Letters to the Editor 05/11/2016

To the Editor:

My all-time favorite fictional character Ron Swanson once said, "Honor: if you need it defined, you don't have it." 

If you're reading this, Mr. Gorayeb, honor doesn't involve making co-workers uncomfortable no matter what your definition of appropriateness is and it certainly doesn't involve accepting $15,340.48 for essentially getting to be on vacation for two months. Furthermore, accepting over $100,000 in severance for leaving a job voluntarily, with a victim mentality to boot, is not only dishonorable but, as councilman Asson put it, disgraceful. 

Good luck with your next job. 

Jayson Berray

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To the Editor:

Hats off to City Councilor David Asson for speaking up on behalf of taxpayers and voting against this expensive settlement with the ex-city manager.

Hard not to feel like our community was bullied into it by Mr. Gorayeb's threats of litigation. Fulfilling his contract's minimum compensation is more than enough out of our pockets, especially as he resigned rather than accept responsibility for his part in the problems, and refuses to cooperate with the council's requirements for self-improvement. 

This time around, let's hire someone in-house to lead the city team, someone who's worked their way up through the ranks and shown they can work amicably with city staff and city council. City staff has many dedicated workers who could lead the team better than anyone from outside.  

Bill Stevens

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To the Editor:

Is it really in the best interest for our community to have all of the gory details of the city manager mess made public, and exactly what purpose would it serve?

Based on what details have been offered, it's fairly safe to assume that our departed city manager's interpersonal communication skills and demeanor were deemed unacceptable by some of his co-workers. Exactly how much more do we need to know, and at what cost?

City councilors have explained that part of the rationale for offering Gorayeb a severance and a year's pay, versus an at-will termination and three months compensation, was that the severance option would keep the details of the investigation closed to the public. The Council's concern being that there was information and opinions shared during the investigation that was understood to be confidential, and if revealed now could apparently seriously damage relationships among the remaining staff at City Hall.  

Gorayeb is gone and many are understandably infuriated that taxpayers will be covering his compensation for the next year. It could be argued that we, as taxpayers, have every right to know all the details surrounding the defective situation we are now being asked to cover under warranty.

The problem is, regardless, we are stuck with the deal the city agreed to offer Gorayeb. Airing out the city's dirty laundry may satisfy a passing curiosity, but the potential negative ramifications don't warrant it.  Reputations and working relationships at city hall could be irreparably damaged, and it would no doubt be a huge distraction from dealing with the issues that our community expects city hall to be dealing with.

Unless the end goal is to replace everyone at City Hall, there is no need to drag this ugly issue out any further.

Greg Werts

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To the Editor:

First of all, the mayor and all the city council should resign immediately. They have all become complicit in what Gorayeb has been doing. Everything that Goreyab has touched, approved, negotiated and passed needs to be gone over with a fine-tooth comb with an independent lawyer (NOT the current one).

The citizens of Sisters should bring suit against the city for wanton waste of tax dollars on a man who should have been fired a long time ago. Again, because of the spineless mayor and council, Goreyab got away with everything he wanted.

Hopefully Sisters will wake up and hire someone who has government/city experience and is from Oregon and has the best interests of Oregon in mind. Goreyab was a manipulator, not a negotiator.

I sincerely hope that Sisters returns as the town it once was - minus the corruption.

Les Roe

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To the Editor:

In the debate over the Sisters School District's proposed $10.7 million bond, articles appearing in recent issues of The Nugget have suggested the District's discretionary spending is only just beginning.

In "District promises oversight of bond projects"(April 20), Superintendent Curt Scholl rationalized the purported need for new athletic facilities - which alone would cost roughly $838,750 if the bond passes - by saying, "Our schools are parks facilities in many ways."

Are we funding education or paying for a new city park?

In "Ballots out for school bond measure" (April 27), The Nugget cited bond advocate Jay Wilkins' justification for the discretionary expense to be that quality facilities are necessary for Sisters to compete for enrollment with other local districts.

This is what school districts do: continuously tax and spend in an endless bid to progressively increase enrollment. In the Sisters School District's eyes, stable funding for educating our current students is not enough. Constant expansion is their mantra. The schools must look like show-horses to impress and fill ever more seats.

When additional enrollment exceeds capacity, a new school must be built. Yet more taxes.

What's also worrisome is that, rather than conduct comprehensive and unbiased reporting, The Nugget has seemingly chosen to become a mouthpiece for bond advocates. "Ballots out for school bond measure" detailed Mr. Wilkins' pro-bond arguments for the overwhelming majority of the article, yet it failed to interview a single person opposed to the measure.

The Nugget also front-loaded all arguments in favor of the bond measure in its Letters to the Editor (April 27). Arguments in favor appeared in the first two pages of that column (pages 2 and 9), while those opposed were relegated to the last two pages (pages 10 and 30).

Something's getting crammed down our throats.

Michael Cooper

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To the Editor:

Re: Edinburgh, Scotland - best festival city in the world," (The Nugget, May 4, page 20):

Great article and travel tips! We travel regularly to Copenhagen, Denmark. Next time we will visit Edinburgh first!

Gary Breaux

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To the Editor:

I lived in Central Oregon from 1999 to 2009, then moved to Ashland. Last July I began exploring the possibility of relocating back to Central Oregon again, finally moving to Sisters just a month ago. During this nine-month process, I initiated and held individual "creative conversations" with 45+ community leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors in Central Oregon. I wanted to learn their perspectives about what is happening currently and what they saw as the needs, challenges, and opportunities.

I found a culture of strong cooperation, collaboration, respect, generosity, and synergy in Central Oregon, with visionary, community-minded "possibility leaders" engaged for the greater good of the larger whole. This culture is unique in my experience, and significantly different than anything I've ever found anywhere else. It is a form of real wealth, as much as our natural resources, financial wealth, and other more commonly identified forms. It's a different form than many people expect, and perhaps a surprising one. As one bank executive said to me, "You definitely captured the essence of our region's 'secret

sauce'!"

I am passionate about helping businesses and organizations build vibrant cultures in workplaces and communities so that we all thrive. To that end, since moving to Sisters I volunteered and helped organize the Sisters Country Civility Project, "Speak Your Peace," in April as a way to contribute to building and strengthening that kind of culture. It is encouraging that the Ford Family Foundation is also exploring various ways to support community-building activities and processes here.

From my perspective, this culture is one of Sisters' and Central Oregon's biggest assets  As I see it, strengthening and building on that culture will be vital in order for Sisters and Central Oregon to successfully navigate the current growth-related changes and challenges and become increasingly healthy, vibrant communities. I will continue to do whatever I can to help this happen.

Elaine Cornick

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To the Editor:

We received the final on our new home in October of 2015. The driveway was paved shortly after.  The paving covered a much-used access point of the Peterson Ridge Trail, which had been erroneously placed there many years before.

The Sisters Trails Alliance removed the signage and tacked up a small sign stating that the trail was now closed. Since then, a handful of times, we have seen hikers heading down our driveway. If I could, I would politely let them know that the trail access points were now on Elm Street, at the end of Locust Street and behind FivePine. With the advent of all this fine weather, we have experienced a

dramatic increase in trespassers. I understand that we humans are creatures of habit. We don't like to be inconvenienced, but we also need to respect the property and privacy of homeowners.

The other day I was sitting by the big picture window overlooking our backyard when a group of hikers approached the house from the woods. They passed by a few feet from where I was sitting in my bathrobe sipping coffee (no face cream or curlers, thank goodness). Second in line, a woman, made eye contact, smiled and waved... It was disconcerting to say the least.

Today, a group of four bike riders zoomed out of the driveway (passing my son's parked truck) and plowed through the new rock we had lining our pavers-leaving tire tracks and spraying rock.

Naturally, we are concerned, but what really scares me is the danger it poses every time I back out of the garage - not expecting or seeing someone on foot or bike. So, if it looks like a driveway, and there is no sign to say that it is a trail access point (even if it appears on an old trail map) it probably is a driveway, and for the safety and consideration of all concerned, please look for another entry point.

Robin Lewis Kane