“Government of the people, for the people, by the people.”
Remember these words, guys and gals? Remember something else, too.
Think about:
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
Our city officials, both elected and appointed, may not always be lying, but when they don’t level with us, they’re not being honest … either with us or with themselves.
Remember another critical point, city officials: we are the ones who pay your salaries. We have a right to know what you are doing with and to the city that we live in, that many of us grew up in and that many of us love.
We don’t want you messing it up. If you screw up, be honest enough to say so. We are a very forgiving people, by and large. But don’t try to cover it up. That’s dishonest, and we don’t like that.
The recent “officer shooting” is a case in point. This “mysterious” incident occurred last Thursday, the policeman gets identified on Saturday and then Tuesday we learned that the poor victim, whose only “crime” was that he apparently stayed behind the wheel of his car too long, might have suffered permanent injuries.
What was an Opelika policeman doing out on the interstate anyway? Patrolling the interstate is the Highway Patrol’s responsibility. Don’t we have enough crime and patrol needs in Opelika to keep the OPD busy?
Mayor Gary Fuller and Chief John McEachern, when you screw up, tell us the whole truth, or as much of as you know, when it happens. We’ll probably be understanding. We’re going to eventually find out anyway, and if we have to find out from someone else, we aren’t going to be as understanding.
Same way with other events around our fair city where we aren’t being told the whole truth – or maybe not any of the truth.
The crown jewel of Opelika’s assets, Spring Villa, has been raped. There’s no other word for it. Those beautiful old trees that made the historic house and grounds such a beautiful setting are no more. It looks like the army has used it as a combat area.
Don’t take our word for it. Drive out and take a look for yourselves. And demand some answers. The “Observer” hasn’t gotten very satisfying ones.
One idiot at city hall tried to tell us what a great deal it was for the city.
A city councilman wracked his brain and finally came up with, “Oh yes, we did authorize a thinning operation.” He promised to go out and take a look then get back to us. That was more than two months ago, and we have yet to hear from the gentleman. We used to respect him.
Why? Apparently the glorious fiber optic system is hemorrhaging dollars and our cash-strapped city is selling off anything they can sell to raise money to pay the beast. Again, tell us the truth! When is the hemorrhaging going to stop?
Is fiber optics still a good investment? When are we going to sever our relationship with these con artists who pose as “consultants,” whether we mean the husbands or the wives?
Do any of you care to repeat the fiction that we citizens of Opelika have hired you to work for us and that we can fire you whenever we chose?
We, for one, are ready to start firing incompetents and others who insult our collective intelligence or deny our right to know how our tax dollars are being spent.