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Good Neighbors.

by scott reuter

My wife and I are Josh Marquis and Cindy Price’s neighbors. They are honest, hardworking members of our community. Over the years, I’ve served on an arts board with Cindy, and belonged to a community service organization with Josh, and we’ve had great talks about Astoria history and politics.

Cindy is outgoing and gregarious, extremely smart, wickedly funny, and works hard on writing projects, volunteers for KMUN, and tends her garden, one of the most beautiful on our street. She just gave my wife a garden tour, and knows all of her plants by their domestic and scientific Latin names.

Sometimes I run into Josh after seeing a really whacko “tinfoil-helmet”-type rant on the internet aimed at him, and ask what it’s about. After explaining, he often expresses frustration that people don’t just ask him. He even has a blog site so that people can do that.

We can all guess who’s behind these attacks. People who yearn for the days when the DA was just another one of the good ol’ boys. People who could count on evidence disappearing, certain cases being dropped. People who are related to someone who didn’t get to skate on drug charges or a DUII.

Josh is honest and incorruptible. He doesn’t do favors for anyone who’s broken the law, no matter who they are. He knows what a conflict of interest looks like, and avoids them at all costs.

This weekend at a neighbor’s potluck dinner party, I asked Both Josh and Cindy not to leave, that we need them. They both said that in spite of the recent insult, they weren’t leaving.

Josh doesn’t usually stay too long at parties; he starts giving Cindy a look that says, “please dear, let’s get home to the cats” and they generally head home early. Several times he’s been called away from events to go back to work. He always takes the calls, and he always goes back to work without complaint, no matter the hour.

The other morning Josh emailed, said I should go look at Mr. Hazen’s blog, that he’d posted that Josh and Cindy are going out of town, which isn’t true, and that Cindy is upset. Who knows what nut job with a grudge might come by to vandalize the house, thinking they’re gone?

What would prompt someone to do something so irresponsible?

Those of us who want Josh and Cindy to stay need to help right recent wrongs by our elected representatives. Sign petitions. Write letters. Make calls. Vote.

Please, go read Josh’s side of the story, at:
http://joshmarquis.blogspot.com/2007/05/county-slashes-das-pay.html

Write to:
Clatsop County Commissioners, 800 Exchange Ave., Astoria OR 97103
The Editor, Daily Astorian, 949 Exchange St., Astoria OR 97103 (editor@dailyastorian.com)
Josh Marquis, Clatsop County Courthouse, PO Box 149, Astoria OR 97103

And come to the public hearing that the Clatsop County Commission is holding on Wednesday, June 13, at the “Boyington Building,” at Duane and 8th in Astoria. The meeting starts at 9am. Public Comment is early on the agenda.

Sincerely,

Scott Reuter

May 21, 12:02 am | scott reuter
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1 comment on this article (post your own)

1 On May 21, 01:23 pm, Walter Richards wrote:

Tell us why a state official should have his pay supplemented by a county.

Why shouldn’t the state “step up” and fulfill its responsibility to pay its employees, rather than depending on the “charity” or “good will” of the counties? (ORS 8.830)

And if the state is going to shirk its responsibilities of paying its employees (re ORS 8.830), shouldn’t it let those employees enter into contracts with counties regarding that pay? (So they don’t suddenly lose that supplemental income.)

Seems to me everybody who blames the county is barking up the wrong tree. The state needs to change its ways in this matter – not the county.

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