All the news that

City Hall

8.21.07 Claim against the City-filed by us earlier this month. Even though people have encouraged us for three years to file something against the city for the constant harassment we have received since revealing the problems with the First Time Homebuyers program, we have not wanted to go that route. It winds up costing the good citizens of the community money and they have already been losing out over the housing money that wasn't going into the home rehabilitations. However, after the latest incident at the June 19th City Council meeting with the Mayor providing safe haven for the most vile type of defamation imaginable, we have had quite enough. It is obvious the harassment won't stop by the people implicated in the housing investigations. We hope that the City will consider the amount of money it will cost if they choose to deny the claim and we have to file a lawsuit, because that is exactly what we will do. We regret that it has come to this but we have been left no choice.

2.28.07 Welcome to new City Manager Nancy Flemming Steve :-)

8-19-06 I am posting a letter that I wrote to the police department about another incident with a member of the Kemp family.

7-29-06 I am posting a letter that I submitted to the City asking some questions about the 2006-07 budget. I hand delivered it to City Hall, addressed to Accounting Supervisor Gordon Elton. Hopefully he will receive it. The last time I addressed mail to him and dropped it off at City Hall he told me later that he did not recall ever receiving it. That was regarding a bogus 1099 Misc. tax form the City had submitted to the IRS about us, so it was extremely important. The IRS is still investigating that one. No matter what anyone from the City tries to tell you, we never received a check for $50,000. It sure would be nice though. The City did have to pay to bring our house up to basic code though since the HUD investigation found that everything we told them was true and the City was negligent in their administration of the First Time Homebuyers program. Paying RCAA to administer the program does not remove the oversight responsibility the city has. The city still has obligations to monitor the program and respond to citizens complaints.

The race for City Council has begun! A number of people have taken out the necessary paperwork from the City and we will have to wait and see who returns them with the proper signatures. Hopefully we will have a number of candidates and incumbents to choose from. There are 3 positions open. It would be very good for the City as a whole to get at least one or two new members to the Council that can bring their experience and fresh perspective to the job. Shuffling around the same cronies doesn't do anyone any good (except for their buddies of course). Look carefully at who is backing the particular candidates. That tells you a great deal. Someone who is tied at the hips with City Hall or the Chamber of Commerce isn't going to change anything from the "business as usual" cronyism that has cost the city so much already. One question to ask a candidate would be whether or not they supported the illegal appointment of Jay Parrish to the City Manager position and the costly legal battle to keep him in that position. If a person isn't willing to follow the law just because a person is a friend and a long time Rio Dell resident than what does that tell you about their character. A City Council member is supposed to follow the law, even if it conflicts with the interests of their good buddies. We will be watching the race closely, hope you will be too!

3-19-06 Help Wanted-The City of Rio Dell is advertising for a temporary Accounting Assistant position for up to 30hrs a week at $10.00hr. The position will stay open until filled and applications are available at City Hall. See the job announcement at City Hall for details.

I have found a product that is a "must have" item for every household in Rio Dell. It is called "Iron Out" and it does just that. The water has been very bad for a long time but recently we noticed it has started to stain everything particularly bad when bleach is used. I recently had a load of whites ruined when I added bleach, as I have done many times in the past. The laundry came out various shades of orange and tan. Some folks around here told us about Iron Out and I ran the load again with that added. I could hardly believe it but the whites came out great. We used it in other areas of the house that were getting stained and it worked just as good there. We will keep this product around from now on! They should send this stuff out with your water bill. I hope this will be a thing of the past once the entire water system is online but we shall see.

Keep a close eye on the debate over Scotia and their future. Robert Manne of Palco seems to advocating for annexation into Rio Dell as the most cost effective solution. This may be the cheapest solution but it may not necessarily be the best solution for the residents. A lot of careful consideration and research has to be done by everyone involved. It leaves me wondering if Maxxam is liquidating their last remaining assets before clearing out of here. I guess we will wait and see what happens.

3-17-06 Update. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Future updates will include regular features on the Rio Dell City Council meetings, which I attend regularly. They are held each first and third Tuesday of the month, usually at 6:30 in the City Hall building. I encourage everyone to attend these meetings as they are one of the few avenues for citizen participation but many people are unable to go for various reasons. I will try to pay special attention to the Public Presentation portion of the meetings. This is where citizens may address the Council on any topic. The local newspapers rarely mention what citizens spoke about because it is usually critical of the city or the Council. I have spoken repeatedly at these meetings and have yet to be heard by the Council. It can be a very frustrating process but it is important to utilize our Constitutional rights and pursue meaningful change through the correct channels.

Here is the link to the Humboldt County Grand Jury website where their most recent report is available:

http://www.co.humboldt.ca.us/grandjury/

Read the second investigation section in the full report regarding the City and the First Time Homebuyers Program. The response from the City of Rio Dell to the Grand Jury investigation is not posted at the site, it wasn't received by the time the report was printed.

The City of Rio Dell's new City Manager, former Mayor Jay Parrish, wrote the response soon after assuming office. We will post it here, asap.

Knowledge is power and information is the key.

Here is a link that I find useful and so might you. The Cornell University Law School which has a searchable law library.

Send us information on any local events, local news, local businesses or features that you think should be included. We do reserve the right to refuse to print anything we don't feel is appropriate for our site. Email us at: sharon@riodelltimes.com

This is a photo of the stonework that Steve does. These are NOT for sale though. The house is a mud pit throughout the winter and it is ruining the floors. Notice the round ones in the front. They are roughly 240 pounds and all seven of us can stand on one.

We have plenty of helpers when we have to place the stone. - Sharon :^)

More is coming...

Last Update 2.28.07 Sharon & Steve :-)