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FatPappy
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Posted: Jul 7th, 2007 02:28 pm |
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Glad to hear Mr Wray's got two more years. That wasn't what I understood the deal to be originally, but it suits me.
Interestin' about Crawford. If I was pullin' fer him, which I ain't, I'd hafta wonder if he would up an' quit again if things got tough.
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
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DOGGETTJA
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 10:35 am |
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Interesting town council meeting last night. I was glad to see the majority of the council give Michael and Bill Hill a vote of confidence after Ms Strickland made her very demeaning "It's business not personal" comments. Hope that Bill and Michael did not lose too much sleep over an issue that they had absolutely no control over. Seems that Bill/attorney and Michael/adminsistrator checked with the local board of election to see what the legalities were of replacing Crawford when he gave up his seat. They were both told that the replacement would have to run for reelection at next election which would be this November. The state board of election then on June 6, 2007, the day that people could start signing up to run, handed down a ruling saying that these seats were for the full term ie in Summerfield case 4 years.
Ms Strickland accused the administrator and attorney of not doing their job. Not properly advising the council "The attorney and adminstrator should have checked with the state board of election" although each county determines the process and the state did not make the ruling until several months after the seat had been filled. I guess the attorney should have also checked with the President and the Pope to have really covered all their bases. The bottom line is John Wray will serve the remainder of the unexpired term of Crawford. He was a good pick for the 6 month seat and he is a good pick for 2.5 years. The council did their homework and they picked the best candidate available at the time.
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StewartM
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 10:42 am |
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| Amen Jane ....Don't shoot the messenger
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FatPappy
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 12:31 pm |
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Pappy agrees. In my opinion, Strickland's baseless attack on Mr Hill's an' Mr Brandt's professionalism and motives, leads us again to question Strickland's professionalism and motives instead. Mr Hill and Mr Brandt should be commended for all the good work they've done and continue to do. The issue was not one of incompetence or deceipt on their part as Strickland so badly wants to make it appear, but a reversal of the BOE's interpretation of the rules, something neither Hill nor Brandt had any control over. All they could do was abide by the ruling, a concept which may be beyond Ms. Strickland's comprehension, judging from her past performance.
Let's not forget why the seat was vacant to begin with. If Strickland wants to denounce unprofessionalism and improper motives, she missed a wide open window of opportunity in the days before Crawford quit!
Mr Wray is a good man and a good choice for councilman. His character and dedication to doing the best he can for the town is beyond question. Summerfield is lucky he has agreed to serve for the next two years. He's no quitter!
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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GRITS
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 12:53 pm |
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Mr. Wray is suitable for the remainder of the position, and Ms. BS needs to remember she was a factor that unanimously agreed he fill the position. So what if there was a loop hole, but that is no reason to ask Mr. Wray to resign.
The decision has been made---It is time to come together has a community and put all this negative/bitter behavior aside and move on.
So can anyone tell me about the athletic committee that was motioned and passed? What exactly is council wanting, and how is the committee going to be appointed?
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Cracker Jax
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:03 pm |
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Yep.... I'm havin' a hard time decidin' who my hero for last night is..... Bill Hill? Bob Williams? Dena Barnes???
What an exciting meeting! There was a reporter there who I hadn't seen before. Her eyes were as big as saucers when the fireworks started.... Didn't see Mr. Seals. He's gonna hate that he missed this one!
The drama started when Mayor Brown started to explain to the public about the new developments pertaining to John Wray's seat.... As he was speaking, a citizen who had come in an hour and a half late (most likely from an Illinois taxpayer's meeting) staggers up to the front of the room in front of the council and lays a "speakers from the floor" form in front of Brown. It was obviously done to fluster him but he handled it well.... Told her the speaker's portion was over. I'm sure she'll now spout off and whine about it because "THEY NEVER LET HER SPEAK".
Bill Hill said something like "I'm sorry Mayor Brown, could you repeat that last part? I was distracted!" LOL That was GREAT!!!! Big hero points for that one Bill!!!!
So then, John Wray spoke and said "I don't really know what I can do about this situation" and Strickland interjected "YOU COULD RESIGN" to which Williams quickly replied "SO COULD YOU!" to Strickland! Big Hero Points for Williams!!!
John went on to say that he's not a quitter and intends to serve for the remainder of Crawford's term. He automatically gets hero points because of the location of his seat at the council table, but he gets even more for being willing to serve with the likes of her for 2 more years.
Strickland then reads her speech and says that "No one gets a pass on this one" (whatever that means) and she thinks that in the interest of fairness, Wray should resign effective on election day and let the voters choose who they want to fill the seat. She rambles on about how more people would have applied had they known it was a two year term and get this......she would NOT have voted the way she did (for John) had she known it was for the full 2 year term. Is she saying that she didn't try to choose THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB? Was she playing more of her political games when she voted for Wray? hmmmmmm.......
I think the remaining council members aren't upset about it because they do feel that they chose one of the best people for the job, whether it be for 6 months or for 2 1/2 years.
Then Strickland goes on to say that her beef with Michael B and Bill Hill wasn't personal, even though in her speech she said, "Seriously, just how many lawyers and administrators does it take to misinterpret the term "notwithstanding" in a Town Charter? Nobody gets a pass on this one as far as I am concerned"
Sounded like a personal attack to me.
Dena spoke and said that there were 3 seats that were going to be vacant in the fall and that the citizens could choose to change the entire make up of the council if they choose to do so. She said that she was offended at the way Strickland belittled Hill and Brandt and said that she appreciated the work they'd done. Strickland then INTERRUPTED Dena in the middle of her speech to make a lame attempt to rebut Dena's statement.
So Dena brought out an email from Strickland and proceeded to read a portion of it for the record....
"I do not feel you and Michael "did all you could" to insure accurate information to Council and the public in March. How do you defend that inaction?"
Seems that as Jane stated above, Strickland's upset that they didn't check with the State Board in addition to the local board of elections...According to that letter from the Gilbert fellow at the board of elections, I don't think it would have made any difference if they had checked there....
Bill, I sure hope you and Michael don't lose anymore sleep over this issue. It looks like the rest of the council has your back on this one.
GEEZ!
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Cracker Jax
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:08 pm |
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Grits, they decided to look into forming a VOLUNTEER athletic committee. Strickland was against it. Something about the roles of committees not being defined.
In my opinion, she doesn't like for the town to form new committees because that generates more interest and therefore more people will see how she behaves.
I think it can only be a good thing.
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Shamu
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:11 pm |
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I went to the board of elections on Monday myself, and had a conversation with Mr. Gilbert myself (he came out and greeted me and shook my hand too). And what he told me was that our town leadership had misread our own documents.
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Cracker Jax
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:19 pm |
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Interesting that he didn't say that in his letter.......
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Shamu
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:24 pm |
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| Yeah. interesting. I suppose anyone who is interested can go talk to Gilbert themselves.
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GRITS
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:26 pm |
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FatPappy wrote: Let's not forget why the seat was vacant to begin with. If Strickland wants to denounce unprofessionalism and improper motives, she missed a wide open window of opportunity in the days before Crawford quit!
Mr Wray is a good man and a good choice for councilman. His character and dedication to doing the best he can for the town is beyond question. Summerfield is lucky he has agreed to serve for the next two years. He's no quitter!
Thanks Pappy for reminding us. Now that election time is in 4 months, I think it is ever so important to remind the public of why Crawford resigned--unethical actions by a councilman. Rumor is he is running again.
Strickland is guilty of the same issues, publicly attacking volunteers--demeaning their character. Remember-she has tried to kill the park not once but twice!. Going behind the back's of her fellow councilman/women, writing a letter to kill the park funding on a town letterhead--after it was voted on to pass obtaining funding. Now, she is doing her best to kill the ballfields.
Mr. Wray did not agree to build the ballfields on the 220 site, but his positive attitude to help do everything possible to ensure the safety of our kids on 220 is encouraging and represents a positive futuristic outlook, and certainly portrays his dedicated character to the town. I must say his positive attitude helped change my own opinions regarding this site.....I wanted ballfields, I have the potential to get them----I will make it work.
Strickland needs to adapt to the decisions and find a way to make it work. She has two more years with Wray!
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Hairbrush
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 01:28 pm |
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I am excited about John Wray serving 2 more years. I think he adds a lot to the council. He is very straight forward and fair. I hope he will help the council get some great stuff done. If he resigned then the council would just have to accept applications again and go through the whole process again. The people still would not get to vote on that seat.
If anyone should resign it should be Becky Strickland. I am still so mad about the letter she wrote to the grant people. And the way she handles herself in the meetings is so unprofessional. I know she thinks she representing the people who never get their voice heard, but I certainly wouldn't want her representing me. She isn't getting anything now. What is wrong with a little compromise? Just because you decide to be pleasant and to listen to all sides of an issue and to not pout when you don't get your way doesn't mean you aren't being a strong woman or standing up for what you believe in. But it might make people want to listen to you and maybe take time to get to know you instead of immediately turning you off. Okay I will get off my soapbox and get back to work.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 02:23 pm |
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Cracker Jax wrote:
Interesting that he didn't say that in his letter.......
Plumb weird. I hope he didn't miswrite his own document!
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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Baseball Buddy
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 03:38 pm |
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Shamu wrote: Yeah. interesting. I suppose anyone who is interested can go talk to Gilbert themselves.
So, Were you there to just ask about this issue or to put your name in the hat? (snicker)
Mr Gilbert is a stand up individual and would not start a finger pointing match. This is another CC tactic to get crap started between people who have had a good relationship.
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Jim Flynt
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Posted: Jul 11th, 2007 05:21 pm |
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Hairbrush wrote: If he resigned then the council would just have to accept applications again and go through the whole process again. The people still would not get to vote on that seat.
Hairbrush you are correct and that is the point that should be remembered.
Even if John Wray were to resign at any point within the remainder of the residual of the 'Crawford term', Summerfield voters would still not have the opportunity to select his replacement. That task under law still falls to the Summerfield Town Council.
Folks should recall that Stokesdale has had two vacancies on our council within the past 4 years so that we currently have two members serving on our council who were not elected by Stokesdale voters to those seats. (Powell Shelton has/had previously served on the STC but was appointed rather than elected to serve out the term of Councilman Berry while Bobby Richardson was appointed to serve out the remainder of the term of Councilman Vaughn).
I'm guessing that unless the Town Charters provide language otherwise, that vacancies in local elected offices are determined by provisions of state law. I'm also guessing that local governments could also change their charters to provide for special elections rather than appointments to fill interim vacancies, which is the case in some locales.
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I Did It My Way (Frank Sinatra)
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