The Shadow
Welcome back, Shadowers! Grab your popcorn because the New Year kicks off with a fresh season of “As the Highlands Turn.” Our first episode begins with the Covington City Council’s Jan. 10 reorganization meeting—errr, aka a riveting speed dating session filled with the kind of railroading that would make a highspeed Japanese train look painfully slow.
If you blinked, you missed it.
Acting Clerk Becky Nuckols wasted no time getting down to business. By the time the clock barely ticked past 1 minute and 29 seconds into the reorganization meeting, the council had elected a new mayor and vice mayor. Apparently with no discussion involving qualifications and no multiple nomination options being allowed, the original three men took swift and coordinated control of the situation to ensure the new council women in the room wouldn’t know what hit them until after it was all legally said and done.
Let’s be real, why were the three seasoned councilmen apparently all behaving like guilty kids caught hiding their hands filled with cookies and quietly dividing them up between themselves? If the three incumbents had met and coordinated the outcome before the meeting, according to VA Law, that would have been illegal. Why were the two newly elected members blinking their way through the proceedings, clearly unsure if they were voting for leadership or just being coerced into believing that the cookie jar was innocently empty all along?
The nomination for mayor was kicked off by the uncharacteristically fashionable Dapper Dan Fred Forbes, who quickly tapped Lance Carson for the role, setting up a chorus of “fors” so quick and synchronized it could’ve qualified as an Olympic event. Did he know beforehand he was going to be Vice Mayor, so he decided to put on a sports coat for the first time in years? And Forbes, throughout the speed dating session, appeared to have lost his mind somewhere because he spent more time looking down and rummaging through his bag, apparently searching for his courage? Then after the votes were counted, Forbes finally found it, but his memory loss led him to double-check whether he’d actually voted in the roll call for mayor. All in the amount of time it takes to microwave popcorn.
Clear, intellectual leadership at its finest.
Meanwhile, Raymond Hunter, pretending to be invisible, busied himself reading papers and furiously scribbling notes—apparently trying not to draw attention to their alleged sleight-of-hand trick. One has to wonder if the scribbling was a creative outlet for the anxiety of potentially playing a role in their three-man coup that had allegedly just transpired?
Then, right on cue, the rapid-fire session ended with citizens finding themselves locked into an alleged, pre-arranged, 2-year marriage with a Mayor and Vice Mayor without consent. The freshly minted Mayor Carson took the floor, saying, “Um well thank you all for believing in me enough to give me a chance to do this, uh it’ll be something new for me. I don’t know how well I’ll do, but I’ll do the best I can…” and ended with promising to “pray before making any decisions.”
Prayer is a strategy, right? I’ll have a side of Wings with that.
And then there were the two new council members, Susan Crowder and Susan Wolfe, who appeared to have been set up and thrown into the political tide without so much as a paddle. Oddly, while their votes fell perfectly in line with the incumbents, the unmistakable “deer in the headlights” expressions told a different story. Their hesitant voices were trying to direct them down the right path, but like a scene out of “The GodFather,” they acquiesced and collapsed under pressure. Were they shocked and hypnotized because the meeting they prepped for had taken an abrupt, railroaded turn? Were they afraid of retaliation? What made them both give in like bunches of limp lettuce?
Welcome to the blood sport of politics.
Over in Clifton Forge, Chuck Unroe, Town Manager, gave an update regarding new system upgrades for the new year. If you remember, last year, The Shadow caught wind of some dissatisfaction from Clifton residents, complaining that in this day and age, one can’t pay town bills online. Seems Unroe took that to heart, and while it might have taken a year to figure out, he’s finally chosen a new software package that will streamline financing for the town, allowing for ease of access to billing and online payments for residents, and also offer online access for payroll management of town employees. The transition to the new software will take 12-15 months. It might be the slow train, but at least it’s moving.
Speaking of Clifton’s finances, I wonder if last year’s property tax fiasco—an administrative “oops” was due to the out-of-date system? The town initially pointed fingers at the County for the mix-up, but surprise—the County’s taxes were as pristine as a freshly polished apple. Ultimately, Clifton had to eat crow and re-issue personal property tax tickets, complete with a shiny new extended pay-by date of 2/1/25.
Seems the recent snowstorm caught everyone in the Highlands off guard. The Clifton residents have been raging over the lack of snow preparation (no treating of the roads prior to snow) and the poor snow removal process, which blocked many drivers in when they finally showed up, having missed several streets for 2-3 days.
Mayor Jeff Irvine was quick to point out, “Please remember that this snow is frozen solid as a rock and very hard to do anything with until it gets above freezing. The town public works employees are doing everything possible to get it done, they worked all night on Monday and last night to get the streets as clean as possible. .. plus we had a water break.” Seems everyone needs to pull out the remaining eggnog, chill, and blame Mother Nature.
Over in Iron Gate, it seems they’ve finally got their new team and operations off to a good start. Kawahna Persinger is now Mayor, and Brandon Marshall is Vice Mayor. The town also has a new attorney, Jim Guynn Jr, out of Roanoke. Guynn takes over from the previous attorney Jenkins and is from the same law firm as Covington City Attorney Popovich.
Speaking of Jenkins, previously on the Shadow, the last word was he had resigned from Iron Gate and the VA State Bar. However, that’s not the case. He was suspended. The Circuit Court for Rockbridge County decided to yank Jenkins’ law license effective January 3, 2025, after what can only be described as a career built on violations of fairness to opposing counsel and jaw-dropping accusations of judicial misconduct.
It all started in 2022, with Jenkins deciding to turn his motions into a roast of the opposing counsel and, for good measure, the presiding judge. The court was so impressed with his sharp wit and flair for drama that they slapped him with a $4,000 sanction. Did Jenkins take this as a hint to tone it down?
Oh no, Shadowers. This was just Act One.
Jenkins, evidently inspired by courtroom dramas, doubled down by accusing Judge Christopher Russell of corruption and unethical behavior. In one motion, he dramatically declared that a judge has no more legal authority than “anyone else in a robe signing their name to random paperwork.” Shadowers, this was the legal equivalent of slapping a grizzly bear and expecting it to thank you for the effort.
Fast forward to January 2024, when Jenkins managed to temporarily stay his suspension through an appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. For a brief moment, it seemed like Jenkins might pull off the ultimate courtroom comeback. But alas, the high court wasn’t buying what he was selling. In November 2024, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision, essentially telling Jenkins, “Nice try, but no.”
With the stay lifted, Jenkins now faces a nine-month suspension, effective January 3, 2025. The court cited his relentless accusations, disregard for court orders, and, let’s be honest, his general refusal to play nice in the legal sandbox.
I’m out of time, out of coffee, but will leave the new Covington Council Members with some words of wisdom from the series “Game of Thrones:”Good guys can swing swords too.
