The Shadow
Welcome back, Shadowers! It’s election day today, the day of reckoning, the final cliffhanger of the year. The day in which the public decides who’s going to lead us for the next four years in several key positions within our local to national governments. Hopefully, you’ve already voted early, or are currently standing in line at your designated place of voting reading this.
I’m guessing at this point, your mind is already made up on who you will vote for locally. If you’ve been following The Shadow over the past year, then you’ve seen some of our local officials acting more like bad actors in a raunchy soap opera than as the main character in a documentary accepting an award for good governance. And what I’m hoping is, that “facts over friendship” will guide your vote. Remember, even though you might like or dislike a person personally, that’s not a valid reason to vote for him or her. You are electing them for their impartial leadership, and their ethical behavior in fostering the community forward, and not just for their friendly smile and private winks and nods to a select few.
Which side of the historical ledger will you record your name? Fact or Friend?
Occasionally, rumors and facts make their way to The Shadow that also include personal comments. Comments like, “I’m so glad you are exposing what issues we have here, and I hope that it will lead to a more effective government. Thanks for doing what you do!” Then there are the accusations of the Shadow being the Prince of Darkness himself, needing to be “Saved.” “…We battle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of the darkness. If you see me standing around the 200 block of Main St, I will be praying for those nonbelievers that dwell there.”
The only heathens I’ve seen on the 200 block of Main St were out in force last Thursday, Oct 31… everyone there sure did look like they were in desperate need of a confessional box, and those nonbeliever kids running around dressed up like ghouls and goblins were definitely possessed… with sugar.
Here’s the thing… regardless of whether you love or hate The Shadow, it has facilitated a much-needed conversation in almost every government office, bar, boardroom, and bedroom around the Highlands. Some residents applaud the blunt, hard-hitting approach, believing it’s exactly what our community needs to hold officials accountable. Others, however, are convinced that the new Shadow is nothing but a divisive force, tearing down the community it claims to protect. They argue that today’s Shadow only disgraces the legacy of Buck Rumpf and the original Shadow, being too harsh, too critical, and accuse it of “destroying” Covington.
Really? Let’s do some research to see if that is fact.
Anyone who knew Buck Rumpf knew he loved humor and satire. He was a stickler for fact and never backed down from demanding ethical behavior from our public servants. And while he was fair, he was also brutal to those who had forgotten why they were elected in the first place. He was not afraid to call it like it was, and never thought twice about holding someone accountable. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at his articles from over 30 years ago:
January 6, 1990—“Hi, boys and girls, I don’t know whether you make any of those foolish New Year’s resolutions that we wind up never keeping but I managed to make a few.
First, I’m going to try to bring ya’ll the best in rumors and general bull each week to the point that I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get blessed out at least once per week. My personal record is getting blessed out five times in one day, let’s see if I can do any better. Of course, that doesn’t count getting a few verses of the “Four-Letter Serenade” in my personal life, which is basically an everyday occurrence.
Secondly, I’ve sworn off the desire to choke two cats, who are apparently having a torrid romance which they conduct loudly outside my window every morning at about 1 a.m.
Third, I promise not to criticize local government. (If you believe that one, I’ll sell you some of my ocean-front property in Tulsa, Oklahoma.)”
Or this other wonderful little snippet:
February 3, 1990—“This brings up another point, tidbits in this column are rumor, not fact, some folks seem to forget that. Heck, who wants to muddy the picture with facts when rumors are so much fun and folks in this area like them so much. I hear more rumors in a given day than I do facts and what’s more, folks don’t believe the facts anyway.”
So dear readers, regardless of whether you love or hate the Shadow, and regardless of who wins the elections today, the Shadow will continue to observe, report, and continue the legacy and mission that Buck Rumpf started almost 50 years ago… to hold our public officials accountable.
Now, Buck wasn’t just ‘fair but brutal.” Buck also gave “credit where credit was due.” He would comment on things like, “I think the folks in the City of Covington ought to shell out some extra bucks and give those folks at the Public Works Department a bonus. I was listening to the scanner throughout the holidays and I think those guys spent more time fixing water line breaks than they spent with their families. It’s a dirty job, and we ought to be thankful somebody is out there to do it. Besides, it was colder than blue blazes outside. Ya’ll get the “Shadow’s “Pat on the Back” Award.”
So, moving forward, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to add more “Pat on the Back” Awards.
Covington Fire Chief Andrew Baker and his crew get this week’s “Pat on the Back” Award for volunteering their time with unwavering dedication to our community’s safety. In fact, the entire team are all volunteers, and work other jobs just so they can afford to keep protecting us.
Chief Baker stated, “Like it or not, we are still a rural area. No way fiscally responsible to fully staff a fire department that only runs 300 total calls a year. Over 80% of fire departments in the United States are volunteers. The Covington Fire Department was organized in 1902, it has ran efficiently since then and will continue to provide the same if not higher level of service to the city and surrounding areas in the county for years and years to come.”
If you see Chief Baker and our firefighters out and about, please take time to thank them for their service.
I have a couple of final tidbits before we go. Mayor Sibold called the Virginian Review in response to last week’s article, “The King and Sheriff of Nothingham.” What’s interesting is, he didn’t call to object (well, apparently, he didn’t like being called “King.”) He called because he wanted to say that while his dogs were off-leash, his dogs did have “e-leashes” or electronic collars that he could control them with. The Mayor then proceeded to say that he thought the ordinance might need to be updated, as it was written at a time way back when dogs were to be ‘restrained’ and there was no such thing as e-leashes or electronic control systems. He suggested that he would bring it up at a future council meeting to propose changes.
Now that, dear Shadowers, is the essence and reason for the Shadow’s existence. It is to observe, report and affect change for the better. I do hope the Mayor follows through.
The final tidbit I have for you is regarding the recent hiring of Deputy Tad Humphries by the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office. The Virginian Review reached out to Sheriff Moore, who supplied us with this statement, “Deputy Humphries was fired by the previous administration, prior to any official investigation occurring and not really given the chance to give his side of the matter. Deputy Humphries has explained the entire situation to me. I have investigated all of his statements and found them to be true. This matter was investigated as a domestic issue by the Virginia State Police, but all charges were dismissed. Deputy Humphries has been employed by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office and the Clifton Forge Police Department for the past two years.”
Deputy Humphries will start with the Alleghany County Sheriff’s office on November 15.
I’m out of time, and out of coffee, but will leave you with the words of Abraham Lincoln. “Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We…will be remembered in spite of ourselves.” What side of History will you be on?
