CHP BRIDGEPORT OFFICE SUPERVISOR TO RETIRE AFTER OVER 24 YEARS OF SERVICE (CHP press release)
Providing safety, service, and security throughout the state, is something you hear about California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers doing on a daily basis. However, have you ever wondered who helps those officers do their jobs on a daily basis? Statewide, the CHP employs approximately 7,700 uniformed personnel and approximately 3,400 non-uniformed personnel. The non-uniformed personnel of the department are crucial to the everyday functions of the CHP. This group includes Office Services Supervisors, Office Assistants, Public Safety Dispatchers, Commercial Vehicle Inspection Specialists, Automotive Technician, Maintenance Workers and a myriad of other people providing expertise in specific areas. Without the hard work and dedication of all of these people, the CHP would not be able to provide the public with the high level of service that it provides daily.
The CHP Bridgeport Area wishes to announce the retirement of Office Services Supervisor Gretchen Montgomery, on December 30, 2013. On that date Gretchen will have been with the CHP for 24 years, 13 days. Before Gretchen came to the CHP she was a snow plow operator for Caltrans here in the Eastern Sierra, and worked at several other local businesses. She started at the CHP’s Bridgeport Area December 18, 1989 as an Office Assistant and then promoted “in place” to Office Services Supervisor during May, 1996. Gretchen has guided and assisted 11 commanders, most taking their first command.
Gretchen enjoys anything outdoors, and continues to be a competitive horseback rider, often traveling hundreds of miles to competitions. In the attached photographs Gretchen is riding “Coquette” (on the left) this past June, and “Spice” (on the right) in 2012. Gretchen is “the CHP” in Mono County, and she will be missed not only by CHP employees, but by many other public safety partners, local business owners, residents and the thousands of visitors that have stopped in the office to ask for directions to Yosemite, where chain control starts, where the natural hot springs are, when it will snow, etc., etc!! Gretchen’s last full day in the office will be December 23, 2013.
Facts are so upsetting. Ken gets really upset. then he starts blithering and insulting. How completely unlike him. US total debt: Gross external debt: $14.959 trillion http://wallstreetgrand.com/debtornations.html http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt Unfunded obligations: USA today The government has promised pension and health benefits worth more than $700,000 per retired civil servant. The… Read more »
Turbo2, funny you show no accounting of the cost of the likes of Congressman Cunningham and the corrupt privatization of our military, etc, etc, etc.. Riordan got it half right, the contributions that employees made are making less than expected, the contributions the employer didn’t make while using them as… Read more »
hooboy.. Pedro, dude, I have to account for all corrupt individuals in a single column? Seriously? All the corrupt individuals in politics I can find? regardless of party maybe? (that’s ok isnt it? Or do you just want to hear one side of a story?) That would be a book.… Read more »
Ever feel like our politically correct society can’t take a joke any more ? Maybe our government and news agencies should lighten up a little.
My buddy who is a high school Engish teacher just mentioned the other day that there’s always a litte truth to politically incorrect jokes.
TeaBagger is the appellation I use for the pinwheeled eyed radical who is unable to grasp simple issues. I didn’t want to use idiot or moron. I didn’t want to cast dispersions on the mentally challenged by identifying them with a failed political movement that has done this county more… Read more »
“the pinwheeled eyed radical who is unable to grasp simple issues. I didn’t want to use idiot or moron. I didn’t want to cast dispersions on the mentally challenged by identifying them with a failed political movement that has done this county more damage than al Qaeda. I’m sorry if… Read more »
TB, Why do Americans have to turn every sexual act into an insult? You should apologize for perpetuating it as a sexual slur and “homosexual slur” to all humans. As should all shades of political shills that are throwing it around. No wonder our politics and sex lives are so… Read more »
Ya I use the same kinda names for the people on the left that act the same way….Obots, treehuggers, leftwingers, nogressives..and a couple other choice words that wouldnt make it onto this page..you know, the people that glue them selves to the failed ‘war on poverty’ and the lovers of… Read more »
It appears the local retirement thing is just more subterfuge for the (very tiring) Left v Right political game. My feeling is, each political party must find somebody that fills their respective needs for the majority of Americans. If that person is not found then the person with the most… Read more »
Actually, a discussion of important issues does have a higher purpose – to discover the truth about them. That’s what we hope for – information that reveals what really is going on with government finances. Without knowledge and truth, no one can face reality and act on it. While this… Read more »
The “higher purpose” that is espoused, sounds honorable and good on paper. Unfortunately a perusal of the comments on this blog often results in just plain old nasty venting that appears to be getting nastier and nastier. The talk-radio moguls know how effective the divide-and-conquer game truly is. This accomplishes… Read more »
If individuals do not strive to find the truth, things will not go well. Except for the truly mean-spirited and nasty, we air comments on this blog as individuals choose to express themselves and to find a way to grasp what their lives are about.
Benett Kessler
Thanks again Benett, for having a platform where the masses can express themselves, and have debates and reply’s from those who care enough to do so.. Right or left ideologies have little to nothing to do with who is chosen to be voted for, You know the donor election where… Read more »
Perhaps you should go to another website. The only comments deleted, as I have said, are the mean-spirited and vulgar. Many commenters seem to be angry, yourself included, and unable to exchange balanced discourse. Hey, we’re all human and sometimes feel that way. This blog is a discussion. Sometimes it’s… Read more »
Good Luck finding another site where you can weigh in on local and national issues with others, But seriously, I started using my real name because this how I feel, and how can I take myself seriously, or expect anyone else to take me seriously if I don’t own what… Read more »
Jeremiah, I believe I can be a lot more open and honest on most subjects without being ragged on personally. Once in a blue moon I do use my real name. Usually when I don’t give a damn if people agree with me or not.
Trouble, Yeah I can understand that, I remember you said in the past how this area is so small, how word gets around about how so and so said this and so and so said that, and its obvious how people will judge you based on how others in their… Read more »
Gretchen, thank you for your service.
Bennet; this comment section has turned into a trollfest, perhaps you should close it.
One always hopes for nice remarks, but this local retirement has opened the door for people to express their concerns about retirement and government pensions.
Benett Kessler
You may hope for nice remarks but when you repeatedly publish poisonous and vulgar ad hominem attacks from the likes of Ken Warner, is it any wonder the putatively kinder, gentler Sierra Wave is not so kind and gentle?
I never claimed we are “kinder, gentler”. Freedom of Speech does allow us to veer over to the obnoxious. We try to keep the truly mean-spirited and vulgar off the site. Of course, this is subjective. And, no one is forced to read or participate in our site.
Benett Kessler
“Freedom of Speech does allow us to veer over to the obnoxious…this is subjective…no one is forced to read or participate in our site.”
Quite right. Which is why I seldom access this site any more.
Fair enough, Tourbillon.
BK
So much drivel — so little time — or interest in countering the same discredited TeaBagger arguments over and over again. The TeaBaggers are always hysterical that Government Program X — that is designed to help millions — is somehow going to take their wealth by some unspecified means. In… Read more »
” so little time — or interest in countering the same discredited TeaBagger arguments over and over again.”
Only eight paragraphs of your own drivel 😉
btw, I didn’t read it.
So, the accounting view again, of Kens post: -first is another denigrating comment about those he doesn’t agree with. it just is. Go Ken! -then we go to the website of the unions. not an unbiased site or an independent evaluation. -then the statements that the pensions are ‘largely’ (which… Read more »
I still can’t figure out the basic economics. How can a person work for 25 years, lets say from age 20 to age 45, and contribute enough actual earnings to any economic/fiscal pool, to then be awarded 50-90% of their ending pay annually forever, plus all the health, dental and… Read more »
County Administrator Kevin Carunchio calls for “creative budget solutions” when the reality of accounting doesn’t add up.
upthecreek is just part of the TeaBagger echo chamber spewing the talking points of the rich who want a two class society — ultra-rich (them) and the ultra-poor and desperate (us). He doesn’t realize that he’s one of us and is talking against his own self interests. http://www.seiu.org/a/publicservices/fact-check-on-public-sector-pensions.php FACT CHECK:… Read more »
Ken Warner, when you use a vulgar name to refer to those who have different politics than yours, you lose the argument. Calling a group of people a vulgar name in a attempt to win an argument shows that you cannot win with facts and logic. It makes you look… Read more »
Moral of the story. If your retiring with a pension don’t let it be published on Sierra Wave.
I think the discussion is a good one; it has given me a chance to solidify my views and open my mind to other points of view. Otherwise I would have no idea where other people are coming from.
MONgO
Don’t let the vocal, disgruntled minority get you down, Dee.
Penis’s with pension envy, is there anything funnier?
It’s quite curious how I read all these comments about a local resident who has diligently served the community and the people of California for 20+ years only to ridicule her service; complaining about her pension that really should only amount to 50% of her final wages. The interesting thing… Read more »
It is just a shame how easily it is to turn people against each other. For thirty years now our economy has been run to benefit a select and very successful few. It is to their advantage that the remainder receive less and less of the economic pie, to the… Read more »
MajorTom — well said. What I see is the plutocracy’s revenge against FDR’s New Deal. They used Regan to start the attack and it continues today through the Republicans and TeaBaggers. We the People can do something about it. I think that people had to feel real pain first and… Read more »
Ken, I don’t mean to scare you, but I totally agree!
I hear you on that one MajorTom, if I interpreted it properly, I mean here in this business culture in corporate america what is better then having ripe, broke kids to enter into the business establishment so they can be exploited (collage debt, low minimum wage, income ineguality). And I… Read more »
Major, I apologize for posting too much, I’ll try to cut back in 2014. (resolution?) I was thinking about this very subject today. My mom has two pensions also and spent most of her life in public service. Now she is fully incapable of work, she is very sick and… Read more »
Some of you may find this an interesting read: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/plutocrats-vs-populists.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 TORONTO — HERE’S the puzzle of America today: the plutocrats have never been richer, and their economic power continues to grow, but the populists, the wilder the better, are taking over. The rise of the political extremes is most evident,… Read more »
The same people who are upset that she is receiving a public pension are the same people who would be slobbering all over her if she were a war veteran. Honor our military not civic employees. One of the nicest people I’ve ever met was a Navy veteran who served… Read more »
I worked for the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. for 30 years. I paid 100 percent of my monthly retirement every GD month of my career, the county did not contribute anything as they do with other retirement systems. I paid taxes on the money I contributed into my retirement account… Read more »
Roy,
Thank you for your service.
I am not now and have never been capable of a law enforcement career myself and am grateful you were.
Glad to see you made it out alive to collect your retirement.
Respectfully,
Mongo
All California state employees should contribute at least 8% of their salary to their pensions and all pensions should be capped at $50,000 per year. California needs to end its 4 billion dollar a year contribution to the state pension system. Divide that amount equally among all state workers and… Read more »
I see these pensions as a benefit you get for working at the company store. The Federal company store (BEP) prints the money while Uncle Sam backs it with bonds, debit, and muscle. Too much or too little Fiat cash in the economy causes inflation or deflation. This balance of… Read more »
Good point Mongo, all money, pensions, investments are based on promise of the IOU being good in the future, and the future only exists in our minds. You think if we learned to live in the moment more and sowed for the future but didn’t cling to it, then your… Read more »
Your statement is patently ridiculous, so here’s what you seemed to miss in 12th grade Economics. Corporate pension plans used to be the most common form of retirement program in the U.S., but have been supplanted by the ever-popular 401(k) plan. The reason is simple: employers are shifting the burden… Read more »
That diatribe was pointed at upthecreek.
Bob, well done!
“The fact of the matter, is that government employment (with the possible exception of LADWP) pays less than private employment.” That use to be the case but is not even close to the truth now, nor was it ever in Inyo or Mono Counties. The private sector has cut salaries… Read more »
Mark, if you look up average wage statewide (for example heavy equipment operator) and compare it to what local municipalities (ie Caltrans, Inyo and Mono counties, etc) pay the state average is higher.
I didn’t see this article going anywhere good.
If I was Gretchen I wouldn’t want to wake up and read this
Dont worry about it Mark,
I’ll bet Gretchen knows what kind of people are on the road and is surprised that so many of them can type.
Mongo
She EARNED her pension! The state just didn’t give it to her.
Yep, and unlike a 401k or IRA, you have to put in a large number of years, usually 0 or more working for the state, to qualify for that pension.
nobody said she didn’t earn her pension.
the problem is the tax payers can’t afford her pension.
the great government pension Ponzie scheme will soon come to an end..
500 billion in unfunded liabilities and counting.
Govt gone wild….
$1,000,000,000,000 to $6,000,000,000,000 Iraq/Afghanistan
utc, you say she earned it, but you can’t afford to pay now, and you’re paying for parties on Wall Street? You might want to look at your ethics. 3 trillion and counting on “stimulus”, someone’s getting stroked, but it’s not working people.
Since Sierra Wave opened pandora’s box let’s see how the State works. What was her hourly pay, benifits and pension. Lets add it all up and see what it cost the tax payers to employ Gretchen for 24 years including her pension. It’s a well known fact the best jobs… Read more »
Thank you for your service. Twenty Five years is a lot of life to have spent doing any one thing. I hope your pension is adequate and that you enjoy the rest of your days with your animals, family, and friends under the Eastern Sierra sky. Give your horse a… Read more »
badfinger; Well why don’t you go out and get a job, work hard for 20+ years, probably take some of it home with you when 8 hrs is not enough, don’t whine and then maybe you can find out yourself.
20+ years, what a joke.
I challange you local & state gov employees to share your pay benifits and pensions.
Same goes for private sector employees, lets see who has the sweet deal.
Well, how Big of a Pension will she be Collecting? 🙂
Dont worry badfinger.the tax payers will take great care of her for the rest of her life. She can also secure a nice govt consultant job and still collect her Huge pension.
Govt gpne wild
Pensions for everyone….
Ya, she should have been a Wall Street banker getting bailout bonuses or a contractor selling $800 toilet seats to the pentagon. God forbid we actually use our tax dollars to pay the deferred wages we promised for actually serving the taxpayers.
why speculate? you should be able to estimate it pretty close. You know her time of service, you can get her age with a little research online, and you can get her salary on line (all state employees salaries are available)….She most likely gets the ‘standard’ retirement ratio (as opposed… Read more »