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Cindy vs. Joey: We're gonna call timeout
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Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to rumble?
In this corner, Joey Preston. As the administrator of Anderson County for nearly 12 years, he has worked wonders at moving our community forward, despite resistance from a small but loud faction that questions every penny spent. His ways and means might be a little unorthodox, particularly when it comes to budgets and accounting, but he has gotten results.
Is he always right? No.
In that corner, Cindy Wilson. In her eighth year as the District 7 representative on the Anderson County Council, she has done little but float conspiracy theories while pursuing a selfish agenda: getting back at Mr. Preston because he and the county seized (bought) Wilson family farm property so a sewer line could make development feasible. She fights progress and stirs up trouble.
Is she always wrong? No.
In the middle, your Anderson Independent-Mail. We’re not sure if we entered the ring ourselves or if we were dragged in, but we’re there. We thought we might referee, but lately it seems we’re taking some blows while being accused of dishing some out.
What a brouhaha. Would you mind if we call a timeout? Let’s catch our breath and look back on the past two or three months. …
County credit card spending was questioned by Ms. Wilson. We looked at records and saw an expenditure or two that raised an eyebrow but no serious abuses. Yet, there’s a buzz about a credit card “scandal.”
We focused our attention on the accounting rather than the spending, and when one story raised questions, it led to another story, and another story, all of which gave county officials opportunities to explain how they do business.
Mr. Preston returned fire with fresh accusations toward Ms. Wilson regarding property settlements in the Beaver Dam Creek sewer line dispute.
Now we have written about private donations to the county for a balloon festival and economic development, and we’ve written about an audit, and we’ve written about the county receiving a budget award, and it seems every story is stirring everybody up.
Enough! Calm down.
It has become apparent that in an attempt to do something constructive with a little watchdog journalism, we are doing something destructive instead. If the result ultimately would be chasing a good administrator away, I would have regrets.
So unless something big and irresistible breaks, we’re going to pause and reflect. We have thrown a lot of information at readers in recent weeks, and a lot of spin has followed. We’ll give you time to chew and digest.
We’ll let somebody else step into the ring. Please! This dirty Cindy-vs.-Joey mud wrestling match has escalated into ultimate fighting, and it is tearing our county apart. We desperately need a truce.
Ready to rumble? I’m ready to take a shower. Pass the soap, please, and can you hand me a towel?
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Two bad ideas in one week, Don? Come on. You and the Anderson Independent-Mail are better than that.
You have been more than fair (though far less than aggressive and thorough) in your reporting of these issues - so fair, in fact, that you've taken shots from BOTH sides of the issue. That goes with the job and is a badge or honor - a positive - from my viewpoint.
As for the "spin" being put on your reports by non-employees and non-reporters, that's also part of the job. You certainly shouldn't abrogate your role as a community watchdog because of it.
Ignoring a problem won't make it go away. Surely, they're not teaching otherwise in journalism school nowadays?
If they are, you should rush out and hire a bunch of Political Science and English majors post haste. I like PoliSci and English majors myself. I don't have to UNteach 'em. :)
I agree with JD Tippet.
Wow, even this "non-partisan" article declaring a timeout took a shot at Cindy with his description of her. Look at the opinions stated in the first 2 paragraphs.
"His ways and means might be a little unorthodox, particularly when it comes to budgets and accounting, but he has gotten results." -- Yeah, I think you could describe the Mafia the same way.
"Cindy Wilson.... has done little but float conspiracy theories while pursuing a selfish agenda: getting back at Mr. Preston because he and the county seized (bought) Wilson family farm property so a sewer line could make development feasible. She fights progress and stirs up trouble." --- Geez, wonder who's side you're on? Strange how a woman asking for accountability can be described this way by a newspaper man.
I'm just a little nauseated by this article.
You've stepped-out of the journalistic box Mr. Kausler. Either you are a journalist, or you're not. What's it gonna be?
I understand and appreciate these thoughts and concerns. I expected comments like these. Let me better explain our intentions. ...
We will NOT stop digging, but if the digging doesn't result in dirt, you probably won't read a story. This is about smoke and fire. Many of our stories in the past month have been about smoke. Some of these stories seem to have caused more alarm than they should have. The credit card stories, for instance, did not reveal big abuses or patterns of small abuses. We thought accounting was a bigger story than spending, but some people in this county seem obsessed over nickels and dimes. The county did not spend more than its budgeted amount for credit cards. "County spends money on economic development" isn't a story unless we see evidence of excess or wrongdoing. How can anybody question spending $250,000 to make $2.5 million?
What we did after the initial credit card story was what we call "manufacturing" more stories. The first few were fine. We revealed that private donations are received and spent by the county. We filed an FOIA request to see those private donations. Sometimes when you get results to an FOIA request, you feel obligated to write a story, even if there isn't much of a story there. We did that last week. This is the kind of reporting/writing that we will think twice about before publishing.
Please do not get the impression that we will close our eyes. If we see smoke, we will look for a fire. If we see a fire, you will read about it.
If you see a fire, we want to know about it. But most people see smoke and think there's a fire. If you see smoke, tell us you see smoke.
So, Don, if I suggested to you that you get one of your ace reporters to call the S.C. Ethics Commission (803-253-4192, ask for Herb Hayden), outline the circumstances regarding that Greg Norman's Australian Grille credit card charge (you know, more than $900, etc., etc., part of it to pay for meals for nine people who weren't in the official party and had nothing to do with economic development), and ask whether that might - just MIGHT - have been a violation of S.C. Ethics Law, would I be pointing out smoke, would I be pointing out fire, or would I simply be directing you to the nearest fire extinguisher ... just in case?
And if Herb's answer is, "Yes, that would seem to be a violation, but we'd need to investigate fully to make that determination," and the AIM wrote that story, would you be "manufacturing" the news, or "covering" the news? And how about if the AIM filed the official request for an investigation? What would that be? Inquiring minds want to know.
Too bad you weren't in charge of the Watergate investigation 35 years ago. Richard Nixon would have served out his second term, Gerald Ford would never have have become president, Ronald Reagan would have been elected in 1976 and we could have avoid the entire Jimmy Carter administration (although on the downside, we may have wound up with Dukakis in '88.)
Maybe you're on to something here.
In fairness to you, I do understand you're going to keep digging. And I fully agree that if you find nothing, there's no story. But I've been to meetings where ABSOLUTELY NOTHING NOTEWORTHY HAPPENED, and I've still written stories, if only because my editors and my readers expected me to.
Just try to keep your eyes open when you're surrounded by all that smoke, just so you won't accidentally get burned by something you couldn't see. I really do understand your decision (my sarcasm notwithstanding) but I would urge you not to get too complacent along the way.
Non-partisan? Even your alleged non-partisan editorial announcing your 'time out' patted Joey on the back and took a pot shot at Ms. Wilson.
Just how far did your 'investigation' in fact actually dig I wonder??
Does Mr. Preston have the opportunity to 'correct' and proof your articles before they go to print- he pretty much asks this of all reporters does he not?
Now I understand why there are no 'Anderson or local' related editorials on the editorial page- but rather items that address non-profit appeals and cute-isms. And the 'call in blurbs'- is that so you have an opportunity to dodge the real issues?
Where oh where has true investigative journalism gone? Independent Mail appears to be under administration ownership and and completely man-handled. Are you sharing what you and your staffers are smoking? Maybe it would help everyone else get on board....
BLAH! BLAH! BLAH to JD and sprung!
The Independent should do as you state - take a break on this stuff! Readers are tired of it! It makes our county look embarrassing! It makes me wonder why I buy the paper!
Look at the bias and what side it came from in the posts above (isn't it awful I have to state 'side'). It is obvious that most of this 'side' has nothing better to do with their time. I am not a fan of the other 'side' either and do not like him personally at all.
Imagine if you will...what if both 'sides' were gone and we had an administrator who could accomplish as much as this one. I would not have to post and defend a column for the first time after reading (and subscribing) to this paper for 20+ years; you people above could stop posting since you would not have anything to complain about; the Editor would not have to write a column like this; and Anderson could once again seem like a civilized intelligent community!
NOW...Imagine yourself an executive trying to decide on Anderson for a possible location; the answer is 'Are you kidding me'. Why would we come here when this community has a layer of SMOKE over it and these people treat each other like DIRT. Mr. Editor I hope it is not to late to save this community; I am not sure there is enough SOAP to clean this mess up!
If an executive makes a decision to avoid relocation of his business to Anderson, that decision would be based on far more important reasons/factors than infighting at a political level. If in fact political discord was a deal breaker, no one would relocate.
If intelligent discourse, the right to hold opposing viewpoints and requests for a journalist or newspaper to investigate facts through in-depth reporting is distasteful and only considered 'complaining', there are a number of other countries where you might find yourself much more comfortable.
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You all need to get a life. My great grand father founded the Daily Mail, and he is turning in his grave because you all have turned the Independent into the latest playbill for the grand guignol. Preston is a crook, Wilson is a cry baby, and Anderson is falling through the cracks. There, end of story. Can we please move on to actually talking about things that matter. We are at war in Iraq and Afganistan, young people are being shot and killed on America's streets at random, there is a highly contested presidential race, the economy is heading south, terrorists want to kill us, crime rates are on the rise--but please, it's very important that we continue bloviating about Preston and Wilson. I don't know either of them, though I have met both of them on occasion. I don't remember a single quality about either of these two people that deserves this much attention. Prostitution is legal in Nevada, yet marijuana is the cause of all evil. Oil is over one hundred dollars a barrell, yet we continue to allow the oil companies to get rich off our coin. The militay-industrial complex is dictating our foreign policy, yet innocent American troops are dying daily. Unemployment is getting out of control, making it impossible to escape socialistic well-fare systems. Oh, but of course, we should focus on Preston and Wilson. Get a grip people.
Oh, and on another note, Richard Nixion was one of the smartest, most capable foreign policy presidents in the history of the United States. He was a good president. But, he was a crook, and dishonest; I guess what I'm saying is that a good leader is not necessarily a good leader. Just food for thought, although from the look of things, not many of you will understand that, and even less of you will care.
And Don, your analogies don't make sense, they don't correlate. How do you get smoke and fire out a hole that you're digging in something other than dirt? I mean, can you really dig a hole without turning up dirt? Maybe you should say, we will keep digging until we uncover the evidence, or the burried truth. I'm sorry to be so offensive, but it is offensive to me that you all have taken my great grandfather's life work, and turned it into a a tabloid periodical, and a poorly written one at that. This is what happens when the media decides to have an opinion--you lose sight of the truth, of the things that matter. You are quite myopic, borderline monomaniacal (look it up). Ok, I am starting to approach that line, so I'll simply say in closing; please try to clean it up. Thank you!
Muckraker, 'dam' is spelled with an 'n', damn!
Muckraker, I'm amazed that you can draw a pseudonym from a Teddy Roosevelt reference, but you can't spell damn, nor can you properly place prepositions. How about this: "We will have two people from whom to choose." Also, I don't believe that President Nixion considered it a 'reward' when he was forced from office. Their, as in "their collective back's", is the possessive pronoun; therefore, the apostrophe in "back's" is not needed. Did your Smith & Wesson stop the 9/11 terrorists? I'm a former U. S. Marine, and I know that the Boeing 757's used in the 9/11 attacks were impervious to my Smith & Wesson.
Continuing with your illogical argument for a moment, I will say that the paper has taken a liberal bias, and that is not very good. The media, known as the free press, should remain objective. You maintain that we, as citizens, should "control" it. How do you think that the first amendment would position itself on that point? You seem to love your second amendment rights, but you want to 'contorl' the media. By the way, to which "well regulated malitia" do you belong?
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are quickly approaching a brokered convention. Is that not a highly contested aspect of the current presidential race?
I agree that Preston and Wilson are a major point of contention in the Anderson political arena, and that "objective" discourse is the best way to address it.
Guns do not have brothers or sisters, they only have victims and aggressors. I support the right to bear arms in America, but if you go around killing suspected terrorists, do you suppose that the city of Anderson will throw you a ticker tape parade, or in prision?
Muckraker, it is evident to me that you really don't have a point. Having said that, you are perfectly within you rights to object to whatever you want. Liberal bias in the media is not a local issue--just ask John McCain what he thinks of the New York Times.
I have emailed the editor the the paper and expressed my concerns about the leftist views of the paper's journalists, but I did it respectfully, and out of a desire to premote liberty, not propaganda.
Finally, and I do mean finally--this is the last time I will address you--I will leave you with a quote from Winston Churchill (keeping with the theme of grammar); "This is exactly the sort of impertinence up with which I shall not put."
Kind regards.
Mr. Kausler, I admire what you have said here and I think that you are trying to heop do what is best for Anderson. Too bad, on this very site people are choosing to throw stones at you instead of following your example and trying to call a truce.
hart7217.....wow. very eloquent and impressive !
Thanks for the spell check, there are a few others, too. There is, however, a difference between typos and ignorance. I think that you have a good point—I’ve done some research—and are fighting a good fight. All I am trying to get across is that you should better articulate your position.
And, I am voting for Sen. Obama; however, I voted for President Bush, twice.
Also, if Mr. Preston has done all of these things that I have discovered to be in question, why hasn’t anyone contacted federal authorities? The amount of money changing hands, coupled with the possibility that some of these questionable transactions could involve money crossing state lines, makes this a federal case. If you want to indict a public official, you have to have the justice department on your side. You should call them and ask them why a U.S. attorney hasn’t convened a grand jury. You could also call the FBI and report what you know. There is a Secret Service office (Department of the Treasury) on McDuffie Street. I mean, you need more than the Anderson Independent and a few other detractors to help you. Good luck.
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