In many meetings, veteran Bob Arnold has complained to the board about the lack of adequate sound enhancement for the hearing impaired and effectively been ignored. The July 10 BOC meeting in Charleston was not accessible to the handicapped requiring a 1/4 mile hike along a gravel road and was not audio enhanced for the hard of hearing. Commissioner Parry has ridiculed and lectured the public for not showing respect for “the office” of the commissioner trying to do “the people’s business” for daring to react, groan, sigh or laugh at some of the cloying, long winded, syrupy, adjective rich yet context empty word salads he regularly forces on the public.
Respect goes two ways. This commission regularly discriminates against the hearing impaired and now wants the public, those that can take time off from work, to walk through a smoky casino at 1:30 in the afternoon in order to contribute to discussions about governance change. Isn’t the county fair supposed to be smoke free? If the commission showed more respect for the public they might find more tolerance for rambling and incoherent rationalizations that waste everyone’s time… but for now just let the groans begin.
The commissioners have yet to explain what the real rush is to change to a council manager form of government. Even the two pro change commissioners admit they have no idea what they will do with their free time and the changes wouldn’t go into effect until 2014 if we can trust Parry to hold to his July 10 statements. So show some respect for the public and tell the truth about why this change is being ramrodded down our throats and stop discriminating against us. Show respect and stop assuming we can’t tell when we are being played. Show some respect and hold these meetings in the evening when the public can attend.
Since Al is leaving, I thought it would be a good idea to clarify a little on this statement by Al [ My mistake – according to some here – was volunteering for, and being chosen for, last summer’s Structure Committee].
To anybody just becoming familiar with our situation, that statement would make him look like a true volunteer for the greater good. But Al introduced himself on the stump circuit a bit sooner than the formation of a “structure committee”. He took up the cause of promoting the SCDC and port plan to bring LNG to Coos Bay. I remember him speaking at a port meeting and being quite upset at “those women” who he saw as a disruptive force to his position of supporting the Jordan Cove Project.
After that it was all downhill for Al, with the anti-LNG people. He feel in and sided with the SCDC crowd and that’s when he first volunteered publicly to carry their water. Here he has not been able to appear as anything but a water boy for Jon Barton. Fairly new to the area at the time, he was sure that he was getting in the right circle for his own advancement by supporting the group bringing LNG to all the rest of us. Does anyone remember it any different?
If I should thank anyone, it is The World, for the vast expanse of county news wasteland it has left unfilled
At least al knew this time when to shut the hell up.
I was hoping he would man-up and respond to Wim’s interview, but in all reality, even from under fred’s skirt, he knows to shut up and go away.
Didn’t know he had that much common sense. jon boy, who pulls his strings, must have told him to shut his pie hole.
Love how he puts himself as the key ingredient in M’s success as a blogger.
How sad when a small man publicly embarrases himself while attempting to make himself bigger.
Your words never made you any taller al.
Tomorrow you’ll still have to pull up them short pants and start another day as little al.
Vulgar? Really al? I find vulgar any man who cons his working neighbors out of their hard=earned tax dollars, so he can keep his bike shop afloat.
But that’s just me.
Proudly vulgar to ya al.
My vote goes to any man or woman brave enough to stand up to your money- bought BS.
I’m signing off, folks. It’s been fun. Mary – you should send me a check. You haven’t had this much activity on this blog since MarkM riled everyone during the primaries. A week or two from now you’ll be back to one or two comments from Themguys, blathering on about sundry citizens “sucking on the public teat”. Cheers.
Al wants to make it look like they discovered a slash pile of poor county management that lead them to the result that we should hire an admin. The opposite is true, they had their result before they even had their contrived panel with 200 years of so called experience. Those of us watching this play out knew the results as did they, before they had their first meeting. They want an admin to expedite the process of gaining access to county coffers and resources. This was a goal of SCDC from the moment Bob Main gave them the other two county seats. We’re seeing a slow motion coup of the county lead by the Messerle’s and Jon Barton. Al has become their volunteer co-conspirator hoping to gain access to the same vulnerable funds of tax dollars that these people live off of. They want the public to believe that the system that our county has been using since its inception is suddenly broken and they have the solution. Its a scam to gain control of resources, just like the port has been doing. Don’t look behind the curtain, it will make you ill to see what a few people are trying to get away with. There is no government watchdog to check their progress, and they know the gates are wide open to their scheme. The inner circle of these co-conspirators is actually quite small, but they’re inside the gates now and there’s no way to stop their plan. I expect Cam and Fred to get it done before the nov. elections and if they don’t do it before the elections they will shortly after because the winners will be their people. It will be very hard if not impossible to undo what they are about to do.
The only thing “unknown to the public” about this coup is what effect it will have on the tax payer. Here’s the answer. HIGHER TAXES. If they could promise lower taxes and better service for the citizens, then we would cheer them on. The truth is the opposite will happen and we will be stuck with their new system of plundering for the friends of SCDC. How well do you think we will like all the no-bid contracts, with non-disclosure agreements and golden parachutes for the revolving cast of administrators. We’re almost getting use to this system having the port as a model. Ok now Al will call me a fool and expect you not to believe a word of what I said. You should be able to figure out what makes the most sense. This scenario or the one they tell about gross incompetence killing the county, because we don’t have an admin.
…Dozens of employees? What was the actual percentage? If my memory serves me right I thought the percentage wasn’t all that great and many felt they had no choice. Am I wrong here?
Why does it feel like a totalitarian regime is being forced upon us. If this is so great and above board, why not let the people vote on it?
Perhaps the 1% fear the people.
Just wait until the masses FINALLY wake up in Coos County…
Contrived? And all this time I thought it was the result of dozens of employee’s gracious input and over 200 years of senior management experience on the committee.
“our report has proven uncannily fortuitous” -really? UNCANNILY FORTUITOUS? What are you trying to sell now? That your report was surprisingly lucky? Disregarding the obvious fact the report was anything but “lucky” and rather more a contrived (albeit poorly planned) promotional piece, it is these types of non sequiturs that riddle the structure and governance advisory reports. Someone send Al a thesaurus
Dear InfiniteLoop – I appreciate your empathy but if this sort of thing really bothered me I wouldn’t post here. If you look at past postings you’ll find that anyone that post here with a differing opinion from that of the blog owner and her friends are subjected to the same, so I don’t have a monopoly on this sort of thing. My mistake – according to some here – was volunteering for, and being chosen for, last summer’s Structure Committee, which provided an honest but sometimes critical report on how our County is structured. Oddly, much of our report has proven uncannily fortuitous. I’m being facetious of course, as we simply talked to dozens of County employees who shared with us the information used for the foundation of the report.
The small but vocal group of citizens who are regulars here are to be commended for their keen interest in how out County is managed. However, regular BOC meeting attendance does not come with an honorary seat at the Commissioner’s table nor does it give license to throw civility to the wind. Attend a few BOC meetings and you’ll discover why most employees and citizens opt for Channel 14.
“but does he not have a right to an opinion just like you, me, and Bob Arnold?”
Of course he does Oneloop, right up until the point he starts strutting all around this county, hiding behind Fred’s skirt, scaring the voters with dire announcements that just coincidentally turned out to be false, then applying for and getting thousands of dollars of Other People’s Tax Monies,laughing and calling names of those that question his outright hypocrisy. Right up until then he had a right to preach to us.
I doubt your “newness” here, but hey, welcome.
Oh, and his absolute fear of the voters actually having a voice in running this county. Watch his reaction when letting the voters decide comes up.
He’s fair game, he put himself out front to privitize this counties business. If he has to depend on Other People’s monies to stay in business, perhaps he shouldn’t be in business. Why else would a businessman think he has a right to Other’s Money?
OMG! And I don’t mean Obama Must GO! I know that I open myself for personal attack – but. I’m relatively new here and one of the postings above by “them guys” causes me to say – like the fellow in the Dirty Harry movie – I gots to know. I dislike both major political parties equally and I don’t understand why the Republicans and Mitt Romney get blamed for all of the worlds woes. Why the personal attacks on “Al” whenever he comments? I’m starting to feel sorry for the fellow. “Al” and I agree on little discussed at this blog. We would never be caught discussing unexercised stock options over a Merlot and canole at Il Fornaio, but does he not have a right to an opinion just like you, me, and Bob Arnold?
My hearing is not so good anymore, and when I can attend meetings, I always sit as close to the podium as possible. Even then, most officials have turned out to mumblers who don’t appear to have strong enough convictions to really speak out. I had hoped with the remodeling of the annex meeting room that a decent sound system would be installed. No way. Apparently the commissioners prefer to not be fully comprehended. At this time I see no point to attending meetings, so I guess they are getting what they want.
Being Mitt Romney means never having to explain.
So when somebody actually calls his bluff, a guy like Romney tends to react badly — first with a clumsy, easily refuted lie. Then with foot-stamping indignation that anybody’s allowed to question his word as a gentleman. My dear fellow, it’s simply not done.
Little al got lots of bro’s.
In November 2011, The World paper reported that Coos County was likely to go broke by 2014. [ http://theworldlink.com/news/local/curry-county-set-to-go-broke/article_ae0f5d5f-ef9c-54ce-9248-30d1ab9e2351.html ]
It is doubtful by 2014 that even an excellent administrator would be able to stop what has been years in the making by total incompetence and apathy.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with how this county was set up and structured for its Governance. It has been working since 1853. The problem is we the people, and particularly our leaders, have lost sight of what form of Government we have. Our Government was set up to bring true equality to all of its citizens, ensuring that democracy would remain a viable form of the government and creating a nation in which states’ rights were no longer dominant. The county system was set up as a government of the people, by the people, for the people. We the people are supposed to be running things. The people we elect are to be listening and doing what “we the people” want, not the other way around.
Right now the people’s house at the county has been taken over by a bunch of squatters from K Street running amok. They are not listening to the people and seem only interested in pushing their private agendas. Agendas of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations…
As Annabel Park once said in a write up about this topic (www.coffeepartyusa.com);
“There is no democracy without people’s participation. Democracy is not some service provided by our government that we passively consume. It is a vital relationship…”
“…We the people have to find a way back into our house and reside there — make it our home. That is our duty….”
To not rise up and do so will mean we end up going right back to the very things people fought and died for at the birth of our nation….
“Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.” – Samuel Griswold Goodrich
So wearing a suit and tie, and wearing a perpetual smile while bilking an entire population of poor folks is NOT vulgar?
Poor little al. doesn’t understand people, not at all. Vulgar, huh little one?
Then call me vulgar, because I’m mad as hell at this con by you and your cronies, of the good, hard working people in this county, who sadly, believe your bullshit, because they have lost all hope. And you call them vulgar.
Karma is one hell of a bitch little one.
A motto for the poor stooges who have believed SCDC and the Port for four decades, and appear set to make sure they’re lied to and conned for another decade:
“It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them they’ve been fooled.”
Trust me, this entire county suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. They’ve lost ALL hope and cling to the BS emitted from the NEW VISITOR CENTER’s offices, occupied in First Class style by these same Job Messiah’s. It’s pathological, but trust me, it’s there.
Good quotes. Here are two of my favorites:
“Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.” – Samuel Griswold Goodrich
“Don’t abuse your friends and expect them to consider it criticism.” – Edgar Watson Howe
Ah, with their free time they can massage the 200+ Laws of Hammurabi to be implemented immediately upon appointment of an administtratror.
Messerle / Parry may be interested in the following:
‘You must learn to follow before you can lead” Hannibal
“Any fool can criticize condem and complain and most fools do” Dale Carnegie
“You’ve got to give loyalty down if you want loyalty up”
“You do not lead by hitting people over the head; that’s assault not leadership” Eisenhower
“Don’t assume the other fellow has intelligence to match yours, he may have more” Ghandi
“Never ignore suggestions from as yet unknown individuals for the day may arrive when they become prominent” Shimon Peres
If the organization is at war with itself, it can never be effective on the battlefield of business”