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Paavo Ogren named in drunk driving lawsuit

March 19, 2012

Paavo Ogren

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County Public Works Director Paavo Ogren is being sued for allegedly allowing his son to drive a vehicle he owned, knowing the teenager had a problem with drugs and alcohol abuse.

On June 16, Kirk Ogren drove his dad’s SUV off the road and onto the sidewalk along San Luis Drive, rolled the vehicle down a 20-foot embankment and into a creek near California Boulevard. Four teenagers were in the car and their injuries included broken bones, abrasions and large gashes.

Kirk Ogren was subsequently found guilty of felony drunk driving causing great bodily harm.

In the lawsuit filed last week, attorney Jeffrey Stulberg claims that Paavo Ogren lent his teenage son his SUV to chauffeur underage friends, knowing his son regularly drank alcohol and did drugs. Emma Schumann, plaintiff in the action, suffered a broken arm and a large gash to her back which required numerous stitches.

“Thus, the entrustment of the vehicle by Paavo Ogren was negligent in that he knew, or should have known, that said such entrustment created a substantial risk of harm to third parties,” the lawsuit says. “As a direct result of the negligence and carelessness of the defendant, plaintiff has suffered bodily injuries, great physical pain, mental anguish, shock and sever emotional distress.”

Several parents of local teens contend Ogren’s home was a frequent after school “party house.” One parent of a teen who was in the accident said the teens were found partying after school at Ogren’s home on several occasions.

In the 2010 divorce filings of Paavo Ogren’s girlfriend Maria Kelly, a former Los Osos Community Services District director and the current office manager of EcoSlo, her ex-husband Shaun Kelly requested full custody of their three children because of allegations that Paavo Ogren, Maria Kelly, and both of their eldest sons used drugs.

Shaun Kelly said in the suit that Paavo Ogren and Maria Kelly were aware of Ogren’s son’s use of methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy because of several drug tests, including a school test of the teen which resulted in his expulsion from school, according to court records.

Shaun Kelly has alleged that this use is allowed, if not condoned, when the children are staying with  Maria Kelly and at the Ogren house.

He writes in the documents, “(Maria) and I have different approaches to this serious issue. She has a much more permissive style ― telling me that they should not use drugs at school but to confine their use of drugs to the weekends.”

The document goes on to say that the eldest Kelly son justified such behavior by saying, “He knows of professional adults who use drugs and are successful.”

Additionally, the filings cite several text messages sent between the eldest Kelly child and a friend which suggest their son has reason to believe both Maria Kelly and Ogren use marijuana [several spelling errors corrected]:

Son: “I am pretty sure Maria smokes weed though.”

Friend: “No fucking way! That’s the greatest thing I have ever heard.”

Son: “That’s why she definitely smokes weed. Why else would she buy king-sized joints for Paavo to smoke by himself? I think not.”

Maria Kelly responded by blocking Shaun Kelly’s access to their children’s text messages, court documents say.

The Kelly’s oldest son was in the SUV on the day Kirk Ogren crashed the vehicle down the embankment and into San Luis creek.

Stulberg is seeking unspecified damages contending the alleged negligence of both Paavo and Kirk Ogren led to his clients physical and emotional injuries.


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All more for the reason to support allowing marijuana dispensaries to be opened. This would show governments support for the use of drugs. You can ask any drug addict what the first drug they experimented with and more than likely they will say marijuana. This is a sick part of society that endorses the use of ANY type of drugs. It’s especially bad when adults think it’s ok for minors to use “recreational” drugs. It appears that in this case there are several people to blame. But as usual the ambulance chasing attorney will be the ultimate winner. I have an idea, if Stulberg is so concerned about this he should donate his proceeds to the cause. What do you think?


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You left out a key word: “illegal”. I don’t doubt that many “drug addicts” first experimented with MJ before moving onto other drugs. But, they probably also experimented with legal drugs, such as alcohol and caffeine, before they tried MJ. Drugs aren’t the problem; abusing drugs is the problem. Abusing legal drugs such as alcohol can have bad consequences as those who drive their cars into ditches surely know.


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Wow, the sins of the son being waged on the father.

This lawsuit seems to me to be pretty standard when a young person gets in a wreck and people are hurt. The injured parties go after the car owners because they have the insurance.

I’d bet this case is settled quietly out of court. The insurance company isn’t going to take a chance on this becoming a circus and a big judgment being handed down.

And if it does get to court, one can’t just make accusations of wrong doing on the part of the parents, they’ll have to produce evidence and there’s a chance it might be ruled irrelevant anyway. I can’t see records from a divorce case being allowed into this one as proof of anything.

My money is on this one being settled quickly and the records being sealed.


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While divorce records might not be admissible, Shaun Kelly can certainly be compelled to testify by subpena and asked the right questions. If he testifies different than what he swore to in his divorce complaint, not only can his divorce records become admissible but he can be cited for perjuring himself. His testimony would be relevant because this was all going on up at Paavo’s house which is why he wanted custody.


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paperboys, what do you think the likelihood is of the “victims” attorney including the County in their lawsuit? May as well name everyone, right???


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“A parent is responsible for their minor child.” Where were the parents of the minor children in the car with this person? Oh what, they didn’t know where their kids were? One of the parents said “teens were found partying at their house.” What was done, did you report it? These kids all knew each other, from the sounds of it partyed together and obviously knew their drivers habits and reputation. They made choices also. They will be faced with these choices everyday of their lives. There were two sets of parents here also. If the father knew there were drugs involved, he could have stepped in. I am not saying what this kid did was right, it wasn’t. This kid is facing a tough life ahead with a felony and trying to kick drugs. Gee, I wonder why he wanted to take drugs to begin with? The better lesson for this young lady is to not get into the car with someone under the influence and to protect yourself at all cost. Greed, Envy, Lust, beware of where this takes you.


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If you have to stoop to blaming the victim to support your argument, your opinion stinks.


Paavo Ogren and Mary Kelly condoned the illegal use of drugs (including meth, for the love of god!) by minors in Ogren’s home. Ogren demonstrated criminal negligence in loaning his vehicle to his son, who Ogren knew abused drugs and drank alcohol on a regular basis, to drive around minor passengers.


I agree Ogren’s son has a tough life ahead of him, but that, unfortunately, is the fate of kids whose drug-abusing parent condones drug-abuse in their kids.


It’s not any of the passengers’ fault. They are minors. Ogren is the “adult” in this situation. Ogren failed–perhaps because he was too high on drugs to think straight–use the kind of judgment expected of parents when he allowed his drugging and drinking son to drive the Ogren vehicle.


Ogren is at fault here. Not the minor passengers, who are the victims of Ogren’s neglgience.


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I am not trying to “blame” anyone, but I am not willing to jump in on baseless allegations. Mr. Kelly posted under “pissed off spouse” on another website. His accusations were removed because he was publicizing “unverifed family problems in the midst of a divorce.” The accusations made are unproven and heresay.


If the 16 year old driver did not have a prior drug related arrest then this means his parents were doing the drug testing (other than the school related incident). This would lead me to believe they cared and were trying, you do not test your family members if you are condoning their behavior.


Also the original article I read said “the Emergency personnel found the blue 1995 Honda Accord on is (sic) roof, another said a Honda Civic. Where did an SUV come from?


As far as the other kids,I am overjoyed they survived. Let’s hope the take away is not “well I will just get faded, leave the responsibility to another faded driver, and if something happens we will just sue them.” They will wind up dead or in jail and all the money in the world isn’t going to help. Take the keys from your friend, stay home, call a sober driver, walk, whatever but don’t be part of the problem.


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1. “Baseless allegations”?! Ogren loaned his vehicle to his son, who he knew had a problem with abusing drugs and alcohol, to drive around minors. The result was Ogren’s son, high on drugs/alcohol, lost control of the vehicle, it went down a 20′ embankment, and some of the passengers were seriously injured. Others were also injured. One young woman will carry the scars testifying to Ogren’s criminal negligence for the rest of her life.


2. Someone who posts under the name “pissed-off spouse” cannot be assumed to be a liar. Have you ever been married? Ever been pissed off at your spouse? Does that mean you are then a liar? “Lying” and “being pissed off” are not necessarily connected.


3. If Sean Kelly is lying, why hasn’t Ogren taken action against Sean Kelly?” That has to be the $64,000 Question of the Year. Sean Kelly’s statements are seriously detrimental to Ogren’s reputation, and can have a negative impact on his professional future. If these comments are untrue, why hasn’t Ogren filed suit against Sean Kelly? Doesn’t it seem clear that Ogren hasn’t filed suit to protect his name and reputation because he knows Sean Kelly’s statements ARE true, and Ogren cannot withstand the scrutiny of a trial to clear his own name?


4. “Take the keys from your friend, stay home, call a sober driver, walk, whatever but don’t be part of the problem”?! You are blaming the victims here. These are minors, who are considerably controlled by peer pressure. Do you really expect these minors to stand up to the son of a very powerful politician, the association with provides benefits, and take away the keys?! You are trying to blame the minor victims of Ogren’s criminal irresponsibility for Ogren’s failure as an adult parent of a drug- and alcohol-addicted son.


There is at least one young woman who will carry, for life, the scars testifying to Paavo Ogren’s criminal negligence. There may be others, too, but details on all of the injuries have not been made public.


Quit blaming the minor victims for Paavo Ogren’s criminal negligence. Ogren’s impaired judgment–which, if accusations are true, could have been due to his own drug use–could have slaughtered a carload of young people. The fact that it didn’t should not give Ogren a free pass.


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Mary, After reading this story this morning, it did come to mind about the parents who are complaining that they knew about the drinking and partying at Ogren’s and yet on the other hand, they are placing all the blame on Paavo for their kids getting into a DUI car wreck with Kirk at the wheel. Apparently, they couldn’t control their own kids either. Its not about putting blame on the victim, we all know that when a bunch of drunks are involved in a DUI car wreck, it is the driver that is responsible and gets charged and not all the other drunken participants in the car.


However, when the injured parties complain and blame, it is sort of like the pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think? Don’t these kids know not to get into a car with a friend who has been drinking or drugging? Sounds like nobody followed the rules and while the parents of the injured passenger might have a legal right to seek damages, there is plenty of blame to go around in the parental oversight department or lack there of.


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Cindy, the issue here is Ogren, knowing his son has a drug- and alcohol-abuse problem, use the Ogren vehicle to drive minors around.


There is no evidence, or even allegations, that the parents even knew their kids would be hanging with Ogren’s son, or that Ogren would allow his substance-abusing son would be given the Ogren vehicle to drive minors around.


It is Ogren’s son who had his hands on the wheel of the “loaded gun” Ogren gave his son to drive. Ogren provided the “loaded gun” to his son. Had Ogren not done that, the horrible accident that occurred would not have happened, kids would not be scarred for life, and we would not be having this discussion because Ogren would not be responsible for the subsequent accident.


Twenty feet is a long way for a vehicle to plunge. There is considerable forward momentum and force by the time the vehicle slams into the solid object or material that stopped it. This completely avoidable incident would not have happened that night had Ogren failed his responsibility as a parent and as an adult when he allowed his substance-abusing son to use the Ogren vehicle.


Any adult should have known that allowing your drug- and alcohol-addicted son to drive the family vehicle put their own son, as well as all of the passengers in the car, in considerable danger.


The passengers are minors. Do you really believe they should be held responsible for having better judgment than the parent of a friend? Especially a parent who has one of the most powerful and responsible positions in SLO County government? Ogren is in a position requiring good judgment beyond what others are required. A bad decision by Ogren could lead to a public tragedy, should a project (for instance) be built on unstable soil and suffer substrate structural failure, and lives were lost. The San Francisquito Dam project is an excellent example of the kind of responsibility a Planning Department head is charged with, and what can happen if that person makes a mistake in judgment: http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/stfrancis.htm.


Wouldn’t most kids (and their parents) think that, the parent–especially someone in such a responsible position as being head of Planning for SLO County–would not allow his son to drive Ogren’s vehicle if there was a chance there would be an accident due to the son’s drug and alcohol impairment?


And the parents of the victims…how do we know that the parents even knew about Ogren’s son’s substance-abuse problem? The kids had benefits from having a friend who has a powerful father. Even under the best of circumstances, I don’t think a minor would offer up the info about the their friend’s substance-abuse problem to their parents, not if they ever wanted to be able to hang with the Ogren son again.


I t hink the injured parties damned straight have a right to complain and, no, it is not the “pot calling the kettle black.” The injured parties are not the ones who handed the equivalent of a loaded gun to a young man with a history of substance-abuse problems. There hasn’t even been any indication that the parents knew of the son’s alcohol and drug problems (I highly doubt the Tribune made any mention of it).


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Mary, I think that you’re missing the point here: “Several parents of local teens contend Ogren’s home was a frequent after school “party house.” One parent of a teen who was in the accident said the teens were found partying after school at Ogren’s home on several occasions.”


What did these parents do about the fact that their kid was involved with Kirk and the parting that was going on at the Ogren’s house? Apparently not much because as we see, their kid was in the car with Kirk after he had been drinking.


As for kids being scared for life ,grin>!!! Well, if they’re scared to get into a car with a drunk or drugged driver for the rest of their lives, then I think that is a good thing, no?


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I don’t know what the parents did. We know that Ogren and Kelly created a public nuisance by allowing their home to be used as an after-school crack house. We know that Ogren placed the equivalent of a loaded gun into his son’s hands when he allowed his son, who has a history of drug and alcohol use, to drive the Ogren vehicle, ferrying his friends around town.


We don’t know what actions the parents have taken in the past to restrict their kids from hanging out at the Ogren-Kelly public nuisance crack-house. I do know that teenagers sometimes don’t do what they are told, and will actually lie to their parents about where they are going.


Cindy, I think you are missing the point here. Ogren’s kid was convicted of a felony in association with the accident that occurred while he was driving Ogren’s vehicle, with Ogren’s permission. That would not have happened if Ogren had not allowed his son access to the Ogren vehicle.


We can’t speculate what unknown parents did or didn’t do. Obviously, they did not commit any felonies in connection with the accident, or we would have heard of it.


We do know that Ogren provided the equivalent of a loaded gun to a drug-using son, and it resulted in a very bad accident, which could have been much worse. And that’s all we really know.


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Now, what is the county’s pension liability for THIS guy?


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The 12 pathetic anti-sewer lost souls of Los Osos need to get a life. Who among them, or any other reader/poster doesen’t have someone in their family who did something regrettable at some time, including themselves?


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What does being against the sewer have to do with this? It seems, based on what we know, that Pavo does have some responsabiity for what happened as it was his car being driven by his son. I am sure it was the plaintiff’s parents who initiated the suit. Are they the a member of the “12 pathetic snti sewer lost souls of Los Osos”? Maybe what never ends is your stupid comments.


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Will there EVER be any issue that has to do with practically anything in this county that will not be connected, in some way, by some one, to the Los Osos sewer?


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We aren’t talking about a high school kid that went to a beer party after a dance or football game here. We are talking about a kid that was constantly high and found to have three very serious drugs in his system prior to this last episode. Extacy can be deadly if kids don’t remember to stay well hydrated but what’s more common is that it alters the serotonin in ones brain chemistry and often causes severe depression in teenagers and college students. Then there is the meth and cocaine, we all know how highly addictive those two drugs are. When you have a kid using methamphetamine, its time to pull out the stops because it doesn’t get more dangerous than that.


This isn’t about doing something regrettable, this is about not doing something to protect your children and those around them. Kirk Ogren was self medicating with just about everything he could get his hand on while dad was preoccupied with his own inappropriate behavior. All I can say is Paavo is damn lucky that his kid didn’t kill someone including himself in that accident. It was just a matter of time and Paavo is responsible for letting Kirk bomb around town in his SUV, drunk and high with other kids in the car. The whole situation stinks and it ISN’T COMING FROM A SEWER.


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I totally agree. With his drugging and drinking impairing his decision-making process to such a degree he put his own son and the minor children of other parents in danger–leading to a wreck which injured several of the minors–Ogren should NOT be in charge of county resources, including county employees, vehicles, and Planning’s huge, bloated budget.


He should NOT be in charge of making decisions. In fact, his backing of the bloated $180+million sewer project for Los Osos is called into question by his pathetic lack of judgment with his son.


That decision needs to be reviewed before it goes forward. Who knows how high Ogren was when he decided paying $180+million for a sewer project was a good idea.


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Very well said MarkJames!


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Perhaps Ogren’s bad judgment in allowing his drugging and drinking son to drive minors around in the Ogren vehicle was due to Ogren’s own drug-abuse problem.


The issue isn’t whether anyone else did the same thing. The issue is that Ogren did it.


Ogren is in charge of a HUGE budget, and is responsible for the actions for many public employees. He has made important decisions which will, for instance, cost Los Osos residents over $180million to flush their toilets.


He does not appear to have adequate judgment to even make decisions about his own children, perhaps because of drug addiction.


THAT is the issue. So quit trying to shift to the blame to everyone else.


Ogren needs to be put out on administrative leave. With the kind of judgment he exhibited in letting his kid drive minors around in the Ogren vehicle, Ogren should not be in charge of supervising others, of a budget, or of making important county-level decisions.


Because of the allegations of drug abuse, until Ogre is put out on administrative leave, Ogren needs to have periodic drug tests to ensure he is not making decisions for the county while intoxicated–by alcohol or drugs.


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Yeah, now that you mention it, “abusing drugs” is the most plausible excuse for the quarter billion dollar Los Osos sewer tragedy I’ve ever heard. Maybe the members of the BOS share the same dealer as they had no problem whatsoever signing off on the project.


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Oh, the mental image of the supes citing around in closed sessions, passing a doob around.


Yeah, some of the supes asinine decisions would make sense, put in that context.


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Mr. Stulberg is a very competent attorney and he would not be wasting his time and energy if he did not think he had a good case for recovery for his client. No stone will be left unturned.


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He does have an excellent case for his client, no doubt about it. A parent is responsible for the actions of their minor children particularly if they are aware that their own actions will or could contribute to the misdeeds of their minor child or even an adult child such as loaning them a car knowing that they have an alcohol problem. In the case of Kirk, Paavo can not deny knowledge of the sons abusive of serious addictive drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine. The kid was expelled from school after these drugs were identified in a drug test! Yes, Paavo is clearly responsible for providing his juvenile delinquent with the vehicle (literally) to cause great bodily injury. They are both a public menace (Paavo & son) in my opinion. Lets face it, how many of us would have taken the keys to the car and so no way, not until you clean up your act and it will take a few drug tests before I trust you to drive a car again?


I do have a difficult time believing Sean Kelly where he says (in the divorce documents) that Maria felt that their teenage sons drug use should be confined to weekends only. What mother would say something like that? Either way, the teenagers from both families sound like they are suffering from bankruptcy in the parental raring department.


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“I do have a difficult time believing Sean Kelly where he says (in the divorce documents) that Maria felt that their teenage sons drug use should be confined to weekends only. What mother would say something like that?”


——


How about one who is having an affair with Ogren.


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Very well put, Mary!


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Since “Kirk Ogren was subsequently found guilty of felony drunk driving causing great bodily harm” what was his sentence?


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Good question. I know he was ordered to rehab (something his father should have done instead of loaning him a SUV) but what other sentencing is involved would be interesting to find out. If he is still in school, I would think weekends in jail would be appropriate until he graduates and then some additional time and/or public service but I doubt that he got any substantial jail time. After all, this is SLO county and he is a Good Ole Boy family member.


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Another good story UNTOLD by The Tribune. The selective use of what is newsworthy is getting old. I remember when the covered I think it was the Tax Collecter Frietas son’s offense from the South County over a long period of time. What makes this different. I thought the County had a drug testing policy for it’s employees and certainly, under the circumstances this is one employee who should be tested. Oh yea, I forgot, Paavo and Orgren can do no wrong – remember the County investigated the relationship the two had while Ms. Orgren was on the Los Osos District Board, made several phone calls to him the morning of the big vote, was sleeping with him (or was it living with him) while claiming to be a resident of Los Osos and the County claimed no conflict of interest. Really! How the hell did she end up with the EcoSlo job – oh yea, I forgot, the good ole’ boy network, stupid me!!!


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Of course, if you’re the offspring of a member of the County’s “good old boy network”, all the bad deeds will be kept under wraps, but if it were the child of “regular John Q. Citizen”, the story would make the front page of all the local tabloids…There’s NO FAIRNESS in SLO County.


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Having Kelly as office manager at EcoSlo certainly is questionable decision making by EcoSlo. Those who have written checks or contributed in other ways to EcoSlo might be wondering how their contributions are being used.


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The article is wrong.


Maria Kelly does not work at ECOSLO. She did for awhile, but she’s been gone for months.


ECOSLO has been around more than 40 years. LOTS of people have worked there. I’m a long-time member and volunteer and know many of the people who’ve worked there. Some were better than others, like anyplace.


ECOSLO is a local organization doing important work, and I continue to support it.


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EXACTLY. That is why I don’t think we can assume that the minor passengers’ parents knew about Ogren’s son’s substance abuse problems, and I would be very, very surprised if their own kids kept them informed of what went on at their friend’s house after school, and what Ogren and his girlfriend smoked or otherwise illegally used.


The Tribune creates public safety dangers by making editorial decisions based on building up brownie points with the local political bigshots, like Ogren.


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It seems like the friend has an illustrious grip on the English language and is headed on the path to become an excellent citizen. I am sure that the public servant would not use his political connections to avoid these charges either as I am sure he is a good citizen.


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This one’s EASY…throw the book at the BA$TARD! Maybe this will get the County to fire his A$$…Isn’t there a “morals clause” in his contract? Something about the ILLEGAL USE OF DRUGS…


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Stepping aside of his son’s actions, how would the son’s use of illegal drugs affect the moral clause of his fathers contract? Did the son sign it? Is the father using drugs? I don’t see how the son’s use should affect the fathers job. Two different arguements.


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Ogren’s inability to make a competent decision regarding allowing his son to drive minors around in the Ogren vehicle proves Ogren does not have good judgment. There have been allegations by several people now about Ogren’s drug use. I think Ogren’s ability to make competent decisions regarding County Planning and his budget are, therefore, questionable.


Make him take periodic surprise drugs tests.


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it also shows he (Paavo) has a careless disregard of the law. He THINKS he’s ABOVE the law…


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Agreed. That is one of the most dangerous parts of Ogren’s failure to make even reasonable decisions about who should be able to drive the Ogren vehicle.


Ogren created a public danger by allowing his son, who Ogren knew has substance abuse problems, to drive the Ogren vehicle.


Ogren is in charge of projects that must not put the public in danger.


Am I the only one who sees the connections here that puts us all at risk with Ogren making the decisions on county planning issues and projects?


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Mary, YOU are right again! I don’t understand why Paavo was NOT terminated when the CONFLICT OF INTEREST issue arose when it was FIRST DISCOVERED he (Ogren) was carrying on a hot & heavy AFFAIR with Maria Kelly. Remember HER? She was on the LOCSD Board of directors at the time….whispering all kinds of “secrets” in HIS ear. They BOTH got what they wanted…She got a cushy County position for her “job well done” & Paavo was able to weasel through the most expensive “sewer project” in the country…They BOTH need to be terminated. Paavo’s head is so “MUDDLED” by drugs, booze & MARIA…He’s making all kinds of blunders in his “decision making”…


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beentheredonethat, didn’t YOU read the article? Paavo & Maria were BOTH doing drugs as well…Now isn’t THAT a fine example they set for their kids???


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Is it a bad example for the kids? Yes BUT that wasn’t what I commented on. It was in regards to firing him for POSSIBLE use.


The only suggested possible drug so far as per text (not saying there might not be more) is marijuana. So even if he does smoke grass so what? If he is smoking it at work then yes it is a problem but if he comes in sober then I don’t see a problem. Just like drinking at work. Do at home fine, come time to work you better be sober but if you want to fire someone who smokes on their free time, you better get ready to start firing a lot of people in this state. Get real.


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Considering the situation with his son, the accusations of Ogren being a criminal drug user should be taken quite seriously.


There are two issues involved here:


1. The potential for Ogren making important County positions, involving $$$millions, while under the influence of illegal drugs. I’d say push a sewer vision worth $$180million is absurd enough to question the sanity–or the sobriety–of Ogren.


2. Ogren’s demonstrated poor judgment regarding the use of his own resources.being indivicative of his poor judgment using county resources In a previous Ogren scandal, his judgment for allowing county resources (equipment) to be used by private cronies who had lawn-care and construction businesses on the side was called into question. In addition, I believe he allowed a crony or relative use county gasoline whenever he wanted.


Now we see Ogren entrusting his own vehicle to his son, a known illegal drug and alcohol user, to drive around minors. Not only is this bad judgment for the safety of his son and the Ogren vehicle, but also for anybody riding in the Ogren vehicle when the sun was driving getting injured (which is exactly what happened), and other vehicles and other people being damaged/injured by Ogren’s drug/alcohol-impaired son.


So, not only has Ogren shown a history of allowing risky behavior of resources under his control (both private and county), he has shown a history of risky behavior regarding people (or other resources–car,personal property,whatever) being damaged/destroyed.


Why is Ogren still allowed to report to work? Why is he not on administrative leave?


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With Ogren’s inability to even make an adequate decision about loaning his vehicle to his drugging and drinking son, certainly Ogren is unable to make the kind of decisions required by the Director of Planning of SLO County.


Put him on administrative leave until he has spent a few weeks in rehab and has tested clean for drugs for a few weeks. Then keep him on probation until he has completed a rehab program and tested clean for a year.


IN addition, his major decisions, including those having to do with expenditures of the Planning budget, should be reviewed before finalized.


I wouldn’t trust him to administer my book club at this point., and administering County Planning is a tad more complicated than my book club.


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REALLY??? I’m not saying this guy is father of the year but how in the hell does what someone do in their personnal life have to do with this? Yes his moral charactor might be in judgement but he has done NOTHING ON THE JOB to warrent any action. If you do what you are suggesting, then you are about to give Gov. a big window into your personnel life. I can’t believe when people are so willing to give up PERSONNEL liberities. Work life and home life are two different things.


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Hes, REALLY!!!


Of course what he does in private reflects on what he does on the job. Ogren’s decision regarding his son put Ogren’s resources and the safety of his son and those riding in the Ogren vehicle at risk.


This is an impaired decision-making process. Whether it is impaired by drugs, alcohol, or simply inability to make good decisions that involve important decisions…it is still impaired.


People don’t have one level of ability to make decisions at work and another type of ability to make decisions at home. Their ability to make decisions is not situation-dependent.


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Question. Do you drink at home? Have you ever had or almost had a car accident (not alchol related per se)? Ever smoked pot just once?


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Asking Mary THOSE questions are completely irrelevant…..Does SHE work for SLO County in a “decision making capacity”? Probably not, so IF she has an occasional cocktail at HOME, HER thinking & decision making skills are not relevant….YOU, beentheredonethat are just on a fishing expedition…Get over it!


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So he works for the county. HOW IN THE HELL is that any different than ANY job!!??? My point (which you missed) was that how is it any different if she goes and drinks at home tonight or smokes. Should she then be fired from her job tomorrow? Or better yet……….how about you Ru. Should your boss be able to fire you tomorrow for what you do in your time off? I would LOVE to hear your answer.


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Ogren is in charge of Planning. Check out the San Francisquito Dam failure for a clear demonstration of what can happen when a planner fails to make the correct decision in a major public project: http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/stfrancis.htm


Ogren is in charge of the Los Osos sewer project. With the types of soil involved, the proximity to the ocean, the existing septic tanks and leach fields, and myriad other issues to deal with, an impaired (for any reason) decision by the head of planning could result in a major tragedy.


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The answer would be “YES”, especially if you work where they do “drug testing” on a regular basis…


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