March 2017

City Council Goals
In a January retreat, the City Council discussed their goals for 2017, and formally adopted a short list in February. It is posted on the website . The Council also discussed a longer list of items on our workplan for 2017, in recognition of the fact that the city provides many important projects and services that aren't specifically covered by the goals statement.

Introducing...four new recruits to LOCOM

Bill Van Nortwick is back in LOCOM after a 3-year hiatus as a morning show host on radio station KGON (his radio name was Bill Prescott). Bill was born in Portland and graduated from Tigard High School. He has lived in Pendleton and in the Denver area. He said he attended four colleges, and graduated from UO; he now lives in Beaverton. He was a Communications Operator in LOCOM from 2001 to 2014 and says he has always enjoyed both commercial radio and police dispatch, as different as they are. He plays guitar in his band, "One Brick Shy."


Caitlin McKenzie came on board as a communications operator trainee on January 23 and has been busy with training and orientation. Caitlin was born

and raised in Oxnard, CA. Her sister moved to Oregon three years ago, and Caitlin decided it was a good place to live. She's held a number of jobs in the private sector, including as a barista, which I hear is good preparation for being a dispatcher (ability to multi-task). She lives in Hillsboro, and enjoys going to the beach, and watching movies. All new employees seem to have dogs; hers is a shepherd/Australian cattle dog mix.



Before starting as a dispatch trainee, Dakota Pierce was an electronics sales clerk for Fred Meyer. He was born in Tacoma and raised in Hillsboro, where he currently lives. He says he is enjoying the training, but finds it somewhat dry and looks forward to "working on the floor." Off work, he enjoys being outdoors, especially off-road four-by-fouring with his girlfriend in his Jeep. His dog is a black lab.




Cynthia Ward also started on January 23. She was born in Arizona, and lived for a while in Germany. She has also lived in Virginia, and graduated from Gresham High. She's had some medically-related jobs, including as a dialysis technician, and was a firefighter for Camas WA. She has two girls (ages 14 and 19). Her hobbies include following her daughter's basketball season, and hiking. Her dog is a 4-month-old shepherd/boxer/pit bull mix.



Business Writing Tip of the Month from Dr. Grammarian
Avoid passive voice. Complete sentences typically have a subject, verb, and object: She (subject) mailed (verb) the letter (object). In passive voice, the subject is Missing In Action: “the letter was mailed.” So don’t write, “it has been found that…” Instead, write, “researchers have found that…” Or write “some residents have noted that…,” not “it has been noted that.” An old staff report template used the unfortunate phrase “It is recommended that…” You could instead write, “Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution 2016-99.” Or even better, “Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2016-99.”