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Stew Lilker’s

Columbia County Observer

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County Commission News

Florida Crown - Columbia County
Time for a little mercy from the big wheels in Tallahassee

At last night's Columbia County Commission meeting it was apparent once again that Columbia County is being left behind in the dust trails of yesteryear, as even the most simple forms of governance leave long time county commissioner and current Board Chairman, Ronald Williams, confused and unable to effectively govern, demonstrating once again that good government has no place in Columbia County.

When Com Williams told the County Commission, two minutes before the close of the  meeting , "The board [Consortium] voted us out of the fold and the board is gonna have to vote us back in. That's not my problem and I will tell them that at the meetin," he made it clear that he didn't know what he was talking about.

With a resolution to the long simmering Florida Crown Affair only a vote away, Chairman Ronald Williams chose to prolong the festering problem by seeing to it that the March 5th letter from the Region 7 Consortium, inviting Columbia County to rejoin the region, never made it onto last night's County Commission agenda. This was clearly not an accident and leaving things off County Commission agendas has been common place forever.

Of course, this was not the only item that was intentionally left off the agenda last night. A resolution putting a referendum question on the November ballot, never saw the light of day before the Board voted to approve it.

For over a year, in order to grab and control the Federal funding that comes into the four county region, Columbia County has been in a search and destroy mode, using every kind of stalling and obnoxious tactic they could think of to break up and lay waste the Workforce Region and the programs that the forty-five thousand residents in the other three counties, as well as Columbia County, depend on.

In a conference call a month ago and before that, it was clear that WFI, the overseer of the Workforce Regions in Florida, considered this a regional problem.

Last year, Commissioner DuPree kicked off the ball which resulted in Columbia County voting to remove itself from the four member consortium.

In order to rejoin the region (the Consortium) the Columbia County Commission has to first, undo their vote to leave, by voting to rejoin. They could have done that last night by availing themselves of the invitation given through the Consortium Chairperson, Sharon Langford, inviting them to rejoin.

When Com Williams told the County Commission, two minutes before the close of the meeting , "The board [Consortium] voted us out of the fold and the board is gonna have to vote us back in. That's not my problem and I will tell them that at the meetin," he made it clear that he didn't know what he was talking about.

It is time for the big wheels in Tallahassee to at least explain to the confused Columbia County Chairman, the rules of the game.

It is time for the Governor, or the big wheels at WFI, to show a little mercy to the folks in Region 7 that are trying to navigate though the hardest times since the Great Depression.

It wouldn't seem to the Observer, that one phone call would be too much to ask.

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Florida Crown Affair:

  County gives up battle to destroy Fl Crown - Good old boys play possum to the end (posted October 11, 2010 05:00 am)
 • Florida Crown remains in the lurch
(posted April 21, 2010)
 • Florida Crown on top again (posted April 14, 2010) 
 
Florida Crown - Columbia County -Time for a little mercy (posted March 19, 2010)
 Florida Crown Invitation Com Langford steps up – it takes a woman (posted March 15, 2010)
 
Florida Crown Soars $402,000 Wings Grant Awarded (posted Oct 28, 2009)
 Difficult economic times - Florida Crown stretched thin and working overtime (posted Nov 26, 2009)
  Florida Crown Affair • Search Continues For Columbia County Issues (Part II) (posted June 18, 2009)
  Florida Crown Affair • Search Continues For Columbia County Issues (Part I) (posted June 17, 2009)
 
Florida Crown Affair moves to Gilchrist County (posted June 2, 2009)
  County Commission ignores rule of law
(posted May 26, 2009)
 • The Observer responds to County Manager Dale Williams (May 21, 2009)
 Florida Crown Receives Florida Literacy Award (posted May 20, 2009)
 Florida Crown's harassment continues
(Part II)
(posted April 16, 2009)
 Columbia County Commission leaves Florida Crown in the lurch – again
(Part 1)
 
(posted April 15, 2009)
  Florida Crown Gets Clean Bill of Health (posted March 23, 2009)
  George Skinner, former Columbia County Commissioner, weighs in on the Florida Crown controversy. (posted March 16, 2009)
  Florida Crown Workforce Board -- To good to leave (Posted March 12, 2009)