Wikipedia

Search results

29 September 2020

DEVELOPING STORY: Former Gold Hill councilor verbally attacks city employee in ‘unhinged’ rant

 Cops investigate missing money as Christine Alford harasses innocent employee in public

By Brad Smith

GOLD HILL, Ore. – A former Gold Hill councilor accused a city employee of theft in a local store last Friday night.

During their Sept. 28 meeting, city councilors and Mayor Pro Tem Brad Studebaker took phone calls during the public comments segment after the meeting started. There were two callers and both had questions about allegations regarding more than $60,000 reportedly taken over the last few years. Both Studebaker and city manager Jessica Simpson said they couldn’t comment on the situation due to an ongoing investigation conducted by law enforcement.

“Yes, there’s an ongoing investigation and beyond that – I can’t tell you much,” Simpson said. “I first learned about it in February of this year. It appears that over a period of time, someone stole over $60,000 from the city. When it was discovered, we contacted the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office then said it would be a conflict of interest for them to investigate us, since we have a contract with them to provide law enforcement. The Sheriff’s office then said they would have the Oregon State Police handle the investigation.

“However, it was turned over to the Medford Police Dept. Since then, we haven’t heard any status updates on the case. They haven’t said anything to me.”

Simpson said the suspect or suspects no longer work for the city.

“As I said before, this happened over the last few years. The truth is that the city hall office was in a serious state of chaos for a while,” Simpson said. “It’s possible that an individual – or individuals – took the opportunity to steal from the city’s coffers."

Which isn’t the case now, she asserted.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the books and others have been helping me,” Simpson said. “We’re in very good shape now and the people working here now are very good. I trust them.”

However, there was a recent incident involving a city employee and a resident that she had to look into.

One of the callers last Monday night was Christine Alford, a former city councilor and one-time member of the budget committee until she was removed. While Alford portrays herself as a concerned citizen watching out for the community, several in Gold Hill know her better as a rumormongering, hateful person who’s not above launching into personal attacks both in public and online.

The Rogue Free Press received emails about the incident early Tuesday morning and Simpson confirmed the incident happened. The emails were from individuals who reportedly saw what had happened or had firsthand information.

According to Simpson and the emails, at around 5 p.m. last Friday, Alford reportedly confronted the city employee at the local Dollar General store. According to all accounts, Alford accused the employee of stealing the $60,000 – then she wanted (the employee) to go outside with her so she could “kick his fucking ass.”

Simpson heard about the incident from other people. Alford, she said, never called her.

“I called the store and spoke with the manager and the employees,” she said. “They told me that (Alford) had started the entire incident and our employee never said a word and they never did anything to her.”

This isn’t the first time Alford has attacked people in a reportedly vicious manner – she has a history of seemingly unhinged behavior.

In late 2014, West and former city recorder Mary Goddard accused then-city manager Rick Hohnbaum of harassment and inappropriate behavior. During the investigation, Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Community Development Coordinator Molly Bradley was asked several questions. Her answers went directly against the narrative that Alford pushed for on social media. Irate, Alford went on her group's page and called Bradley “a rat” and made other negative comments about her.

Alford has claimed that she attacked Bradley personally because “she was after the city recorder’s job. She wanted it all for herself.”

However, that wasn’t the case. Once Bradley finished her internship at Gold Hill, she worked some time at Rogue River as city planner/public works assistant, then a planner for Central Point and is now working up in Clackamas County. Evidently, being a city recorder for Gold Hill was never part of her plan.

“That’s behind us now,” Simpson said. “That employee had nothing to do with the money taken and I don’t know why (Alford) did what she did. Frankly, I just want this whole thing resolved and the real culprits punished. Other than that, I have a city to run and people to help.”

Attempts to contact those who sent the emails have not been successful. The article will be updated when new information is available. 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Unknown Man Assaults Transgender Woman -- Let's Find Out Who He Is

  I received this message last night: "A friend of mine was assaulted at work by a customer for being transgender. The police don’t car...