Failure To Communicate ?

Those of us old enough to remember the Paul Newman classic “ Cool Hand Luke” will recall the line that became synonymous with the actual movie itself…….” what we have here, is a failure to

communicate”, a line by the road camp ( state prison in those days) Captain who was using Newman’s failed escape attempt and rather savage treatment when he was recaptured ,as a prop in front of the other camps prisoners to illustrate the brutal punishment awaiting any other prisoner who might entertain the notion of trying to escape.

I have recently sent e-mails to 2 of our county officials, the Commonwealth Attorney Matt Kite and the School Superintendent Dr. David White and to date have had no response ? Perhaps what we have here is a…… “ failure to communicate”. My e-mails were inquiries asking simple straight forward questions. I was civil and believe as a taxpayer have every right to ask the questions and in turn be answered.

I asked Dr. White to address the school board and personnel so as to not have a repeat of the clown circus we witnessed last February at a Board Meeting when hundreds turned out as a result of the carefully orchestrated hysteria set off by the alarming e-mail announcing that school bus service would be ended, athletic programs halted, teachers laid off by the dozens, all extracurricular activities stopped etc etc etc.   School Board Chair Kathy Morrison along with other school officials were engineers of this messaging.

It was a violation of KW County Schools own stated policy as it relates to e-mail use ( political purposes strictly prohibited—so they say) It produced such a hysterical response within the community that the School officials pulled the e-mail within 24-48 hours of its posting.  It was classical in its application anytime spending cuts are being considered to any government run entity.  Get the folks all riled up to stifle responsible budgeting and keep the gravy flowing.  It was also a disgrace, compounded afterwards by almost every member of the school board who attempted to defend this type of deceitful conduct by people who hold themselves out as responsible adults. Perhaps Dr. White is busy coming up with Plan B.

County Commonwealth Attorney Matt Kite was quoted in a recent Tidewater Review article noting that his office had opened 19 new cases of domestic abuse investigations in recent months to buttress the ongoing highlighting by our state elected officials who can’t seem to find time to address the problems of VRS collapsing, Medicaid spending that is swallowing Virginias budget, a State Tax code that is a virtual who’s who of crony capitalism at its worst , but can through a manipulation of citizen empathy for victims of this heinous behavior ( domestic violence)  find time to address this issue. I suspect Kite’s anticipated  staffing addition of an Assistant County Commonwealth Attorney is made justifiable by going to the newspapers and painting this as a runaway out of control explosion in these types of cases. It helps to defend the indefensible of expanding a CCA office in a County with a declining population ( according to KW Counties own C.A.F.R report for 2016) .

I wrote the e-mail to Mr. Kite asking a very simple question. I asked him without disclosing any personal information how many of these 19 new cases involved repeat offenders, how many of these 19 had been arrested and or prosecuted previously for this or similar offenses ?

See folks, the criminal justice system feeds a lot of public sector jobs, from law enforcement, to court personnel, to administrative staff, to new assistants to the County Commonwealth Attorney’s staff. It has been for quite some time a virtual cottage industry employing significant numbers of folks with most often generous paychecks and benefits……..where does it end ?

Where does personal responsibility come into play and why is it that taxpayers who obey the law have to continue to carry the burden of societal misfits ? At what point do taxpayers have the right to say enough is enough. Kites unwillingness to answer my question can only portend one of two possibilities.

Either the repeat offenders have cycled through the criminal justice system over and over  or…….. any time the opposition ( and the King William T.E.A Party is the only opposition in this county) challenges  officials in county government they simply chose to ignore us who won’t go away and let them keep their cottage industry thriving ?

Both of these gentlemen are paid generous salaries with equally generous benefits, largely subsidized by you the taxpaying public. It isn’t at all unreasonable to expect for them to address issues that any citizens raises in a professional and timely manner.

Perhaps it is indeed a matter of being incapable of defending the indefensible……but ultimately it is a “ failure to communicate” that King Williams responsible citizens shouldn’t allow or accept.

Bob Shannon Central Garage