Opinion by Linda Dean Cooper
I attended Tuesday’s criminal court hearings waiting to hear an animal abuse case I have been following. What I observed did not give me any peace of mind. Elections have consequences and we are reaping the results of those poor choices made in our local and national elections.
1st In Line – Inmates Appearance by Zoom
All the inmates appearing through Zoom were first in line, while others were seated in the courtroom and hallway waiting their turn. I’m not sure why people appearing in person were heard last. One would think that because the inmates had nowhere to go except back to their jail cells, they could appear second, and those needing interpreters could appear last.
2nd In Line – Spanish Speaking Defendants Requiring Interpreter
The second group, all Spanish-speaking defendants arrested for having no driver’s license and needing an interpreter.
One disturbing revealment was knowing we were on the same roads as all these people driving without a license, they could not speak English and most had no more than a 2nd or 3rd-grade education based on what transpired in court. I can only assume if they needed an interpreter, they could not read road signs either. Very unnerving to know there are so many unlicensed foreign drivers on the road.
Nicknamed “80,000 Pound Torpedo”
Semis with unlicensed drivers are referred to as an 80,000-pound torpedo waiting for a target. It has been told to me, that many of these semi-trucks when stopped by law enforcement have as many as four or five people bailing out of the truck but only one driver has a CDL. Who hasn’t seen a cut-out school bus loaded with people or melons during watermelon season? Good chance that the driver is unlicensed. That same bus would never pass an inspection if required.
We are in a crisis with open borders and failed politicians. How can independent, over-taxed, over-regulated, law-abiding professional truckers make an honest living if the rules do not apply to everyone? I can’t feel safe driving knowing so many drivers can’t read or write English. The honest hardworking middle-class worker is being squeezed until we won’t take it anymore. We, the middle class, have had enough!
Taxpayers Go To The Back of the Line
English-speaking defendants were sent to the back of the line. I was not impressed with the process. Inadequate microphones made it difficult to hear, and the lack of proper courtroom decorum instructions and noise made it difficult to follow.
Elections Have Consequences
Vote based on qualifications, not some long-time generational family legacy political wannabe. Matt Brooks claims he has 10 years in office, look at his record, not his family lineage. Is he more self-serving than a public servant? He purchased a business while in office. As a sitting commissioner did he benefit from his seat on the board he serves by selling his products to that same board? He has made a conflict of interest and reckless appointments to various boards. He tried to limit transparency as BoCC chairman in 2020 by pushing to approve a consent agenda that would have lacked the transparency we currently have. Thankfully it failed BoCC approval.
The landfill is still hemorrhaging money because our BoCC won’t instruct the employees at the scales to show proof of residency. The $116 landfill assessment was supposed to stop the hemorrhaging of money, but it didn’t. It allowed the commercial haulers and outsiders to dump garbage almost free at Levy taxpayers’ expense.
No real oversight or accountability of managers. The preferred hiring practice has been the friends and family policy which has been an epic failure. Very few credentialed managers leading employees.
Animal Control – Decades of Epic Costly Failures
Animal Control is a prime example of the poor leadership the BoCC has provided for decades. No best practices shelter management programs, no qualified director to properly guide and operate the shelter.
Many of you reading this will remember the years of a parade of concerned citizens begging for improvements in animal control. We pleaded for better animal shelter care with increased spay and neuter programs. It all fell on deaf ears. BoCC was hoping we would go away. We’re still here.
The most recent director has been put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. The prior director was moved to another department without any decrease in pay or consequences for his bad actions.
I will continue to follow this animal abuse case to its conclusion which has been going on since January 2024. In the meantime, the taxpayers are on the hook to date for $15,140.25, which goes up every day the animals are in limbo at the shelter. The invoice states CASH ONLY payments to Levy County Animal Control. When a rogue department will accept only cash, something is very wrong, and the powers that be are responsible for this epic failure of the animals and the taxpayers.
It didn’t have to be this way. Incompetence and a kick-the-can-down-the-road Levy County management style are how the taxpayers got screwed, and the dogs in this abuse case cannot be adopted because the case is in the hands of the court. At this time the owner will not release ownership of the dogs to the shelter to be adopted.
I implore the new county manager, Mary Ellen Harper, to restructure the county departments one by one. Please cast a wide net to advertise and hire only qualified applicants. Stop this friends and family policy, it is killing Levy County.
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Posted October 26, 2024
