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LottieDottie
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 03:52 am |
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Jim,
I agree with you "a new day is coming". Summerfield is listening and they will speak at the polls this year.
LottieDottie
Jim Flynt wrote:
Shamu, one of the things you will learn if you hang around here on the NWO Forum long enough, is that there are several anonymous posters who spout off and spew the 'company line' to defend, apologize for and otherwise try to prop up their relatives on the Summerfield Town Council who are guilty of the very things you and BreBre are discussing. That is why they post anonymously, so they can try and make it appear those rascals have more support from the community than reality dictates. Hang around here long enough, and you can and will figure them out.
As the old Latin phrase says (especially true in Summerfield politics): Let The Buyer Beware.
I agree with you Shamu that several candidates running in Summerfield this election cycle fit the bill of the very definition that BreBre has defined, and in the days ahead, the voting public needs to discern the conservatives from the tax and spend crowd.
A new day is coming, and it is NOW.
There is great truth in the old adage: The guilty dog always barks first. Watch who protests (the truth of) this post and the rest and the relationships should be easy to figure out.
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BreBre
Member
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 04:31 am |
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Steve Adkins wrote: Jim Flynt wrote: I honor diversity of opinion and dissent from those who suggest that there may be a better way. We should exalt those who are not afraid to ask the tough questions and ask why not or have you thought about other possibilities? They are the true leaders in our Northwest communities. Not those who go along simply to get along.
I totally agree with point #1, diversity is positive.
However we part on point #2. There is one female TC member in Summerfield who opposes everything for the sake of opposing it. A real "CAVE" citizen. Citizens Against Virtually Everything It's obvious she is systematically trying to destroy Summerfield, is grossly unprofessional in her behavior, most prominently in the last TC meeting.
THAT folks, is NOT leadership, it is bullying, and undermining.
A person who boasts she doesn't read the local media, and isolates herself from all except those that align with her, is not a leader. (Sounds like George Bush, but it's not)
I would like to say I am NOT associated with any group that has formed, nor do I want to be. That being said, if some people in Summerfield didn't have Becky Strickland to pick on, they would pick on someone else. There will ALWAYS be someone OR something to complain about. You cannot please everyone. That's life. Becky Strickland is conservative I believe and I like the fact that she does speak her mind. We need more people on the council like that. Some people get afraid when they see a woman taking charge. I think this forum opened the eyes of a lot of people in Summerfield and this will cause more people to get involved in the community. The election this year is going to be exciting, things are already getting stirred up!
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Steve Adkins
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| Joined: | Oct 14th, 2005 |
| Location: | Summerfield |
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 04:59 am |
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Super Moderator wrote: It is fine to debate and even disagree but I want to ask everybody to make sure that their postings remain civil. Some recent comments are pushing the envelope.
Awww Mom
Or is it.......Awww Dad ??
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Steve Adkins
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 05:53 am |
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Some people get afraid when they see a woman taking charge.
The last time I viewed the TC membership behind the table, Becky was not the only one of the female persuasion.
People get offended when elected officials in positions of authority abuse that authority. Becky is highly abusive, and has given back nothing to the people that elected her but........??
Nifong abused his authority - what happened?
Jim Black abused his authority - what happened?
The list goes on, but you get the idea
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FatPappy
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| Joined: | Oct 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Summerfield, USA |
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 11:34 am |
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BreBre, I don't speak out against Strickland because she's a woman in power. I speak out against her because she has abused her power and the trust the voters gave her. I thought you said the forum opened your eyes.
She doesn't lead, she bullies. Plain and simple.
As a councilperson, we expect her to speak her mind. We also expect her to LISTEN.
She does NOT have the right to try and destroy good people's reputations with her "lawyerly" innuendo and "facts" off the internet. She does NOT have the right to go behind council's back to undermine their decisions.
____________________
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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Jim Flynt
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| Joined: | Jul 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Bermuda Triangle |
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 11:39 am |
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| Edited by Poster. Last edited on Aug 5th, 2007 11:49 am by Jim Flynt
____________________
I Did It My Way (Frank Sinatra)
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FatPappy
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 12:29 pm |
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Steve Adkins wrote:
Nifong abused his authority - what happened?
Jim Black abused his authority - what happened?
The list goes on, but you get the idea
Yep, we get the idea. Abuse of authority = Not good
____________________
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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S. Smith
Moderator
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 12:51 pm |
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LottieDottie wrote: Steve Adkins wrote: Historically the NWO has hosted a candidates forum to talk directly to the candidates, right here on this forum.
The participation has been quasi-successful, but I personally have really enjoyed the interchange with those candidates that have participated.
Let's hope this election will be the same.
I was hoping for a more "up close and personal" meeting/forum with the candidates. Possibly at the community center.
LottieDottie
LottieDottie,
We'd really be interested in specifically what you and other readers would like to see. The NWO has run many public forums in the past. Typically we invited all the candidates to attend, then we gave them an opportunity to introduce themselves and tell why they are running. We then asked them questions on a wide range of topics that they might have to address while in office (we came up with several ourselves but also invited readers to submit questions), giving each candidate a specified amount of time to answer the question. Each candidate was then given time to sum up their thoughts.
Unfortunately we found that many people (other than the family and friends of the candidates themselves) didn't bother to show up. We also provided coverage of the forum in the paper. Another problem we realized is that it is difficult to ask each candidate enough questions for people to really get a sense of who they are and where they stand. That's particularly a problem when you have 8 or more candidates (although we did have a forum in Summerfield probably 6 years ago that had pretty good attendance).
Just to illustrate the math, we might each candidate an opportunity to introduce themselves and tell why they're running (around 2 min.), then ask each of them, say 4 questions and give them 90 sec. to respond. We'd then ask each candidate a couple of questions that were submitted by people in the audience (1 min. response time), then give them a 2-min. summation period at the end. We had a timer and strictly adhered to time limits. Adding in time to explain the rules of the forum and actually pose the questions, with 10 candidates, that would be about a 2 1/2-hr forum. Of course, some people complained that a short inroduction and summation and 5-6 questions was not enough to get a real sense of how each candidate felt on the issues, while others complained that the forum was too long (we've found that most people will not stay for any more than 2 hours).
For probably the last 8 years, we've had a full election section in our paper around the end of October where we introduce the candidates, print their photo and allow them to tell a little about themselves (age, political experience, community or civic involvement, why they are running for office, etc.) We have also variously asked them a few questions and allowed them to respond in print. Of course, we are do have space constraints, and we also cover 3 towns. This year, there are 3 council candidates in Oak Ridge, 8 in Stokesdale, 2 for mayor in Summerfield and 11 for council. That's a total of 24 candidates. (I guess fortunately for us this year there are no county commissioner or school board races, because we also cover them.)
Then we came up with the idea for an online forum right here. That way, people could ask any questions they chose, either to all candidates who wanted to participate or to a particular candidate, and the candidate's responses could be as long or as short as they chose. We generally let these forums go on for about a week. Neither the candidates nor the citizens had to leave home and everyone could ask questions and read responses at their leisure, without actually having to be present. That means if you're a morning person and want to pose a question a 6 a.m., a candidate would have the leisure of not responding until maybe when they got home from work that evening. In addition, if someone was suffering from insomnia at 3 a.m., they could catch up on the questions and answers then.
We are certainly open to suggestions. We have long been committed to doing our best to educate citizens on each candidate and issue. If you or any of our readers has a suggestion on how we might better accomplish this, we'd be glad to entertain the idea.
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FatPappy
Member
| Joined: | Oct 25th, 2005 |
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:07 pm |
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I have found the online candidates forum to be very informative. It gives everybody a chance to work it into their schedule and go back later to see what others have said.
If y'all, or anybody else, puts on a real live event, I'd certainly go to that too! There's something to be said for seeing candidates in person.
____________________
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
Member
| Joined: | Mar 20th, 2007 |
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:10 pm |
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I see STC recently invested $2mil in a CD at 5.25%.
What does the town do with this?
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GRITS
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:28 pm |
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FatPappy wrote: BreBre, I don't speak out against Strickland because she's a woman in power. I speak out against her because she has abused her power and the trust the voters gave her. I thought you said the forum opened your eyes.
She doesn't lead, she bullies. Plain and simple.
As a councilperson, we expect her to speak her mind. We also expect her to LISTEN.
She does NOT have the right to try and destroy good people's reputations with her "lawyerly" innuendo and "facts" off the internet. She does NOT have the right to go behind council's back to undermine their decisions.
Her authority also does not give her the right to falsely accuse good volunteers reputation's or announce citizen's hardship whether it be public record or not. This to me whether she is titles herself as councilwoman or taxpaying citizen still does not give her the right to destroy organizations that have benefited the youth for over fifty years.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being conservative, and she is not the only conservative out there. This was one political tactic that got her into office, the people trusted her and thought she would be a positive influence to the town.
I don't care that she is a outspoken woman in power--I would even be speaking against her if she wore pants as well and bullied the public as she does.
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JamesAttaway
Member
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:32 pm |
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The Interest is normaly reinvested and also used as income for the general fund.
Another way of keeping the Town Tax free.
____________________
"EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY IN STOKESDALE"
http://www.attawaystokesdale.bravehost.com
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macca
Member
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:38 pm |
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I agree, GRITS. I don't think it has anything to do with gender. Unfortunately for Ms. Strickland, even when she has a proposal that might have merit, her attitude and history cloud how people perceive it, so I think that people tend to look for ulterior motives.
It also seems that she is particularly critical and comes across as mean-spirited when something happens that she doesn't like. This doesn't represent the town of Summerfield well, and I would think it discourages some from being involved more in support of the town.
Citizens, "concerned" or not, can make their point without running other people down. I hope that the large field of candidates means that others want to try to make a positive difference for Summerfield.
____________________
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright
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GRITS
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:38 pm |
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The on-line forum not only will help the voters learn of their candidates, but can only benefit the group that has decided to run as well.
I think some that have decided to run are not really up to date on alot of events occurring and they may decide this is not the time to jump into such a fiasco. I do not want to discourage them at all. It is their decision to want to take on such a task, I certainly want to hear their views correcting some of the issues.
I just want more citizens to get involved with the discussions on the forum. Mixed opinions -- and brain storming does eventually lead to something positive.
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GRITS
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Posted: Jul 21st, 2007 01:40 pm |
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JamesAttaway wrote: The Interest is normaly reinvested and also used as income for the general fund.
Another way of keeping the Town Tax free.
Thanks James nice to know.
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