To the Editor:

It never ceases to amaze me at the (in my opinion) decisions the Board of Supervisors of Isle of Wight County can make. The decision to fire Mike Stephens as chairman of the IOW Fair Committee falls into the same category as the board’s decision to spend $2,000,000 (maybe it was $1,000,000) on an undevelopable lot in the marsh at the foot of the James River bridge. I spoke to Mike this morning and apologized to him on the behalf of the citizens of this county. In our discussion he said that on the Tuesday before the fair opened on Wednesday, he answered 180 phone calls.

When I was a kid, I served as a page in the Louisiana State House of Representatives, and always thought it would be great to serve in some position of responsibility of the parish I grew up in, Tangipahoa Parish, La. After living here for eight years (and I love living here), I have decided that I would rather have Bill Clinton escort my 16-year-old, knock-dead gorgeous and with a perfect smile and body, granddaughter to an after-hour’s party (where alcohol is expected to be available) at a vacant beach house that has six ready-to-sleep bedrooms, than to be on a Board of Supervisors that fires the leader of a great organization for essentially $375 (the increase for the fair booth to the political parties).

The taxpayers of Isle of Wight are financing the fair and there is no scenario under which the County should subsidize a political party for anything. If the political parties in this county are so broke that they cannot spend the $375, they need to start over. Furthermore, I want to challenge the board that the next time they have to make such a controversial decision over pennies, please give me a call and I may be able to pay for it out of pocket.

I feel that every Board member needs to be spend their time helping IOW County continue to be the great place to live in, rather than forcing a divisive, petty decision on the folks of this community.

This reminds me when I was it the Navy where I was ordered to conduct a probable-cause investigation of the Supply Officer of the ship because he had bought the first Apple II-E in the Navy (in 1983 it was not allowed) to keep the personnel and money records of his ship. When I completed my investigation, I wrote the Supply Officer up for a “Navy Commendation Medal” rather than referring the matter to a courts martial.

D.B. Gray
Windsor