GOLDENDALE — Klickitat County Commissioners gave explanations for some recent actions at their meeting April 16, including why Commission Chair Lori Zoller canceled the town hall meeting that had been scheduled for that evening.
It should be noted that Commissioners Dan Christoper and Jake Anderson both said they were not involved in that decision.
The question came up during public comment, asked by Luke Throop, the new news director for Gorge Country Media, which operates KLCK, Y102 and other stations locally.
It is the Klickitat County Commissioners’ custom to let everyone in the public express their comments before responding to any of them, so commissioners did not respond immediately. The next person to comment, though, was Greg Wagner, who said, “I can answer Luke Throop’s question. I received a email this morning from Alicia Grumbles the clerk, and the reason the town hall was canceled was because Mr. Throop announced on his show that it would be about the sheriff and the jail.”
When it came time for commissioners to respond, Zoller said she had concerns because the previous town hall had been sharply heated. "It was not civil discourse,” she said, “and it was very threatening and upsetting to some people in the room as well as staff.
“When Friday came, I had emails of concern about being able to speak because they felt like they’d be shouted down because that meeting had been put on the local radios by Luke Throop, stating it was the sheriff’s town hall. That hijacked our meeting.”
We contacted Throop, who provided an audio copy of the newscast in question, which took place April 8. After an opening story about the agenda for The Dalles City Council that evening, he said, “The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office has announced an upcoming town hall to discuss the proposed closure of the Klickitat County Jail. The town hall is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 16 from 6-8 p.m. The meeting will take place at the county building, and will be available for citizens to attend online.”
Throop also provided a screenshot of a Klickitat County Sheriff’s Facebook page from four days previously, announcing the town hall. It reads: “From Sheriff Songer: There will be a Town Hall meeting in person and on zoom from 6-8 PM Tuesday April 16, 2024, in the Commissioner Chambers in Goldendale [sic].” It then gave the address of the county courthouse and provided a link for the Zoom meeting. It did not mention the subject of the town hall.
In a newscast dated April 10, Throop said this: “At the Klickitat County Board of Commissioners yesterday, the commissioners announced they would be holding a public town hall meeting next Tuesday, April 16 from 6-8 p.m. in the commissioners’ chambers to discuss the matter of closing the Klickitat County Jail. I must apologize; earlier I stated that the sheriff announced the town hall, which was a public announcement made last Friday on the sheriff’s office Facebook page. Yesterday I missed the commissioner’s meeting. I did miss the commissioners’ announcement yesterday, and I do apologize for any confusion. The community is encouraged to participate in person or online next Tuesday, April 16 from 6-8 pm to express their opinions regarding the jail closure and listen to the testimony of citizens and commissioners on both sides of the issue. The last two meetings have had robust discussion regarding the proposed closing of the Klickitat County Jail and the video showing these dynamics is available online at the county’s website, Klickitat County.org.”
We watched the video of the April 9 meeting and did not find any point at which the commissioners announced the subject of the town hall. The only mention was at the end of the meeting when Anderson said, “I will note for the record there will be a town hall meeting in person, on Zoom as well as in the room, from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16 here in the commissioner’s chamber. We will also have a meeting that day during Tuesday.”
We asked Throop if he made the conclusion that a town hall scheduled at this time would be primarily devoted to the jail issue. “In my mind, that was inferred by circumstance,” he said, “as the town hall was announced after the massive public response at the BOCC meeting. It made sense that they would hold a town hall to discuss the matter so that it did not interfere with their regularly scheduled business. It did not appear that there was any other reason, as that was clearly the issue that has stirred up the community.”
That was borne out by Lisa Evans of White Salmon, who chairs the Klickitat County Republican Party, who presented a petition to the commissioners signed by approximately 260 people. She noted the petition had been posted online and that people could not attach their signature without express consent.
The text of the petition, which she identified as non-partisan, reads:
“We, the people of Klickitat County, demand from the county commissioners that any decision to close our jail be stopped immediately and to thoroughly evaluate all options to keep the jail open permanently; to respect the Insight from the sheriff’s office and the jail staff; decision-making transparency; public comment during the process, and to reach a balanced decision made according to the full impact on public safety. This decision impacts our community, our safety, and our jobs.”
Among the many people speaking up during the public comment period was Dr. Vern Harpole of Lyle, who served as medical director of NORCOR from 2015-2020.
“Care of inmates in my 50 years of being a physician is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” he said. “We’re taking folks that are morally ill, physically ill, mentally ill, and drug-addicted, putting them all in one spot and then trying to get some correctional officers to sort it all out. It’s just an impossible task.
“I absolutely agree with Sheriff Songer that the state and federal governments are not providing the proper resources to take care of inmates anymore.”
He suggested that the situation is so difficult it needs the resources of several counties to deal with, and that “The Andy Griffith Mayberry jail is just a thing of the past. These incredibly sick folks are a super high risk to themselves and to the county.”
He offered to help in any way, which did not go unnoticed by Christopher, who noted that many people offered opinions, but few offered to help.
Emergency declaration
Zoller solved another mystery, following a question about why the declaration of emergency in the county due to the January snowstorm lasted into late March.
“It was a request by the school districts to keep it open so that the school districts could continue to assess the damages,” she said. “If those damages reach a certain level, we can get state and federal assistance to help pay for them. And if we can get that assistance, it doesn’t come out of the county general fund or the school’s general funds.”
She said that the cost to the 911 and emergency management system had totaled tens of thousands of dollars, and that county officials had a certain leeway when it comes to emergency declaration. “That’s why we left it open so long,” she said.
County precinct districts redrawn
In other business, Auditor Heather Jobe reported that The Tri-Cities firm that the county contracted with to redraw the county’s precinct districts in response to state changes in legislative districts had delivered the goods well before an April 29 deadline, just a week before ballots are due to be mailed out. Not only did they do a difficult job in a short time, they did so for an unheard-of price for any kind of consultant: $2,100.
The shift was necessary because precincts can cross state or federal legislative districts,or the borders of a reservation, and the goal was to leave each precinct with approximately 1,500 people. In order to do the boundary line shuffle, several new precincts were created, including two (31 and 32) that are in remote areas and have no inhabitants. Jobe added that the auditor’s office is required to identify each precinct by number, but could add a name if desired. Because nearly every precinct border was adjusted, she said the office would be dropping the names, and only using numbers in the future.
Consent agenda
The consent agenda, as approved, contained these items:
• Notice of a public hearing on Tuesday, May 7 at 1 p.m. on the proposed Franchise Agreement between Klickitat County and Carriager Solar, LLC.
• Letter of support to Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office for a proposal from White Salmon Valley Pool Metropolitan Park District.
• Agreement between the State of Washington Department of Ecology and Natural Resources to extend the time on the Switzler Reservoir SEP A Review project.
• Resolution amending county fee schedules for the Trout Lake Guler Park, effective May 1.
• Contract Amendment between Klickitat County Senior Services and Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities of SW Washington to shift the allocation of funds between Home Delivered Nutrition Services and Congregate Nutrition Services and update the minimum service levels.
Finally, it was announced that commissioner’s offices will be closed at 1 p.m on Wednesday, May 1, and will remain closed on Thursday, May 2 and Friday, May 3 for a conference.
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