Faulty Assumptions

Last year the Charlotte Gazette, the Farmville Herald, and the K-V Dispatch were bought out by Boone Newspapers, Inc. a conglomerate of 74 newspapers based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, leaving The Southside Messenger as the only locally owned and operated newspaper in Charlotte, Lunenburg and Prince Edward counties.

As I believe local tax dollars should go to local businesses, I submitted a request to the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors. Yesterday the Charlotte County Board considered my request to make The Southside Messenger the official newspaper for advertising for county business.  My request was tabled with no action.

Imagine my surprise when I overheard PK Pettus telling people that MY request was an attempt by the Board to retaliate against the Gazette for publishing an uncomplimentary Letter to the Editor last Wednesday about the Board. Interestingly, my request was listed in the agenda which means it was submitted prior to Tuesday of last week.

A little common sense would have indicated that my request could not have been a response to a letter in Wednesday’s Charlotte Gazette.

Furthermore, if I had not wanted my request to be transparent I would not have requested it in a letter and had it put on the agenda. Any supervisor could have made a motion and my request could have been passed without notification and without it appearing on the agenda.

The issue is purely local business versus an Alabama conglomerate.

My concern is why Ms. Pettus would assume the board was going to retaliate? Does she actually think name calling and character assassination are the ways to get things done? Does she really believe the Board operates in such a petty manner, or is she blindly supporting the media source that will blindly support her latest “cause de jour?”

I have been dealing with Charlotte County Boards for over 30 years, and the last ten I have been reporting on them. I have seen retaliation in the past but not with the current Board or any current Board members.

Although I sometimes personally disagree with the Board’s decisions, the fact is they were elected by the citizens and should not be dictated to by a vocal minority.   In general, I believe the Board is made up of good men and women who have the best interest of Charlotte County at heart. They are not perfect. One supervisor is known for always changing positions if a handful of vocal citizens call. One is slower in deliberations than the others.  Like all of us, they have different gifts and flaws.

At a recent public hearing one citizen loudly stated, “I don’t understand how we elected the seven dumbest people in Charlotte County to be on the Board.”  If that is true, what does it say about the people who elected them? If they are petty and vindictive, what does that say about the citizens who elected them?

Interestingly not one of the vocal minority has ever run for the board. At least one is not even a resident of Charlotte County. Not one is willing to serve, but they want to control the decisions made by those who are.