Cabell County West Virginia

There appears to be a water crisis in Milton WV. An unauthorized person has apparently tampered with the Milton WV water supply in Milton West Virginia and the health department has shut down the public water supply pending testing and investigation. There is a story on this at WSAZ. http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/11814441.html

Update: The water moratorium has been lifted.

The new Milton West Virginia Message Board and community blog is really doing well. It is a place where those in eastern Cabell county West Virginia can go and discuss community affairs. There is a section of Cabell County concerns for those who live in rural Cabell County.

Milton West Virginia Message Board and Community Blog

The message board software generates an RSS XML feed like a blog but for a group rather than an individual.

Rumor has it that Menis Ketchum is planning a run for the West Virginia supreme court. The same political Rumors have been circulating that Dan OHanlon is also a potential candidate for the West Virginia Supreme Court. What a political struggle that would make. Both are very promininet Cabell County Attorneys. I do not know for certain if one or both will run, but if they do, we can look for a very lively 2008 election. Both Ketchem and OHanlon are quite skilled in debate.

There is a new message board for Milton WV.

http://miltonwv.org

Update: The Milton West Virginia Message Board is really doing well as far as postings from Milton WV Citizens. It is a young community forum but growing by new enrollments daily. If this continues this can be a positive voice for progress in the community. The horrible sewer smell and the recent crime of Murder in Milton WV are amoung the topics being discussed.

There has been an arrest in the murder case in Milton. Here is a link to the regional jail website on the man who has been arrested. Milton islocated in Cabell County West Virginia

http://www.wvrja.com/puboffsearch/offdetail.asp?root=1185482&bid=1300217&row=adsum

Hate Crime in Milton West Virginia

It seems there has been a Hate Crime in Milton West Virginia.

Several weeks ago a group of thugs broke into the home of Ricky Williams of Milton, Cabell County West Virginia and beat him so badly about the head that he later died of his head injuries. Ricky Williams was gay and his attackers were alleged to have been screaming homophobic slurs at the victim while mortally beating him. The orientation of the victim is irrelevant to his right to live. It is alleged that the victim revealed the identity of his attackers to local police and paramedics the night of the beating. Yet no arrests have been made. The Milton police have been totally apathetic to crimes against gay people.

This leads me to ask where is the sheriff of Cabell County in all of this? There are killers running loose in Cabell County West Virginia and the sheriff is cordially invited to get in his car and go to Milton and arrest them. It is pure negligence for him to fail to do so.

There are numerous problems with Milton government besides the blatant apathy of the police department toward bloody murder.

This makes all of Cabell County look extremely bad. Why has not the Cabell County Commission not ordered the Sheriff to investigate in light of the fact that the West Virginia State Constitution states the Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in Cabell County? It seems there has been a wantonly bigoted passive-aggressive breakdown of the rule of law simply because the victim was gay.

The local Huntington West Virginia newspaper has reported that Cabell County West Virginia Magistrate Alvie Qualls has been alleged to have engaged in sexual harassment of a subordinate. I have no idea if Magistrate Alvie Qualls did this or not.  I feel exactly the same way about Cabell County Magistrate Alvie Qualls as I did about Bummy and Hercil Gartin.
Cabell County Magistrate Alvie Qualls time in office, is long past prime, and retirement on the grounds of advanced age is the best course of action in my opinion.
The West Virginia supreme court can remove a West Virginia magistrate for extreme physical inability to do the job if there is no reasonable chance of recovery. However as I understand it, a Cabell County magistrate can be suspended by a chief circuit judge in a West Virginia circuit for incapacity pending an automatic review by the  West Virginia state supreme court.
I have nothing against Cabell County Magistrate Alvie Qualls. He has done his job for many decades. I wish him well in his remaining years. However I do encourage Alvie to make application to Chief Circuit Judge Ohanlon for retirement, or medical sabbatical.
Alvie has earned his retirement several times over.

It came as a major surprise this last week in Cabell County when Richard Jefferson, the former Superintendent of Cabell County Schools and former principal of Barboursville Middle School pleaded guilty in Cabell County Circuit Court to soliciting a minor 14 year old girl for sex over the Internet. His sentencing hearing is pending before the court. Mr Jefferson is retired from the school system and earned a pension before becoming a convicted felon. There have been quite a few people in this area including many associated with the Cabell County Board of Education who have a severe case of shock and disbelief over this situation.

To quote one retired educator, "He pleaded guilty and I still do not believe it. how could this sort of thing happen here? If it were not for my total disbelief I would be outraged."

There are several people within the community who wonder if the retired Cabell County superintendent will be allowed to keep his pension. I am not qualified to address the issues of Mr. Jefferson's pension because I am not a lawyer. I certainly think he deserves some jail time as he has pleaded guilty to a felony charge.

However the issue of pension entitlement by a convicted felon is at variance from state to state and I do not know West Virginia's position on this issue. To remove someones pension for an act committed long after the pension was lawfully secured via the longevity of the completed employment contract seems to me to be a bit odd. West Virginia's state constitution mandates uniform application of laws, and any law that places special duties or good conduct obligations on retirees that are not applicable to the general population is not uniform in application. I am not for Jefferson as I think he deserves to go to jail, however I am pro senior citizen. I have severe constitutional questions about using anyone's pension or retirement fund as a de facto bond for good behavior after retirement. I think this poses an undue burden on senior citizens that is not applicable to the general public. In absence of a statute mandating forfeiture of retirement benefits by convicted felons. I believe that Jefferson will keep his pension while in jail but most likely it will go to his family in a fiduciary capacity. The funds of incarcerated inmates are customarily managed by the spouse or attorney for the inmate.

Stephanie Heck

The Cabell and Wayne County West Virginia Democratic Executive Committee's held a meet the candidates event last night at the Huntington Civic Center. In addition to some of the local career politicians who showed up, there were some new faces as well.

I noticed Judge Darrell Pratt and Delegate Don Perdue were present from Wayne County, and I saw former Wayne County Commissioner Don Bias as well. All are aging gracefully.

One of the most hotly contested primary races in Cabell County is between Bob Bailey and L.D. Egnor for the job of Cabell County Commisioner. Bailey is a former Sheriff and L.D. Egnor is a former circuit judge. Both candidates are well qualified for the job.

Bob Bailey has good social skills and no shortage of buddies, however L.D. Egnor being a career attorney and a former circuit Judge has an excellent legal mind and an understanding of the laws that regulate govern the county commission. It is the voters option as to what skill sets they desire on the County Commission.

If you need a leader with an open door policy in the event you need a political favor, Bob Bailey is your man. Bailey is well known for being flexable.

If you desire a leader who runs things by the law, of the law, and for the law. L.D. Egnor is your man. Egnor is well known for making people toe the line as far as the law goes. That cabell county commission race should be quite interesting as the local politics and local news play out between now and election day.

I hear that the Cabell County Sheriff Kim Wolfe is running against Congressman Rahall.

Kim Wolfe is a former Huntington Police Officer, who got himself elected as sheriff as a Republican. Kim Wolfe is the one who used to run the Huntington Police Departments "Horse Patrol" in downtown Huntington in the late eighties and early ninties. The "Horse Patrol" used to hassle the prostitutes in the alleys downtown. I remember that the street people used to call the HPD Horse Patrol officers by a funny nickname. "Hossie the Ho-Hassler". Rahall has a well oiled political machine that will run over Kim Wolfe like a speeding freight train because Rahall has the money to run a congressional campaign and Wolfe does not. I can well imagine that C.A. Adams will not cry when when that happens.

Well it finally happened, the Huntington WV Police Department went on a drug raid yesterday and had to deal with a bunch of Pit Bull Terriers. They shot one Pit Bull Terrier dead and wounded three more Pit Bull Terriers in the course of arresting two drug dealers. (One from Detroit) Good Shootin boys! Congrats to HPD. The question is not why, but when these blasted worthless mutts are going to be outlawed in our state of West Virginia?

Canada, Australia and Italy have a complete prohibition on Pit Bull Terriers. It would please me enormously if these violent dogs were outlawed in total because they are nothing more than a canine weapon that mauls kids and attacks police.

I am surprised that 3 out of 4 pit bulls survived being shot by police. The Huntington Police Carry a 9mm weapon. A 38 S&W or a 1911A .45 ACP takes a Pit Bull down permanently with the first shot. The muscle density of a Pit Bull is much heavier than a human, this renders a 9MM a little light for the job. Perhaps police supervisors could be equipped with 45 pistols in the event of a rabid or malicious dog needs to go bye bye. A 45 is the ideal weapon for a rabid or a muscular attacking dog at close range, and I encourage the police to be properly armed for the job. 45, one shot and you have a deceased dog on your hands. If you shoot a pit bull with a 9mm, you will just provoke him.

Is the Cabell County Commission listening? Remember the little girl Mauled last May by a Pit Bull Terrier? These mutts are very dangerous and bred to kill. Is the Huntington West Virginia city council waiting for a Pit Bull Terrier to chew up a cop? Or another Child? I have been on the warpath about pit bull terriers since the last child was killed.

23 years ago a pit bull terrier went after a child in my presence, the Pit Bull was killed by me. I did not like pit bulls then, and I don't like them now.

Here is a poll asking if pit-bulls should be outlawed in West Virginia

I had a wild experience today. I live in the area of Enslow Park. I sometimes walk up to the gas station to get a bottle of soda. The exercise I get walking takes away some of the calories from the soda. It is a trade off.

The gas station is in close proximity to Cabell Huntington Hospital. I recently got a new digital camera that does video as well as still pics and it has a huge memory chip. I took the cam with me today. I was on a public sidewalk adjacent to the construction area at Cabell Huntington Hospital when I took my camera from my purse and turned it on video, I then took a short panoramic view in a 360 degree rotation of that end of Hal Greer Blvd.

The hospital was in the picture but many other businesses were in the video clip as well.

It was a rotation of that end of Hal Greer Blvd. As I said I was on the sidewalk and not on the hospital property. Immediately as I started filming, one of the rent-a-cop (security guards) from the hospital approaches me and demands to know what I am doing.

At first I thought it was a police officer, however when I saw how fat this guy was, and how dirty his uniform was, I knew it was not a peace officer but a security guard. The guy had a hygiene problem that was noticeable to my nostrils. Real peace officers wear clean uniforms and take a bath on a regular basis.

This guy told me I needed written permission to take pictures of the OUTSIDE of the hospital from a public street. In reality the video clip was of Hal Greer blvd and the hospital was just a small portion of the film.

I was going to use the video clip to experiment with pod casting.

When the security guard first approached me, I pointed the camera downward because I thought this guy was going to try to snatch my camera. I turned the camera downward but left the audio on, because I did not know if this obese loser was going to get crazy on me. There is a lot of public money in the new construction project at CHH. You cannot restrict external photography rights on a public street concerning a publicly funded project.

Medical facilities can restrict photography only INSIDE the facility to protect medical privacy of patients.

Only the military and agencies that keep state and federal secrets can restrict OUTDOOR photography rights.

To say this was an outrageous intimidation was an understatement.

I have an audio video record of all this. The camera kept recording even though it was not pointed directly at the guard except for a brief flash of him. Nothing is illegal about taking pictures on a public street, on a public sidewalk. They had no probable cause to approach me.

A real police officer would have known better as a matter of professionalism.

The security guard apparently thinks the public streets surrounding CHH is Area 51 or something.

I want to ask some of the peace officers and ambulance crews who deal with CHH on a regular basis if they are aware of other incidents of intimidation or bad behavior by the security guards at CHH?

I called a friend of mine who is a retired peace officer and explained what happened, he seems to think this security guard is a loose cannon. I have not decided what if anything I am going to do about this.

Steph

I have just read in the Huntington Paper that Bob Bailey has announced that he engaged in much prayer and thought about going public with the alleged reasons for the incomprehensible firing of Glenn White and arrogantly refusing to give a rational reason for his actions. It makes me wonder if Glenn White would still be on the public payroll if Bob Bailey had prayed and thought BEFORE subjecting Glen White to public humiliation.

Bob Bailey claims that Glenn White was fired for Micro Managing the county finances. Glenn White was fired because he did his job excessively well. He was hired to manage the county accounts on a day to day basis. If Bob Bailey wants people to believe it is legal for the county commission to fire someone for probable cause because they did their job too well....that argument does not have a prayer, and it pegs the BS meter.

Why has prayer even been mentioned in this situation? Bob Bailey is well aware that the state human rights act makes religion irrelevant to the employment rights of County Employees. It appears Bob Bailey is going to do his best to provoke a lawsuit against the Cabell County Commission at the expense to the Cabell County taxpayers.

What happens if Glenn White's lawyer claims that religion played a role in the firing, now that Bob bailey has publicly admitted to the newspaper that prayer played a role in making Bob Bailey reveal the mysterious alleged reason for the firing that Glen White had a right to in the first place ?

I am Amused that Bob Bailey thinks a reference to prayer in the newspaper will get him out of hot water with some of the local clergy who supported Glenn White as character witnesses at the Cabell County Commission Meeting where Glenn White was summarily fired in a publicly degrading manner. The Cabell County Commission should just admit they made a gross error and reinstate Mr. Glenn White with full back pay and compensate him for the profound anguish they have caused him by dragging his name through the mud. That is the moral thing to do. I am convinced that the citizens of Cabell County will grow very old and haggard waiting for the Cabell County Commission to do the right thing and atone for political sins aganst common decency.

It seems the Cabell County Health Department has banned Smoking in restaurants in Cabell County as a public health regulation.

Approximately 30% of the adults in Cabell County smoke. While there may well be a medical benefit to a smoke free environment in Cabell County, the economic impact was never contemplated by the uncompromising medical bureaucrats in the health department. Nobody denies that smoke free environments are healthy for the individual. What is healthy for the individual may not be healthy for the economy. Citizens cannot legally smoke tobacco in Cabell County Restaurants according to the heath departments edict. The same is true in Wayne County West Virginia.

Boyd County Kentucky tolerates and caters to smokers. Boyd County Kentucky allows restaurant owners to establish policy for customer behavior on the premises. If only West Virginia business owners had that much freedom? That is exactly my point.....business owners have a right to control customer behavior in their place of business in Kentucky, but not in West Virginia. "Economic Freedom" means the RIGHT to run ones business as one sees fit with minimum government intervention.

In economic terms, tolerance is a value added adjunctive "commodity" that enhances the value of other goods and services rendered. People are willing to pay for tolerance. This is why the City of Las Vegas Nevada tolerates darn near anything and everything... and generates massive tax revenue in the process.

The governments of Ohio and West Virginia place intolerant and punitive "sin taxes" on tobacco and subject smokers to nicotine prohibition in public places in return for paying these taxes. History teaches us that punitive taxes don't work....History teaches us that the "Boston Tea Party" was a rebellion against punitive taxes on tea. The City of Las Vegas Nevada has very little "sin taxes" because the sinners have lots of spendable money and the city wants to keep the high roller sinners happy and the city coffers full.

The merchants in Boyd County Kentucky are smart enough to see smokers as just another segment of the market to be served. West Virginia and Ohio sees smokers as being a public heath hazard to be punitively taxed and sternly regulated. "Smoke Free" is merely a nice term for "nicotine prohibition." Nicotine and alcohol abuse are bad habits and this is admitted. However prohibition as a legal concept has been historically prone to failure when enforced by government edict. It was once unlawful to drink alcohol in a restaurant during the 1920's. Al Capone made a huge bundle when people evaded the law. In this case, the WV law against smokers in public places can be simply evaded with a 20 minute ride in a car. It is human nature to cross borders to do what you please. Every day hundreds of West Virginia people cross the river to go to Boyd County just to buy cigarettes at much cheaper prices than the going rate in West Virginia.

There are numerous tobacco stores in Catlettsburg and Ashland Kentucky that primarily cater to West Virginia and Ohio Customers. Smokers can save about 5-8 dollars per carton of cigarettes in Kentucky because cigarettes are much cheaper in Kentucky than West Virginia. So if a West Virginia Smoker buys three cartons of cigarettes in Boyd County and saves twenty five dollars by not buying cigarettes in West Virginia. That twenty five dollars will buy a very nice meal in the smoking section of a Boyd County restaurant and pay for the gasoline to get there. That twenty five dollars would have gone to the West Virginia treasury if the smoker had stayed in West Virginia to buy the cigarettes. There are many smokers in West Virginia who have not bought cigarettes in West Virginia for twenty years. If a smoker buys 3 cartons of cigarettes in Kentucky, he saves so much money that he can go out to eat in a Boyd County restaurant on the savings. Of course a trip to Boyd County to buy cigarettes is a great time to fill up the car with gas because gasoline prices are cheaper in Kentucky than in West Virginia due to the presence of a huge oil refinery there. You will save about 3 dollars on a tank of gas. Smokers may be addicted to nicotine, but they are not dumb in matters of economics.

By imposing a blanket ban on smoking in restaurants and other public places, the Cabell County Health Department has made the restaurant owners in Boyd County Kentucky 15 miles away enormously happy with all those new customers. Boyd County Kentucky still allows smoking in restaurants in segregated areas. As a result about thirty percent of the people in Huntington and Cabell County would rather go to Ashland to eat out, than stay in Cabell County to patronize the smoker intolerant eating establishments in Cabell County. As a direct result.. the cash registers are "smoking" in Boyd County restaurants.

The smokers in Cabell County West Virginia have been driving to Catlettsburg Kentucky to buy cheaper cigarettes for many years. It is a stupid person who thinks they will not drive fifteen or twenty miles to legally smoke where they want to. Much in the same fashion that makes people drive to the Huntington Mall to get away from the blasted parking meters in downtown Huntington.

If the Cabell County Heath Department does not want smokers in Cabell County restaurants, Boyd County welcomes the business with open arms. The smoking section of every restaurant in Boyd County is full of West Virginia residents that merely want to have a cigarette with their coffee after eating a big meal without the fear of getting fined or jailed by some tyrannical heath inspector who wants to treat them like criminals.

West Virginians and Ohio Residents have traditionally resisted government regulation of their BAD habits, as well as their good ones. People are willing to go all the way to Las Vegas to drink and gamble in a casino because Las Vegas tolerates their bad habits. It is a blooming fool who thinks people will not take a twenty minute drive to a jurisdiction that tolerates their nicotine habit. The only people who are being harmed by this are West Virginia restaurant owners who are forced to play the role of "nicotine cops". It would not surprise me if the Cabell County Heath Department gets a letter of profound gratitude from the Boyd County Chamber of Commerce to thank them for keeping the cash registers "smoking" in Boyd County. It seems Boyd County has made a cottage industry of profiteering from the regulatory stupidity of government entities in West Virginia. At least someone is making money. I regret that West Virginia seems to be very determined to tax, prohibit, and regulate itself to death. Perhaps the Cabell Health Department can provide transportation for local business owners to go visit their former customers in Ashland.

All this smoking business has generated enough tax revenue to provide Ashland with some new police cruisers for their well equipped, well paid police department. The City of Huntington cannot afford that. Wonder Why? If a government promotes commerce and lots of it, taxes will take care of themselves. The Cabell County Heath Department is very popular among Ashland restaurant owners who have benefited from their anti smoking action. I have never witnessed any economic endeavor so profoundly successful that a determined bureaucrat could not undermine it.

You would think that some Boyd County residents who do not smoke would come to Cabell County to eat out, but this is not the case because there are a number of smoke free establishments in Kentucky to meet their needs.

History teaches us that the prudish United States prohibition on alcohol in the 1920's made billions for Canadian breweries and distilleries and the Canadians were profoundly pleased and grateful for this economic blessing. Billions went across the border to Canada during the alcohol prohibition era. We are seeing now is the same thing happening on a smaller scale in Cabell and Wayne County losing business to Boyd County because West Virginia and Ohio have a hostile attitude toward smokers and passive-aggressive defiance of government regulation is an integral aspect of the sociology of appalachian culture.

The Cabell County Heath department is giving smokers hell, knowing fully well that paradise for nicotine addicts is only fifteen miles up the road. Not real smart. Government regulatory authority is best used to enhance the local business climate, not chase business off to the next county over the state line. The arrogant Cabell County Heath Department set out to allegedly protect the public heath and harmed the local business climate by assuming local smokers were too dumb to take their business and money elsewhere. The Cabell County Heath Department assumes that smokers are too dumb to drive a car to Ashland. The Cabell County Heath department cannot comprehend that economics is all about consumer choices, not prohibitive government mandates. Economics and public health issues are divorced from each other. The fact is Smokers are free to smoke in one county and not in the other. If you were a smoker, where would you go? Would you spend your money in a county that treated you badly?

There are some that say let the smokers go to Boyd County.....good riddance. None of them are Cabell County restaurant owners.

Stephanie Heck

Huntington Cabell County West Virginia

It seems the Cabell County Commission is at it again. I wish I lived in a county where leaders cooperated with each other instead of wasting enormous amounts of energy and tax dollars on obnoxious hillbilly political feuds and viperous vendetta's against each other. The perpetual and perennial political mess known as the Cabell County Courthouse, seems to be practicing the habitual political factional egotism as the status quo. The Cabell County Courthouse is analogous to a "political animal" in its own right. The Cabell County Commission has bi-monthly political upheavals/meetings where political ego's run amok to the point that it constitutes the latest chapter of a pathological political soap opera called "As your Stomach Turns".

It is my understanding that the " County Manager " Glenn White has been fired by the Cabell County Commission from his position by the Cabell County Commission... without even being offered a credible ruse or reason for the summary termination. I do not know Glenn White and have absolutely no idea if he was a good or bad employee. I am in no position to judge Glenn White's merits or demerits and therefore I have no position on his work performance.

What I do know is that the Cabell County Commission can legally fire an employee for any lawful or legally valid reason. There are some firings that are not legal such as those motivated by racism or sexism or political affiliation. This is precisely why ethical government entities ALWAYS document (as a customary practice) a rational and legal reason for a summary termination of a public employees job. This is intended to prevent the public from perceiving that people are arbitrarily fired for illegal and irrational reasons. Documentation upholds the integrity of the office, not just the holder of the office. Documentation of sound reasons for employment termination undermines the appearance of malicious political shenanigans.

In light of the fact that absolutely no reason was given or offered, there is no rational reason to think that any credible legal reason existed to justify the public humiliation and termination that Glenn White was subjected to. There is no reason to believe the termination was anything but arbitrary, and the Cabell County Commission could have very well offered a credible reason or an incredible ruse for its conduct but refused to do so either to Mr. White or the voting public.

It would have been perfectly legal for the Cabell County Commission to claim that the position held by Glenn White was being eliminated and money did not exist to continue paying Glenn White to continue. This would have in effect terminated Mr. White's employment, without harming his potential to find another job to support his family. That is a civilized and ethical way to fire someone. Nobody has ever accused the Cabell County Commission of being civilized or ethical.

Glenn White may well be a good or bad employee, I do not know. I do know Glen White is a human being and a provider for his family who has been subjected to public humiliation by being publicly fired for no particular reason on what appears to be an arbitrary political whim.

The reason I am concerned is very simple: Arbitrary and or capricious firings can result in serious lawsuits against the Cabell County Commission that will be very costly to the Cabell County taxpayers budget. What happens if Glenn White's lawyer claims he was arbitrarily fired because of his political beliefs or actions? What happens if Glen Whites lawyer claims his clients civil rights were violated? The Cabell County Commission failed to document any credible reason to the contrary. How much money is that potential federal lawsuit going to cost the Cabell County VOTERS?

The Cabell County Commission needs to justify its actions not only to the employees that it fires on a political whim, but it needs to document its actions to the VOTERS of Cabell County. Remember the voters have a right to a well documented record as to the conduct of elected public officials. The voting citizens of Cabell County have a right to know WHY Glenn White was fired and that public right exceeds the rights of any individual. Nobody ever accused the County Commission of being sensitive to the needs of the voters. If Glenn White were possibly guilty of some conduct that made him worthy of termination, it was grossly negligent of the Cabell County Commission to fail to document the alleged misconduct to edify the voting public as to just what sort of reasoning motivated the conduct of the Cabell County Commission. It is a matter of cause and effect logic, citizens have a right to know the cause and the reasons for government action as a means of effecting good government at the ballot box. Citizens need government actions well documented so that they can make informed decisions as to who to vote for... or vote against.

Due to the fact that no reason was given for the termination, I see no reason why Glenn White will not sue the Cabell County Commission. I regret that the taxpayer money that went to pay Glenn White will most probably go to a bunch of litigation lawyers now. For the Cabell County Commission to summarily fire someone, and deny a reason for the action is not only mean spirited, but it is despotic and pretty cowardly as well.

If a 16 year old fry cook at McDonald's has a right to a written reason for termination, I feel that mature County Employee's should have the same right. State employees have a right to a written reason for termination, are County employees to be denied the same protection? It is not so much a matter of law as it is a matter of human decency. There seems to be a factional political blowup in the Cabell County Courthouse about once a month and somebody gets crucified by the Cabell County "Sanhedrin" every time it happens.

http://sheck.com/forums/

Cabell County Political Commentary:

It is my understanding that the Cabell County Assessors Office is publicly encouraging Cabell County Citizens to turn in their neighbors for having cars with out of state tags, who allegedly evade personal property taxes on cars by registering the cars out of state.

Most of the old junker cars with out of state tags in Cabell County are worth no more than 500 dollars so the personal property taxes are not the real issue. The issue is that due to poverty, some people cannot afford to comply with the state of West Virginia's mandatory insurance requirements. Ohio does not require proof of insurance to register and title a car. Consequently the offense is one of poverty, people cannot afford car insurance, and thus they cross the river to register the car in Lawrance County Ohio. Personal Property Tax evasion is not such an issue as insurance evasion in economic reality. It is regrettable that many in West Virginia struggle to survive on minimum wage. Enforcement of the law needs to be tempered with compassion for those in poverty.

The Cabell County Assessors Office is headed by Ottie Adkins who was the Chief of Police in Huntington during the 1970's, and the Former Sheriff. The job of the Cabell County Assessors Office is to assess and collect taxes. Not cultivate a community of busybody self righteous snitches with a grudge against thier neighbor. Law enforcement is the sheriff's job. It appears that Ottie is having nostalgia for his old job.

Citizens have a duty to report serious crimes and felonious acts, however government should not encourage its citizens to snitch on each other for failing to pay a ten dollar tax bill, on a 300.00 dollar old junker of a car. I can understand cultivating snitches in a jail or prison environment, where the average resident is a criminal, however that just does not cut it when dealing with the honest people of the public at large. American goverment is predicated on the unity of the majority weal, pitting citizens against each other as tattletales is not an admirable quality in a leader. If the public is asked to snitch on their neighbors over petty things, they will become desensitized and apathetic when police agencies ask for legitimate information on serious crime.

We live in an era where people value their privacy. It is bad enough that the citizens of Cabell County fear terrorists and drug crazed criminals without fearing being turned in for something PETTY by each other.

It would please me to see Ottie Adkins leave the solicitation of informants to the narcotics task force of the Cabell County Sheriff's Department. Ottie Adkins appears to be nostalgic for his old job as sheriff, and it undermines his credibility in his current one. Ottie Adkins wants the people of Cabell County to "Fink on thy Neighbor" rather than "Love thy Neighbor". Thos who believe in "Love thy Neighbor" may well crucify those who revise and contradict their philosophy in the next election.

Stephanie Heck
Cabell County
West Virginia

Cabell County needs Metro Government badly, When I was a child thirty years ago, Lexington Ky was just a wee bit bigger than Huntington. However, the Lexington and Fayette County government merged into a metro government and the elimination of redundant service resulted in such a de facto tax break for the citizens that there was enough money left over for job development, and Lexington grew like Wildfire.

Under a metro type government in Cabell County the residents of Ona and Milton would have an equal right to services with residents of Huntington.

There goes the blasted municpal parking meters down the drain. Barboursville would no longer be able to run a speed trap on U.S. 60.  Culloden and Milton residents could have lower insurance bills due to better fire and ambulance services. This in theory would result in political autonomy for the citizens of Westmoreland in the Wayne county section of Huntington but the legislature could be petitioned to change that

If Cabell County had metro government, all municipal police would be brought under the authority of the sherriff as deputies and an expanded Cabell County Commission would take the place of the city council in political authority. The state constitution mandates that the sherriff is the chief law enforcement officer in each county. There is really no need for a chief of police in a municipality as the state constitution mandates that position to the sherriff in a county wide status.

All fire department and ambulance services within Cabell County would be brought under the authority of the Cabell County Commission and subject to equal funding so that those who live in the rural regions of Cabell County would receive equal service with those who live in the cities. Is tha not what good Cabell County government is all about, equality for all citizens under the rule of law? It is high time for Cabell County West Virginia to enter the 21th century.
The citizens deserve better.

Stephanie Heck
Cabell County Huntington West Virginia