Welcome to the NEW Page County Watch Blog. What’s new about it? For one, your comments are now unmoderated. Here’s how it works. When you want to comment, you will be asked for a username and a valid email address. BUT, your username does not have to be your actual name on your drivers license. You can be called Hot Potato, Citizen At Large, TaxPayer, or any handle you choose. This is the only name that will show on your comments. All I ask is that you use the same handle each time you post, and don’t use one that you see someone else is using. Of course, if you choose to use your real name, you may.
The new part is that you must include a valid email address with each post. If you’d like, you can sign up for a free email account just for that purpose, at Yahoo or Gmail or Hotmail. Your email address will not show with any of your posts. To readers of the Blog, all they will see is your Handle, whatever name you chose to post as. Your email address will not show on the blog. By setting up an email account that does not show your name, I will not know who you are, either, if that’s important to you.
The first time you post, your comment will not go through immediately. It will queue up, to check to make sure the email address is valid. You will receive an email at that address, asking you to reply to verify that you sent the Comment. So if you got a new account just for this, check it in a day to see if the verification is there. After your email address is verified, your post will go up, and future posts with that same username and email address will go through without moderation. To readers and to me, you may still be anonymous if you so choose.
So that’s my solution to the Mean Comments problem. When you post here, you have the option to still be anonymous to me and to the readers. That way, if a county employee or a member of the board wants to get on and lobby for their cause, they can still do it without me or anybody else knowing who they are. All you have to do is follow the Posting Rules. If you have a complaint about a post or a comment you see here, email me at Research@PageCountyWatch.org with the specifics of your gripe.
If I see a post that breaks the Posting Rules, I will delete it, and I will email you at the address on file with the specific reasons or phrases which caused it to be deleted, so that you can post it again without those words.
It took me a lot of investigation to come up with this solution, and I think it satisfies all elements of the problem. It still allows the anonymity which has a lot to say for it in the blogging world, it allows me to get out of the moderation mess, which caused people to blame me for both what was posted and what was not posted, and it allows a protection for both readers and posters from inflammatory and egregious commentors.
Again, if you want to say anything specifically to me, that is not a comment, email me at Research@PageCountyWatch.org I hope we will all find this solution to be workable.
Alice
November 25, 2007 at 6:13 am
Testing this to see how it works
November 25, 2007 at 6:17 am
This is my second comment which should go through without moderation
November 25, 2007 at 6:22 am
Now I see how it works. First comment, waits in the queue for checking. Second comment and all after that — posts immediately. So all I have to do is avoid name calling and inciting to riot , and I’m good to go.
Got it.
Alice
November 25, 2007 at 11:08 am
Dam the flood plain – Full speed before January! Thank you Mr. Cubbage and Mr. Hoke for standing your ground. We need to finish all needs of our school project before getting into the county office project. How about finished ball fields, tracks, bleachers, and a fully completed job? I think by reading the comments on the past blog you know as I do that water when diverted from a location moves to the place of least resistance. If this is correct the greenway might receive more damage during a flood. Something the Town should think about. I know we need a county office now, it has been needed for years. Also know construction costs for the office project is not going to get any cheaper by waiting. We have already waited to do projects in this county, but have to finish one before starting another. I’m not saying wait for the schools to be paid off, but just to wait to make sure of all our expenditures. Common sense tells you there’s going to be money needed for items not listed as of yet. But what do I know, I only won by 34 votes! Looking forward to Januray!
November 25, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Why is there a block entitled “Website?”
November 25, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Steve, that’s just there because sometimes people like to stick their own web address in comments, because it makes a link that causes their website to move up higher in the search engines. It’s an option, you don’t have to fill it in.
Thanks for posting. Now that you’ve done it once, your comments won’t be moderated in the future.
Alice
November 25, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Hey Larry, you and I know that any win was impressive, its hard to beat an incombent, especially one that is for everything! I hope at some point there can be another vote to kill this boon doggle of an office complex, or at least make it not possible due to procedural concerns or any issue you can think of. Thank goodness for people who can think and question and can see over that awful hill.
November 26, 2007 at 12:56 am
Alice,
Is there some way the last two or three posts on the old blog along with their comments can be imported to this new blog?
November 26, 2007 at 7:47 am
PCW,
I go out of town for a couple of days and come back to a whole new blog. Isn’t technology grand?
I don’t know that it matters if you know who I am but decided to remain anonymous. You never know if Big Brother is watching. It took a little doing though. I had to create a new E-mail account with my ISP since my normal E-mail address incorporates my name. Then I found out my ISP provides anonymous E-mail accounts for its users’ protection against spammers. I could have saved myself a little trouble. The anonymous E-mail addresses are aliases for your real account name so if someone wants to get a court order to find out who sent an E-mail they still can.
Does that work for the purpose of registering for the blog?
November 26, 2007 at 11:52 am
Yes, oh Highest Wizard. That will do just fine. People can still remain anonymous. By using an email account that does not contain your name, and signing on with an alias or handle, I will not know who you are, and neither will anyone reading the blog. The only difference is that if there is a legal problem, the court can trace it (although I can not do it without a court order.) The point is: people can be free to express themselves without fearing retaliation from employers, neighbors, and pseudo-friends. At the same time, nobody can cross the line and post things that are “no fair.”
November 26, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Mr. LaFrance Holds Court
Calling Citizens of Page County – Time to Unite
Tuesday November 20th was the date, the time was 7:00 PM, and the place was the Stanley Elementary School. That is where the astute Tommy LaFrance called his Board of Supervisors to order and let the proceeding begin.
Mr. LaFrance asked the County Administrator to make his presentation about the Land Purchase for a County Office Building at a cost of $600,000.00. Mr. Belton made many points about the feasibility of the purchase; he showed how the building and parking lots would look on the proposed property. Some questions where raised about the flood plain and what could be done to protect the building. Dear Citizens do not fret! Mr. Belton informed those in attendance that this is not a problem – the county can move dirt to alleviate this problem, at a cost of $180,000. Your tax dollars at work. This, of course, is an estimate or perhaps a guestimate. Do not put any creditability in this number. Numbers have gone up before and are sure to rise again.
Mr. Rust announced it was time to make a motion on the Land Purchase. For those who did not attend, this is where Mr. LaFrance abandoned all sense of parliamentary proceedings and got down to business. A motion was made but a second was not. A Board member mentioned a “second” was not received on the motion, Mr. LaFrance stated that it was not necessary, the motion stood and the proceedings would continue. In similar constituted proceedings, a lawyer would have challenged the legality of the decision, but our County Attorney did not flex.
Messrs. Hoke and Cubbage voted a strong and resounding NO! Mr. Rust, with fire in his eyes, boasted a strong YES! Mrs. Stricler purred a demure YES! As a footnote, her supporters did not attend. She said they “did not mind” the purchase because they would not have to go “up on that hill anymore.” Wonder how they feel now. Do they feel the pain or do they “not mind”?
The vote stands at two for, and two against. Mr. LaFrance will have to come in and settle this once and for all. He voted a resounding YES! And struck the gavel. The deal was done. Thank you Mr. LaFrance! Wonder how Mr. Ballard or another representative from District 3 would have voted? District 3 was not represented!
What are the Citizens of Page County going to do about Mr. LaFrance? Let him get away with this sort of government by proxy or are we going to rise up and let our voices be heard? Let’s show the Board of Supervisors that the Citizens of Page County do have a voice in their government. Come to the next Board of Supervisors meeting and get involved in your government. It is your tax dollars that Mr. LaFrance and his Board of Supervisors are spending.
drdick
November 26, 2007 at 6:38 pm
I was hoping to find something wrong with the motion not being seconded at the BOS meeting. According to the rulesonline.com Full Text of the Public Domain Edition of Robert’s Rules..Part 1, Article 1. How Business is Conducted in Deliberative Assemblies…..number 5 – Seconding Motions. Sentence 3 states “where the chair is certain the motion meets with general favor, and yet members are slow about seconding it, he may proceed without waiting for a second.
November 27, 2007 at 6:07 pm
obx: Great find!
For the future, the chair in fact does not have the right to do it w/o general objection.
The statement continues:
“Yet, any one may make a point of order that the motion has not been seconded, and then the chair is obliged to proceed formally and call for a second. ”
I’d say Chairman Tommy Ray is whimsical with treatment of the whole truth… While his statement isn’t outright fraud — it was certainly made with the intent to.
Perhaps his name should be Chairman LaFraud…
Shame.