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There is a march
on Wall Street movement going on nationally and I can assure you we have a march
on Sussex County going on also that is alive and well. More and more AND MORE
citizens are getting involved in how this county is being managed or
miss-managed. Folks are attending public meetings in numbers never before seen
and not just the monthly board of supervisors meeting. Many citizens are
attending (some in disbelief) to sit and listen, becoming more knowledgeable
and to offer support for those speaking up on all of our behalf. Others are
putting themselves up at the podium, for 2 minutes at a time, standing in front
of the Board letting them (as a group or individually) know they are concerned
and have an issue with them or their conduct, and on a rare time or two to congratulate
for a job well done. How appropriate it is that while an individual is facing
the Board speaking the rest of us are behind them. While not everyone will
agree with everything someone is saying as citizens of the county we have their
back, whether it is a cook at the county jail asking for air conditioning or
someone looking for relief from an illegal damning up of a drainage ditch that
is causing problems on their property.
Before
getting to the video clips from the meeting the following is a letter to the
editor of the Sussex Surry Dispatch that hopefully will be printed this week. I
am posting it here because in the letter I ask folks to “play a matching game.”
I will give you the correct answers to that game.
A
Path Well Taken
By
Fred X Turck, Blackwater District
First a BIG pat on the back for all those citizens that
attended one or more of the Community Meetings held across the county last
month. AND for all those who are attending the regular BOS meetings each month.
It is we the people who will make a difference.
I had great hopes that last night’s board of supervisors
meeting was going to turn the corner on an inability to work towards the
betterment of the county and ALL its citizens. It didn’t take long for reality
to sink in, oh yes we did turn a corner however the turn taken took us down an
all too familiar path.
How about playing along with me a matching game? We might
as well play games like some on our board members are doing, at least well be
accomplishing something. So here is the game. See if you can match the
individual sitting at the table with the following quotes. All board members,
the County Administrator and Attorney are included as possible options.
- 1. It’s
not rocket science.
- 2. You’re
attacking the children, the churches, head start and the seniors.
- 3. The
town meeting I had.
- 4. It doesn't make a difference to me.
- 5. Politics
got started in the church.
- 6. We're
at a dreadlock. (this is NOT a typo)
- 7. I
need time to digest it.
- 8. It’s
a nightmare.
- 9. Acknowledge
the extraordinary work our employees provide.
Now to a more serious subject! The Improvement
Association is becoming a tremendous distraction to the board of supervisors.
Last night we were painfully (once again) exposed to a lengthy, very, very
lengthy bantering back and forth about issues that had no place at OUR Board of
Supervisors meeting. It’s hard if not impossible to keep this from occurring
over and over since two of our supervisors are the main leadership of the
association. This is an illness that must be cured and like many infectious
diseases the only cure is to cut it out. If Tyler and or Caple really cared
about the health of the county one of them (if not both) would remove
themselves either from the Board of Supervisors or the Improvement Association.
Guess which one they would pick if they were man enough to even make that
decision. I can’t blame them either, I would not give up a very lucrative
position on the Association for a public service job that at times is a
thankless job. We cannot afford to allow this disease to keep eating away at
our health. By no means do I want it to be construed that I am not supportive
of the work the Association does and the services it provides, what I am
against is the distraction it is creating. Both organizations would be better
off if the illness is cured.
If you need a reminder who your choices are below is a group
photo of the Board of Supervisors and remember you also have Thomas Harris who
sits to the right of Dopey and to his right Attorney Packer.
ANSWERS to
the matching game …
- 1. It’s not rocket science. (Fly to Tyler)
- 2. You’re attacking the children, the
churches, head start and the seniors. (Stringfield to
Fly)
- 3. The town meeting I had. (Tyler to all)
- 4. It doesn’t make a difference to me. (Tyler to all)
- 5. Politics got started in the church. (Stringfield to all)
- 6. Were at a dreadlock. (this is NOT a
typo) (Tyler)
- 7. I need time to digest it. (Caple)
- 8. It’s a nightmare. (Warren)
- 9. Acknowledge the extraordinary work our
employees provide. (Harris during his report)
I put the
citizen comments first as they should be, for it is the citizens who are the
most important aspect of the county and the sooner the board (all the board)
realizes this then maybe they can put many of their petty differences behind
them and move on.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
For all the good the Improvement Association does this is
but a single look into some serious issues and concerns we have with this BOS
and IA “connection”.
Citizens are showing up wanting to take part of the
management of our county and would like to hear what the Board is saying and
not just the mumbling. This seems to be a request that has been around for many
years, its about time to do something don’t you agree?
PLEASE support the NO TOLLS
There may be time to prevent the I-95 Toll but it looks like
the 460 bypass is coming through. Where was/IS the support of stopping this.
Sad to say it was too little too late.
These next 3 clips are from citizens who regularly attend
and regularly voice their concerns. They are saying/asking many of the things
the rest of us would want to say if we had the nerve to talk in front of the
board. We do have their back and support what they are saying. Thanks for
speaking up!
The Superintendent of Schools supports this, the citizens
are asking for this, let’s hope the
Board of Supervisors will also when the time comes.
This infection into the day to day running of the county
must be stopped, if not this may just be the straw that breaks to preverbal camel’s
back. It is not known if this is a symptom or the disease itself.
A tie breaker….oh how happy we will be if we have a seventh to
call our own to go along with the 6 shown in a previous picture..
There was a lot of discussion when Tyler requested a “training
calendar” that would identify training requests from board members, well
besides a public speaking session I know an individual or two who could benefit
from attending a session on leadership, being a supervisor/boss and how to set
a work profile and evaluation process. Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel?
Why are we not abiding by contracts we entered into fairly and legally? What is
the underlining issue or attempt with this push for 3 board members to have a
meeting among just those 3 to then report back to all 6 to then get with the
County Administrator to set the evaluation goals and procedures? We were told
that in the contract the board (all 6) and the County Administrator would work together
to establish these. In typical fashion with some board members they want to add
several more levels of bureaucracy into the mix. WHY?
2 of the positive moments. Is it just me or does it seems
that most of those shining moments we have had at many meetings are because of
the work of our County Administrator?? THANKS Mr. Harris.
This was dead issue (like many folks would hope the coyotes
themselves would be) until it became important to Tyler. Maybe with the next
attempt to bring this up it will be declared a dilatory motion.
What seemed to be an attempt to just explore a possibility for
additional recreational opportunities for Sussex Counties youth was confronted
with opposition? Maybe it was who was asking?
TOWN OF WAVERLY MEETING
Short and …….
Two police officers tender their resignation and a police
chief will be offered the job. This does NOT mean the person will accept but at
least they will be offered the job. Previous offers went unaccepted when the
applicant considered the job in more depth; let’s hope this one does not do the
same.
PLEASE keep this march on Sussex County alive, keep coming to the meetings and bring a friend! You can talk with your representative outside of these meetings but you might be surprised if not upset with what you get told when it's just the two of you talking to what they say or DON'T say during the public meetings. PAL !?!?
In closing I want to take this time to thank the Sussex Surry Dispatch for helping keep folks knowledgeable and informed. Thanks Adrienne and Michael and the rest of the SSD.
