Sore spot: Commissioner not too happy about story on trip costs

Oh dear, looks like we hurt someone's feelings again.

We know that because County Commissioner Joe Daughtery has commented on our Facebook page about how our recent story about the commissioners' $12,000 trip to Washington, D.C., was "tabloid journalism."

Which, of course, for those of you who don't know, means it was not based in fact or that it was one-sided and mean-spirited or misleading.

He thinks we should have pointed out that the trip is taken every year and that it was an effort to score federal funds for the new agriculture center project -- among other endeavors.

Hmmmm.

Boy this one sure struck a nerve. We wonder why.

All we did was report how much the trip cost. We left it up to the community to decide if it was justified or not.

We did not point out the huge discrepancies in the cost for one commissioner or ask for specific receipts to explain the meal costs. We did not compare prices for a night's stay in Washington and analyze if the trip needed to cost $12,000 -- or if all seven commissioners should have attended.

And that is only the first step in what could have been a real "tabloid job."

We could have pointed out again that the commissioners have spent nearly $200,000 to outfit the county courthouse with sound, lights and other equipment and to buy TV equipment and a van to cart it around so they could be on a television station that no one watches and on a radio broadcast that few people hear.

We did not point out that they are paying out a $350,000 contract to a county manager.

There is an old phrase -- "methinks he doth protest too much."

Makes us wonder if perhaps we weren't the only ones who might have wondered about such a bill.

And really, Commissioner Daughtery, our FACEBOOK PAGE?

We have phones down here at the The National Enquirer Argus, all you had to do was call and we would have been happy to let you respond.

We are not the county's public relations agent. We report what happens, pure and simple.

But we want to end on a positive note because there have been some signs of progress from the commission lately.

Chairman Wayne Aycock seems to have the board focused forward and he and his team are making a concerted effort to change the way they do business from micro-managing to team-building.

And that is to be commended.

All we have to do is make sure we keep an eye on that jail plan.

That is a promise we will be making sure the county keeps.

Published in Editorials on March 17, 2014 11:05 AM