Citizens of Americus and Sumter County, I attended the City Council meeting last night. There were only a relative handful of citizens there. These are my notes: The meeting occurred in the nursing lecture hall on GSW campus. Armed police officers stopped citizens from sitting on the first two rows. They were polite in carrying out their duties, but their intent was clear. Before the meeting started, Dr. Shirley Reese Green came to speak with me, as kind as always, and told me to give her time to get it right -- she was still trying to learn as this was only her first year. I wasnt exactly sure what she was talking about, but I agree with her that there is always a learning curve to any job (if thats what she was saying). When the citizen speak issue was addressed by Jimmy Skipper, Mr. Skipper read something to the council that sounded completely different from what I had heard at the city council meeting that occurred (also in the nursing lecture hall) after the city had announced its intentions. While this overview of the ordinance did reference the cessation of citizen speech rights and outline the procedure by which a citizen could gain the right to address its council (write in, and have three council people vote to allow you to speak), Mr. Skipper also discussed something that sounded like five citizens would now be allowed to speak on any topic, even those topics on the agenda, and without having to give a 72-hour notice. Mr. Skipper is a soft spoken man, and he was turned towards the council, so I could only make out every third or fourth word. I wish I could provide more clarity as to what it was he was saying to council, but council then immediately voted it in. Nelson Brown refused to advance the motion, and so Dr. Shirley Reese Green made the motion. Lou Chase seconded the motion, and then Carla, Lou, and Shirley voted for the motion. Nelson and Juanita voted against it. Walton Grant was not present. Carla did not meet my eyes before or after the vote. After the vote was taken, I tried to leave the auditorium. I was too saddened by our leaders behaviors to want to stay and listen to any more. On my way out, Craig Walker stopped me and politely asked me to stay and listen to his address to the council, which was about to happen. As I returned to my seat, Nelson Brown was addressing the audience, explaining, as he always does, the importance of citizen involvement, the importance of citizens attending the meeting, and he also stated that even though this motion had passed, he thought it too onerous. He believed that even if the council wanted to put a layer of protection between the citizens and the council, the rule should be that any council person should be able to vote to have a citizen speak - - it should not take three councilpersons to do so. What I noticed more than Mr. Browns speech as I returned to my seat was the absolutely rude and disinterested yawn that Lou Chase engaged in. I remember in third grade, I had a teacher named Mrs. Haven. I made the mistake of yawning during a students presentation to class. I was truly tired and meant no disrespect, but I failed to cover my mouth during the yawn. Shocked at my treatment of the speaking student, Mrs. Haven took me to task over my rudeness, coming just shy of doling out a paddling. She explained that polite people cover their yawns when others are speaking so as not to appear purposefully disinterested. At least Carla and Dr. Reese had the decency to listen respectfully as Mr. Brown spoke. I wonder, does Lou Chase teach this type of indifference and disrespect to her students? Would she tolerate such behavior at school? (I was doubly troubled by this because the talk at our reception for the supporters of GSW Chamber Orchestra was that Lou is interested in running for Mayor, because Mayor Blount will not run again.) When Craig Walker spoke, he first stated that prior to last weeks meeting, he had personally informed Mayor Blount that there would be a lot of people coming and asked to have the meeting in a larger room to accommodate the crowd, to which request Mayor Blount responded: No. Craig pointed out that the Mayor told the paper that he had no idea that there would be that many people come. Craig said the Mayor was lying about that. Craig then said a few things that almost sounded like an apology to the rest of the citizens that because of his behavior, the rest of us are being cut off from our government. Then, as Craig got more and more intense, he stated a couple of things about the council treating blacks like they were on the old plantation, and he explained that that was why he said many of the things he had said in the past. Then, Margo Mitchell spoke. If youve never met Margo, youve missed out on a lively person. Lets just say that she is passionate when she speaks! She pulled out the Bible and began quoting certain verses about evil leaders who do evil things - - appropriate quotes for the circumstances. She pointed to Dr. Reese, named her, and then quoted a bible verse for her. Then she pointed to Carla and said: Carla, you are always talking about going to church and reading the bible, well maybe you should read this verse: And she read something on point. Then she pointed at Lou and said, and as for you, Lou, you are the worst one up there. You spoke to me when you were campaigning. You came up to me and introduced yourself and actually spoke to me. Since the day you were elected, you have not spoken to me one time. And then she read a verse for Lou. Carla and Shirley listened to Margo with calm respect and a little sheepishness. Lou, of course, had a look of complete disinterest on her face. Then, Tom Overton of the ATR spoke about the importance of free speech and the right of citizens to address their leaders. He began his speech by stating that he was a proud veteran, and he referenced the fact that Thomas Holloway was wearing his veterans hat as well. He infused in his speech the old saying: I may not agree with what you are saying, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Thank you, Tom, for being as outspoken against tyrannical behavior as you are. I am happy that you are not in charge of the paper, and I hope that under your tutelage, the paper will once again become a champion of the people and a conveyor of true accounting of the news. After that, I left. Good job, City council. Good job.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:04:36 +0000
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