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DOJ Drops Criminal Investigation of Lincoln City Mayor

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DOJ Drops Criminal Investigation of Lincoln City Mayor
Lincoln City Mayor Don Williams

A secret 13-month Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation, launched by Lincoln City City Attorney, Richard Appicello, against Mayor Don Williams, and one of his supporters, transparency advocate Ross Smith, has been dropped.

On September 28, 2016, DOJ Sr. Assistant Attorney General Matthew McCauley wrote Lincoln County District Attorney Michele Branam, stating “there is an insufficient factual basis to pursue criminal charges against either Don Williams or Ross Smith in this matter.”

The cases against Williams and Smith were dropped just one day after Smith wrote Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Branford, alleging Appicello made numerous false statements against him in a July 20th letter to Smith, which Appicello admitted authoring.
delination-letter-cjd0148-15The closing of the investigation marks the end to three failed attempts to prosecute and discredit Mayor Williams, who was elected in a landslide in Nov. 2014, on a platform of providing affordable housing and job growth.

A previously undisclosed letter Appicello wrote alleging both Williams and Smith had committed crimes was released last week by the Oregon DOJ, in response to a Nov. 2015 records request made by Smith. Appicello sent the 5-page letter in Sep. 2015 to Ronald Bersin, Executive Director of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC), charging Williams with criminal misconduct.

DOJ Drops Criminal Investigation of Lincoln City Mayor

“Whether or not Mr. Williams will be criminally prosecuted (for official misconduct under ORS 162.415 for unauthorized release of confidential information) will be left to a special prosecutor” wrote Appicello. Violating ORS 162.415 is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a 1-year prison term, and a $6,250 fine.

The document Appicello alleged was  confidential was a 315-page ethics complaint Appicello had drafted against Williams, which was submitted to OGEC in Aug. 2015. Williams said he released the complaint to the press shortly after receiving it from OGEC, because he wanted to clear his name, and because an OGEC representative had twice told him he didn’t need to keep the complaint under wraps.

But Appicello claimed the ethics complaint should not have been disclosed arguing it contained “confidential executive session excerpts” of private city council meetings. Smith, a staunch supporter of Williams, then sent a 9-page letter to OGEC’s lawyers, and convinced them to release the complaint to the public.

Williams was cleared of the ethics charges by OGEC in Oct. 2015, in a unanimous 5-0 decision, with their lead investigator, Diane Gould, referring to Appicello as an “instigator” in the messy affair.

In Aug, 2015, the Lincoln City Council authorized a separate investigation of Williams, and hired an outside attorney, Russell Poppe, to interview dozens of citizens, including several of the mayor’s supporters. The 13-month investigation, costing taxpayers an estimated $50,000 or more, concluded last month on the condition that Williams offer an apology for “possibly” violating city council rules.

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Ross Smith

Afterwards, the city council voted 4-1 to keep all details of Poppe’s investigation secret, claiming attorney/client privilege. Williams questioned that claim since Poppe told the city council on Aug. 15th that he didn’t represent the City in any legal capacity, but was hired simply to investigate and present a report.
Later in Appicello’s letter, he turns his attention to Smith, who he charges with violating ORS 163.275, when Smith “attempted to coerce” City Recorder Cathy Steere by sending her a public records request for the ethics complaint in Sep. 2015. Coercion (ORS 163.275) is a Class C felony, carrying a 5-year prison term, and a $125,000 fine.

According to Assistant Attorney General McCauley’s letter, Appicello had charged Smith with numerous crimes, including “criminal impersonation, stalking, coercion, solicitation, and the unauthorized practice of law.” Criminal impersonation (ORS 162.365), Stalking (ORS 163.732), and Solicitation (ORS 161.435) are Class A misdemeanors (1-year prison/$6,250 fine). It is unclear what the penalty is for the unauthorized practice of law (ORS 9.160).

The charges against Smith came just one month after Smith had filed suit against Lincoln City in circuit court in Aug. 2015. In his suit, Smith claims the city council frequently violated Oregon’s Public Meetings Law over the last 6 years, including holding 59 secret meetings, and discussing and deciding on forbidden topics.

Smith said he filed the suit “not only to protect our mayor, but to protect the rights of the 1,700 citizens who elected him, because I show the city council did not follow the law in filing the ethics charges, or authorizing the Poppe investigation.’’

Smith questions if the charges against him were due to his filing the suit. “Claiming my respectful records request was criminal coercion is beyond the pale. Appicello just cooked that up to try to silence me, since I was challenging his attempts to unseat our mayor.” Smith said.

This July, Smith filed a second suit against the City, claiming the city council has been violating not only Oregon’s Public Meetings Law, but the City’s own municipal code, for several years, by holding private interviews of applicants, and holding secret votes to appoint city councilors, planning commissioners, and others.

While the Court is expected to rule on the first suit soon, Smith submitted a binding offer last week to the city council to drop both lawsuits, if council “apologizes to Mayor Don Williams, the staff and the citizens of Lincoln City”, for having “possibly violated Oregon Public Meetings laws.” The city council rejected his offer, without discussion.

“I guess our city council would rather waste our money on attorneys, than admit they might have acted improperly” Smith said. “I just hope our voters will elect leaders that will work openly, and with each other, and our mayor, because that’s certainly what our citizens deserve after all this.”

Asked to comment on the DOJ investigation, Williams replied “I had no idea when the investigation began, who was accusing me, or what was being alleged. Frankly, I’m disgusted this was all done at taxpayer expense, because it was a complete waste of time for everyone involved.”

But in the end, Williams remains surprisingly optimistic. “I’m just thankful we can put this all behind us, and focus on addressing real issues, like my 6-point plan to build more affordable housing, which I campaigned on, and have been trying to implement since I was elected.”

Help us Find Gus

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gus-is-missing-1-300x225Please help us find Gus! Our truck was broken into and Angus was either taken or jumped out after them. The Lincoln City PD are working on finding him but all eyes looking for postings about Bostons for sale or if anyone sees him please let us know by clicking here.

Gus, 2 year old Boston stolen 10-23-16 from Lincoln City, Oregon.

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Webcams used to attack Reddit and Twitter recalled

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Home webcams that were hijacked to help knock popular websites offline last week are being recalled in the US.

Chinese electronics firm Hangzhou Xiongmai issued the recall soon after its cameras were identified as aiding the massive web attacks.

They made access to popular websites, such as Reddit, Twitter, Spotify and many other sites, intermittent.

Security experts said easy-to-guess default passwords, used on Xiongmai webcams, aided the hijacking.

The web attack enrolled thousands of devices that make up the internet of things – smart devices used to oversee homes and which can be controlled remotely.

In a statement, Hangzhou Xiongmai said hackers were able to take over the cameras because users had not changed the devices’ default passwords.

Xiongmai rejected suggestions that its webcams made up the bulk of the devices used in the attacks.

“Security issues are a problem facing all mankind,” it said. “Since industry giants have experienced them, Xiongmai is not afraid to experience them once, too.”

Is it taking any other action?

It has also pledged to improve the way it uses passwords on its products and will send customers a software patch to harden devices against attack.

The recall affects all the circuit boards and components made by Hangzhou Xiongmai that go into webcams. It is not clear how effective the recall will be in reducing the numbers of vulnerable devices hackers can call on to mount attacks.

Could this happen again?

Yes, and it probably will. The smart devices making up the IoT are proving very popular with the malicious hackers who make their living by selling attack services or extorting cash by threatening firms with devastating attacks.

Before the rise of the IoT it was tricky to set up a network of hijacked machines as most would be PCs that, generally, are more secure. Running such a network is hard and often machines had to be rented for a few hours just to carry out attacks. Now anyone can scan the net for vulnerable cameras, DVRs and other gadgets, take them over and start bombarding targets whenever they want.

Why should I care if my webcam is hijacked?

For the same reason you would care if your car was stolen and used by bank robbers as a getaway vehicle.

And because if your webcam, printer or DVR is hijacked you have, in effect, allowed a stranger to enter your home. Hackers are likely to start using these gadgets to spy on you and scoop up valuable data. It’s worth taking steps to shut out the intruders.

Can the IoT-based attacks be stopped?

Not easily. Many of the devices being targeted are hard to update and the passwords on some, according to one report, are hard-coded which means they cannot be changed.

There is also the difficulty of identifying whether you are using a vulnerable product. A lot of IoT devices are built from components sourced from lots of different places. Finding out what software is running on them can be frustrating.

Also, even if recalls and updates are massively successful there will still be plenty of unpatched devices available for malicious hackers to use. Some manufacturers of cheaper devices have refused to issue updates meaning there is a ready population of vulnerable gadgets available.

Why are these devices so poorly protected?

Because security costs money and electronics firms want to make their IoT device as cheap as possible. Paying developers to write secure code might mean a gadget is late to market and is more expensive. Plus enforcing good security on these devices can make them harder to use – again that might hit sales.

Despite this, many industry bodies are trying to draw up standards that enforce good security habits. Unfortunately, these initiatives are taking time to have any impact, meaning there are millions of insecure devices already installed and working.

Who was behind the massive web attacks?

Right now, we don’t know. Some hacker groups have claimed responsibility but none of their claims are credible. We might never know because the vulnerable devices making up the IoT attack network are changing hands regularly as rivals scramble to gain control of as many as they can.

In one sense the large web attacks are marketing exercises which show how effective a particular network of bots can be when turned against a target. Competition among rival bot operators is ferocious so a successful attack can be a good way to impress potential customers. It might also persuade victims of extortion emails to pay up rather than risk being knocked out.

Halloween Safety Tip

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Congratulations! Due to a number of organized events around the county and the vigilance on the part of parents, grandparents, and children as well, incidents involving children being injured have been few to non-existent over the years in Lincoln County. Many people view Halloween as a time for fun and treats. However in the United States, roughly two times as many children aged 5-14 are killed while walking on Halloween evening compared with other evenings of the year, and falls are a leading cause of injuries among children on Halloween.

Parents can help prevent children from becoming injured on Halloween by following these safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Safety Council.

Children should:

• Go only to well-lit houses and remain on porches rather than entering houses.

• Travel in small groups and be accompanied by an adult.

• Know their phone numbers and carry a cell phone for an emergency phone call.

• Carry a note in their pocket with their name and address.

• Bring treats home before eating them so parents can inspect them.

• When using costume knives and swords, ensure they are flexible, not rigid or sharp.

When walking in neighborhoods, they should:

• Use flashlights, stay on sidewalks if available, and avoid crossing yards.

• Cross streets at the corner, use crosswalks if available, and don’t cross between parked cars.

• Stop at all corners and stay together in a group before crossing.

• Wear clothing that is bright, reflective, and flame retardant.

• Consider using face paint instead of masks.

• Avoid wearing hats that could slide over their eyes.

• Avoid wearing long, baggy, or loose costumes or oversized shoes to prevent tripping.

• Always look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.

Parents and adults should:

• Supervise the outing for children under age 12.

• Establish a curfew for older children.

• Prepare homes for trick-or-treaters by clearing porches, lawns, and sidewalks and by placing decorations away from doorways and landings.

• Avoid giving choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys as treats to young children.

• Inspect all candy before children eat it.

To ensure the safety of pedestrian trick-or-treaters, parents and adults should:

• Make sure children under age 10 are supervised as they cross the street.

• Drive slowly.

• Watch for children in the street and on medians.

• Exit driveways and alleyways carefully.

• Have children get out of cars on the curbside, not the traffic side.

Following these tips should help ensure this Halloween is a safe and fun holiday for everyone.

For more tips and information, visit our website, use the “MobilePatrol” app on your Smartphone, and Like us on Facebook.

Candidates Forum Transcribed w/ Time Links

 

1
Ward Speaker Video Questions (limited to 25 words) and excerpts of answers
2
3m46s Q: Introductions
3
1 Jim Davis 17m46s
4
1 Diana Hinton 20m48s
5
2 Riley Hoagland 24m24s
6
2 James Scrutton 27m32s
7
3 Doug Wheldon 30m57s
8
3 Judy Casper 34m26s
9
38m49s Q: How long have you lived in Lincoln City, and the work you’ve done in the community?
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1 Diana Hinton 38m59s
11
2 Riley Hoagland 39m39s
12
2 James Scrutton 41m6s
13
3 Doug Wheldon 42m50s
14
3 Judy Casper 44m4s
15
1 Jim Davis 45m28s
16
46m14s Q: What is the one thing holding Lincoln City back, and what would you do to fix it?
17
2 Riley Hoagland 46m27s
18
2 James Scrutton 47m52s
19
3 Doug Wheldon 49m38s
20
3 Judy Casper 51m4s
21
1 Jim Davis 52m25s
22
1 Diana Hinton 53m18s
23
59m53s Q: Do you believe the City and/or State is doing enough to address the homeless problem? If not, what do you suggest?
24
1 Jim Davis 1h1m48s
25
1 Diana Hinton 1h2m27s
26
2 Riley Hoagland 1h4m26s
27
2 James Scrutton 1h6m32s
28
3 Doug Wheldon 1h8m26s
29
3 Judy Casper 1h9m46s
30
Q: What do you see as Lincoln City’s hot opportunity in 2017?
31
2 James Scrutton 1h13m6s
32
3 Doug Wheldon 1h14m
33
3 Judy Casper
34
1 Jim Davis
35
1 Diana Hinton
36
2 Riley Hoagland
37
Q: Do you feel Lincoln City needs to diversify its economic base, and if so, what do you think is the best option?
38
3 Doug Wheldon
39
3 Judy Casper 1h22m2s
40
1 Jim Davis
41
1 Diana Hinton 1h24m8s
42
2 Riley Hoagland
43
2 James Scrutton
44
Q: Will you attempt to regulate in terms of the number of nights per year, in the R-1-5 zones?
45
3 Judy Casper “I’m kind of neutral on VRDs” “I can’t really give you an answer”
46
1 Jim Davis “the only way it’s gonna be fair, is to have a flat set number of nights for everyone”
47
1 Diana Hinton 1h34m9s “We’ll see what City Council does, before I’m elected”
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2 Riley Hoagland “So no, I don’t believe a 365-day unlimited night rental in the residential R-1-5 zone is a nice, effective method of protecting the integrity of the neighborhoods”
49
2 James Scrutton “It needs to be fair to everyone” “the idea of someone getting 30 [days] and the guy next to him getting 365 [days], I don’t agree with doing that”
50
3 Doug Wheldon 1h37m7s “I just totally reject the notion that leaving a house empty for a period of time in the wintertime, somehow helps the city, it just doesn’t.”
51
Q: Davis, Scrutton, and Wheldon: Various individuals appearently supporting your campaign have reached out to out-of-town property owners to change their address to specifically to vote in this election, or reach out to the out-of-town owners to contribute to a PAC supporting you Who do you respond to locals concerned about the influence of outside dollars in our local politics? (55 words???)
52
1 Jim Davis “Two thirds of the money we’ve brought in is from local residents”
53
2 James Scrutton “I’m not aware of us, or anyone I’m involved with sending out anything telling people to change their address so they can vote here … I think that’s mudslinging … politics brings out the worst in some people … I’ve already seen posts about me, they could get sued, because they’re blatant lies”
54
3 Doug Wheldon “Our Mayor ran on a platform of pro-business, and pro-VRD, and he won handily, and I don’t think he’s gotten the respect he’s deserved”
55
Q: If elected, would you vote to make the recent Mayoral investigation (the “Poppe Report”) available to the public?
56
1 Diana Hinton “I can’t answer that now”
57
2 Riley Hoagland 1h45m “It’s irrelvant at this point”
58
2 James Scrutton “It just needs to get put behind us”
59
3 Doug Wheldon “It’s my understanding that something on the order of $50,000 was spent on that. It’s water under the bridge”
60
3 Judy Casper “If Council decided not to release it, there must be a reason”
61
1 Jim Davis “It’s time to move on”
62
Q: How would you like the city to proceed with it’s open space program? Both in terms of existing open space and acquistion of new parcels?
63
1 Jim Davis
64
1 Diana Hinton
65
2 Riley Hoagland
66
2 James Scrutton 1h51m8s
67
3 Doug Wheldon
68
3 Judy Casper
69
Q: Give every candidate a chance to recap, or a closing statement
70
1 Jim Davis “I have the experience to make a difference, thank you”
71
1 Diana Hinton “I’d love to have your vote, thank you”
72
2 Riley Hoagland “you may have received in the mail from my opponent that I allegedly gave a 400,000 dollar parking lot to a city employee, has absolutely no basis in truth”
73
2 James Scrutton “I appreciate all the questions that were asked tonight … I disagree somewhat with Mr. Hoagland with the issue with the parking”
74
3 Doug Wheldon 1h58m1s “Builders are visionaries, doers, and problem solvers, and they’re not bureaucrats. They’re willing to get their hands dirty, and go to work. … My committment to voters is to listen, to be transparent, and I’m willing to talk to anybody, about any subject. I remain optimistic …”
75
3 Judy Casper “I don’t think I’m a bureaucrat either, but I do have a strong commitment to this community. I will work tirelessly with those in the community. I think we need to move the process in finding affordable housing …”

Taft 27, Willamina 5

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Taft’s Josh Salsbery goes all out to unsuccessfully haul in a long pass from Jack Stempel on Friday night

Down 5-0, Stempel, Thomas lead Tigers on 27-0 rampage

Quarterback Jack Stempel overcame two interceptions and an intentional grounding call in the end zone for a safety by throwing for a short score and returning a tipped pass nearly 80 yards untouched for a touchdown, while senior Everett Thomas was all over the defensive end of the field Friday in a 27-5 West Valley League homecoming victory over Willamina.

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Jack Stempel airs one out

A converted second-team all-league quarterback, Thomas, who now anchors the Tigers’ offensive and defensive lines, was one of eight seniors playing their final game at Voris Field. The 6-foot. 3-inch, 230-pound State wrestler made several pivotal plays in the first half, including a key sack, a fumble recovery and the tipped pass Stempel returned the distance that provided the Tigers with a 13-5 halftime cushion.

The Bulldogs scored first when Stempel was pursued a yard deep in the end zone and the trailing back judge called him for avoiding a sack by throwing the ball away at 5:57 of the first quarter.

Willamina kicked a 37-yard field goal and missed one of relatively the same distance in the first half. but led 5-0 after the opening quarter.

Stempel hit senior Nathan Hertz on a short play-action pass for a 7-5 lead with 5:58 remaining in the half. The score was set up by a recovered fumble by Thomas and running back Dylan Gold’s hurdling run around the left side.

Stempel’s long interception return 1:32 before halftime gave the 15th-ranked Tigers a 13-5 lead.

The Tigers scored two second-half touchdowns to put the game away.

Class 3A Taft improved to 4-4, 3-3 under first-year coach Jake Tolan, while Willamina fell to 3-5, 1-4.

The Tigers close out their season at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at PacWest member Jefferson.

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Jack Stempel waltzes down the visitor’s sideline Friday after picking off a pass and running unmolested for the score

Taft High Class of 2017
No. Name Position
4 Mike Zacarias WR/DB
7 Nathan Hertz WR/DB
52 Michael Westfall OG/DT
53 Micah Morgan C/DE
58 Nick Martin OT/DT
59 Zane Troutt OG/LB
79 Everett Thomas OG/DT
80 Christian Stockton WR/DB

I Choose Builders

i choose builders…and let me tell you why. Builders are hands-on visionaries. They create a vision in their mind, in three dimension, design inner and outer spaces, and meld the pieces together to create a functional building. They meet deadlines and budgets, manage money, juggle subcontractors, coordinate all governmental regulations, risk their financial security, and they must finish on time and on budget to avoid interest penalties or financial loss. Builders work rain or shine; they do physical labor, and know what it takes to make things really work. Builders labor as many hours as it takes to get the job done. Builders are some of the most independent, talented, creative, and intelligent people on our planet.

Government employees work eight hour shifts within very strict limitations, rules, and protocol. They are masters at manipulating words, rules, policies, and regulations. Many live in cubicles for most of their working lives. Government employees are not risk takers and rarely risk their own money. They are guided by routine and rule-making. They think about restrictions and are great at constructing laws and policies with little understanding of the effect of those rules on the real world.

We need builders on our city council. They bring hands-on experience to the job. They understand the stressors of independent business. They know how to build affordable housing and they know what government needs to do to help.

I vote for Doug Wheldon, Jim Davis, and James Scrutton. They will get the real job done.

Avette L. Gaiser

Lincoln City

Lincoln City Candidates Forum in 336 Seconds

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098The 2016 Lincoln City Candidates Forum held at Chinook Winds Casino Resort went much better than any of the Presidential debates. The question and answer event flowed smoothly and I think the gal holding up the signs with “15 Seconds Left” had something to do with it.

The entire event (All two hours of it) can be watched on The Newsguard’s Website.

candidates forumWe decided to save you the time and squish the forum down to 336 seconds. We couldn’t show the video in it’s entirety because in this day and age nobody is going to sit through it. By crunching the video down there are bound to be omissions. That’s what the comments section is for! Leave a comment about something you want others to know about.

Justin was going to do a Live show on Facebook but the WiFi password was “Not available at this time.”

Marvin Sandnes of the Pacific Green Party won two LCHP awards for “Most Animated” and “Best Charts.” He’s at the end of the video speaking about the Heroin epidemic.

Thanks to all the candidates for wanting to serve and special thanks to Heather Hatton from Chinook Winds for her time.

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A Tour To Die For

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a-tour-to-die-for-mobile-replace-1A Tour To Die For is a collaboration between the North Lincoln County Historical Museum, Taft Pioneer Cemetery Association and Theatre West. Stories about the residents of the Cemetery are united with actors to literally bring the history of Lincoln City to life.

Your tour guide is well versed in the legends and lore of our town. You’ll hear the Native American legend about the creature that lives in Devils Lake, as well as other mysterious occurrences along the way to the cemetery.

06-aYour final destination is the final destination of many of the early settlers of Lincoln City: Pioneer Cemetery. You’ll meet six of the people interred here while taking a lantern tour lasting about 60 minutes. Of course, you will also hear an eternity of fascinating tales.

Ninety two years ago, Mr. Bones, owner of the grocery store in the Taft district of Lincoln City, donated land for the City’s first cemetery. Taft Pioneer Cemetery is on a hill with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean (which is to die for). This year, Mr. Bones invites you for an evening tour so he can introduce you to some of the folks who reside there.

Your tour (which is also to die for) begins at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. Hot beverages and snacks are on hand to fortify you for your journey. Your guide will bring you aboard the tour van and regale you with stories and legends of Lincoln City’s past on your way through town.
01-aYour destination? Our hill-top cemetery, for a rare night-time visit and walk-through where you will meet some of the people who reside there. A sea captain who didn’t make it back to port, a woman who ran the Post Office back when women didn’t do such things, a town character who may try to sell you “roses” plus a few other folks who have a tale to tell.

A Tour to Die For – October 21-22 & 28-30

Tours depart at 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 & 7:00pm from the Lincoln City Cultural Center, 540 NE Hwy 101, Lincoln City

Get Your Tour Tickets – $25 each   GET TICKETS

A TOUR TO DIE FOR WEBSITE

In the event of inclement weather, you’ll have a drive-through tour of Pioneer Cemetery followed by a nighttime walk-through of our Historical Museum where you’ll meet our friends from the past.