logo

Stew Lilker’s

Columbia County Observer

Real news for working families.

County Commission News

Ladies night at the County Commission

This past Thursday evening, the Columbia County, County Commission showed once again that its good old boys still have issues when it comes to dealing with women. The first two ladies made it through the gauntlet, but the third, Columbia County Commissioner Scarlet Frisina was snubbed again. (Go to sound)

A business woman

First up to the microphone was business woman Dayna Miller of Waste Pro.Waste Pro's Dayna Miller

Ms. Miller came to introduce herself to the County Commission. She told the Commission she has been working for Waste Pro for almost 4 years and has now come to the area to assist Waste Pro Manager Frank Kramer in the 14 counties of North Central Florida.

Ms. Miller told the Board: "I wanted you to put a face to the name. If there is anything that I can do to make sure that our service to the County is satisfactory, I'm here for you."

In a brief conversation after the meeting Ms. Miller told the Observer that her official title is "Municipal Marketing and Sales." "My job is to make sure that our customers have somebody they know that they can talk to if there is a problem."

Ms. Miller, told the Observer that she enjoys the area, her job and is looking forward to continuing her college education in the near future, "As soon as my two teenagers are out of the house."

An award recipient

Recently, Hunter Panel's Lake City campus, a manufacturer of roof insulation panels was awarded the 2010 Manufacturer of the Year by the Manufacturers Association of Florida in the 1 to 50 employee category.

Melissa Pafford was at the County Commission meeting, along with fellow employee, Leonard Gentry, to accept a plaque from Columbia County recognizing their achievement.

Ms. Pafford is also a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

A County Commissioner - Snubbed by the Boys - Again

Scarlet FrisinaCounty Commissioner Scarlett Frisina, passed over last year and disappointed at not being nominated as the vice chair of the Commission, a position that traditionally leads to the chairmanship the following year, patiently waited for her nomination.  Last year the boys gave their nod to Jody DuPree, passing over Ms. Frisina, whose qualifications at that time were no less than that of the chosen one.

This past Thursday night, as expected, Mr. DuPree, Republican Chieftain Jack Berry's protégé, was nominated, seconded and unanimously approved as the new chairman without hesitation and without anyone missing a beat.

click for soundThen, long time Commissioner Ronald Williams, asked for nominations for vice chair.

Anyone that has followed the goings on of the Columbia County Commission was expecting a smooth ride for the patient Commissioner Frisina.

After an unexpectedly long pause and a second request, Commissioner Bailey quietly nominated Ms. Frisina for vice chair.

Chairman Williams then asked for a second.

Unbelievably, the clock ticked and no one spoke up.

Finally, the Chairman said almost sheepishly, "I need a second."

The seconds ticked away. No one spoke up and when it became evident that no one was going to, Ms. Frisina showing more class than all the good old boys put together, looked up from her desk, leaned toward her microphone and quietly said, "Second."

A few moments later Commissioner Scarlet Frisina became the vice chair for the Columbia County Commission.

This work by the Columbia County Observer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Comments  (to add a comment go here)

New Meeting Calendar New
 
 

Make a comment • click here •
All comments are displayed at the end of the article and are moderated.