Whose agenda is running Clatsop County?

There are a lot of things wrong in Clatsop County. And just possibly, this piece of drivel is just cleverly designed negative propaganda designed to keep people away and preserve what is left of the natural environment. If so, I highly applaud, despite the errors of fact.

However, the facts need to be stated:

1. Neither of the hospitals are charitable organizations. Nor are they religious. The Seaside hospital is a tax-supported community hospital which has an administrative contract with the Sisters of Providence. They, in turn, are sort of connected with the Roman Catholic Church, but they behave as thought they belong to the Sicilian (Godfather) branch of the church. Still, they don't own the hospital, and at least in theory, the hospital board could take it back. The Astoria hospital is "Lutheran" in the same sense that I am Lutheran. (That is, my long-deceased mother (God rest her soul) was confirmed in the Lutheran Church when she was a small girl and so I am Lutheran by birth.) There is a very nice Lutheran pastor who attends to sick people, however, and a very pleasant chapel.

None of the current hospital staff at Astoria were any part of that complex lawsuit that devastated the medical community for 20 years. That is a pretty interesting story, but not really relevant to any current difficulties. The newcomers all use the hospital "testing facilities" to one degree or another, but obviously there are many tests that can't be performed in a small hospital.

2. The DA did not run unopposed-- but the author is correct; the good old boys of Clatsop County saw to it that he won. Hard to say if he is any worse than DA's anywhere else. The job is highly political, so it attracts a specific sort of person.

3. There are a lot of druggies and drunks in Clatsop County. A brief, but unofficial survey suggests that Multnomah County might actually surpass Clatsop in that regard, however.

4. LNG may come to Astoria or up the river to Clatskanie. True, the majority of people who are even dimly aware of it seem to be in favor, and that is a problem. We need some help to get the word out about the true nature and value of that stuff. But at least it isn't poisonous or radioactive.

Columbia Memorial hospital thinks its a faith based hospital. Its "About US" page states that it is "A Lutheran-affiliated acute care facility"  http://www.columbiamemorial.org/About_Us/about_us.html . On your about us page for your clinic do you state you are Lutheran affliated? Providence in Seaside has crosses in its rooms and starts and ends each day with a quote or prayer from the Bible. Both hospitals have only Bibles as their book of choice for divine comfort and when you ask if you can place any other scripture with the Bible the answer is no.

The Providence Health System, of which Seaside Providence Hospital is a part, mission states: "Providence Health System continues the healing ministry of Jesus in the world of today, with special concern for those who are poor and vulnerable. Working with others in a spirit of loving service, we strive to meet the health needs of people as they journey through life. Our mission is carried out by employees, volunteers, physicians and others who work together in a spirit of service that reflects our core values..." further down the page "Providence Health System in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon is sponsored by the Sisters of Providence religious community. In Southern California, the health ministry is co-sponsored by the Sisters of Providence and the Little Company of Mary." You then click on Oregon's link and it takes you to Seaside's Providence Hospital. Sounds pretty faith based to me.

Sorry to have stepped on your toes regarding the fact that your hospital's testing abilities are questionable, you'd almost think you were a doctor on staff there Tom.

You think that that lawsuit hasn't had any impact on the current local community or our ability to attract and keep doctors? That it hasn't taken TWENTY years to even barely start to get past that lawsuit? You don't think that that lawsuit harmed lives? I bear scars that attest to the fact that the effects of that lawsuit live on.

Many new doctors do not use the facility except in the most limited sense required to keep peace with the "good old boys" of local medicine, and not just because certain testing isn't offered.

I want my doctor to be able to call a hospital and tell them they need to kick it up a notch w/o the fear that it will knock another doctor's nose out of joint and ultimately cost them their privileges. I want to know that I am getting the best treatment possible as medicine dictates, not as a religion that I may not belong to dictates. As long as the Bible is sitting on every end table and a cross is on every other wall I am not confidant of that.

On to one of your other points. The DA was appointed to his position and was only opposed when he ran for office 60 days later, AFTER the other person had already filed to run. He has run unopposed since, according to his profile  http://www.ndaa-apri.org/ndaa/profile/joshua_marquis_may_june_2002.html .

Negative propaganda! Is telling people to wake up, think for themselves, take ahold of their own neighborhoods, their own local government and not wait for, nor even let, others do it for them negative? Is pointing out to them what happens when they don't, negative? Isn't it called learning from past mistakes?

As to comparing our substance abusers with another county's or our DA with others' DAs that's not the point. I don't want to have something good if its only good compared to someone else having something worse. That's not good enough for my neighbors, for my county, for my kids and for my grandchildren. Its not good enough for my tomorrow.

The xenophobia is about not expecting to be rescued from outside, and to be sure that those coming from outside with so called solutions are doing so with our best interests at heart. I don't believe our current DA gives hoot about our county, I don't believe many people at our local state offices give a hoot about our highways, our schools or our kids and I don't believe that we are getting the best health care we can get.

Whose agenda is running our county?

Sidney Carton -- are you Chiller D. Goldfinch on another blog?

1. My recollection is that Cindi Matayas ran against the DA-- but that was a long time ago, and it may be she only ran for the job she was appointed to after the previous DA was run out of town. That's quite a story, too. I can't even remember if he has run for re-election since then-- seems like he has been here forever. There are many reasons to despair of continued abuse from that DA's office-- but my point was only that I'm not sure it's better any where else, or that the system actually allows for any improvement. Julie Leonhardt was set up, knocked down, disbarred and destroyed for challenging the status quo.

Yes, I know that the lawsuit had severe negative consequences-- and since I have been here, at least 30 doctors have come and gone, unable to make it financially or psychologically, in large measure do to fallout from that lawsuit. The hospital is extraordinarily pathological-- primarily because the board is such an incestuous creature of the hospital administration. But, of course, the entire medical-industrial-government enterprise is a disaster in this country, and the pattern is pretty much the same everywhere. You won't find me making excuses for the hospital, but if I weren't on the staff, I couldn't practice here (well, that isn't entirely true, but I wouldn't be able to get insurance contracts) and probably couldn't get medical liability insurance. I try to use the hospital only where it functions best, and refer to other facilities as seems appropriate. Not that everything is just rosy in Portland, either.

On the other hand, despite the Bibles, it's connection with the Lutherans is tenuous at best. There is a "healing garden" which appears to be non-denominational, though I haven't tried distributing Korans there. The Sisters of Providence are a different story. A friend of mine was unable to do vasectomies in his own office because it was built (his money) on land controlled by the Sisters. Here, however, I maintain this is just weenieness on the part of Seaside and the doctors. If they didn't really want to be controlled by the Catholics, they could take it back.

Oh, yes, there are problems in River City. It is controlled entirely by a good old boy network which serves as the local pashas of global corporations. If I could think of a place that was any better, I would go there as fast as I could disentangle from this place. Problem is, as far as I can tell, it's like that everywhere. And what's worse, the sheeple everywhere merely sit in front of their TeeVees and eat garbage food and get fat and depressed. We the sheeple have to bear some responsibility for the egregious things that are done in our name.

Watch a documentary called "Libby, Montana" if you want to see how local residents get fucked over by the machine-- and just take it. After you watch the video, check out the Chamber of Commerce site for Libby, MT.

One further thought--

The corporate agenda is running our county, because our county leaders are incapable of running it themselves, and given a choice, the sheeple vote for the corporate agenda.

Nothing could be more clear, judging from the result of the Port election. People came out in droves to support the status quo-- that is, kow-towing to the corporate pirates from New York, Houston, San Jose and elsewhere. Granted only half the people voted. But Silence is Consent.

Destabilization is at work from not so obvious sources. I think attacking the Government of Clatsop County that provides services to the "human waste", as you refer to humans, clearly EXPOSES your motives, and because hospitals are necessary to a not so small town, it is unwise to try to tear them down brick by brick, but that doesn't stop you.

You want us to think you care, (by mentioning LNG) but you cast your stones at the very foundation of the oldest town this side of the Rockies. (That is called destabilization)

You're offering up insults to the human conditions of any normal city, coming from outside and pointing your finger, to rile citizens up against each other.

It's time for people in Astoria/Warrenton area to show their hand, especially those from outside that are working dirt from inside their trojan horses.


In times like these all counties should be WARY of "attempted takeover". Your game plan is being exposed. Next recommendations wiil come from some disguised texan sympathizer that e-voting is a good thing.

Both hospitals have only Bibles as their book of choice for divine comfort and when you ask if you can place any other scripture with the Bible the answer is no.
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What other scripture were you going to place with the bible? I'm sure the patients can read whatever they want in the hospitals.

No specifics from Sydney Carton yet-- just allegations.

What, exactly, was your problem with the Astoria Hospital? That they wouldn't do a test you wanted? Or couldn't? Or couldn't do it right?

The solution to pirates-from-the-outside is for the community to pull together. If there are problems with the institutions-- government or otherwise-- then they need to be addressed specifically. Dumping on the institution won't make it better, and boycotting it will only make it impossible for anything better to replace it.

That is precisely what happened with the Patrick lawsuit. The medical community was so devastated that whether you were on Patrick's side or the Astoria Clinic side *then*, *now* there is no difference. Everyone lost, all the doctors left town, and only a very rare replacement could or would stick it out because the people had basically lost confidence. This is slowly changing, but as S.C. points out, their is residual distrust-- some of it merited, to be sure. Trust is hard to regain -- it's always two steps back for every one forward when people are disposed to imagine a conspiracy or incompetence every time something goes wrong.

Doctors and hospitals are human-- they only get better when you expect them to, and reward them (with trust, not money!) when they meet expectations. When they fail, they need to be told exactly where and when they failed. Nothing else will ever build community, and without community, we are vulnerable to the pirates-from-out-of-town.

astute and fuming- whaaaaaaatt??? Do you inhale too quickly after you breathe out?

Tom, no, I have never been known as Goldfinch on any blog, ever.

First, my post was regarding taking responsibility for our communities, and not hiring people to do it for us. Specifically, I am angry as hell at DHS and the fact that the regional office is in St. Helens, hiring staff for down here that are only in Clatsop County long enough to get a toe hold in and don't care who they step on or over or who are sent here because they are being punished, like the Wenatchee asses.

In talking to someone else about Clatsop County being the dumping ground for screwed up state workers they reminded me that our DA was also sent here to cool his heels after he had pissed off his then girlfriend down the coast, so not even he was here in our best interests, but as a PUNISHMENT.

This set into motion the thought process of what has been happening to our local health system over the past 25 years.

I have a dear friend who complained about headaches for the last two years, had testing done at Columbia Memorial -MRI, Ct-SCAN, etc... nothing, nothing, nothing. First of December she went to Portland where they found a 6 mm aneurysm! Within the past 5 months another friend had his prostate cancer misdiagnosed. Another friend had her galbladder attack misdaignosed as a heart attack. She was rushed to Portland via ambulance from the Columbia Memorial Hospital ER. Between local ER, ambulance ride and arriving in middle of night at St. Vinent's ER she got a $10,000 bill, no insurance, went to collections and is now being garnished from her paycheck.

Most recently, one of my grandchildren's friend's was having gallbladder problems. The ER doctor -with primary care's okay- sent her to a local surgeon who determined that her galbladder needed to come out immediately but he was going on vacation so wanted to send her to Portland. Doc knew best so she was on her was to Portland, asap, for consult when she got a call on her cell from her primary.
"Get back here, you are not to go to Portland for surgery!" says primary
"Surgeon recommended me to go 'cause I must have it come out right away and he's going on vacation," says patient.
"I will get you an appointment with another local surgeon," says primary.
So patient gets an appointment with second local surgeon, who sees her the same day but cannot take her gallbladder out until the following week, almost seven days later.
The next day the first surgeon calls the patient,"Why did you cancel your appointment with my friend in Portland?"
Patient replies, "My primary says I can't go to Portland for surgery w/o her recommendation so I have to go to another local surgeon that she made an appointment for me to see."
First surgeon shreiks into phone, "She can't do that, you are my patient, this is none of her business. You come into my office right now, my colleague is going to see you right now and put you into his schedule tomorrow! This is nothing but politics, politics, politics!"
Patient is in a lot of pain and has just found out that she is going to lose her insurance and the end of the month so she goes in and gets her gallbladder out but is now afraid to go back to her primary because she is afraid her primary will be angry that she let the first surgeon's colleague take out her gallbladder.

Now, this really makes me angry because this young woman shouldn't even have to worry what her primary is thinking about in this situation. A patient shouldn't ever have to know about the petty quarrels that are taking place between doctors and clinics. She had a right to get her pain issue addressed and taken care of as soon as possible, especially in light of the fact that she was losing her insurance. She didn't have time to wait for it to play out.

So this is what makes me wonder if there is an agenda running Clatsop County, and if so, whose?

What is the plan for tomorrow? Is "our" plan really to have a hospital being run as it is hy CMH? Is "our" plan to have our second hospital run by Sister's? And with that, having people afraid or unable to do vasectomies? Whether or not the hospitals can be taken back by their boards both of the hospitals have chosen to identify themselves religiously, with religious terms on their respective websites and with items in their waiting rooms, chapels, so forth.

Mind you, in no way am I anti-religious or pro-secular. What I am saying is that we shouldn't have to be stuck with a way of life just because we haven't any other options or a say in it.

Or, does someone have real evidence that there is an agenda to keep Clatsop County as a dumping ground?

I don't believe in conspiracies, myself. I do, however, think that predators look for places where they can prey on certain types of people and get away with it. We help them when we look the other way and refuse to see the pink elephant. When we pounce on one another for saying, "The emperor wears no clothes!"

Its okay to state the obvious. It is also okay to acknowledge the fact that there are quite a few of us that have been knocked down once to often and aren't going to do it any more on our own. Hence, while it may be a far, far better thing that I do now than I have ever done before, until I meet my Chuck Darnay that can confuse people into thinking he might have been the one that really dun it I will stick to a pseudonym.

Tom's right, we need to pull together, but that is hard when we don't have trust and when we have basically been trained not to trust one another.

We start learning to lable one another almost from the moment we enter into any institution. Head start, day care, pre-school, sunday school ... SCHOOLed to understand who we are and who they are.

What we need in Clatsop County is one cohesive plan, a vision, that is loose enough to be adaptable to the changes of the next 25 years but strong enough to carry us there. We need to be confidant that the people in charge of the plan are acting in our best interests.

I honestly don't have the answers. I am thinking, musing, outloud. If there is an articulated plan ( or a draft laying in a dank hole that a group of good ole boys is gathered 'round) I would like to know if we can change it, and how we would do that?

I would not say it is possible but I look at TH and am truly startled. He would be the epitome of red neck in the making and all of a sudden he cares! Don't lose him! Don't let him grow cynical and drink one too many beers or smoke one two many pipes and all of a sudden he just doesn't care anymore. He really has some brilliant ideas and it is very exciting, so far, to watch him (and sometimes rattle and tweak him) and listen to him.

If TH is an example of our 20-30 year olds then we haven't completely failed. Something is coming through, even though for every TH staying we have 4 of his friends leaving the area. Four less young people with his drive, his brains and his caring! We can ill afford that.

According to OHT survey for Clatsop County for 2004, that all 11th graders fill out, anonymously and supposedly have less then 2% deviance for purposeful deception:

Question Clatsop Co State

Current Alcohol Use
(past 30 days) 52% 45%

Drank Alcohol b4 age 13 26% 21%

Binge Drinking last30days 36% 29%

Marijuana Use 30 days 28% 20%

Used Marijuana b4 age13 11% 7%

Inhalants past 30days 3% 2%

Meth use 2% 3%

Use of one or more illegal
drugsin past 30 days 4% 4%


AttemptedSuicide in last yr 7% 5%

Was in physical fight 23% 20%

Rarely or never wore seatbelt 8% 4%




To get a copy of the report:

Youth Surveys
Center for Health Statistics
Department of Human Services
P.O. Box 14050
Portland, OR 97293-0050
Renee Boyd ( renee.k.boyd@state.or.us)
Phone: 503-731-4478 Ext. 348
Fax: 503-731-3076

I think this data means that High School is nothing more than daycare. Our kids are more than ready for life at the age of 16 yet we treat them like infants and they respond in kind.

If our agenda, as a community, we have priorities:
1) Focal point of raising our children. We want our children to grow up in safe neighborhoods (neighborhood schools -think Yelm Washington), with a reasonable expectation of being educated and leaving school with jobs waiting.
2) Long term planning of which the whole county is working together to promote (think The Dalles, Oregon) so that everyone is on the same page in bringing in the same type of industries, the zoning laws reflect the plan, the plan reflects the goal of having jobs waiting for our children as they leave school.
3) With the idea that our children are starting to mimic negative adult behavior at the age of 13 give them the opportunity to mimic positive adult behavior by having strong mentoring and apprentice programs. We have a very good resource, the Job Corp Center, as a model. Most of our local youth could benefit greatly from a similar local program run for our youth who have a great desire to learn trades that would be beneficial to our local economy. With all of our empty buildings it would be fun if one of the buildings could be turned over to be used for the youth to be taught to run businesses. A mini-mall of youth enterprises, where they have the opportunity to try and fail (because failure just means your trying real hard) and try again.

4) Have a plan for each area of the County that the residents support. Seaside as tourist attraction should not be competing w/Astoria for dollars, they should be complimenting each other. If Warrenton is going to be the industrial area (not saying it should be just IF) then that should be supported by its residents and compensated and supported. A county-wide effort of where the best types of growth should go for the best types of things.

5) Identifying people who have the best interests of the area at heart.

Everyone has an agenda but it is hidden agendas that are at the root of a lot of evil in the area.

 http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/06/318731.shtml

And all corporations coming into Clatsop County should have to carry insurance on their employees.

And yes, I do own a small business and yes, the price of insurance is part of the optional benies.

There are so many restrictions on the types of businesses that the Costco provided health insurance will carry that I wouldn't go that route, but does anyone know of an insurance that a county could buy, in which all businesses or any individual could opt into? Having that many people buying into it would keep the costs down for everyone, correct?

Then, each and every corporation that comes into Clatsop County, depending on its financials, pays a tax accordingly, to guarantee the health insurance plan for their employees, our fellow community members. We have a healthy community and businesses coming in that are comitted to our community from the onset.

Okay, I know it can't be that easy or it would have already been done. SO, what are the flaws?

The "flaws" is the leadership.
All decisions made around here, are behind closed doors.
Even the recent budget, sure they had a "public comment day", but the budget was already drawn up, all money was accounted for. You think if anyone came and gave the commissioners any good ideas on "public input day" it would make a damn bit of difference? NO
I tried to write the commission and ask them some questions about the budget, did I get a response, Hell NO.
10 people (at most) make the decisions for the whole county, I've got some ideas, Sid has some great ideas and I'm sure the other people in the county do too, but does anyone in power give a fuck? NO

New leaders are a must!
Even if you don't agree with future political challangers, if they have very little political experience, vote for em! They have not been tainted yet and as more honest people get elected, they will never learn how to be tainted.

What are you doing in 2006 Sid?
Got a political position in mind?
Tom?

Judging by the Port vote, we have between 3500 and 4100 voters who want to change the way this county does business, and they still do, these people will not go away, this number can only increase.
A giant political sweep needs to happen to save this county, if not it's done!

What's your point?

What does C.D. Goldfinch have to do with any of this drivel?

You condemn Sidney Carton for trying to make the community aware of the monsters in our midst regarding the safety of our children?

And the sad part is one of them is the head of Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce?

What's your issue Tom?

Afraid you'll lose more DHS money?