The commissioners did not answer yesterday's question about discussions with the Jamestown Tribe regarding lodging taxes. Here is today's email:
Dear Commissioners,
Before any further private discussions occur, will the Board commit to a public town hall on the future of the Dungeness Recreation Area—and release the actual numbers: how much revenue the park generates from camping and day use, what it costs to operate, and what gaps exist? Given that residents only learned of these talks through public records requests, why weren’t these figures and potential solutions discussed publicly before exploring the transfer of a public park to a major campaign donor?
Modeled below is how an individual county commissioner could respond—anchored in law, public process, and the limits of individual authority.
Dear Constituent,
Your question raises legitimate governance concerns and deserves a clear, process-based answer.
As an individual commissioner, I do not have authority to negotiate, commit, or imply County action regarding a county park. Authority over county property rests with the Board acting collectively in an open public meeting (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 36.32.300). The Open Public Meetings Act applies not only to final votes but also to deliberations and discussions related to official business and is interpreted liberally in favor of openness (RCW 42.30.020(3); RCW 42.30.030; Cathcart v. Andersen, 85 Wn.2d 102, 1975).
With respect to engagement involving the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, it is important to be precise. Tribes are sovereign governments, not stakeholders. Engagement occurs under a government-to-government framework grounded in federal and Washington law and is not interchangeable with operational or fiscal discussions (U.S. Const. art. VI; Worcester v. Georgia, 1832; United States v. Washington, 1974; RCW 43.376.020).
That sovereignty has practical legal implications. Under long-standing federal precedent, tribes are immune from suit unless sovereign immunity is expressly waived in writing, and courts do not infer such waivers based on fairness or public benefit (Kiowa Tribe v. Manufacturing Technologies, 1998; Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, 2014). Where a tribe clearly agrees to dispute-resolution and enforcement provisions, courts will enforce those terms as written (C & L Enterprises v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribe, 2001). For counties, this means that any intergovernmental agreement must be explicit about authority, scope, remedies, and exit terms before it can responsibly be approved.
You are also right to expect transparency before policy options are explored. Best practices in public-asset governance call for public disclosure of baseline financial information—revenues, operating costs, capital needs, and funding gaps—before alternatives are considered (GFOA, 2019; Washington State Auditor’s Office, n.d.). Federal internal-control standards similarly emphasize clear authority and transparency before action involving public resources (GAO-20-540G, 2020).
Whether a town hall is the appropriate forum is a board-level decision, but the principle is sound: residents should not need public records requests to understand what is being contemplated with a public asset. Board direction first, staff work second, and public visibility throughout is the sequencing that protects public trust (MRSC, n.d.).
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
Reference
Cathcart v. Andersen, 85 Wn.2d 102 (1975).
C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 532 U.S. 411 (2001).
Government Accountability Office. (2020). Standards for internal control in the federal government (GAO-20-540G). https://www.gao.gov
Government Finance Officers Association. (2019). Best practices in public asset management. https://www.gfoa.org
Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751 (1998).
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, 572 U.S. 782 (2014).
Municipal Research and Services Center. (n.d.). Open Public Meetings Act and governing body roles. https://mrsc.org
Thank you for the explanation. I appreciate the clarity around individual versus board authority and the importance of government-to-government process.
My follow-up question is this: what specific safeguards would the Board require before authorizing any intergovernmental agreement involving a county park? In particular, what commitments would be made to ensure (1) clear limits on scope and authority, (2) public access and public financial transparency, and (3) enforceable exit or unwind provisions if an agreement does not work as intended?
I’m not asking the Board to pre-decide outcomes, but I do want to understand what standards must be met before staff are directed to explore options at all—so residents know what protections are in place before conversations move forward.
Thank you for naming what accountability should look like going forward. I agree that clarity on process commitments matters before any options are explored.
Speaking for myself as an individual commissioner, these are the standards I would insist on before supporting any staff exploration involving a county park or other public asset:
No staff exploration without public board direction.
Staff should not explore, discuss, or signal intent regarding public land absent explicit direction from the Board acting in an open public meeting (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 36.32.300; RCW 42.30.020(3)).
Financial facts before alternatives.
Baseline information—revenues, operating costs, capital needs, and funding gaps—should be presented publicly before policy options are discussed, consistent with public-asset governance and audit standards (Government Finance Officers Association [GFOA], 2019; Washington State Auditor’s Office [SAO], n.d.; Government Accountability Office [GAO], 2020).
Written guardrails before conversations begin.
Any authorization to staff should be bounded in writing, including scope, limits on authority, and a requirement to return to the Board before negotiations or commitments occur (Municipal Research and Services Center [MRSC], n.d.).
Protection of public access unless changed by public vote.
Public access to county assets should not be reduced or altered without a separate, explicit Board action taken in public.
Plain-language disclosure of legal limits.
Where agreements involve a sovereign tribal government, residents should be informed in advance about jurisdiction, dispute resolution, and the practical implications of sovereign immunity, which courts do not imply or override absent clear waiver (Kiowa Tribe v. Manufacturing Technologies, 1998; C & L Enterprises v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribe, 2001).
Defined term, exit, and unwind provisions.
I would not support any agreement lacking a defined term, termination rights, and a clear unwind plan that protects county assets and public interests.
Open deliberation throughout.
Deliberations and discussions related to official business belong in public, not just final votes, and the Open Public Meetings Act is interpreted liberally in favor of openness (Cathcart v. Andersen, 1975; RCW 42.30.030).
These are not outcome commitments; they are governance commitments. If the Board follows this sequencing—standards first, staff work second, public visibility throughout—residents can evaluate proposals on their merits rather than on speculation about intent or influence.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
Reference
Cathcart v. Andersen, 85 Wn.2d 102 (1975).
C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 532 U.S. 411 (2001).
Government Accountability Office. (2020). Standards for internal control in the federal government (GAO-20-540G). https://www.gao.gov
Government Finance Officers Association. (2019). Best practices in public asset management. https://www.gfoa.org
Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751 (1998).
Municipal Research and Services Center. (n.d.). Open Public Meetings Act and governing body roles. https://mrsc.org
Public assets are held in trust; good intentions do not replace clear authority, lawful process, or public consent.
Good governance isn’t about stopping conversations—it’s about sequencing them correctly. When public assets, multiple jurisdictions, and sovereign governments intersect, clarity about authority, process, and limits isn’t a technical detail; it’s the substance of public trust.
If this issue has done anything useful, it’s highlighted an opportunity: to model how county leadership can explore hard questions in the open, with clear board direction, clear jurisdictional boundaries, and clear respect for tribal sovereignty from the start. That’s how collaboration becomes durable instead of divisive.
This isn’t about this park alone. It’s about setting a pattern the public can recognize and rely on next time.
Evaluated through a good-governance lens, Commissioner Mark Ozias’s letter deserves credit for several things: it clearly explains real county fiscal pressures, avoids pre-deciding outcomes, and states that any actual changes would require public discussion and board involvement.
Where governance concerns arise, it is not motive but process and jurisdiction. The letter describes staff-level exploration of partnership ideas involving a county park before formal board direction, and it references county land, federal land, and a sovereign tribal government without clearly separating where county authority applies and where it does not.
Those distinctions matter. When public assets and multiple jurisdictions intersect, clarity about authority, sequencing, and consultation is what protects public trust and all parties involved.
No decisions have been made, and no authority has been exercised regarding this county park. As an individual commissioner, I do not have the authority to transfer, lease, or encumber public property. Any such action would require formal board approval in an open public meeting, supported by legal analysis and public input (RCW 36.32; RCW 42.30).
This park is a county asset. Separately, the adjacent wildlife refuge is federally managed, and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is a sovereign government. Engagement with tribal governments follows a distinct government-to-government framework and is not interchangeable with operational or fiscal partnerships (RCW 43.376; U.S. Const. art. VI).
At this stage, the only appropriate question is whether there are lawful, transparent coordination opportunities worth bringing to the full board for public discussion. If there are not, the conversation ends. Public access, public control, and public accountability are non-negotiable.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
References
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 36.32—County legislative authority.
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 42.30—Open Public Meetings Act.
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 43.376—Government-to-government relations with tribes.
Thank you for explaining that. My concern is this:
If staff conversations can start before the board gives direction, how does the public know when a “conversation” becomes a real proposal? And how can residents be confident that county authority isn’t being implied or exercised before the public ever sees it?
That’s a fair question, and it gets to the heart of good governance.
The line should be clear: exploration involving public assets should not occur without board direction, because even informal activity can signal intent. The board’s role is to publicly set that direction, define boundaries, and ensure jurisdictional limits are respected from the outset.
When that sequencing is followed—board authority first, staff work second, public visibility throughout—it protects residents, staff, tribal partners, and the County itself. That clarity is not an obstacle to collaboration; it’s what makes collaboration legitimate and durable.
Process. On the surface it appears that our County Commissioners only have one solution for funding problems; increase property taxes. My suggestion is to look at the spending. We are spending money on projects that are not performing well. 1. Harm Reduction. Doesn't work. 2. Fish channels. Unnecessary. 3. Housing for the homeless. Way too expensive and poorly managed. 4. Ferries. Poorly designed, built out of state, too expensive. 5. Road and Bridge maintenance. Neglected over the years. 6. Try repeat criminals once, put them in jail, and keep them there. Probably many other projects could be reduced or eliminated entirely. By first examining the spending we might find ways to improve our budget. Bottom line. Do not sell irreplaceable county assets. Co-management is not co-ownership. Leasing properties retains ownership. Focus on spending wisely.
Sheldon—thank you. I agree with your bottom line on public assets: “co-management isn’t co-ownership,” and any change to a county park must be board-authorized and publicly visible (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 42.30.020(3)).
One nuance that’s easy to miss in county budgeting: many items that look like “county spending” are restricted state/federal dollars or program-specific funds that can’t legally be repurposed to lower taxes or fund unrelated priorities. If the County declines them, it often just loses the funds and the service rather than “saving money” (RCW 43.09.210; Washington State Auditor’s Office, n.d.; Government Accountability Office, 2020).
If helpful, I’ll add a second reply that breaks down your list by funding source, and how residents can push for better performance using evidence-based frameworks rather than an all-or-nothing “cut it” approach.
This is the matter exactly. I'll be careful to show my outrage because someone took my tin foil hat and now I have to be reasonable.
This matter is fundamental to how government is supposed to operate. The mere suggestion by Commissioner Ozias, that without approval of the board, county employees should explore the opportunities is incredible given how long he has been a Commissioner.
Ozias deserves sancture by Commissioners French and Johnson just for the suggestion. Absent that they all should discuss this in an open meeting and come to an agreement about how the county will move forward.
Thanks, MK! I appreciate the clarity you’re naming here. From a governance standpoint, the goal isn’t sanction—it’s alignment. Clear board direction, followed by staff action, protects everyone involved and keeps collaboration legitimate. When the process is right, the outcomes tend to take care of themselves.
I like that framing. A hard helmet is a good metaphor for governance—structures and sequencing that protect staff, partners, and the public while hard questions are explored in the open.
MK. I am attempting to find an alternative to the tin hat. I am working on a solar panel approach, especially for those bald citizens. Sun power and sun protection all in one. My problem currently is a lack of battery connections. Can't seem to recharge the brain. Replacement has other difficulties.
Dr. Sarah’s posting brings to mind Don Quixote, though in reverse. She is not chasing illusions, but revealing them, righting wrongs not through futility or feeling, but by using the very statutes and rules that govern government.
The books that govern government, clear and straightforward, hands down. Commissioner Ozias presents words absent of intellect, substituting misdirection for substance. That contrast brings clarity, and clarity makes writing a factual, grounded letter far easier.
Thank you, Paula. One of the strengths of public process is that it gives us a common language—law, authority, and sequencing—so even difficult issues can be discussed without becoming personal. That’s the standard worth keeping.
Here's my rub in the Ozias form letter, discussions about a potential park transfer notwithstanding. He whines about fiscal difficulties and blames them in no small measure on county property owners rejecting increased property taxes because "inflation." How about this suggestion? +/- 70% of the county budget is personnel costs. Instead of continually incrementally increasing the size of the salaried and benefited county workforce, let's reduce the size of government by 10% to start with, then go from there. How about eliminating feel-good expenses like the poet laureate, stop funding black hole programs like Harm Reduction, and seriously reduce any and all funding to NGOs that operate as a shadow government with no accountability to the voters? Oh, and instead of offering a county jewel to JKT, how about asking them to, as the progressives like to say, instead pay their fair share?
The mix of funding sources isn't easy for me to follow. I've heard that programs like the poet laureate are partially funded directly from the county, $1,000, and that the NOLS funds the remainder. Here's the joke, the NOLS is a junior taxing district, so yes, we all still pay $10,000 annually for the poet laureate, it's just that the commissioners can feign they aren't responsible for the majority of the cost.
Likewise, Clallam County's harm reduction funding comes from a combination of opioid settlement funds, state and federal grants (such as the Foundational Public Health fund), and the county's general fund. So it's looked like "free money" generally because of the perception that settlement funds and grants are beyond the control of the commissioners. Here's the rub, it's how those monies are spent.
The county park at least creates an income through camping and spit access.. none of the other ngo"s do. How about trimming them! Send Ozempic and his shitty ideas to jkt and let them babysit his useless ass!
Here is what adopting tribal priorities at the local agency level looks like from 2010 to present. The tribe always screams racism and European colonizer if you question them.
1.Good stormwater. Remove dam. bring sediment down river.
2.Bad stormwater. mitigate sediment Port Angeles stormwater project
10.We don't need saltwater marshes. Jimmycomelately /Elwha
11.We need the river meandering in the flat part of the river close to the mouth. Dungeness
12.We don't need river meandering at the flat part of the river close to the mouth. Jimmycomelately /Elwha
13.We need high water tables so the wetlands can develop. Dungeness
14.We need to divert stormwater, so the high-water tables don't create a wetland. Jimmycomelately /Elwha
15.The state does not need stormwater project on Dungeness river because there is not enough traffic runoff to justify it.
16. 6PPD-q is in the water we have to block a ¾ mile road on the Dungeness.
17. Baffles are needed to filter large alluvium sediment. Jimmycomelately.
18. Baffles are not needed to filter large alluvium sediment. Dungeness and everywhere else.
19. Three percent grade is needed for salmon spawning. Jimmycomelately
20. Seven to Nine percent grade is needed for salmon spawning. Ennis Creek, Johnson Creek, No Name Creeks culvert projects.
21. We cant build on waterfront locations because of tsunami and sea level rise. Port Angeles Comprehensive plan Clallam County Comprehensive plan.
22. We can build on waterfront locations tsunami and sea level rise. NODC SERN.
23. We need to relocate tribes to foothill locations to keep them safe from Tsunami and sea level rise. State Feds.
24. We need to restore waterfront cultural locations despite tsunami and sea level rise. NODC SERN.
25. Beneficial microbes" salmon methane
26. Non beneficial microbes. Food waste.
You think if I smoke enough on the matter I could decide to dump all food waste into the upper rivers to create good methane and "beneficial microbes." Didn't the Canadian hosers tell us that when they argued for Mr. Floatie?
27. Everyone put meters on the new wells and limit water usage...cuz, salmon
28. We're gonna water the hell out of our golf course...cuz, oops
29. Limit use of fertilizer...cuz, salmon (CCD & critical areas WAC)
30. We're gonna not only water the hell out of our golf course, but throw fertilizer all over to make it look pretty, cuz...oops
31. We need wetlands...cuz, salmon (Dungeness River levee setbacks, Matriotti Creek & Bell Creek buffers)
31. That wetland at the end of our golf course driving range is in the way of our expansion to make money for the corporation so we're going to fill it in...cuz, oops
All I see is a lot of word salad. Don’t forget how they found all that extra money when us tax payers voted no on property tax increase.
Commissioners have no right to get rid of OUR county park. This happened down in Hoodsport by Shelton. There was a beloved park at Lake Cushman, everyone enjoyed the park and the Skokomish tribe got it. You have to pay to go into the park, not a problem but it’s closed a lot for tribe only. Haven’t been there since the tribe took it over.
County needs money, I’m a broken record, live within your means like we all have to, quit giving so much money to all these NGO’s, promote and fight for timber sales (have you read how much our county is going to lose) etc
They have to move fast and in secret to avoid getting caught selling more flubber and magic bean theories.
I got a few name suggestions for the tribal campground. The " Guest" campground and casino. The "no silver bullet" campground and casino. The "good methane" campground and casino. The Consortium "Compensation Mechanism" campground and casino. The "bad relationship" campground and casino. Flubber Park.. Magic bean trails.
"Land Back Grab Campground" or "Monopoly Move Campground" but I think it would be more appropriate to call it "The R Allen Folly Campground" What's the prize for Name That Campground? A free pull on their slot machine?
Yes, I do often poke the eyes of the "politically correct" mafia of suicidal fools, but I always have because that was always about the destruction of our 1st Amendment rights and never about being "nice" ;-) That said, I am not a big fan of using the term "Indian Giver" because I have seen the exact same greedy technique used by some folks of ALL racial makeups, certainly not just American Indians, so it is generally misleading... In this case however, the shoe probably fits very well, so the Jamestown Tribe should wear it because their government has been treating our community as if "we" are the squatters on our own land. Additionally, exactly how much of this land did the ancestors of the Jamestown Tribe rob, cheat, and steal from other tribes? We do know enough history to fairly question that~! Merv Griffin was always someone I liked listening to when I had the opportunity, even though he was at best just another pawn in The Illuminati's evil game or he would never have had a talk show to begin with. Still, I always personally thought Merv to be likeable and reasonable. He was a REAL contrast to the insane antics of the brainless TV talking heads of today and just how nasty & evil they really are... Yes, I gleefully accept the "Merv Griffin ooh" award, even though I do have some American Indian blood in me from both sides of my family ;-) Especially if that "award" gets folks to think about what is really going on in this scam of a local government charade that only poses as a Constitutional representative government~! Keep up the great work my friend, and "we" shall not only maintain our freedom and rights, but in due time purge these low life carpetbagger bottom feeders from our government and community~!
Nice job, Jeff! I, too, received Ozias' response letter, and I was disappointed by the content because it did not appropriately answer my concern. Jeff has repeatedly addressed the lack of transparency by the Commissioners, especially by Ozias. Ozias routinely has meetings regarding county business on Tribal property, which means no access to recordings for them. We, as constituents, have no knowledge of any discussions until it's too late and the deal is done. Ozias refuses to disclose the subject matter of his discussions with the Tribe, and he becomes indignant if you do ask about them. It is Ozias' and Ron Allen's actions that belittle the public, along with their attititude that we have no recourse. County leaders take an oath when sworn into office, but the public only has their word that they'll abide by it.
Same went on with the MAT clinic, oh excuse me, Healing Center. Now the same is happening with our beautiful county park. The people showed up, thousands showed up. It didn’t matter because the Jamestown tribe quietly operated sovereign with our government (Of the People, By the People, For the People) before WE the people knew what was happening.
MAT Clinic. Would someone confirm the reimbursement rates for each treatment. I was told (unverified) that each treatment charged was over $2,000. Multiple treatments each day are available. I wonder if a comparison rate for hospitalization versus the clinic is available. Where does the money come from? Are any cure successes recorded?
According to the Washington State Health Care Authority, tribal clinics are reimbursed $719 per patient encounter for Medicaid-eligible individuals. That’s not monthly — that’s per visit. A proposed change in state policy would even increase the number of billable encounters to six per day per patient. That means one person could generate over $4,300 in daily reimbursements.
Now another question. How is success being measured? If there is an open door for spending what restraints, if any, are being applied? Along with the rather impressive amounts of spending I would expect a rather high success rate. If not, then someone is getting a lot of money and not having any accountability. What other open doors are in existence?
Sheldon, good question. Can it really be measured? I have not read one resource that has followed the long term cure of recovery. To me that is the measure of success. Some are on life long medications. What happens to those that lose their Medicaid? Is that forced recovery? Wish I could give you better facts.
IMO, the MAT clinic is the black hole of nonrecovery.
Success? When a person requests help we have a beginning. As treatment plans are developed the individual has a defined path to recovery. Is recovery the goal, or just continued maintenance? When a patient no longer accepts treatment is that a success, or failure? Do those who stop treatment just disappear or are they considered improved enough to no longer require assistance? Life long medications are acceptable. The patient is monitored for improvement. Are dosages changed? Are different maintenance plans considered? When a patient just stops coming, what are the reasons? These seem like reasonable questions.
It's becoming more clear to me. The Democrats across the country are working to replace us with immigrants-- tall, short, fat, skinny, legal, or illegal. To do that, they are wrecking cities, pushing out jobs, imposing stifling taxes and burdensome regulations, the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution be damned. In WA, taxes keep rising faster than a pot of pasta boils over, and 2nd Amendment rights are increasingly ignored. Look at the bills that are voted on by the Legislature in Olympia-- EVERY one of them is an increase in taxes and/or a decrease in rights and freedoms. Is this an accident? Look at what Democrats have done to California-- Hollywood is dead, gangs run L.A., crime is high, and illegals are becoming a majority. Soon, California will be Mexico Norte. Will it stop there? No, like a cancer, it is infesting Oregon and Washington.
Here, in WA and Clallam County, this trend is quite evident. Drive out the taxpayers, businesses, and citizens and replace them with Indigenous people to restore the Olympic Peninsula to "its rightful owners". Stifling regulations drive out businesses. Taxes and crime drive out individuals. Judges no longer incarcerate anyone, but turn the criminals loose hours after arrests for heinous crimes. Is this hyperbole? Look at the evidence that Jeff provides. How much more do you need?
The media are complicit and unless Jeff's exposés become widely read, our elections will go to incoming Democrats through rigged elections. Recall, in 2020, right here in Clallam County, vacant lots, gas stations, convenience stores, strip malls, and residences with up to a dozen unknown people allegedly voted-- all Democrat. It's a sad future for Clallam County unless people wake TF up. WE, CCWD readers know and understand, but the mouth breathers with pierced noses and deer-in-the-headlights looks at anything more complicated than Survivor, do not know. To them, everything is hunky dory. We MUST get the word out to all, and quickly!
You're doing it! Spreading the word helps and is effective. 3,791 subscribers in just over 2 years and over a million podcast downloads now. Over 60 people attended the RV ordinance commissioner meeting, with another 50 online. Even Towne Road didn't draw those numbers. That happened because people are reading Jake Seeger's articles and becoming more engaged.
NOI-Summed up very well. California’s governing body is kinda like this 90-10, Washington’s governing body still has hope but it’s waning and looks something like this 70-30…..the larger number is of course the Democrats in government and the smaller number is the Republicans, so all is not lost YET like California. Currently Western Washington is the driving force here and radical, pushing fast to conquer the remaining 30% with many arrows. Those of us who are awake need to do more obviously because those that are asleep should be awake by now if they are a tax payer. I wish I knew what the answers are to get our country and state back to center otherwise we are destined to failure.
Ever since they got their pot store they have been all over the map. I am thinking that they have been making decisions, like tearing down the dam because of bad methane in the river, and then they go "smoke on the matter" like on Little Big Man and then they decide we have to spend 187 million dollars to get good methane up in the river from rotting salmon carcasses.
speaking of pot stores and maps- cannabis shops non tribal lands are limited to the number previously set per county, there will never be more shops allowed in the county on non tribal land under current legislation. I suspect it's a matter of if, not when the tribe opens a shop on tribal land just east of PA near the future roundabout to further grab market share from PA stores. Then the state loses even more of the cannabis tax that other stores pay.
The only court case I ever won in Washington was the WSLCB case, when WSLCB met with tribes, cops and treatment professionals, admitted they gave public comment, and WSLCB admitted they removed their comments from the "working copy"..only there isn't such a thing as a working copy. What goes into the rule making file stays in the rule making file...Why would you meet with tribes and then hide your meeting documents....???? A compensation mechanism...An anti trust discussion???
I would love to sit chat with you someday about the topic of how the industry and rules evolved here and what is happening now. WA law enforcement seems to want some more control over the industry but to what end.Why is CCSO posting scare propaganda about weed on nextdoor today , with comments blocked while at the same time passing out addictive suboxone at the jail and ignoring the open drug market at Safeway? why are all the local pro-harmreduction-hereareallthefreethingsfornarcoticuse folks so very socialist?local LE rants about weed when they know most of the repeat offenders they chase around are on the fent and meth.
There are some BC journalist talking about how organized crime from China has taken over legal cannabis in BC. gee, the same folks that import fentanyl ingredients. what is the agenda, maybe Ron wants heavier restrictions on the industry so only tribal shops can sell the concentrates. hmmm
John, that's an eye crossing 25 page court document! So I cheated and read the ending first. Congratulations. Did you get relief under the Administrative Procedure Act?
No. I was able to do a go fund me and obtain the WSLCB rulemaking file from Arthur West's case. I printed it all out 12 thousand pages. The Thurston County Superior Court refused to file the documents and the judges chambers required them all in notebooks. They had a bunch of free notebooks in the law library so I constructed them right when the court opened and had them all laid out on tables. After they all came back from lunch they accepted the documents. The COA judges did not send the case back for an answer. She sent the case back because she knew the rulemaking file would cost thousands of dollars to continue the APA case. Once the rulemaking file (administrative record) was filed WSLCB asked me to settle because their pot rules would have been repealed and their stores would not have been able to open. The WSDA did the same rule making file thing on hemp rules. The WSDA settled before the case got to the trial court 3 days after the WSLCB ruling. It was my biggest victory against the State of Washington. The Courts made sure I never got another.
Damn John! I hardly can understand most of this, but I do understand a mover and a shaker (and you did it by yourself!) You were our original watchdog! I sincerely take my hat off to you ; )
It was the beginning of nothing about us without us. For years they just hid their tribal and law enforcement stuff in the rule making file and made a "final copy"..they did that because federal grant fund contracts prevented them from lobbying. So to hide federal grant violations they took comments in secret put them in a "working copy" then made their rule and then took out tribal, ,law enforcement and treatment comments. Its still a practice used today except the tribes. They get a nothing about us without us review.
The Democratic Party is a depopulation death cult. The tribes with their “land back,” rights of rivers, dam removal, etc. are also death cults that the Democrats can exploit. Does this account for how the rest of us are not allowed to use are property?
It occurred to me that the mental illness epidemic among liberal white women is a manifestation of a subliminal recognition that they kill babies and believe too many people is what is destroying the earth. By opposing ICE, they think they are demonstrating what they really aren’t, caring females of the species.
Mark and Ron are their male counterparts. Evil on display.
Ozias isn’t stupid he wants to play this game so he can find out exactly what he will be up against. If it’s merely the public opinion card he could care less because that card holds very little weight in this game, as we’ve witnessed over the last 2-1/2 years. The canned letter is your proof. Ozias holds the cards, he wants to confirm we the people are playing with an empty hand & he wants to make sure there are no Aces or Jokers hiding somewhere before he makes his move. Ozias is a discounter always bets on the COME and he’s been successful in operating that way to get the tribe exactly what they want to win the prizes.
Many Americans are currently unaware that there has been, and continues to be, a HUGE & growing movement within the US of Americans who have learned that the US federal Income taxes are in fact "voluntary" at best, and that they do NOT have to pay them, so they refuse to do so. Therefore, I can understand why the Jamestown Tribal government refuses to pay any taxes since they are also not compelled by law to do so. That is why the good folks of Clallam County have been given the "double barreled finger" just for asking that they contribute what would otherwise be the tribes fair share. This defiance of the Jamestown Tribal government alone demonstrates their focus on "business" over the best interests of the community, regardless of how many strings of lights they hang along the highway... I do wonder if the Jamestown Tribe pays the same electric rate - costs that all of the rest of us do, or if their annual demonstration also directly results in an additional cost to "us"~? My compliments to Jeff Tozzer for his usual worthy article here, especially as it very appropriately states that The Dungeness Recreation area does NOT in ANY way legally or lawfully belong to the Clallam County Commissioners. The Dungeness Recreation area belongs to all of the good folks of Clallam County and even "we" can't give it away because it is one of the public treasures of our community that must be passed down to the future generations for them to enjoy~! The Jamestown Tribe could NEVER be trusted with OUR property, and we can NOT allow them to steal our most important assets that make life here enjoyable and a destination for visitors to also enjoy. We simply can NOT tolerate the Jamestown Tribe's false & fraudulent claim that this is "their land", nor can we allow them to continue their "land grab" process that deprives us of the enjoyment of OUR community~! I also received this very obviously intentionally convoluted letter from Ozias, that was a very sad "simple minded" attempt to baffle and confuse folks, because I also sent a note of concern about the outrageous idea of the commissioners illegally and unlawfully transferring OUR public property to anyone. My note of concern also promised that should the as yet unindicted "Three Stooges" of Clallam County Commissioners attempt to violate the law and our public trust by taking any steps to steal our property, for ANY reason, that there would be an immediate and forceful response from the community to stop them and to have them removed from office. I would not hesitate to forward criminal complaints against ALL who dared to engage in such a criminal act as well, including the clowns in the Jamestown Tribal government and anyone else who played a material role in such a criminal act~! If this does not qualify as an "organized racketeering" crime to coerce & defraud legal and lawful owners of their lawful property, I am not sure any other act would merit such criminal charges~! We obviously have organized "mafia's" here in our community, who have a long and consistent track record of lies, deceptions, thefts, and other highly destructive behaviors, that we can no longer tolerate~! Why are "we" allowing these low-level thugs to continue their constant bulling & assaults upon our community and the good folks here~? I constantly ask myself to "imagine" if these fools were NOT here pulling all of these schemes, how beautiful life would be without them??? How many GREAT things that we could otherwise accomplish all on our own? Is there ANYTHING that the "Three Stooges" and their evil coconspirators do, to really improve anything for the folks in our community? I read the twisted Ozias letter, and it gave me the creeps because NOTHING that he stated that was the commissioners job, has been handled in any way that was good or positive tor our community~! The good folks that we do have in government, who do their jobs well, would still do their jobs well without the "Three Stooges" and I bet that they would do FAR better without the so-called "leadership" of the tragic, dangerous, and deadly comedy act that we have tolerated FAR too long~!
Clallam County needs to acknowledge our part in allowing this takeover. We have trusted our elected leaders and not been vigilant. This sucks because that’s exactly why we elect folks—to represent OUR interests so that we can spend our days working to pay taxes and support our families. It doesn’t help that the media is unwilling to publish anything that will jeopardize advertising revenue.
Sadly, this is the result. I hope we can right this. Thank you Jeff for stepping up and presenting the FACTS.
This is why you’re so good as the Clallam County Watchdog — you are from here and you love this area so much. I know others love Clallam County too and contribute to the information. Your passion comes through and it shows in your latest public comments and this article. This area is blessed to have you as an advocate!
Just a observation. We obey the law by choice. When we decide to not obey the law there are supposed to be sanctions and penalties. Now, however, we are discovering some folks are not obeying the law, avoiding sanctions, and ignoring the rest of us. When these folks disagree with the law, they insist their interpretations are justifiable and they then protest about being victims of the law. The extreme is when others get hurt supporting these lawbreakers. Our elected representatives make the laws, and our law enforcement folks support that legal description. Do the crime. Do the time.
That eight-month timeline for a simple follow-up letter versus immediate access for donor discussions really lays bare where accountability sits. The pattern you've documented here - public process gets delayed indefinitly while donor conversations happen quietly - is exactly how public trust erodes. What bothers me most is how the form response tries to bury the actual question under generic budget talk, as if constituents asking about specific transparency failures just need more context about county operations. We dont.
The commissioners did not answer yesterday's question about discussions with the Jamestown Tribe regarding lodging taxes. Here is today's email:
Dear Commissioners,
Before any further private discussions occur, will the Board commit to a public town hall on the future of the Dungeness Recreation Area—and release the actual numbers: how much revenue the park generates from camping and day use, what it costs to operate, and what gaps exist? Given that residents only learned of these talks through public records requests, why weren’t these figures and potential solutions discussed publicly before exploring the transfer of a public park to a major campaign donor?
All three commissioners can be reached by emailing the Clerk of the Board at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov
Modeled below is how an individual county commissioner could respond—anchored in law, public process, and the limits of individual authority.
Dear Constituent,
Your question raises legitimate governance concerns and deserves a clear, process-based answer.
As an individual commissioner, I do not have authority to negotiate, commit, or imply County action regarding a county park. Authority over county property rests with the Board acting collectively in an open public meeting (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 36.32.300). The Open Public Meetings Act applies not only to final votes but also to deliberations and discussions related to official business and is interpreted liberally in favor of openness (RCW 42.30.020(3); RCW 42.30.030; Cathcart v. Andersen, 85 Wn.2d 102, 1975).
With respect to engagement involving the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, it is important to be precise. Tribes are sovereign governments, not stakeholders. Engagement occurs under a government-to-government framework grounded in federal and Washington law and is not interchangeable with operational or fiscal discussions (U.S. Const. art. VI; Worcester v. Georgia, 1832; United States v. Washington, 1974; RCW 43.376.020).
That sovereignty has practical legal implications. Under long-standing federal precedent, tribes are immune from suit unless sovereign immunity is expressly waived in writing, and courts do not infer such waivers based on fairness or public benefit (Kiowa Tribe v. Manufacturing Technologies, 1998; Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, 2014). Where a tribe clearly agrees to dispute-resolution and enforcement provisions, courts will enforce those terms as written (C & L Enterprises v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribe, 2001). For counties, this means that any intergovernmental agreement must be explicit about authority, scope, remedies, and exit terms before it can responsibly be approved.
You are also right to expect transparency before policy options are explored. Best practices in public-asset governance call for public disclosure of baseline financial information—revenues, operating costs, capital needs, and funding gaps—before alternatives are considered (GFOA, 2019; Washington State Auditor’s Office, n.d.). Federal internal-control standards similarly emphasize clear authority and transparency before action involving public resources (GAO-20-540G, 2020).
Whether a town hall is the appropriate forum is a board-level decision, but the principle is sound: residents should not need public records requests to understand what is being contemplated with a public asset. Board direction first, staff work second, and public visibility throughout is the sequencing that protects public trust (MRSC, n.d.).
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
Reference
Cathcart v. Andersen, 85 Wn.2d 102 (1975).
C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 532 U.S. 411 (2001).
Government Accountability Office. (2020). Standards for internal control in the federal government (GAO-20-540G). https://www.gao.gov
Government Finance Officers Association. (2019). Best practices in public asset management. https://www.gfoa.org
Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751 (1998).
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, 572 U.S. 782 (2014).
Municipal Research and Services Center. (n.d.). Open Public Meetings Act and governing body roles. https://mrsc.org
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 36.32—County legislative authority. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=36.32
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 42.30—Open Public Meetings Act. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.30
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 43.376—Government-to-government relations with tribes. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.376
U.S. Constitution, art. VI.
United States v. Washington, 384 F. Supp. 312 (W.D. Wash. 1974).
Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832).
Washington State Auditor’s Office. (n.d.). Accountability and transparency in local government. https://sao.wa.gov
Dear Commissioner,
Thank you for the explanation. I appreciate the clarity around individual versus board authority and the importance of government-to-government process.
My follow-up question is this: what specific safeguards would the Board require before authorizing any intergovernmental agreement involving a county park? In particular, what commitments would be made to ensure (1) clear limits on scope and authority, (2) public access and public financial transparency, and (3) enforceable exit or unwind provisions if an agreement does not work as intended?
I’m not asking the Board to pre-decide outcomes, but I do want to understand what standards must be met before staff are directed to explore options at all—so residents know what protections are in place before conversations move forward.
Sincerely,
Constituent
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for naming what accountability should look like going forward. I agree that clarity on process commitments matters before any options are explored.
Speaking for myself as an individual commissioner, these are the standards I would insist on before supporting any staff exploration involving a county park or other public asset:
No staff exploration without public board direction.
Staff should not explore, discuss, or signal intent regarding public land absent explicit direction from the Board acting in an open public meeting (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 36.32.300; RCW 42.30.020(3)).
Financial facts before alternatives.
Baseline information—revenues, operating costs, capital needs, and funding gaps—should be presented publicly before policy options are discussed, consistent with public-asset governance and audit standards (Government Finance Officers Association [GFOA], 2019; Washington State Auditor’s Office [SAO], n.d.; Government Accountability Office [GAO], 2020).
Written guardrails before conversations begin.
Any authorization to staff should be bounded in writing, including scope, limits on authority, and a requirement to return to the Board before negotiations or commitments occur (Municipal Research and Services Center [MRSC], n.d.).
Protection of public access unless changed by public vote.
Public access to county assets should not be reduced or altered without a separate, explicit Board action taken in public.
Plain-language disclosure of legal limits.
Where agreements involve a sovereign tribal government, residents should be informed in advance about jurisdiction, dispute resolution, and the practical implications of sovereign immunity, which courts do not imply or override absent clear waiver (Kiowa Tribe v. Manufacturing Technologies, 1998; C & L Enterprises v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribe, 2001).
Defined term, exit, and unwind provisions.
I would not support any agreement lacking a defined term, termination rights, and a clear unwind plan that protects county assets and public interests.
Open deliberation throughout.
Deliberations and discussions related to official business belong in public, not just final votes, and the Open Public Meetings Act is interpreted liberally in favor of openness (Cathcart v. Andersen, 1975; RCW 42.30.030).
These are not outcome commitments; they are governance commitments. If the Board follows this sequencing—standards first, staff work second, public visibility throughout—residents can evaluate proposals on their merits rather than on speculation about intent or influence.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
Reference
Cathcart v. Andersen, 85 Wn.2d 102 (1975).
C & L Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizen Band Potawatomi Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, 532 U.S. 411 (2001).
Government Accountability Office. (2020). Standards for internal control in the federal government (GAO-20-540G). https://www.gao.gov
Government Finance Officers Association. (2019). Best practices in public asset management. https://www.gfoa.org
Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751 (1998).
Municipal Research and Services Center. (n.d.). Open Public Meetings Act and governing body roles. https://mrsc.org
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 36.32—County legislative authority. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=36.32
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 42.30—Open Public Meetings Act. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.30
Washington State Auditor’s Office. (n.d.). Accountability and transparency in local government. https://sao.wa.gov
Good Governance Proverb of the Day
Public assets are held in trust; good intentions do not replace clear authority, lawful process, or public consent.
Good governance isn’t about stopping conversations—it’s about sequencing them correctly. When public assets, multiple jurisdictions, and sovereign governments intersect, clarity about authority, process, and limits isn’t a technical detail; it’s the substance of public trust.
If this issue has done anything useful, it’s highlighted an opportunity: to model how county leadership can explore hard questions in the open, with clear board direction, clear jurisdictional boundaries, and clear respect for tribal sovereignty from the start. That’s how collaboration becomes durable instead of divisive.
This isn’t about this park alone. It’s about setting a pattern the public can recognize and rely on next time.
Evaluation of Commissioner Ozias’s Letter
Evaluated through a good-governance lens, Commissioner Mark Ozias’s letter deserves credit for several things: it clearly explains real county fiscal pressures, avoids pre-deciding outcomes, and states that any actual changes would require public discussion and board involvement.
Where governance concerns arise, it is not motive but process and jurisdiction. The letter describes staff-level exploration of partnership ideas involving a county park before formal board direction, and it references county land, federal land, and a sovereign tribal government without clearly separating where county authority applies and where it does not.
Those distinctions matter. When public assets and multiple jurisdictions intersect, clarity about authority, sequencing, and consultation is what protects public trust and all parties involved.
Modeled Individual Commissioner Response
Dear Constituent,
No decisions have been made, and no authority has been exercised regarding this county park. As an individual commissioner, I do not have the authority to transfer, lease, or encumber public property. Any such action would require formal board approval in an open public meeting, supported by legal analysis and public input (RCW 36.32; RCW 42.30).
This park is a county asset. Separately, the adjacent wildlife refuge is federally managed, and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is a sovereign government. Engagement with tribal governments follows a distinct government-to-government framework and is not interchangeable with operational or fiscal partnerships (RCW 43.376; U.S. Const. art. VI).
At this stage, the only appropriate question is whether there are lawful, transparent coordination opportunities worth bringing to the full board for public discussion. If there are not, the conversation ends. Public access, public control, and public accountability are non-negotiable.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
References
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 36.32—County legislative authority.
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 42.30—Open Public Meetings Act.
Revised Code of Washington. (n.d.). RCW 43.376—Government-to-government relations with tribes.
U.S. Const. art. VI.
Dear Commissioner,
Thank you for explaining that. My concern is this:
If staff conversations can start before the board gives direction, how does the public know when a “conversation” becomes a real proposal? And how can residents be confident that county authority isn’t being implied or exercised before the public ever sees it?
Sincerely,
Concerned Constituent
Dear Constituent,
That’s a fair question, and it gets to the heart of good governance.
The line should be clear: exploration involving public assets should not occur without board direction, because even informal activity can signal intent. The board’s role is to publicly set that direction, define boundaries, and ensure jurisdictional limits are respected from the outset.
When that sequencing is followed—board authority first, staff work second, public visibility throughout—it protects residents, staff, tribal partners, and the County itself. That clarity is not an obstacle to collaboration; it’s what makes collaboration legitimate and durable.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
Process. On the surface it appears that our County Commissioners only have one solution for funding problems; increase property taxes. My suggestion is to look at the spending. We are spending money on projects that are not performing well. 1. Harm Reduction. Doesn't work. 2. Fish channels. Unnecessary. 3. Housing for the homeless. Way too expensive and poorly managed. 4. Ferries. Poorly designed, built out of state, too expensive. 5. Road and Bridge maintenance. Neglected over the years. 6. Try repeat criminals once, put them in jail, and keep them there. Probably many other projects could be reduced or eliminated entirely. By first examining the spending we might find ways to improve our budget. Bottom line. Do not sell irreplaceable county assets. Co-management is not co-ownership. Leasing properties retains ownership. Focus on spending wisely.
Sheldon—thank you. I agree with your bottom line on public assets: “co-management isn’t co-ownership,” and any change to a county park must be board-authorized and publicly visible (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 42.30.020(3)).
One nuance that’s easy to miss in county budgeting: many items that look like “county spending” are restricted state/federal dollars or program-specific funds that can’t legally be repurposed to lower taxes or fund unrelated priorities. If the County declines them, it often just loses the funds and the service rather than “saving money” (RCW 43.09.210; Washington State Auditor’s Office, n.d.; Government Accountability Office, 2020).
If helpful, I’ll add a second reply that breaks down your list by funding source, and how residents can push for better performance using evidence-based frameworks rather than an all-or-nothing “cut it” approach.
Nailed it, nailed it, nailed it.
This is the matter exactly. I'll be careful to show my outrage because someone took my tin foil hat and now I have to be reasonable.
This matter is fundamental to how government is supposed to operate. The mere suggestion by Commissioner Ozias, that without approval of the board, county employees should explore the opportunities is incredible given how long he has been a Commissioner.
Ozias deserves sancture by Commissioners French and Johnson just for the suggestion. Absent that they all should discuss this in an open meeting and come to an agreement about how the county will move forward.
Thanks, MK! I appreciate the clarity you’re naming here. From a governance standpoint, the goal isn’t sanction—it’s alignment. Clear board direction, followed by staff action, protects everyone involved and keeps collaboration legitimate. When the process is right, the outcomes tend to take care of themselves.
It seems to me that we should change out tin foil hats for a good hard helmet?
I like that framing. A hard helmet is a good metaphor for governance—structures and sequencing that protect staff, partners, and the public while hard questions are explored in the open.
MK. I am attempting to find an alternative to the tin hat. I am working on a solar panel approach, especially for those bald citizens. Sun power and sun protection all in one. My problem currently is a lack of battery connections. Can't seem to recharge the brain. Replacement has other difficulties.
Dr. Sarah’s posting brings to mind Don Quixote, though in reverse. She is not chasing illusions, but revealing them, righting wrongs not through futility or feeling, but by using the very statutes and rules that govern government.
The books that govern government, clear and straightforward, hands down. Commissioner Ozias presents words absent of intellect, substituting misdirection for substance. That contrast brings clarity, and clarity makes writing a factual, grounded letter far easier.
Thank you, Paula. One of the strengths of public process is that it gives us a common language—law, authority, and sequencing—so even difficult issues can be discussed without becoming personal. That’s the standard worth keeping.
Here's my rub in the Ozias form letter, discussions about a potential park transfer notwithstanding. He whines about fiscal difficulties and blames them in no small measure on county property owners rejecting increased property taxes because "inflation." How about this suggestion? +/- 70% of the county budget is personnel costs. Instead of continually incrementally increasing the size of the salaried and benefited county workforce, let's reduce the size of government by 10% to start with, then go from there. How about eliminating feel-good expenses like the poet laureate, stop funding black hole programs like Harm Reduction, and seriously reduce any and all funding to NGOs that operate as a shadow government with no accountability to the voters? Oh, and instead of offering a county jewel to JKT, how about asking them to, as the progressives like to say, instead pay their fair share?
The mix of funding sources isn't easy for me to follow. I've heard that programs like the poet laureate are partially funded directly from the county, $1,000, and that the NOLS funds the remainder. Here's the joke, the NOLS is a junior taxing district, so yes, we all still pay $10,000 annually for the poet laureate, it's just that the commissioners can feign they aren't responsible for the majority of the cost.
Likewise, Clallam County's harm reduction funding comes from a combination of opioid settlement funds, state and federal grants (such as the Foundational Public Health fund), and the county's general fund. So it's looked like "free money" generally because of the perception that settlement funds and grants are beyond the control of the commissioners. Here's the rub, it's how those monies are spent.
The county park at least creates an income through camping and spit access.. none of the other ngo"s do. How about trimming them! Send Ozempic and his shitty ideas to jkt and let them babysit his useless ass!
Here is what adopting tribal priorities at the local agency level looks like from 2010 to present. The tribe always screams racism and European colonizer if you question them.
1.Good stormwater. Remove dam. bring sediment down river.
2.Bad stormwater. mitigate sediment Port Angeles stormwater project
3.We need sediment. Remove dam
4.We have to mitigate sediment. Same dam project
5.Good stagnant water. Reservoir
6.Bad stagnant water. Dam
7.Good methane. Reservoir, rotting salmon upstream,
8.Bad methane. Dam, food at the dump.
9.We need saltwater marshes. Dungeness
10.We don't need saltwater marshes. Jimmycomelately /Elwha
11.We need the river meandering in the flat part of the river close to the mouth. Dungeness
12.We don't need river meandering at the flat part of the river close to the mouth. Jimmycomelately /Elwha
13.We need high water tables so the wetlands can develop. Dungeness
14.We need to divert stormwater, so the high-water tables don't create a wetland. Jimmycomelately /Elwha
15.The state does not need stormwater project on Dungeness river because there is not enough traffic runoff to justify it.
16. 6PPD-q is in the water we have to block a ¾ mile road on the Dungeness.
17. Baffles are needed to filter large alluvium sediment. Jimmycomelately.
18. Baffles are not needed to filter large alluvium sediment. Dungeness and everywhere else.
19. Three percent grade is needed for salmon spawning. Jimmycomelately
20. Seven to Nine percent grade is needed for salmon spawning. Ennis Creek, Johnson Creek, No Name Creeks culvert projects.
21. We cant build on waterfront locations because of tsunami and sea level rise. Port Angeles Comprehensive plan Clallam County Comprehensive plan.
22. We can build on waterfront locations tsunami and sea level rise. NODC SERN.
23. We need to relocate tribes to foothill locations to keep them safe from Tsunami and sea level rise. State Feds.
24. We need to restore waterfront cultural locations despite tsunami and sea level rise. NODC SERN.
25. Beneficial microbes" salmon methane
26. Non beneficial microbes. Food waste.
You think if I smoke enough on the matter I could decide to dump all food waste into the upper rivers to create good methane and "beneficial microbes." Didn't the Canadian hosers tell us that when they argued for Mr. Floatie?
27. Everyone put meters on the new wells and limit water usage...cuz, salmon
28. We're gonna water the hell out of our golf course...cuz, oops
29. Limit use of fertilizer...cuz, salmon (CCD & critical areas WAC)
30. We're gonna not only water the hell out of our golf course, but throw fertilizer all over to make it look pretty, cuz...oops
31. We need wetlands...cuz, salmon (Dungeness River levee setbacks, Matriotti Creek & Bell Creek buffers)
31. That wetland at the end of our golf course driving range is in the way of our expansion to make money for the corporation so we're going to fill it in...cuz, oops
32. We need huge profits for our Mat Clinic....Harm Reduction Incentives
33. We offer treatment for those addicted to drugs
34. Come and gamble your money away with us, but if you need gambling addiction services go elsewhere such as GA at the local Methodist Church.
35. Casino makes huge alcohol profits, but we also get funds for tribal alcohol addiction programs.
36. Fill up at our tribal gas stations, but we get most of your gas tax.
37. We create employment opportunities, but they are first Native Preference, you get the leftovers
All I see is a lot of word salad. Don’t forget how they found all that extra money when us tax payers voted no on property tax increase.
Commissioners have no right to get rid of OUR county park. This happened down in Hoodsport by Shelton. There was a beloved park at Lake Cushman, everyone enjoyed the park and the Skokomish tribe got it. You have to pay to go into the park, not a problem but it’s closed a lot for tribe only. Haven’t been there since the tribe took it over.
County needs money, I’m a broken record, live within your means like we all have to, quit giving so much money to all these NGO’s, promote and fight for timber sales (have you read how much our county is going to lose) etc
Which District Commissioner position can I write you in for as long as it isn't #3?
They have to move fast and in secret to avoid getting caught selling more flubber and magic bean theories.
I got a few name suggestions for the tribal campground. The " Guest" campground and casino. The "no silver bullet" campground and casino. The "good methane" campground and casino. The Consortium "Compensation Mechanism" campground and casino. The "bad relationship" campground and casino. Flubber Park.. Magic bean trails.
John, can we add "From Time Immemorial Campground"?
Of course. Tough to beat that one. There might be less "Resilience" to that one.
"Land Back Grab Campground" or "Monopoly Move Campground" but I think it would be more appropriate to call it "The R Allen Folly Campground" What's the prize for Name That Campground? A free pull on their slot machine?
"Indian Giver Camp"~!
"Now you see it, now you don't"~!
The scams continue ;-))
Sincerely, Mike
That deserves a Merv Griffin ooh.
Good morning, Patriot John Worthington~!
Yes, I do often poke the eyes of the "politically correct" mafia of suicidal fools, but I always have because that was always about the destruction of our 1st Amendment rights and never about being "nice" ;-) That said, I am not a big fan of using the term "Indian Giver" because I have seen the exact same greedy technique used by some folks of ALL racial makeups, certainly not just American Indians, so it is generally misleading... In this case however, the shoe probably fits very well, so the Jamestown Tribe should wear it because their government has been treating our community as if "we" are the squatters on our own land. Additionally, exactly how much of this land did the ancestors of the Jamestown Tribe rob, cheat, and steal from other tribes? We do know enough history to fairly question that~! Merv Griffin was always someone I liked listening to when I had the opportunity, even though he was at best just another pawn in The Illuminati's evil game or he would never have had a talk show to begin with. Still, I always personally thought Merv to be likeable and reasonable. He was a REAL contrast to the insane antics of the brainless TV talking heads of today and just how nasty & evil they really are... Yes, I gleefully accept the "Merv Griffin ooh" award, even though I do have some American Indian blood in me from both sides of my family ;-) Especially if that "award" gets folks to think about what is really going on in this scam of a local government charade that only poses as a Constitutional representative government~! Keep up the great work my friend, and "we" shall not only maintain our freedom and rights, but in due time purge these low life carpetbagger bottom feeders from our government and community~!
Cheers~!
Mike
Loser has to tell them which church they go to.
After you pay an admittance fee!.
Mac, we are already paying "parking fees" and nobody ever parks there! That's like buying something you never get ; )
Oh thank you Jennifer. You know how much I love the misunderstanding of that phrase. It just keeps popping up from “time immemorial “!
Commissioner Ozias admits he deliberately avoided public process:
“I have not brought this concept forward to a work session yet…” --- WHAT A FRICKING SHOCKER!
Nice job, Jeff! I, too, received Ozias' response letter, and I was disappointed by the content because it did not appropriately answer my concern. Jeff has repeatedly addressed the lack of transparency by the Commissioners, especially by Ozias. Ozias routinely has meetings regarding county business on Tribal property, which means no access to recordings for them. We, as constituents, have no knowledge of any discussions until it's too late and the deal is done. Ozias refuses to disclose the subject matter of his discussions with the Tribe, and he becomes indignant if you do ask about them. It is Ozias' and Ron Allen's actions that belittle the public, along with their attititude that we have no recourse. County leaders take an oath when sworn into office, but the public only has their word that they'll abide by it.
Same went on with the MAT clinic, oh excuse me, Healing Center. Now the same is happening with our beautiful county park. The people showed up, thousands showed up. It didn’t matter because the Jamestown tribe quietly operated sovereign with our government (Of the People, By the People, For the People) before WE the people knew what was happening.
MAT Clinic. Would someone confirm the reimbursement rates for each treatment. I was told (unverified) that each treatment charged was over $2,000. Multiple treatments each day are available. I wonder if a comparison rate for hospitalization versus the clinic is available. Where does the money come from? Are any cure successes recorded?
Sheldon, https://www.ccwatchdog.com/p/the-seduction-of-harm-reduction
According to the Washington State Health Care Authority, tribal clinics are reimbursed $719 per patient encounter for Medicaid-eligible individuals. That’s not monthly — that’s per visit. A proposed change in state policy would even increase the number of billable encounters to six per day per patient. That means one person could generate over $4,300 in daily reimbursements.
Now another question. How is success being measured? If there is an open door for spending what restraints, if any, are being applied? Along with the rather impressive amounts of spending I would expect a rather high success rate. If not, then someone is getting a lot of money and not having any accountability. What other open doors are in existence?
Sheldon, good question. Can it really be measured? I have not read one resource that has followed the long term cure of recovery. To me that is the measure of success. Some are on life long medications. What happens to those that lose their Medicaid? Is that forced recovery? Wish I could give you better facts.
IMO, the MAT clinic is the black hole of nonrecovery.
Success? When a person requests help we have a beginning. As treatment plans are developed the individual has a defined path to recovery. Is recovery the goal, or just continued maintenance? When a patient no longer accepts treatment is that a success, or failure? Do those who stop treatment just disappear or are they considered improved enough to no longer require assistance? Life long medications are acceptable. The patient is monitored for improvement. Are dosages changed? Are different maintenance plans considered? When a patient just stops coming, what are the reasons? These seem like reasonable questions.
It's becoming more clear to me. The Democrats across the country are working to replace us with immigrants-- tall, short, fat, skinny, legal, or illegal. To do that, they are wrecking cities, pushing out jobs, imposing stifling taxes and burdensome regulations, the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution be damned. In WA, taxes keep rising faster than a pot of pasta boils over, and 2nd Amendment rights are increasingly ignored. Look at the bills that are voted on by the Legislature in Olympia-- EVERY one of them is an increase in taxes and/or a decrease in rights and freedoms. Is this an accident? Look at what Democrats have done to California-- Hollywood is dead, gangs run L.A., crime is high, and illegals are becoming a majority. Soon, California will be Mexico Norte. Will it stop there? No, like a cancer, it is infesting Oregon and Washington.
Here, in WA and Clallam County, this trend is quite evident. Drive out the taxpayers, businesses, and citizens and replace them with Indigenous people to restore the Olympic Peninsula to "its rightful owners". Stifling regulations drive out businesses. Taxes and crime drive out individuals. Judges no longer incarcerate anyone, but turn the criminals loose hours after arrests for heinous crimes. Is this hyperbole? Look at the evidence that Jeff provides. How much more do you need?
The media are complicit and unless Jeff's exposés become widely read, our elections will go to incoming Democrats through rigged elections. Recall, in 2020, right here in Clallam County, vacant lots, gas stations, convenience stores, strip malls, and residences with up to a dozen unknown people allegedly voted-- all Democrat. It's a sad future for Clallam County unless people wake TF up. WE, CCWD readers know and understand, but the mouth breathers with pierced noses and deer-in-the-headlights looks at anything more complicated than Survivor, do not know. To them, everything is hunky dory. We MUST get the word out to all, and quickly!
What can I do to help, Jeff?
You're doing it! Spreading the word helps and is effective. 3,791 subscribers in just over 2 years and over a million podcast downloads now. Over 60 people attended the RV ordinance commissioner meeting, with another 50 online. Even Towne Road didn't draw those numbers. That happened because people are reading Jake Seeger's articles and becoming more engaged.
Whatever you are doing, keep doing it!
NOI-Summed up very well. California’s governing body is kinda like this 90-10, Washington’s governing body still has hope but it’s waning and looks something like this 70-30…..the larger number is of course the Democrats in government and the smaller number is the Republicans, so all is not lost YET like California. Currently Western Washington is the driving force here and radical, pushing fast to conquer the remaining 30% with many arrows. Those of us who are awake need to do more obviously because those that are asleep should be awake by now if they are a tax payer. I wish I knew what the answers are to get our country and state back to center otherwise we are destined to failure.
Ever since they got their pot store they have been all over the map. I am thinking that they have been making decisions, like tearing down the dam because of bad methane in the river, and then they go "smoke on the matter" like on Little Big Man and then they decide we have to spend 187 million dollars to get good methane up in the river from rotting salmon carcasses.
speaking of pot stores and maps- cannabis shops non tribal lands are limited to the number previously set per county, there will never be more shops allowed in the county on non tribal land under current legislation. I suspect it's a matter of if, not when the tribe opens a shop on tribal land just east of PA near the future roundabout to further grab market share from PA stores. Then the state loses even more of the cannabis tax that other stores pay.
The only court case I ever won in Washington was the WSLCB case, when WSLCB met with tribes, cops and treatment professionals, admitted they gave public comment, and WSLCB admitted they removed their comments from the "working copy"..only there isn't such a thing as a working copy. What goes into the rule making file stays in the rule making file...Why would you meet with tribes and then hide your meeting documents....???? A compensation mechanism...An anti trust discussion???
https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/D2%2049050-1-II%20Unpublished%20Opinion.pdf
I would love to sit chat with you someday about the topic of how the industry and rules evolved here and what is happening now. WA law enforcement seems to want some more control over the industry but to what end.Why is CCSO posting scare propaganda about weed on nextdoor today , with comments blocked while at the same time passing out addictive suboxone at the jail and ignoring the open drug market at Safeway? why are all the local pro-harmreduction-hereareallthefreethingsfornarcoticuse folks so very socialist?local LE rants about weed when they know most of the repeat offenders they chase around are on the fent and meth.
There are some BC journalist talking about how organized crime from China has taken over legal cannabis in BC. gee, the same folks that import fentanyl ingredients. what is the agenda, maybe Ron wants heavier restrictions on the industry so only tribal shops can sell the concentrates. hmmm
John, that's an eye crossing 25 page court document! So I cheated and read the ending first. Congratulations. Did you get relief under the Administrative Procedure Act?
No. I was able to do a go fund me and obtain the WSLCB rulemaking file from Arthur West's case. I printed it all out 12 thousand pages. The Thurston County Superior Court refused to file the documents and the judges chambers required them all in notebooks. They had a bunch of free notebooks in the law library so I constructed them right when the court opened and had them all laid out on tables. After they all came back from lunch they accepted the documents. The COA judges did not send the case back for an answer. She sent the case back because she knew the rulemaking file would cost thousands of dollars to continue the APA case. Once the rulemaking file (administrative record) was filed WSLCB asked me to settle because their pot rules would have been repealed and their stores would not have been able to open. The WSDA did the same rule making file thing on hemp rules. The WSDA settled before the case got to the trial court 3 days after the WSLCB ruling. It was my biggest victory against the State of Washington. The Courts made sure I never got another.
Damn John! I hardly can understand most of this, but I do understand a mover and a shaker (and you did it by yourself!) You were our original watchdog! I sincerely take my hat off to you ; )
Thanks. It was a big deal and caused a lot of problems for me.
It was the beginning of nothing about us without us. For years they just hid their tribal and law enforcement stuff in the rule making file and made a "final copy"..they did that because federal grant fund contracts prevented them from lobbying. So to hide federal grant violations they took comments in secret put them in a "working copy" then made their rule and then took out tribal, ,law enforcement and treatment comments. Its still a practice used today except the tribes. They get a nothing about us without us review.
I miss their "Fireworks" building. Then again, it wasn't funded. No real profit without funding.
The Democratic Party is a depopulation death cult. The tribes with their “land back,” rights of rivers, dam removal, etc. are also death cults that the Democrats can exploit. Does this account for how the rest of us are not allowed to use are property?
It occurred to me that the mental illness epidemic among liberal white women is a manifestation of a subliminal recognition that they kill babies and believe too many people is what is destroying the earth. By opposing ICE, they think they are demonstrating what they really aren’t, caring females of the species.
Mark and Ron are their male counterparts. Evil on display.
Ozias isn’t stupid he wants to play this game so he can find out exactly what he will be up against. If it’s merely the public opinion card he could care less because that card holds very little weight in this game, as we’ve witnessed over the last 2-1/2 years. The canned letter is your proof. Ozias holds the cards, he wants to confirm we the people are playing with an empty hand & he wants to make sure there are no Aces or Jokers hiding somewhere before he makes his move. Ozias is a discounter always bets on the COME and he’s been successful in operating that way to get the tribe exactly what they want to win the prizes.
Many Americans are currently unaware that there has been, and continues to be, a HUGE & growing movement within the US of Americans who have learned that the US federal Income taxes are in fact "voluntary" at best, and that they do NOT have to pay them, so they refuse to do so. Therefore, I can understand why the Jamestown Tribal government refuses to pay any taxes since they are also not compelled by law to do so. That is why the good folks of Clallam County have been given the "double barreled finger" just for asking that they contribute what would otherwise be the tribes fair share. This defiance of the Jamestown Tribal government alone demonstrates their focus on "business" over the best interests of the community, regardless of how many strings of lights they hang along the highway... I do wonder if the Jamestown Tribe pays the same electric rate - costs that all of the rest of us do, or if their annual demonstration also directly results in an additional cost to "us"~? My compliments to Jeff Tozzer for his usual worthy article here, especially as it very appropriately states that The Dungeness Recreation area does NOT in ANY way legally or lawfully belong to the Clallam County Commissioners. The Dungeness Recreation area belongs to all of the good folks of Clallam County and even "we" can't give it away because it is one of the public treasures of our community that must be passed down to the future generations for them to enjoy~! The Jamestown Tribe could NEVER be trusted with OUR property, and we can NOT allow them to steal our most important assets that make life here enjoyable and a destination for visitors to also enjoy. We simply can NOT tolerate the Jamestown Tribe's false & fraudulent claim that this is "their land", nor can we allow them to continue their "land grab" process that deprives us of the enjoyment of OUR community~! I also received this very obviously intentionally convoluted letter from Ozias, that was a very sad "simple minded" attempt to baffle and confuse folks, because I also sent a note of concern about the outrageous idea of the commissioners illegally and unlawfully transferring OUR public property to anyone. My note of concern also promised that should the as yet unindicted "Three Stooges" of Clallam County Commissioners attempt to violate the law and our public trust by taking any steps to steal our property, for ANY reason, that there would be an immediate and forceful response from the community to stop them and to have them removed from office. I would not hesitate to forward criminal complaints against ALL who dared to engage in such a criminal act as well, including the clowns in the Jamestown Tribal government and anyone else who played a material role in such a criminal act~! If this does not qualify as an "organized racketeering" crime to coerce & defraud legal and lawful owners of their lawful property, I am not sure any other act would merit such criminal charges~! We obviously have organized "mafia's" here in our community, who have a long and consistent track record of lies, deceptions, thefts, and other highly destructive behaviors, that we can no longer tolerate~! Why are "we" allowing these low-level thugs to continue their constant bulling & assaults upon our community and the good folks here~? I constantly ask myself to "imagine" if these fools were NOT here pulling all of these schemes, how beautiful life would be without them??? How many GREAT things that we could otherwise accomplish all on our own? Is there ANYTHING that the "Three Stooges" and their evil coconspirators do, to really improve anything for the folks in our community? I read the twisted Ozias letter, and it gave me the creeps because NOTHING that he stated that was the commissioners job, has been handled in any way that was good or positive tor our community~! The good folks that we do have in government, who do their jobs well, would still do their jobs well without the "Three Stooges" and I bet that they would do FAR better without the so-called "leadership" of the tragic, dangerous, and deadly comedy act that we have tolerated FAR too long~!
Sincerely, Mike
Clallam County needs to acknowledge our part in allowing this takeover. We have trusted our elected leaders and not been vigilant. This sucks because that’s exactly why we elect folks—to represent OUR interests so that we can spend our days working to pay taxes and support our families. It doesn’t help that the media is unwilling to publish anything that will jeopardize advertising revenue.
Sadly, this is the result. I hope we can right this. Thank you Jeff for stepping up and presenting the FACTS.
This is why you’re so good as the Clallam County Watchdog — you are from here and you love this area so much. I know others love Clallam County too and contribute to the information. Your passion comes through and it shows in your latest public comments and this article. This area is blessed to have you as an advocate!
Just a observation. We obey the law by choice. When we decide to not obey the law there are supposed to be sanctions and penalties. Now, however, we are discovering some folks are not obeying the law, avoiding sanctions, and ignoring the rest of us. When these folks disagree with the law, they insist their interpretations are justifiable and they then protest about being victims of the law. The extreme is when others get hurt supporting these lawbreakers. Our elected representatives make the laws, and our law enforcement folks support that legal description. Do the crime. Do the time.
That eight-month timeline for a simple follow-up letter versus immediate access for donor discussions really lays bare where accountability sits. The pattern you've documented here - public process gets delayed indefinitly while donor conversations happen quietly - is exactly how public trust erodes. What bothers me most is how the form response tries to bury the actual question under generic budget talk, as if constituents asking about specific transparency failures just need more context about county operations. We dont.