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Comments
manyhands
Do not vote for Kit Johnston or Jason Fields for YC comissioner. They abort what YC citizens want and supports what big money wants.
A little background:
In 2023 newly-elected Chehalem Park and Recreation District (CPRD) board member Jason voted down the simple walking bridge.
At a CPRD board meeting Jason snarled to longtime CPRD superintendent Don Clements, “... That bridge idea is dead… I’m not in charge right now, but I’m telling you for sure we are going to kill the bridge idea.”
Why such vicious opposition to a park improvement by a new park board member, and now a candidate for YC commissioner?
Because approval of the footbridge might lead to approval of other bridges and trails in Yamhill County. And some big-money campaign contributors are adamantly opposed to one trail in particular - the Yamhelas Westsider Trail.
It is widely known that one source of big money in YC politics is the George family, which owns and operates one of the largest hazelnut processing companies in the country.
George money in the 2023 election went to supporting the election of Jason and YC commissioners. The contributions have paid off handsomely for the Georges, with Jason decimating the walking bridge and Kit working stealthily with YC Commissioner Mary Starrett to get rid of the Yamhelas trail.
Voting down the walking trail is the polar opposite of what Yamhill County citizens want, Don told Jason.
Same goes for the Yamhelas Westsider Trail -- as 3,200 signatures in favor of the trail attest.
Please attend an open house Wednesday, November 19, to show your support for the walking bridge.
The open house will be held 5 to 7 pm at Chehalem Park and Recreation District (CPRD) headquarters, 125 S. Elliott Road, Newberg.
The park district will also host a virtual open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Nov. 20 via Zoom by visiting tinyurl.com/msdxzd9x. The meeting ID is 842 3129 7328.
manyhands
Oops, in the comment above I left out a description of the walking bridge Jason voted down. The bridge would cross the creek at Ewing Young Park in Newberg to allow all YC citizens access to 11 acres of Park and Rec land. Walking trails would follow.
Bigfootlives
So all of this money spent to kill park walking bridges and the wine trail to forest grove. How did the George family benefit? I knew they were well off, I didn’t know that they were one of the largest hazelnut producers in the country. Other than the former commissioner, and I didn’t really follow county politics at the time, i don’t know their ties to parks destruction. They must have banked (millions?) (hundreds of thousands?). How did they benefit, serious question, for all of the reasons I oppose the wine trail, I have no idea what the George family involvement is.
And 3200 people do not speak for the county. 3,400 people in McMinnville were just told to grab their water wings and get used to waiting in line at the aquatic center.
Bigfootlives
Updated information, 4,461 people grabbing their water wings. But it’s mail in voting, I’ll bet you my old swim trunks that some how we magically squeak out the 50 +/- votes we need.
Vote By Mail - when you absolutely, positively, have to win an election in the middle of the night!
tagup
Cue the sore loser playbook:…. If I lose, the election must be rigged, If I win it’s all fair and square.
manyhands
In 1991, the three Yamhill County commissioners at the time wholeheartedly supported Yamhelas Westsider Trail.
In 2013 the state awarded the county a $1.5 million grant for the project. Construction between the towns of Carlton and Yamhill began in 2020 with a bridge outside Yamhill.
But more than two dozen farmers — some with property alongside the right of way, others 20 miles away — had concerns.
By January 2021 Yamhill County commissioners Mary Starrett and newly-elected Lindsay Berschauer were anti-trail. Lindsay moved to withdraw the land use application for the trail, killing the project and returning the $1.5 million to the state.
Casey Kulla, the third commissioner at the time, cautioned against the reversal. Supporters pointed out most issues have already been successfully resolved by the rail-to-trail projects that exist all over the United States, with 23 in Oregon alone. In June 2021, an online petition in the trail’s favor garned more than 3,200 signatures, suggesting broad support.
In 2022, $29,393 in George money went into opposing Berschauer’s recall from office while $5,166 went to re-electing Starrett, according to according to a News-Register article, “Shell game: How the hazelnut-heavy George family is dominating elections spending in Yamhill County.”
The Oregon Family Farm Association PAC also received $140,000 from Stimson Lumber — a company with a history of close association with Berschauer, according to the Shell Game article.
In 2023, political action committees controlled by or primarily funded by the George family spent more than $35,000 in the May 2023 election, according to the article. George money went to supporting the election of Jason and YC commissioners.
And it has paid off handsomely for the Georges, with Jason voting down a walking bridge (that would allow access to 11 acres of Park and Rec land in Newberg) and Kit working stealthily with YC Commissioner Mary Starrett to get rid of the Yamhelas trail.