Claims made by ORCCA executive director Mike Lehman and published in The World newspaper are false. The agency which manages several different aid programs that include the region’s Food Bank has admitted the SCFS (South Coast Food Share) is operating with a six figure deficit. Budget documents provided to MGx show that SCFS will have a combined two year deficit of -$408K by the June of 2014 but Lehman claims the deficit is -$120K but it is not clear which fiscal year he is describing.
For more details read here
Lehman told the paper ORCCA’s new development director, Deborah Ross, had applied for fifteen grants since she began work on July 15 of this year but excel spreadsheets provided to the board of directors at last month’s meeting entitled “Board Grant Report – Cumulative” prove Lehman misrepresented the number of applications. According to the schedule, no grants for SCFS have been applied for since May 30 and no grants have been awarded since last year. Even worse, a large number of grants have been denied including a critical $150K request to Feeding America that SCFS relies upon every year.
The agency hasn’t even made fifteen grant requests across all programs in the last six months much less the last six weeks. Lehman lied but will the paper investigate and report the facts or just keeping repeating unsubstantiated claims? This afternoon I forwarded a copy of the grant report and asked the paper if they would investigate and report on the discrepancy. Will let you know what I hear.
Read the ORCCA report Board Grant Report – Cumulative.xlsx
If you know a position is opening up and you believe you or someone you know is qualified and wants it apply. Send copy of letter of intent to board chair and to Mary here. Not every person at ORCCA is fooled by the fools there. Some people go to work still because we believe in the Mission and support ORCCA as a whole. There are people that still need our help and if we all left what would happen to the clients we serve?
As for the board some board members feel the same and feel if they leave then they would be bailing on the loyal people who work here. They still believe they can make a change.
Lehman got the job because he told the board that he has the paper in his pocket and there would be no more bad publicity. I guess he’s paid his dues because it seems that the world is not interested in what goes on at ORCCA.
Staff knows he lies. Not one of the grants on that sheet can be attributed to Deborah. They were all written before she was there. He lies to the board telling them that the email Carol Douglas wrote requesting her write-ups be removed from her file was a fake. And they bought it!
He tells the board the money will come but rumor has it that he lost a yearly award of $5000 because the funder found out he didn’t use it for the program it was designated for. But the board doesn’t care. As long as they can keep their heads in the sand, Lehman is doing a good job!
Oh, and rumor has it that the Finance Director is gone and Lehman is going to move one of his patsies into the job. Closing the circle, between him, Douglas and his new patsies, no one will ever know how the money is being spent.
Big question – if SCFS is $172,000 or if you believe Lehman, $120,000 in the hole – how are they making payroll?
Just watch and see what they do now, they certainly, in my opinion only, have a chance to gain some respect from those of us who would be customers if more respect for the truth was shown from The World. But I fear, just as the Port of Coos Bay was caught lying to get another chunk of Our money, and the World did nothing to correct their reporting of the Port’s antics, as being bald faced lies. I believe it’s covered here in the past. I’m not making accusations here, any reader can read it for themselves if they so choose. These local development cons, in my humble opinion only, have gotten away with this for at least forty years, and they can not do it with an honest, moral, responsible leadership at The World. It’s so sad to see a once noble, important piece of our culture be bastardised by corporate greed. Every community deserves the truth, not opinions and propaganda. Every word my personal opinion only.
Nobody should expect timely, unbiased or accurate news reporting from the amateurs at the World paper. And amateur hour starts at the top. The Marshfield high school newspaper receives more peer recognition. You should start sending your fact based articles to one of the Baker boys at the Register Guard. They have a large audience in Coos County and at least make an attempt at investigative reporting.