Did I really read this?

Looked over the last two weeks' papers, and read the WSET site, and saw some things that bother me.

1) Has Brookneal really had the same auditor for 31 years? That is the most fiscally irresponsible crap that I have ever heard. IRS draft of "Good Governance Practices for 501 (C) (3) Organizations section 7. FINANCIAL AUDITS states: The auditing firm should be changed periodically (e.g. every five years) to ensure a fresh look at the financial statements.
31 years? Sounds like someone has a financial puppet on the payroll.

2) Some group of idiots, reading only handed out literature, decided biosolids are safe? No research, no hard studies, just handouts and they decided it's a good idea to dump sewage on land we get our food from? They even admit their ignorance in the real science of sludge, but still go one record declaring it is safe.

3) Nine months to get a utilities plan on a building that costs the town money to maintain? I'm annoyed that it's taken that long, but not surprised considering the council has dragged out hiring a new town manager for 2 years. Nine months seems like the speed of light compared to how they usually do things.

4) If Campbell County is going to be cutting deputy jobs then will we still have the police protection we need? We've only got three officers to cover this town. I've heard that several of the council want to dropped getting the police dog, even though it was purchased with grant money. So then we'd have even less protection if the county loses officers.

5) Pittsylvania County had a land fill leak. Campbell County and Lynchburg have landfill issues. Who wants to bet me that we will eventually have a landfill right outside of the Brookneal town limits? We are the lower end of the county and get treated like it. Since the county supervisors see nothing wrong with dumping sludge all over the place it isn't unlikely that we''l have trash dumped down here too.

6) CVCC is closing the local branch. This is a shame, wish it wasn't so.

I have a question for the readers: Why do the town limits stop before they reach four of the biggest local businesses? How much tax money is Brookneal losing by not having town limits that go out to Foster Fuels? Why has no effort been made to extend town limits past these businesses? Don't they use town services? Town water?

This Week's Paper

I thought the paper this week was very good. The coverage has certainly improved and more issues are being brought out.

I read the article that interviewed the mayor with a lot of interest. Here's what I find strange. You can tell from reading the article that she knows about the problems. She talks about the issues facing the town, and if you didn't know the past history you'd think she was on the ball.
But her actions don't show this. You'd think that after all the dispute and problems they've had about the town manager issue she'd be jumping on the train to get a new one, just to relieve herself of the poor press. Yet, you can tell there is a reluctance there, and it's not about the money, it's about the person she wants to keep in place.

I can't see money as an issue because she had no problem wasting town funds on endless legal bills in order to engage in a personal vendetta against a town employee. She has no issue with the waste of allowing a town vehicle to be used for personal use. I have seen the Town of Brookneal truck in Lynchburg, South Boston, on the road to Charlotte Court House, Rustburg, and Alta Vista. It's possible some of these trips could be town related, except they happen on weekends. We've lost valuable water plant employees, again because of poor management.
Why keep this conflict going on in the town office? To do so is the height of poor management of the town.

A few months ago there was a flurry of meetings, headed by the Development Chair Mr. Nowlin, that were supposed to address a town maintenance code. What happened with this? We have no code, we still have trash, eyesore buildings and slum lords. Why can't the council accomplish something? Things get started and never get finished. It's like they pretend they care, and then when the community looks away they drop it, because they really don't want changes.

I thought this quote was particularly a slap in the face to the intelligence of the residents:

"However, the town never gives up hope of industries returning because "We have the best workforce there is and Brookneal is a great place to live and raise a family. But we are certainly going to have to look for new revenue and bringing jobs to our community."


If we have the best workforce and Brookneal is so great then why do we get treated like we don't matter? Why are town funds squandered on things that don't benefit the community? Was it really worth it to waste the money on legal fees to go after someone you didn't like? Is it worth it to waste our tax dollars to keep one of your overpaid flunkies in place? Is it worth it to try to attract industries here when the first look that visiting executives get of our town is a burned out and boarded up building on the main road in, shantys in disrepair by the river crossing, and junk left out by the road? The visible aspects of this community reflect on the "workforce". All of us suffer because a few bad apples aren't brought into line with proper zoning ordinances.
Why would any white collar industry even look at this town, as they are in other regions? If they looked just at the main roads they'd think we didn't have any pride in anything. The the five years since I moved here the town has really gone down hill. It can't be blamed on past administrations, because the employee issues, reckless waste of money and ignoring of the blight can be attributed to the current administration.


I can't decide if I'm glad to know that she can speak about the issues, or angry because she knows about them and continues to ignore them for her own personal reasons.

Taking the high road

A recent visitor here made the statement that our council members should lower their legal and moral standards in order to be "friends" with other council members.

They also stated that council members that post here could be perceived as "talking out of school" even though all information that has been posted here has been public knowledge.

So tell me your views. Should our council members ignore illegal and unethical behavior by other council members in the spirit of being friendly?

Do you think council members posting here is a good thing or would you rather get information as the media and town office decide to ladle it out?*


* I want to note that the Union Star has shown a marked improvement and I'm very pleased with their coverage of town issues.