Showing posts with label Drain The Swamp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drain The Swamp. Show all posts

Friday, October 18, 2019

Traitors' Quest To Divide And Conquer The USA From Within

America looks on with wide eyes and disbelief. Two of their favorite news broadcasting stations are being exposed as deceivers. For some, that doesn't bother them at all. In fact, their hunger pangs are more important.... but the American with values and morals is heartbroken, disgusted and angry. The days of Walter Cronkite... where, "we report, you decide" is no longer. It's a sad day for Americans on both sides of the aisle. Then the scope turns toward our blessed White House built by Americans who loved this country and everything it stood for. We gasp as we see the accusations of Adam Schiff and for a brief moment, we found ourselves questioning our President. At least until he tosses out his transcript of what was said. Sending the leftists reeling. How could he do that? The President has now opened the eyes to the American people .... that he suspected our previous vice president was involved in something dirty after openly saying he had a Ukrainian lawyer fired and coincidentally, his son is making money he isn’t qualified to make. Another blow to the left. This wasn’t supposed to happen like this! So, the Speaker of the house demands an unorthodox private inquiry which excluded the right from even sitting in on it. Never mind that her son also has ties to another large company in the Ukraine. The president must be stopped regardless of what the American people want.


Then comes the opportunity! The President made a decision that puts the Kurds at risk. A war we never should have become a part of yet lost our soldiers to... a cause that has never had purpose. Once again, behind his back they proceed to hinder his decisions. Since when did we scrutinize any other president as we have President Trump who won by a landslide through our American way? Wow! Other countries look on and wonder if America is not quite what it once was. The house is screaming ISIS will begin again and come terrorize our country! But, I ask ..... I must since no one else will. If you are so terrified of ISIS returning why do you want our borders open? Didn't the Speaker say "all are welcome?" Hasn't that been her fight? Oh, she isn't scared. Not the smiling Cheshire cat you saw standing behind Chuck Schumer after a walk out from her meeting. Yes, the one who walked out of a meeting she created but couldn't stand the heat. Couldn't tolerate someone who was exposing her and her cronies for their illegal and unethical behavior. I must say she hardly looked like a woman who had been offended but perhaps a manipulator who thought she had "something else on him now". Oh, did I mention the meeting went on uneventful after the two stooges excused themselves?


We are at a crossroad people; America is under attack by its very own. A house divided cannot stand. And the house has been divided since they lost control. Impeachment has been the only thing they have spent your hard-earned tax money on. They don't care how hard you worked for it; they'll spend it on the vendetta they have against the man who won't be their puppet. The man who has found a way to get his messages past the corruption in the news forum. As another is exposed for presenting terrifying war scenes in Syria, which were actually a range in Kentucky. Now, having three very apparently deceptive news stations. Exactly why the President has bypassed them and reached the American people through social media. How dare he? Their next move, stop the Presidents posts. Tell social media this must be stopped immediately. Are you surprised? You now have videos and paper trails exposing a deceptive media. And they want to censor our President from communicating to the American people?


This should horrify every true blooded American in this country.... this is not the American way and we have to put a stop to it. These people work for us we need to remind them of that. We need to stand up for our President. We need to look into OUR RIGHTS and pursue an action to cease what we see happening. We are their employers and they should be reminded of it. If you get a moment, check out Glen Beck on You Tube.... it's the one about a lawyer who was fired. Click Here To Hear The Story I won't try to make up your mind. Just listen to it. I think you're smart enough.


As I restlessly close my eyes I pray until sleep consumes me. I pray because it appears our greatest enemies have infiltrated our White House and our elected President is under attack. What a horrible thing to witness as deceptions roll out like it's a common practice. Pray for America...Pray for Our President. Pray without ceasing. Pray for the dangers our vice president will be standing in the midst of. Pray people.....God has been waiting to hear from you. ~ Good night all ~


Written By: Violet Holland
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Thursday, October 25, 2018

Sexual Misconduct Cover Up (What are Tim Kaine and others hiding)

I am somewhat taken aback by the women's rights activists who are deliberately overlooking the fact that their beloved candidates have paid out 17 million in tax payers dollars to hush women who have been sexually harassed or abused by, said politicians. Since when did only one party be worthy of their recognition? Since when did these women victims stop becoming important?

I see so much regression happening in the liberal party that it pains me to know that women are once again being hushed by men, money and power. Where are our feminists who cried in the streets for Dr. Ford? The woman who couldn't remember a detail pertinent to her "ordeal"? Yet they have no empathy or desire to get to the truth on behalf of the great cover up amongst our senators. Then to add insult to injury, they used millions of tax payer dollars to do so!

Are you frustrated that a man by the name of Tim Kaine could share the list of these predators, yet doesn't? Has the thought occurred to you that he "might" be hiding his own name from the public? Let's be real...if your son husband or father were accused of such a deed, they would be arrested, publicly humiliated and face a judge. The only "plea deal" would be an admission of guilt and a rejection by society with a tag over their head for the rest of their lives. Yet, we are PAYING sexual predators to remain in office and allow their power to only victimize more women and/or men. Yes, I believe we might even see that there are men victims as well.

Think about it, wasn't Anthony Weiner a close ally of the Clintons who are also closely tied to Tim Kaine? Hmmm....apples don't fall too far from their tree and we all know only too well Monica Lewinski has paid dearly for having been violated by Bill CLinton in the oval office. Yet, Where is his shame? Why doesn't it bother Tim Kaine to be seen with such a sexual predator? Whom I might add his wife ... Hillary’s closest associate is married to one of the most notarized internet child sexual predators of all time. People if we don't stop this craziness that is taking place in our public offices...we are just as responsible as if we did it ourselves! They won't stop unless we stop them...your daughter could be next....your wife...even your mother. Is that when you'll make noise? Is that when it will matter? The fact of the matter is....we must DEMAND to see the list of sexual predators serving the people. We must expose these men and DEMAND pay back from these unprosecuted criminals. We don't want our tax monies bailing these men/ women out of their sexual misconduct. If you vote for a man who refuses to reveal the truth to YOU. You have in fact, helped to fund the hush money for future pay offs.

It's okay to question the behavior of your party if they go against your values and I know you don't want to surrender your values for a party that deliberately keeps it's voter's in the dark. Be wise this coming election day....demand the truth and stop the deception.... we don't want or need anyone in office who would willingly make a woman or man feel inferior by sexually harassing them or deceive the people by not exposing the predators. Ladies....and gentleman, I ask you to consider this matter before voting. Don't allow them to victimize another soul or hush them with YOUR money. You also might want to ask yourselves...how many of these predators would offer up your tax dollars to get you out of a bind discreetly? With that answer you should have the answer you need when stepping up to the polls this November.

Written by Violet Holland

Saturday, March 31, 2018

The Villages of Gloucester Trying to Bilk Gloucester Taxpayers??


On April 3, 2018 the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on changes to the previously approved high-end golf course, residential and commercial development known as The Villages of Gloucester. (Previously submitted under the project name, The Barrens)
The following is an email I sent to the Board of Supervisors. Take a few minutes to send the Board an email asking them to deny The Villages’ proposal. We have provided the Supervisors' email addresses and the link to the public hearing information at the end of this article. 
Kenny Hogge, Sr.

Greetings Board Members,

The proffer statement contained in The Villages of Gloucester’s proposal is lacking to say the least. Once again, we have a developer who boldly expects Gloucester taxpayers and utility customers to foot the bill for future infrastructure and services upgrades that will be a direct result of the proposed development. This road has already been traveled two times in the past.
When The Villages of Gloucester was first proposed it was called The Barrens.  That proposal was denied by the sitting board of that time for, among other reasons, not offering reasonable proffers to offset impacts on the community. One such example was the developers offer to build a 350,000 water tower instead of a one million gallon tower.  (A one million gallon tower that would be turned over to Utilities was later approved when the proposal was resubmitted under the new name.) The developers initial offer to build the smaller tower would have been acceptable if Utilities only provided metered water to the tower and the development retained possession of the tower and associated distribution systems within the development. That would mean the development would have to retrofit their tower to be compatible with Gloucester’s distribution system; not Gloucester retrofitting our system to be compatible with the development. They would also maintain, repair and replace their tower and distribution system, read meters and bill and accept payments for water usage within the development. Under such a scenario there would be little to no impact on Gloucester’s public water system. 
Unfortunately, the current proffer statement eliminates the construction of a water tower all together. A piece of land that must be claimed by the County within five years is all that is offered; therefore, when buildout of The Villages reaches a certain point, the burden of funding the construction of a new tower and associated piping will fall completely on Utilities’ water customers and Gloucester’s taxpayers, while the developer walks away with a fat profit. That is not how free enterprise is supposed to work.
There are several other items contained, or not contained, in the new proffer statement that will result in future costly impacts on Gloucester taxpayers. The developer claims the project will be cost prohibitive if the proffers contained in the previously approved proffer statement are required to gain approval of their current submissions. Then maybe Gloucester is not the right place for such a development or the developer is not the right fit for Gloucester. 
Just because the developer’s project did not come to fruition during the time since it was initially approved is no excuse for not providing reasonable proffers in their current proposals; nor is it a valid excuse for the developer to expect Gloucester taxpayers and utility customers to enhance their profit margin or reduce their losses, whichever may apply.
The Villages proposal should not be accepted as being reasonable on numerous levels. Please deny the proposal.
Kenneth E. Hogge, Sr.
Gloucester Point

Chris Hutson              chutson@gloucesterva.info 
Mike Winebarger       mwinebarger@gloucesterva.info  
Andy James               ajames@gloucesterva.info 
Robert Orth                rorth@gloucesterva.info  
Ashley Chriscoe        achriscoe@gloucesterva.info
Kevin Smith               ksmith@gloucesterva.info
Phillip Bazzani           pbazzani@gloucesterva.info  




Thursday, July 20, 2017

Gloucester County Supervisor’s Trees Destroyed By Tree Trimmers

I never cease to be amazed at the things that happen in this county. The following entry is contained in the Gloucester County, Virginia Utilities Department June report:

“Resolved the complaint from adjacent property owner that tree removal for replacement of Pump Station #12 with Smith & Loveless package station  encroached on their property by requiring the contractor plant replacement trees to satisfy property owner;”

I’ll be damned!! After obtaining way more land than needed, in what I and others consider nothing short of a public corruption property deal, they encroach upon the adjacent property owner’s land to make room to install a new sewer pump system.

As many of you may know; I served on the Gloucester County Public Utilities Advisory Committee for a couple of years or so. I resigned from the committee in 2016 after the committee and the Board of Supervisors approved what I and others strongly believe was a public corruption land deal between Gloucester resident Charles Kerns, Jr. and the Utilities Department. We consider the deal to be public corruption primarly because it appears evident the Gloucester County tax assessor or another person or persons with access, lowered the assessed value of Utilities Department properties and increased the assessed value of Mr. Kern’s property. Click here to read the Gloucester County public corruption land deal story: http://www.gloucestercounty-va.com/2017/03/gloucester-county-va-real-estate-tax_50.html

At-Large Supervisor John Meyer, who is also the owner of the destroyed trees, had this to say in response to an email I sent to the Board of Supervisors about the tree debacle.
.
“No less amazed than I.  The professional tree service 1) did not know where the property line was and 2) allowed the large trees they were cutting to fall across the property line, wiping out a half-dozen smaller trees in the process.
The County did hold the tree-service responsible and they did replace the trees (six-footers) at no additional cost to the County.
Next time you head down Belroi, take a look at the way Dominion Power mangled the trees between the 1st entrance to Courthouse Square and the Summerville Apartments.  Somebody on their payroll doesn’t like trees!
John”

Proper communication with the tree company and supervision of the trimming by the Utilities Department would have likely prevented the destruction of Mr. Meyer’s trees. As for Mr. Meyer’s complaint about the appearance of trees on Belroi Rd; well I guess now that it has happened on the road to his estate he can see something that has been the norm for decades. First, it is far cheaper to trim trees than to completely remove them. Second, if Dominion hated trees as Mr. Meyer suggests, they would find a way to cut all of them down instead of just trimming them. Maybe the Board of Supervisors can drum up another corrupt crony capitalism deal to get the power lines buried down Belroi Rd. Then the trees Dominion Power chopped up can grow out again, so VDOT can come along and chop them up again. Isn’t it just awful living in an aesthetically imperfect world? But then again; in a free society no individual or class of individuals has the right to determine what should or should not be considered visually appealing to other people; not even the elected class.   

Kenny Hogge, Sr.
Gloucester Point
Kennysr61@gmail.com

Crony Capitalism
BusinessDictionary.com defines crony capitalism as; an economy that is nominally free-market, but allows for preferential regulation and other favorable government intervention based on personal relationships. In such a system, the false appearance of "pure" capitalism is publicly maintained to preserve the exclusive influence of well-connected individuals.
Sound familiar??

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Gloucester County Employee Resigns After Exposure To Carbon Monoxide

When I served on the Gloucester County Public Utilities Advisory Committee, one of the areas I found to be unacceptable was our Utilities Department’s workplace safety program, or literal lack thereof. Insuring that our employees are properly trained on workplace safety and making sure they religiously follow applicable rules, regulations and procedures established to protect their health and life should always be at the top of operational priorities. This is especially true for operations involving confined spaces in sewer pump stations and manholes due to the extremely high probability that they contain at least one of numerous deadly gases.

The Gloucester Department of Public Utilities' May report contains the following entry:

“filed incident report for Mr. Jackson’s exposure to elevated CO levels in the wet well of PS #11 on May 5th;”

After reading the entry I sent an email containing my concerns to the Board of Supervisors, the County Administrator and the Director of Utilities which resulted in an email conversation with the director. After that conversation I continue to believe there is still need for improvement and believe you will too after reading the email conversation that can be found below. Mr. Jackson resigned from the Utilities Department a few weeks after the incident.

Kenny Hogge, Sr.
Gloucester Point
Kennysr61@gmail.com

Email Conversation   
From: Kenny  
Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2017 12:49 PM
To: Board of Supervisors <BOS@gloucesterva.info>; Fedors, Brent <bfedors@gloucesterva.info>; Dawson, James C. <jdawson@gloucesterva.info>
Subject: Carbon Monoxide Exposure Incident
 
Greetings,
 
The May 2017 Utility Department monthly report contains the following comment: filed incident report for Mr. Jackson’s exposure to elevated CO levels in the wet well of PS #11 on May 5th;
 
This is a very concerning, dangerous and preventable incident. Was air quality testing performed before and during Mr. Jackson’s entry into the wet well? Was ventilation performed before and during his entry? Was Mr. Jackson connected to an appropriate retrieval system? What was the source of the carbon monoxide?
 
Respectfully,
Kenneth E. Hogge, Sr.

From: "Dawson, James C." <jdawson@gloucesterva.info>
To: Kenny; Board of Supervisors <BOS@gloucesterva.info>; "Fedors, Brent" <bfedors@gloucesterva.info
Cc: "Curry, Garrey, Jr." <GCurry@gloucesterva.info>
Sent: Wednesday, July 5, 2017 1:26 PM
Subject: RE: Carbon Monoxide Exposure Incident

Mr. Hogge,
 
Thank you for your inquiry.
 
Air quality in the wet well was sampled before entry in compliance with OSHA regulations and the results are documented on the Confined Space Entry Permit for that space entry. The wet well vent fan was operating and Mr. Jackson was wearing a properly calibrated “sniffer” while he was working in the wet well. Mr. Jackson was connected to a retrieval system.
 
Mr. Jackson was pulling rags off the bar screen when the “sniffer” he was wearing alarmed for carbon monoxide (CO). He immediately began to exit the wet well. The alarm cleared before he could exit the wet well but he waited a few minutes to see if the alarm returned before resuming his pulling rags.
 
There were no known sources of CO in operation while Mr. Jackson was working in the wet well so we believe the CO came from the accumulation of rags on the bar screen which were last pulled on May 1st.
 
Mr. Jackson reported some discomfort shortly after completing the work at PS #11 on May 5th so we filed the incident report and offered to send him to a doctor on our Workers Compensation Panel of Physicians.
 
James C. Dawson, P.E.
Director, Dept. of Public Utilities

On Jul 7, 2017, at 9:02 PM, Kenny wrote:
Chris,
 
Thank you for the timely and detailed response. It is refreshing to hear that at least some OSHA confined space entry procedures are being practiced. However, your response seems to suggest Mr. Jackson may not have fully exited the wet well once the alarm sounded and that other OSHA requirements for an atmospheric alarm during an entry may not have been followed.  
 
According to OSHA regulations; if a hazardous atmosphere is detected during a confined space entry, all employees are supposed to leave the space immediately, the space is supposed to be evaluated to determine how the hazardous atmosphere developed and measures are supposed to be implemented to protect employees from the hazardous atmosphere before anyone is permitted to reenter the space.
 
Nothing in OSHA confined space requirements or guidance provides any latitude at all for any employee to unilaterally disregard an atmospheric alarm and to ignore prescribed and proven safety measures.
 
Utilization of only an exhaust fan to clear the air in wet wells and manholes is problematic to say the least. When air is drawn out of a confined space, much of the area within the space lacks circulation. Inadequate air circulation severely limits the effective removal of contaminated atmospheres within the space. When using only an exhaust fan, clean air is typically only drawn in at the hatch opening and the lethal pockets and layers of bad air outside of the confined flow path between the hatch and the exhaust fan will be left in the confined space.
 
Forced air blowers providing the proper CFM of clean air through a properly configured duct system are far safer than utilizing only exhaust fans because clean air is being forced into the space. When clean air is forced into the space it creates adequate circulation and dilutes the atmospheres, resulting in harmful gases being expelled more completely and efficiently. Utilizing a blower or combination blower and exhaust fan, instead of just an exhaust fan, will also allow the flow of clean air to be directed to best cover the area in the space where the employee will be working; therefore better protecting the employee.    
 
In your response you made it a point of stating a properly calibrated detector was used. I can’t help but wonder, by its exclusion from your response, if the detector used by Mr. Jackson was bump tested prior to being used that day. As I am sure you know, daily bump testing is not addressed in OSHA confined space entry requirements, but is highly recommended by most if not all reputable detector manufacturers. Taking a few minutes to verify a detector is working the way it is supposed to before beginning to use it each day is a small price to pay to prevent injury or death.  
 
Depending on the model, body worn detectors can certainly have their benefits in certain confined spaces, but based on personal experiences, I recommend against relying solely on body worn detectors to keep employees safe when working in active wet wells and manholes. I also recommend increased training for at least those employees designated to enter, supervise and attend confined spaces.
 
Respectfully,
Kenny Hogge, Sr.

Message body

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Gloucester County Administrator Makes Positive Changes To Audio Recording Policy

Gloucester County Administrator, Brent Fedor’s made what he called, a 180 degree change to his Quality Assurance Audio Recording Policy. We find Mr. Fedors’ changes to be positive and appreciate his willingness to listen to and consider the voice of the people. 

Many of the Supervisors spoke against the revised policy, but they ultimately left the decision up to Mr. Fedors. Maybe they are worried about being recorded when they call, which could certainly happen if the selection process is completely random. A question that was not asked: "Are government issued cell phones subject to quality assurance recording?" If there is going to be a policy, shouldn't it apply across the board? 

We will continue to follow this and will likely submit a Freedom of Information Act request in the future, for documentation that verifies the recordings are being conducted randomly. We will also continue to strongly urge Mr. Fedors to implement body cam use by animal control personnel.

Below you will find the video of Mr. Fedors explaining his new recording policy and the written version of his policy. We would have provided the complete explanation and discussion video, but as has become the norm lately, there were "technical difficulties" that interrupted the Board of Supervisors meeting broadcast and recording. When it seems like the video is frozen and the colored bars appear, hang tight because the discussion will soon follow. We have also provided a link to where you can read more about the history of Mr. Fedors’ policy and other interesting stories. 

Email your comments to Mr. Fedors at:  bfedors@gloucesterva.info

Become and stay engaged in your local government and public school system. America’s future depends on it.

To read more about this and other topics click here:  http://www.gloucestercounty-va.com/

Mr. Fedors' explanation of his new recording policy:


Mr. Fedors' written policy:





Saturday, May 27, 2017

UPDATE: Rumors Turn Into Guilty Plea (Rumors Of Theft In Gloucester County Public School System)

 


Last May we published an update to the story below about “rumors” of theft within the Gloucester County Public School System (GCPS); in which we reported information contained in the May 17, 2018 edition of the Gloucester Mathews Gazette Journal.

According to the Gazette’s local court case information, “Larry Clark Lawson, 56, 668 Fickle Fen Road, Mathews, was indicted on two felony counts of wrongfully and fraudulently use, dispose of, conceal, or embezzle property having a value of $200 or more, belonging to Gloucester County, March23-April 19, 2017”

The property has been reported to be two welders owned by GCPS and the theft appears to have been initially covered up by Mr. Lawson’s supervisor who retired shortly after the indictments.

We have just learned from public records that Larry C. Lawson pleaded guilty to one of two counts of embezzlement on January 4, 2019. The public records indicate the next hearing is set for April 23, 2019 for Presentence Report. Once someone is convicted of a felony in Virginia, the judge will order a Presentence Report. Presentence Reports are prepared by a probation officer and include various family, background and employment information about the defendant. Sentencing should follow soon thereafter.

Unfortunately, it appears Mr. Lawson and his supervisor will continue to receive Virginia retirement pay and benefits. Shouldn’t Mr. Lawson have been fired when the thefts were discovered instead of being told to bring the property back and directed to retire? Shouldn’t he and his supervisor forfeit all pay and benefits and be forever barred from any form of government service? We think so.

We will continue to follow this story and keep you updated. As always, feel free to contact us with instances of public corruption in our local government and public-school system.

Kenny Hogge, Sr.
02/28/2019 


One year ago we published the story below about “rumors” of theft within the Gloucester County Public School System (GCPS). According to the May 17th edition of the Gloucester Mathews Gazette Journal; “Larry Clark Lawson, 56, 668 Fickle Fen Road, Mathews, was indicted on two felony counts of wrongfully and fraudulently use, dispose of, conceal, or embezzle property having a value of $200 or more, belonging to Gloucester County, March23-April 19, 2017”

In the same edition of the Gazette Journal there is an article about the retirement of Mr. Lawson’s supervisor, who according to the “rumors”, told Mr. Lawson to return the property and submit his resignation/retirement. If this part of the rumors is true, shouldn’t the supervisor be indicted also?

We will continue to follow this story and keep you updated.



Rumors Of Theft In Gloucester County Public School System
Several days ago we heard a “rumor” about a welder being stolen from the Gloucester County Public School (GCPS) Bus Garage. According to the “rumor”; someone working for our public school system stole a plasma welder from the bus garage and once the theft became known, the thief was told by administration to bring the welder back, submit their resignation and no charges would be filed. The “rumor” further alleges that the employee has enough time in local government service to retire and the “resignation” has actually turned into retirement for the thief.

That is a very ugly rumor and appears, “if” true, to be another prime example of our laws being applied selectively. If you or I walked into the bus garage and walked out with a screwdriver, law enforcement would be called; we would be arrested and prosecuted. End of Story. The same should happen to this thief if the “rumor” is true and they should forfeit their retirement benefits. Search warrants should also be executed on all of the thief’s properties to make sure they haven’t stolen other property owned by us. 

We sent an email to GCPS Superintendent, Dr. Walter Clemons, asking if he could confirm whether or not the “rumor” is true. Dr. Clemons replied, “I am unable to comment or provide information regarding employee personnel matters.  However, please know that any matter that we discover or are made aware of involving employee misconduct is investigated by our Department of Human Resources and reviewed by our school board with actions taken as deemed appropriate.  We also notify law enforcement on certain matters when necessary.” 

I guess his answer speaks for itself; they are not going to tell us anything under the cloak of employee privacy. I wonder what determines when they, “notify law enforcement on certain matters when necessary.” Do you think you or I would be investigated by human resources and our case reviewed by the school board before they notified law enforcement? I don’t think so. If this “rumor” is true and the thief remains uncharged and is not prosecuted, it will also be another clear example of how disengaged from reality and lawfulness the administrators of our public school system and our school board really are.
                                                                                                         
As bad as it sounds, this is not the ugliest “rumor” about our public school system that we have been following. In April 2014 and after considerable research that was ultimately stonewalled by the school system, we sent an email to the School Board in which we addressed a rumor spreading through the community about the theft of gate admission money at school sporting events. We also provided the findings of our research to the school board and offered suggestions to correct each identified shortcoming. It was not received well at all; imagine that.

Our public school system activity funds usually involve almost $1.5 million per year and are not monies from the school system's annual budget. Activity fund money comes from student parking fees, sporting and other event admission fees, club fees, money from fund raising, some scholarships, etc.

We will soon provide everything we know about the activity fund investigation. In the meantime, take a few minutes to share the rumor about the welding machine thief with others in our community and while you’re at it send a quick email to the school board and board of supervisors letting them know we know about the “rumor”. Here are their email addresses.

Board of Supervisors' email address: bos@gloucesterva.info 
School Board email address: SchoolBoard@gc.k12.va.us 

Click here to read more stories about our wonderful Gloucester County government, public school system and other topics: http://www.gloucestercounty-va.com

Friday, May 26, 2017

Gloucester County Administrator Changes Tone In Latest Reply To Citizen

The conversation between Gloucester County Administrator Brent Fedors and Gloucester citizen Chuck Thompson continues and it appears Mr. Fedors has lightened his tone. Below are each party’s latest replies. You be the judge.

If you have an opinion on the administrator’s proposed audio policy, let him or the Board of Supervisors hear it. For your convenience we have provided the email addresses for all of them after the replies. To read other parts of this story and more just click on this link: http://www.gloucestercounty-va.com/

County Administrator's reply:
Mr. Thompson –

While I am sensitive to your concerns, I prefer not to debate your points that seem to twist the spirit of what I was trying to say into something different.  In reading back through the email that I sent to you earlier, perhaps I should have used the word “and” instead of “nor” in the first sentence – I think it would have better communicated what I was trying to say – apologies if my poor choice of words caused any grief. 

My point was that I am not inclined to open an investigation into issues handled by law enforcement or the judicial system for the express purpose of bunking (or debunking) the draft policy (if for no other reason because of my lack of authority to do so).  Further, I did not interpret your initial emails as request to open an investigation, rather as an inquiry on draft future policy (which seemed to me to be the genesis of your concern).  My interpretation seems (to me) to be substantiated by the subject matter of your follow-up meeting request – “a meeting regarding the policy of audio recordings of the public by county employees”. 

With respect to actions of County employees…  If you feel that your personal safety or the safety of your property is in danger, I would encourage you to immediately dial 911.  If you feel that a County employee has committed a crime, I would encourage you to contact the State Police.  If you feel that a County employee has violated a policy, I would ask that you bring that to my attention so that I may deal with it as a personnel matter.

Note that there is currently no policy regulating or disallowing audio recordings by staff.  Addressing this potential gap in accountability is a primary purpose of the proposed policy. 

I understand and have noted your objection to audio recordings by staff, however if you are of a mind to provide constructive feedback on the draft policy as written I would welcome it.  The window for public input to the CA is open through this Thursday to allow time for June 6th meeting packet preparation.

With regards to your meeting request, unfortunately I cannot make the time you suggest on the 30th, however I am open all day (at this point) on the 31st.  If this date will work for you, please let me know after you confirm with Mr. Meyer and Del. Hodges and I will reserve a room.  If not, I will do my best to accommodate schedules to the best of my ability. 

As an alternate, I would suggest that a meeting may not be needed to communicate your perspective and influence the draft policy in development…  If schedules don’t seem to mesh, perhaps direct discussion or communication with your Supervisor and/or Delegate and/or voicing your opinions on the draft policy in the Citizen Comment portion of the June 6th meeting would suffice? 

…just trying to offer some options…

Brent

J. Brent Fedors
County Administrator
Gloucester County, Virginia
6467 Main Street
Gloucester, VA  23061

Mr. Thompson's reply:
Greetings Brent;

  What really concerns me looking over the policy is that there is no time frame from when an audio recording stops to when it must be submitted for archiving.  That is detrimental.  To long of a time lapse is opportunity to alter the original recording.  If an audio recording is done between a county employee and a member of the public, there needs to be a time limit for getting that recording to the county, signed in under penalty of perjury by the county employee by a top level supervisor who will be handling the recording, meta data must be noted for accuracy of the audio recording.  (All computer files have meta data).  

  All audio recorders also produce their own meta data.  If the audio recording is to be used against any member of the public, I would suggest that the county employee has only 30 minutes to get the audio onto a county storage system or the audio is considered null and void as though it was altered.  No exceptions.  That is where local history is very important and why you should have looked at the links.  You would have found that meta data was missing from county audio recordings or the meta data was altered.  No time or date stamps on anything.  This is a very serious issue.  

  Now to elaborate on the 30 minute rule.  Once a county employee has finished recording audio, then the employee is done with the present task at hand.  From the farthest remote areas of the county, it would only take a maximum of 30 minutes to get back to the county job site where the audio needs to be entered into storage.  That means the employee does not have time to tinker with the actual recording in any way shape or form.  

  I am very strong on the public being made aware of any audio and or video recordings by the county in any interactions.  Where any form of investigation or actions are taking place, I would also recommend that the public be given the chance to equally record the interaction or wave their rights to do so.  That way there are 2 records of the interaction and they can be compared should any member of the public wish to exercise those rights.  

  In the past, Animal Control always hid the audio recordings and would only present the recordings when they took people to court.  Many found out the hard way that those audio recordings were horribly altered and were not at all accurate.  But they were never told about being recorded or that recordings would be submitted as evidence in court.  Why the judges allowed them without proper investigation is yet another serious issue not at your level to answer.  

  Regarding meta data from audio recorders.  The meta data from all audio recorders are a series of numbers that are codes for time and date stamps.  You have to contact the equipment manufacturer to get the interpretation for their codes as each manufacturer uses different codes.  (I have talked to most of them which is how I know).  Altering a recording also puts a meta stamp on the recording.  So that should be quality checked to make sure you can trust your employees.  

  Preferring video recordings, those are much harder to alter and easy to spot if and when they are altered.  Meta data is straight forward and there is little room for misinterpretations on videos.  Body language speaks volumes that you can not get from an audio recording.  You can also tap in to see where your employees are and what they are doing.  If they are where they say they are supposed to be.

  I can not support audio recordings by county employees without these extra and very stringent policies being put into place as the abuse in the past makes this mandatory in my own view.  The objective is to create a trustworthy atmosphere.  Without these extra stringent policies, I have no trust in the system.  

Now regarding an investigation into past employee misconduct, yes, I and others would like to request investigations into such areas.  You have two, in my opinion, nasty criminals in your employment, that are a danger to the public, with a very long record of illegal activity that I believe can be proven.  I would like to request that John Meyer and Keith Hodges be involved and that this be voluntary and that a fair hearing be done because I will suggest you think of what the potential alternative might be if a voluntary investigation isn't done and one has already been underway but needs further review from you.  I know you are limited in scope as to what you can do, but I am requesting you do what you can do within your scope.  

  At this point, a meeting next week isn't needed unless you have more questions about any area of the above that you do not think can be answered in email.  I appreciate your considerations.

Very Truly:

Chuck Thompson

Board of Supervisors' email address: bos@gloucesterva.info 
Mr. Fedors' email address: bfedors@gloucesterva.info