At least Clark is consistent

The editor of the World can’t resist using his paper to promote his own agendas. We only need to remember as far back as last November when he supported the re-election of Kevin Stufflebean right to the bitter end, because he knew that without Kevin there was a good chance that due diligence would be served with regard to ORC and LNG. He commented on, but was willing to dismiss, all of the irrational behavior that defined Kevin’s last year in office.

Mr. Walworth’s editorial on June 9, 2011 entitled Adding more voices makes sense is no exception, he labels the opinions of the electorate as undeserved criticism because those opinions expose the real reason he supports the formation of these committees. I would encourage everyone to watch the last meeting of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce on channel 14 or at coosmediacenter.pegcentral.com where you will hear speakers state that they have contacted ORC’s lawyers and pushed them to re-enter negotiations with the county, voice their desire to get as many chamber members as possible on the new committees, and have an “expert” discuss, in addition to other deficiencies, the counties lack of knowledge and ability to manage its forests.

I am one of those people that Mr. Walworth accuses of hanging out at county meetings where citizens not only belong, but should be encouraged to attend. I work the graveyard shift at Coos County Solid Waste, a shift that allows me to attend these “public meetings” held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, and if this editorial staff had even a shred of decency they would have acknowledged in their article that these meetings are only held during the day when most people are WORKING! Come to think of it, while I haven’t been able to attend every meeting, I have NEVER seen Mr. Walworth at one.

While it is true that the same people attend these meetings the majority of the time, I believe that has made them the true experts in the fields that these committees are being formed to advise in, and I believe recent events support my statement.

In 2008 these people tried desperately (to no avail) to convince the commissioners that laying off half of the road department would be disastrous to their ability to maintain county roads. Two years later they were vindicated by the admission of the road master that he could not meet the counties needs with the current staffing level, and the commissioners authorized the re-hiring of five employees. In June of 2009 Mr. Stufflebean re-convened a committee of “experts” that hadn’t met for years (Steve Allen said he wasn’t sure they could even find a list of current members), and immediately authorized the spending of $38,000 on a feasibility study to be conducted by a private company of “experts”. I publicly pressured the commissioners to allow citizen input at the first few Solid Waste Advisory Committee meetings, and with the support of that same group of people that Mr. Walworth accuses of hanging out we were able to get the newly appointed chair of the committee to state that the feasibility study wasn’t worth the paper it was written on!

Mr. Walworth, I suggest that if you were to have listened to the citizen comments and commissioner replies objectively, you would have heard Mr. Messerle state that only after these new committees meet, form opinions, and make recommendations to the board, will they hold public meetings. I believe the citizens of Coos County are it greatest asset, they are the experts the commissioners should rely on, and I hope I will continue to see the same familiar faces, and as many more as can become involved in the future.

To “natter” is talk about unimportant matters. As you rarely “hang out” at board meetings you wouldn’t know what is important. Perhaps you need a committee of civic minded citizens to advise you.

Randy Sanne