Time to stand up and be heard (8/19/03)

It is time that Redkey residents stand up and fight for what they know is the right thing, as I tried to do at the July 21 Redkey Town Board meeting. If more concerned citizens were present, maybe we would have gotten some truthful and understandable answers to the questions presented to the town board that night. Instead, when the questions got too hard, or maybe they couldn't come up with a good, quick reply, the discussion was put to an end by our town board president, stating, "I'm not going to justify myself. You're out of order and we're moving on."

Well Redkey, let me fill you in on a little of what was said that night.

I had a few questions to ask the town council so I did what I was told was the proper procedure for asking to be heard at a council meeting. I went to the city building a week before the meeting and asked the city clerk to please put me on the docket for the July 21st town board meeting. Which she did. Now Redkey, keep in mind if you want to speak at the meetings, YOU MUST be on that docket. At that meeting my name was called, and I first asked the board to please hear me out. I had a prepared statement which consisted of only five questions, and if they would please let me read it through, they could answer each question afterwards. There were no objections.

Some of my five questions were as follows:

On Tuesday, July 8, 2003, Redkey's Halfway Creek was more than overflowing. As the evening went on, I had my police scanner on and began hearing reports that homes were flooding in the east end of Redkey on Main and High Streets. I heard that Redkey was requesting sand for sand-bagging to be bagged at the city barn. They requested that all Redkey Firemen report to help fill sandbags. My family and I went as well, hoping to help. When we arrived, there were 20-25 or so people shoveling, holding bags to be filled, then tied, and loading bags on trucks to be taken to the flooded areas.

I had just one question.

Where were our town employees and town board members?

I was told that Brenda Collett, our town marshal, and Mike Daniels, deputy marshal, were helping at the flood scene, and Charlie Conn was helping fill sandbags. I was informed that Roberta Garringer was out of town on vacation. Darrel Smith was at work, and Randy Blanton was fighting his own battle trying to keep his own home from being flooded. This was understandable. What I could not understand was that our town board president — a city employee — was no where to be found, nor was our latest hired town employee. When I asked, I was told they had dropped off the city truck and left in the middle of the crisis.

At this time I would like to personally thank all those people who helped when it counted. To the Redkey Fire Department, and the concerned residents of Redkey who acted without thinking twice just to help their friends and neighbors when they needed it most. To the elderly, the people in poor health and all the many teenage kids who were in the thick of it. Thank you!

And last but not least, I do not believe that any town board member should be conducting town board business while on duty as an employee of the town. To me, this does make for a conflict of interest.

After having read this (statement at the July 21 town council meeting), I sat down and waited for an answer. You could have heard a pin drop.

Some time passed thinking someone would say something. But no, I had to ask if anyone wanted to answer.

As for question No. 4. Where was our board president the night we were sand-bagging? She said she was at the sewage plant. The question now is, what was the trouble there and how did she manage to get back there considering that the whole area was flooded as well? Did she have a row boat at the gate? Did she walk? I didn't get to ask those questions.

For the last question, No. 5. Well this one is what got me out of order. I did not raise my voice, get upset or in my opinion become out of order. But, when the council president told me that town business was not conducted on town time, I felt I needed to remind her of the time I was at the city building two months ago to get on the docket for Chamber business. She was there then, in the middle of the day. When asked if there was a problem, I said no, and it could wait till the meeting. She said that was what she was in the process of doing there then, going through the docket list to see if she could take care of some of it now.

Then at the meeting, when I said, "Well, that's town board business on town employee time, isn't it?" That's when she said she did not have to justify herself and I was out of order.

Well Redkey, this is where I see a conflict of interest. She was caught red-handed and instead of saying, “yes I was wrong,” she dismissed me as though I was wrong.

The president and all the board members need to remember one thing: we put them into their elected office by voting for them and we can take them out of office next time by NOT voting for them. The least they can do is hear us out and give an answer to the best of their knowledge to try to help us with any problem we may have instead of trying to shut us up and cast us out when they are wrong and scared to admit it or just don't want to admit it.

To be a good town board, you need to listen to and try to help those people of your town.

At least don't be so vain your council appointment makes you think you're better than the rest of us and you can do no wrong.

So in closing, please Redkey residents, come to the town board meetings. It's only once a month. The meetings are the third Monday of each month at the city building at 6 p.m.

You all really need to see for yourself how our town is being run.

Sincerely,

Terri Bertram

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