South Lane chief faces second firing.Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard COTTAGE GROVE Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). - South Lane Fire District Chief Dan Olsen acknowledges feeling a certain affinity Certain Affinity is an American video game development studio based in Austin, Texas, in the USA. It was founded in 2006 by Max Hoberman and a small number of other ex-Bungie employees and other industry veterans. for actor Bill Murray's character in "Groundhog Day Groundhog Day (February 2) In the U.S., the day that the groundhog predicts whether spring will be coming soon. If, on emerging from his hole, he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, spring is imminent. ." In the 1993 film, Murray plays a weatherman trapped in a time warp time warp n. A hypothetical discontinuity or distortion occurring in the flow of time that would move events from one time period to another or suspend the passage of time. that forced him to relive the same bad day again and again. The movie was a comedy, however, and there's nothing funny about what may happen to Olsen's 35-year career tonight. The board of directors for the polarized A one-way direction of a signal or the molecules within a material pointing in one direction. district has scheduled a closed session to consider refiring Olsen. Olsen was hired by the board in 2003 as the first chief of the district, created in a merger of the former Cottage Grove and Creswell fire departments. He was fired in April 2005, amid escalating tensions between the district's Cottage Grove and Creswell factions. He was rehired in a unanimous vote Nov. 2, 2005, after several candidates backed by Olsen's Cottage Grove supporters unseated board members who fired him. Now, some of the same group that sought his reinstatement may vote to refire him, board Chairman Mike Fleck said last week. "That's certainly the way I'm leaning," Fleck said. "We need to heal the district." Olsen said this week that Fleck approached him late last week, suggesting that he consider resigning to avoid the potential embarrassment of being fired a second time. "He told me things just weren't working out, and that they'd be willing to give me a positive reference," Olsen said. "But a firefighting Web site has blasted news of the situation here all across the Western United States Noun 1. western United States - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River West Santa Fe Trail - a trail that extends from Missouri to New Mexico; an important route for settlers moving west in the 19th century . I don't have any future as a fire service officer. My 35-year career is done." Olsen said he's heading into tonight's meeting with a sense of deja vu See DjVu. . "There are a few different faces, but the same issues as before," he said. Chief among them: a feeling among some Creswell residents and volunteer firefighters that they are not getting their fair share of district services. But Olsen called that a "perception," not reality, and said he has no intention of resigning. "I'm proud of some of the things I've been able to accomplish despite everything that's been going on politically," he said. Creswell Mayor Ron Petitti, among others, has called for the fire district board to fire Olsen, saying the chief has failed to communicate with and respect the northern city. Olsen said he has tried to work with a community group, Creswell Area Citizens for Public Safety, that formed in part to explore the possibility of breaking the fire district back into two entities. He also pointed to the district's balanced budget Balanced budget A budget in which the income equals expenditure. See: budget. balanced budget A budget in which the expenditures incurred during a given period are matched by revenues. , achieved by making some difficult staffing cuts and streamlining operations after district voters rejected a proposed local option levy in November. Olsen's supporters warn that firing the embattled chief will not eliminate political tensions in the district. "The business community really supports Dan," said Brad Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , owner of Cottage Grove Chevrolet and an eight-year volunteer firefighter. He said most Cottage Grove and Creswell volunteers work well together, blaming "a few individuals" for the turmoil that has dominated the district. He accused board members of trying to micromanage micromanage Administration A popular term for excess oversight of lower management by upper management the department. "They're making a bad decision if they fire Dan,' he said. "They ought to resign instead." Because Olsen divided his career between Oregon and Washington, he is not yet eligible for a public employees retirement pension, the chief said Monday. And he agreed to no severance package A severance package is pay and benefits an employee receives when they leave employment at a company. In addition to the employee's remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:
"I accepted that because this is such a great community and we had a lot of unfinished business here," he said. "I felt a loyalty to some of the people who've been working so hard to provide fire and advanced life support here." CHIEF'S JOB ON THE LINE A closed-door session to evaluate and hear charges against Dan Olsen will follow public business What: South Lane Fire District Board Meeting When: 7 tonight Where: Fire Station 1, 233 Harrison Ave., Cottage Grove |
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