Excellent article in the 1/11/07 WPDQ. Look for it
here, but hurry. Like all of their articles, it disappears rapidly from the online edition and isn't really recoverable.
It really shows the true colors of some of our elected officials.
Thayer Councilman Bob Grimes said he is “getting tired” of hearing rumors
around town that the city’s electric department supervisor, Gary Barton, is
getting extra money for administering grants.
He says that is not so, that Barton does a lot of work “on his own time” to
help the city get grants. The councilman would like Barton to continue working
on grants, but only if “people would shut up and leave him alone.”
If you want to be left alone, Bob, why are you in public office? Do you think aldermen shouldn't receive input from their constituents? When people find out you want to be left alone, Bob, I'm sure that can be arranged. On election day.
Grimes said Barton oversees most of the city’s grants and “people around town are stabbing him in the back,” adding Barton should no longer carry the responsibility if his work is not appreciated.
“That shows what kind of people we have (in Thayer),” [Thayer Mayor Allen] Deckard said, adding later he was not referring to everyone in town.
Then to whom was he referring? "What kind of people?" You mean, the kind that attempts to hold it's government accountable?
It's a unique re-election strategy; I'll give him that. Insult the people who will be voting for or against you.
Hey, I said "unique," not "smart."
The following excerpt demonstrates Deckard's bizarre position that people from Thayer should not be talking to their state representative:
Deckard asked Grimes to name who had been talking about Barton. Without naming anyone, Grimes turned to audience member Joe Barbee, asking him why he had called “Dethrow,” referring to 153rd District State Representative Mike Dethrow (R-Alton). Dethrow’s district includes Oregon, Butler, Carter, Ripley and Wayne Counties.
Barbee said it is a free country and he can call whomever he wishes, adding he had wanted information on city grants and administrative fees. Deckard told Barbee that information is available at city hall and he should have called that office instead of Dethrow.
Wednesday, Barbee phoned The Quill to say he did not call city hall because he has gone there in the past for information on issues and received no help. He called Dethrow with questions about administrative fees associated with grants, and did not mention Barton’s name, he added.
1. It is none of the mayor's business who a citizen talks to.
2. If Barbee believes that city hall is doing this, why would he expect city hall to admit to it?
3. City hall has a history of giving people deceptive information. For instance, telling people who want to sign up to run for a city office that they must supply a financial statement, when they don't have to.
In short, we can't trust the mayor or his flunkies to tell the truth, so why would we ask them ANYTHING?
Allison Wilson does a good job in this article, but she left out a very important detail about that exchange -- the mayor hurling accusation of slander at Joe Barbee, yet providing no evidence that Barbee had done so.
And one more thing:
[Alderman Stever] Alford asked if the South Central Ozarks Council of Governments (SCOCOG) in Pomona, which does grant writing, could do the work Barton is now doing.
Deckard said SCOCOG could write grants at no charge, but once the grant is awarded, it requires a fee to oversee the project.
Deckard asked the council its wishes. Grimes said he would like Barton to continue, but not under criticism by the community.
Shouldn't this be done by the mayor? If not, what are we paying him for? What exactly does he do, other than sign proclamations about Ronald McDonald House and throw tantrums at city council meetings?
# posted by The Last American @ 8:46 AM
