An ethics complaint against Monroe City Councilman John Stima was recently dismissed by the city council, but another council member may seek further action against him.

The council rejected an earlier finding by the ethics board that Stima had misused his position for financial gain for his family. But council member Kurt Goering, one of two council members that voted not to adopt the findings, asked that the council consider what, if any, disciplinary action they could take.

The ethics board decided that using one’s city position to protect one’s family from financial loss constitutes a financial conflict of interest.

They also concluded that councilman Stima had been guilty of such when he suggested to a police worker that he wouldn’t support the department’s budget unless the worker signed a document the ethics board considered a contract supporting his family’s shelter for homeless women.

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Cascade Community Church was packed to capacity Saturday, as about 250 mourners came to grieve the death of Thomas Turner, 17, of Monroe, who was killed in a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 2 on Dec. 28.

On the stage at the church, his portrait in formal wear presided over mementos of his life; a flight jacket, a picture of a Camaro, a photo of Jim Morrison on the cover of Rolling Stone.

At the front of the room sat his parents Tom Cock and Laurie Turner, along with friends and family, some of whom stepped to the stage to share memories and thoughts about Thomas.

And at the back of the room reporters sat quietly, filming or writing, because Turner’s death took place on notorious U.S. Highway 2. He was the 47th person to die on the highway in eight years, the 16th to die in a cross-over accident.

As the town and family mourned, they and legislators vowed to bring change to U.S. Highway 2.

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