{"id":12034,"date":"2015-02-15T00:19:47","date_gmt":"2015-02-15T05:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/?p=12034"},"modified":"2015-02-15T12:37:27","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T17:37:27","slug":"breakdown-the-halifax-county-meltdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2015\/02\/15\/breakdown-the-halifax-county-meltdown\/","title":{"rendered":"BreakDown: The Halifax County Meltdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the last BreakDown, I reminded you that the Halifax County government system was already broken down<\/a>. We’re past that point and in full meltdown mode now.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You probably know the details by now but if you don’t, pick one of the three newspaper articles to read. Or pick them all. For the Gazette-Virginian ones, their paywall may apply unless you break through it.<\/p>\n

News & Record: Halifax County office turmoil spills into courtroom<\/a><\/h4>\n

Gazette-Virginian: Protective order filed as controversy continues<\/a><\/h4>\n

Gazette-Virginian: \u2018Alarming information\u2019 prompts heightened security at meeting<\/a><\/h4>\n

OK. Let’s get a Meltdown-proof Big Board to put our observations on.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • When all of this started, I asked my sources what their opinion of Robbie Love was. I got a unanimous “He’s a good guy. He’s credible. He’s got his head on straight.” I still believe his accusations against County Administrator Jim Halasz and Finance Director Stephanie Jackson but it appears that he couldn’t handle the pressure and has snapped. Totally snapped. Snapped like a timing belt on a Honda Civic with 250,000 miles on it.<\/li>\n
  • Robbie Love started snapping the publishing night of the News & Record article where he and Kirby Saunders went on the record about Halazs & Jackson. I could tell a serious meltdown was happening because he posted this…<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

      \n
    • This lasted about 8 hours then he deleted it. He then recanted what he had posted above and endorsed the McLaughlin’s. There is no chance in hell that any media source could offer him anonymity on a story like that because without a named source, it’s down to Kirby Saunders vs. Halasz\/Jackson and that’s not good enough for an investigative story.<\/li>\n
    • I also find it interesting that the News & Record has never had a disclaimer that Love was working for them in some capacity for ACC basketball games. Given that the News & Record is a local-based paper and usually only reports on local sports, it makes me wonder what they were really using Love for (if anything). That’s no concern of mine, but it would have been appropriate for the News & Record to disclose that in their articles.<\/li>\n
    • You can see that “I have more information…” line at the end isn’t the work of someone with a firm grasp on reality.<\/li>\n
    • I have no reason to doubt Trish Barger’s conversation that led to the temporary restraining order. If Robbie Love was in Stephanie Jackson’s woods in November 2014, he gots to go. He won’t be the Halifax County planning and zoning director again.<\/li>\n
    • Halazs is right in saying no one can provide a 100% safe workplace, but it’s quite bizarre to tell everyone that Otis Vaughan and Chad Loftis are now going to carry concealed handguns. Um… that sorta defeats the purpose of carrying a concealed handgun. In the world of reality, it also means that puts a target on them in case something was going to happen. I’ve got problem with concealed carry of handguns, but make the policy apply to all. Let’s also remember that the state police office is right next door, with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and Town of Halifax PD less than a mile away just in case Otis & Chad can’t get it done. Yes, I know how ridiculous this sounds too.<\/li>\n
    • Sadly, this incident has made the 4-4 Board of Supervisors logjam pale in comparison… well, for this week. Personnel matters CAN be held in closed meeting sessions, but now this is beginning to look like a giant coverup by Team Bowman to protect Halazs & Jackson.<\/li>\n
    • Robbie Love ain’t going to be coming back to his job. Not a chance. Kirby Saunders has moved on. Jim Halasz will survive on a 4-4 vote no matter how the Board of Supervisors logjam shakes out, but I’m betting he won’t get much support because of that same 4-4 vote. I’m also betting that Stephanie Jackson won’t be around much longer because of these “incidents”.<\/li>\n
    • The whole damned thing is embarrassing, but everybody who is calling for “they need to clean house” is going to be highly disappointed when they realize that’s just not going to happen. All of the players in this game may be gone months from now, but not anytime soon.<\/li>\n
    • “If Robbie Love shows up, he is to go to Matt Leonard’s office to assist in the investigation.” What the hell? “Mr. Leonard, you’ve got a disturbed guy that may have a gun that wants to meet with you.” Considering that the Riverstone building is locked down and you have to be buzzed in, I just can’t see any way that something could go wrong with that plan. Unless he’s going to apply for a job with Faneuil, of course. Heh. I’m sure that Matt Leonard really appreciates being thrown into this mess.<\/li>\n
    • Tom McLaughlin’s editorial columns have been right on top of this situation. Paula Bryant’s columns have been about dormant savings accounts and Valentine’s Day. However, Paula has given us useful information like “The number of jewelry stores per capita is 37 times higher in Miami than in North Las Vegas, Nevada.” in her columns. Seriously.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      I don’t believe this situation can get any more bizarre than it is now. Unfortunately, I believed that two weeks ago. Hoo Boy.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In the last BreakDown, I reminded you that the Halifax County government system was already broken down. We’re past that point and in full meltdown mode now.<\/p>\n

      […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[101,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breakdown","category-halifax-county","odd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pwqFk-386","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5425,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2009\/09\/29\/take-off-your-clothes\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":0},"title":"Take off your clothes!","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"September 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, the Gazette-Virginian is nicely asking you to do that... The Gazette-Virginian is hereby charged with the crime of making hilarious typos. Your Honor, the plaintiff wishes to admit Exhibit \"A\" into evidence... The plaintiff rests.","rel":"","context":"In "Halifax County"","block_context":{"text":"Halifax County","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/locations\/halifax-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10591,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2014\/10\/13\/the-gazette-virgnian-gets-busted-for-plagiarism\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":1},"title":"UPDATED: The Gazette-Virginian Gets Busted for Plagiarism","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"October 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"UPDATE: We've added the Gazette-Virginian's \"response\" to the article. Somebody finally calls out their lazy \"reporting\"... Choices 180 hosts gospel fest fundraiser (Gazette-Virginian link, paywall may apply unless you break through it.) You'll notice that the article is clearly bylined as... Let's move to the end of the article and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Halifax County"","block_context":{"text":"Halifax County","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/locations\/halifax-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.imgur.com\/8tZAtfN.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4868,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2009\/07\/30\/hey-gazette-virginian-forget-something\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":2},"title":"UPDATED: Hey, Gazette-Virginian! Forget something?","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"July 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"(Originally Published on: Jul 29, 2009 @ 16:49) Like paying your webhosting bill? Nick Elmes designs a nice website for the GV then finds a better job and leaves. They let the website degrade into a bloated mess which is completely useless since they only post the first few sentences.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "BusinessCentral"","block_context":{"text":"BusinessCentral","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/businesscentral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8539,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2014\/04\/25\/halifax-county-hits-the-big-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":3},"title":"Halifax County hits the Big Time!","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"April 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Remain calm. All is well. Planning for only 7000 people has been handled. They got this. Yes, it's ridiculous. Motels, restaurants prepare for influx of race fans In typical Gazette-Virginian policy, the headline has little to do with the story. You'll find the hotels mentioned two-thirds down in the story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "BusinessCentral"","block_context":{"text":"BusinessCentral","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/businesscentral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4236,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/14\/jim-barczak-and-his-sour-grapes\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":4},"title":"Jim Barczak and his sour grapes.","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"June 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Anybody see the letter to the editors in both the News & Record and the Gazette-Virginian? Wow.","rel":"","context":"In "EducationCentral"","block_context":{"text":"EducationCentral","link":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/category\/educationcentral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8419,"url":"https:\/\/www.southsidecentral.com\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/26\/thine-holy-nuclear-fireball\/","url_meta":{"origin":12034,"position":5},"title":"Thine Holy Nuclear Fireball?","author":"SouthsideCentral","date":"March 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"God said Nuke 'em\" was the other headline I was considering using. Anyway, let's look at a \"letter to the editor\" that contains a quite bizarre analogy... 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