Public trust depends on fiscal traceability. When a program’s funding cannot be traced, and resources are used in ways that cannot be seen, governance shifts from accountability to assumption.
Dr. Sarah, trust is transparency period. Perhaps the citizens of Clallam County should be peaceful sign wavers of “NO KINGS” referencing our Commissioners? Cults are groups of people brainwashed, Jonestown is an example of a modern day large group of very sick people so brainwashed they literally drank the kool-aid and all perished, 918 people. Jonestown had been drinking the kool-aid long before they actually drank the real poisoned kool-aid but Jonestown is a real example of how mind manipulation is real. 918 dead people is approximately 100 short of the signers of a petition to stop the $5 levy imposed on Clallam County taxpayers for soil testing late last year and it meant NOTHING to our Commissioners. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
@4reasonabledevelopment, the anger you’re expressing makes sense. Emotion is often the first signal that something in governance isn’t working — it’s how people notice exclusion, unfairness, or being ignored.
Research and history also show something important: none of us is immune. Under ordinary conditions of authority, group pressure, and institutional norms, people routinely conform, comply, or rationalize decisions they privately doubt. That’s not a moral flaw — it’s a human one (Asch, 1951; Milgram, 1963; Zimbardo, 2007).
Where emotion is most useful is in naming the harm and refusing to accept silence. Where it becomes less effective is when it has to carry the full weight of accountability on its own. Systems tend to absorb emotion unless it’s translated into evidence, records, and enforceable processes.
That’s why good governance is designed around human fallibility, not trust in individual virtue. It asks: Who had the authority? What statute or process was used? Where did the money go? What record shows how public input was considered? Emotion points us to those questions — but documentation is what actually forces change.
So I don’t see this as emotion versus accountability. I see emotion as the alarm, and fiscal traceability and decision records as the mechanism that turns legitimate anger into durable accountability.
In the case you raised — the $5 soil testing fee and the petition to stop it — the breakdown seems to be exactly that missing trail.
What would transparency look like to you in that case — a decision record showing who had authority, a breakdown of how the fee revenue is used, or a written explanation of why the petition did not change the outcome?
References
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership, and men (pp. 177–190). Carnegie Press.
Dr. Sarah, trying to understand about the breakdown & the missing trail regarding the $5 fee and the petition, let’s add all the people who spoke against the fee to those items. There will never be a written explanation of why the petition did not change the outcome, maybe word salad but nothing written. When the Commissioners are sending out canned letters to public letters a written explantation isn’t forth coming. Regarding the breakdown there was one presented even with the $5 fee their expenditures are not covered and more money will be next year on top of the current $5 fee. As far as a record showing who had authority, I was there I saw who had authority, the 3 amigos voted for the levy, unless I’m missing something?
Agreed emotion as the alarm, and fiscal traceability and decision records as the mechanism that turns legitimate anger into durable accountability. So far haven’t seen the accountability part meaning nothing enforceable because our Commissioners don’t demand it or expect it.
The commissioners did not answer yesterday's question about how they determine which groups they will participate with in a public forum (such as a town hall). Here is today's email:
Dear Commissioners,
If tribes and NGO partners are deeply embedded in governance of the Recompete program, what safeguards exist to ensure equal treatment and avoid preferential access?
The following is a modeled individual-commissioner response, intended to reflect how a Clallam County Commissioner might address this question using publicly available information and established governance practices.
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for the question. I want to respond not only to the words being asked, but to the concern underlying them, which I understand has been shaped by recent reporting about how Recompete is structured and administered (CC Watchdog, 2026).
At the surface level, the safeguard is this: tribal governments and nonprofit organizations participate in Recompete as partners, but they do not hold decision-making authority over County funds or policy. Under Washington law, authority over budgets, contracts, and program acceptance remains with the Board of County Commissioners and must be exercised in open public meetings (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 42.30.030). That is the formal answer to your question about avoiding preferential access.
That said, I believe the deeper issue you are raising is not simply who has authority, but whether the public can clearly see where authority sits, how money flows, and how outcomes are being measured—particularly when implementation relies on nonprofit and coalition structures that are not themselves subject to open-government laws.
I’ve been watching how other counties are addressing this challenge. For example, Grays Harbor County has produced a formal Recompete progress report that consolidates governance structure, funding flows, staffing roles, and intended outcomes into a single public document. That report does not eliminate partnerships or decision complexity, but it does make them legible to constituents.
In Clallam County, our Recompete approach differs in scale and structure, but the transparency challenge remains similar. A Clallam-specific response could reasonably include:
1. A publicly presented summary of what the Board has formally approved (grant acceptance, budgeted revenues and expenditures, authorized staffing, and contracts);
2. Clear distinction between Board authority and coalition or nonprofit implementation roles; and
3. Periodic public reporting that allows residents to see how Recompete funds are being used and what outcomes are expected or achieved.
From my perspective, those steps would address the concern about preferential access not by questioning intent, but by reducing ambiguity.
Let me ask you a clarifying question in return, to make sure I am responding to what you are truly asking:
Is your concern primarily about whether tribes or nonprofits are making County decisions, or about whether the current structure makes it difficult for the public to see how decisions are made and how funds are used?
That distinction matters because the solution is less about restricting partnerships and more about improving how the County communicates governance and accountability.
Dr. Sarah, you are too logical and pragmatic to try to make sense of what sounds like Tourette’s syndrome from the commissioners. I diligently listen to recordings from Jeff’s pod cast, and it is most fortunate I do not attend in person. I would lose my shit and not be able to do anything in 3 minutes.
You are a role model.
We, appreciate your information. Have they ever had to physically remove an engaged commentator? Just asking for a friend!
I've seen them come close. The constituent had exceeded her 3 allotted minutes, showed no signs of stopping, and, worst of all, was criticizing the county. Compare that to Norma Turner or Mike Doherty taking 4 and 5 minutes, and you can see how biased the commissioners are.
Only 3? Bummer. Good thing I’m not in Sequim. (Husbands 3rd back surgery, just found out patient takes pain meds, not caregiver! Who knew?)I hope Jake has thick skin. But he will never get the “shittygrams” I send to the three stooges.
@SusanCBonallo, I get it — listening to hours of meetings and podcasts without seeing clear answers would test anyone’s patience. That reaction is human, not a character flaw.
The hard part is that public comment feels like the place to release that frustration, but it’s actually a very blunt tool. It lets people speak, but it doesn’t force answers. What forces answers is boring, procedural work: written questions, documented authority, budget lines, and records that have to exist whether anyone is calm or not.
That’s why I keep trying to translate frustration into traceability. Not because emotion is wrong — but because evidence and process are what actually make institutions move. And for what it’s worth, you’re not alone in feeling this way.
Join us for Coffee with Colleen this Wednesday, February 4th at 8 AM to hear a presentation from Bruce Emery, Director of Community Development at Clallam County.
Economic recovery comes from investing WITHIN the community. The backbone of any county are the trades needed to maintain and service community needs. Clallam County employers are in sore need of finding qualified individuals that can cover these areas.
There is a big backlog and wait time for much needed people in the electrical, electronic installers, HVAC technicians, plumbers, pipefitters, welders, builders, framers, roofers (the list goes on)
Many of these areas are covered by out of county people or companies.
When I read Commission French proposal to award “... grant funds so tribes could hire and train grant writers...” I was shocked to say the least. Then to also read about the jobs
program for administrators, not workers, put me over the top.
A much better investment (with no age gap) would be to use funds to assist, not the tribes best interest or programs for administrators, but our local interest. Invest in trade schools. Trade jobs are some of the most in-demand and secure careers that can be pursued. Trade school education is much faster than college — often taking less time than an associate’s degrees. Investments made to educate and train locally will come back and pay for itself!
Denise, I feel more like we are aggressively being boofed in the butt without permission! There's a word for that and its illegal. We HAVE TO VOTE JAKE SEEGERS IN...
We used to call that greased palms back in the day, might be easier and less messy than a boof ???????????
Greased palms" (or "greasing someone's palm") is an idiom meaning to bribe someone or offer a secret, often unethical, payment to a person in power to get them to do a favor, speed up a process, or provide special treatment. It implies "oiling" the situation to make actions proceed more smoothly.
Jeff, thank you and Dr. Sarah for staying on top of this Recompete Grant! We always have questions about it, but get no real updates. CC is in big trouble because we've been misdirected, misinformed, as always, about the true intent of this grant. They failed us AGAIN!
And seeking DEI outcomes. That is the fraud aspects of NODC. Converting non-race based grants...to race based grants. Its one of the things the investigation is supposed to address. EDA administration gave them that money. Its under audit and investigation.
The Department of Commerce (DOC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has received your correspondence and reviewed the information you provided. We have assigned complaint number 25-1290-H.
After careful consideration, we decided to refer your allegations(s) to management officials at the U.S. Economic Development Administration. We have requested that they conduct a thorough and independent inquiry and provide a response to us, including a detailed explanation of their review process and any corrective action, if any, they take as a result. Upon receipt of their response, we will review it and may seek additional information if necessary. We will notify you when the case is closed.
If you have any new or additional information to add to your complaint, please contact the Hotline at (800) 424-5197 and reference the report number assigned when you initiated the complaint. Please note the Hotline cannot provide any further information on the status of your complaint.
It really needs a FOIA request to EDA,EPA, FEMA,NOAA ETC asking for all federal grant plan documents for NODC and SERN/Puget Sound Partnership. from 2009 to present.
Obviously, the public was deceived, and again "shafted", by a small number of so-called management level "decision makers" who NEVER intended that any of these funds would be used to actually address the "advertised intentions" of the entire program~! The stated purpose was, as usual, a blatant lie right from the beginning and I don't buy the BS because the proof is in what has actually happened ever since these thieves got their greedy claws on the funds~! After many decades of analyzing these same kinds of "money disappearing acts" (in fact money laundering schemes) of the government and their "special interest groups" I don't believe for a second that this entire effort was anything but a scam of yet another money laundering scheme by the criminals in government, their coconspirators in the NGOs, and the few in the general public who were always the REAL intended beneficiaries. We need to remember that it was the criminals in government and their NGO criminal coconspirators who were responsible for developing, and then later destroying, the economy here in the first place, so it was NEVER going to go well to trust the same people who destroyed our once vibrant economy, to actually improve the economy or help those who need the assistance the most~! As long as the good folks of our community are lured into trusting these same failed bad actors within out government and community, we will constantly be robbed and defrauded of our true potential~! I do NOT believe that ANY NGO or sovereign tribal government has the legal shield to refuse a transparent accounting of the taxpayer finds that it receives, and there is solid legal president that supports my conclusion IF there was a legitimate and lawful legal system~! I admire those who want to force these shady and shifty characters into telling the truth, because it is useful to reveal their intentionally underhanded bad faith dealings, however the BEST path would be to entirely deny these criminals from having any way to steal our taxpayer dollars and of course rib us of our true potential as a community~! Trusting the foxes to guard the henhouse has NEVER worked and it is WAY past time to remove the foxes now~!
I'm shocked! Shocked, I say! To think that federal grant money could possibly be siphoned off by NGOs and spent on items that have little, or zero, to do with a project's stated intent. Perhaps Commissioner French should be focused on creating sustainable employment options, and employees to fill those options, in the county rather than about how he's so proud that he is trying to bring a big federal investment to the county. Money the federal government doesn't have, by the way, and that kills the program once it's gone.
How embarrassing for this county to be represented by a group of commissioners that spoon feed their NGO's from hell. I hope to point out on their deaf ears that their path of corruption will end in a bad way! Citizens will get sick of it and something has to give. Keep their ideology at check ...it plain isn't working in our rural area and keeps Clallam County from becoming a gem of the NOP.
That isn't an NGO ! That's us all..
Thank you Jeff, have a great one and all you Doggers!
Their board minutes are not easy to find but interesting. The most recent meeting the board increased their own employee retirement contribution at OCH, talked about money to collges going to staff and existing expenses (not workforce training tuition) and gave funds to food banks.The cost per client compared to other regions Simcosky talks about is interesting, and maybe worth digging deeper into. https://www.olympicch.org/leadership
FYI, Simcosky at a public forum held at the Grange got up and began walking out in the middle of the meeting because the public was asking questions about the MAT clinic. He basically said he works for a sovereign nation and what is done is their business and no one else’s business. He said basically all they have to do is file their required tax forms and if that is done there is no further information they have to be accountable for. Simcosky is employed by Jamestown tribe or at least he was and probably still is?
Additional Charges: Aaron Fisher Charged With Witness Tampering—Murder Trial Expected To Start On Monday
Just days before his murder trial is set to begin, Aaron Fisher faced a new legal hurdle in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday. Fisher was additionally charged with one count of witness tampering.
The new charge adds another layer of complexity to a high-profile case that has already drawn significant community scrutiny due to the close personal relationship between Judge Basden, and Fisher’s attorney, Lane Wolfley.
The State requested Fisher be held on $15,000 bail. Despite the serious nature of the new allegation, Judge Basden RELEASED FISHER ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE for the tampering charge, denying the State’s request. Fisher remains in custody on the underlying murder charges.
I personally would like to invite Mr. French to step out from behind the dais, cross the street and take a walk around the 3rd st health department /UNsafeway/Goodwill blocks of PA and view the hope on display in his community of health.
Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network (SERN) and Its Role
The Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network (SERN, also called Strait ERN) serves as a Local Integrating Organization (LIO) under the Puget Sound Partnership, the state agency coordinating Puget Sound ecosystem recovery. SERN implements the Puget Sound Action Agenda locally in the Strait of Juan de Fuca action area, covering Clallam, Jefferson, and parts of surrounding counties—including the North Olympic Peninsula.
The North Olympic Development Council (NODC), a nonprofit focused on economic and environmental initiatives, hosts and administers SERN. NODC manages funding, coordinates projects, and supports related efforts like climate action and resource conservation.
Delivery of Tribal Outcomes in Grants
SERN and NODC deliver tribal outcomes—such as supporting treaty-reserved fishing rights, habitat access, cultural resource protection, and co-management—primarily through collaborative planning and grant support rather than direct funding administration. Tribes like the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam, and Port Gamble S'Klallam participate in SERN's governance and priority-setting.
SERN prioritizes Near Term Actions (NTAs) and provides support letters for grants from programs like:
Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR)
Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP)
Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB)
Floodplains by Design (FbD)
These focus on estuary restoration, salmon habitat, and floodplain reconnection.
Role of Property in These Projects
Property mechanisms play a key role: grants often fund acquisitions, conservation easements, or protection of private lands to enable restoration. This removes development pressures, restores natural processes, and enhances habitat—directly supporting tribal treaty rights to salmon and shellfish, plus cultural/spiritual connections to land and water.
Examples of Projects and Tribal Benefits
Lyre River Estuary Protection & Restoration — SERN identified this as a priority for salmon recovery; funding supports property protection/restoration in an estuarine area critical for juvenile salmon, benefiting tribal fisheries.
Lower Dungeness River Dike Setback/Floodplain Restoration — Involves property modifications (dike setbacks) to reconnect floodplains, improving salmon spawning/rearing habitat in a key tribal fishing river.
Twin Rivers Acquisition — SERN provided support for property acquisition to protect habitat, aligning with salmon recovery goals that support tribal outcomes.
Broader efforts — Include fish passage barrier removal and nearshore restoration, often on acquired or eased properties, advancing tribal co-benefits like access to traditional resources.
These projects rarely transfer property directly to tribes but place it under public, nonprofit, or conservation ownership with tribal input on management. Outcomes for tribes come indirectly through healthier ecosystems supporting treaty rights and directly through inclusion in planning.
Would a direct inquiry to the Recompete Program Coordinator yield answers about program outcomes? Her email was given on a county memorandum as Una.Wirkebau@ClallamCountyWa.gov
Good Governance Daily Proverb
Public trust depends on fiscal traceability. When a program’s funding cannot be traced, and resources are used in ways that cannot be seen, governance shifts from accountability to assumption.
*Assumption-based governance = belief-based legitimacy
*Evidence-based governance = durable legitimacy
Dr. Sarah, trust is transparency period. Perhaps the citizens of Clallam County should be peaceful sign wavers of “NO KINGS” referencing our Commissioners? Cults are groups of people brainwashed, Jonestown is an example of a modern day large group of very sick people so brainwashed they literally drank the kool-aid and all perished, 918 people. Jonestown had been drinking the kool-aid long before they actually drank the real poisoned kool-aid but Jonestown is a real example of how mind manipulation is real. 918 dead people is approximately 100 short of the signers of a petition to stop the $5 levy imposed on Clallam County taxpayers for soil testing late last year and it meant NOTHING to our Commissioners. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
@4reasonabledevelopment, the anger you’re expressing makes sense. Emotion is often the first signal that something in governance isn’t working — it’s how people notice exclusion, unfairness, or being ignored.
Research and history also show something important: none of us is immune. Under ordinary conditions of authority, group pressure, and institutional norms, people routinely conform, comply, or rationalize decisions they privately doubt. That’s not a moral flaw — it’s a human one (Asch, 1951; Milgram, 1963; Zimbardo, 2007).
Where emotion is most useful is in naming the harm and refusing to accept silence. Where it becomes less effective is when it has to carry the full weight of accountability on its own. Systems tend to absorb emotion unless it’s translated into evidence, records, and enforceable processes.
That’s why good governance is designed around human fallibility, not trust in individual virtue. It asks: Who had the authority? What statute or process was used? Where did the money go? What record shows how public input was considered? Emotion points us to those questions — but documentation is what actually forces change.
So I don’t see this as emotion versus accountability. I see emotion as the alarm, and fiscal traceability and decision records as the mechanism that turns legitimate anger into durable accountability.
In the case you raised — the $5 soil testing fee and the petition to stop it — the breakdown seems to be exactly that missing trail.
What would transparency look like to you in that case — a decision record showing who had authority, a breakdown of how the fee revenue is used, or a written explanation of why the petition did not change the outcome?
References
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership, and men (pp. 177–190). Carnegie Press.
http://nwkpsych.rutgers.edu/~kharber/selectedtopicsinsocialpsychology/READINGS/Asch%201951%20Group%20pressure%20and%20judgment.pdf
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040525
Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). The Lucifer effect: Understanding how good people turn evil. Random House.
https://raggeduniversity.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1_x_Philip-Zimbardo-The-Lucifer-Effect_-Understanding-How-Good-People-Turn-Evil-2007.pdf
Dr. Sarah, trying to understand about the breakdown & the missing trail regarding the $5 fee and the petition, let’s add all the people who spoke against the fee to those items. There will never be a written explanation of why the petition did not change the outcome, maybe word salad but nothing written. When the Commissioners are sending out canned letters to public letters a written explantation isn’t forth coming. Regarding the breakdown there was one presented even with the $5 fee their expenditures are not covered and more money will be next year on top of the current $5 fee. As far as a record showing who had authority, I was there I saw who had authority, the 3 amigos voted for the levy, unless I’m missing something?
Agreed emotion as the alarm, and fiscal traceability and decision records as the mechanism that turns legitimate anger into durable accountability. So far haven’t seen the accountability part meaning nothing enforceable because our Commissioners don’t demand it or expect it.
The commissioners did not answer yesterday's question about how they determine which groups they will participate with in a public forum (such as a town hall). Here is today's email:
Dear Commissioners,
If tribes and NGO partners are deeply embedded in governance of the Recompete program, what safeguards exist to ensure equal treatment and avoid preferential access?
All three commissioners can be reached by contacting the Clerk of the Board at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov.
The following is a modeled individual-commissioner response, intended to reflect how a Clallam County Commissioner might address this question using publicly available information and established governance practices.
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for the question. I want to respond not only to the words being asked, but to the concern underlying them, which I understand has been shaped by recent reporting about how Recompete is structured and administered (CC Watchdog, 2026).
At the surface level, the safeguard is this: tribal governments and nonprofit organizations participate in Recompete as partners, but they do not hold decision-making authority over County funds or policy. Under Washington law, authority over budgets, contracts, and program acceptance remains with the Board of County Commissioners and must be exercised in open public meetings (RCW 36.32.120; RCW 42.30.030). That is the formal answer to your question about avoiding preferential access.
That said, I believe the deeper issue you are raising is not simply who has authority, but whether the public can clearly see where authority sits, how money flows, and how outcomes are being measured—particularly when implementation relies on nonprofit and coalition structures that are not themselves subject to open-government laws.
I’ve been watching how other counties are addressing this challenge. For example, Grays Harbor County has produced a formal Recompete progress report that consolidates governance structure, funding flows, staffing roles, and intended outcomes into a single public document. That report does not eliminate partnerships or decision complexity, but it does make them legible to constituents.
In Clallam County, our Recompete approach differs in scale and structure, but the transparency challenge remains similar. A Clallam-specific response could reasonably include:
1. A publicly presented summary of what the Board has formally approved (grant acceptance, budgeted revenues and expenditures, authorized staffing, and contracts);
2. Clear distinction between Board authority and coalition or nonprofit implementation roles; and
3. Periodic public reporting that allows residents to see how Recompete funds are being used and what outcomes are expected or achieved.
From my perspective, those steps would address the concern about preferential access not by questioning intent, but by reducing ambiguity.
Let me ask you a clarifying question in return, to make sure I am responding to what you are truly asking:
Is your concern primarily about whether tribes or nonprofits are making County decisions, or about whether the current structure makes it difficult for the public to see how decisions are made and how funds are used?
That distinction matters because the solution is less about restricting partnerships and more about improving how the County communicates governance and accountability.
Sincerely,
Commissioner
Clallam County Board of Commissioners
References
CC Watchdog. (2026). Recompete rebranded.
https://www.ccwatchdog.com/p/recompete-rebranded
Grays Harbor County. (2024). Recompete program progress report [County report].
https://www.co.grays-harbor.wa.us
Revised Code of Washington § 36.32.120. Powers of county commissioners.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=36.32.120
Revised Code of Washington § 42.30.030. Open Public Meetings Act—Open and public meetings.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=42.30.030
We need some REMODELING, that's for sure!👍🏼
Dr. Sarah, you are too logical and pragmatic to try to make sense of what sounds like Tourette’s syndrome from the commissioners. I diligently listen to recordings from Jeff’s pod cast, and it is most fortunate I do not attend in person. I would lose my shit and not be able to do anything in 3 minutes.
You are a role model.
We, appreciate your information. Have they ever had to physically remove an engaged commentator? Just asking for a friend!
I've seen them come close. The constituent had exceeded her 3 allotted minutes, showed no signs of stopping, and, worst of all, was criticizing the county. Compare that to Norma Turner or Mike Doherty taking 4 and 5 minutes, and you can see how biased the commissioners are.
@JeffTozzer, you know it's "three strikes, and you're out"!
Only 3? Bummer. Good thing I’m not in Sequim. (Husbands 3rd back surgery, just found out patient takes pain meds, not caregiver! Who knew?)I hope Jake has thick skin. But he will never get the “shittygrams” I send to the three stooges.
@SusanCBonallo, I get it — listening to hours of meetings and podcasts without seeing clear answers would test anyone’s patience. That reaction is human, not a character flaw.
The hard part is that public comment feels like the place to release that frustration, but it’s actually a very blunt tool. It lets people speak, but it doesn’t force answers. What forces answers is boring, procedural work: written questions, documented authority, budget lines, and records that have to exist whether anyone is calm or not.
That’s why I keep trying to translate frustration into traceability. Not because emotion is wrong — but because evidence and process are what actually make institutions move. And for what it’s worth, you’re not alone in feeling this way.
(And yes — this advice is for your friend 😉)
You know the board commissioners have no intention of giving you a honest answer even if you are lucky enough to even get one.
We are CAPTURED. Only we can free ourselves. They have to GO!😎
Join us for Coffee with Colleen this Wednesday, February 4th at 8 AM to hear a presentation from Bruce Emery, Director of Community Development at Clallam County.
Topics:
Clallam County Comprehensive Plan Update
Proposed Recreational Vehicles Ordinance
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89474510306?pwd=VlIrRHh5RG1nYVh3V3JXRzFSMmRodz09
ECONOMIC RECOVERY: FAST TRACKED
Economic recovery comes from investing WITHIN the community. The backbone of any county are the trades needed to maintain and service community needs. Clallam County employers are in sore need of finding qualified individuals that can cover these areas.
There is a big backlog and wait time for much needed people in the electrical, electronic installers, HVAC technicians, plumbers, pipefitters, welders, builders, framers, roofers (the list goes on)
Many of these areas are covered by out of county people or companies.
When I read Commission French proposal to award “... grant funds so tribes could hire and train grant writers...” I was shocked to say the least. Then to also read about the jobs
program for administrators, not workers, put me over the top.
A much better investment (with no age gap) would be to use funds to assist, not the tribes best interest or programs for administrators, but our local interest. Invest in trade schools. Trade jobs are some of the most in-demand and secure careers that can be pursued. Trade school education is much faster than college — often taking less time than an associate’s degrees. Investments made to educate and train locally will come back and pay for itself!
Jennifer, French also made this statement during a BoCC meeting. It's that stunned feeling you have after being slapped in the face.
Denise, I feel more like we are aggressively being boofed in the butt without permission! There's a word for that and its illegal. We HAVE TO VOTE JAKE SEEGERS IN...
Yes, rape takes different forms and they are using them all!😎
We used to call that greased palms back in the day, might be easier and less messy than a boof ???????????
Greased palms" (or "greasing someone's palm") is an idiom meaning to bribe someone or offer a secret, often unethical, payment to a person in power to get them to do a favor, speed up a process, or provide special treatment. It implies "oiling" the situation to make actions proceed more smoothly.
How come the Commissioners make us offers we can't refuse? Because they can.
Very Oily, indeed!😎
It's only $35 Million...that will be gone before you can shake a stick at it.
The criminal cabal is in the drivers' seat...for now!
They have to GO!😎
Jeff, thank you and Dr. Sarah for staying on top of this Recompete Grant! We always have questions about it, but get no real updates. CC is in big trouble because we've been misdirected, misinformed, as always, about the true intent of this grant. They failed us AGAIN!
And again, and again, and again!
And seeking DEI outcomes. That is the fraud aspects of NODC. Converting non-race based grants...to race based grants. Its one of the things the investigation is supposed to address. EDA administration gave them that money. Its under audit and investigation.
John Worthington, I was trying to find out how to report this to the EDA to audit - so it is already being audited?
They said so by email.
Compliance and Ethics<ComplianceandEthics@
oig
.doc.gov>
You
The Department of Commerce (DOC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has received your correspondence and reviewed the information you provided. We have assigned complaint number 25-1290-H.
After careful consideration, we decided to refer your allegations(s) to management officials at the U.S. Economic Development Administration. We have requested that they conduct a thorough and independent inquiry and provide a response to us, including a detailed explanation of their review process and any corrective action, if any, they take as a result. Upon receipt of their response, we will review it and may seek additional information if necessary. We will notify you when the case is closed.
If you have any new or additional information to add to your complaint, please contact the Hotline at (800) 424-5197 and reference the report number assigned when you initiated the complaint. Please note the Hotline cannot provide any further information on the status of your complaint.
Thank you.
Compliance and Ethics Staff
Office of Inspector General
WOW!
Respond to them. Keep the smell of it afloat. Every time you step on a cow pie it stinks again.
Thanks John. Agreed, this needs more letters to them.
It really needs a FOIA request to EDA,EPA, FEMA,NOAA ETC asking for all federal grant plan documents for NODC and SERN/Puget Sound Partnership. from 2009 to present.
I'm so excited you got a response, John.
Me too.
John what was the date of the email they sent you?
9/19/2025.
I guess you'll get your answer according to SGT Standard Government Time
If you have things to report reference the complaint number they gave me.
Think about it. How do you get a tribal DEI outcome out of an "estuary grant" 'floodplain grant", "salmon restoration grant" etc?
They managed to do it. Its 14 years of fraud dating back to Chapman. Tharinger and Doherty. Kilmer is rich from it.
This needs Judicial Watch! Sue them!
ABeetle, if we could get sum of that Recompete money we just might have the funds to sue, otherwise we have to rustle it out of their cold dead hands.
First! That’s because I just happened to be up at 4 a.m.
SomeSome, this site is loaded with INSOMNIACS! We are spiders waiting to pounce on CCWD articles LOL ; )
I wait for my dogs to wake me …sometimes I can sleep til 5:30….👏
Disgusting. Just totally disgusted. I feel like we are playing wack-a-mole with these NGOs.
Solid work, Patriot Jeff Tozzer~!
Obviously, the public was deceived, and again "shafted", by a small number of so-called management level "decision makers" who NEVER intended that any of these funds would be used to actually address the "advertised intentions" of the entire program~! The stated purpose was, as usual, a blatant lie right from the beginning and I don't buy the BS because the proof is in what has actually happened ever since these thieves got their greedy claws on the funds~! After many decades of analyzing these same kinds of "money disappearing acts" (in fact money laundering schemes) of the government and their "special interest groups" I don't believe for a second that this entire effort was anything but a scam of yet another money laundering scheme by the criminals in government, their coconspirators in the NGOs, and the few in the general public who were always the REAL intended beneficiaries. We need to remember that it was the criminals in government and their NGO criminal coconspirators who were responsible for developing, and then later destroying, the economy here in the first place, so it was NEVER going to go well to trust the same people who destroyed our once vibrant economy, to actually improve the economy or help those who need the assistance the most~! As long as the good folks of our community are lured into trusting these same failed bad actors within out government and community, we will constantly be robbed and defrauded of our true potential~! I do NOT believe that ANY NGO or sovereign tribal government has the legal shield to refuse a transparent accounting of the taxpayer finds that it receives, and there is solid legal president that supports my conclusion IF there was a legitimate and lawful legal system~! I admire those who want to force these shady and shifty characters into telling the truth, because it is useful to reveal their intentionally underhanded bad faith dealings, however the BEST path would be to entirely deny these criminals from having any way to steal our taxpayer dollars and of course rib us of our true potential as a community~! Trusting the foxes to guard the henhouse has NEVER worked and it is WAY past time to remove the foxes now~!
Sincerely, Mike
I'm shocked! Shocked, I say! To think that federal grant money could possibly be siphoned off by NGOs and spent on items that have little, or zero, to do with a project's stated intent. Perhaps Commissioner French should be focused on creating sustainable employment options, and employees to fill those options, in the county rather than about how he's so proud that he is trying to bring a big federal investment to the county. Money the federal government doesn't have, by the way, and that kills the program once it's gone.
Earmarked but not earmarked?
Good morning Jeff,
How embarrassing for this county to be represented by a group of commissioners that spoon feed their NGO's from hell. I hope to point out on their deaf ears that their path of corruption will end in a bad way! Citizens will get sick of it and something has to give. Keep their ideology at check ...it plain isn't working in our rural area and keeps Clallam County from becoming a gem of the NOP.
That isn't an NGO ! That's us all..
Thank you Jeff, have a great one and all you Doggers!
Glen, thank you for the stickers! You and Karen made my day.
Me too! Thanks for all the "Doggers" do for us.
Shout out to Eric for his fabulous pins!
Denise, You're very welcome...
Their board minutes are not easy to find but interesting. The most recent meeting the board increased their own employee retirement contribution at OCH, talked about money to collges going to staff and existing expenses (not workforce training tuition) and gave funds to food banks.The cost per client compared to other regions Simcosky talks about is interesting, and maybe worth digging deeper into. https://www.olympicch.org/leadership
FYI, Simcosky at a public forum held at the Grange got up and began walking out in the middle of the meeting because the public was asking questions about the MAT clinic. He basically said he works for a sovereign nation and what is done is their business and no one else’s business. He said basically all they have to do is file their required tax forms and if that is done there is no further information they have to be accountable for. Simcosky is employed by Jamestown tribe or at least he was and probably still is?
That is all true.
There's your government to government reply. "FO"
Good grief!? smhiv
Susie, not to interrupt, but you are my go to person (and I know you already know) this just came out. Talk about catch and release!!!
https://www.olympicherald.com/p/additional-charges-aaron-fisher-charged
Feb 3, 2026 Aaron Fisher update. You have to subscribe (no cost) to this site if you want to to read more than what I posted.
Clallam County Watchdog also has had close watch on this person
https://www.ccwatchdog.com/p/murder-suspect-arrested
Additional Charges: Aaron Fisher Charged With Witness Tampering—Murder Trial Expected To Start On Monday
Just days before his murder trial is set to begin, Aaron Fisher faced a new legal hurdle in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday. Fisher was additionally charged with one count of witness tampering.
The new charge adds another layer of complexity to a high-profile case that has already drawn significant community scrutiny due to the close personal relationship between Judge Basden, and Fisher’s attorney, Lane Wolfley.
The State requested Fisher be held on $15,000 bail. Despite the serious nature of the new allegation, Judge Basden RELEASED FISHER ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE for the tampering charge, denying the State’s request. Fisher remains in custody on the underlying murder charges.
Fisher was going to take an "insanity" plea. If releasing him isn't judicial insanity, then what is?
I personally would like to invite Mr. French to step out from behind the dais, cross the street and take a walk around the 3rd st health department /UNsafeway/Goodwill blocks of PA and view the hope on display in his community of health.
oh yeah... we were just there again, and ugh, worse than EVER!
WARNING WILL ROBINSON:
Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network (SERN) and Its Role
The Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network (SERN, also called Strait ERN) serves as a Local Integrating Organization (LIO) under the Puget Sound Partnership, the state agency coordinating Puget Sound ecosystem recovery. SERN implements the Puget Sound Action Agenda locally in the Strait of Juan de Fuca action area, covering Clallam, Jefferson, and parts of surrounding counties—including the North Olympic Peninsula.
The North Olympic Development Council (NODC), a nonprofit focused on economic and environmental initiatives, hosts and administers SERN. NODC manages funding, coordinates projects, and supports related efforts like climate action and resource conservation.
Delivery of Tribal Outcomes in Grants
SERN and NODC deliver tribal outcomes—such as supporting treaty-reserved fishing rights, habitat access, cultural resource protection, and co-management—primarily through collaborative planning and grant support rather than direct funding administration. Tribes like the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam, and Port Gamble S'Klallam participate in SERN's governance and priority-setting.
SERN prioritizes Near Term Actions (NTAs) and provides support letters for grants from programs like:
Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration (PSAR)
Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP)
Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB)
Floodplains by Design (FbD)
These focus on estuary restoration, salmon habitat, and floodplain reconnection.
Role of Property in These Projects
Property mechanisms play a key role: grants often fund acquisitions, conservation easements, or protection of private lands to enable restoration. This removes development pressures, restores natural processes, and enhances habitat—directly supporting tribal treaty rights to salmon and shellfish, plus cultural/spiritual connections to land and water.
Examples of Projects and Tribal Benefits
Lyre River Estuary Protection & Restoration — SERN identified this as a priority for salmon recovery; funding supports property protection/restoration in an estuarine area critical for juvenile salmon, benefiting tribal fisheries.
Lower Dungeness River Dike Setback/Floodplain Restoration — Involves property modifications (dike setbacks) to reconnect floodplains, improving salmon spawning/rearing habitat in a key tribal fishing river.
Twin Rivers Acquisition — SERN provided support for property acquisition to protect habitat, aligning with salmon recovery goals that support tribal outcomes.
Broader efforts — Include fish passage barrier removal and nearshore restoration, often on acquired or eased properties, advancing tribal co-benefits like access to traditional resources.
These projects rarely transfer property directly to tribes but place it under public, nonprofit, or conservation ownership with tribal input on management. Outcomes for tribes come indirectly through healthier ecosystems supporting treaty rights and directly through inclusion in planning.
I'm printing out this comment, John. Thank you for the tutorial.
Would a direct inquiry to the Recompete Program Coordinator yield answers about program outcomes? Her email was given on a county memorandum as Una.Wirkebau@ClallamCountyWa.gov
I encourage Mr French to look up the word HOPE : It is a feeling that what is wanted will happen. To want and expect.
Is this the best we can do for our leaders? He needs to be replaced!
Jake Seegers is the man for the job!!!
It's changing the meaning of a word that is a tactic used by Democrat/ Socialists.
Denise, he would change the word from HOPE to COPE!
I think they need to change their name to the Hypocrites.
When I see the word 'hope' all I see is Obama on a t-shirt.
Is it a picture of an open hand and a dookie
LOL!