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.”
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