The INDEPENDENT, August 1, 2012
Deadline coming
to file for mayor or
council seats
August 24 at 1:00 p.m. is the
deadline to file nomination pa-
pers for the positions of Banks
mayor or any of three open
council seats. The length of the
mayoral term is now two years,
and the council positions are
for four years each.
The open positions are cur-
rently held by Mayor John Kin-
ski, Councilor Craig Stewart
(Pos. 2), Councilor Brian Biehl
(Pos. 4), and Councilor Christy
Greagor (Pos. 6). They will be
on the November 6 General
Election ballot.
All necessary forms and in-
formation regarding nomina-
tions are available from city
hall. For more information, call
Banks City Recorder Jolynn
Becker at 503-324-5112.
Page 11
City of Banks picks Awesome as new City Manager
The Banks City Council has
announced that Kyle Awesome
has been chosen as the next
city manager in Banks, to re-
place City Manager Jim Hough,
who will retire in September.
“We were very pleased with
the number of applications that
we received for this position,”
said Mayor John Kinsky, “and
the council took its time sorting
through the list and conducting
interviews, etc.” Kinsky contin-
ued, “Kyle came out as our
choice to lead Banks into the
future and we are looking for-
ward to him beginning work in
mid-August, with a swearing-in
to be conducted at the Septem-
ber 11 regular City Council
meeting.”
Awesome comes to Banks
from Virginia where he served
as a community manager, and
he has expressed a desire to
learn as much about the City
as possible in a short amount
of time, “I am quite excited at
the opportunity that the City
Council has offered me and I
look forward to getting out into
the community and meeting as
many folks as possible.” Awe-
some has agreed to accept the
appointment and will be paid
an annual salary of $65,000.
The City of Banks was
founded in 1902 with the cre-
ation of the Banks Post Office,
and was incorporated by the
State of Oregon in 1921. The
current population of Banks is
1,775 and has most of the
services and amenities that a
city must have and that most
citizens seek.
The Banks City Council
made a determination in 2006
that it was important to change
the form of government to what
is referred to as the Council-
Manager form, and did so in
September 2007. City Manager
Jim Hough was hired as the
first city manager under the
new form. A well-run city staff is
now the hallmark of the Banks
reputation for government. The
City is recognized by the Inter-
national City/County Manage-
ment Association, the profes-
sional association of city man-
agers, as a Council Manager
form of government, having
gained the designation in
March, 2012.
Signup now for WCSO Citizen Academy
Ever wonder what it is Sher-
iff’s Deputies do? Or why
crimes don’t get solved in an
hour like they do on CSI? The
Washington County Sheriff’s
Office is now taking applica-
tions for the Citizens’ Academy
set to begin this fall.
The Citizen Academy is part
of Sheriff Pat Garrett’s continu-
ing effort to promote and pre-
serve a safe community
through quality service and citi-
zen involvement. Sheriff Gar-
rett sees a real value in helping
develop citizen awareness and
understanding of the role of law
enforcement in our communi-
ties.
The Citizen Academy is a 55
hour training program that
combines classroom and
hands-on instruction. Classes
give citizens an opportunity to
observe the inner workings of
their Sheriff’s Office. Students
are actively involved in many
interesting activities such as
using police equipment, partici-
pating in jail activities and sev-
eral role-playing scenarios.
Sheriff’s Office personnel
from many departments ex-
plain and demonstrate the du-
ties and responsibilities of their
jobs. Participants will tour the
Sheriff’s Office, and other crim-
inal justice facilities, as part of
the academy. Because the
academy is an interactive pro-
gram, students’ questions and
comments are encouraged
throughout.
Some of the topics covered
in the academy include Officer
Selection and Training, various
duties within the Sheriff’s Of-
fice, Patrol Operations, Investi-
gations, Tactical Operations,
Use of Firearms, Jail Opera-
tions, Narcotics, Crime Scene
Investigations, Canine, and the
Traffic Safety Unit.
The next Citizen Academy
begins September 4, and runs
through graduation on Novem-
ber 6. Classes will be every
Tuesday evening from 6:00 to
9:30 p.m., with three weekend
classes during each session.
Classes are typically held in the
training rooms at the Sheriff’s
Office, 215 SW Adams Avenue
in Hillsboro.
To be eligible, participants
must be at least 18 years old
and live in Washington County.
They must also attend at least
ten of the twelve classes of-
fered to qualify for graduation.
Each academy is limited to 40
students, so please check your
schedules carefully before ap-
plying for the course.
If you would like more infor-
mation about the Sheriff’s Of-
fice Citizen Academy, contact
Darlene Schnoor at 503-846-
2774 or by email at darlene_sc
hnoor@co.washington.or.us.
Applications for the academy
are available on line, at the
Sheriff’s Office in Hillsboro, or
at the East Precinct, 3700 SW
Murray Boulevard in Beaver-
ton.
Graduates of the Sheriff’s
Office Citizen Academy will not
be Deputies or Reserve
Deputies. They will, however,
be better informed citizens and
will hopefully share their new-
found knowledge with family,
friends, neighbors and co-
workers.
Kyle Awesome has been chosen as to replace Jim Hough as
Banks City Manager. Awesome will start later this month.
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