Doing good and bad in our counties

Buckle up, this is going to be a quick ride through some opinions about things going on in Bertie and Martin counties.

Kudos to MCS

When tragedy struck Williamston, the administrators in Martin County Schools reacted quickly and set up counseling for their students and staff who had issues because of the tragedy.

The incident was a terrible one and a situation few of us could even imagine. While that can’t be fixed, Martin County Schools handled it the right way — by making sure they offered help to students and staff.

Good job by them.

Congrats to Cashie Youth League

The Tar Heel District 7 softball championships were held recently on the fields of Cashie Youth League. As one would have expected, the leaders of CYL did an excellent job of hosting the tournament.

Record heat didn’t stop them from putting on an excellent tournament, and also didn’t stop the Cashie teams from doing well as every one of them reached at least the finals.

Job well done by everyone.

Do Better, Martin County

I have known most of the Martin County Commissioners for many years. At times during my tenure here, I have covered the board of commissioners.

I’ve always been a fan of Dempsey Bond, a fact from which I’ve never hidden. I have always had a lot of respect for him.

I am disappointed, however, in some of the decisions he and others on the board have made recently. Mainly, the decision not to explain raises given to former manager James Bennett. Citizens always deserve explanations from their leaders.

Recently, the most disappointing decision is that of Bond and Ronnie Smith not to stop Emily Biggs from attending the national conference. Biggs was voted out of office in the primary earlier this year, but still is spending taxpayer money to attend a conference, the benefits of which she will never share because she won’t be a commissioner.

A simple vote of the board — with everyone knowing where Commissioners Joe Ayers and Skip Gurganus would stand — to not allow a commissioner to attend conferences after being voted out of office would have been appropriate.

If Emily Biggs wants to attend the national conference as a swansong, so be it, but she shouldn’t be doing it on the taxpayers’ dime.

Do Better, Bertie County

A mistake in the budgeting process helped lead to commissioners adopting a 6.5-cent tax increase. It was a bad mistake and a bad look for county government.

What is more frustrating for citizens — and apparently some commissioners — is the lack of an answer as to what happened.

I know our county leaders and I trust that no mistake was made that would intentionally harm the citizens of Bertie County, but a mistake was made.

Everyone should own their responsibility in it and work to fix it so that it never happens again.

Your Help is Needed

When I came here more than a decade ago, we were flooded with information from schools, churches and clubs. Now, they trickle in at times.

We want to have more of that type of information to print and we need your help. Send it to us the next time you take a photo or write up something for social media. We’ll help you spread the word.