Rash of robberies

I was concerned when another resident told me they had been broken into, but after hearing from other people that there have been several robberies in recent weeks I'm downright mad.

What is going on that Brookneal has become such a hotbed of theft? There have been at least four businesses broken into, one of them twice. Some of the perpetrators are even known. Why aren't these idiots in jail?

It's difficult enough in a small town to run a business. If we allow thieves and drug addicts to run our businesses out of town then we ill all suffer.
The council has got to take pro-active measures to insure that the crime rate does not continue to rise. We need another police officer, and we need one now.
We need something to get kids off the streets after dark. I'm tired of seeing young kids out on Main Street after 11:30 PM. Where the hell are these kids' parents?

I'm tired of wondering if my car will be broken into when I go into a store. I'm tired of giving a sigh of relief when I come home and don't find my house broken into while I'm away at work.
Small towns are supposed to feel safe. I'm not feeling so safe any more.

Disappointed but not surprised

I read my copy of the Union Star and as hard as I tried to find it there was no ad in there for the Town Manager position. After last week's headlines I thought the town was moving ahead. Can anyone explain why the community was told the search was beginning, but nothing has happened?

Economic forum

I stopped in on the Chamber of Commerce's Economic forum tonight. There was a good sized crowd and several speakers. I couldn't stay for the entire forum, but it looked like the plan for this area is to create an appeal based on history, residential and internet accesibility. Sounded like a good idea to me. Brookneal has a lot of small town charm, it's just hidden by the blight.

Things that weren't addressed were the financial situation of Brookneal, and the governmental problems here. I am glad the Chamber is taking the initiative to try to get this kind of information out to the public.

Mr. Davidson did say there was an offer on the Dan River site, but not whether it was another textile operator or if it was being looked at for other uses.

I heard it through the grapevine.......

Looks like some forward progress was made at last night's town council meeting. There was a motion brought by Mr. Jennings and seconded by Mr. Jean to start the search for a new town manager.

The vote was as follows:

Mr. Jennings: Yes
Mrs. Meisenbach: Yes
Mr. Nowlin: No
Mr. Adams: abstained because he felt the matter needed more discussion ( another two years maybe?)
Mr. Jean: Yes
Mr. Hailey: abstain. ( I really doubt he even knows what the word means)

The Mayor called it as a failed vote. Mrs. Meisenbach said it was not a failed vote because it had 3 ayes, 1 nay and two abstains.

This is where it enters sketchy territory; Mr.Nowlin said he wanted to change his vote, although he didn't. Then Mr. Adams does change his vote to a no and Mr. Hailey also changes his vote to a no. The three Yes votes were not asked if they wanted to revote, nor was a new motion introduced for them to vote on.
This second round of vote changing created a tie vote, 3 nays to 3 ayes so the Mayor votes to break the tie and votes No. No, we don't need a new town manager? Has she not been listening to the community? She's now on record as voting to keep a convicted felon on as town manager.
Mr. Jean introduces a motion to form a committee to study getting the new town manager and this motion passes, legally.

Some how the Mayor realized that they had made a major screw up and asked Mrs. Meisenbach if there was a question about the vote. Mrs. Meisenbach explained the parliamentary procedure, and Mr. Crews and Mrs. Waller had to agree that she was correct. The first vote on starting the search for a town manager had to stand because once Mr. Hailey, as the last council member queried, voted, the motion was carried 3 to 1 with 2 abstaining. Votes cannot be changed once the final vote has been cast. Instead a new motion would have had to be introduced in order for a new vote. No new motion was introduced.

This is the kind of shoddy voting measures that happen within our town government. Had Mrs. Meisenbach not spoken up, with the backing of Mr. Jennings and Mr. Jean, than an illegal vote change would have been recorded.

Links of interest

I'm still working on updating my links section (thank you for the help Mrs. Meisenbach and Mrs. Jennings)


I found these links disturbing:
http://www.pet-abuse.com
Click on the Animal Abuse database on the right and then search Virginia. It's terrible how many animal abuse cases exist in Virginia.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/
You can search a database of sex offenders in the area. There are several that are too close to suit me! There is a registered sex offender living less than a mile from the Brookneal Elementary School. Why is this acceptable?


You'd think a small community would be safe from this kind of thing.

Boat landing

We went down to the boat landing this weekend to launch our kayaks. It was not a good experience. The landing area had beer bottles and cans all around in the grass. There was a drunk guy there that was a jerk to several people. I understand it was labor day weekend and people wanted to relax, but being drunk that early in the day and near a public boat landing was stupid.
We kayak down river and passed several more landings that had groups of drunk people. Doesn't fish and game patrol the river? I really don't care if these idiots drown themselves, but I am concerned that they are in boats at some point endangering the rest of us.
Who is responsible for keepingg the main landing area clean? Is it the town or the county?