The commissioners did not answer yesterday's email. Here is today's question:
Dear Commissioners,
Towne Road received awards and was held up as a success, but just over a year after opening, we’re already seeing erosion and visible problems. At what point does the county step back from the praise and do a hard evaluation of whether the project actually worked — and will you share those findings publicly?
This response models a good-governance approach for commissioners by acknowledging public concerns, grounding evaluation in established scientific and engineering standards, and outlining transparent oversight steps without substituting political judgment for professional assessment.
Dear Constituent,
You asked a fair question about Towne Road: the project received awards and public praise, yet just over a year after opening, visible erosion and performance issues are already apparent. At what point does the County step back from praise and conduct a hard evaluation — and will those findings be shared publicly?
Towne Road is part of the Lower Dungeness River Floodplain Restoration, a multi-agency effort led by Clallam County to reduce flood risk, reconnect historic floodplain, and maintain transportation access (Clallam County, n.d.-a). While elements of the project received professional recognition, those awards reflect aspects of planning, design, and collaboration — not a determination that long-term roadway performance issues will not occur (Shannon & Wilson, 2023).
In active river and floodplain environments, post-construction monitoring and evaluation are expected best practice. Federal and state guidance is explicit that erosion, settlement, and unanticipated performance issues often emerge after opening and must be evaluated against design assumptions and monitoring benchmarks (Federal Highway Administration [FHWA], 2017; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE], 2015). The County’s own project updates acknowledge ongoing monitoring and the potential need for additional surface treatments or corrective work (Clallam County, n.d.-b).
This approach is neither new nor theoretical. Locally, the Jimmycomelately Creek and Estuary “Undevelopment” project provides a long-standing example of restoration science that integrates geomorphic response, ecological outcomes, and adaptive management through structured monitoring (Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, 2003). Contemporary research reinforces this same principle: observable changes such as erosion should trigger structured evaluation and adaptive response, not dismissal or over-reliance on initial project praise (Wohl et al., 2015).
More recent scholarship strengthens this position. Studies combining remote sensing with field data demonstrate that comprehensive, multi-metric monitoring is critical to understanding floodplain restoration performance over time (Roni et al., 2024). Likewise, a 2024 synthesis of stream restoration science emphasizes that transparent monitoring, documented assessment, and adaptive management are essential for credible outcomes and public accountability (Noe et al., 2024).
From a governance standpoint, the point at which the County steps back from praise and conducts a hard evaluation is not dictated by awards or timelines, but by observable performance concerns. Visible erosion warrants documented assessment and a determination of whether issues fall within routine maintenance or indicate the need for corrective action or design review (National Cooperative Highway Research Program [NCHRP], 2014).
As a commissioner, my role is oversight and transparency. In response to concerns raised:
1. I will request a formal post-construction performance update from Public Works.
2. That update should be presented in an open public meeting.
3. Monitoring summaries should be posted publicly, consistent with best practices for publicly funded infrastructure and restoration projects (FHWA, 2017; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2016).
4. Findings should inform future maintenance and design decisions.
Projects succeed not because they are praised, but because performance is evaluated honestly and shared publicly. The question being asked here is not oppositional — it is exactly the kind of civic oversight that strengthens public trust and improves long-term outcomes.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Commissioner of District...
References
Clallam County. (n.d.-a). Lower Dungeness River floodplain restoration.
Federal Highway Administration. (2017). Post-construction stormwater management in new development and redevelopment. U.S. Department of Transportation.
Noe, G., Law, N., Berg, J., Filoso, S., Drescher, S., Fraley-McNeal, L., … Thompson, T. (2024). The state of the science and practice of stream restoration: Lessons learned to inform better implementation, assessment, and outcomes (STAC Publication 24-006). Chesapeake Bay Program Science & Technical Advisory Committee.
Roni, P., Burgess, S., Ross, K., Clark, C. L., & Camp, M. J. (2024). Evaluation of floodplain restoration projects in the interior Columbia River basin using a combination of remote sensing and field data. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 82. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0337
Shannon & Wilson, Inc. (2023). Lower Dungeness River floodplain restoration receives ACEC engineering excellence award.
Wohl, E., Lane, S. N., & Wilcox, A. C. (2015). The science and practice of river restoration. Water Resources Research, 51(8), 5974–5997. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016874
Not to be missed, the underlining theme she keeps bolstering is accountability to oneself. She isn't asking us to love her so that she can be strong, she clearly lays that responsibility on herself.
For that reason, she's awesome., and the kind of self-determined person society needs.
This is the whole "boot-strap" theory some like to blunt while not being able to explain how people actually get ahead under the same circumstances while others fail.
It may be a tad early on the transparency accolades for the Hurricane Ridge day lodge project. The rebuild of the Olympic Hot Springs Road began with public comment but withered and quietly died without public notice during the tribal consultation phase. It remains dead.
BTW, the cause of the fire that burned down the day lodge was investigated and unresolved. The investigation made no mention of an appointed National Park Service Contracting Officers Technical Representative or Chief of Maintenance overseeing any aspect of the project for safety. Yet recharging of lithium batteries, a suspected cause of that fire, did not get inspected or called out by NPS representatives. The only two NPS employees mentioned in the report drove up to take water samples and check the restrooms.
The upcoming meeting for day lodge input is funded by a donation from the Washington National Park Association. That leads me to think that none of the funds allocated by Congress to rebuild the lodge have yet been released. When will that happen? Is it a sure thing?
Good call. The proof is in the pudding, but what we know about "listening sessions" is that like CRC Commissioner Pickett illustrated time and time again, it's an opportunity to size up any opposition and then craft a response. All that we can do is see how it goes.
The format of public meetings has morphed over the years by design. Breaking people out into small groups before numerous whiteboards placed around the meeting room with various staff members jotting down piblic comments prevents any question/answer periods where an official has to think on their feet. It dilutes responsibility or leadership role and prevents provocative ideas from being heard by the entire audience.
I can see the initial need to break out, as in too many people show up and all it takes is one blowhard to sideline everyone's time for matters they don't care about. However, as ideas mature, then I can see the value in a follow-up where leadership needs to be accountable.
Inside complex systems the goal is often more Machiavellian in nature. My experience indicates that the goal of most leaders is to avoid accountability. Managers quickly learn how to skew the numbers. In the old days called the habit "fast penciling". This is why I don't trust statistics and studies.
One trick is to give an employee a task so horrendous that it cannot succeed. If he obeys the rules his next performance review will receive an F grade. If he ignores it he will achieve an A on the next review. The employee is also competing against other employees who also ignore the new rules. The framework is a similar inverse form of "The Prisoner's Dilemma". If everyone disobeys the new procedure but the numbers show improvement the incompetent manager claims success even though nobody obeyed. The key is to avoid close management that would detect disobedience.
I worked for a giant corporation for 25 years and I quickly discovered that our mission was not the primary agenda. The agenda was for incompetent mid and upper-level managers to maintain power. Political ambitions triumphed over competence. Incompetent upper level managers were constantly transferred in order to hide the results of their bad decisions.
Steve O. I too have seen how "climbing the ladder" involves selling your soul. The last person who I was involved with, was forced to lie about her fellow employees who she was close too at work (and after work friendships) to retain her newly acquired position. She unfortunately chose to sell her soul and retain her position....short term though, she was thrown to the wolves by the next one who was climbing the ladder (a fellow friend). Was she competent for the position? No, but she did do as they asked? Yes.
Thanks for providing that interesting description and presenting the paradox. Your former acquaintance must have placed a very high value upon her position at work. My experience indicates that many employees are not competent for their roles. Compliance is not enough in the corporate world. Even if I were willing to abandon ethics, I have always lacked the skill to "work the system" the way my collogues did. My lack of self-esteem was both a disadvantage and advantage depending on the situation.
Many years ago when I occupied the dating circuit, I always watched the behavior of my date at a restaurant. An important measure of a person is indicated by the behavior directed at a person occupying a lower station in life which is a waiter. This indicates a general philosophy about people. Are most humans receptacles to be utilized according to their benefit? I hope that I don't sound like a pathological leftist.
Team-work was valued above all other elements. The white boards bring back terrible memories. I was asked to remain after a meeting was concluded and only I and my boss remained. My supervisor used the white board to draw a picture of me and a picture of the ideal employee. The ideal employee was named "the player" and my picture was "the player hater". He presented a false dichotomy but his basic assumption was correct even though the motivation was not. My response was caustic, "but General Picket I don't believe that we should march across that open field". He didn't understand the civil war reference.
Steve O. I only hope Ozias will remember and suffer for his misdeeds when all the glory is way past him. Old age and retirement has a way of reflections we never counted on in later years.
I hope so also Jennifer. You, Jeff and the other members of this site probably understand his character better than I. If he is a narcissist his strong defense mechanisms may not allow reflections that present a threat to his ego. There must be millions of humans with similar traits. We don't always recognize them because they wear psychological masks.
That fire was very suspicious. Fires are not magic. There is always a cause whether the cause is stupidity or direct arson. Often stupidity is mislabeled as an accident. Improper management of a system is an indirect form of stupidity. Why were lithium batteries alleged to be the cause? If they were the cause who was charging them. Were they defective or overcharged? Very often within social structures and systems managers do not wish to see answers revealed because it reflects upon their ability to lead properly. This is the reason "accidents" happen. In the corporate world the common expression is CYA ( cover your ass ).
What are the odds that a lithium battery is not only defective but it catches fire near combustible materials inside a building with no alarm system or sprinkler system? A million to one?
Calling people names, Mr. and Ms. Allen, without factually addressing the issues in question or engaging in intellectual debate, is how one knows the onion is being peeled back and the questions being raised are hitting close to home. Perhaps you'd like to come on a forum that actually asks pointed, not softball, questions like CCWD, and state your case?
It's concerning when the commissioners keep handing over more projects to the JST Corporation when they haven't shown the expertise to earn these awarded projects. Harm reduction is a farce and funds more problems than it helps... as long as Mark's tribal bosses get their cut, it's going to be hard to get Mark off the Harm soap box.
Have s great day and please take time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings!
Thank you for the potpourri, Jeff. Especially Chelsea's update. She has come a long way and I pray for continued joy in her life. Jim Stoffer can whine and complain about CCWD to his ND and FB friends, but we, who have witnessed him in action, know the real Jim Stoffer. The Safe Parking zone at TUMC is a microcosmic example of how Stoffer, Ozias, and crew waste money and pat themselves on their backs for doing it so efficiently.
Once again Jennifer we have reached total agreement. We both agree that Jim Stoffer is repulsive both physically and intellectually. If he claims to be a communist, then I do not need to elaborate further. The concept of "Harm Reduction" actually causes more harm. I believe that Narcan should be illegal. Society needs to cull the herd.
There are intelligent anti-WD responses where facts are presented. I'm not saying that I agree with them necessarily, but it's better than the baseless nonsensical reactions.
Ad homonym attacks are a very clever distraction away from the original area of discussion. They are part of a process called transference utilized by people with a subject they believe should be hidden.
First, Ron Allen dismissed concerned citizens as “complainers and whiners.” Now, his niece Paula Allen has added “creep” to the vocabulary. ---- The blind leading the blind.
Tribal MAT clinics seem to be a normal thing in Washington . Could it be because they are so lucrative? And with the tribes NGO status, un trackable? I see Puyallup tribe has at least two. Maybe more. Wonder how many other tribes are in on the grift. After finding out about the Somoli scams. Raping and defrauding every government program possible. And sending the money back to their sovereign country. While contributing to the Democrats in office. Similarities are glaring.
The MAT market was valued at USD 10.42 BILLION in 2024 and was expected to reach USD 31.19 BILLION by 2037...prescribing is expanding, treatment duration expanding, patient volume expanding, prices maintained or increased.(Medication Market Size & Share, ResearchNester, 2037 projections)
A specialized clinic with 50 patients generates 1.25 to 1.75 million annually.
So, plenty of grifting off human misery to go around.
The dot Indian tribes will purchase motels and convenience marts and I predict they will prosper because of their outcome in India. That is why so many of them study so hard. They have witnessed life in a third world country. The tribes that Columbus thought were Indians will also be compensated because we oppressed them when we stole their land and improved the value
Not influencer inclined. But I have been doing a little checking. I'm up to 12 Indian mat clinics in Washington and it's probably only half of them. What a scam. Going on the possible rates per visit Jeff has posted. Probably easier money than a casino.
It is disturbing that county elected officials would approve permits that would allow mat clinics which just attract drug addicts from wherever to take advantage of freebies and loiter around towns to do what?If JKT thought the sequim mat clinic was such a good idea then why was it not built by their casino or golf course or longhouse.This is where permit approvers should have suggested where the permit would only be good for.
They not only approved it. They paid for it with your tax dollars. In the case of the Sequim clinic. $17 million. And pay the tribe to run it. Jeff says they are allowed to charge up to $719 per visit. And the junkies are allowed up to 5 visits a day.
Well historically Indians have been one of the largest subgroups of humanity easily addicted. And historically white Americans have been the largest receptor of profit from the substances Indians and other Americans have been addicted to. Personally I'm glad that there are addiction clinics. So you are quitting Somali daycare with Indian drug recovery programs? Very scientific observation.
The government has been aware for a long time about the issues wrt Somali daycares. It's their responsibility, and ability, to look into the matters. Guess what happens when they do their jobs? They let the facts speak for themselves. Novel concept?
Deflecting to common citizens seems to be a common theme among the naysayers. Try it and what do you get? A beef with the AGs office and the bias reporting group.
I'll add, any of the people who attempted to look into the matters did a really shitty job at it.
MK I don't believe that politicians want rampant drug addiction and homelessness even though their policies to us seem as if that is their goal. I believe that they suffer from a different type of drug addiction. The drug to which they are addicted is dopamine among other neurotransmitters. When certain groups of Whites engage in altruism chemicals are released inside the brain. They feel virtuous and superior to the evil White Supremacists which include Mr. Tozzer and his Watchdogs. Reality cannot compete against the chemicals produced inside the brain even though they are based upon a false premise.
That describes members of my tribe ( less than 10% of the world population) which in the past was rewarded for empathy. In contrast other tribes operate with their own interest in mind. Somalis and other groups within our borders work in their own interest so their motivation is separate from ours. America did not exist before Europeans arrived. At the time the first European settlement arrived the land was occupied by many violent stone age inhabitants who had no written language. Currently the key to a political victory is to cause Europeans to hate themselves and stop reproducing. Wiser heads than mine believe that the Hart-Celler Act was the beginning of the demise. Others believe that the diminution began with Brown vs Board of Education a decade earlier.
An easy statement without any facts to back it up. Where is this "same place" you speak of so glibly? Present some facts for me to see. You are the one describing something as a scam however it seems to be a gut feeling for you. Unless you present facts this will be my last response to you.
Tony, before you sign off demanding facts, please give facts on your statement, "Well historically Indians have been one of the largest subgroups of humanity easily addicted. And historically white Americans have been the largest receptor of profit from the substances Indians and other Americans have been addicted to"
How have the "White Americans" profited more than the Indians have themselves. Facts and figures please.
Tony, your sentence, "Well historically Indians have been one of the largest subgroups of humanity easily addicted. And historically white Americans have been the largest receptor of profit from the substances Indians and other Americans have been addicted to"
The receptors are also the Tribes themselves. I can't verify who makes the most money off of Indian addiction, but the Tribes themselves are subsidized with grants for Alcohol, Drug, Gambling addictions clinics all the while profiting (without being taxed) off of Alcohol, Dug and Gambling businesses. Hugh profit, no accountability. The Tribes are smart, they make money coming and going. How do you justify that?
Yes Someone Someone if that is your real name I support Ozias because his measures will eventually create failure. Only failure will change the course of our state governments. Why stop an enemy who is attempting to hang himself? I think Sequim needs more learning centers.
LOL "There are no enemies on the left". This is why it is so powerful. On the political right members constantly fight over precise ideological principles and that makes unity impossible. Fox News was mentioned earlier. That makes me laugh because to some of us Fox News is left wing. The reason is because the goal post has been moved within the last five decades.
"Zenobi freely admits he is not an engineer — but the problem doesn’t require credentials to recognize. When the foundation of a newly completed public works project is visibly eroding, questions about construction standards, compaction, and long-term durability are unavoidable."
I know when I saw the video (nor am I an engineer) I was pretty sure the sides were not supposed to disappear up to the guard rails leaving their bases exposed to erosion caused by weather.
I am sad to hear the report that Towne Road may already have some issues, however I am not really surprised because there are countless examples of incompetent or intentionally "engineering failures" all across the US~! While the vast majority of Americans are basically good folks who would never even think of "engineering" a pre-planned failure so that they could in some way profit from it, this has in fact been going on all of the time in plain sight. The long story short, this is a freakish result of criminal corruption in federal, state & local governments that is magnified and coordinated by Unions, corrupt subcontractors, sleazy engineers, and others who have long realized that they can "pre-engineer make work projects" that assure ongoing & future "profits and income". Job security! Many working within these "projects" see what is going on, especially when basic engineering & construction standards are being intentionally violated, but as can be expected, they keep quiet about it because they are making GOBZ of money for remaining silent and of course they can be "unemployed", have their character attacked, suffer vandalism attacks, physically hurt, and even killed if they attempt to disclose what it really going on~! I do understand that my "creepy whining & complaining" here may actually appear to be "paranoia and/or exaggerations" because that is EXACTLY the kind of "Gas Lighting" that these kinds of criminals hide behind, so that the unintelligent and uninformed "useful idiots" are automatically emotionally and more often than not hysterically triggered to "kill the messenger". America, it's time to wake up~! Everyone should well know the term "planned obsolescence" at this point in history, not just because it has been a real term describing a very real "intentionally flawed" manufacturing process so that companies and government can profit from their sick milking machines, but because nearly everything that has been manufactured over the past 20+ years is cheap garbage that can't be repaired and quickly ends up in our landfills. Older manufactured products can often be repaired so they don't have to be thrown into landfills, and most folks know that they not only lasted longer but they even worked better in most cases as well. This is a clue~! Well, my friends, the criminally corrupt governments and all those who work on these "pre-planned engineered failures" are robbing us all blind and the entire world is laughing at how stupid & foolish we (Americans) as a people are because the DOGE Investigations, the VAST corruptions recently publicly revealed in Minnesota (already being investigated right here in Washington State), and even our clearly corrupt US election system is very well known all over the world now~! We are a laughingstock and have been for a very long time~! As I have been a real estate analyst for a long time, I will stop by to take a look at Towne Road to see what is going on there, because one does NOT need to be a "licensed engineer" to have the eyes to see an engineering problem. Additionally, Jeff Tozzer has done a wonderful job of pointing out the racially nepotistic clown show of the Jamestown Tribal government and the cozy little self-serving "Allen cabal", so I feel no need to say much on that subject except that I LOVE Jeff's generous civilized offer to reconsider any of The Watchdog's previous reports and/or claims should honest evidence be submitted that merits any correction! Imagine if the Jamestown government and/or our own local governments made that kind of offer to be open to admitting their "mistakes"~? HA~! The Allen cabal and their lapdog Jimmy the "Stuffer" have had their "Gas Lighting" bluffs called, so what will they do now? Get ready for them engaging in even more incoming ridiculous name calling and insults! Ha~! I wonder what I/we will be called next? I think it would be a hilariously fun addition to The Clallam County Watchdog to start to hold a "contest corner" at the end of every edition where folks can choose exactly how these local criminals will respond to each subject that is reported on~! 1) Deny without any supporting evidence or facts 2) Offer "fake news and fake science" to support their lies & deceptions 3) Blame anyone and everyone but themselves 4) Insult our ancestors 5) Call us all names and/or blame us for things that we never did... Lastly, I am VERY proud of those who have supported and encouraged Chelsea Jones in her defying the odds in a very clearly intentionally rigged system to keep her in despair and misery~! Many of us here in the community have also overcome similar odds to become successful, see the very intentionally "planned engineered failure" of the criminals in our system that thrive upon keeping the homeless, drug addicted, and MANY other American struggling in these criminals never-ending cycle of dysfunction and disaster~! So, congratulations for being strong and Independent enough to help yourself when SO many others were doing their best to keep you down~! America has always loved the good Spirited underdog who prevailed under seemingly impossible odds and by doing so you are a hero and a shining example for all others to follow~! If all Americans were that strong, "we" would sweep the world of these criminals who are nothing but evil leeches sucking the life blood out of everyone~!
Chelsea's post sends a powerful and humbling message to us all. A worthy use of harm reduction funds would be to reproduce her photo and words on billboards and buses.!!! Thank you Chelsea!
The Towne Road conversation keeps drifting into amateur diagnostics, and that’s where things get shaky. Anyone can notice surface erosion after a storm, but that doesn’t mean you can diagnose compaction failure or structural risk from a video clip. The old alignment wasn’t some perfectly functioning road that suddenly “failed.” It was a chronic problem in a floodplain, with repeated washouts and real emergency access issues. The relocation was the long-delayed fix everyone knew was coming.
And in salmon restoration corridors, some erosion is part of the design. The real question is whether what we’re seeing is within engineering expectations, and that my friends is something only the engineers can answer. Treating a phone video like a forensic report doesn’t get us there.
The Blotter Comparison
One of these things is not like the others…The blotter comparison mixes things that don’t belong together. Weekly blotters throw everything into one list: noise complaints, trespassing calls, fireworks, welfare checks, suspicious vehicles, false alarms, and then serious incidents like assaults, domestic violence, DUIs, and injury accidents. They all show up as one line each, but they’re not equivalent.
Noise complaints and trespassing calls aren’t remotely comparable to assaults or domestic violence, and most of those lower-level calls don’t lead to arrests or charges. A week with 52 service calls is not “more crime” than a week with 35 serious offenses. If we want real trends, we need actual crime data, not blotter vibes.
The Appreciation Post
The “selective appreciation” argument only works if you assume every agency is supposed to thank every other agency in every ceremonial post. That’s not how any institution communicates. CCSO thanks CCSO. SPD thanks SPD. The Tribe thanks Tribal Law Enforcement. It’s normal.
Treating a routine internal appreciation post as some kind of slight says more about the critic than the Tribe. Not every recognition message has to be a county-wide group hug.
Charging Decisions
The Kubai case gets flattened into a narrative that ignores how charging decisions actually work. Arrest reports often list multiple ‘potential’ charges, but prosecutors only file what they believe they can actually prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Charges get consolidated, dropped, or never filed because the evidence just doesn’t meet the threshold. That isn’t corruption. That’s the system doing what it’s supposed to do.
If the concern is transparency, then ask for the charging rationale. But implying misconduct every time charges change is just innuendo.
The Name Calling Bit
There’s a real irony here. Jeff says he’s “just sharing his opinion” and “not a journalist,” all the time… but reacts as if any negative opinion about him is out of bounds. If you want the freedom to critique public institutions and private citizens, you don’t get to claim special protection from criticism. Public commentary cuts both ways.
The issue isn’t whether someone likes him. It’s the double standard. You can’t use sharp language about others and then act butt hurt when someone says something unflattering about you.
The Warming Center Analogy
The Healing Clinic comparison only works if you pretend the clinic is a public drop-in space. It isn’t. It has controlled access for a reason. It’s a medical facility serving a specific patient population, many of whom need stability, privacy, and a ‘tightly managed environment’.
A MAT clinic with controlled access and medical protocols is not the same thing as an open-door emergency warming center. If we want to talk about regional shelter capacity, that’s a real conversation. But using the Healing Clinic as proof of hypocrisy is a shortcut that ignores how the facility actually operates.
The 2004 “Warning”
If we’re going to resurrect a 20-year-old warning, the only responsible question is whether any of it came true. And none of it did. The groups pushing those claims lost in court, lost credibility, and eventually collapsed under their own extremism.
There was no collapse of local governance, no tribal takeover, no economic disaster. The warnings didn’t age poorly. They didn’t age at all. They were racialized fear-mongering then, and they remain that now. If we want to understand intergovernmental dynamics today, we should be using current data, not talking points from a defunct hate group.
The Disinformation Framing
The accusations of “disinformation” and “character assassination” aren’t coming out of nowhere. They’re tied to patterns in the writing: selective sourcing, misleading comparisons, insinuation, and stories designed to provoke outrage.
When you repeatedly use incomplete information or biased sources to paint people and institutions in the worst possible light, people are going to call that disinformation. That isn’t censorship. That’s accountability. And if we’re going to use that word, it needs to apply consistently.
Hope, Not Handouts
Chelsea’s story is meaningful. Personal stories always are. But they’re not evidence. They reflect one person’s journey, shaped by their circumstances and where they are in their process. And it doesn’t get better if you collect more of them. You can’t build policy on a single recovery story, and you can’t build it on a dozen either. Anecdotes don’t turn into data just because you stack them. If we’re talking about what works at a population level, we need actual outcomes, not a curated set of individual narratives.
Recovery stories are selective by nature. People who are doing well tend to speak publicly. People who are struggling don’t. And most people succeed because they had access to support: housing, treatment, stability, transportation, community. Those aren’t “handouts.” They’re infrastructure.
If we want to talk about what helps people rebuild their lives, we need real evidence, not stories chosen because they reinforce a preferred narrative.
Did I miss anything? Ah yes, Hurricane Ridge. A perfectly fine public‑information moment.
The commissioners did not answer yesterday's email. Here is today's question:
Dear Commissioners,
Towne Road received awards and was held up as a success, but just over a year after opening, we’re already seeing erosion and visible problems. At what point does the county step back from the praise and do a hard evaluation of whether the project actually worked — and will you share those findings publicly?
All three commissioners can be contacted by emailing the Clerk of the Board at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov
This response models a good-governance approach for commissioners by acknowledging public concerns, grounding evaluation in established scientific and engineering standards, and outlining transparent oversight steps without substituting political judgment for professional assessment.
Dear Constituent,
You asked a fair question about Towne Road: the project received awards and public praise, yet just over a year after opening, visible erosion and performance issues are already apparent. At what point does the County step back from praise and conduct a hard evaluation — and will those findings be shared publicly?
Towne Road is part of the Lower Dungeness River Floodplain Restoration, a multi-agency effort led by Clallam County to reduce flood risk, reconnect historic floodplain, and maintain transportation access (Clallam County, n.d.-a). While elements of the project received professional recognition, those awards reflect aspects of planning, design, and collaboration — not a determination that long-term roadway performance issues will not occur (Shannon & Wilson, 2023).
In active river and floodplain environments, post-construction monitoring and evaluation are expected best practice. Federal and state guidance is explicit that erosion, settlement, and unanticipated performance issues often emerge after opening and must be evaluated against design assumptions and monitoring benchmarks (Federal Highway Administration [FHWA], 2017; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE], 2015). The County’s own project updates acknowledge ongoing monitoring and the potential need for additional surface treatments or corrective work (Clallam County, n.d.-b).
This approach is neither new nor theoretical. Locally, the Jimmycomelately Creek and Estuary “Undevelopment” project provides a long-standing example of restoration science that integrates geomorphic response, ecological outcomes, and adaptive management through structured monitoring (Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, 2003). Contemporary research reinforces this same principle: observable changes such as erosion should trigger structured evaluation and adaptive response, not dismissal or over-reliance on initial project praise (Wohl et al., 2015).
More recent scholarship strengthens this position. Studies combining remote sensing with field data demonstrate that comprehensive, multi-metric monitoring is critical to understanding floodplain restoration performance over time (Roni et al., 2024). Likewise, a 2024 synthesis of stream restoration science emphasizes that transparent monitoring, documented assessment, and adaptive management are essential for credible outcomes and public accountability (Noe et al., 2024).
From a governance standpoint, the point at which the County steps back from praise and conducts a hard evaluation is not dictated by awards or timelines, but by observable performance concerns. Visible erosion warrants documented assessment and a determination of whether issues fall within routine maintenance or indicate the need for corrective action or design review (National Cooperative Highway Research Program [NCHRP], 2014).
As a commissioner, my role is oversight and transparency. In response to concerns raised:
1. I will request a formal post-construction performance update from Public Works.
2. That update should be presented in an open public meeting.
3. Monitoring summaries should be posted publicly, consistent with best practices for publicly funded infrastructure and restoration projects (FHWA, 2017; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2016).
4. Findings should inform future maintenance and design decisions.
Projects succeed not because they are praised, but because performance is evaluated honestly and shared publicly. The question being asked here is not oppositional — it is exactly the kind of civic oversight that strengthens public trust and improves long-term outcomes.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Commissioner of District...
References
Clallam County. (n.d.-a). Lower Dungeness River floodplain restoration.
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/184/Dungeness-Floodplain-Restoration
Clallam County. (n.d.-b). Dungeness Towne Road levee updates.
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/1764/DungenessTowne-Rd-Levee-Updates
Federal Highway Administration. (2017). Post-construction stormwater management in new development and redevelopment. U.S. Department of Transportation.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sustainability/energy/publications/postconstructionstormwater/
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. (2003). The restoration of Jimmycomelately Creek & estuary: The “undevelopment” of Jimmycomelately Creek & estuary.
https://jamestowntribe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/10-jcl-undevelopment.pdf
National Cooperative Highway Research Program. (2014). Performance-based practical design (Report No. 804). Transportation Research Board.
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/22290
Noe, G., Law, N., Berg, J., Filoso, S., Drescher, S., Fraley-McNeal, L., … Thompson, T. (2024). The state of the science and practice of stream restoration: Lessons learned to inform better implementation, assessment, and outcomes (STAC Publication 24-006). Chesapeake Bay Program Science & Technical Advisory Committee.
https://www.chesapeake.org/stac/document-library/the-state-of-the-science-and-practice-of-stream-restoration-in-the-chesapeake-lessons-learned-to-inform-better-implementation-assessment-and-outcomes/
Roni, P., Burgess, S., Ross, K., Clark, C. L., & Camp, M. J. (2024). Evaluation of floodplain restoration projects in the interior Columbia River basin using a combination of remote sensing and field data. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 82. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0337
Shannon & Wilson, Inc. (2023). Lower Dungeness River floodplain restoration receives ACEC engineering excellence award.
https://www.shannonwilson.com/news/288961
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (2015). Engineering and design: Slope stability (EM 1110-2-1902).
https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/Publications/EngineerManuals/EM_1110-2-1902.pdf
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). Guidelines for ecological restoration monitoring.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-04/documents/ecological-restoration-monitoring.pdf
Wohl, E., Lane, S. N., & Wilcox, A. C. (2015). The science and practice of river restoration. Water Resources Research, 51(8), 5974–5997. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016874
God bless you Chelsea , and thank you for telling your story, may it give the hope others need to regain their life.
Not to be missed, the underlining theme she keeps bolstering is accountability to oneself. She isn't asking us to love her so that she can be strong, she clearly lays that responsibility on herself.
For that reason, she's awesome., and the kind of self-determined person society needs.
This is the whole "boot-strap" theory some like to blunt while not being able to explain how people actually get ahead under the same circumstances while others fail.
It may be a tad early on the transparency accolades for the Hurricane Ridge day lodge project. The rebuild of the Olympic Hot Springs Road began with public comment but withered and quietly died without public notice during the tribal consultation phase. It remains dead.
BTW, the cause of the fire that burned down the day lodge was investigated and unresolved. The investigation made no mention of an appointed National Park Service Contracting Officers Technical Representative or Chief of Maintenance overseeing any aspect of the project for safety. Yet recharging of lithium batteries, a suspected cause of that fire, did not get inspected or called out by NPS representatives. The only two NPS employees mentioned in the report drove up to take water samples and check the restrooms.
The upcoming meeting for day lodge input is funded by a donation from the Washington National Park Association. That leads me to think that none of the funds allocated by Congress to rebuild the lodge have yet been released. When will that happen? Is it a sure thing?
Wow, great points. Thanks for explaining the historical context of the Olympic Hot Springs Road.
https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=84555
Good call. The proof is in the pudding, but what we know about "listening sessions" is that like CRC Commissioner Pickett illustrated time and time again, it's an opportunity to size up any opposition and then craft a response. All that we can do is see how it goes.
The format of public meetings has morphed over the years by design. Breaking people out into small groups before numerous whiteboards placed around the meeting room with various staff members jotting down piblic comments prevents any question/answer periods where an official has to think on their feet. It dilutes responsibility or leadership role and prevents provocative ideas from being heard by the entire audience.
I can see the initial need to break out, as in too many people show up and all it takes is one blowhard to sideline everyone's time for matters they don't care about. However, as ideas mature, then I can see the value in a follow-up where leadership needs to be accountable.
Inside complex systems the goal is often more Machiavellian in nature. My experience indicates that the goal of most leaders is to avoid accountability. Managers quickly learn how to skew the numbers. In the old days called the habit "fast penciling". This is why I don't trust statistics and studies.
One trick is to give an employee a task so horrendous that it cannot succeed. If he obeys the rules his next performance review will receive an F grade. If he ignores it he will achieve an A on the next review. The employee is also competing against other employees who also ignore the new rules. The framework is a similar inverse form of "The Prisoner's Dilemma". If everyone disobeys the new procedure but the numbers show improvement the incompetent manager claims success even though nobody obeyed. The key is to avoid close management that would detect disobedience.
I worked for a giant corporation for 25 years and I quickly discovered that our mission was not the primary agenda. The agenda was for incompetent mid and upper-level managers to maintain power. Political ambitions triumphed over competence. Incompetent upper level managers were constantly transferred in order to hide the results of their bad decisions.
Steve O. I too have seen how "climbing the ladder" involves selling your soul. The last person who I was involved with, was forced to lie about her fellow employees who she was close too at work (and after work friendships) to retain her newly acquired position. She unfortunately chose to sell her soul and retain her position....short term though, she was thrown to the wolves by the next one who was climbing the ladder (a fellow friend). Was she competent for the position? No, but she did do as they asked? Yes.
Thanks for providing that interesting description and presenting the paradox. Your former acquaintance must have placed a very high value upon her position at work. My experience indicates that many employees are not competent for their roles. Compliance is not enough in the corporate world. Even if I were willing to abandon ethics, I have always lacked the skill to "work the system" the way my collogues did. My lack of self-esteem was both a disadvantage and advantage depending on the situation.
Many years ago when I occupied the dating circuit, I always watched the behavior of my date at a restaurant. An important measure of a person is indicated by the behavior directed at a person occupying a lower station in life which is a waiter. This indicates a general philosophy about people. Are most humans receptacles to be utilized according to their benefit? I hope that I don't sound like a pathological leftist.
Team-work was valued above all other elements. The white boards bring back terrible memories. I was asked to remain after a meeting was concluded and only I and my boss remained. My supervisor used the white board to draw a picture of me and a picture of the ideal employee. The ideal employee was named "the player" and my picture was "the player hater". He presented a false dichotomy but his basic assumption was correct even though the motivation was not. My response was caustic, "but General Picket I don't believe that we should march across that open field". He didn't understand the civil war reference.
Steve O. I only hope Ozias will remember and suffer for his misdeeds when all the glory is way past him. Old age and retirement has a way of reflections we never counted on in later years.
I hope so also Jennifer. You, Jeff and the other members of this site probably understand his character better than I. If he is a narcissist his strong defense mechanisms may not allow reflections that present a threat to his ego. There must be millions of humans with similar traits. We don't always recognize them because they wear psychological masks.
That fire was very suspicious. Fires are not magic. There is always a cause whether the cause is stupidity or direct arson. Often stupidity is mislabeled as an accident. Improper management of a system is an indirect form of stupidity. Why were lithium batteries alleged to be the cause? If they were the cause who was charging them. Were they defective or overcharged? Very often within social structures and systems managers do not wish to see answers revealed because it reflects upon their ability to lead properly. This is the reason "accidents" happen. In the corporate world the common expression is CYA ( cover your ass ).
What are the odds that a lithium battery is not only defective but it catches fire near combustible materials inside a building with no alarm system or sprinkler system? A million to one?
Calling people names, Mr. and Ms. Allen, without factually addressing the issues in question or engaging in intellectual debate, is how one knows the onion is being peeled back and the questions being raised are hitting close to home. Perhaps you'd like to come on a forum that actually asks pointed, not softball, questions like CCWD, and state your case?
Good morning Jeff and Doggers,
It's concerning when the commissioners keep handing over more projects to the JST Corporation when they haven't shown the expertise to earn these awarded projects. Harm reduction is a farce and funds more problems than it helps... as long as Mark's tribal bosses get their cut, it's going to be hard to get Mark off the Harm soap box.
Have s great day and please take time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings!
Thank you for the potpourri, Jeff. Especially Chelsea's update. She has come a long way and I pray for continued joy in her life. Jim Stoffer can whine and complain about CCWD to his ND and FB friends, but we, who have witnessed him in action, know the real Jim Stoffer. The Safe Parking zone at TUMC is a microcosmic example of how Stoffer, Ozias, and crew waste money and pat themselves on their backs for doing it so efficiently.
Denise, Chelsea is short list of successes. NOT by us, but because she chose to live. Harm Reduction disgusts me, so does Jim Stoffer.
Once again Jennifer we have reached total agreement. We both agree that Jim Stoffer is repulsive both physically and intellectually. If he claims to be a communist, then I do not need to elaborate further. The concept of "Harm Reduction" actually causes more harm. I believe that Narcan should be illegal. Society needs to cull the herd.
while those asking questions are met with insults instead of answers. --- What you do when you have no answers. We see it on a daily basis all over.
The minute anyone starts insulting you realize they know nothing.
There are intelligent anti-WD responses where facts are presented. I'm not saying that I agree with them necessarily, but it's better than the baseless nonsensical reactions.
Kristin, I kinda agree, but I can't help but "insult" at times. Emotions are a big driving factor with frustrations. It goes both ways ; )
I enjoy insulting people I do not like.
:(
Kristin the insult was not only performance art but also diversion. The activity is more political than DNA.
Ad homonym attacks are a very clever distraction away from the original area of discussion. They are part of a process called transference utilized by people with a subject they believe should be hidden.
First, Ron Allen dismissed concerned citizens as “complainers and whiners.” Now, his niece Paula Allen has added “creep” to the vocabulary. ---- The blind leading the blind.
I question the business she has. Is it a grift for more tax dollars?
Tribal MAT clinics seem to be a normal thing in Washington . Could it be because they are so lucrative? And with the tribes NGO status, un trackable? I see Puyallup tribe has at least two. Maybe more. Wonder how many other tribes are in on the grift. After finding out about the Somoli scams. Raping and defrauding every government program possible. And sending the money back to their sovereign country. While contributing to the Democrats in office. Similarities are glaring.
The MAT market was valued at USD 10.42 BILLION in 2024 and was expected to reach USD 31.19 BILLION by 2037...prescribing is expanding, treatment duration expanding, patient volume expanding, prices maintained or increased.(Medication Market Size & Share, ResearchNester, 2037 projections)
A specialized clinic with 50 patients generates 1.25 to 1.75 million annually.
So, plenty of grifting off human misery to go around.
Wow. Wonder how much of that is being laundered through all the Indian tribes of America?
The dot Indian tribes will purchase motels and convenience marts and I predict they will prosper because of their outcome in India. That is why so many of them study so hard. They have witnessed life in a third world country. The tribes that Columbus thought were Indians will also be compensated because we oppressed them when we stole their land and improved the value
Where was my free lunch when I attended those retirement seminars? Why am I always last in every new scam?
IMO NGO's should not exist. They are antagonistic to prosperity. Some groups are only equipped to contend with a short-term time horizon.
Glaring at Fox a bit too much? Do your own influencer investigation.
Not influencer inclined. But I have been doing a little checking. I'm up to 12 Indian mat clinics in Washington and it's probably only half of them. What a scam. Going on the possible rates per visit Jeff has posted. Probably easier money than a casino.
MAT market in 2024 worth over 10 billion with growth projected
It is disturbing that county elected officials would approve permits that would allow mat clinics which just attract drug addicts from wherever to take advantage of freebies and loiter around towns to do what?If JKT thought the sequim mat clinic was such a good idea then why was it not built by their casino or golf course or longhouse.This is where permit approvers should have suggested where the permit would only be good for.
They not only approved it. They paid for it with your tax dollars. In the case of the Sequim clinic. $17 million. And pay the tribe to run it. Jeff says they are allowed to charge up to $719 per visit. And the junkies are allowed up to 5 visits a day.
Lloyd, defies the laws of consumption doesn't it?
Well historically Indians have been one of the largest subgroups of humanity easily addicted. And historically white Americans have been the largest receptor of profit from the substances Indians and other Americans have been addicted to. Personally I'm glad that there are addiction clinics. So you are quitting Somali daycare with Indian drug recovery programs? Very scientific observation.
The government has been aware for a long time about the issues wrt Somali daycares. It's their responsibility, and ability, to look into the matters. Guess what happens when they do their jobs? They let the facts speak for themselves. Novel concept?
Deflecting to common citizens seems to be a common theme among the naysayers. Try it and what do you get? A beef with the AGs office and the bias reporting group.
I'll add, any of the people who attempted to look into the matters did a really shitty job at it.
MK I don't believe that politicians want rampant drug addiction and homelessness even though their policies to us seem as if that is their goal. I believe that they suffer from a different type of drug addiction. The drug to which they are addicted is dopamine among other neurotransmitters. When certain groups of Whites engage in altruism chemicals are released inside the brain. They feel virtuous and superior to the evil White Supremacists which include Mr. Tozzer and his Watchdogs. Reality cannot compete against the chemicals produced inside the brain even though they are based upon a false premise.
I think that you're correct here.
Me thinks you give them to much credit. Just a bunch of greedy and power hungry bastards trying and succeeding to further their communist plan.
That describes members of my tribe ( less than 10% of the world population) which in the past was rewarded for empathy. In contrast other tribes operate with their own interest in mind. Somalis and other groups within our borders work in their own interest so their motivation is separate from ours. America did not exist before Europeans arrived. At the time the first European settlement arrived the land was occupied by many violent stone age inhabitants who had no written language. Currently the key to a political victory is to cause Europeans to hate themselves and stop reproducing. Wiser heads than mine believe that the Hart-Celler Act was the beginning of the demise. Others believe that the diminution began with Brown vs Board of Education a decade earlier.
Follow the money. All leads to the same place. You have eyes but can't or don't want to see.
An easy statement without any facts to back it up. Where is this "same place" you speak of so glibly? Present some facts for me to see. You are the one describing something as a scam however it seems to be a gut feeling for you. Unless you present facts this will be my last response to you.
Tony, before you sign off demanding facts, please give facts on your statement, "Well historically Indians have been one of the largest subgroups of humanity easily addicted. And historically white Americans have been the largest receptor of profit from the substances Indians and other Americans have been addicted to"
How have the "White Americans" profited more than the Indians have themselves. Facts and figures please.
Please, do tell us your facts to back up your comments? Especially your 'historical' facts.
Same place? It's obvious to anyone that gives a shit where there tax dollars are being spent.
Tony, your sentence, "Well historically Indians have been one of the largest subgroups of humanity easily addicted. And historically white Americans have been the largest receptor of profit from the substances Indians and other Americans have been addicted to"
The receptors are also the Tribes themselves. I can't verify who makes the most money off of Indian addiction, but the Tribes themselves are subsidized with grants for Alcohol, Drug, Gambling addictions clinics all the while profiting (without being taxed) off of Alcohol, Dug and Gambling businesses. Hugh profit, no accountability. The Tribes are smart, they make money coming and going. How do you justify that?
Tony, I glare at Fox, what is your reference? Tell me and I could probably throw the same sentence back at you.
Interesting that Stoffer refers to the county commissioner as “Com Ozias,” Comrade Ozias.
Yes Someone Someone if that is your real name I support Ozias because his measures will eventually create failure. Only failure will change the course of our state governments. Why stop an enemy who is attempting to hang himself? I think Sequim needs more learning centers.
Former Charter Review Commissioner Jim Stoffer stepped in to defend Commissioner Ozias -- You could knock me over with a feather :D
It's done without thought, a reaction he can't control.
LOL Yep
LOL "There are no enemies on the left". This is why it is so powerful. On the political right members constantly fight over precise ideological principles and that makes unity impossible. Fox News was mentioned earlier. That makes me laugh because to some of us Fox News is left wing. The reason is because the goal post has been moved within the last five decades.
So not understand what this has to do with my comment about Stoffer defending Ozias.
"Zenobi freely admits he is not an engineer — but the problem doesn’t require credentials to recognize. When the foundation of a newly completed public works project is visibly eroding, questions about construction standards, compaction, and long-term durability are unavoidable."
...exactly...
I know when I saw the video (nor am I an engineer) I was pretty sure the sides were not supposed to disappear up to the guard rails leaving their bases exposed to erosion caused by weather.
Just used logic and it makes no sense.
I am sad to hear the report that Towne Road may already have some issues, however I am not really surprised because there are countless examples of incompetent or intentionally "engineering failures" all across the US~! While the vast majority of Americans are basically good folks who would never even think of "engineering" a pre-planned failure so that they could in some way profit from it, this has in fact been going on all of the time in plain sight. The long story short, this is a freakish result of criminal corruption in federal, state & local governments that is magnified and coordinated by Unions, corrupt subcontractors, sleazy engineers, and others who have long realized that they can "pre-engineer make work projects" that assure ongoing & future "profits and income". Job security! Many working within these "projects" see what is going on, especially when basic engineering & construction standards are being intentionally violated, but as can be expected, they keep quiet about it because they are making GOBZ of money for remaining silent and of course they can be "unemployed", have their character attacked, suffer vandalism attacks, physically hurt, and even killed if they attempt to disclose what it really going on~! I do understand that my "creepy whining & complaining" here may actually appear to be "paranoia and/or exaggerations" because that is EXACTLY the kind of "Gas Lighting" that these kinds of criminals hide behind, so that the unintelligent and uninformed "useful idiots" are automatically emotionally and more often than not hysterically triggered to "kill the messenger". America, it's time to wake up~! Everyone should well know the term "planned obsolescence" at this point in history, not just because it has been a real term describing a very real "intentionally flawed" manufacturing process so that companies and government can profit from their sick milking machines, but because nearly everything that has been manufactured over the past 20+ years is cheap garbage that can't be repaired and quickly ends up in our landfills. Older manufactured products can often be repaired so they don't have to be thrown into landfills, and most folks know that they not only lasted longer but they even worked better in most cases as well. This is a clue~! Well, my friends, the criminally corrupt governments and all those who work on these "pre-planned engineered failures" are robbing us all blind and the entire world is laughing at how stupid & foolish we (Americans) as a people are because the DOGE Investigations, the VAST corruptions recently publicly revealed in Minnesota (already being investigated right here in Washington State), and even our clearly corrupt US election system is very well known all over the world now~! We are a laughingstock and have been for a very long time~! As I have been a real estate analyst for a long time, I will stop by to take a look at Towne Road to see what is going on there, because one does NOT need to be a "licensed engineer" to have the eyes to see an engineering problem. Additionally, Jeff Tozzer has done a wonderful job of pointing out the racially nepotistic clown show of the Jamestown Tribal government and the cozy little self-serving "Allen cabal", so I feel no need to say much on that subject except that I LOVE Jeff's generous civilized offer to reconsider any of The Watchdog's previous reports and/or claims should honest evidence be submitted that merits any correction! Imagine if the Jamestown government and/or our own local governments made that kind of offer to be open to admitting their "mistakes"~? HA~! The Allen cabal and their lapdog Jimmy the "Stuffer" have had their "Gas Lighting" bluffs called, so what will they do now? Get ready for them engaging in even more incoming ridiculous name calling and insults! Ha~! I wonder what I/we will be called next? I think it would be a hilariously fun addition to The Clallam County Watchdog to start to hold a "contest corner" at the end of every edition where folks can choose exactly how these local criminals will respond to each subject that is reported on~! 1) Deny without any supporting evidence or facts 2) Offer "fake news and fake science" to support their lies & deceptions 3) Blame anyone and everyone but themselves 4) Insult our ancestors 5) Call us all names and/or blame us for things that we never did... Lastly, I am VERY proud of those who have supported and encouraged Chelsea Jones in her defying the odds in a very clearly intentionally rigged system to keep her in despair and misery~! Many of us here in the community have also overcome similar odds to become successful, see the very intentionally "planned engineered failure" of the criminals in our system that thrive upon keeping the homeless, drug addicted, and MANY other American struggling in these criminals never-ending cycle of dysfunction and disaster~! So, congratulations for being strong and Independent enough to help yourself when SO many others were doing their best to keep you down~! America has always loved the good Spirited underdog who prevailed under seemingly impossible odds and by doing so you are a hero and a shining example for all others to follow~! If all Americans were that strong, "we" would sweep the world of these criminals who are nothing but evil leeches sucking the life blood out of everyone~!
Cheers~!
Mike
GO Chelsea GO!!
Chelsea's post sends a powerful and humbling message to us all. A worthy use of harm reduction funds would be to reproduce her photo and words on billboards and buses.!!! Thank you Chelsea!
Fair warning: this is long, but it needs to be.
Towne Road
The Towne Road conversation keeps drifting into amateur diagnostics, and that’s where things get shaky. Anyone can notice surface erosion after a storm, but that doesn’t mean you can diagnose compaction failure or structural risk from a video clip. The old alignment wasn’t some perfectly functioning road that suddenly “failed.” It was a chronic problem in a floodplain, with repeated washouts and real emergency access issues. The relocation was the long-delayed fix everyone knew was coming.
And in salmon restoration corridors, some erosion is part of the design. The real question is whether what we’re seeing is within engineering expectations, and that my friends is something only the engineers can answer. Treating a phone video like a forensic report doesn’t get us there.
The Blotter Comparison
One of these things is not like the others…The blotter comparison mixes things that don’t belong together. Weekly blotters throw everything into one list: noise complaints, trespassing calls, fireworks, welfare checks, suspicious vehicles, false alarms, and then serious incidents like assaults, domestic violence, DUIs, and injury accidents. They all show up as one line each, but they’re not equivalent.
Noise complaints and trespassing calls aren’t remotely comparable to assaults or domestic violence, and most of those lower-level calls don’t lead to arrests or charges. A week with 52 service calls is not “more crime” than a week with 35 serious offenses. If we want real trends, we need actual crime data, not blotter vibes.
The Appreciation Post
The “selective appreciation” argument only works if you assume every agency is supposed to thank every other agency in every ceremonial post. That’s not how any institution communicates. CCSO thanks CCSO. SPD thanks SPD. The Tribe thanks Tribal Law Enforcement. It’s normal.
Treating a routine internal appreciation post as some kind of slight says more about the critic than the Tribe. Not every recognition message has to be a county-wide group hug.
Charging Decisions
The Kubai case gets flattened into a narrative that ignores how charging decisions actually work. Arrest reports often list multiple ‘potential’ charges, but prosecutors only file what they believe they can actually prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Charges get consolidated, dropped, or never filed because the evidence just doesn’t meet the threshold. That isn’t corruption. That’s the system doing what it’s supposed to do.
If the concern is transparency, then ask for the charging rationale. But implying misconduct every time charges change is just innuendo.
The Name Calling Bit
There’s a real irony here. Jeff says he’s “just sharing his opinion” and “not a journalist,” all the time… but reacts as if any negative opinion about him is out of bounds. If you want the freedom to critique public institutions and private citizens, you don’t get to claim special protection from criticism. Public commentary cuts both ways.
The issue isn’t whether someone likes him. It’s the double standard. You can’t use sharp language about others and then act butt hurt when someone says something unflattering about you.
The Warming Center Analogy
The Healing Clinic comparison only works if you pretend the clinic is a public drop-in space. It isn’t. It has controlled access for a reason. It’s a medical facility serving a specific patient population, many of whom need stability, privacy, and a ‘tightly managed environment’.
A MAT clinic with controlled access and medical protocols is not the same thing as an open-door emergency warming center. If we want to talk about regional shelter capacity, that’s a real conversation. But using the Healing Clinic as proof of hypocrisy is a shortcut that ignores how the facility actually operates.
The 2004 “Warning”
If we’re going to resurrect a 20-year-old warning, the only responsible question is whether any of it came true. And none of it did. The groups pushing those claims lost in court, lost credibility, and eventually collapsed under their own extremism.
There was no collapse of local governance, no tribal takeover, no economic disaster. The warnings didn’t age poorly. They didn’t age at all. They were racialized fear-mongering then, and they remain that now. If we want to understand intergovernmental dynamics today, we should be using current data, not talking points from a defunct hate group.
The Disinformation Framing
The accusations of “disinformation” and “character assassination” aren’t coming out of nowhere. They’re tied to patterns in the writing: selective sourcing, misleading comparisons, insinuation, and stories designed to provoke outrage.
When you repeatedly use incomplete information or biased sources to paint people and institutions in the worst possible light, people are going to call that disinformation. That isn’t censorship. That’s accountability. And if we’re going to use that word, it needs to apply consistently.
Hope, Not Handouts
Chelsea’s story is meaningful. Personal stories always are. But they’re not evidence. They reflect one person’s journey, shaped by their circumstances and where they are in their process. And it doesn’t get better if you collect more of them. You can’t build policy on a single recovery story, and you can’t build it on a dozen either. Anecdotes don’t turn into data just because you stack them. If we’re talking about what works at a population level, we need actual outcomes, not a curated set of individual narratives.
Recovery stories are selective by nature. People who are doing well tend to speak publicly. People who are struggling don’t. And most people succeed because they had access to support: housing, treatment, stability, transportation, community. Those aren’t “handouts.” They’re infrastructure.
If we want to talk about what helps people rebuild their lives, we need real evidence, not stories chosen because they reinforce a preferred narrative.
Did I miss anything? Ah yes, Hurricane Ridge. A perfectly fine public‑information moment.