Category: Local

You know, I’m starting to get annoyed with attacks on my “leftist” blog “that is used almost exclusively to support the Democrat Party”.

Seriously, two people made those comments.

The “leftist” comment comes from OKC Truther Catherine Crabill in an e-mail which was posted in a previous thread:

Feel free to share this with anyone who cares. I will not be bullied by a leftist blog who wouldn’t understand the truth or rightousness or freedom if it bit him you-know-where.

And then you have Allen Webb attacking someone for expressing his concern about the fact that there’s an OKC Truther who’s the presumptive nominee for the state’s legislative body:

To peddle a “quote”, opinion or analysis from a blog that is used almost exclusively to support the Democrat Party, which was motivated by a person who has expressly stated that he has (and still) supports Albert Pollard (the liberal Democrat incumbent whom this candidate will face), is reprehensible.

Holy cow, when did Bill Bolling, Ken Cuccinelli, and DJ McGuire (see right sidebar) become Democrats? I swore I was supporting them due to their impeccable conservative credentials, but alas, it must be because they’re Democrats.

I’m sure former Caroline County Supervisor Calvin Taylor, former Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney, and former Sheriff Homer Johnson (all Democrats) would get a good laugh out of that diatribe for sure.

Webb’s comments boils down to the fact that he has absolutely no defense to the fact that he’s supporting a candidate that has gone on the record several times saying that the federal government was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, so he has to result to ad hominem attacks. “Oh, he just supports Democrats, ipso facto, he’s lying!” I guess The Washington Times, Outside Magazine, High County News, and Catherine Crabill herself must also support Democrats “exclusively” as well, since they’re the ones responsible for the quotations.

For crying out loud, this woman has stated herself, both on blogs and e-mails to Allen Webb, that the federal government was responsible for this:

But don’t believe your lying eyes, after all, this is a “leftist” blog “that is used almost exclusively to support the Democrat Party”.

The Free Lance–Star shows its utter contempt for the citizens of Caroline County.

From an editorial in yesterday’s edition:

HAD IT FOLLOWED a trajectory of indifference just a few years ago, Caroline County now would be a place where residents of one rural community waded through raw sewage; children’s teeth rotted in their head, causing them so much pain they could not follow their teachers’ instruction; and many county people found it hard to borrow a book or log onto a computer.

Yeehaw! We bango-playing slack-jawed yokels here in Caroline County can’t do nothin’ without the benevolent government doin’ it for us! We don’t know nothin’ ’bout them series of tubes and that computer box thing! Dentist, what be a dentist? Why, I just use a pair of pliers to fix me teethes!

And when did this “tolerance of indifference” end? A later section of the article notes “the turn of this century”. Are they implying that the county government didn’t care about these things until recently? What does that say about Board members that have been on the Board since 1988 or 1992?

Hey, apparently County Administrator Percy Ashcraft thinks $1,250,000 is chump change as well.

You get the government you deserve folks. From today’s edition of The Free Lance–Star:

Caroline County Administrator Percy Ashcraft told fair officials that he welcomes all to the fair, but he really wants Caroline County residents to benefit from it.

“We are the host county and we want to feel like the host county,” Ashcraft said at the meeting. “With the [National Scout] Jamboree, we were the host county and we didn’t feel like it.”

And going way back to the October 15, 2001 edition of The Free Lance–Star:

Caroline County made more than $1.25 million in food and hotel-room sales during last summer’s National Scout Jamboree, a new report shows.

The total regional economic impact of the jamboree was expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars, officials from Fort A.P. Hill, which hosts the event, said earlier this summer.

[…]

Caroline’s gross food sales this July were nearly $1.16 million more than for the same month last year, when no jamboree was held, according to the report.

County hotels earned about $128,000 more than last year.

The report also said that gasoline sales were far above typical for July, and that many local contractors and suppliers of building materials were used to prepare A.P. Hill for the jamboree. Exact figures for these two sectors were not available for the report, [Director of Economic Development Gary] Wilson said.

A “What. The. Frak.” newsday in Spotsylvania County.

The first story from The Free Lance–Star:

A 19-year-old Spotsylvania County man pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl and will spend a year in jail.

Jonathan Anderson admitted to touching the girl inappropriately on several occasions.

[…]

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutor Crystal Montague dropped three other related charges: forcible sodomy, animate object sexual penetration and inanimate object sexual penetration.

[…]

Anderson didn’t deny having inappropriate contact with the victim and told the girl’s family “I’m sorry” after he was caught, according to the agreement.

Someone touches a girl “inappropriately on several occasions” and he only gets sentenced to a year in jail? More than likely the guy will only have to serve 50% of the time and will be out on the streets in six months.

Story numero dos, also from The Free Lance–Star:

The parents who allowed their children to live in a home with feces-covered walls pleaded guilty yesterday to a misdemeanor charge.

Eugene Mongold, 28, and Amanda Nichole Mongold, 24, had been charged with three counts each of felony child neglect.

But Spotsylvania County prosecutor Edith Minn agreed to drop two of the charges and reduce one to contributing to the delinquency of a minor in exchange for their guilty pleas.

[…]

She said they have already completed parenting classes and have cleaned up their home from the clutter and dirt their three children were living in.

Anyone else thinks it’s absolutely amazing that parents have to be taught that having feces covered walls=bad? Also mentioned in the story was that the children were found naked and emaciated. Do parents also have to be taught that also=bad?

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this area? Actually, what the hell is wrong with that Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office?

Wife of a Board of Supervisors member calls for the tarring and feathering of a citizen if he goes to a public meeting.

Ah, good old oharascarlett (I would link to thread but it has since been deleted due to her antics):

Sorry Minx but the eye rolling is very real, Yesitsme did this all to himself with his contiuning behavior and public officials are very real human beings with feelings also.

He took asking questions way beyond what was fair and reasonable and hurt many, many people.

Hate is a strong word, no I can’t say I hate Yes in fact was on board with him in the beginning thinking perhaps he had been treated unfairly but over the months learned completely otherwise.

As is usually the case with someone like Yes, the local schoolyard bully there are distinct advantages to offering a counterpoint to his arguments on a public blog and I promise you Scarlett never writes anything she does not want read by people. In other words Yes is and continues to be very useful. You can’t hate a guy like that, hes better than a direct mailer.

I am now far more interested in seeing Yes in front of the Bowling Green town council. What say you Asst Chief? Can we get a bit of tar and feathers going in the back room, the next first Thursday of the month.

As a side question, isn’t referring to yourself in third-person a sign of schizophrenia? Not to mention that the only reason the person oharascarlett is attacking (YesItsMe) joined the forum was because of the trash she was posting; she was never “on board with him in the beginning”.

Another post:

C’mon now Yes a little gentle feather bath might do you some good, white feathers of course or at a least a white streak right down the middle.

Caroline County Board of Supervisors finally makes users of the county water/sewer system pay their fair share.

The Caroline County Board of Supervisors voted 3–2 Tuesday night to increase the rates for water and sewer service on the county’s utility system.

For years, this system has failed to be self-sufficient, requiring last year approximately a $300,000 subsidy from the general fund. The general fund is, of course, from taxes that all citizens pay. So, the folks in Bowling Green, Port Royal, Damn, etc. have been getting taxed at a higher rate than necessary — the equivalent of a whole cent on the tax rate last year — so the poor little folks in Ladysmith and Ruther Glen didn’t have to pay more on their water bill.

I’m curious, has the county ever subsidized any citizen’s cost for maintaining a septic tank? Hell, they want you guys to have your septic tank pumped every two years or whatever at your cost.

Has the county even paid for someone’s electric bill which is used to power your water pump to get water from your well? Let’s see…uh, hell no.

And last year, those lovable geniuses on the Board decided that it would be a good idea to increase the cost of one-time connection fees — which is supposed to go to pay off the system’s debt — so the money could be diverted into the operating fund for the system. “Wow, let’s use one-time money to pay for continuing expenditures on a system!” Sounds like something the federal government would do, no?

The two supervisors that voted against the increase, Wayne Acors and Floyd Thomas (note that the majority of the system’s users are in their districts), voted against the increase saying, according to The Free Lance–Star, “they would prefer to see the rates change at a slower pace instead of hitting residents all at once.” ((Portsia Smith. “Caroline changes water, sewer rates”. The Free Lance–Star 12 Mar 2009. The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. 12 Mar 2009 <http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/032009/03122009/451713>.)) Wow, so the county should continue to subsidize citizens’ water bills when public safety positions are getting unpaid furloughs and the Planning Department just got six positions axed.

Absolutely brilliant…

And yet there’s still only one choice for Lee Hill District Supervisor in Spotsylvania County…

Welcome to my first foray into local Spotsylvania County politics; why do I have a feeling that this is going to end bad?

As my readers (all three two of you) may know, fellow blogger D.J. McGuire has announced his run for the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors for the Lee Hill District. I hadn’t gotten a chance to write up a post about his announcement, but I did add him (with a link to his website) to the “2009 candidates I support” box on the right.

D.J., who’s a Republican, is running against incumbent supervisor Gary Skinner (Independent), who was elected in 2007. (For those that are curious, Spotsylvania has adopted staggered election terms for supervisors which is why Skinner’s term was only for two years. This election will be for a four-year term starting in the beginning of 2010 and finishing at the end of 2013.) Vince Onorato, who previously served on the board from 2004 through 2007, running as an Independent in 2003, and as a Republican in 2007 where he lost to Skinner, is trying to get back on the Board by running as an Independent this year according to The Free Lance–Star’s Dan Telvock. ((Telvock, Dan. “”Vince Onorato is back…sort of”.” [Weblog Spotsy govt.-the odds & ends] 3 Mar 2009. The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co.. 6 Mar 2009 <http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=21&p=1236103465>.))

In a county that has suffered (yes, that’s the right word) through nine tax increases in the past thirteen years, D.J. is pledging when he’s elected to not vote for an increase in taxes.

What is Gary Skinner’s philosophy on tax increases?

After Spotsylvania County finished doing reassessments last year, the proposed equalization rate — the rate at which citizens, on average, would see no increase on their taxes — was $0.56 per $100 of assessed value. In the proposed budget by the County Administrator, the proposed tax rate was $0.62/$100. When it came time to advertise a tax rate, Gary Skinner proposed to advertise a $0.65/$100 tax rate, a rate two cents even higher than the County Administrator’s proposed rate. Five of the other supervisors barked at this idea, and instead the county advertised a $0.62 rate. ((Telvock, Dan. “Spotsy faces budget pain,” The Free Lance–Star 30 Mar 2008. The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co.. 6 Mar 2009 <http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/032008/03302008/367039>.))

When it came time to vote on the tax rate, one supervisor made a motion to set the tax rate at the equalization rate of $0.56, Gary Skinner voted against this motion repeatedly. Skinner then made a motion to set the tax rate at $0.62 — the maximum rate that the county had advertised — and this motion passed 4 to 3. ((“Board of Supervisors Meeting, April 10, 2008, Minutes.” Spotsylvania County Home Page. Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. 6 Mar 2009 <http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/DownloadFiles/Minutes/bos/041008.pdf>.))

After Gary Skinner voted for over a 10% tax increase for Spotsylvania County citizens in a single year, and the county was still running a deficit due to the economy and the county’s spending, Skinner was the lone supervisor to vote against proposed spending reductions in September. Skinner, based on the report in The Free Lance–Star, openly proposed raising taxes in the middle of the year to make up for the deficit that had developed. ((Telvock. Dan. “Spotsy cutting budget again,” The Free Lance–Star 24 Sep 2008. The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. 6 Mar 2009 <http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/092008/09242008/413140>.))

With Gary Skinner’s tax-and-spend policies documented, let’s turn to Independent-turned-Republican-turned-Independent (I think that’s the right order) Vince Onorato:

Back when Vince Onorato was on the Board in 2004, Onorato seconded and voted for a motion to set the tax rate at $0.87/$100, an one cent increase in taxes compared to the proposed $0.86 equalization rate. Luckily, this motion was defeated by the Board 5 to 2. ((“Board of Supervisors Meeting, April 27, 2004, Minutes.” Spotsylvania County Home Page. Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. 6 Mar 2009 <http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/DownloadFiles/Minutes/bos/04272004.pdf>.))

In 2005, Onorato voted to raises taxes again, this time from $0.86/$100 to $0.89/$100 . ((“Board of Supervisors Meeting, April 12, 2005 Minutes.” Spotsylvania County Home Page. Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors. 6 Mar 2009 <http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/DownloadFiles/Minutes/bos/04122005.pdf>.)) That was a 3.5% increase in taxes for county residents.

So, in two years, Onorato voted to raise county residents taxes by 4.7%. Unfortunately, only in one of those cases was a tax increase averted.

If Spotsylvania County residents don’t want to see their taxes go up once again, vote for D.J. McGuire in November.

I need video of this: Bobby Orrock got booed down by the House of Delegates.

Follow-up to my previous post. From The Washington Post:

This year, there were echoes — distant perhaps — of Webster vs. Clay as delegates debated clotheslines. The energy-saving bill, sponsored by Sen. Linda T. “Toddy” Puller (D-Fairfax), would have prevented rule-happy homeowner associations from banning clotheslines.

Taking aim at the bill as if wielding a rug-beater, Del. Robert D. “Bobby” Orrock Sr. (R-Caroline) said Northern Virginians might regret seeing clotheslines strung from “tree to tree to tree.”

“Go ahead and pass this, and then when your folks come screaming that this looks like a West Virginia subdivision,” Orrock began, but boos cut him off.

Christ, what an elitist.