Monday morning I sat in the Marion County Board of Supervisors’ board room for the normal third Monday of the month meeting. However, there was nothing normal about the meeting.
The tension was thick in the room as everyone was there mainly because of one topic: The lighting of the Marion County courthouse for Christmas. A topic most people would not think would be a big issue, yet in our little corner of the world, it was a major issue.
The supervisors did vote to allow the courthouse to be lit up, and I hope everyone takes the time to thank them for allowing it to happen again. All of us who have been downtown during Christmas time know seeing the courthouse all decked out is absolutely breathtaking.
There was a lone hold-out with the supervisors: Beat 1 Supervisor Eugene “Blue” Green. Green has the right to vote against it. He has legitimate concerns, and everyone needs to respect his concerns. We all love that building, including him, and we need to appreciate his desire to protect the building.
My biggest concern about Green’s vote is honestly his motive, though.
Allow me to digress a moment before I continue.
Social media can be a great blessing or a devil’s curse depending on how it is used. Anyone who has any dealings with the public or a business is subjected to be “ripped to shreds” at some point, including yours truly. When it happens, it is awful, disheartening and can be very hurtful. I speak from experience.
However, as much as those of us who have been attacked through social media hate it, at this point there is nothing we can do. There is no use in arguing because no matter what, the other party(ies) will only see it their way. In the end we have to accept that it is a way of life now, whether we like it or not, and even whether you participate in it or not.
Yet in another way, social media is a great way to spread information, especially if it’s true. One of the issues the board had was people venting and talking about the situation on social media instead of coming to the board meeting and talking. What they said is very true, but if the information about the situation was not made public, how would the citizens know there was an issue?
Rev. Larry Jenkins said a very true statement at the meeting in that social media is here and is here to stay. Whether the board of supervisors and all other governing boards like it or not. It is a part of our lives. We can’t go with “old school” thinking anymore.
We live in a digital age. It affects all facets of our lives, including our newspaper. Instead of focusing on a paper twice a week, we need to remember people have instant access to everything and try to provide some up-to-date news on our website and social media page.
Now back to my point.
Green, I believe, probably received a lot of phone calls. Hopefully none of the calls were hateful, but somehow I believe some probably were. I noticed some were there with attitudes and ready to “duke” it out, including Green. In my opinion he was confrontational with the speakers, and to me that is sad.
It seemed to me that instead of the Ghost of Christmas Past visiting him, he just had a ghost from the past haunting him from when he lost his business to a fire in 1990. Something as traumatic as that will stay with you and will make you more self-conscious about the situation, which is 100% understandable.
Green had a printout of a social media post referring to the lights of the courthouse. It was obvious he was upset about it.
But here is the thing. When a citizen in his beat tried to talk, he told her she should google LED lights. He also asked her how many times she came to the downtown celebration and she said she was there every night. Miss. Rep. Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown, was doing his best to keep things calm. But Green responded to Morgan saying he told an individual to come to the meeting and get the 4-1 vote, with Green being the lone “oppose” vote. Yet the individual threw it on social media. Green made several more remarks that sounded more confrontational like he was ready to fight, like it was all the other person’s fault and not as you would expect an elected official to react.
Green had told me before he was elected he did not like the courthouse being decorated. However, I took that for his own personal opinion, which I cannot state enough is his personal right to have.
But in light of everything that has transpired over this last week and the mindset he was in Monday, one can’t help but wonder if he voted on his conviction, because the people of his district or out of anger and spite?
While I’m happy the courthouse will be part of the celebration, I’m sad that it had to be so dramatic to make it so.
Susan Amundson is managing editor of
The Columbian-Progress. She may be
reached at (601) 736-2611 or
samundson@columbianprogress.com.
