'We didn't enjoy at all, having to... put them through that pain'

WINSTON, Ore. -- After all three Winston-Dillard Fire District board members that were on the recall ballot were recalled by a large margin, members of the recall committee say they're just ready to move on and put it behind them.

It was apparent after the first results came out Thursday night, that there was no question about the outcome of the election, with almost 80% voting for the recall for Dale Stutzman, Stan Keeler and Lyle Jeffries.

Bruce Justis, speaking for the recall committee, says he's glad to have it over, but he's also hoping it will ultimately be better for the fire department. "We're very glad that this recall election is over, and now the department can move on, and hopefully in a direction to try to bring back the staffing that was lost," he said.

Justis says the people that were serving on the board are good people, and it was tough to put them through the recall election. "We didn't enjoy at all having to go through this and put them through that pain," Justis said. "I'm sure that they believe what they were doing was right, as much as we believed it needed to move into a different direction."

KPIC News left messages for now-recalled board chairman Dale Stutzman, but our calls were not returned.

Now that the recall election is over, the board will be in a holding pattern until they get enough members.

Elections officials are dealing with some contested ballots right now, although there aren't enough to change the preliminary results.

County Clerk Patty Hitt says they will have 20 days to certify the election results before the county commissioners can select a person to fill one of the open positions. "Once the commissioners appoint a person, that person and the two remaining board members will appoint the other two open positions, so that they have their full board," she said.

Commissioners will have two weeks after certification to select that new board member, and they must do it during an open meeting.

To be eligible, a person must be a registered voter in the district or own land there.

Until that happens, the board will not have enough for a quorum, which means they can't make any official decisions regarding the fire department.