Health concerns expressed in council over ‘junk dump’
Rebecca Gourley
Reporter
Last week’s city council meeting, Oct. 4, brought up a health concern for a couple of Goldendale residents, as well as budgetary discussions for the council.
• Laura Bradley of Goldendale made comment about a piece of property near her residence being used to dump “junk.” Jim Allyn said he gave a contractor permission to dump dirt on his property, as long as he leveled it as well. Allyn said, “That hasn’t happened, and I’m sorry,” referred to the leveling of the loads of dirt being dumped there. Mayor Arletta Parton commented, “It needs to be dampened as he [the contractor] levels it, but it hasn’t been done.”
Bradley’s concern about asbestos being in the loads led her to contact the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Ecology (DOE). Because it hasn’t been dampened, Bradley is afraid of what happens when the wind picks up, if there is asbestos in the rubble. According to Keith Grundei, Public Works Director, the piping in the piles of dirt are cement and do not contain asbestos.
“The Department of Ecology permits landfills in excess of one acre,” said Grundei. Allyn stated there are three pieces of property out there where there is being dirt dumped and one of the pieces may be in excess of the Department of Ecology’s limit. “I don’t really know what’s going on with my own property,” said Allyn. “I don’t want to cause any hardships to anyone.”
Another neighbor to the property made comment and stated that the fire chief told him, “Yes, it is a potential fire danger.”
• The two state liquor initiatives up for consideration in the upcoming election will change the city’s revenue, no matter which one passes, according to council members. The difference between the two, as stated by City Administrator Larry Bellamy, is that if 1105 passes, the money that is lost to the city from liquor excise and profits tax will be replaced by the state. The total amount of money said to be lost by the city is $40,000, according to Bellamy.
• As far as budget priorities are concerned, the animal control facility is still at the top of the list for the city. An estimated $50,000 will go to renovation of the current building or construction of a new one. Bellamy stated that the city is looking at possible grants to help with the cost.
Democrats meeting sparks exchange
Rebecca Gourley
Reporter
The Klickitat County Democratic Central Committee held their general meeting Monday night at the Dallesport Community Center. Although not Democrats, the two prosecuting attorney candidates, Lori Hoctor and Craig Juris, were invited to share their messages to the attendees. The first part of the meeting was described as a discussion rather than a traditional candidate forum.
Juris spoke first, and Hoctor followed. Juris wanted to stress the point that, “This position should be a non-partisan position.” The Democrats of Klickitat County will ultimately be the deciding factor in this race, Juris said. He then covered his experience as an attorney from college internships to his time in the prosecuting attorney’s office.
Hoctor explained that she wants to see a change in the office. “We don’t need to be punching walls and yelling down the hall when we lose a case,” she said. Hoctor added that doing bad things doesn’t make someone a bad person, referring to juveniles that are put through the judicial system. With plans to do more Stipulated Orders of Continuance (SOCs), Hoctor wants to “make a positive change.” SOCs, as explained by Juris, are situations where if people facing charges “behave themselves for six months,” their cases can then be dismissed. Hoctor stated she didn’t want to just put people in jail without trying to help them rehabilitate first. However, she says, murderers, child molesters, and other serious offenders should be punished without question.
Juris and Hoctor were given the opportunity to ask each other a question. Juris asked Hoctor, “Why, with all of the statistics, have there been so much negativity and personal attacks?” Hoctor responded that she didn’t think she’s been negative.
Hoctor asked Juris, “Why don’t you have the support of Keith Anderson [Juvenile Court Administrator]?” Juris answered that this is the first time he’s heard about this and he couldn’t comment. Tuesday morning, calls were made to the juvenile department in order to confirm Hoctor’s assertion that Anderson did not support Juris. Anderson responded, “In my position I cannot make a public stance on this,” referring to supporting either candidate. He added, “I am surprised she [Hoctor] said that publicly.”
On the subject of endorsing, both candidates were then asked what major supporters they have. Hoctor went first and stated she had the support of the sheriff’s office, juvenile probation, the city police, and others.
Juris reacted with, “Every one of those groups that were just mentioned has said they support me.” Juris stated that he had the support of 17 prosecuting attorneys statewide and the civil service commissioners.
After the discussion with the two Republican candidates, the gathering moved into the general meeting for the Klickitat County Democrats. Victoria Allen, Democratic candidate for Klickitat County, commented on her perception of the campaign so far. “The information being used against me is a lot of misinformation,” explained Allen. In previous candidate’s nights across the county, Darlene Johnson, Allen’s opponent, has used the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) report many times, Allen added. She said, “ [Johnson] has been looking at the whole process through the lens of the 2008 reassessment.” According to Allen, the “bad” numbers that Johnson refers to are from three years ago. “She’s only looking at the appraisal process, not the whole picture” added Allen.
Three Park and Recreation candidates for the west side of the county—Michael Solbach, Vern Harpol, and Dana Scheffler—were present as well. The three agreed on the importance of the Park and Recreation establishment in District 2. Solbach is in the race against two others for position 3. Scheffler and Harpol are opponents for position 4, although they don’t see it that way. “We are not running against each other,” said Harpol. All of them have the same goals and have agreed to do the same thing when elected. There are a total of five positions for the Park and Recreation District 2.
Paul Spencer, Democratic candidate for State Representative position 1, was present as well. He discussed what the Democrats’ strategy should be and how they want to get people out there to vote.
“There was not a good turnout for Democrats in the primary,” said Spencer. Although not discouraged, Spencer said he feels there needs to be more action on the Democrats’ parts in the southern part of Legislative District (LD) 15. LD 15 refers to parts of Clark and Yakima Counties, and all of Klickitat and Skamania counties.
Juris sets new tone in his campaign
Lou Marzeles
Editor
Craig Juris, candidate for Klickitat County Prosecuting Attorney, says it’s been a strange election so far this year.
“There’ve been a lot of allegations thrown around by my opponent,” he told a gathering Monday at the Greater Goldendale Chamber of Commerce business luncheon. “I’ve tried hard to stay away from negative comments. Now I’ve decided it’s important to address the points my opponent has made.”
Juris began by remarking that his opponent, Lori Hoctor, is running for personal reasons. Juris said he’d had to write up Hoctor at one point when she was still a deputy prosecutor, and he said she did not respond well. “Then I heard she’d decided to run,” he said.
Juris then went into what he called rampant rumors about him and his campaign.
“First, there’s a rumor out there that if I’m elected, Tim O’Neill and I will basically just trade jobs,” Juris said. “That’s not true. Tim is not coming back to the office. There will be a completely different personality in the office.” Juris said the shift would result from the differences in backgrounds of law practiced primarily by O’Neill and him.
“It’s also been said there’s a high turnover in the prosecuting attorney’s office,” Juris continued. “But there’s always been a high turnover. The average span for a deputy attorney is about 18 months, and that’s everywhere.”
Juris also addressed charges that he rants and screams in his office and that members of his staff have left his presence in tears, a charge made in a recent radio interview. “It doesn’t happen,” he said. “There’s a staff member here now [referring to Shirley James], and you can ask her about it.” Juris pointed out that he has been unanimously endorsed by the staff and retains their support.
“It’s been alleged that I’ve fired people left and right,” Juris said. “The reality is, I don’t have firing authority.”
Juris then turned to statements Hoctor has made about herself. “She claims to have broad management experience,” he said, “but if you add up the years she says she’s been in management, she’d have had to start at 16 years old. The experience just isn’t there.”
Juris mentioned a comment made recently by Hoctor at a candidates’ night, at which she was asked if she would hire former candidate Dave Brown. “She answered that she hadn’t decided yet,” Juris said. “As you’ve read in the paper, Mr. Brown was charged with sexual harassment and was investigated, and there was a finding. If Ms. Hoctor were to hire Mr. Brown, the ramifications for the county are staggering,” Juris said, referring to the impact on county procedure incurred by its hiring of a person against whom a finding had been made.
Hoctor’s statements about her conviction rate were also challenged by Juris, who said her comments did not accurately reflect her record. “Her conviction rate is 58 percent,” Juris said, contrasting the rate with the 75 percent he said was his own record.
Outside attorney fees came up, as has happened often in the campaign. “There are only two counties in the state that do not use outside attorneys,” Juris said. “Most counties do need outside specialized help.”
Juris told the meeting that he reached his decision to speak point blank to Hoctor’s assertions primarily because of a letter to the editor that ran in last week’s Sentinel. The letter, written by Cathy Dressel, spoke of Juris’ father-in-law being a “security guard.” Juris said, “It’s one thing if you talk about me as a candidate running for office. But it’s something different if you start talking about my family. Now there’s nothing wrong with being a security guard, but if you’re actually in law enforcement and you’re called a security guard, it’s kind of a put-down.” Juris added that he had documentation showing his father-in-law to be a duly authorized law enforcement officer.
“These are all defense tactics,” Juris said of comments made by Hoctor and her supporters. “Confuse the case, distract from the issue. The more facts I bring out, the more the personal attacks on me get harsh. I’m not throwing stones, I’m not throwing mud, as has been done to me. I’m just stating the facts.”
Juris was asked about an assertion made that the tactics employed in this campaign are just hard-ball politics. “For anyone who says this is just hard-ball politics,” Juris said, “it’s another way of showing your true colors.” |
