Mosier restores fire chief

They also told board members Ken Hudson and Lee Roy Herman, both of whom voted in favor of restoring Appleton, that they were still subject to recall. Neither man spoke at the meeting nor exhibited a reaction to the news about the continuation of the recall.

“This community needs a new board, to put it bluntly, in my estimation,” said resident Ron Swanson. “I see people trying to circumvent that situation (with the unanimous vote to restore Appleton).”

His comments were directed at Hudson and Herman, who have been in the crosshairs of the community since their Oct. 9 action against Appleton.

Molesworth and Glenn Bartholomew protested the chief’s firing at an Oct. 9 board meeting.

They also objected to Hudson’s motion, seconded by Herman, to reduce the hours of the chief’s position from full to part-time. Vic Hamilton, the third board member to cast a vote against Appleton and in favor of the time reduction, resigned at last week’s special meeting to address the public outcry over those decisions.

Hudson’s accusations that Appleton had mismanaged time and money led to the contested vote.

Following the second special meeting Oct. 22 at Mosier School, Appleton declined to say whether whether he would return to the position that he has held for the past five years. He expressed gratitude for the strong showing of community support in the wake of his termination.

“I am honored and want to see the community come out with the best solution possible,” he said.

Wednesday’s meeting had about half the 70 people who showed up Oct. 16 to register their opinion about the board’s actions involving Appleton.

Bartholomew told the audience that budget information and minutes of board meetings were posted on the Mosier Fire website, mosierfire.com, to keep them updated about board decisions.

He said public input was welcomed and encouraged people to get actively involved in the district.

“Please everyone, recognize that board meetings are open to the public and announced in advance,” he said. “We’d love to have as much involvement as the community will give us.”

He said an advisory committee has formed to review what the district needs in the way of equipment and what will be needed in the future as the population grows. He said the group is also reviewing the need for a new fire station and if it is even possible to come up with funding for that project.

“There are things that are happening,” he said.

Mosier Fire currently has 12 volunteer firefighters, many also trained as Emergency Medical Technicians, to serve the town with a population of 477 residents.

The fire department takes in about $170,000 each year in tax revenue to cover $110,000-120,000 in operational expenses.