MGx - Musings, Essays & Ballads

Councilor Bruce Parker has a history of public name-calling even labeling his constituents “malcontents” at city council meetings for daring express opinions contrary to his own. Mayoral candidate Mike Reaves has made use of surrogates to fight his public battles, deploying his wife and engaging his lawyer to publicly label disgruntled citizens as […]

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Reaves apparently believes that Steve Britton failed the police department when two of its officers critically injured a member of the public by not demanding that people keep quiet about the incident or file a formal complaint. Generally it is up to people directly affected to file formal complaints leaving the general public to […]

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Well, well, well, the answer to how Michael Reaves, tight lipped, insolent and uncommunicative obtained 20 signatures on the nominating petition for mayor is, that HE didn’t. Ann Parker, wife of Bruce Parker, twice defeated in the race for mayor, did it for him. Does she intend to listen to citizen commentary as […]

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Yes, there you have it. Former Coquille Police Chief Mike Reaves has thrown his hat in the ring to run against incumbent mayor, Steve Britton. More on this later as details pour in… so far, however, reaction from everyone I have spoken with has been total shock.
Britton was last challenged, if memory serves, […]

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Well, it is official… we have three new candidates for Coquille city council. Dian Courtright, John Spencer and Amanda Davidson are committed to taking over an incumbent position on the council. It may be possible to replace all three incumbents, Corky Daniels, Fran Capehart and Kathy Hagen.
Lets hope we get some needed change […]

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Dian Courtright, founder of Concerned Citizens of Coquille, a human rights advocacy group borne out of public frustration with the local police department last summer has thrown her hat into the ring for city councilor. Four positions are up for renewal, Corky Daniels, Kathy Hagen, Fran Capehart and the mayor’s position held by Steve […]

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Coquille Mayor Steve Britton was interviewed by KCBY regarding the new police chief and comments on a phone call from Concerned Citizens of Coquille.
So far, he says, the department is excited to have him on board, as well as local residents, including one group in particular. They called Britton to tell him that they are […]

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The decision has been made, an offer tendered and accepted by Mark Dannels from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Dept in Arizona. He hopes to be settled and on the job before the school year begins.

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Hiring the new police chief is of great importance to everyone so naturally there was almost no members of the public attending the interviews yesterday at City Hall. Dian and I as well as Jean Ivey from the paper tried to catch each interview as they were staggered throughout the day. Two other […]

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At 5:30 today at the Coquille Community Center you can meet the five candidates selected by City Manager O’Connor to be the new police chief. Be there or be square….

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The culture of any organization, council or municipality is defined not by mission statements, rules and declarations but by the actions, consistent behavior and hiring practices of the leadership. This is particularly true in our local police department where an emphasis on traffic control over proactive community policing of real crime has too […]

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Alas, it seems the city council is in lock step with the city manager regarding a more representative hiring committee. Disregarding the obvious impact that the hiring will have on ALL citizens the suggestion of having a wider group including younger committee members was answered with silence by the council.
Afterward, Mayor Britton suggested that […]

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According to a study completed this April and in contrast to government claims, biofuels have accounted for a 75% increase in global food prices. Prepared by a senior analyst at World Bank, the report will be published after this week’s G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan and dramatically counters the US claim that plant based […]

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From 22 applicants five hopefuls have been chosen by O’Connor. The group, from Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan and Oregon (the sargeant, maybe?), will be on public display here in Coquille beginning July 21 where they will take part in an ‘assessment center’. The city will host a meet and greet from 5:30 to […]

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This past week heralded a stunning example of the dangers of designing an economic policy dependent upon outside resources. Just three days after Governor Kulongoski inaugurated the new $20M airport terminal and delivered a $624,000 check to build an air traffic control tower, Horizon Air announced they will cut service to Coos County.
One of […]

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