By Samuel Strait – August 26, 2016 – It is not often that we have a public agency that so constantly proves just how worthless it has become, but the Del Norte Solid Waste Authority (DNSWMA) has done just that.  Looking beyond the constant drum beat of recycling, (textiles, mattresses, and abandoned cars all a complete waste of money), and the normal clerical work that occupies the staff at DNSWMA for what little else of value that it accomplishes, Princeling Tedd Ward and Queenie Martha McClure have truly out done themselves with the “Great Bin Controversy”.

It all started out in a rather tame fashion in the midst of another pointless meeting of the DNSWMA’s August Commission extravaganza.  Following a series of rather dull and boring verbal jousts over the routine paper pushing that the Authority has become relegated too, and the typical environmental activism of Mr. Ward about mattresses and recycled clothing, the Commission moved on to the Pure Politics portion of the monthly meeting.

In that, Queenie Martha McClure seemed to be unable to resist making one more political statement in support of the flailing campaign of her faithful protege Kathryn Murray.  Ms. Murray, currently sitting on the Crescent City, City Council and running for 1st District Supervisor, whose campaign is based largely on vapor, stumbled through the month of July with no credit going to her feeble efforts at remaining a credible candidate for Supervisor.

Queenie McClure’s maneuver consisted of reasserting her dominance over the Commission’s direction in order to prevent a bin assignment to “Take a Bite out of Blight’s” efforts to clean up the on going blight issue with a piece of County owned property east of Walmart.  There have been a couple of “Letters to the Editor” posted in the Triplicate, one by Tim Weiland, “Asking Waste Board for help is a waste”, and a response, OH MY GOSH, allowed by the Censor in Chief, Robin Fornoff, titled “Dumpster issue is about prudence, not politics” by Blake Inscore, Chair of the DNSWMA’s Commission, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Crescent City, and most importantly of all, Interfaith Council & Just Serve Participant.  I presume all of the titles are to make sure that we know just how important that he “thinks” that he finds himself.

While the letters published in the Triplicate outline each writer’s viewpoint on the topic and an article in the Triplicate titled “Commissioners wary of bin request to clean encampment” does nothing but muddy the waters.  A viewing of the August meeting of the Authority in the County’s archives is a treat for those that wish to see Queen McClure at the top of her game.  At the point in the meeting where the bins are discussed, Ms. McClure takes over the meeting with pleas for understanding of the “plight of the homeless” and compassion for their frail existence in this County.  She goes on to talk about their personal possessions and potential loss, individual dignity and their rights.  Vice Chair Inscore quickly becomes a ship without a rudder.

What seems to be lost in all the discussion, something Ms. McClure seems to be able to turn off and on like a light switch is that camping on this particular piece of County property is ILLEGAL.  By her own statements in her passionate defense of the homeless, three times in the course of her diatribe, being homeless and having personal possessions DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FREE PASS TO BREAK THE LAW!  As a county supervisor it is not HER place to condone the violation of any duly constituted ordinance or law!  For those statements alone she should be censured by the BOS.  THIS WAS PURE POLITICS ON MS. McCLURE’S PART.  Of course there hasn’t been any critical thinking about or on the part of the DNSWMA’s commission for some time.  There was never any consideration of prudence or thought until it came time to justify the Commission’s decision to not provide the bin to a Roger Gitlin Group that was doing something beneficial for the County’s residents.  Then, and ONLY THEN, did all the “concern for safety of the volunteers”, the concern for permission by the County and all the legal hesitations that popped out of the woodwork.

Chairman of the DNSWMA, Mayor Pro Tem City of Crescent City, and Interfaith Council & Just Serve Participant Blake Inscore needs to go back and take a hard look at what took place during August’s meeting and be truly embarrassed by his actions. Supervisor McClure, Champion of the Environment, purveyor of Big Government, and a constant reminder of why big government doesn’t work, should be happy with being able to perpetrate her long running scam on the Citizen’s of Del Norte County and gracefully retire.  I suppose, according to MS. McClure, that we should be concerned about the  care and treatment of a homeless person’s personal weapon used in the commission of a robbery at the same time that we are giving him a pass on that particular crime?  But no, I guess that would come under Sheriff Apperson’s critical thinking “homelessness is not a crime”, and therefore, the homeless cannot commit crimes.

Yet the travesty does not end there.   The Commission hardly takes a breath before entering into another discussion no doubt promoted by Mr. Ward and Queenie McClure, about political activism on the DNSWMA behalf towards influencing votes in a certain direction for two propositions on the November Ballot.  No politics huh?  Of course initially they talked about spending some DNSWMA dollars, and may still consider it, unless someone else’s tax dollars does it for them.  Mr. Inscore???  No politics Huh!

This is totally about politics, no mistake about it.  It is for this reason alone that the DNSWMA should be disbanded.  We in this County have enough problems to deal with, without having to support an activist bureaucracy which has worked against the welfare of Del Norte County for years.