If you remember right there were some not a part of their clique in the budget committee that raised some objections to what was going on.  

Now in the link I am going to lead you to; first you must understand that when something is reflected in parentheses
"(?)", that means that the money is gone and what is inside of those parentheses reflects money overdrawn beyond what was budgeted.

The general fund is already broke and over budget to pay employees and they hired more people? As a matter of fact out of the general fund in one quarter only 13% of that total budget is left for the next 3 quarters.

Streets are broke and over budget in the first quarter. So how are we going to pay to plow the snow? The contingency? One snow storm and that will all be gone.

The water fund is broke and over budget almost $11,000.00 in the first quarter of this budget year.

The sewer fund is broke and over budget one dollar away from being $2,500.00 in the first quarter of this budget year.

So open the following link and go to page 45 and see for yourselves the state of the financial affairs in our city and tell me does this council have any right managing our city in the executive capacity?

Then tell me has this council been as fiscally responsible as they make themselves out to be?

Then answer is clear to me in black and white so see for yourselves using their very own financial report as it speaks for itself.

CLBB

Cody

LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY DEB LORANG

Before we get to the post I have an Announcement concerning channel 23 I have been asked to get the word out about.

All: A fan in the computer that handles channel 23 has burned out, rendering the channel void of any picture. We have ordered a replacement part and expect to have that installed late Friday or first thing Monday.

If you can pass the word we would appreciate it.

Thanks.

Paul

Leadership in Cascade Locks

After many years of effort, Cascade Locks is finally getting its economic development snowball rolling.   This would be a bad time to change out our current council for new inexperienced councilors, no matter how well meaning their efforts may be, this is not the time to take chances with going backwards, again!   Our current council has pulled our fire department back together, restoring mutual aid; they are working with the Port, Down Town Revitalization Committee, and have created the Joint Work Group on Economic Development committee. The council is also working with Nestle, MCCED, Celilo Planning Studio, ODOT, Oregon Parks and other entities on a number of economic development projects.  After many years of Cascade Locks being “an island unto itself” our council is forming partnerships with other Gorge communities, like with Stevenson and North Bonneville for a unique waste management project.  In less than a year the council has created many opportunities for a bright future for Cascade Locks, and in doing so, has given Cascade Locks a better reputation, which has included more positive press. It is too bad that some locals want to focus on a fabricated untruth “that the city has uncontrollable debt and is going bankrupt” which is far from the truth.  Lance Masters, Jeff Helfrich, Randy Holmstrom and Ralph Hesgard are very experienced in council procedures, leadership and are highly educated candidates who have proved their abilities to move our city forward in a positive direction. These four candidates are our best chance for a better future, with jobs, economic development and sustainability!

Debora Lorang

Cascade Locks

EXCUSE ME Debora Lorang but this is a crock.

What economic development. The port is trying to create it and the city pissed them off, when this council passed new taxes on the utilities, against the very goal, set at the creation by the city and port of the very Joint Workgroup on Economic Development mentioned in this letter to the editor. Those unlawful taxes raised the cost to do business here which only makes it harder for not only the port to create economic development but the city. Yes this city owes a debt of gratitude for getting this committee going between the port and the city but that debt is owed to our interim city administrator Paul Koch and port manager Chuck Daughtry, but not this council and surely not the mayor and council this writer is supporting.

Pulled the fire department back together? WTF is this writer talking about. The very people the writer is supporting tore it apart to begin with and we are to praise them for fixing what they broke? These very people the writer is supporting, unlawfully indebted that department or supported that unlawful indebtment and unlawfully financed or supported unlawfully financing it in the past and present, using unlawful utility revenues to cover more than a half million dollars in expenditures over revenue brought in. Now our utilities, due to this type of mismanagment have serious infrastructire problems that will cost millions and our public welfare is at risk today. Even today our Fire and EMS is far from fixed as this writer is trying to say. As a matter of fact it is only held togather by a shoe string and that shoe string is contracted Chief Wells, which is about to end as Hood River is tired of waiting to have their Chief back full time. Then what the un elected are going to save us? Yeah right they broke it and stole the chance to fix what they and this writers Five Alarm PAC broke and time is up in my books. As a matter of fact I think they all deserve to go to jail for what they did frauding the voters as they did. 

But truthfully, I laughed at the council this writer is lobbying for, when they passed their EMS fire suppression fee taxes. I laughed because now that I am paying for EMS services, by way of these service taxes, I as well as my insurance company are freed from the liability of any bill this city could impose on me or my insurance company for EMS services just as the city could not bill me for a property fire as I already pay taxes for that service. Now because I have already paid the city for these EMS services by way of these service taxes we cannot be billed.
I knew that by already paying for this service in taxes that any bill the city would send me would raise red flags under the Consumer Protection Act and the city would eat the bill as I already paid for the service in advance. I also knew if the city turned me into a credit agency that it would raise red flags under the Fair Credit Protection Act and I could sue the city and or their credit agency for damages as again I already paid that bill by way of these taxes.
Did those this writer is supporting think about that before imposing this tax against us, much less the writer of this fluff?
I did so why do you think I did not raise a really big stink about it.
But like my Dad always said; "Give a fool enough rope and they will hang themselves".  Boy isn't that true here? Nothing like a pre-paid ambulance by the city or its mutual partners.
So are you the writer of this letter to the editor so sure, giving these very EMS services with a service tax, to those out of our city limits, is a good idea now? Because this will bankrupt the city and right now the city has enough to worry about with the ADA claim Iam suing the city right now to resolve. Which by the way is the fault of those who this writer supports when they denied me my right to travel, my right to public comment, my right to free speech, my right to be free from censorship and sequestation. Bit they are not telling the people about that are they?

Working with ODOT? Again WTF is this writer talking about? Could it be ODOT coming to the city wanting to give the city Wa-Na-Paw St.? Sure ODOT wants to pave our downtown corridor and give it to the city to maintain. Sure they will pave it and add new sidewalks. Sure they will sweeten the pot more, by putting in fancy street light poles and planting trees. The city may even negotiate a new entrance into the port park along with a cash stipend to put into a special street maintenance fund. But credit to those this writer is supporting not a chance. Once again the only thing this council knows about this comes through the interim city adminstrator. Because it is Paul Koch who is working on this deal. Why do you  think it has not been mentioned at the council meetings? Now does anyone oother than myself wonder what this writer meant saying working woth ODOT to create economic development?

Which brings us to Nestle. If the city makes a deal with ODOT and takes over the maintenance of that street, is Nestle going to pay a street maintenance fee or increased system development charges to cover what we may have to maintain from their trucks road damage before they build? After all we may just be accountable for the up keep of Wa-Na-Paw Street, that the city has never had to maintain before if we accept that deal with ODOT and the Nestle trucks are going to effect that very road big time.

MCCED? WTF again? Is the writer trying to say that the city is trying to get MCCED to forgive us of our fire department loans? Because that is what is going on with MCCED.
The only thing that is going to do is free up funds in the general fund, but it has nothing to do with economic development. 
Now the record shows that the unelected mayor and council members this writer is supporting here as well as the other unelected, are on the record or are the very one responsible for taking out those loans to begin with. So is asking to be forgiven for the loans good policy for our city if we ever need one again? Now in fairness there is a fact that the state required it for the Casino but that has not been determined as a fact yet and as I remember and everything I have on the records and previous minutes, it was the city along with the tribe, pushing us into the casino and preparation for it, not the state. So that point I will have to wait until a determination is made. But until then, the fact is the city built a fire station before they knew how to pay for it, when the city should have floated a bond and let the citizens vote for it or not.

Celilo Planning Studio, again WTF? Celilo Planning Studio consists of six Portland State University graduate students, who work in collaboration with the Port of Cascade Locks. Not the City of Cascade Locks. All the City gets from this group of graduate students comes from what from what the port does. You know the leftovers from what the port creates. Which I have to say is not bad leftovers for our local businesses. 

Oregon Parks? Sorry but WTF is this writer talking about again? The mission of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is to provide and protect outstanding state natural, scenic, cultural, historic and recreational sites for the enjoyment and education of present and future generations. How could they possibly help with economic growth in our city as they only deal with state parks and have nothing to do with city parks or economic development in cities.

Waste Managment  Project, sorry but WTF again? That credit goes to our interim city administrator and not who this writer is supporting. Paul Koch did all that once again. 

We all know what those that this writer is supporting have done to our city along with the two cowards that were afraid to put their names on the ballot. We all know what this is, being another proganda of disinformation from the writer. In other words total unfounded truths which the facts prove to be otherwise, all over again and it is getting old.  

We also remember what happened the last time some in our city listened to this writer and her Five Alarm PAC she was the chief officer of.
Our city was divided. 
Our fire and EMS was shut down for their political purposes. 
Our City has since raised the costs of our utilities causing financial harm to the citizens and business owners to justify their actions, for their agenda to keep our former fire chief.
Not to mention harming any chance of economic development in these hard times by raising utility rate with the addition of taxes.
Our rights to vote for our government were stripped from us.
Now they are going to bankrupt our city, as our city cannot be paying for every citizens and possibly those from outside our city limits fire and emergency services.
All this letter to the editor shows, is this unelected government who know nothing about managing a city in anyway, is trying to take credit for something they did not do, ONCE AGAIN, by one of the un-elected who was afraid to put his name on the ballots spouse.
 
If anything, credit for anything good that has happened in our city, is owed to our interim City Administrator Paul Koch and counil member Cramlett for trying to prevent the harm the un elected have done recently and while those were elected officers of our city not the un-elected they are.

To this writer all I have to say is; this time the voters will decide who comes and who goes.
I am not sorry you have no say in the matter this time because that is how it should have been to begin with. 
You may have such fear that you may well lose power once again and your agenda come crumbling down along with it and to that I hope it does.
But to resort to your propoganda bull shit once again when we all know what it is now, give me a flippin break and this is a joke once again as it is getting old.
You may have fooled some once but twice I doubt as word on the street is not in your favor any longer.
 
This time the people will choose as I said, because that is how it is suppossed to work in our nation. 
Everyone already knows for a fact, what those you support have done and what they did not do as they have been watching very closely, like I have never witnessed here before. I have to give you credit for turning some I never thought you would and I thank you for that. Your PAC and what that did followed by what happened after, was the best thing to wake people up here. Boy are they awake as I am approached by citizens I hardly know telling me their recall vote was the worse mistake they have made.

We know what to do and your welcome.

Sorry Deb but it is what it is and I could say the same here to Robb Brostoff concerning his letter to the editor, but he is included in my response here as it is the same fluff as yours.

I will be voting the following.

Vote no on Lance Masters for Mayor.

Vote no on Randy Holmstrom for City Council.

Vote no on Jeff Helfrich for City Council.

Vote no on Ralph Hessgard for City Council.

They have done enough damage to our city and the citizens and business owners or any prospect of cost of living jobs locating here.

Vote no on Measure 14-49 and vote no on measure 14-51.

Because we and the growth of our city cannot afford to have our cost of utilities go up past the unlawful rates they are now.
Knowing basically what it is going to cost to get our water safe to drink again and our sewer in order and healthy again the last thing they need is passing this off to our electrical to come to the same fauth and higher rates.
This only harms us financially and increases the cost of existing businesses and puts a monkey wrench in economic development and as it is now we can't compete with our neighbors. 
It also hurts our utility infrastructure as a utility needs to have any additional revenue dedicated to maintain and have the ability to deal with problems that arrise.
I will not support having utility revenues used for any other purpose other than the specific utility. That is business 101 and these utilities are a business that the citizens who own it need to be assured of its reliability, safety and competitive rates for the good of all. 

As for me I will never vote to legitimize this councils past legislative actions taxes and say it was administrative and legal by voting for that measure. They deserve to go to jail in my books. 

As far as future rate hikes concerning my utilities being done without my vote after the unlawful acts and mismanagement those this writer is supporting have proven to me that they know nothing about government, management and the law. Not a chance of a vote from me for who this writer is supporting, as well as these measures of theirs.  

And I am far from alone on these matters this time.

Cody

Voter’s reaction, to a simple question.

What would, another 4 years of Jeff Helfrich and Randy Holmstrom and on top of that another 2 years of Lance Masters be like to we the taxpayer’s?

 

 

More taxes

Higher utility rates

More abuse of our enterprise funds revenues for other city uses

Taking more from tourism than the grandfather clause allows

Mismanagement

Home owner foreclosure above the norm because the cost of owner ship just to live here exceeds the worth of owner ship

Further drop in property values

Higher cost to local business owners to do business

Higher cost of goods takes away from local businesses

No economic development

A future ghost town

They have already proven the direction they want to take our city

All paid for off the tax payers backs

Now it is time for the people to have a say which is not censored and we now have our right, to vote an elected government to represent us. Not a government which denied us our right to vote them into office

Vote these fools out of office before we do not have a city left!!!



Cody

FLIP FLOPPING AREN'T WE THERE LANCE?

 

The C4CLC political action committee brought up a good point on their web site, I would like to expand on.

The following comments were made by Mayor Masters while he was still a Council Member:

Copied from Minutes, City Council, February 9, 2009 - CM Masters said that one of his frustrations with the current situation of the school is that they brought a committee together to study an issue and then rejected that committee's recommendation.  He said that he would hate to be part of a Council that would do that same thing.

Copied from Minutes, City Council, March 9, 2009 - CM Masters said that a government entity is charging a fee and unilaterally just raising the fee and asked if this is normal for government to do without a vote of the people.

CM Masters said that maybe it would be possible to go to the Forest Service and tell them that Cascade Locks doesn't do things this way that they wait for an election.

The city councilors take an oath to uphold the city charter. The current city council is trying to change the wording of the initiative that was approved by the voters to allow the city to be able to raise taxes, charges or fees without a vote of the people.

This council chose to ignore the charter by the following actions:

•They approved a 2 year fire suppression fee paid by customers of the city water system

(this will increase most homeowners/renters charge from $12 a year to $108)

•They approved a new resolution to strip an additional 2% from all of our utilities,

(Water, Sewer, TV/Broadband, and Electric) which will eventually be passed on to us.

(All the utilities were paying 5% of their gross sales to the city already, so now they will pay 7%)

In the letter dated 6/25/12, that was included with your electric bill, this council said, “Looking at the City finances through the 2012-2013 budget process, it is clear that in the Emergency Services, Water and Sewer Departments, the current fees will not allow for continuation of these services.”

•Both the Sewer and Water Systems are in need of repairs now. To take money out of these accounts doesn’t make sense. Where is the money for repairs going to come from?

The letter also went on to say:

“The Public Safety Task Force presented to Council a report and recommendations. The primary findings called for an increase in certain fees for fire and ambulance services and the immediate hiring of a full time Fire Chief-in order to continue rebuilding the department. Because the Task Force was open to the community and involved citizen’s input in over 14 meetings, City Council has taken serious action to be responsive to these recommendations.”

The Task Force gave council four recommendations: 1- Hire a paramedic/fire chief. 2 – Form a committee to analyze the financial needs of the Dept. 3 – Have the residents vote on increasing the ambulance fees and the fire suppression fee. 4 – Funds be set aside to purchase a new ambulance. FEES were raised without letting the people vote.

We the People have the right to vote on any increases that affect our economic well being!!!

Now C4CLC went on to point out our very charter restriction for these council actions.

On November 11th, 2008 the citizens of Cascade Locks passed the following resolution:

Section 32 METHODS OF ADOPTION (see the city charter on the City Website)(4)”After January 1, 2008, any such ordinance, or resolution or order approved by a majority of the Council that creates or increases any tax, charge or fee, the ordinance shall not be effective unless ratified by a majority vote of the City’s qualified electors voting in an election where at least 50% of the registered voters cast a ballot, or the election is a general election in an even numbered years.”

Now first off this is a charter initiative. Our charter is our constitution. But there is more to the story than this.

This council seems to think that they can just raise and create taxes and rates but can they using state law?

No they cannot because our charter amendment took their powers to do so under the constitution away. And the constitution is the supreme law.

Article I our bill of rights states; Section 32. Taxes and duties; uniformity of taxation. No tax or duty shall be imposed without the consent of the people or their representatives in the Legislative Assembly; and all taxation shall be uniform on the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax. [Constitution of 1859; Amendment proposed by H.J.R. 16, 1917, and adopted by the people June 4, 1917]

So being we restricted our legislative body to section 32 of our city charter, this council has violated our very State bill of rights as they have no legislative powers to impose any tax or duty on us without a vote of the people.

This also reflects Section II of our constitution concerning voting:

Section 23. Approval by more than majority required for certain measures submitted to people. (1) Any measure that includes any proposed requirement for more than a majority of votes cast by the electorate to approve any change in law or government action shall become effective only if approved by at least the same percentage of voters specified in the proposed voting requirement.

     (2) For the purposes of this section, “measure” includes all initiatives and all measures referred to the voters by the Legislative Assembly.

     (3) The requirements of this section apply to all measures presented to the voters at the November 3, 1998 election and thereafter.

     (4) The purpose of this section is to prevent greater-than-majority voting requirements from being imposed by only a majority of the voters. [Created through initiative petition filed Jan. 15, 1998, and adopted by the people Nov. 3, 1998]

So my question is; if we the people by initiative petition took away the power of our local government to create raise or charge any new or existing tax without a vote of the people. Taken together, with the fact that our legislation cannot approve any measure or imitative without first, taking it to the people for a vote.  Then regardless of what statutory law this city thinks they have protecting them from their actions, doesn’t our constitution require that we voted on them before they were enacted?

So not only has C4CLC pointed out how Lance can give new meaning to the word flip flop, but just how morally wrong these council actions have been since they stripped us of our right to vote them into office with a special election.

Cody and thank you C4CLC.