Lafayette County Courthouse - The Real Story - UPDATED
Think the language in my previous post ("...my view is that the three supervisors in question, Johnny Morgan, Lloyd Oliphant and Ray Sockwell, Jr., abandoned sound judgment, official responsibility and the welfare of the public and voted in favor of political gamesmanship and personal interests.") about three of Lafayette County's Supervisors was a bit strong? Check out what some commentors have to say over at folo.
Now that you know the details of the story, I'd like to fill you in on the local response. The Lafayette County Bar unanimously passed this Resolution on Tuesday evening - the Resolution strongly encourages the Supervisors to reconsider their decision. Take some time to look over the 40 signatures from local members of the bar, including those of Omar Craig, Grady Tollison, David Bell, Swayze Alford, George Read, Cal Mayo, Pope Mallette, Andy Phillips and Judge Lamb (some are easier to read than others!). Additionally, on Thursday the Lafayette County Bar along with some additional local Appellants (including yours truly) filed this Notice of Appeal from the decision. Look at the number of local firms who joined the Notice as "Of Counsel" - I can truly say I feel well represented in this case! Stay tuned for updates on the legal maneuvering.
Finally, to the political aspect of this mess, I'd direct you to some interesting and pertinent information at the end of Alyssa Schnugg's Wednesday article, which for some reason isn't available on the Oxford Eagle website. So, I've scanned it in and you can view it here. Alyssa details recent instances in which the Supervisors and the Circuit Court have disagreed, including over the current Lafayette County public defenders and an attempt by one of the Supervisors to grab vital Circuit Court space to use as his personal office.
What gets me about these shenanigans is this: by all accounts the Lafayette County Justice Court and the other entities which are slated by these three Supervisor's to have space in the courthouse have no interest in moving from their current locations. The Supervisors appear to have acted with no consideration of the real issues pertinent to their decision - they seem only concerned with blocking the return of the Circuit Court. Word on the street is that Morgan, Oliphant and Sockwell are trying to flex their muscle after losing previous arguments with the Court - as expressed to me at church this morning, paraphrased: "I think it's sad that three grown men/elected officials have nothing better to do than play power games with the Court and their constituents' tax dollars."
UPDATE:
Check out this Public Records Request served on the Board of Supervisors by the Lafayette County Bar on Friday. Of special interest are request No.'s 3, 7, 8 and 9. So that you get the gist, No. 3 asks for "[a]ny and all documents or records regarding prior decisions of three or more members of the Lafayette County Board of Supervisor [sic] involving the current renovation of the Lafayette County Courthouse, whether or not any such decision was made at a publicly-noticed meeting of the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors." The implication is that the Board, or at least some members of the Board, made this decision on the sly. Can't say I'd be surprised.
Now that you know the details of the story, I'd like to fill you in on the local response. The Lafayette County Bar unanimously passed this Resolution on Tuesday evening - the Resolution strongly encourages the Supervisors to reconsider their decision. Take some time to look over the 40 signatures from local members of the bar, including those of Omar Craig, Grady Tollison, David Bell, Swayze Alford, George Read, Cal Mayo, Pope Mallette, Andy Phillips and Judge Lamb (some are easier to read than others!). Additionally, on Thursday the Lafayette County Bar along with some additional local Appellants (including yours truly) filed this Notice of Appeal from the decision. Look at the number of local firms who joined the Notice as "Of Counsel" - I can truly say I feel well represented in this case! Stay tuned for updates on the legal maneuvering.
Finally, to the political aspect of this mess, I'd direct you to some interesting and pertinent information at the end of Alyssa Schnugg's Wednesday article, which for some reason isn't available on the Oxford Eagle website. So, I've scanned it in and you can view it here. Alyssa details recent instances in which the Supervisors and the Circuit Court have disagreed, including over the current Lafayette County public defenders and an attempt by one of the Supervisors to grab vital Circuit Court space to use as his personal office.
What gets me about these shenanigans is this: by all accounts the Lafayette County Justice Court and the other entities which are slated by these three Supervisor's to have space in the courthouse have no interest in moving from their current locations. The Supervisors appear to have acted with no consideration of the real issues pertinent to their decision - they seem only concerned with blocking the return of the Circuit Court. Word on the street is that Morgan, Oliphant and Sockwell are trying to flex their muscle after losing previous arguments with the Court - as expressed to me at church this morning, paraphrased: "I think it's sad that three grown men/elected officials have nothing better to do than play power games with the Court and their constituents' tax dollars."
UPDATE:
Check out this Public Records Request served on the Board of Supervisors by the Lafayette County Bar on Friday. Of special interest are request No.'s 3, 7, 8 and 9. So that you get the gist, No. 3 asks for "[a]ny and all documents or records regarding prior decisions of three or more members of the Lafayette County Board of Supervisor [sic] involving the current renovation of the Lafayette County Courthouse, whether or not any such decision was made at a publicly-noticed meeting of the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors." The implication is that the Board, or at least some members of the Board, made this decision on the sly. Can't say I'd be surprised.
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