JOHN DAY — Citizens of John Day finally got their opportunity to speak to new city manager Melissa Bethel during a meet and greet with the city administrator on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at the John Day Fire Hall.
“I think it went really well, Bethel said. The town is very welcoming, I fell like everybody was nice — even both sides of whatever political thing is happening here, I appreciate that.” Bethel said she’d hoped to get out into the community to meet and talk to more people but obligations at City Hall have largely prevented that thus far. Now in her first full week on the job, Bethel said there is a lot to do in getting the city to a place where it runs smoothly.
“I think because of past turnover in John Day there is a lot that we’re still working on crawling out of, she said. The budget, the audit — and it’s not anything bad, it’s just delayed so there is a lot of work that we need to put in and that get caught up on.&r
A contingent of Lakeside residents turned in a petition to hold recall elections for mayoral and city council positions earlier this month. After a string of perceived mismanagement by city