The North Beach News

Press release: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $307 million to modernize rural drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in 34 states and Puerto Rico (PDF, 224 KB). (Washington is on the list)The investments being announced today follow President Biden’s announcement last week of a Bipartisan Infrastructure FrameworkContinue reading “Attention OS and the North Beach: ‘Uncle Joe’ is turning on the funding faucet”

On Dec. 10, 2018 (corrected) firefighters met with their boss’s boss. They wanted Mayor Crystal Dingler to give then-Fire Chief David Bathke the heave-ho. According to “Bathke v. Ocean Shores, COURT’S DECISION, FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW by Judge Benjamin H. Settle,” in which the judge ordered Ocean Shores to pay Bathke moreContinue reading “Mutiny at the Firehouse, Part 3: The Mutineers and the Mayor”

“I’m so sick of all you people complainin! You negative Nancy’s should all move, if you don’t like it! I am!” Vent (cubed): ” If there’s one thing that drives me crazy about this town it’s people bitchin about people complainin!…”

Two years before he was forced to “walk the plank” during an OS mutiny, a fire chief was planked in Arizona. Indeed, before asking, “Why did she fire him?,” it might be best to ask, “Why did she hire him?” On March 4, 2017, Dave Bathke — then fire chief in a rural district around Payson,Continue reading “Mutiny at the Firehouse, Part 2: Not his first plank”

The mayor hired a fire chief to captain a tight ship — then fired him after his “sailors” mutinied. (More on that, in a later post.) The court order ruling in former Ocean Shores Fire Chief David Bathke’s favor after he was booted by Mayor Crystal Dingler — who hired him, less than two yearsContinue reading “Mutiny at the Firehouse, Part I: Hired to be fired?”

So, after the O.S. fire chief was fired by Mayor Crystal Dingler and responded with a firey (ahem) lawsuit, U.S. Western District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle decided David Bathke “suffered damages in the amount of $734,376.50.” When all is accounted for, the true total this costs the city could approach $2 milllion — ifContinue reading “True cost of lawsuit? Double? Triple?”

Subsequent posts here will analyze the true cst of the $734,000 lawsuit former Ocean Shores Fire Chief David Bathke won, with a judge agreeing Mayor Crystal Dingler improperly fired him. Important note: While reporting on those citizens who spoke at council meetings demanding Dingler resign, as well as her defender (just on publically, so far),Continue reading “NBN taking no position on mayor resigning”

“Why didn’t the OSPD respond to all the fireworks complaints?” Two reasons: 1) the police department was overwhelmed and prioritizing one 911 dispatch after another (see earlier post); 2) by the time police respond to a report of fireworks — the evidence is usually gone (unless people are stupid enough to continue shooting off firecrackersContinue reading “To those complaining about the OSPD…”

OS police are responding to two reports of people pointing guns during traffic disputes, three domestic violence assaults, multiple noise and fireworks complaints and reckless driving on the beach. Meanwhile, paramedics were called to a wreck near Hogan’s Corner that injured a pregnant woman. And fire units are running on dumpster fires at beach approaches.

Send your best shot to tom@thenorthbeachnews.com by 5p.m. Tuesday. Anything that happened in OS/North Beach this holiday weekend. Winner gets lunch.