Nothing Personal
August 5, 2008
When one levels criticism at another, it isn’t always due to a personal dislike of the person. Such is the case with my critical remarks about our elected and appointed county officials.
Each and every one of our county officials are, to my knowledge, good people with good intentions in their heart. This doesn’t mean that I, or others, always agree with their actions and inactions. I hope we can agree to disagree without giving the appearance to one another that we have a deep and abiding personal dislike.
In recognition of some of our officials I would like to share the following with you:
Barbara Hobbs - A very caring and sincere lady with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the area of local government operations and management. She understands people, the issues, and how best to remedy citizen problems. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Barbara.
Eric Gentry - A good family man, member of the community, and Christian who is devoted to his Mormon faith. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to know Eric well enough to have additional insight about him. I’ve known of his family, especially his deceased father and living brother Wayne, for many years and consider them to be fine people with high morals.
Paul “Chappy” Baker - Chappy and I go way back to our school days. He is a good husband, father, and a devoted Christian. He attends Riverview Baptist Church and I have been present when he has participated in church events and I have witnessed his sincere devotion to Christ.
Chappy tries to respond to citizen needs and has always gotten back to me promptly in regard to my inquiries. Although, he hasn’t always been able to produce what I have requested, he does give it a good try.
Richard “Rick” McCoy - I probably know less about Rick than any of the other supervisors. He is employed at Virginia Tech and it is very obvious that he is intelligent and truly cares about doing what is right for the county citizens. He does his “homework” on important issues and appears to command a very good understanding of facts and details as necessary to enable him to make good decisions. I am sorry to say that I know nothing about his family or other community participation. However, my observations indicate to me that Rick is a good man and an asset to the best interests of Giles County citizens.
Howard Spencer - This man is probably the most active of all of the supervisors in using his creative talents to champion his ideas from cradle to grave, so to speak. In view of the great disparity between Howard’s Cumberland Park project passion and my own opposition to the project, I will start by saying we are far, far apart on this subject. However, that is only one idea/project out of many that Howard has either created, or jumped onboard to see to fruition. His Hammering in the Hills creation has been very worthwhile to numerous county citizens. His involvement in numerous other community projects should not only be recognized, but applauded with nothing but the greatest of respect. His accomplishments are many and, to my knowledge, his involvement in unpopular projects is limited. Howard is a good Christian and I have no doubt that his heart is in the right place when he tackles issues of importance to county citizens.
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Chris McKlarney - Our county administrator has a very demanding and high-profile job. It is the kind of job where he will never satisfy everyone all of the time. The best he can hope for is to satisfy some of the people some of the time and in doing so, do what is best for all county citizens. He must advise the county supervisors on all issues and provide solid information so as to enable them to make good and informed decisions on important county issues. He must interact with business leaders, citizen groups, county organizations, governmental interests, school officials, and numerous other people and entities. He must walk a fine line between those who tug and pull at him to endorse their side of issues versus doing what he deems to be the right thing for the county as a whole. Chris does this with great concern for the outcome of his efforts. I am honored to have gotten to know Chris more so than just as our county administrator. We don’t do things socially, but we have shared enough for each of us to know that we both are on the side of “right” and we strongly oppose “wrong”. The county has been fortunate to have Chris on their side during the past several years. He has represented us faithfully and competently. Chris and I have our differences of opinion but I can say with complete honesty that I respect this man without reservation. He is a great father, husband, Christian, and I have never heard him speak with malice toward anyone.
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When you read my commentary about any of these officials, or others, please keep in mind that negative commentary doesn’t always translate into anything on a personal level of dislike. In the case of these officials I harbor no animosity toward a single person. As a matter of fact, I strive to never attack anyone personally on this web site. I must admit that I have, on a few occasions, been contacted by persons who strongly disagree with my assessment of an issue/official and they have sometimes accused me of having a personal dislike, or problem, with the official. This just isn’t true. When Cumberland Park first became known to the county as a whole, passions ran high and things were said and written that attempted to express sincere concerns. I stand by my factual statements on that issue and make no apology for my opposition to Cumberland Park. Statements such as, asking for the resignation of a supervisor, or appointed official, were made based on knowledge, not any personal dislike of the person. I don’t retract such statements because my feelings of that time haven’t changed and I continue to have nothing but the strongest of opposition to the Cumberland Park project.