Weekend news

My girlfriend visited the reception for Dr. Campbell out at Hat Creek. She said it was crowded and very nice. Dr. Campbell has been a fixture in the community and has done a lot of good things, it's a shame to see him retire from practice.

She said write-in candidate Sonya Furgurson was out there, but she didn't get the chance to talk to her. She did get to talk to several other people that mentioned that they felt Sonya and Tamera would help change the council.

I also heard through the grapevine that Mrs. Meisenbach's mother was in a car accident Sunday morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this time.

Has anyone heard anything about the Dollar Duz It opening back up? It would be nice to have a store on Main Street again. I also heard that a steak house is in the works!

Early Christmas present

If you could put a make a wish and get a write-in candidate for mayor elected who would it be?

Meet the New Candidates

Just in:

Since the mayor and "Acting as the Town Manager" decided to bully the Chamber of Commerce into not holding a candidates' forum the two ladies have decided to host their own get together:

"Meet the New Candidates for the Town of Brookneal Council. "
The newest candidates for council seats up for election this year are hosting a "Getting to Know Us" afternoon get together. The community is invited to attend. Come and meet the candidates and tell them your concerns for the town; Saturday, November 1st, 4:00 PM, 112 Clark Street.
For more information call Tamera Sprouse or Sonya Furguson 376-7297 to leave a message.

I hope these two women will get your support. Both are extremely qualified and both have local roots. I would like to see an end to the council and town employees being used for personal gain and to promote personal vendettas.

Council meeting recap: updated

Looks like the council has some issues to work on! There has been no forward movement on advertising for a town manager. Mayor Campbell and Councilman Adams were not in attendance at last night’s meeting.

There seems to be an issue about whether all employees are being treated the same across the board. Hasn’t the town been dealing with this type of problem for several years? Towns cannot make one set of rules for a section of the employees and not apply them to all employees.

Due to the recent vandalism and robberies it has been brought up that putting a curfew in place may help with some of the problems. Juveniles 17 years and under would have to be off the streets, or in the presence of an adult guardian, or risk being cited for violating curfew. Gladys, Virginia Beach, Alta Vista and other communities have put curfews in place and have seen as much as a 70% decrease in vandalism and theft. (Thank you, Mrs. Meisenbach for this information)
I’ve placed a new poll up about this matter; so let me know what you think.

It seems the Mayor and "Acting As A Town Manager" had a problem with there being a candidates' forum without their permission, and applied pressure to a local chamber board member, so the Brookneal Chamber of Commerce has withdrawn their offer to host a “Meet the Candidates Forum”.
Seems like the fact that there are two write-in candidates interested in running has caused a frenzy at the town office. I hope the Forum can simply be hosted by someone else so the community can meet the people interested in running for council.
I have to wonder why anyone working for the town has the ability to shut down a political forum. Aren't town employees supposed to be neutral, and not show political favoritism? And the "Acting As A Town Manager" can't even vote since he's a convicted felon, so why does he care if there is a forum?
With all the broken promises the town's people have heard this year is it any wonder people are wanting to see change?

Two write-in candidates for the coming election have come forward:

Tamera Sprouse is a hometown girl that currently works in Lynchburg as an administrator at social services. She lives in Brookneal and has long-term family ties to the area. She has an interest in improving the town’s financial base and working to make sure the town survives the tough economic times ahead. Her work as an administrator would certainly help provide stability and direction while serving on the council.


Sonya Furguson grew up in Campbell County and now resides in Brookneal with her family. She is currently employed as a Reading First Coach at Meadville Elementary School and is an adjunct instructor for Southside Virginia Community College where she teaches American Sign Language, Developmental Reading, and Developmental Writing. She has worked with getting educational grants, which would assist the town while it goes through the grant processes.

Congratulations (or condolences) to these two ladies for stepping up and running for council.
The candidates on November 4th are:

Richard Adams
James Nowlin
Stacey Hailey
Philip Shepperd
Tamera Sprouse
Sonya Furguson
Phyllis Campbell

A word to the wise: If you want the write-in candidates to get into office then ONLY vote for the write-in candidates. Voting for one of the incumbents can skew the vote (and really is there any difference between the incumbents?) and split it against one of the write-ins. So vote for the two write-ins, or one write-in and one regular candidate.

Three seats will be filled, so in all probability at least one of the incumbents will be going back in. It’s nice to dream about a clean sweep, but it’s not likely to happen. My guess is Mr. Nowlin will be going back in, but it would sure be nice to have these two very qualified women get a chance to use their experience to help the town make some progress.

Next election

I got an email this evening that there might be more than the expected number of candidates running in the election. Rumor has it that we have at least one write in for a council seat and possibly one for the mayor's seat.

If this is true, what would you like to see new council members work on?