Macon County Commissioners Meeting 01/11/2010

The regular meeting of the Macon County Commissioners took place on January 11, 2009. This is the public portion of that meeting.

Highlights of the meeting include a resolution in support of the Upper Cullasaja River Restoration Project to help them get funds from the Clean Water Trust Fund and recognition of the efforts of Bob Litten in the construction of the Macon County Veterans Memorial.

These are my notes from the January 11, 2009 regular meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners:

Call to order and welcome by Chairman Beale

Chairman Ronnie Beale brought the meeting to order.

Announcements

He announced that there would be a work session on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at the SCC Board Room starting at 8:30am and would work through lunch and into the afternoon until they worked through all the things in the budget and other matters.

He also announced that there would be a public hearing on certain amendments to the Subdivision Ordinance [PDF] at the January 25th, 2010, meeting, which will convene at 2:00 pm in the Commissioners Board Room.

Invocation and Pledge

Reverend Guy Duvall gave the Invocation and Ronnie Beale led those assembled in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Public Comment

The Public Comment Period saw two men address the Commissioners, the first was Pastor Greg Rogers [sp?] who spoke to an article in The Smoky Mountain News [link to article] that had caused concern among several people in the churches regarding the removal of Invocation before County Commission meetings. He praised the Commissioners for the stands they took in support of Meeting Invocation in the local media. He recited Acts 4:12 and said that he (and others) would be praying for the Commissioners by name, that they would be guided in their decision-making to do the right thing.

The other speaker was a man named Charlie Calley [sp?] who addressed the Commissioners regarding the economic situation, jobs and requesting that the Commissioners petition the state for a Doe Hunting Season in order that the deer herds might be thinned, and only the biggest bucks might successfully breed.

Chairman Beale told Mr. Calley [sp?] that the Wildlife Commission was meeting in Sylva at SCC next week [Wednesday] and that he could address them as a citizen.

Adjustments to and approval of the agenda

There was less than ten minutes of discussion regarding the agenda providing minor corrections.

New Business:

Upper Cullasaja River Restoration Resolution

The commissioners discussed the resolution to assist in obtaining money from the Trustees of the North Carolina Clean Water Trust Fund to assist in restoring the Upper Cullasaja from an impairment. Ronnie Beale read from the last paragraph of the resolution and some discussion on the issue followed, and the board voted unanimously to pass the resolution.

Chairman Ronnie Beale recognized David Wilkes, the newly elected Mayor of Highlands, who was present in the crowd observing the meeting. The Mayor indicated that he had a steep learning curve over the past few weeks.

Consent Agenda

Minutes

A few minor adjustments were suggested and approved to the minutes of the last meeting.

Budget revisions

Budget amendments 80 through 84 were discussed by the commissioners, the Finance Officer, County Manager and County Attorney.

Amendment to Animal Control Ordinance

In a similar fashion, adjustments to the Animal Control Ordinance [PDF] were discussed with input from County Manager Jack Horton and County Attorney Leslie Moxley.

Mental Health Resolution

Ronnie Beale discussed a resolution regarding approval of the purchase of real property by Smoky Mountain Mental Health in Watauga County and he brought the other members up to date on the related board he served on.

Governor’s Crime Commission Grant

Sheriff Robbie Holland came forth to discuss a request for the board to pass a resolution supporting re-applying for the Governor's Crime Commission Grant.

In the course of the discussion, he relayed some statistics that the previous year's grant had helped to obtain:

79 new drug cases were opened

207 felonies were charged

48 misdemeanor charges

25 search warrants were served

3 T3 Wires were ran (3 wiretaps)

14 people were charged on the federal level, all plead guilty and would be sentenced later this month

3 people responsible for supplying drugs into Macon County were arrested in Atlanta by Macon County Deputies sworn into Federal Service

Drugs seized

7 grams of cocaine

98 grams of crack

32 grams of meth

177 marijuana plants

4,000 grams of Marijuana

2,900 grams of dried opium

The Macon County Sheriff's Department served as the lead agency in western North Carolina for Operation Pill Crusher:

144,000 pills were collected and taken off the street to be destroyed.

The motion to support the consent agenda passed unanimously.

Board Appointments

Bob Simpson was asked to bring a name forth at the next meeting to replace Christy Dodge, who had resigned from the Franklin-Nantahala TDC (Tourism Development Board)

Ed Shatley, chairman of the Economic Development Commission, was re-appointed to another term, and Gary Drake was appointed replace Hank Ross as the representative of the Town of Highlands.

Chairman Dave Jones of the Franklin Town Board of Adjustment was re-appointed to another term.

Chariman Ronnie Beale will be joining Commissioner Bob Simpson on the Macon Program for Progress Board so that the two together might attend more meetings than just one of them could.

Bob Litten came forth to make a final report to the County Commissioners on his involvement in getting the Macon County Veterans Memorial project underway for the past three years.

He recognized some of the people he wanted to personally thank for their help over the course of the project, among whom were Evelyn Southard (Finance Director of Macon County), Leslie Moxley (County Attorney), Jack Morgan (Building Codes Administrator), Sam Greenwood (former Macon County Manager), Ronnie Beale (Chairman of the Macon County Commissioners), Charlie Leatherman (former Chairman of the Macon County Commissioners), Robbie Holland (Macon County Sheriff), Jack Horton (Macon County Commissioner), Steve Ledford and crew (Macon County Maintenance Dept), all the members of the Macon County Board of Commissioners for being such a great bunch of people to work with, the Town of Franklin, the Town of Highlands, the News Media for spreading the word about the project.

He said he had resigned his role as Chairman of the committee overseeing the project, but was still on the committee, and Neal Riendeau was the new chairman, and he introduced him to speak to the Commissioners to update them on the work of the committee.

He said the Macon County Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 4, 2009 [see videos] and that, right now, the primary source of funds was through memorial brick sales [right-click to order a brick], which ranged from $100 to $500 apiece. Riendeau said that current projects included the design and construction of an entrance sign to the park to give it more visibility. Members of the committee are working with General Bodenheimer on the design of a full-size bronze sculpture, which is still in the design stage. The idea is to have a woman holding a folded flag in one arm clutched to her chest, with a little girl beside her holding her hand, and a little boy on the other side, holding her arm. They will be in the oval in front of the main flag pole.

Neal Riendeau reiterated what Bob Litten had said, that these men did not do this project alone, that "this was a community project for the community."

Chairman Ronnie Beale then presented Bob Litten with a plaque of appreciation that held a replica of the Macon County flag on behalf of the Macon County Commissioners and thousands of people of Macon County as a small token of their appreciation for his efforts on behalf of the veterans of Macon County.

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Understanding the Wahhabist Infiltration of America by Frank Salvato

Part of the reason many Americans don’t appreciate the significance of Osama bin Laden’s declarations of war against the United States and the West is because they are completely oblivious to the in-roads radical Islam has made within the United States. Radical Islamists (i.e., Islamofascists, Wahhabis) understand that the conflict must take place on multiple fronts: militarily, economically, diplomatically and ideologically. Because they understand the complexity of the confrontation and the ability of the West to adapt to challenges – albeit lethargically – they employ multiple tactics in their aggressive pursuit of victory. The West’s addiction to sensationalism, epitomized by our limited attention to detail, unless it plays in the superficial 24-hour news cycle, facilitates the successful infiltration of radical ideology into Western society.

Much to the chagrin of the multicultural and the proponents of diversity, those who promote radical Islamist ideology thrive on the fact that the politically correct culture of the West – and the United States in particular – deems it inappropriate to question religious practices or teachings. With this politically correct “wall of separation” in place little if any scrutiny is given to the information disseminated within any given religious institution. This directly facilitates the ideological advancement of Wahhabism, the most radical and puritanical form of Islam, within the mosques of the United States.

To accurately understand the depth of infiltration of the Wahhabist ideology on American soil we need to examine the ideology and how it is advanced within the United States.

Wahhabism is a fiercely fundamentalist form of orthodox Sunni Islam. After a brief examination of its tenets it is clear that it is one of division, domination and hate.

Wahhabism originated circa 1703 and is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabists believe that any and all evolution of the Islamic faith after the 3rd century of the Muslim era – after 950 A.D. – was specious and must be expunged. Consequently, Wahhabism is the form of Islam that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahri practice.

This radically fundamentalist dogma is fanatically bigoted, xenophobic and lends itself to serve as the catalyst for much of the Islamofascist aggression being perpetrated around the world. It is a wrathful doctrine that rejects the legitimacy of all religious philosophy but its own. Wahhabism condemns Christians, Jews and all other non-Muslims, as well as non-Wahhabi Muslims. Wahhabists believe it is a religious obligation for Muslims to hate Christians and Jews.

It stresses a worldview in which there exist two opposing realms that can never be reconciled -- Dar al-Islam, or House of Islam, and Dar al-Har, or House of War, also referred to as Dar al-Kufr, House of the Infidel. When Muslims are in the Dar al-Har, they must behave as if they were operatives in a conflict who have been tasked with going behind enemy lines. The Wahhabist ideology permits Muslims to exist “behind enemy lines” for only a few reasons: to acquire knowledge, to make money to be later employed in the jihad against the infidels, or to proselytize the infidels in an effort to convert them to Islam.

Wahhabist doctrine specifically warns Muslims not to imitate, befriend or help “infidels” in any way. It instills hatred for United States because we are ruled by legislated constitutional law rather than by tyrannical Sharia law. Wahhabists are instructed by edict to, above all, work for the creation of an Islamic state where ever they may dwell.

It is because of the Wahhabist ideology’s cruel and unyielding fanaticism that we in the United States should be concerned with its prevalence within the mosques of our nation.

After the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 – an unprecedented action by the fundamentalists of the Shi’ite sect, the Saudi Arabian government responded by coming to terms with the fundamentalist Wahhabist movement of the Sunni sect. The Saudis, in return for a declaration of non-aggression, began to finance the construction of mosques in countries around the world. An estimated $45 billion has been spent by the Saudis to finance the building and operational costs of mosques and Islamic schools in foreign countries, including in North America.


Source: New Media Journal, where you can read the whole thing.

Commentary

Allowing the Wahhabists to infiltrate our nation will come back and bite us, and we need to start raising public awareness to this problem by writing Letters to the Editors of our local papers, and forwarding some of these items to people on our mailing lists. Blogs are a part of the solution, as are podcasts and internet radio shows which can be recorded, downloaded, and shared with people at home or on their portable music players. This is the New Media.

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Guest Commentary from Frank Salvato: A Single Reason for US Intervention in Iraq

GUEST COMMENTARY
[View Original Here]


A Single Reason for US Intervention in Iraq
USA Frank Salvato, Managing Editor
September 7, 2007





“It is as useless to argue with those who have renounced the use of reason as to administer medication to the dead.”
– Thomas Jefferson

As progress continues to be made in every aspect of the Iraqi conflict – militarily, socially and politically – the debate among the ideologically entrenched here in the United States rages on. This is in large part due to the positioning of candidates from all political parties in preparation for the 2008 elections. There is an intense desire to look both peace-loving and hawkish on the issue of the Iraqi front in the overall war against Islamofascist aggression. This is not an easy task when they are simultaneously declaring their support for the soldiers in the field and questioning the value of the mission and how well it is being executed. Meet the two-faces of the political panderer. Not very attractive, are they?

While factions of our society debate the pros and cons of US military intervention in Iraq the facts presented for the initiation of efforts there have always stood clearly defined. They were laid out in no uncertain terms, and in order of priority, by President Bush before the United Nations General Assembly on September 12, 2002:

▪ Violation of UN Security Council Resolution 688: Human rights violations and the torture, rape and murder of political opponents and ordinary citizens, including the genocide of the Iraqi Kurds.

▪ Violations of UN Security Council Resolutions 686 and 687: The refusal to release prisoners of war captured during the Gulf War.

▪ Violations of UN Security Council Resolutions 687 and 1373: The refusal to disassociate with terrorist organizations and the facilitation of terrorist entities within and traveling across Iraq borders.

▪ Violations of UN Security Council Resolutions 660, 661, 678, 686, 687, 688, 707, 715, 986 and 1284: Refusal to cease development programs for weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles, and refusal to allow UN inspectors uninhibited access to any and all weapons development programs.

In summary: genocide, refusal to return prisoners of war, enabling of terrorists and their organizations, refusal to cease WMD development programs and refusal to allow verification of said cessation.

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Related in an Odd Way...

My Commentary

The anti-war movement has become as insane, and completely devoid of reason, as the 9/11 Truther Movement. I believe the root cause of these phenomena is spiritual in nature.

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