Chris Smith: Santa Rosa firefighters honor John Hurt, one of their own

The small but big-named city of Arroyo Grande, southeast of Pismo Beach, found itself in an unseemly situation two years back.

The husband of Community Development chief Teresa McClish had phoned police at about 11 p.m. on Independence Day eve 2014, worried. His wife hadn’t returned from the grand opening of a restaurant.

Five Arroyo Grande police officers went to City Hall, where McClish’s car was parked. They reported that when they approached her inside she held an item of clothing to her chest.

With her, looking disheveled, was her boss, City Manager Steve Adams. They said they’d drunk wine earlier and were having tea and talking at City Hall until they felt safe to drive to their respective homes.

Adams subsequently pursued career opportunities elsewhere. An interim city manager was at the helm when, in the spring of 2015, the City Council hired Dianne Thompson to oversee Arroyo Grande.

Thompson had worked eight years as Cotati’s city manager, leaving in 2014 to pursue opportunities elsewhere. She said after starting in Arroyo Grande last August she sensed her new community was “ready to move forward from what happened.”

On Tuesday, the Arroyo Grande council signaled that just 11 months into Thompson’s tenure, it is ready to move forward again. In a closed session, the council voted unanimously to dismiss her.

No reasons were given. Mayor Jim Hill cited “differences in style.”

About the only thing anyone can be sure of is that Dianne Thompson now will be pursuing opportunities elsewhere.

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GOOD MAN DOWN: On Wednesday, firefighters across Santa Rosa stood in formation and observed a moment of silence for John Hurt, who?50 years ago became the city’s first - and, still, only - firefighter killed in the line of duty.

On June 29, 1966, Hurt had the day off with his wife, Mildred, and their five children. But he was summoned to help fight a blaze at the Mastercraft upholstery shop at Third Street and Brookwood Avenue.

He scaled a 24-foot extension ladder and was attacking the flames with water from a?1½-inch hose when an explosion within the shop collapsed the roof. The wall the ladder was propped on then fell outward, striking and crumbling onto Hurt.

Almost exactly 11 years after the tragedy, in June 1977, one of his sons, John Hurt Jr., joined the Santa Rosa Fire Department. He served 21 years, then became a deputy sheriff.

In 1987, Santa Rosa named its fire training tower in honor of his father.

On Wednesday, John Hurt Jr. joined other retired and current Santa Rosa firefighters in standing in silent tribute to the lifesaver lost 50 years before.

The younger Hurt said his dad worked for the Menlo Park Fire Department before moving the family north in 1964 to become a Santa Rosa firefighter.

“I think he loved it,” said the retired firefighter and deputy, who was 13 when he lost his dad. “I know I loved it.”

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FRESH ON FRIDAY: If you thought the Made Local Marketplace on Santa Rosa’s Fourth Street couldn’t get any more fabulous, drop by between 4 and 8 p.m. Friday for the soft launching of its first-Friday-of-the-month fresh market and ?encounter with the local makers of the art, crafts, gifts and other wonders on display.

Chris Smith is at 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.