After reporting for the last 6 years and trying to get the facts out to the public, being ignored and disregarded as an idiot by many of our elected officials and people on the health board, the Columbia Health District has finally admitted that they have been paying staff in Public Health with the 38 cents per thousand tax revenue collected for the building of a  "Critical Access Hospital" while we are in the confession mode I wonder why the health board did not add that when the ballot measure passed in 2004 they immediately paid off the note for the public health building of around $160,000.00 with the 38 cents per thousand tax revenue. I wish someone in control would explain how that move was legal and why it was permitted. And why no one has done anything about it.

Which the ballot measure said would not happen; the original referendum approved by commissioner Hyde and Bernhard and signed by county commissioner Rita Bernhard plainly stated NO funds were going to go to public health. Funny how that bit of information has been pushed under the rug and has not been reported on by the news media. I believe it is an important part of this deception and should be examined more closely by the Attorney General.

After all these people on the board and the county commissioners' keep relaying to the public that 5-209 is not constitutional. I would say the ballot measure in 2004 is not constitutional since they could not get the critical access hospital designation from the start. To me that clearly means that the health district was collecting taxpayers funds for something other than what the voters approved in 2004. Hmmm

As reported by the Scappoose Spotlight, "Many Public Health employees - such as administrator Karen Ladd, financial administrator Thalia Piano and tobacco prevention educator Ashley Swanson - receive their partial salaries from the health district's tax. Others, such as health care consultant Jennifer Vines and public relations coordinator Pam Powell, receive their entire salaries from the tax."

I wonder if the taxpayers know that Karen Ladd cracks down about $80,000 a year from the hospital side of public health and about another $20,000 from Public health, quite the lucrative job.

This health board will never step down their egos will prevent them in doing so, they will want to keep their little crowd of buddies on the payroll so their buddies can continue to receive a huge check funded by the taxpayers.

The stupidly and flagrant moves to skirt the voters wishes by the health board is scandalous. The health board is demonstrating unabashed elitism of the voters by continuing their never you mind attitude that has been directed at the voters ever since they lied and presented their phony ballot measure to the voters in 2004. Their actions is well beyond common sense, immoral and is shameless.

Representatives from the health district who are public health employees are now trying to sway the voters decision by saying that it would be too costly to run public health with out the health district I call buloney on that one. Public health has ran by itself for years with out a health district to manage it, they claim that if the employees were under the county's thumb it would cost the taxpayers more because peers, I bet it would be 100 times cheaper than what the taxpayers are being stiffed right now. The county spends about $100,000 a year on public health; public health receives grants, federal money and state money. And the state mandates that the county have public health. Surprise! the county follows a state mandate but ignore a voter mandate. What a bunch of creeps.

I have often wondered how the health board can even look themselves in the mirror let alone walk among the public of whom they have swindled.