Town meeting gets 452 callers
Lou Marzeles
News Editor
At one point during last Thursday’s telephone town hall meeting, 452 people were on the phone with state representatives Bruce Chandler and David Taylor.
The telephone meeting, the first of its kind for the representatives, went smoothly, with the technology comfortably handling the volume of calls. In addition to the telephone connections, 62 voice mail messages were left for Chandler and Taylor; members of their staff are making return calls to the messages. Meeting participants were on the line for an average of 18 minutes.
“It went really well,” Rep. Chandler says. “It’s very convenient, and we were able to connect with a lot more people in this format than we’ve been able to before. Most people stayed on through most of the meeting. The turnout shows a lot of involvement and interest.”
The tone of most meeting participants was pointedly anti-tax. “What’s on people’s mind are taxes and the overall budget,” Chandler says. “People asked questions about which programs should be funded and which should not. Brooks Memorial Park, for example, came up—will it survive and how will closures affect the local economy.”
Callers were concerned about how the governor and legislature will close a budget deficit of $2.7 billion. Most proposals to do so involved taxation—and 66 percent of callers at Thursday’s telephone meeting expressed zero support for any new taxes of any kind.
“People are still concerned about pending legislation” Chandler says. “There probably will be increases in tobacco and liquor taxes. The governor calls that discretionary spending, but the problem with that is, if it’s discretionary, then people won’t spend it.”
Chandler thinks Washington could be the leading Western state in economic recovery, if it proceeded in a smart way in its recovery course. As revealed in Thursday’s meeting, the smart way may well be a road not taken. “There’s a proposal out there now to raise taxes about four cents on products made from oil, which includes everything from gas to plastics. There’s also a proposal to raise the state sales tax by one percent. And the problem with higher taxes is that you get less for your money the more taxes you have to pay.”
The telephone meeting also polled participants on two questions, with results as follows:
Question: What should be protected in the state budget as the Legislature balances a $2.7 billion shortfall?
• Education: 38 percent in support.
• Social services: 16 percent.
• Global warming: Three percent.
• Public safety: 23 percent.
• Nothing: 19 percent.
Question: There are several proposals from the governor and majority Democrats to increase taxes. Which one of the following do you support?
• Bottled water: Seven percent in support.
• Candy and pop: 12 percent.
• Gas/household cleaners: Two percent.
• General sales tax increase: 10 percent.
• Other: Four percent.
• No taxes should be increased: 66 percent.
City engages firm to assess incubator study
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Goldendale’s city council voted on Monday to enter into a contract with Financial Consulting Solutions Group, Inc. (FCS) for a study on the feasibility of creating a business incubator in Goldendale.
The Council heard a short presentation from Todd Chase, FCS project manager who explained that the company would study the goals and qualities of Goldendale to assess whether an incubator is feasible and if so, what type of businesses should the incubator develop. The analysis is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 1, 2010. The council approved up to $40,000 for the study which is supported by a $25,000 rural development grant plus $15,000 of city matching funds.
In other business the council listened to a presentation by Isaias Garcia of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau. Garcia gave a brief history of the constitutional basis for the census, which has been conducted every 10 years since 1790, according to Garcia. Garcia stressed the importance of obtaining a high level of completion as it determines federal dollars allocated to states and communities.
According to Garcia, for every person missed, the community cost is $1,400 per year for the 10 year period, due to a loss of formula funds and an additional loss of funds for schools. Garcia said the Bureau was making a strong effort for completion in rural areas, particularly where Spanish speaking populations reside, as they are often reluctant to complete the survey. He explained that fear of information sharing is an impediment to completion, but the agency is bound by law to keep the information confidential. “It is mandated to be confidential and the law supercedes the Patriot Act,” said Garcia. He also said language barriers lead to low level of response and that the Bureau was addressing that problem with help sessions at the county’s libraries. Census Bureau staff will be at the Goldendale Community Library on March 6 and 13 from noon to 5 p.m. and on March 9 and 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday sessions will be on March 10 and 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Representatives of Klickitat Valley Health visited with the council about the Healthy People Alliance which was recently created in Klickitat County. The Alliance is a county-wide effort to improve public health and reduce chronic disease. The Alliance is addressing more than genetic factors that affect health, recognizing the connection between poverty, stress and chronic disease. Jim Daniel encouraged council members to attend the showing of four films that deal with health issues. The series is being show at the Community Library during March and the public is encouraged to attend. Daniel also proposed that the city join with KVH and other public employers, Klickitat County and Klickitat PUD, to explore a joint insurance policy that might lower the cost for health insurance and improve on individual policies.
In council business, the city agreed to proceed with the disposal of 41 weapons that have been seized over time. The police department will negotiate a trade with a law enforcement weapons provider to obtain firearm supplies and defensive tactics training equipment.
City administrator, Larry Bellamy shared a list of 36 files opened in 2010 for property nuisance code enforcement. Bellamy indicated that 28 of the cases are now in compliance. The Goldendale community clean-up day has been set for April 24.
There were no public comments, and the meeting adjourned. The next council meeting is March 15, at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The city ordinance committee meets at 6 p.m. on March 8, and the economic development committee meets at 6 p.m. on March 9.
Sentry employee avoids being run down by thief
Holcomb’s Sentry Market’s security cameras paid off on two cases of theft last week, one which escalated to attempted vehicular assault.
The first case occurred on Feb. 23, around 5:40 p.m. when a woman wheeled two cases of beer from the store in a shopping cart without stopping at a register. The police were called, but the suspect drove away before they arrived. Later that day, Sgt. Jay Hunziker of the Goldendale Police Department was visiting with Sgt. Joe Riggers, of the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office and discovered that Riggers had arrested a Lucindia Duran on charges of driving while intoxicated. Hunziker visited Duran in the county jail and noted her resemblance to the suspect who was photographed by Sentry’s security cameras. Duran admitted the offense when told she was photographed in the act.
The following day, a man was seen fleeing Sentry Market at 2:08 p.m., carrying two cases of beer. Assistant manager, Dave Jones pursued the suspect from the store and stood in front of the car while writing down the license plate number. The suspect dropped the beer and jumped into the back of the car urging the driver to leave, which she did, forcing Jones to jump to safety. Store photographs gave a clear picture of the suspect, Easton Yallup. The license plate led police to Lila Jack, who was identified as the driver of the get-away car. Jack was arrested and a warrant for attempted vehicular assault was sought for Yallup. He is also wanted for violating a no contact order for his association with Jack.
In other action, Goldendale school officials and the Goldendale Police reunited a high school student with $140 of project money that the student believed she had lost. Suspicion was aroused when two students began to flash a lot of money in class, catching the attention of a teacher and leading administrators to contact the police.
Upon interviewing a pair of girls, age 15 and 16, the police determined the money was stolen from a back pack, but the owner was unknown. The school ran a notice in their bulletin and the owner came forward. She had assumed she just lost the money.
The two girls were suspended from school and have been charged with theft.
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