Post by Whirled Peas on Apr 2, 2009 8:42:19 GMT -5
Well, the Commissioners have yet another "Guest Column" in today's paper. But you'll need to take a Dramamine before reading it, because their spin will make you queasy. If you missed this little gem, you can read it here www.times-gazette.com/news/no_byline_article/4558711.
One of the things I found most amusing, was the Commissioners' assertion that the Times-Gazette had not only done a "very good job" of relaying the terms of Jerry Smith's proposal, but that the T-G had also printed "many of the reasons" why they rejected Mr. Smith's proposal.
First of all, to my knowledge, the Times-Gazette has never printed Mr. Smith's proposal in its entirety. It's not a long, rambling document. It's a three page proposal, stating that Mr. Smith and Crystal Care Centers foot the bill for everything, with the exception of water and sewer maintenance, since it is tied in with the abutting vocational school. As an aside question, who was the genius that decided to tie these two facilities' water and sewer systems together?
Additionally, the details of why the Commissioners rejected this proposal have been sparse at best, since themedia lapdog Times-Gazette quoted the Commissioners as citing "attorney/client privilege" when pressed for details. The Commissioners are now trying to dazzle us with smoke and mirrors by tossing out strawman arguments, in an attempt to get the focus of the magnifying glass off of themselves.
Jerry Smith's proposal can be found here communityactivistsofashlandcounty.org/Jerry_Smith's_Proposal.pdf.
The proposal states not just once, not twice, but THREE times, that Mr. Smith and CCC will assume ALL the costs of running Heartland Home, even if there is a deficit. So the strawman about construction overages is just that, a distortion of the facts. Furthermore, the proposal also states that the costs of liabilities (tort) and insurance falls to Mr. Smith and CCC. Does the county currently have a tort liability insurance policy? If not, why not? If so, then how would Mr. Smith's policy be so radically different from the county's, that it would be cause to dismiss the proposal?
The Commissioners also stated in today's love letter, that even if they had gone with Mr. Smith's proposal, that Heartland Home would still be a county-owned property. Guess what? The county will STILL own the building while it's sitting there empty, generating no income as it used to, and serving no one.
And why wasn't there specific mention of how Jerry Smith was the person who supposedly convinced Commissioner Edwards to close our county home? I mean, after all, she said it T-W-I-C-E at last week's meeting. If this is the case, then sing it, sister! If the person who's offering to pay for your shortcomings is, in fact, the same person who convinced you to close the home, then tell us about it!
Lastly, but certainly not leastly (
), they don't even attempt to explain why they instructed the former Heartland Home administrator to deny admissions to the county home on two occasions last year. If what Commissioner Edwards said last week is true, and no decision was made to close our county home until January of this year, then why were they denying admissions to eligible county residents in the autumn of 2008? Hmmm?
I've got an earworm today, and it goes like this:
"Dizzy, I'm so dizzy
My head is spinning
Like a whirlpool it never ends"
Time for another Dramamine!
One of the things I found most amusing, was the Commissioners' assertion that the Times-Gazette had not only done a "very good job" of relaying the terms of Jerry Smith's proposal, but that the T-G had also printed "many of the reasons" why they rejected Mr. Smith's proposal.
First of all, to my knowledge, the Times-Gazette has never printed Mr. Smith's proposal in its entirety. It's not a long, rambling document. It's a three page proposal, stating that Mr. Smith and Crystal Care Centers foot the bill for everything, with the exception of water and sewer maintenance, since it is tied in with the abutting vocational school. As an aside question, who was the genius that decided to tie these two facilities' water and sewer systems together?
Additionally, the details of why the Commissioners rejected this proposal have been sparse at best, since the
Jerry Smith's proposal can be found here communityactivistsofashlandcounty.org/Jerry_Smith's_Proposal.pdf.
The proposal states not just once, not twice, but THREE times, that Mr. Smith and CCC will assume ALL the costs of running Heartland Home, even if there is a deficit. So the strawman about construction overages is just that, a distortion of the facts. Furthermore, the proposal also states that the costs of liabilities (tort) and insurance falls to Mr. Smith and CCC. Does the county currently have a tort liability insurance policy? If not, why not? If so, then how would Mr. Smith's policy be so radically different from the county's, that it would be cause to dismiss the proposal?
The Commissioners also stated in today's love letter, that even if they had gone with Mr. Smith's proposal, that Heartland Home would still be a county-owned property. Guess what? The county will STILL own the building while it's sitting there empty, generating no income as it used to, and serving no one.
And why wasn't there specific mention of how Jerry Smith was the person who supposedly convinced Commissioner Edwards to close our county home? I mean, after all, she said it T-W-I-C-E at last week's meeting. If this is the case, then sing it, sister! If the person who's offering to pay for your shortcomings is, in fact, the same person who convinced you to close the home, then tell us about it!
Lastly, but certainly not leastly (
), they don't even attempt to explain why they instructed the former Heartland Home administrator to deny admissions to the county home on two occasions last year. If what Commissioner Edwards said last week is true, and no decision was made to close our county home until January of this year, then why were they denying admissions to eligible county residents in the autumn of 2008? Hmmm?I've got an earworm today, and it goes like this:
"Dizzy, I'm so dizzy
My head is spinning
Like a whirlpool it never ends"
Time for another Dramamine!