December 2017

Respect Human Dignity
The news has focused lately on the sexual harassment patterns of a variety of public figures. It's too bad, because in a perfect world, these folks would be positive role models, not negative ones.

As an organization, we all share a commitment to treat each other with respect. The personnel policy includes an entire six-page section (1.3) on "Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination." It focuses largely on what not to do, which is helpful information.

But early in my career, a guy named Frank Hardesty summed it up in a positive way: respect human dignity. It's a three-word guiding principle that covers so much. And adding the word "dignity" is an important piece of it. As a practical matter, it's hard to always respect other people, because being human, they don't always behave respectably. But we can always respect (preserve or build up) the dignity of our fellow human beings.

Explicit sexual harassment is certainly a violation of this guiding principle. But it goes much beyond that, in the way we treat and view each other.

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Welcoming New Staff

Janet Millette is now officially on the staff of the ACC as transportation coordinator, meaning she manages the various outings of the participants at the ACC, and often drives the bus herself. But she's lived in Lake Oswego since 1991, and for the past twenty years, has been a volunteer at the ACC. Janet grew up in southern California. She has five grandchildren, and in her free time, enjoys pickle ball and knitting. In a rare turn for a new hire, she has no pets herself, but enjoys a few vicariously through her children and grandchildren.

Kirk Carnahan has joined the Public Works staff as an electrician. Kirk was born in Portland, graduating from Wilson High. Growing up, he was familiar with Lake Oswego, with grandparents who lived here. He lives in Fairview and has two children, 10 and 8. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, hunting, hiking, snowshoeing, rock hounding, and boating. He does have two dogs: a Chow/German Shepherd mix, and a toy Poodle rescue dog. His mother Karen (LOFD) is proud to have her son join the City of Lake Oswego family.

Leslie Lai is in the middle of training as a dispatcher for LOCOM. Leslie was born in Salem and graduated from Gresham High. Her first career was as a school teacher, but she was interested in a career change; her father, a firefighter with TVF&R, suggested being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, and so far she's really enjoying it. Leslie has a three-year-old daughter, Sydney, and a Pug dog. She's a Blazers fan, and enjoys camping, going to the beach, and cooking.