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Wednesday, May 13, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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P
I
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Would Schaier as sheriff
be good for Sisters?
Surveying
the domain…
By Greg Walker (ret)
Guest Columnist
PHOTO COURTESY BARRAGE STUDIOS
This impressive barred owl (Strix varia) lives in Camp Sherman.
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer9s name, address and
phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opin-
ions not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for
a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished
items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday.
To the Editor:
Re: May 6, 2020, <Communications is
Key as Sisters 8reopens9 by Mayor Chuck
Ryan and City Manager Cory Mosley.=
The last paragraph < ...that businesses...
must follow which again will be dictated at
the State level.=
Since when are we living under a
dictatorship?
John Morter
s
s
s
To the Editor:
I must have struck a nerve.
In successive issues of The Nugget, a let-
ter was published criticizing my recently pub-
lished letter challenging the April 15 opinion
piece of Tom Donohue on the COVID-19
pandemic. Unfortunately neither responded
to the substance of what I wrote.
Dale Streeter asserted that in my <vent-
ing,= I <declared that those opinions (as
expressed by Mr. Donohue) represented the
general views of 33 to 50 percent of the pop-
ulation.= I neither expressed nor implied that.
I don9t know where he got that wide range
of numbers. I did say that the four positions
espoused by Mr. Donohue, none of which
either letter mentioned, were the current
right-wing talking points. I did so because
they are. If you don9t believe me, you haven9t
been watching Fox News, reading right-wing
Internet sites, watching the pronouncements
of certain Governors or listening to the cur-
rent occupant of the White House.
There has been and continues to be a
coordinated disinformation campaign on this
issue almost exclusively from those with a
political agenda and no health care training.
In response to my statement that I will
follow the recommendations of health care
professionals, Dale Streeter criticizes me
for <virtue signaling.= I9m not sure what
that means but I sense it is a pejorative like
<showing off.= As an adult, I have tried to
avoid unnecessary risks and potentially very
harmful results (I wish I could say the same
about my youth). Would Dale Streeter wish
I act contrary to the best scientific evidence
See LETTERS on page 15
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Sheriff9s candidate Scott
Schaier would have Sisters9
voters believe his work expe-
rience as a hospitality indus-
try worker, a car salesman, a
real estate agent and patrol
level law enforcement officer
should earn him their support
this November.
How so?
Candidate Schaier has not
completed even a two-year
general education college
degree. According to OSU
he is listed as a student with
them but not an active one.
When asked how many cred-
its he has, or when he projects
graduating, Schaier will not
say. He has never been pro-
moted at either of the two law
enforcement agencies he has
or is working for. He is essen-
tially a high school gradu-
ate and career patrol officer.
Schaier offers he <man-
aged personnel and budgets=
for an automobile agency.
He leaves out the dealership
he worked for was a family-
owned business, a business
that failed in 2010. The deal-
ership, experiencing serious
financial losses due to poor
business decisions, closed
its doors. Per Terry Schaier
<We9ve been working with
Nissan and our bank desper-
ately, and the bank gave us
word that they will not help
us.= (https://signaltribune-
newspaper.com/6579/news/
schaiers-nissan-dealership-
in-long-beach-no-longer-in-
business/)
Schaier9s tenure with
the Las Vegas Metro Police
Department is likewise less
than impressive. In October
2011, a federal lawsuit
named him and other officers
in multiple charges to include
violation of the Fourth
Amendment. Upon the trial9s
conclusion the Municipality
paid out $105,000 to the
damaged parties. (https://
b u s k l v. f i l e s . w o r d p r e s s .
com/2019/07/settlement_
lvmpd-fiscal-affairs_april-
22-2013.pdf)
In 2018, the City of
Bend paid out $800,000
after Schaier shot and killed
Michael Tyler Jacques.
The caveat being that Bend
did not accept responsibil-
ity nor liability for the offi-
cer9s actions. (https://www.
bendbulletin.com/localstate/
bend-to-pay-800-000-to-
shooting-victim-s-family/
article_dd396714-ca11-50e8-
9ab0-e4afebcb665f.html)
To date, Officer Schaier9s
employers have remitted
$905,000 to the victims of
his actions while wearing a
peace officer9s badge.
Schaier offers in lieu of
the excellent contract just
signed by Sheriff Shane
Nelson with Sisters provid-
ing a fully staffed patrol team
to the Sisters district, that he
(Schaier) would have made
Sisters <a special assignment
detail= instead. By defini-
tion, a special assignment
means <a job assignment that
is expected to be temporary
and is designated as a special
assignment by the agency ...
A special assignment may
be full- or part-time and may
consist of more than one part-
time position in more than
one tenure area.=
Sheriff Nelson listened
to what Sisters residents and
the city council said they
needed and delivered a com-
prehensive patrol package at
an excellent financial price
point. Candidate Schaier
would prefer to keep Sisters a
backwater patrol concern, out
of sight and out of mind.
Candidate Schaier told
The Nugget (<Candidates vie
for sheriff9s office,= April 21,
2020) <&I [have] a unique
background and experience
that I think would serve
Deschutes County well.=
Why then not apply and
compete for the chief9s posi-
tion at Bend PD given Jim
Porter9s pending retirement?
Perhaps because Schaier9s
<unique background and
experience= does not match
up to the job description and
education required for the
job. This to include having
to pass and possess <&an
extensive background check,
Master9s degree in related
field preferred. Licensing and
Certification Requirements:
Executive or Management
Certification from Oregon
DPSST or be able to obtain
within two years of appoint-
ment CITY OF BEND.=
Two settlements totaling
$905,000; a questionable
fatal shooting; two patrol car
crashes while with the Bend
Police Department; leaving
his patrol car engine running
while away from the vehicle;
leaving his patrol rifle in the
vehicle at the end of his shift;
no college degree; no super-
visory or management expe-
rience as a law enforcement
professional&
If Schaier is ineligible
to even apply to the City of
Bend for its chief9s position
how is it that he is qualified
3 at least in his mind 3 to
become the Chief Executive
law enforcement officer for
Deschutes County?
Short answer. He is not.
And if Candidate Schaier
is not good for Deschutes
County he is not good for
Sisters, either.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.