The Shadow
Every now and then, one of our local governing bodies does something that brothers me. I am sure that they also upset others at times, too.
Case in point: Clifton Forge Council met in what I was told was a two-and-one-half hour cl-osed meeting Monday night to discuss personnel. At least, that was the broad topic I was told they met on.
I was also told that after two and one-half hours, no decision was made, which means that they did not have to tell the public, or the voters, which covers you and me, what they discussed.
I went by the town manager’s office and asked to see the minutes of the meeting. I was told there were no minutes. Let’s get this right: Council met for two and one-half hours and there is no record of them even having a meeting.
I have been told that when three or more council members or supervisors meet, it is a public meeting and the public has to be informed of the meeting.
I have also been told that to make the meeting legal, a notice only has to be posted on the bulletin board as you go into town hall. That may make it legal, but again is it fair to the citizens that only go into town hall maybe once a month to pay their water and sewer bill. I will venture to say that most would never see the notice, and in the case I am talking about, there was no notice on the bulletin board, or least that is what I was told by a person that works in the town hall.
The Virginian Review would have gladly ran the notice of the meeting, whether it was closed or not, and I may say that all the other local governments do run a notice of special meetings in the newspaper. Clifton Forge Council will meet again on Tuesday night at the Clifton Forge Library a-nd just maybe one member of council will explain about the meeting and why it was a legal meeting. That is if they can is explain this one away.
Clifton Forge council has an attorney that sits in on each council meeting and he can tell them what is a legal meeting and what is an illegal meeting and then they can explain it to the voters that put them in office. I remind the voters that election time is just around the corner, first in Covington and then in Clifton Forge.
The council election in Covington is June 8 and in Clifton Forge, the town council election is Nov. 2.
I was talking with Libby Rose, the registrar in Alleghany County the other day, and she said that no one had been in to pick up papers to run in Clifton Forge.
If my memory serves me right, Clifton Forge will have three people up for re-election in November. Mayor Don Carter, Vice Mayor Nellie Friel and Councilman Jimmie Houff.
I checked with Mayor Carter and he said that he is going to run for reelection. Nellie Friel and Jimmie Houff have not said if they are going to run again or not. But in any case, no one has qualified to run and they need 125 registered voters to sign their petitions.
In the past weeks, I have given you some hints about the upcoming Covington City Council elections in May. I understand that Bill Zimmerman is already circulating his petitions for placement on the May ballot. However, the other incumbent who is up for re-election in May is B.B. Bryant, is not. B.B. has been telling people he is not running again.
I have not heard of anyone else planning to run in B.B’s district. If I remember correctly, B.B. was a a write-in candidate four years ago, and he defeated another write-in candidate, Allan Tucker.
I am still hearing that there is a chance another Covington councilman w-ill resign and relocate to Alleghany County before his term is over. Plus, I am also hearing that Mayor Stephanie Clark has said she will not run for re-election in two years.
No matter who runs and gets elected, they will have their work cut out for them. With the downturn in the economy, the state is going to throw everything they can back to the local governments to come up with the money. There will be higher taxes, fees, and many teachers, law enforcement officers, and other state employees, just to name a few, may be losing their jobs.
Many will blame our new governor, Bob McDonnell. The answer he will tell workers and voters is that he has to balance the budget, no matter what it will take. To me that will be hard to take, especially if you are a state worker that has spent a lifetime working for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Speaking of blowing my mind, the other day I read in the Virginian Review where Alleghany County had a surplus of $18 million. And to top it all off, the supervisors were worrying about they may have to spend some of it!
We are talking about losing teachers and law enforcement officers, (sh-eriff’s department), social health programs and employees, plus projects that must be funded because Richmond has said that if you want to keep the projects going, the local governments must come up with the money.
Alleghany County has already had to come up with more funds for the e constitutional officers. Alleghany County might as well get ready to do it again and again for other departments also. I think that the $18 million surplus just went out the window.
I am telling you about some things that in my opinion, may be coming down the pike, as the General Assembly is finishing up its work this year. Again, the governor has promised no tax increase and just maybe he can pull the rabbit out of the hat, (like a good magician can) and there will be no taxes and no one will lose their jobs and the good times will roll back in, but don’t hold your breath until it happens. I really hope I am wrong about the future of Virginia and our country.
I personally think that we are in for several more years of hard times before things turn ar-ound. California and some are states are already virtually bankrupt and our federal government could be headed in that direction if spending continues to soar. We are printing money and spending it like it is going out of style, all the while China and some other foreign governments are holding tr-emendous amounts of debt over our head.
There is an old saying that the terrorist attack on 9-11 changed the United States forever, and I believe it.
We have become a nation of people that look over our shoulder all the time and wonder when the next terrorist attack will come. To some, flying anywhere is real upsetting. Flying does not really bother me, I am so used to flying that I think it is the only way to travel, but if you are really scared of flying, that fear is real and after the 9-11 attack.
As we just finished observing Black History Mo-nth in February, I will leave you with a quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King: “My obligation is to do the right thing. The rest is in God’s hands.”
That is sound advice, my friends.
I am out of space, time and coffee. See you next week and remember, you do have one true friend and his name is Jesus.
