Stuff Happens

Let me tell you, boys and girls, stuff happens in the blink of an eye.  In a period of two weeks:

1.  Ripley made the news with a mega-fight; 
2.  A police officer in this fair town was indicted;
3.  The principal of the Brownsville High School had to resign;
4.  Turnover happened at Wally World;
5.  The state's audit of the county's books slammed them for major problems;
6.  A forum for candidates to elected seats in the Big Rip has been scheduled. 

 Things that make you go "WHOA!" And, that's just in my neck of the woods.

Now, you know that I am more of a permanent visitor to my fair town, as opposed to a resident, so it's no surprise that I am entirely out of the loop. In fairness, some of this happened while I was on my idyllic retreat.

What's the worse thing from the above list?   Turmoil in the streets? Ineptitude (for want of a better word), lack of ethics or professional practices in the county government? Continued misconduct by the city's finest? I don't know where to start.

I returned to find that Gay Street, allegedly one of the worst streets in town, was the site of a tremendous battle-royal which required the assistance of police from surrounding areas to quell.  Thank God I did not buy that little house over there, as an investment property, for a mere eight thousand dollars. The Realtor refused to even take me there.  Media coverage stated that this fair town only has 25 officers and that the fight drew hundreds. Different tales as to whether it was gang-related or not. Does the police force need to beef up or get more training?

The county government just can't get its act together.  The state audit showed all kinds of deficiencies from missing money to non-allocated expenditures and more.  Click on the link to read the report. And to show how things just keep rolling along, the county has been cited for these same problems over and over. Malfeasance is so damned good around here until two of the county commissioners are also running for seats on the city board.  Is that legal? Maybe that is one of the questions which should be asked at the political forum, sponsored by the West Tennessee Business and Civic Leaders Network, on March 8th.

It seems that every other month (an exaggeration), the local law enforcement agencies are having someone indicted for something. The last time around, one of the Sheriff's deputies got caught in a drug sting; this time, a police officer has been indicted for excessive force.  Did you catch that, SF? Federal Civil Rights and Obstruction Charges  I guess the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree. His son, a part-time officer, also dismissed,  was arrested for child abuse in the not so distant past. Damn! It is so obvious that more training (and maybe a change in personnel) is needed but you can lead a horse to water....

So while I was away,  Ms. Dorothy Bond, a revered principal in Haywood County, addressed the student assembly and was accused of making derogatory remarks about homosexuality and teen pregnancy.  The ACLU got involved; she resigned; and the students and parents are protesting. A whole lot of he said/she said on that front, as well.

I also returned to find that the revolving door was spinning at Wally World. People have been leaving for some time (some on their own; some at Wally's request) but the pace has increased. The Training Coordinator is now a customer service manager, leaving that Personnel position vacant. I had informed the new manager that if it became available, I was interested. I'm told that it won't be filled for a while. No problem.

So now you know as much as I do about what is going on this fair city. Be Safe. Be Blessed.