Category Marion & Polk County

Marion County Commissioner Colm Willis, worried therapists may be advocating for gender reassignment surgery in children, recently moved to defund training for clinicians who work with transgender people, according to a recently filed complaint. Willis’ concern was backed by Marion County Commissioner Sam Brentano. “We…

Marion County’s top employee is retiring after more than a decade on the job to spend more time with his family, he said. Chief Administrative Officer John Lattimer has led the county’s 15 departments and approximately 1,700 total employees for the past 16 years. He…

Marion County officials say an audit of its workplace culture, stemming in part from sexual harassment allegations that surfaced last fall, is officially underway. Marion County commissioners in early March gave the contract to Clarity Scientific, a Beaverton-based corporation. Costs aren’t to exceed $30,000. The…

Polk County Courthouse (Courtesy of Jolene Guzman/Polk Itemizer-Observer) Just days before Thanksgiving last year, a juvenile was taken to a hotel in Dallas and fell asleep. As he slept, a state worker assigned to care for him overnight invited another worker to come over. The…

Polk County Courthouse (Courtesy of Jolene Guzman/Polk Itemizer-Observer) Two state Department of Human Services workers in Polk County remain on paid leave and stationed at home after the state investigated them for child abuse that involved indecency, Salem Reporter has learned. Recently released state records…

The doors outside the Senator Hearing Room, where public works employee Jamie Namitz in October publicly announced she was sexually discriminated against at work. Namitz recently complained to the state Bureau of Labor and Industries to investigate the county public works department. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter)…

Josh Lair stands by Marion Square Park, where many of his clients spend their time. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Josh Lair has learned one secret to earning trust when police call him out to meet a prospective client. Don’t look like a cop. Few people would…