ERIN TIERNEY / CHRONICLE PHOTO – The Fourth of July Town Hall panelists are, from left: chamber president Bobby Ladley, city manager Michelle Amberg, councilors Misty Inman, Alonzo Costilla, Shelly Clark, Tammy Schuck, mayor Dave Stram, councilor Normajean Osborn, Sgt. Scott Denham, council president Kevin Prociw and KNND owner Cameron Reiten.
CRESWELL — Eight months later, and it’s still a sore subject.
The past events of the Fourth of July in Creswell in 2021 again reared its ugly head at a Town Hall on March 15, as a panelists of city leaders opened the doors of New Hope Baptist Church to the public. It was an effort to clear the air, mend fences and encourage future event volunteerism.
Leaders from the City, Chamber and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office took to the stage of the unassuming parish hall on Tuesday to set the record straight on the unfolding of last year’s event—one that spiraled, resulting in fines, municipal court cases and a sorely divided community.
After being asked by a community member to host a town hall in the immediate aftermath of that day, the council eventually kept its word, but some audience members said it was too little too late.
The delayed meeting was out of council’s hands, council president and panelist Kevin Prociw said, explaining that council was in stalemate after its mayor and two councilors resigned in the months that followed the event.
Only now, with a full council and a new mayor presiding since January, could the council make good on that promise.
As such, the panelists were met by an audience of about 25 residents from the southern Willamette Valley, from Eugene, Springfield, Creswell and Cottage Grove, many of whom aired their grievances for the way the event was—or was not—handled by the City leadership and the police.
Despite the passing of time since the incidents, the rawness of emotion was still just as palpable.
ERIN TIERNEY / CHRONICLE PHOTO – Julie Bivens, one of the parade organizers, speaks during the Q&A portion of the Town Hall event on March 15. She said she’s racked up over $10,000 in legal fees contesting her $2,500 in fines after not having filed for a permit for the event.
Complicated by a then-disbanded Chamber—the host of the traditional event—the ebbing of Covid restrictions and risk levels, in combination with heightened political tensions, the panel laid out a timeline of events in an effort to debunk misinformation and delineate opinion from facts of what transpired that day.
Moderated by KNND’s Cameron Reiten, the timeline explanation was followed by a Q&A portion from virtual requests and audience members.
ERIN TIERNEY / CHRONICLE PHOTO – Chris Tough, the Proud Boy member who organized and advertised the parade, said that the City was not willing to work with him to file for a permit for the parade. City officials contested these claims, citing attempts made to encourage Tough’s compliance with city ordinances.
As the meeting went on, tensions flared in the audience, evoking disgruntled murmurs and fervent outbursts. Reiten made attempts to reel in the emotions, limit disruptions and keep the conversations civil, but by the time the panelists got to the forward-looking portion of the meeting, only a handful of audience members remained.
Most had left after having said their piece, which ranged from their perceived notions of Constitutional violations cast by police and city leaders; the discounting of Gov. Kate Brown’s leadership in the pandemic; local leadership’s willingness to follow State order; objections to the Black Lives Matter movement; mask mandates; and to the alleged misconduct of the former mayor.
The panelists — Creswell sergeant Scott Denham, city manager Michelle Amberg, chamber president Bobby Ladley, mayor Dave Stram and councilors Kevin Prociw, Misty Inman, Tammy Schuck, Normajean Osborn, Alonzo Costilla and Shelly Clark — fielded questions, responding when applicable.
Sgt. Denham firmly defended his responsibility to protect the public and uphold the law, Amberg recounted her efforts to encourage the parade hosts to file for the required permits, and Schuck empathized with the audience members, asking them to be part of the solution by getting involved with local government.
Whether those efforts made by this committee to mend fences and move forward are proven fruitful is yet to be seen.
What we do know, however, is that there will be Pancakes in the Park this year.
Read the full story in next week’s Chronicle.
