Corruption in our federal government is front and center for the whole world to see. They don’t even try to hide it anymore. To think that there is no corruption in local small-town governments is naive. One only needs to look as far as the city of John Day. There has been too many questionable, illegitimate and possibly illegal actions brought on by JD city government.

Examples:

The greenhouse failure which was, like everything else, blamed on COVID. The very questionable land sale of the old mill site. The public bathrooms. BTW, I built a 3,000 square-foot house (mostly by myself) in the amount of time that it took the city to construct two bathrooms. The original intent of those bathrooms was to create parking space that the downtown area desperately needed. Instead, it is set up for food carts, etc., which will take business away from local restaurants.

Had you listened to Nick Green on “Coffee Time,” you realized that the local police department was very low on the priority list, in fact something he couldn’t wait to dissolve, just like the pool. l am not opposed to a pool, just opposed to the way they are handling it. With a changing population bringing increased problems to John Day, residents need the PD more than ever.

Residents are paying huge money for a consultant that they don’t need. How far would those dollars go to fuel a local police department? I am a Mt. Vernon resident. These items do affect me. Grant County can do better.

When our new city manager took the job, he probably didn’t realize what he was walking into. I’m sure that he is doing the best that he can.

It is time to drain the swamp in the federal government and the John Day city government. Out with the old. In with the new.

Larry DeCew

Mt. Vernon