The Shadow
Welcome back, Shadowers! I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. For me, seeing rainbows, leprechauns, and spring snowdrop flowers around this time always puts a spring in my step… until I hear the lawnmower also yawning and waking up from my man cave.
Folks from businesses and organizations around the Alleghany Highlands were all dressed up and strutting their stuff for the 49th Annual Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce dinner last Saturday night. The event typically alternates between the Greenbrier Hotel and the Homestead due to the large number of attendees, and apparently, this year was a record-breaking year with somewhere between 400-500 people.
Now, the interesting part is that, as a nation, we are currently focused on inspecting our institutions for their efficiency and effectiveness. Seems the Chamber dinner was under that microscope, too. There was a good discussion on the Shadow FB group over the weekend, garnering many good points in favor and against the dinner. Many questioned why it was at the Greenbrier, why it was $100/plate, and how much taxpayer money was used.
With a crowd that size, the venue options boil down to two choices: The Homestead or The Greenbrier—because, let’s face it, cramming everyone into a fire hall with a crockpot of mystery meat just wouldn’t have the same effect. The Chamber decided long ago to alternate between the two since both resorts are basically the twin pillars that heavily support the Highlands’ tourism economy. It’s a delicate balance—kind of like making sure both grandmas get equal visits at Christmas. However, I’m sure that if any other local venue were available that could accommodate 400-500 people at one time, they’d do it in a heartbeat. The Chamber knows how their bread is buttered.
Most business folks will tell you that dropping $100 per plate at a big networking dinner is a steal—especially when the Chamber purposefully sets up a speed-dating-style schmooze fest to help you justify the cost. So, for a couple hundred bucks, you get a stack of business cards, new friends, and new business deals. If you polled the attendees, 99% would probably say the ROI is worth it—though let’s be honest, at least a few are just there for the (almost) free bread rolls.
As for the age-old question: Did taxpayer money foot the bill for a fancy dinner? Well, rest assured, I can attest that at least the Virginian Review proudly paid for their own tickets—just like nearly every other commercial business in the Highlands. But when it comes to the government organizations in attendance—Covington, Clifton Forge, Iron Gate, Alleghany County, and Alleghany Highlands Public Schools (AHPS)—that’s where the debate begins.
On one side of the coin, you might see this as a taxpayer-funded buffet for officials who already enjoy a steady diet of meetings and paperwork. On the flip side, it’s also an opportunity for these leaders to actually be accessible—a rare moment when you can corner every mayor, council member, and school board rep before they disappear back into the bureaucratic ether. And it’s a way we citizens can honor those who are often overlooked. For example, AHPS, even though they are currently in the hot seat over the Covington Middle School situation, sponsored several tables to recognize teachers—the unsung heroes of the school system. And if you are friends with a teacher, you know they deserve far more than a dinner. So, is it wasteful spending or long-overdue appreciation and access?
Speaking of AHPS, it looks like the board and administration are trapped on an endless ride aboard the Twisted Timbers roller coaster at King’s Dominion—except this one isn’t thrilling; it’s just a never-ending loop of crisis management over the constantly emerging information. Where’s the barf-bag station?
The Covington Middle School (CMS) gas debacle has now attracted state involvement and larger media coverage. WFXR was reportedly knocking on parent’s doors and filming the school like they were investigating a crime scene, while WDBJ pulled no punches in their latest broadcast. Turns out, thanks to a FOIA request, WDBJ allegedly uncovered that AHPS knew state law required carbon monoxide detectors in schools—but after repeated warnings, decided they were—apparently not important enough to install.
WDBJ also asked AHPS Board Member Jonathan Arritt if the school was aware of the state law regarding carbon monoxide detectors, and he said, “Yes, ma’am, I believe so.”
If you’ve been keeping up with this never-ending saga discussion in the Shadow FB group, you know we’ve boiled this mess down to three main issues: 1) Fixing the problem and getting the kids back in school, 2) Dealing with the jaw-dropping level of alleged information pointing towards a gross negligence situation—aka how and why this disaster happened in the first place, and 3) Whether CMS should be relocated or left to marinate in its own bad decisions.
But through all the finger-pointing and bureaucratic acrobatics, one thing has become painfully clear—our kids and teachers have become collateral damage in this circus. While the powers are scrambling for excuses, the people who actually matter are stuck waiting for leadership to remember that schools are for education, not for testing the limits of a child’s Hypoxia endurance.
Now, one recurring theme in my research over the last year in the Highlands—besides the overwhelming smell of general bureaucratic incompetence—is that our “Oversight” mechanisms in the Highlands appear to have been quietly dismantled. Whether by design or just because budgets got tighter than a rusty pipe, we’re now stuck with a system that’s about as proactive as a sloth on a coffee break.
Take AHPS, for example. If they knew they were violating CO detector laws and were warned repeatedly, why didn’t anyone—leaders, building officials, the Commonwealth Fire Marshal—step in before it became a headline? Could it be that our local leaders have figured out all the loopholes to dodge enforcement, conveniently aided by the fact that we don’t have a local Fire Marshal keeping tabs on our Building Official’s work? With Roanoke’s Fire Marshal apparently treating us like the forgotten frontier, getting them and other government enforcement branches like the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take action on several previous issues was like trying to book an audience with the Pope. I could be wrong, but as I recall, the public outcry had to sustain a high level of persistence through letters, calls, and emails that should’ve been unnecessary just to get someone out here to do their job.
Have we just accepted popcorn and a good movie on herding cats as our standard of enforcement?
I’m out of Time and Coffee, but I will leave you with Forrest Gump’s views on intelligence, “Stupid is as stupid does.” There’s no question we have smart people at the helm, so why do these problems still exist?
