HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2024
Vol. 145 No. 29
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allots for this year’s primary election will be arriving in mailboxes soon, and ahead of the voting The Sentinel presents interviews with the candidates in what may be the most closely watched contest in Klickitat County. Incumbent and first-term County Commissioner Dan Christopher is being challenged by Ron Ihrig, a familiar figure and former commissioner. Differences between the two were seen at the outset, with Christopher stating he felt in-depth interviews might be more useful closer to the general election since the primary would make no difference in who would be on the ballot in November. Ihrig felt it useful for voters to know more about both candidates early on since the primary could be a bellwether for how close the general election might be. Following are comments from both candidates during Q&A sessions with The Sentinel.
DAN CHRISTOPHER Sentinel: What’s on your stillto-do list if you’re reelected? Christopher: I have a two-page list of things I’m trying to get done that I can’t. On January 1 I would bring up—again—the issue of board rules, rules for the board of commissioners to follow and/or be held accountable by the other commissioners. We’re supposed to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, but if you listen to recorded Zoom meetings from one specific commissioner, we don’t follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Or there are many different forms of Robert’s Rules of Order, which is why we have the contentiousness problem. The board rules would go in there to say we do follow Robert’s Rules of Order, and there’s only one set of Robert’s Rules of Order. And it would hold each commissioner accountable for moral or ethical issues, conflicts of interest, me flipping somebody off. [Chirstopher was referring to his giving the finger to a constituent during a board meeting a few years ago.] The other two [commissioners] could publicly chastise me. That’s essentially all you can really do. Yes, there’s absolute contentiousness on the board, but in the same regard, each person should be allowed to defend themselves when their character is being assassinated or something’s being said about them. Right now, there is no place for that in a board meeting. So when Jake [Commissioner Jacob Anderson] makes little snide comments like, “Unlike Mr. Christopher, I like the people.” What do you mean? I don’t like the people? Anybody calling the board contentious and pointing the finger at me is not paying attention. In the same regard, when that happens, a person should have the right to say, “Excuse me, I didn’t say I’m against the people.” So we don’t have any board rules.
Hence the reason January 1, I want some board rules. The reason Robert’s Rules of Order are followed by every county is so the odd person out isn’t targeted, isn’t attacked. That’s what Robert’s Rules do. They don’t protect the majority. They protect the minority. In the board room there should be professionalism, decorum. There should not be public attacks, should not be personal attacks, should not be innuendo, not making up lies. But you have to have rules to be able to enforce that. Sentinel: How do you see economic development in the county? Christopher: In Goldendale in 20 years, we had .09 percent back from the state sales for economic development. Up until I took office, not $1 in 20 years had ever been spent here. I mentioned this when I was running— nobody’s paying attention to this. If you talked to the powers that presided, you’d find
See Dan page A8
RON IHRIG Sentinel: You’ve been a county commissioner before. When was that, and how long did you serve in that capacity? Ihrig: I served as county commissioner from 1993 to 1996, one four-year term. I did not run again. I was mayor [of Goldendale] before that, 1990 to 1992, and then that’s when I ran for county commissioner. My first daughter was born when I was mayor. My second daughter was born when I was county commissioner. And then I asked for a leave of absence from the PUD [Klickitat Public Utility District where he was employed]. And they said, “No, we prefer you work a day a week, and then if we have major outages where we could use your help, that would be really helpful just to have another person.” So I was working one day a week with PUD. Time just got to be an issue with the family. That’s when I went out and tried
County to begin advertising for permanent jail administrator RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
Klickitat County commissioners held an abbreviated morning-only session at their July 9 meeting. Sheriff Bob Songer was scheduled to appear, but Undersheriff Carmen Knopes and Chief Civil Deputy Karen Elings ended up representing the department. Knopes read a statement from Songer that repeated his suggestion that the commission put the future of the county jail on the ballot in November, with three choices: keep the sheriff in charge of the jail but make needed improvements, contract with NORCOR in The Dalles, or have the commissioners take over jail operation. It remains uncertain why Songer continues to make that suggestion, given that County Auditor Heather Jobe informed him weeks ago that such an initiative cannot be put on a ballot in a non-charter county such as Klickitat County. The suggestion drew a response later in the meeting from Human Resources Director Robb Van Cleave. “I keep hearing and reading that potentially there is some confusion about whether you’ve made a decision to assume supervision of the jail,” Van Cleave told commissioners. “It’s my understanding through two resolutions, that question has been answered. The only remaining question is when, not if.” Those resolutions were passed at the June 25 meeting. Van Cleave received approval at this meeting to begin advertising for a permanent jail administrator, and to engage the services of an agency for $7,500 to help find suitable candidates. The vote was unanimous, with commissioners saying that was a small price to pay to find a great administrator instead of just a good one to run a $2 million-ayear department.
In other news from the Sheriff’s Office, Knopes said no incidents had been reported at the Bickleton Alder Creek or Glenwood rodeos nor at the demolition derby. She also praised Reserve Deputy Ken Clinton, who donated countless hours of work to restore the department’s marine patrol boat, the Osprey, to service following an encounter with a submerged log. Commissioners responded to several remarks made during public comment. One person argued there was a lack of resources for youth in the county. Dan Christopher said he agreed. “That is why a couple years ago I pushed for a park fund,” he said, “which was $50,000 per commissioner district, to be used on parks, because I believe the parks in our county, well, frankly, suck. No money’s been invested. They have a lot of work to do. They don’t facilitate ADA. They don’t facilitate a lot.” He explained the park fund was only approved for one year, and he was outvoted two to one when he proposed continuing the program this fiscal year. Commissioner Jacob Anderson had a different interpretation. “I grew up in this county,” he said. “We live in paradise. There are an abundant amount of things for children to do here. We live in an outdoor Mecca, especially on the west end of the county where the summer programs that the schools put on, that the nonprofit organizations put on, kids have an abundant amount of things to do, and I would much rather raise my child here than in any city.” Two people expressed concern about disposal of old wind turbine blades, thinking they were toxic. “Wind turbines can be recycled,” replied Anderson, “and they have been recycled elsewhere in the United States. Many of them are being turned
into cement, reducing the overall environmental impact of cement plants... They are primarily made of fiberglass, which is not considered a toxic material.” He added that any time turbine blades would be taken to the landfill it would reduce taxes in the county, since the company’s tipping fees would go to the county. Another person was concerned about the landfill and heard that toxins from the landfill were getting into nearby wells. All three commissioners took turns explaining there are no water wells nearby. The only “wells” of a sort at the landfill are pipes that collect the methane from decomposition, filter it, and inject it into the natural gas supply system. It is also the most secure landfill possible, they explained, sitting on bedrock high above the aquifer. Commissioners pointed out that while landfills are required to seal the bottom with a minimum of 15 feet of clay, the site had a natural deposit on the order of 80 feet of clay already in place. That situation would have meant there was no requirement for a liner on top of the clay, but the company installed one just the same. “Not just a lining,” said Commissioner Christopher, “but the best lining money can buy. And even if the lining wasn’t there, nothing would never make it through to the water table.” One caller noted that some wind farm turbines are having the power nacelles replaced and thought that meant the old turbine had to be torn down and the company had to get a demolition permit and apply for new permit to rebuild. Commissioners said the company wouldn’t have to get permits to replace the power plant any more than you would have to get a new registration for your car if you replaced the engine. Commissioner Dan Christo-
See County page A8
to find somebody who would run for commissioner so everything we had done wouldn’t get torn down. [Ray Thayer then ran and became a commissioner.] Sentinel: What’s changed from when you were a commissioner then to now? Ihrig: The landfill just came in place when I was serving as mayor on the Salt Waste Advisory Committee. When I left, the revenue was $400,000 [annually]. At that time, we didn’t have a lot of extra funds. [Emergency] dispatch was under the sheriff’s office. Now it’s separate. We didn’t have the transportation [Mt. Adams Transportation]. Mental health was at the county, but then we’d given it back to the state to run. Economic development was bigger then than it is now. We started the vehicle maintenance fund so the depreciation on vehicles would be funded and wouldn’t be counted against the budget. That’s usually what gives, when budgets get tight, is vehicles. That year when I left is when we funded the county fair because their funding was getting cut by the state to $25,000 to that, which is still the same today. It’s never changed. There’s been a lot of change in the county. There’s a lot more landfill gas revenue going to serve county government, despite the loss of that contract. [The County lost a major landfill contract recently in the wake of increasing competition from other counties.] That was a quite a shock. And you need a commissioner who champions that, especially within the State of Washington, to maintain contracts. Sentinel: So what made you to run now? Ihrig: My main reason was to give people a choice. I wasn’t overly pleased with
See Ron page A8
City addresses parking on Broadway RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
Monday night’s Goldendale City Council meeting was a short one, wrapping up in a scant 27 minutes. The only item that brought up any discussion came when Councilor Steve Johnston reported that the public works committee had focused at their recent meeting on the problem of parking along West Broadway Street. “There was a general consensus that we would like to pursue no parking,” he said, “but it falls under state jurisdiction. We also decided it would be a good idea to approach the Washington Department of Transportation with a memo regarding what we’re trying to accomplish.” The concern was with safety and visibility for people turning off side streets onto Broadway. Several potential solutions were discussed, including eliminating parking near the intersections, or limiting the width of vehicles that could park there.
Councilor Andy Halm said, “I think to eliminate all the parking on that street is a horrible idea. You go down some of those streets, there’s people that don’t have parking. So now the city goes in and takes parking away; are we going to cut curbs and make it to where people can park on the parking strip?” If that was the solution, he said, the city should follow through rather than tell people who lived there that the city would forbid parking on the street and require residents to spend several thousands of dollars on curb cuts and graveling the parking strips. “There are going to be several public hearings,” said Councilor Theone Wheeler, “and we do need to make sure every single resident who lives in those apartment complexes and homes do understand that is the thought on the table right now.” All this may turn out moot if the Washington State Highway Department does not approve changes on that section of street, which is also a state highway.
Newhouse introduces bill on tribal healthcare Last week, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) introduced the Uniform Credentials for Indian Health Service (IHS) Providers Act. This legislation amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act for the development and implementation of a centralized system to credential licensed health professionals who seek to provide health care services at any Indian Health Service unit. “Due to a lack of a standardized credentialing system for tribal healthcare professionals, our Native American population is struggling to receive appropriate care,” said Newhouse. He continued, “The current
system has led to a backlog in onboarding new providers, which has caused those interested in working for IHS to pursue opportunities elsewhere. There have also been numerous incidents where healthcare professionals with histories of malpractice claims have bypassed the guardrails put in place to make sure medical professionals are just that—professionals. The IHS is receiving taxpayer dollars to fund their operation, and it is my priority to ensure those resources are not wasted. By creating a centralized system, we can establish a standard for tribes and ensure
See Bill page A8