Budget Committee 27 May 08
The Budget Committee decide by a four to three vote to set the budget, that will be presented to the full commission, at the same as last year's amended budget.
Those voting for the same amount was Commissioners Jackson, Beets, Woodard and Flacy.
Those voting against were Commissioners J. Harwell, Campbell and Holt.
Had this not passed it was stated that a property tax increase of at lease eight cents would have to be imposed. Allen Barrett
Those voting for the same amount was Commissioners Jackson, Beets, Woodard and Flacy.
Those voting against were Commissioners J. Harwell, Campbell and Holt.
Had this not passed it was stated that a property tax increase of at lease eight cents would have to be imposed. Allen Barrett
posted by Allen Barrett | 11:30 AM
33 Comments:
Mr Barrett
Thank you very much for reporting this result so quickly. Thanks too to the four commissioners who voted for the same budget without a tax hike. Anyone who cares should take time to call those four and thank them. Then call the other 3 and tell them they wont get your vote next time. Its plain to see whose pockets those 3 are in.
It seems that the “Other 3” are in the pockets of the Giles County Public Library. The library will not be able to give their employees a raise this year, and the library will continue to struggle to keep its doors open, due to a lack of funds. As our citizenry becomes more and more ignorant, I hope that everyone who calls the “Other 3”, is successful at putting that extra 8 cents to good use.
Thank the God for folks like the right Jackson, Beets, Woodard, and Flacy!! Woodard, especially you, cause I had lost faith in you for padding the wrong Jackson's pocket time after time.
If the Library meeds a few dollars give it to them later - take some $$$$ from the school bureaucracy - would leave lots for everyone!
It's a shame that the employees of the library don't have medical coverage when all the other county and city employees have coverage. With all the money going into the black hole money pits of ambulance, water departments and schools there is no reason why those folks can't have medical insurance. Maybe the idea is to keep people ignorant that way they are so much easyer to control.
What is a shame is that everyone thinks that if you are a county employee you have it made, which is far from the truth. The cost of medical insurance for families is unaffordable to the support staff and because they are offered insurance at their place of employement they do not qualify for the covertn programs, even though the income of most of these employees would qualify them for tenncare that program will not cover them because they are offered insuance. Tee Jackson sits up there in the new central office with that smug grin on his face just trying to figure out what he is going to get out of Giles County taxpayers next.
He, the school board and all the commissioners need to go and be replaced with all new ones who have no ties to any county employee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amen 6:53 while most county employees are very well paid, check the pay of those in the courthouse including the custodians, there are those who just scrap by while the bulk of the pay increases continue to go to those already making more than the average Giles county citizen.
6:53 are you saying that the courthouse employees make less than the school employees who have equal jobs? If you are you are way off base. Custodians in the school system make half what the courthouse do. Secretaries in the school system including the central office also make a lot less. The only people other than teachers who make any money are the bookkeeper and the office manager/internal auditor. As to the teachers they probably make what the average college degreed person in Giles County make but less than teachers in several surrounding counties. The whole pay scale for Giles County School system is less than surrounding counties so the school is not robbing people. Aides make about $1200 a month and insurance is $600. Not too good.
Thankfully last years budget was enough to work from this year. Think about how many other areas are doing without or cutting employees to get by in a time when gas and food are a premium and jobs difficult to find. Giles County MUST look to restricting spending and managing money and STOP looking for taxes to makeup the loss. Lawrence county just passed a wheel tax increase to help in the deficit. At what point will the citizens of a county decide that for what the taxation demands the area does not deliver? We love the slow paced country life and the beauty of the area but are not sold on how docile this county is on mismanaged funding. The monies not there and the jobs are not there so "drastic times call for drastic measures" by halting spending.
Had you not been the product of the public school system you would have been able to read and process the information without the paranoia of thinking someone is criticizing your position. People working in the courthouse make more than those with like jobs in the school system and private industry.
Low person on the totem pole of pay scales in the school system is the support staff, can you imagine how long the schools would be open without these unheralded persons.
Next up is the classroom teacher another unheralded hero until pay raises are discussed then they are taunted as the lynch pin of society but the money for raises just can't be found. Next up are the bookkeeper salaries who until financial management took three away averaged over $35,000.00 a year. But don't be concerned that isn't where all the money for raises went. Now comes the administrators. whose average pay is well over $50,000.00 a year. Would it surprise you that there are twenty-five (25) central office staff members not counting Mr. Jackson? Would it surprise you that that more than some state school systems with twice the number of students as Giles County? Could it be that "pop goes the weasel" there's where all the money goes or at least a very large chunk. Throw in the Pre-K and Leaps and Bounds fiascoes and you hit the money trail. A $14,000.00 raise for Sigmon was this years outrage last
year it was the huge raise for Middlestead but as Jackson operates and the patient dies all those around the surgery table just keep say it's an outrage but I got to protect my job.
Oh if you think that last years budget will be enough consider its just a game they play and the amendments will start rolling in before the ink is dry on this budget.
I don't think that anyone would disagree with the raise for Sigmon, Middlestead and Leaps is an outrage. Only one person is to blame for those. Sigmon was only a matter of time since she is the new Deputy Finance Manager. Her salary would have been changed no matter what and I guess once she takes that job she is due it. While she is at the Central Office no!
One of the many new school mandates, programs, initiatives, and such coming down the pike is one that will require all students to participate in some sort of community service before they graduate. While schools and school systems are being pounded by more and more requirements, this one is a good thing. Maybe when they graduate and become tax-paying citizens they will understand what it means to be a citizen. Being a citizen means giving back and helping take care of the community. This includes the public library, roads, schools, and so forth. Hopefully our future generations will understand what many now do not, that these institutions are of primary importance to our community. Granted, our roads are in better shape in this county than in many, but our schools are not. Most schools have updated technology such as smart boards for teachers to use in classrooms, they have modern athletic facilities for students, and their employees (all, from the top down to the bottom) make much more than they do in this county. Ours do not have anything like surrounding counties. But many in this community don't want to see the schools, libraries, get anything. Maybe it's a lack of civic responsibility or just pure jealousy of those who succeed, I don't know. But one thing I do know is unless the people in this county wake up and soon, those most qualified to teach will be leaving either to retire or go to other counties where people do appreciate them. It's already happening and getting worse year by year. No one including me enjoys paying taxes, and my family lives on a very limited income. But I want to see our community grown rather than wither away, and that's what's happening. I am ashamed of the people who constantly criticize anyone in a position of power, either in a county office or in a school, and I'm afraid one day we will all pay the price for their lack of insight.
Rumor has it, (please read, RUMOR), that the Leaps director set her own salary....but if she can sleep at night knowing who she stepped on and how she stepped on all of them to get where she is, she won't have any problem sleeping at night setting her own salary at more than double what teachers with her degree and exp. are making...
signed, former employee
Sigmon does not have a CPA but the raise she was given at the Financial Management Office is based on her being a CPA. When Mr. Barrett asked Mrs. Garner directly about Mrs Sigmon not being a CPA he was told in front of everyone of us there that she was "working toward a CPA". Mr. Barrett then asked how many pass the CPA exam on their first try and Mrs. Garner very reluctant answered after the second time about "10% pass". Mr Barrett then asked what happens to the salary if she doesn't become a CPA. That question was never answered.
Sounds like the situation has turned sick!!!!!!!!
What qualifications does Sigmund have? The school system accounting track record sure wouldn't qualify for anything better that failure. It would be reeal hard for anyone connected to Jackson to be worth much. This could get real ugly for a lot of people, including Sigmund.
To May 28, 6:15
No, I do not know what the people at the court house make. I was speaking mainly for the school system. I also meant to say if you are employed by the county you are a state employee and are disqualified for the covertn program. I just think it is ridiculous that so much money is being wasted and the taxpayers are asked to pay more and the people who sit behind a desk keep getting substantial raises year after year and the backbone of the school system barely gets anything and can't even afford insurance for their families. Tee Jackson asks and receives basically whatever he wants, the bonus is a perfect example, what is our school board and commissioners thinking? It's pretty bad when someone works all month long and brings home a check for 2??.00 after taxes and insurance.
The last two posters are very correct in what they say. Commissioners need to put a stop to Jackson. We would be better off in giles county paying him off and replacing him. Then the commissioners ned to stop this other spending. They just dont know how to say NO to anytone.
To Anonymous of the 29 May, 8:30 post.
As one who has expressed strong criticism of some policies and officials in this county I’d like to respond to your criticisms and comments.
It is a total absurdity to require students to give away their talents, abilities and labors working for some agency when most don’t have enough time to do their school work and activities. Many of the students work, yes work on farms and in businesses in an effort to help pay their way. When you consider what it cost to attend school you would understand the difficulty of trying to get by without a part time job. Some students have the luxury of coming from well to do families but clearly most do not. How many in the Band would have to drop out if they could not have a part time job to help pay the fees, trip expenses etc? With lunch, lab fees, classroom fees, program fees, trip fees, rings, yearbooks, school logo clothing, cap & gown fees, fee fees, etc the cost of a “free education” is extremely expensive.
Now while I agree “being a citizen means giving back and helping take care of the community” I believe that should be voluntary. What would be your response if you were told “you had to give forty hours of service to Planned Parenthood in order to have a driver’s license? It is the same situation; an involuntary servitude is just one more liberal feel-good attack on the free market system.
One of the greatest services a citizen can give to their community is to make certain they vote responsibly and intelligently and require as complete accountability for the use of their money as possible. You speak of schools being pounded with more requirements, well citizens are being very hard pounded also. One difference is much of the pounding being taken by schools is a result of choice and union pressures.
You state, “Most schools have updated technology such as smart boards for teachers to use in classrooms, they have modern athletic facilities for students, and their employees (all, from the top down to the bottom) make much more than they do in this county. Ours do not have anything like surrounding counties. But many in this community don't want to see the schools, libraries, get anything. Maybe it's a lack of civic responsibility or just pure jealousy of those who succeed, I don't know.”
One thing clear in your statement is that you apparently “don’t know”. I would be very interested in knowing which counties, with our tax base, lack of industry, low household income, and number of older citizens, have all those modern facilities you mention?
Would you consider it odd that our school system has as many administrators as systems almost twice its size, that our director of schools with his benefits makes more than a number of directors with school systems that are much larger? That our industrial recruiter with his benefits makes much more than industrial recruiters in a number of larger cities? Does it surprise you that over the past five years the school budget has grown over 25 percent while student population has remained about the same? Does it surprise you that money has been given each year for teacher raises but most of it was taken for other uses? Can you justify the director asking for millions to purchase buses, repair roofs, etc as absolute necessities then spending the money on totally unrelated things? Would you agree that claiming the old school administration building was unsafe and needed to be condemned was justification for building a new administrative building and then continue to use the old building that miraculously acquired a new acceptability?
The problem is not a lack of money it’s inappropriate spending and a lack of accountability. You state, “I am ashamed of the people who constantly criticize anyone in a position of power, either in a county office or in a school, and I'm afraid one day we will all pay the price for their lack of insight”. As one who has been rather critical of certain officials, I am very sorry if I have disappointed you but your “uniformed” disappointment can’t possibly be as great as my disappointment in those who continue to misuse public funds through extravagant spending, deceitful behavior and inappropriate practices.
Apart of my understanding of being a good citizen is to be involved and hold accountable those charged with spending my tax money. I think it not too much to ask, when every citizen becomes hard pressed to get by, that they require public officials to bear some of the hardship as well. Allen Barrett
Thank you Mr. Barrett. How does Tee Jackson justify using the old Board of Education office? As far as comdemed buildings go the transportation department is housed in a building that the Grand Jury said should be condemed, but yet they still have those employees going in and out of it everyday-cracks in the walls and all. I guess they think fixing a few minor problems, adding a new room and a coat of paint make things all better. I do not understand how people can still say Tee Jackson is doing a fine job. He is robbing the taxpayers and I say this because he says one thing to gain access the funds and uses them for another.
Check the video wab took of the bus garage the only thing changed is some of the holes are bigger and the door still can't be closed with a bus inside.
anyone who thinks giving back and helping others should be voluntery doesnt understand what being a citizen or a christian is. is this guy really a minister???? unbeleivable!!
4:10, Not sure I understand your post...I mean no disrespect, but volunteering and "giving back" is absolutely a Christian value and the very definition of "volunteer" is just that, not being forced to do it. What has that got to do with whomever you are referring to being a minister?
signed dillusioned tax-payer
WAB, when you mention fees at school are you aware that those students who are eligible for free lunches have fee waivers? They do not have to pay any fees. Not that students do not need to work. They do just to get by with helping buy clothing to keep up with other kids and some kids work to help make ends meet at home. As to the public service they probably can count paid work in lue of public service. I know I worked in high school to buy gas, pay car insurance and to buy some of the clothes I wore. I helped my parents because we did not have enough for "luxuries".
As to the Bus Garage being bad, has anyone taken videos of the Central Office? It has also been condemned the same the bus garage was. Ask Sam Collins about that. He tried to get the commission to build a new building and there was money there to buy it then. The new Central Office only houses four supervisors, 2 secretaries and the receptionist.
4:10 you're really letting your stupidity out again. Do you know the meaning of volunteer, no it's not just a football team from east Tennessee? As for the guy being a minister when are you going to wake up and understand that your two-bit ideas about things ain't worth a bucket of spit. Does God force people to become Christians or does He allow them to make that decision on their own? Forcing someone to work in a charity or anywhere else is exactly the same thing. What would be your reaction if you were told that you must give 40 hours of your labor to sorting trash in a recycle site. Volunteer yes, force labor, no.
I agree with what I believe 4:10's point is though I don't think it was stated very well. WAB seems to be very negative about volunteer work though you would think that a minister, or any good citizen or Christian for that matter, would want to encourage people to give of their time to help others rather than criticize doing so. Community service does not have to be working in a place of business. It could be raking leaves for the elderly or disabled, visiting a nursing home, tutoring a younger student, etc. The way I see it, yes this sort of thing is voluntary but if students are taught in school the importance of doing such deeds when they are young, hopefully they will continue to give of their time when they become adults. I agree that teaching values such as this in school is a good thing. If this really is going to be a requirement in high school, than I'm happy to see that the schools will be teaching selflessness and not selfishness. According to some of the comments on this blog, it's a lesson a lot of adults should learn.
12:13 - What would be your response if you were told “you had to give forty hours of service to Planned Parenthood in order to have a driver’s license?
my response would be i would give forty hours. my response would be i would accept it do it and not complain about it. youre idea of community service is holding those accountable who spend tax dollars. but in all your going to meetings and posting on the blog and complaining about it who has really been held accountable. what have you really acomplished. hasnt the commission and school board and whoever else still spent funds the way they want. you keep complaining about the director of schools but have you stopped him from giving a 14000 salary increase or hiring anyone or anything else. no. so much energy wasted on the negative with very little if any result. think how many people could have been helped if you had spent that time otherwise like 12:52 said. like taking meals to shut ins or going to the drug store for sick people or picking up groceries for elderly or helping a child learn to read better. positive things. and voting is not community service it is a civic duty that takes about 5 minutes.
To Anonymous of the May 31, 6:15 post.
It seems you expect me to address every aspect of the free world when trying to respond to a very specific question. Because I disagree with the idea of mandatory volunteerism, which in itself is an oxymoron, suddenly I’m accused of believing no one should volunteer or help even a neighbor that has a need.
Please understand that the meaning of the word “volunteer” is one who enters or offers to enter into any service of their own free will. Notice the operative phrase here is “their own free will”. Once upon a time the military was supplied with personnel through a draft. It was mandatory that when your number came up you entered into a six year obligation of service. Today we have the all volunteer service, no one is forced into the military. There may be strong incentives to joint but no mandatory service.
Volunteering is very different from “forced to do”. I have absolutely no objection to volunteering but have many strong objections to someone being “forced” to do most any service. I would be especially suspicious of such a thing in this county as we clearly seem to have an elite class of people and then everyone else.
You responded to the question, “What would be your response if you were told “you had to give forty hours of service to Planned Parenthood in order to have a driver’s license?” with “i would give forty hours. my response would be i would accept it do it and not complain about it.” So even if you had a strong objection to abortion you would still, if required, work for that organization knowing your efforts were contributing to the death of a child. Do you not have any foundational principles on which you stand? Is there no organization you would object to being forced to work for? I might remind you that it was the “blind obedience to those in charge” that led the German people into subjection of the most destructive and evil government in modern times.
You are very naïve or totally detached from this community to think that nothing has been accomplished during the past few years as a result of people getting involved and seeking to hold officials accountable. Because people got involved and said we’re not going to take this anymore we avoided the largest property tax increase in Giles County history a few years back, people have public water in their house that didn’t have it before, Milky Way was prevented from becoming tax exempt, the spring at Campbellsville was returned to the people of the county, wasteful spending has decreased, (hopefully one day it will be eliminated), money given for the school system then used for a different purpose has been exposed, the no-bid insurance contracts by the schools and the kick backs were exposed, unethical actions by officials have declined, closed door meetings have declined, and a large number of other benefits have been realized. Some things have changed in that they have become harder to get by with, such as the $14,000.00 pay increase you mention. Sometimes exposure is a good preventative to future abuses.
I have no doubt that were more people like you willing to come out of the fog of blind acceptance and question, challenge and require better and more responsive government many more things could have been accomplished, even those things you list as still in existence. I would add that one of the most important things that have been accomplished is that people are more informed and have a greater hope that things are improving.
Your analyses of someone you do not know nor have any idea of what their life involves is nothing short of amazing. How do you know so much about someone you have no personal involvement with? You have no idea how many people I have taken to hospitals in Nashville, Columbia, etc just in the past five years. I have not only shopped for those who could not but also paid for groceries when they couldn’t. The church I pastor is small but I’d be willing to say with authority that our percentage of giving to help those in need is much higher that some churches that are much larger. I will not attempt to make a list of charitable activities I or my family have been involved in as they are personal and it would be very gauche to do so.
You state, “voting is not community service it is a civic duty that takes about 5 minutes”. Have you considered that the reason this nation, state, county and city is in the shape we are in is because you took only five minutes to vote? I agree voting is a very important “civic duty” but to vote intelligently is where the greater responsibility lies and that can not be done through a five minute process. An uninformed vote is worse than not voting at all.
Positive things are nice but you can not combat the negative with feel good rhetoric, it takes a clear set of foundational principles and the will to stick with those principles even when the easier way would be to ignore your responsibilities to those principles. Allen Barrett
Mr. Barrett, That was an excellent, well-worded response. We have never met, but have "discussed" issues on this venue many times. I don't always agree with you, but I do appreciate you bringing community info to light and I admire your courage of signing your name to your views. I am a teacher in Giles and almost at the point of heading "south" to AL where they truly appreciate teachers by paying them a professional salary. Whether I stay here or move on will depend largely on the outcome of several issues facing the financial mgmt committee...
($14,000. bonus or pay raise) Kinda like Lot asking GOD, I guess, I wish we could find at least 10 ethical govt officials.
Loved your comment on "forced volunteering".
Sign me, "mature and intelligent enough to agree to disagree" sometimes.
One more point to all posters...Putting someome down or insulting them does not make you appear any more "right". State your views without insults and you appear much more credible.
Anonymous, May 31, 2008 6:15:00 AM, said a bunch of idiotic crap that surely qualifies her as one of the brain dead. I've tried to stay out of this "volunteerism" controversy, but this latest smear of WAB is simply too much... so, now onto the task of autopsy.
12:13 - What would be your response if you were told “you had to give forty hours of service to Planned Parenthood in order to have a driver’s license?
my response would be i would give forty hours. my response would be i would accept it do it and not complain about it.
And my response to you, is that you obviously a worthless scum bag. You not only would "accept" being "volunteered" into "serving" at an abortuary... you'd do so cheerfully, and without complaint. You're admitting to a moral decay that is almost without precedent. At least the Nazi prison camp guards had guns to their heads while they were "following orders."
youre idea of community service is holding those accountable who spend tax dollars.
I've seen no indication that this is the only thing WAB considers as worthwhile "community service." But it's certainly something that he's very good at, so... seeing as we live in a world based on "specialization" and the "division of labor," it only makes sense that he continues to do what he does best. As for you, anonymous, you are probably best suited for picking up trash, or perhaps carrying bedpans.
but in all your going to meetings and posting on the blog and complaining about it who has really been held accountable. what have you really acomplished.
That's pretty hard to know, given that we can't re-run past events with WAB sitting uninvolved at home, to see how differently they might have turned out. At any rate, we can be pretty sure that the general public's right to free speech at school board meetings is much better respected nowadays, thanks to WAB (and Mr. Winkles). And I'd be willing to bet that taxes would be even higher, without WAB serving as a watchdog on the public purse.
hasnt the commission and school board and whoever else still spent funds the way they want. you keep complaining about the director of schools but have you stopped him from giving a 14000 salary increase or hiring anyone or anything else.
We'll never know... but it is certainly possible that, without WAB, there'd be even more to complain about. And that $14,000 salary might've been a $24,000 rip-off. Anyhow, it's no skin off your nose how WAB spends his spare time, so I think you really should just shut up and drop the matter.
no. so much energy wasted on the negative with very little if any result.
How do you KNOW there's been no result??? Do you honestly expect Tee Jackson to call a press conference to say, "I was going to rob Giles County taxpayers of another million bucks this year, but that meddling WAB caught me in the act, and now I can't carry out my dastardly scheme. Curses, WAB!"
Honestly, anonymous, things rarely work out that way, in real life.
think how many people could have been helped if you had spent that time otherwise like 12:52 said. like taking meals to shut ins or going to the drug store for sick people or picking up groceries for elderly or helping a child learn to read better.
Funny you should mention that! Not long after my mother died, I got an infection in my right leg, and lost the ability to walk. So guess who VOLUNTEERED to buy my groceries and drugs until I could find a caretaker??? HINT: he pastors a church which I don't happen to attend. Think REAL HARD, and maybe you can guess who was such a help in my time of need.... here's a small hint: his first name starts with a "W," and his last name starts with a "B." (If you need additional clues, don't hesitate to ask.)
positive things. and voting is not community service it is a civic duty that takes about 5 minutes.
Anonymous, if you only put five minutes into voting, it is obvious that you aren't spending much time studying the candidates, and where they stand on the issues. Perhaps you should just stay home on Election Day, and let those of us who do "sweat the details" make the choices. At least think about it, okay? Thanks.
To WAB and all others concerned:
I wrote my response above a couple hours before I got around to posting it. (Why? Because I had forgotten my Blogger password, which I had to look up on another computer, and in the process, I got sidetracked.)
As soon as I posted my piece, I discovered that WAB had already made many of the same points, in his reply to the same nitwit. I regret the resulting redundancy-- especially where (Nazi soldier metaphor & the need to spend more than five minutes voting)it gives the impression that I was copying WAB. Honestly, that's not what happened... and if I'd just remembered my darn password, it would be WAB looking like a copycat! [grin]
The thread stated "Those voting against were Commissioners J. Harwell, Campbell and Holt."
The J. Harwell vote wouldn't have anything to do with Jackson keeping him employeed as a bus driver when he should have been fired would it? I also see the thread about that incident has been removed from this blog and my question is why?
wab on 12:16,
How do you know so much about someone you have no personal involvement with?
You take offense at someone claiming to know all about you. And yet how many times have you stated things about people on this blog with whom you have no "personal involvement"? I have read your comments and you have done so, as have others as well. And I recall you even admitting that somewhere on here before. There's a big difference in being introduced to someone or speaking to someone and being personally involved with them. What the blogger said was wrong, but you criticize this person for doing the same thing you have done. Please don't take this as an affront to you. I truly don't mean it that way. I simply wish to point out that perhaps we all, that blogger, you, me, everyone, could benefit by discussing topics or issues and not people on this blog. Sure, we can completely disagree with someone's values and behavior, but that doesn't mean we have to post our thoughts for everyone to read. To me, every reason to do so is rooted in hatred.
I often don't agree with your ideas, though sometimes I do. I do enjoy reading your posts when they are about ideas or information and do not contain statements about individuals, even when those individuals are only anonymous bloggers. Those posts that contain statements about others I do not enjoy.
On another note, I think sometimes you are your own worst enemy. It is obvious that some people, quite a few I think, post things that they may or may not believe in, with the sole intention of getting a rise out of you or making you angry. Why do you let them? I know you must realize the best way to deal with these people is to ignore them. I mean no disrespect, honestly. Just my opinion.
Your observation of volunteer work (WAB) is reasonable and true. Requiring students to "volunteer" is not effective for both the student or the organizations for which they might work. Adults should set the standard for helping others in areas they feel interests them. Your children will follow your example or not but you set the standard. Same goes for our government, our schools, and public services to meet or exceed what we elect and expect them to offer. In our house if we have no monies to spend we stop spending. Why is it those we have elected and a few we have not are not holding the line? It could be the lack of involvement and avoidance of conflict that allows corruption in this county. The adage of "follow the money" seems to be in correlation with who is related to who and who their friends are. The old "boss" systems that corrupted so many large cities is alive and well in this small town. I do think that Mr. Barret takes a stand and love him or leave him it's his free speech and all ours on here that keep this blog interesting. It would be even more if new topics were introduced more often.
anonymous..
First of all, it's called hypocrisy, and secondly, it's called allowing others to push your buttons.
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