Police Chief Best Man For Job
Post Falls officials can save themselves the expense of a national job search by naming Police Chief Cliff Hayes as the next city administrator. Of course, Cliff probably doesn’t want the post after the second city administrator in the past three years resigned earlier this week. Hayes, however, has one qualification that the city’s first two administrators - Barry Cook and John Hendrickson - didn’t. He fits in. And that’s no small matter in a tight-knit community like Post Falls. Said Councilman Gus Johnson of Hendrickson: “John didn’t do a bad job. His fit just didn’t fit our fit. That’s all it comes down to.” Cliff is as much at home waiting for election returns at a pizza parlor with Mayor Jim Hammond as he is leading the police force. He knows where the skeletons lie. He knows which toes not to crunch. Post Falls shouldn’t put another city administrator through the misery of trying to fit in without wooing Hayes first.
I had to give governor my 2 cents’ worth
I couldn’t meet with Gov. Phil Batt for 45 minutes Tuesday without expressing my disappointment that he hadn’t ordered convicted killer Donald Paradis executed. Last month, Batt decided to commute Paradis’ death sentence for the murder of Kimberly Palmer to “life without parole.” That, of course, will be an acceptable sentence if it stands. But I suspect that Paradis and his crafty lawyers someday will ask the parole board to convert the new sentence to one of “indeterminate life” and, as a result, freedom. Still, Batt was put in a tough place by an orchestrated press campaign on behalf of Paradis. It’s hard to insert the needle when bleeding-heart journalists are braying about the minute possibility Paradis could be innocent. (I think he was involved in killing both Palmer and her boyfriend, Scott Currier.) I hope the media hyenas who got Paradis off death row are around when he gets out of prison and harms someone else.
Car insurers have a license to steal
Forget the pyramid schemes. Who’s going to protect us from the car-insurance industry? I didn’t realize what a racket these birds have until I tried to buy insurance for my 16-year-old boy. I should have handed them my bank card and called it even. On top of exorbitant prices, the insurers warned that insurance for junior would go up $10 a month for three years if he gets a ticket and $25 per month for two tickets. In other words, a ticket will cost $320 above the actual fine. How does the insurance industry get away with this kind of stuff? Gracious! I knew we should have raised canaries instead of kids. , DataTimes MEMO: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can comment on the items by calling (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125 or by sending e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.