PUD announces Low resignation
Lou Marzeles
News Editor
The Klickitat PUD announced last Wednesday that general manager Winston Low had resigned from his position, effective immediately. The announcement also stated that Jim Smith is appointed interim general manager.
The timing of the announcement-on the same day that a major feature on Low appeared in The Sentinel-prompted speculation from some that Low's resignation was a result of pressure from the PUD board of commissioners in response to some of Low's comments reported in The Sentinel. Both the board and Low, however, confirm that the resignation had nothing to do with the story.
Friday the board of directors held a special meeting at which it formally installed Smith as interim general manager. An additional measure was passed to allow Smith to sign pending utility documents and otherwise conduct official business in his capacity as interim general manager.
During the meeting, the commissioners addressed questions about Low's resignation, and board president Ray Mosbrucker began by stating that the board was completely unaware that Low had done an interview with The Sentinel. Commissioner Dan Gunkel had said in an interview earlier Friday, however, that he had known of the interview before it came out. Asked about the apparent discrepancy between his comment and Mosbrucker's, Gunkel responded, "I was aware of an interview; I don't recall my awareness of the timing of it."
"Another thing to keep in mind is that the resignation was Tuesday, and the article ran on Wednesday," said Smith. "If the board had had a problem with the interview, the story probably would have never come out."
The board said that their first and only indication of Low's resignation came last Tuesday, at the end of the board meeting. Mosbrucker said his resignation was a total surprise to the board.
Asked if the change in management would affect the timing of the PUD's forthcoming bond issue, Mosbrucker indicated that a delay was unlikely. "We're hoping not," he said. "But we can't answer that right now; this is all awfully sudden."
In an interview Monday afternoon, Low acknowledged that he did submit his resignation to the board at its meeting last Tuesday. "There were multiple reasons," he said, "and among them were problems with the utility. Things don't change there. I had no support from the board. I couldn't accomplish what needed to be done. And there were some personal matters to deal with back in Texas." (Low took his position at the PUD from his home state of Texas.)
Low said he felt the board was not at all surprised to hear of his resignation. "But it was best for both sides," he said. "I wish them well. I had a total lack of support, but really I have no hard feelings. I do have two family members back home who need support. I just decided, life's too short; I just didn't need this."
Reached for comment on Low's characterization of his reasons for leaving, Mosbrucker emphasized that Low's sole stated reason in his letter of resignation was the issue of health of family members. Responding generally to most of Low's assertions, Mosbrucker said, "I'm certain that those are his opinions and not ours.
"The board, the staff, the people at PUD are very dedicated people," Mosbrucker continued. They work a lot of hours, and they like to see things happening. They're proud of the things they've accomplished. They're things that, over a long period of time, would help keep our rates down. We're where we would really like to be. Very few districts are in the position that we're in. My first priority is to the people in my district."
Addressing the process to hire a permanent general manager, Gunkel said, "We normally advertise regionally, if not nationally." The process, Gunkel stated, could take up to six months, depending on the quality of applicants. How soon a permanent general manager would start might also depend on how a replacement might fit into the corporate culture, Smith indicated. "It'll depend on what's best for the good of the organization," he said.
"I would like to emphasize to you, too," Mosbrucker said, "and I believe I can speak for the board, that we're all very confident that Jim is capable of doing this position. If there's any concern from my personal standpoint, it's that Jim was busy doing what he was doing before. It's a problem for us; there's no question about that. But it's not insurmountable. As far as everything that needs to be done here, Jim is on top of it as much or more than anyone else at this PUD association."
Back Packs for Kids gets ready for Hunger Awareness Month
Lou Marzeles
News Editor
Five years ago in Coos Bay, Ore., Eva Van Velsor got the idea for a program called Back Packs for Kids. Soon it served 70 students in the Goldendale area. Today she and friends Brian and Lynn Wanless are bringing the program to area attention in conjunction with Hunger Awareness Month, which is October, as it reaches some 150 students and two additional Klickitat County school districts.
The program is a partnership of Washington State University Extension/4-H, the Goldendale United Methodist Church, the Goldendale Food Bank, the local Kiwanis Club, the Mid Columbia Police Activity League, Holcomb's Sentry Market, Columbia River Bank, Yakima Legends Casino, and Goldendale Horizons. The program brings meals to school students whose families have difficulties providing sufficient nutrition to their children and when other resources are not available. The meals are delivered in back packs that students can easily, and discreetly, pick up at their schools.
"The meals are given to schools," Lynn Wanless says. "To obtain them, students must qualify for the schools' free and reduced lunch programs."
"We know we're just a band-aid," Brian Wanless says of the program. "But it helps to help kids. We're mostly handling the distribution and fund raising side of the operation."
Fund raising is a critical part of the program, since running it costs about $40,000 for the duration of its 40-week process. That comes out to about $120 per student per year. All program administrative duties, food purchasing, food bag assembly, and distribution are done with in-kind or volunteer hours. The program has applied for a 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.
The communities in which the school districts served by the program are located have poverty rates between 22 and 28 percent, with free and reduced lunch rates between 57 and 89 percent. Participants are anonymous to the Back Packs program and are selected by school staff as being known to have a scarcity of food during school closures. The school staff provides only socio-demographic information and qualitative reports to the program. Students participating are 41 percent ages one to five; 42 percent grades K-six; and 17 percent grades seven to 12. Seventy two percent of participants are white; 10 percent are Native American; 13 percent are Hispanic; four percent are native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; and one percent are African American. Twenty eight percent are from single female head of households.
Singer/songwriter showcase packs in appreciative crowd
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Rainier Billingsley's second singer/songwriter showcase brought in close to a dozen musicians and an enthusiastic crowd of about a hundred people Saturday at Pine Springs Resort.
Billingsley, a local songwriter himself, founded the event in August. "I kept looking for a venue to do this kind of thing," he recalls. "Finally I decided to do it myself." He joined with Pine Springs to arrange the first showcase, which drew a surprisingly attentive crowd and quickly demonstrated community support for the idea.
Music industry studies show that typically original music-all of the musicians participating must perform only their own compositions-does not fare well in most rural markets, where people tend to prefer the familiar. For a crowd to draw here suggests something unique about the area.
"It's been a great response," Billingsley said after the initial showcase. "We started getting lots of calls right after."
No date has been set yet for another such event, though Billingsley says he and Pine Springs are discussing a range of future plans. |
