Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

I was very disappointed when Mr. Rogers, Assembly members Thomas, Josephson and Mayor Hill fired the borough manager without cause. The decision, based on the reasons Mr. Rogers described, seemed to hinge on two very particular events. One, the incident with providing library services when he wasn’t informed of information that made his actions seem less than reasoned and another from a complaint of a citizen highly critical of past and present borough management. What were the crucial imperatives to drive him to demand the action of firing the manager? Were the reasons really life or death for the future of the borough or were they ego based, because it looked like he made a bad decision?

Nothing he stated publicly is important enough to have fired another manager, one of six in the last 10 years, especially in this time of crisis (health, crashing economy, and budget).

I didn’t vote for Mr. Rogers in the last election. But I do remember considering him in the voting booth because I felt I’d heard him speak and express that he was open and thoughtful. His performance and actions concerning this particular issue lead me to believe the opposite.

Let’s make a change. In the future, I hope established procedures (like personnel evaluations) will be followed and assembly and mayoral decisions will be made considering the welfare of the entire borough, not focused on personal ego vendettas and vitriolic input of a single community member.

Tim McDonough