July 1997: City Council reprimands Police Chief Katie Holmboe, who has been serving since 1985, for selling Mary Kay cosmetics and for using prayer to try to drive evil spirits from a man she thought was possessed — all while on duty.

August 1997: Holmboe fired.

October 1997: Officer Dave Crawford is appointed interim police chief.

July 1998: Crawford arrested on charges of attempted coercion and suspended by the City Council.

June 1999: Crawford is convicted of three misdemeanor charges for threatening an elderly couple during an off-duty traffic dispute and assaulting a dirt-biker after a chase. He was sentenced to serve 20 days in jail, undergo anger-management counseling and serve two years of probation.

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March 2000: Holmboe is reinstated as chief after a Portland arbitrator rules she was fired without just cause and denied due process by the City Council. She receives back pay and benefits totaling more than $75,000.

June 2000: Holmboe retires. The council closes the police department.

Summer 2000: Gold Hill contracts with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department for "emergency protection" only.

April 2002: Thirty-year law enforcement veteran Rod Countryman is hired as police chief.

February 2004: Countryman resigns to "pursue other options" and is later hired by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. Townsfolk say the popular chief was driven out by City Council member Christine Alford, who was recalled the following May.

December 2004: Dean Muchow becomes police chief. In January 2005, he successfully defends himself against charges of theft in a short jury trial in Union, his former place of employment.

July 2005: City officials temporarily rescind employee credit cards and review recent credit purchases made by Muchow. The City Council later decides to restore Muchow's charging privileges and return an $800 reimbursement check he wrote to the city on July 4.

October 2005: A 500 percent increase in traffic citations has municipal court Judge Don Leahan wondering whether the city is trying to fund the police department on the backs of motorists. He dismisses many of the tickets outright. Muchow tries to transfer the citations from Leahan's court but is told by the City Council to keep them in Gold Hill.

June 2006: Former Councilwoman Christine Alford files allegations with Government Standards and Practices claiming Muchow received free meals from local restaurants and used his position for personal benefit.

August 2006: Government Standards and Practices deadlocks in a 3-3 tie and declines to investigate allegations against Muchow.

Oct. 16, 2006: Muchow, accompanied by nine officers from five agencies, searches Alford's home and seizes her computer, saying he is investigating complaints of identity theft. In June, Alford had sent an e-mail under the guise of former Mayor Sherry Young. The e-mail intended to mock Young and the authors of another Web site that was soliciting money for a legal fund for Muchow.

Oct. 24, 2006: The City Council places Muchow on immediate paid administrative while its auditors and attorney investigate allegations of fraud, harassment and other misconduct. Alford files a tort claim against the city.