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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2009)
The INDEPENDENT, August 6, 2009 Furloughs: Early retirements, pay freeze for managers and elected officials all applied From page 1 ty’s 175 positions, up to 16 jobs in various county departments could have been affected with- out the implementation of fur- lough days, an early retirement program, and a pay freeze for managers and elected officials. “We had a choice, said Commissioner Tony Hyde, the County’s budget officer, “We could reduce the budget through furloughs, a pay freeze and early retirement, or we could lay people off.” “The Board chose to retain jobs and provide the least impact on services to the public”, he said. The County appreciates its partnership with the Unions that have worked with it to de- velop the furlough plan. With- out their cooperation, this would not have been possible. As approved by the Board of Commissioners, the furlough Council : days for the remainder of 2009 September 4, November 25 and December 24. In 2010, the furlough days will be January 4, March 26, April 23, May 28 and June 18. The scheduled furlough days will close all County de- partments except the Road and Parks Department, and limited access for State Court Ser- vices, which as of this date, will be open for business as usual. Anyone needing information regarding County operating hours, or whether a certain de- partment is open, may call the county information number, 503-397-7210. Information re- garding Courthouse closures or departmental phone num- bers can be found on the Coun- ty website: http://www.co.co- lumbia.or.us"MACROBUT- TONHtmlResAnchorwww.co.c olumbia.or.us City Hall will close at noon Friday From page 4 recommendation, council did not respond. After that, Clark McGaugh spoke, “A couple of weeks ago, Mike Kay said Elana (Brasure) was a stalker. It was brought to our attention that Mike Kay had a stalking order against him while in uniform and there was a lawsuit in 1999 to about 2003. One has to be careful to avoid lawsuits and calling someone a stalker, thought you should be aware.” After Kay chuckled, McGaugh asked him what was funny and Kay re- sponded, “If someone was con- victed they would not be a po- lice officer.” McGaugh an- swered with, “I did not say con- victed, I said arrested and it was in the courts for a long time.” City Administrator Bob Young told council that city hall would close at noon on Friday, August 7, because city staff is involved in Jamboree prepara- tions. In other business, council; • heard that the city has re- ceived a letter of appreciation for the improvement in service at Anderson Park since Gerie Reynolds has been the host, • unanimously, by poll, ap- proved the second reading of Ordinance 861 which estab- lishes a police officer training fee to be tacked on to fines levied by the Justice Court, • was introduced to DeAnna Pearl, the newly hired Vernonia Prevention Coalition Project Di- rector, • heard from City Administra- tor Bob Young that Vernonia has been accepted as a Main Street Program. More informa- tion will be provided at future meetings, • unanimously approved a resolution changing how the city offers Workers’ Compensa- tion for Volunteers. The next scheduled council meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. on August 17 at City Hall. MTC secures summer employment for 75 youth in county Youth in Columbia County are working this summer with help from MTC Works. The pro- gram, funded largely by federal stimulus dollars, is helping about 75 local youth learn about different industries while earning a wage. In Vernonia, six youth and a supervisor are working on a trail building crew at Stub Stew- art State Park, four are working with Vernonia Public Works, one is at the Vernonia School District, and three youth and a crew leader are working in Ver- nonia assisting seniors in com- pleting projects in their yards and also assisting the Public Works Department with other projects around the community. Youth in Region One will be paid for more than 26,000 Unemployment rate down, still very high Columbia County’s season- ally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 14.7 percent in June, a significant decrease from the previous month (15.5%) but still much higher than the year before (6.4%). Columbia County exceeded both the statewide rate (12.2%) and the national rate (9.5%). Total employment fell by 135 to 21,484 and the num- ber of unemployed people rose by 18 to 3,625. Total employ- ment this June was 1,247 few- er than one year before and there were 2,106 more people unemployed this year. More complaints about Chief Kay Recently, concerns have been raised about Vernonia Police Department Interim Chief Mike Kay’s professional- ism when dealing with citizens. Many citizens have told us at The Independent about their complaints, dealing mostly with unprofessionalism, bullying, ly- ing, and abusive behavior. The Independent has uncov- ered allegations of past abuses by Kay, while he was a police officer in Newport, where law- suits were filed. This week, former Vernonia resident Milton Dennis brought up more concerns about Kay, as related in the council meet- ing article in this issue. Page 5 The Independent also un- covered a letter, from former Chief Mat Workman to a com- plainant, about Kay allegedly beating the complainant while he was in hand-cuffs. The letter stated that the complaint was being put in Kay’s personnel file, though Kay recently stated at a council meeting that he had no complaints in his per- sonnel file, only commenda- tions. The city, apparently, has fi- nalized the selection process to hire a new, part-time chief of police. Hopefully, the new chief can clarify and rectify any prob- lems with Vernonia Police De- partment personnel. hours of their time at 70 work sites, earning more than $315,000 – a bill that local busi- nesses won’t have to pay. Julie Gassner, director of the Astoria-based employment and training organization MTC Works, said 134 youth received the temporary jobs this summer because of $361,633 the agency received from the fed- eral government as part of the American Recovery and Rein- vestment Act. Finding entry- level jobs right now is very challenging for younger work- ers because of the unemploy- ment rate in the state and county, she said. “Had they not had this op- portunity, they most likely wouldn't have been able to go to work,” Gassner said. Approximately $175,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used in Columbia County to provide local youth with sum- mer work. In addition, MTC Works re- ceived a grant for approximate- ly $32,000 from the Oregon Youth Employment Initiative and $11,000 from a Marine grant through the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps. The $32,000 grant will be used for a six person crew at Stub Stewart State Park in Ver- nonia and the $11,000 grant is for a five person crew on Sand Island near St. Helens.
