Real ‘mistake’ on county vehicle shop was six years ago!

About 20 years ago, I was North Carolina public relations manager for Centel, then the state’s third largest telephone company, headquartered in Hickory. I was in charge of “company identification,” which included the company logo, vehicle colors, advertising, etc.—and I had a hand in vehicle procurement, specification of colors, application of decals and the like.

In that role, I also had an up-close-and-personal experience with the economics of a centralized vehicle maintenance shop. We had over 1,400 employees and more than 500 vehicles scattered across 43

Republicans take care of business, behead 'King Ben'...for now

Neither Dodge nor Ford nor Chevrolet could have engineered a more dramatic shift of power in Caldwell County than that produced by Republicans in their May 8 primary election for county commissioner. Political power moved like an earthquake, but the GOP will maintain its same 5-0 hold on the commission.

Republicans elected two new commissioners—retired Lenoir Fire Chief Randy Church and Sawmills hunting-and-fishing shop owner Jeff Branch. That election effectively breaks the stranglehold that real estate developers Ben Griffin, who was voted out, and Clay Bollinger, who was reelected, have had on county policy the last four years.

Look for ‘Dark Side’ of our leaders

Jim Davidson, the News-Topic’s April 10 columnist, regaled readers with a scholarly timeline titled, “Our nation’s third president,” about many legendary achievements of Thomas Jefferson and how we shouldn’t be “doomed to repeat our mistakes.”

“There is little question that Thomas Jefferson was one of the most brilliant and capable men to ever serve in our nation’s highest office,” the bold type screams. True, all true—but truly deceptive.

I’m not a scholar, but I am a voracious reader, and I’ve read many biographies by acknowledged scholars who wrote directly from original letters and other documents. I’ve read 8-10 biographies of Jefferson, 5-6 of George Washington and more of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, et al.

King Ben’s ‘Promises Kept?’…Really?

The campaign for Caldwell County commissioner is all about Republicans this year; with no Democrats running, the real decision will be made in the May 8 primary.

First, I salute all candidates who offer themselves for such public service. It’s a thankless, all-consuming job and most sane people, frankly, wouldn’t have it. Ask Rob Bratcher, who’s been a commissioner more than three years and, understandably, wants out.

That said, there are two Republicans I cannot support for reelection—current chairman Ben Griffin, or King Ben I, as I’ve called him before, and his sidekick, Clay Bollinger. King Ben has personally ruled over board decisions since 2008, allowing only the matters he’s already approved behind the scenes on the public agenda.

It's time to end local tyranny

There’s a lot of talk the last few years about “The Founding Fathers” and what they intended for their new nation 235 years ago. It’s a fact they fought tooth-and-nail over just about everything in the early republic, calling each other vile names in public and publishing libelous pamphlets about their opponents’ birth history or illegitimate children.

Alexander Hamilton (on the $10 bill), the first secretary of the treasury, was even killed in a duel with Aaron Burr, a long-time political enemy.

But when real threats were made to the nation, they always came together to protect their joint “project.” Despite their many disagreements, “the” one issue that always united them was their fear of tyranny—the possibility that another King George III might somehow emerge from among them.