A little Holly Acres Push me/Pull me

adultgirl

 

For those of you who don’t know Greg Reynolds, he and his wife frequently appear before the BOCS to attempt to make things right, especially for those who are least able to defend themselves.  He has gone to bat for the elderly, kids and immigrants, just to name a few groups of folks.  He was particularly vocal about getting the transportation to the senior centers back up and running.  He bids us all not to leave our religion at the door of the Supervisors Chambers. 

A correspondence from Greg Reynolds:

The Holly Acres Mobile Home Park story continues to unfold.
 
In the latest development in the Holly Acres Mobile Home Park the homeowners went to get the permits to proceed with the repairs to their damaged homes but the County denied the permits immediately after (and even though) the Board of Zoning Appeals had overturned the Zoning Administrator’s order preventing the repair and replacement of their damaged mobile homes.
 
It would be very helpful if you can attend the Board of Supervisors meeting this Tuesday, 11/29/2011 at 2 PM, to ask the Board members to help restore Holly Acres.
 
These 70 affordable homes do not seem to be a priority for the Board of County Supervisors but they are very important to the families that need permanent affordable housing. 

Col. Morris Davis again attempts to ask Congressman Connolly for assistance

MoonHowler

Sometimes people have a representative but its in name only.  Perhaps this blog can get the attention of Rep. Connolly.  There is nothing like a little embarrassment to bring everyone front and center. 

Colonel Morris Davis, better known to all of us at Moonhowlings as Moe Davis, once again attempts to get hold of his Congressman for some assistance with his on-going problem–that problem being he was denied his first amendment rights by his government.   You don’t have to agree with Moe, but damn he does have a right to his opinion. 

Here is his correspondence, again, to his congressman, Gerry Connolly, who is pretending Moe does not exist. 

Dear Rep. Connolly,
 
I have tried several times over the past two years to contact you by email and regular mail to request your assistance.  To date, I have not received so much as a form letter reply.  [Although I did get an out-of-office email response once in Dec. 2009 from Mr. Fields.]  Copied below is an article published earlier today on CBSNews.com that explains why I have tried to contact you repeatedly the past two years.  As one of your constituents, I again ask for your assistance.
 
Best regards,

—

Morris D. “Moe” Davis

No free speech at Mr. Jefferson’s library

By
Peter Van Buren

Here’s the First Amendment, in full: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Those beautiful words, almost haiku-like, are the sparse poetry of the American democratic experiment. The Founders purposely wrote the First Amendment to read broadly, and not like a snippet of tax code, in order to emphasize that it should encompass everything from shouted religious rantings to eloquent political criticism. Go ahead, reread it aloud at this moment when the government seems to be carving out an exception to it large enough to drive a tank through.

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What’s the job of a blog?

MoonHowler

Since Moonhowlings began questioning how county money was being spent, it seems that the question has come up about the place of blogs in communicating county affairs.  Have we overstepped our boundaries as citizens of Prince William County?  We say resoundingly, NO! 

Understandably, print newspapers are struggling  and often face the wrath of their readers.  How many times does a story evoke the “I am going to cancel my subscription” because of this or that story or editorial?   Even though most of a newspaper’s day to day funding comes from advertising, it does no good to advertise if there are no readers.

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Update: Wally Covington pulls his notice of intent Monday, Nov. 28 @3:20

MoonHowler

From insidenova.com:

GAINESVILLE, Va. —

Brentsville Supervisor W.S. “Wally” Covington III doesn’t believe his donation to his wife’s charity is a conflict of interest.

However, he has decided against contributing $100,000 from his supervisor office’s district funds to the Rainbow Therapeutic Equestrian Center during Tuesday’s Prince William Board of County Supervisors meeting.

“To maintain the comity of the Board and not to further politicize or demean this worthy organization, I will withdraw my notice of intent,” Covington stated in a press release this afternoon.

His wife Connie is the president of the Board of Directors for the Center, which according to its website, provides “therapeutic equestrian activities to individuals with physical and mental challenges in Prince William County and surrounding Northern Virginia areas.”

Good for Wally Covington to pull is notice to donate this money.  He has done the right thing.  Sometimes we are just to close to things to see how they look to the rest of the folks.  To reiterate, we like Wally and we feel Rainbow Riding is a worthwhile organization.   The criticism was never about Rainbow Riding.  It was always about the process of using tax payer money.

 

Wally Covington: giving away taxpayer money like it is his own

adultgirl

To whom it may Concern (i.e.  All Prince William County residents and Tax payers):

It has come to our attention that Supervisor Wally Covington, Brentsville District Supervisor, intends to give away $100,000 from his discretionary magisterial funds to the non-profit organization Rainbow Riding.   This resolution is to be voted on at the BOCS meeting on Tuesday, November 29.

Rainbow Riding is a worthwhile organization that provides therapy riding for children with physical and mental disabilities. People are often hesitant to say what they are thinking when questioning process.  Especially when children are involved as beneficiaries.  However, we cannot ignore irregularities when those irregularies  involve public money.

Allow us to be crystal clear:  This is not an issue regarding the credibility of Rainbow Riding or the services that they provide to a very specific population.  Instead, this is an issue about how county funds are spent and the degree of transparency involved in the determination of who will receive these funds.

During the past year, this blog has posted several articles regarding the permitting process or lack thereof for a huge riding arena constructed for the Rainbow Riding facility.  It became clear to citizens that Rainbow Riding was exempt from the regular processes that other residents are required to follow.  For example, the county informed us that this huge building, equipped with seats and bleachers, and bathroom facilities, was classified as a “barn.”  In the Rural Crescent, barns are not required to go through the permitting process.  Then, as now, we dispute the idea that a huge complex riding arena the size of this structure is a barn.  A riding arena is not a barn and a barn is not a riding arena.

From the very beginnings of negotiations with Toll Brothers, somehow Rainbow Riding became an integral part of that process.  How did a small 501C (3) organization become entrenched in negotiations regarding county land use?  The 45 acres that Rainbow Riding sits on is public that excludes the public at large.

Fast forward to the present.   Paying only a pittance for the public land this organization occupies; now the taxpayers will be required to put $100,000 more into a private organization.

Does anyone else find it troublesome that Supervisor Covington’s immediate family members are in leadership roles at Rainbow Riding?  Is there a fair process for the allocation of county funds to non-profits?  Or better yet, is there even a process?  How can citizens  be  assured that favoritism does not come in to play when taxpayer funds are being distributed to various organizations?   Should being an elected official entitle one to take care of family and friends’ favorite charities and organizations?  At what point do we question whether this isn’t nepotism?

 Note:  this article was originally published 11/24/11 in the evening. Thanksgiving night.   I moved it up several days as I felt it was an important story to have out there.  We do that with stories we want to keep active. 

 The time stamps stay behind the scenes and can be used for documentation should the need ever arise.