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JOSEPH â The clouds that have covered Joseph City Hall with gloom for weeks â if not longer â may be lifting thanks to the efforts of its new interim city administrator, Brock Eckstein.
Last week, Eckstein met with Dennis Welch, the cityâs parks, Main Street and facilities supervisor, and discussed the harassment allegations that have kept Welch off work since March 22. He cited stress, âgaslightingâ and harassment as reasons for his time off. Welch returned to work Sunday, May 16.
âThe cloud is lifting and the sunâs coming out and thatâs what I want,â Welch said Monday. âI just want to come to work and do my job. I know the people here appreciate me. Theyâve made that very clear.â
JOSEPH â A larger-than-usual audience turned out for the final Joseph City Council meeting of the year, Thursday, Dec. 10, when the council gave its official approval to a sewage treatment facilties plan and bade farewell to Mayor Teresa Sajonia as she presided over her last session.
Brad Baird, of Anderson Perry and Associates, presented the council with a finalized plan for the more than $3.8 million project that he asked the council to formally adopt so his firm could add language that the city has approved the plan it has been pursuing. He noted it has been more than 20 years since any significant upgrades have been made to the facility and it is not currently in compliance with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.