commentary

The Gazette once again acts as a PR subsidiary of the City, regurgitating the questionable resume word for word, as if it was accurate and confirmed. I ask again, can a variance be requested for a building that doesnt even exist yet? Isnt there a conflict of interest if the Council that decided to build a new gym bill is also the ones deciding whether to grant a variance? When, if ever, is the Council going to do anything close to DUE DILIGENCE with regard to annexation? Perhaps pollution issues, mitigation fees, zoning questions, and the disposition of the FEC properties are not important to the other communities involved, but they ARE to MS residents. Why would we annex polluted properties? One multi-million dollar cleanup would wipe out ANY possible benefits we might receive. Only if the County would stipulate, in writing, that THEY would be responsible for any cleanups needed, would this part of annexation make ANY sense. Dr. Mel Johnson

need all the facts to decide

The chances that SOMETHING happened with those three young ladies is pretty good. Exactly WHAT did happen is the problem. As I have said in the past, a touch on the arm or shoulder, or a pat on the back could be misinterpreted, are mistakes, and should result in a warning at the very least. Any touching of a more personal nature or explicit comments would be clearly out of bounds and DOES require strong action as a deterrent, in my opinion. Until we know ALL the facts its hard to make up ones mind about this. The question is- will we ever know all the facts? I am also concerned that Gym hired somebody without checking him out completely in terms of his actual qualifications and experience, like he said he did. Perhaps, if he had, he might have found something in his background checks and research that could have tipped him off BEFORE he was hired. It is clear that due diligence was NOT done, again, this time by the City Manager. Dr. Mel P. Johnson