Clallam County seems to be doing it all: from funding crack-pipe cleaning kits to throwing diaper-driven “workforce development” dollars at NGOs — would you believe they’re even promoting clean-eating kits for the gluttonously inclined? These ten short, sharp stories reveal a common thread: when public dollars bleed into unaccountable programs and identity-driven gestures, the public interest often takes a back seat. Read on to see how county officials are spending, promising, and posturing — sometimes with citizens’ safety and fiscal responsibility hanging in the balance.
Harm-Reduction Spending Grows
At yesterday’s county-commissioner meeting, the board quietly approved another $50,000 for harm-reduction supplies — crack-pipe cleaning kits, meth pipes, “boofing” kits, and syringes. Commissioner Mike French defended the decision: “Someone cannot go to treatment if they’re dead, and that’s the main goal.”
Framed as life-saving pragmatism, the logic bypasses a key question: how many recipients actually enter treatment? Without tracking, oversight, or measurable outcomes, this funding risks enabling addiction rather than promoting recovery.
So Clallam is doubling down — but is this a genuine pathway to help, or a free pass to keep fueling addiction without accountability? An article from Independent Institute argues that what began as promising “harm reduction” for drug users — clean-needle exchanges to prevent HIV/AIDS — has degenerated in some cities into unfettered drug-use facilitation divorced from any meaningful push toward recovery.
As a case study, it points to San Francisco, CA, which adopted harm reduction as official policy in 2000. That year, the city had 103 accidental overdose deaths; by 2023, overdoses surged to a record 810.
The author argues that modern harm-reduction kits (needles, pipes, smoking kits) and services often lack recovery referrals or follow-through — and in many cases, appear to sustain addiction rather than treating it. The piece calls for rethinking harm reduction, insisting it should be tied to recovery and long-term sobriety rather than simply enabling continued drug use.
Maybe Clallam County knows something that San Francisco doesn’t.
Scanner Reports: Overdoses Keep Coming
Local residents listening to the scanner and posting public alerts have documented a steady stream of calls marked “overdose.” These are snapshots — not the full tally — yet they echo a disturbing pattern: as harm-reduction efforts ramp up, overdose-related incidents continue unabated.
If these alerts are any indication, the county’s gamble isn’t reducing harm — it may be masking a worsening crisis. Without transparent data or a real treatment pipeline, these overdoses risk becoming normalized.
Clallam County deserves better than silence and open-ended funding. It deserves results.
Spruce Parking Lot: $400K Project Becomes $680K
The city of Sequim recently completed the much-touted Spruce Parking Lot project at its Civic Center. Originally budgeted at $400,000, the final tab came in at around $680,000 after adding electrical services for the entrance gate and lighting.
That’s a $280,000 overrun — a staggering 70% above budget. How does a project balloon nearly three-quarters over its initial estimate, especially when major upgrades like lighting and gates seem predictable?
If Sequim can’t get a parking lot right, how can we trust them with the far bigger, more consequential spending?
“Thank You” Meetup — Campaign Defeat Doesn’t Mean Silence
Former Port Angeles city council candidates Mimi Smith Dvorak and James Taylor didn’t win. But now they’re inviting supporters to a “community meetup” on Thursday, December 11, at 5 p.m. at Barhop Brewing — promising pizza, conversation, and a monthly forum for “we the people.”
This is grassroots civic engagement, and Mimi says, “I believe that getting off-line (and into a building) is the first step for positive change.”
Documentary Alert: Communities Confront Sex-Offender Loopholes
A new documentary, The House, described as the “winner of 10 Best Documentary Awards (2025),” lays bare a chilling narrative: small-town residents in Washington fighting against corporate greed, bureaucratic back-channel deals, and plans to house the nation’s most dangerous sex offenders next to schools and playgrounds.
With dozens of victims, opaque private-prison proposals, and state officials allegedly sidestepping community safety concerns, the film raises urgent questions about recidivism, oversight, and whether protections for the innocent can be sacrificed for bureaucratic convenience.
In Clallam County — where many offenders listed as “transient” fail to register weekly — the story feels unnervingly close to home. If we don’t pay attention, this tragedy could become our own.
Recompete Program: Workforce Revival or Welfare for NGOs?
The federal Recompete Pilot Program is supposed to deliver tens of millions for workforce development in Clallam and Jefferson Counties. County Commissioner Mike French says the grant has “the goal of creating good jobs and connecting our residents to those good jobs through workforce training programs and supportive services.”
But recent reports reveal portions of the funding going to support basic needs: diapers for daycare and NGO-run assistance programs through groups like First Step Family Support Center.
Is that the “good job creation” county voters signed up for — or just another slush fund where NGOs line up, and outcomes go unreported?
Old Scandals, New Jobs: Ethics Questions Surround County Administrator
The county’s Administrator, Todd Mielke, continues to have past issues surfacing. In 2012, when he served as a county commissioner in Spokane, he was allegedly caught soliciting political contributions during a meeting about a fraud-laden lawsuit — handing a businessman two envelopes and suggesting one be earmarked for his campaign.
Mielke has publicly denied wrongdoing, but the timing (just after an alleged discovery of fraud) and the optics remain troubling. Now he heads Clallam’s administration — a position demanding transparency and public trust.
Can we be confident he’ll enforce ethics and accountability here — or will old habits follow him west?
Proclamations Over Principles: What Is Honor Worth?
At the November 10 Sequim City Council meeting, the mayor issued proclamations. One honored veterans for a day.
The other recognized Native American Heritage for a month and celebrated the region’s Indigenous stewardship.
Honoring military service only one day a year is one thing. But extolling a group based solely on ancestry for an entire month, rather than deeds or individual merit, plays straight into identity politics — often at the expense of unity.
If civic recognition loses its grounding in real achievement and becomes a matter of race or parentage, we risk eroding the shared values that actually hold communities together.
Meme Economy
Local character Clallamity Jen continues publishing memes several times a week — In fact, CC Watchdog recently endorsed her memes as “equitable, sustainable, and resilient.” She’s even conducting a podcast interview with CC Watchdog, and today is your last day to submit questions to clallamityjen@gmail.com.
The Strait Shooter’s Satire: Clean Eating Kits
And another laugh — The local satire outlet The Strait Shooter has “rolled out” its latest public-health initiative: “Harm Reduction for Morbid Obesity” kits for residents tucking into 6,000-calorie breakfasts. Kits reportedly include heavy-duty bibs, industrial-strength napkins, and utensils robust enough for triple-stack pancakes.
According to the Health Department, the new “Clean Eating Kits” will include an assortment of high-grade napkins, reinforced bibs capable of catching falling mozzarella sticks, antibacterial hand wipes, and utensils allegedly strong enough to withstand the stress of triple-stack pancakes. Officials say this approach is rooted in modern harm-reduction theory: if people are going to keep eating themselves into cardiology appointments anyway, at least they shouldn’t get foodborne illness from dirty forks while doing it.
If Clallam County is going to use harm-reduction logic for everything, maybe it’s time to question whether the logic holds.
