The Gardener and the Locoweed

As Mayor Murray's failures become more embarrassing and her temper tantrums become more numerous, there are questions that are heard more and more among people who are closely connected with the city and even the public in general:

Why doesn't someone just remove her? Can't City Council or the City Solicitor or one of the judges take her out for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance? How long do we have to put up with this crazy woman? Why do we have to wait and go through the expense of a recall?

These are all excellent questions. But the answer is not that easy.

So we would like to share a fable that may help to illustrate our City's sad plight.

Once upon a time, a town planted a garden. As the garden grew the townsfolk decided to hire a gardener. The new gardener was stranger in town, but he grew to love the garden. Then, after a few years, some of the townspeople planted a strange new seedling. The gardener didn’t like the look of the scrawny little sprout. Soon it was covered with sharp thorns and sour little berries. He wanted to pluck the weed, before it grew out of control, but he knew if he pulled it too soon the stem would break off and its roots would continue to spread through the garden. Then he might never get it out. Some townspeople began to complain about the thorny little plant. Even the gardener’s wife said, “Husband. We can’t have such a hideous plant in our garden. You are the gardener. You should pull it out now.” Most people said it was poison ivy or a Appalachian fly-trap. Some even said it was a deadly bluegrass stinkweed. Still others said it was a beautiful Kentucky wildflower, which would brighten the whole field if allowed to blossom…but most of these people lived in caves and knew nothing about gardening. But the gardener knew it was a “Lexington locoweed.” Its fruits would be rotten and the terrible smell of its flowers would soon reach even the A-Plant twenty miles away. Folks from all over were already making fun of the garden on the internet. The gardener wanted to remove the weed, but should he? He went to ask the judge of the garden what he should do. And here is the judge said: “You are right, gardener. It is a locoweed. And it will cause a lot of problems for the garden, as it has already. But you must remember that 44 people in the town planted that flower, and the rest of the town stood by and watched. If you pull it up before the whole town sees the damage the weed does, then they will think that you are against them. A wise gardener would wait and let the locoweed grow all though the spring and summer. When the people see how ugly it is, they will uproot it themselves in the fall. And they will never plant one like it again. Or maybe the locoweed will wilt in the heat of the summer, and your job will be done for you.” Perhaps the judge was right, the gardener thought. He even told himself, it will serve the townsfolk right…to have to remove the weed they planted. But he knew that the damage done by the Lexington locoweed would be devastating. The gardener loved the garden, and wanted to protect it. It was his job after all. The gardener knew that if he made the wrong choice…the town would never live “happily ever after.” Readers. What do you think the gardener should do?

Murray's 2 Biggest Problems: Her Arrogance and Her Advisors

Some Folks get it........................ Mayor will need to earn the respect she wants (from Today's Portsmouth Daily Times)

Just who is this big-city woman who comes riding high into our sleepy little one-horse town, virtually unknown to anyone who knows anyone, bragging about her over-qualifications (which she can’t back up) and claiming the ability to solve all of our problems? The dozen or so times I met her during the campaign she always said, “Oh, please call me Jane.” She sweet-talked enough locals to out-poll two qualified lifetime Portsmouth residents and win. Now, when anyone calls her Jane, she is insulted. She seems to think that being addressed on a first-name basis, even when you live in a small friendly community, is beneath her dignity. It seems that the lesson in humility that good ol’ “Just call me Jane” should be learning is a hard pill to swallow. In my years, I have known or just met many business leaders, professionals, elected officials — from local judges clear up to an Ohio attorney general — and not one has ever insisted on being addressed by their official title. I would also like to add that, not one has come into office so ill-equipped that they had to advertise, openly, in a newspaper of general circulation, to fill important full-time office staff positions, with benefits, out of the general labor pool. The outbursts, rantings and mood swings of our mayor are a disgrace to the city of Portsmouth and an insult to the misguided voters who put her in office. If you haven’t guessed, I’m not one of them. The person who sits in that office should be one of leadership. Leadership by example, with a willingness to cooperate and do whatever it takes to get things done. What we have is a name-calling, finger-pointer who hides behind e-mails and interoffice memo to a select few and are divisive in nature. There is an old saying, “Love is given; respect is earned.” Thank you JoAnn, for not bowing down to her majesty’s demand for respect (for her title) that she clearly has not earned. Walt Herrmann, Portsmouth

Some folks don't..............

(C0mment on the Portsmouth Times website)

"A Citizen" wrote on Wednesday, Mar 24 at 11:47 AM

The Mayor sits on that committee for the project, it's regional not parochial like your demeanor and attitude. Even here, you think Portsmouth should not come out of it's cage? Wow................no wonder, this town goes no where fast. And the election is over, are you a Birther too? The Mayor's the Mayor, what are you doing for the community besides tearing it down like so many are? Greedy for salary and perks, and the like? Wonder why you are wallowing in the squalor? Geeish............

If Jane Murray keeps on listening to brainiacs like this, she will be lucky to have even a citizen supporting her in July... when recall season begins.

Budget Day in Crazy Town USA: Pray for City Council

Portsmouth has always had its problems. The Cave People are just the latest incarnation of the the "Little People" who plagued outr city back in the 70s and 80s. We have always had "Citizens Against Virtually Everything." We have always had one or two of them on City Council. They are Portsmouth's cross to bear. But occasionally the weirdos take over and Portsmouth turns into Crazy Town. It happened in the 1970s when the axis of evil know as Daub, Price, and Clausing got elected to City Council. They did a lot of damage in a short time but soon the citizenry had enough of their shenanigans and all three were recalled the following November. Now the Queen of the CAVERS has been elected Mayor, and no doubt her fate will soon be the same. Unfortunately, as it always does when the CAVE People take over, Portsmouth has once again turned into Crazy Town USA, and we have to deal with the Mayor from Bizarro World.

How else can you explain the weirdness coming out of City Hall? * Engineers who aren't engineers. * Budgets that aren't budgets. * Apologies that aren't apologies. * A grown woman who doesn't know how to act like a grown-up.

You can find many examples the craziness in most editions of the Portsmouth Times. Take today, for example: 1. Crazy Town Budget: The statements by the Fire Chief (click here to read) about his budget concerns appear on the front page of the paper, but the mayor's budget comments appear on A9. Strange for most cities, we must admit. But perfectly normal in Jane Murray's Crazy Town, USA.

2. Crazy Town Budget Cuts: In the article, "Budget Cuts Concern Fire Chief," we find out that in the Mayor's proposed budget "the largest budget reduction is in the Fire Department." Now we can speculate as to why (probably because of the Mayor's recent public tiff with the fire union), but making the fire department the target of the biggest cuts only makes sense on the Bizarro planet. The mayor frequently gets her advice from felons, anti-nuclear activists, drug users, and other questionable sources. Maybe Wayne Nichols, a leading citizen of Crazy Town, is her advisor on the fire department budget. (Mr. Nichols is known for his sizable coin slot and his rambling, nonsensical, and often hateful tirades at City Council meetings, which often focus on the fire department, who he believes are overpaid incompetents who stand by and watch while children are burned alive inside their homes. He even blames them for his own home burning to the ground, despite years of Health Department enforcemetn attempts and warnings that his home was a firetrap.) 3. Crazy Town Math: Jane, explaining the amazing Mr. Peck's proposed salary. "My salary gross is $59,750, which is the same as last year's and my furlough amount is $1838. That would take it to $57,911. Jeff Peck's proposed salary is $59,000. So with his furlough amount of $1815. That puts him at $57, 185." Uuh. Thanks for clearing that up, Mayor. (Sheesh.) 4. Crazy Town Press Conference: "Whether it's water or sewer-we use those services multiple times a day. We all turn on water. We all flush the toilet multiple times per day." Thank you for sharing that, Your Majesty. Is there no end to your brilliance? (We wonder if she had this epiphany while seated on her new throne.) 5. Crazy Town Job Creation: When asked to explain her lone vote in the Ohio Valley Regional Commission against the A-Plant, she responded: "To be quite honest, I haven't given it much reflection and thought as to whether I would support it or not...I'm in favor of the jobs they would create--absolutely." She's for the jobs but is unsure about supporting the project that would create the jobs. Makes sense in Crazy Town. (Have you ever notice that when someone starts a sentence by saying "To be quite honest..." the rest of the sentence is probably a lie?) 6. Crazy Town Traffic: Last month, our engineer who is not an engineer, Jeff Peck was the only person who was proclaimed by her Madam-ness as qualified to speak about traffic lights. (Just because he is not qualified to be an engineer in the State of Ohio, doesn't mean he can't be an engineer in Crazy Town!!) Today we learn that the Mayor's Chief of Police will recommend to City Council that the Mayor's traffic light ruling be overturned based on the Traffic Committee's 6 to 1 decision to implement ODOT requirements. And who was the lone traffic committee member to vote in support of the Mayor? Darlene Daub. Huh? Wonder if she's any relation to "Little Daub'll Do Ya"? The Crazy Towner who got recalled in the 1970s. Oh, yeah. never mind. The only Crazy-Town news that actually made sense in today's paper was on the editorial page: "The Mayor's Priority Should Be To Rebuild Trust." (Click here to read.) Here are a few gems by the author of that piece:

• "When your loftiest goal is to have your city put in fiscal emergency status by the State Auditor’s Office, it is time to re-evaluate the direction you are headed…it is difficult to believe it is the answer to the city’s problems."
• "There has to be a better way to solve the city’s problems, such as actually sitting down with city workers and laying the cards on the table, rather than belittling them and accusing them of not communicating, even though they have never been asked to actually meet and talk."
• "True administrators, who actually understand the workings of city government, do not attempt to rule over people — they try to communicate with them."
• "Insisting on being addressed as “Madam Mayor” is absurd, and will, in no way, endear one to the people they are supposed to be serving and working with."
• "You can’t say you are going to be more open and cooperative, then turn around and try to muzzle the Chief of Police in an open forum. The constant bickering; the endless haranguing; the elitist attitude has to go."
• "Those involved in the State Auditor’s Office know fiscal emergency status is a last resort…being placed in that category should not be the goal. We were told there would be new creative ideas in the new administration."
• "So far we have been disappointed by learning that the only answers are blaming your predecessor and looking for state assistance to re-negotiate contracts. That is neither creative nor sound."

As always, the Portsmouth Times has dutifully kept us informed of the goings-on at City Hall, since Jan. 4, and have taken no one's side over another. They print the citizens' points of view (however incoherent a citizen might be), keep in regular contact with state sources, such as ODOT and EPA, and whenever possible attempt to portray our city in the best possible light, at least on the editorial page. No wonder the CAVE People, the self-proclaimed defenders of open government and truth, have called for boycotts of the Times for many years. We thank God that the Times is still there. All citizens should be pleased if the paper feels a tad thicker lately when you pick it up. (which some of us should do more often.) We only disagree with one statement from today's editorial: "The people of the city of Portsmouth overwhelmingly voted to support Jane Murray for Mayor." Although her vote compared to Kalb was overwhelming, Murray only got 44% of the vote. Still we believe most people were willing to give her every opportunity to do well. Even we did not criticize the Mayor after the election until her first disastrous week in office. Instead of having the wisdom to bring those who voted for Kalb or Skiver over to her side, her first acts were to demonize the previous administration and alienate increasing numbers of citizens, from friends and families of the fired department heads to the extended families of those whose livelihoods depend on the continuing well-being of the A-Plant. The Mayor has dug herself into a deep hole, and doesn't have the sense to stop digging. But that's how things are done in Bizarro World, also known as Crazy Town, USA.

Who Was That Masked Man?

Nice Try Losers

Someone sent us some bogus information, supposedly about the Mayor, that they hoped we would print. They even falsely sent it under the name a local radio personality. We suspect it was just some CAVE person trying to get us to do something stupid. If any of you get an email regarding the mayor working for a company called Ogilvy and Mather, just ignore it. It's a different Jane Murray.

New Mayor is a Disaster

Cain...meet Abel.

Nixon...meet Watergate.

Clinton...meet Monica.

Titanic... meet iceburg.

Portsmouth...meet Jane Murray.

According to today's Portsmouth Times, Madam Mayor believes the City is in a "Fiscal Emergency." The Mayor either has a short memory or thinks you do. The City Auditor met with the State Auditor in February and the State said we were not in a fiscal emergency. (Click here for the story.)

So once again we are faced with the same old dilemma. Who do we believe? Jane Murray or the State Auditor? ...or the EPA? ...or ODOT? ...or OVRDC? ...or the FOP, AFSCME, or IAFF?

The State Auditor is right. There is no emergency.There are a dozen people in Portsmouth who could put together a balanced, austere budget, that would cause a minimal amount of hardship for Portsmouth. But not Mayor Murray, who is foolishly holding on to the truly bizarre position that NO CHARGE-OFFS will be made to Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, sanitation), even though the offices of the Mayor, Auditor, City Council, Service Department (Garage) and other departments, provide numerous services to Enterprise Fund divisions. Services such as accounting, payroll, personnel, legal, vehicle maintenance are all legitimate expenses that SHOULD be charged off to funds that generate revenue. Most cities, probably all cities, in Ohio that have city-owned utilities charge-off a fair and reasonable amount of their "overhead" to water and sewer fees. Otherwise what you actually have is the City's general fund SUBSIDIZING the water and sewer departments, including water and seweer customers in Rosemount, New Boston, West Portsmouth, and even Wheelersburg!

The City is audited every year and the State consistently approves of the level of charge-off to utility accounts.

But Murray, the Madam, won't do it, despite the revenue shortage in the general fund. Why?

1) Even before the election, Murray confided to several individuals that she intended to go after fiscal emergency status, "just like the County." In her mind, not utilizing charge-offs, will make it easier to do that.

2) By not making legitimate charge-offs to enterprise funds, so believes she will not have to raise water, sewer, and sanitation fees, and she will be a hero to the CAVE People.

3) She thinks that fiscal emergency status would allow her to open the contacts of all the City's Unions. That way no one can stand in her way!! (BWA-HA-HA)

4) Or maybe she's just TOTALLY INSANE.

The Queen of Crazy Town Strikes Again

From yesterday's Portsmouth Daily Times (click here for full story):

We are not attorneys.

We are not attorney spokespersons.

We don't play attorneys on TV.

We didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

But we do have some free legal advice for the Mayor.

1. Anyone who knows anything about labor law and collective bargaining can tell you when a company or government administrator meets with employees' union officials, the parties are considered to be equals. You might think the boss is still in charge, even when meeting with Unions. But US labor law doesn't work that way.

Madam Mayor, when you meet with representatives of the city's unions, you are to meet as equals. It's a matter of fairness. After all, how can a Union fairly represent its members if the mayor gets to dictate how the meeting is ran, who gets to speak, and what is allowed to be said. That's why there are labor lawyers, national labor relations boards, and laws against so-called "unfair labor practices." As mayor, you should know it would be very difficult to discipline a union representative for anything he or she might say in such a meeting, especially for something as trivial as calling the mayor "ma'am" instead of "madam."

As mayor you cannot threaten union representatives, coerce them by threatening to discipline their supervisor for their actions, or try to have them removed from an area that is not your office. (The jury room is under the Court's jurisdiction.) A judge could considered these actions to be creating a hostile environment, as the fire fighters representative stated. Judges don't like hostile working environments.

2. You told the Times; “It doesn’t matter to them if I don’t have the money to address our declining neighborhoods’ housing stock and clean the city up. It doesn’t matter to them that we have sewage backing up in people’s homes, and we have a long-term control plan that we have to start implementing.”

It's really not the Fire Department's or Police Department's problem if there is sewage backing up in people's homes. If there are sewer problems or water problems, then water and sewer rates need to be raised accordingly or grant funding must be acquired or both. Fire and police are paid for from the general fund and the protection of the citizens shouldn't suffer because you don't have the guts to raise rates as required. (Jane, maybe when you and your financial advisor win your multi-million dollar lawsuits against the sewer system, you can both chip in some cash to fix those problems.) 3. Finally, Mayor, according to the folks at the meeting, you seemed to get especially angry when a police officer referred to you as "ma'am" rather than Madam Mayor. (We think he is just probably in the a habit of using that word when dealing with hysterical women.)

Madam Mayor, we suggest you get a dictionary. (Make sure you order it from Bihl's office supply.)

Any dictionary will tell you that "ma'am" is just a contraction of the word "madam." That means they are basically the same word. You aren't going to start telling employees they can say "do not" but they can't say "don't," are you? Are you going to outlaw contractions AND oxycontin?

"Madam Mayor" sounds a bit pretentious anyway. You don't want that. Let it go. You're not in Lexington anymore.

In fact, the Random House Dictionary says that "ma'am" is the proper term to use in addressing the Queen of England! You don't think you are more important than the Queen of England, do you?

The Sixth Sense: Part Two

Just Another Saturday in Crazy Town

Saturday's Portsmouth Daily Times featured this story:

Area Braces For Heavy Rains, Flooding.

That article quoted a press release from Mayor Jane Murray, assuring the citizens that she is in control.

"Portsmouth Mayor Jane Murray released a statement Friday afternoon saying that the Flood Defense Team will begin closing the flood gates along Madison Avenue today (Saturday), in anticipation of heavy rains that may bring rising flood waters by the middle of next week."

City Services Director Jeff Peck (who finally has a title that is actually in the City's Payroll Ordinance) is apparently in charge of our city floodwall now. Mr. Peck's interview reveals that we can now add flood gate construction to the long list of things he doesn't know anything about: along with traffic lights, race relations, water, and wastewater treatment.

Peck said "I’m not really sure how many people it takes, but you could probably do it with half a dozen people, and it takes equipment to put up these big steel beams and they put up wood lagging and then they put up some plastic and sandbags and other types of sealant. So it’s not just a one-two-three, ready-set-done thing.”

Reader, don't let this picture from Saturday's Times fool you. This is a file photo from many years ago, when the city practiced putting up a flood gate. Despite the mayor's Press Release, no flood wall gate construction was done on Saturday. What really happened was this: Mr. Peck called out about a dozen city workers (not a half-dozen) on overtime to put up the flood gates like the Mayor ordered. But when Peck got there it was raining, and when the employees explained how much work was involved in putting up a floodgate, Peck sent them all home. (I guess we can't have flood workers working in the rain. That would be crazy.) Thanks to our brilliant mayor and wanna-be engineer, twelve employees stood around in the rain for an hour and got paid for three hours (the minimum call-out rate) to do nothing. Actually since it was overtime, the City really paid out 4-1/2 hours per man. With benefits and fuel costs, that's like a cool grand, right there. Ms. Mayor, since you're so big on getting employees to give back to the City, maybe you can sweet talk these guys into passing on the overtime. Just talk to their union reps. You know, the same guys you stormed out on and threatened on Friday. Yeah, we think they'll go along with that idea. Just another day in Jane Murray's Crazy Town.

Jane Murray Doesn't Get It

President Obama gets it.

Governor Strickland gets it.

The County Commissioners get it.

The Portsmouth Daily Times gets it.

The Portsmouth City Council gets it.

Jane Murray doesn't get it.

Why doesn't Jane Murray get it?

Jane Murray...

...the Mayor of Crazy Town...

...the only mayor in the world with a new bathroom, but no desk...

...the woman who gets all of her advice from CAVE People, convicted felons, and anti-nuclear activists...

What do you think, readers? Why doesn't Jane Murray get it?

Hmmm. Who do we believe?

It's funny how things happen sometimes. For instance, when two articles appear in the same newspaper that seem to contradict each other. Like the Portsmouth Daily Times yesterday. First we read that Mayor Murray is asking 2 US Senators for $8.5 Million to do a bunch of engineering work (I'll bet she already has the engineers picked out, maybe from Lexington???) so she can ask them for another $40 million-plus to build what the engineers draw up. (Somehow we don't think Voinovich and Brown will be in a very receptive mood after Murray voted against the A-Plant resolution they and the governor supported and embarassed Portsmouth throughout the State of Ohio.) Click HERE to read the whole story. Then yesterday's Times featured another story. A report about a recent inspection of the City's Sewage Plant. The thing is, in our humble opinion, they seem to contradict each other. Mayor Murray tells Senators Voinovich and Brown that the wastewater plant is about to experience "a catastrophic failure." Unfortunately, the EPA inspector seems to be totally oblivious to this coming catastrophe! He did not see any "major violations." So, when the wastewater plant suddenly goes ka-blooey, boy, this guy is really gonna have egg on his face! So you see our dilemma? Who are we to believe? Is the EPA inspector blind as an umpire? Or is the Mayor's latest press release just more propaganda to try to convince the gullible citizens of Portsmouth that she knows what she is doing and to distract attention from her continuing disastrous administration? Hmmm. Who do we believe? The EPA or the Mayor of Crazy Town? Maybe the only catastrophic failure the City needs to worry about is in the Mayor's office.

Blog Problem Fixed

For the last few days, our website has been malfunctioning. We believe we have fixed the problem. Thanks to all of our fans for your expressions of concern.

Three Signs of the Apocalypse

1. Earthquake in HAITI: 100,000s dead!

2. Earthquake and Tsunami in Chile: Earth's Axis Shifted!

3. Hurricane Jane apologizes for something!*

Anyday now we can expect the Pope to become a moslem and 8-track tapes to replace CDs.

Of course, her 'apology' is a pure self-serving lie.

Jane, if you really support the A-plant then why did you take a well-known anti-nuclear activist to the OVRDC meeting with you? And let him speak for the City of Portsmouth?

Why did you tell the Portsmouth Times in December that you want to turn the whole place into some kind of Indian burial ground cultural center?

If you "did not have sufficient time to question the drafter before the meeting," then why did you vote at all? And why did you vote "no" after every other member had already voted "yes"?

Your excuse for your stupid vote is that you're "a purist." We all know that's just "pure BS." You got caught in a wringer and now you think we're all so stupid that we'll believe anything you tell us.

CAVE People: Are You Happy Now?

We hope you're happy now. This post is for all the CAVE People who hate what they consider the Powers-That-Be in Portsmouth and the "good old boy network" so much that they supported our current disastrous mayor, Jane Murray for election. You can't say you didn't know better. We tried to tell you. Marty Mohr tried to tell you. The Police and Fire Unions of Portsmouth tried to tell you. We told you this disaster was coming. Now it's hitting home.

And especially you whose livelihoods depend on the success of the A-Plant. How can you face your co-workers after the way Murray made a fool of herself and embarrassed the City of Portsmouth in December, even before her first day in office, with her ridiculous and self-serving little tour of your workplace. (Click here for a reminder.) That ongoing embarrassment continued last week at the Ohio Valley Development Commission. Elected leaders come from as far away as Gallipolis and Clermont County to serve on the Board of the Ohio Valley Development Commission. They come, many on their own time, to support development projects and to request assistance for our area from state and federal funding sources. These meetings are often attended by representatives of congress and the governor's office. But our brilliant mayor used her first meeting with this group to cast the only dissenting vote against a resolution to help support the removal of outdated equipment and clean up at the Piketon plant. Seventeen members from Chilicothe, Piketon, Waverly, and elsewhere voted for the measure, proposed by the Scioto and Pike County Commissioners. Would Jim Kalb have done this? Would Jerry Skiver? Of course not, but the Mayor of Crazy Town did. "Grants, grants, grants," Murray says. "I know how to get grants for the city!!" Yeah, right. Ninety percent of the grants that come into Portsmouth and Scioto County come through the OVRDC. They actually vote on what grants applications get passed on to the State of Ohio and the federal government for funding. In fact, Jane, that's why they exist. Way to make a good impression on them Jane! Show them who's boss in Crazy Town! Murray's budget is still not done (she's blaming everyone else for this ), the Police Chief has been muzzled, EPA has repeatedly been given the middle finger by her Highness, and the City is near financial chaos. (At least her bathroom is finished.) But instead of doing something constructive, like solving the problems she was elected to address, she's doing something she never campaigned on and was not elected to do. Did you vote for her so she would try to stop projects at the A-plant that can bring in thousands of jobs? I know we didn't. AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE WORST OF IT! What you didn't read in the Portsmouth Times, but we can tell you here, is the REST OF THE STORY of what happened at the OVRDC meeting. Just when you think this genius Mayor of ours can't get any stranger, she tops herself. The Board Meeting that Murray is entitled to attend as the Mayor of Portsmouth is a meeting of elected officials and funding professional across Southern Ohio, from 12 counties. Some drive hours from Batavia, Washington Court House, or Gallia County and elsewhere just to attend this meeting. What dio they get out of it? A donut and chance to help this region advance economically.

Democrats and Republicans work together to represent communities from tiny villages and less-populated counties to the biggest cities in the region (Portsmouth is the biggest of them) with a single goal: the betterment of our area. They don't bring the petty grievances. They don't bring in bums from the street to talk about homelessness. Unlike a Portsmouth Council Meeting, they don't invite in the dregs of the earth to tell them all what fools they are. And these representatives don't bring in "uninvited guests" for silly little show-and-tell sessions. It is an orderly and dignified group of men and women. At least, it was. But Jane Murray is special. She's entitled. She's smarter than those hayseed hick hillbillies. Without asking for permission or notifying anyone beforehand, Murray brought someone to the meeting with her. Not a citizen of Portsmouth. Not Mr. Peck. Not an A-Plant employee. She brought a man, well-known to many in the meeting. A Pike County resident named Geoffrey Sea. Mr. Sea is an anti-nuclear activist. He is part of a small group of nimrods who literally want to shut down the A-Plant. Jane Murray invited him to speak to the OVRDC members, which he did. He lectured these ladies and gentlemen, who have such a major influence on what grants we in the City of Portsmouth can receive. Mr. Sea is part of the Southern Ohio Neighbors Group, a tiny crew of anti-nuke kooks, who have caused endless problems for the A-Plant. This is the group Jane has sided with, against the interests of the Citizens of Portsmouth. This is the same Geoffrey Sea who, just last month, wrote a letter published in the Portsmouth Times that called Pike County Commissioner Blaine Beekman (a board member of the OVRDC) a "dishonest, self-serving...obstructionist" who made "empty promises and backroom deals." (Click here to read the tree-hugger's letter.) Very tactful, Jane. Arrogantly imposing Mr. Sea's ranting on the attendees at that meeting was WORSE than her negative vote on the resolution. It was a slap in the face to the Commission. And it was a dark stain on our City in the eyes of our neighbors. Jane's way of saying, "Screw OVRDC. I know what's best."

Do you really want our Mayor to be part of a group that has been "Agitating the Ohio Valley Since 2001"? Is that who you voted for?

Mayor Murray has embarrassed us in the eyes of the EPA, ODOT, and now OVRDC. And she has only been in office for two months. Whatever you may think of Jim Kalb or Marty Mohr, you know they would never have embarrassed our City like this.

TO THE CAVE PEOPLE OF PORTSMOUTH: Are you happy now?

Jeff Peck: The Sheriff of Crazy Town

Did you know that the City Portsmouth now has a Sheriff? It's true.

Mayor Murray has already gotten rid of four department heads: the Directors of Wastewater, Service, Community Development, and Water Works (who she had to "grudgingly" take back). Next maybe she'll get rid of the Police Chief. After all, why pay Horner when Jeff Peck, Commissioner of Engineering, Public Services, Outhouse Inspection, and Dental Hygiene (his title just keeps getting longer), is now Sheriff of Crazy Town? Peck can do Horner's job, too.

From yesterday's Portsmouth Daily Times:

Mayor Picks ‘Official Presenter’: Police Chief Ordered To Deny Any Other Presentations

Portsmouth Mayor Jane Murray has ordered Police Chief Charles Horner, chairman of the City Traffic Committee, not to allow any other presenters at today’s Traffic Committee meeting, except Jeff Peck, her service director, who continues to go by the title of Commissioner of Engineering and Public Service, despite having that title rejected by Portsmouth City Council.

In a directive to Horner, Murray wrote: “In that this is an engineering matter, I am ordering that the only ‘official presenter’ at the Traffic Committee meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25 will be Mr. Jeff Peck... Furthermore, no member of the Kalb or previous administrations shall make a presentation at this or future meetings until I have given my express authorization.”

That was in direct reference to a planned appearance by former Portsmouth City Services Director Chris Murphy, who had planned to speak, since he was over the Service Department when the decision was made to accept many of the recommendations by the Ohio Department of Transportation, and remove several stop/go traffic signals. One line at the bottom of the directive summed up the tone of the order — “In total, this is a direct order.”

Yes. Peck, the magic engineer, who can do all things (except maybe pay his bill at the Ramada Inn) is now the Sheriff of Crazy Town. Below we have an actual photograph of Peck investigating the latest crime in Portsmouth.

"All right. Which one of you all took that picture of the Mayor's bathroom?"

Readers. What do you think Peck is saying in the picture above?

Quotes from the Mayor of Crazy Town

Mayor Says Council May Ask Her To Pay For Renovations, or Resign (click here for original article) by Frank Lewis (Portsmouth Daily Times, 2/19/2010) Portsmouth Mayor Jane Murray is not just upset. She is downright angry at what she perceives as an attempt by members of Portsmouth City Council to have her removed from office. Portsmouth Mayor Jane Murray sits at a table in her office at the Portsmouth Municipal Building. She has to work off tables, due to the renovation of her office not being completed.

(That's odd. Didn't the former mayor have a desk? Wasn't it the same desk the previous mayor and the mayor before him used? Where could the old desk be? Did Jane use it for firewood to heat her office? Did Mr. Peck sit on it by accident? Did her former "Chief of Staff" take it to Detroit with him when he really realized he wasn't going to get paid? The people would like to know. Maybe, the old desk just wasn't good enough for our new mayor. Maybe she ordered a new one to match her new bathroom.) Murray said all that had been done in her office was to return to the original internal structure, uncovering the windows and going back to the original ceiling.

(That does not look like the "original internal structure" of the mayor's office to us. It looks like a new toilet and lady's vanity. Anyway, Mayor, who told you to "return to the original internal structure, uncovering the windows and going back to the original ceiling"? Doing that takes a lot of money, and it's council's job to appropriate funds. That's in the charter. You should read it sometime.) “By darn I’m going to work with the public so that this will not happen,” Murray said, standing in her office Thursday morning. “The public needs to know what this is all about.” Murray said she has become frustrated in recent days while attempting to work on the city’s financial issues, and yet having to deal with what she believes is going to be a request by Council for her to pay for the renovation of her office or resign. She also believes that if she does not resign, members of Council are going to actively work to have her recalled. ("Actively work to have you recalled??" Oh, no! That's pretty despicable, isn't it? How could they do something so terrible? You and your CAVE people cronies would never try to have someone recalled, would you? No, not you, by darn!) Jane, have you ever heard the phrase, "What goes around, comes around"? How about, "Live by the recall, die by the recall."?

Every Queen Needs a Throne!!

(We wonder why the mayor wouldn't let the Portsmouth Times show this picture...) The City Building is crumbling. The roof leaks. The upstairs offices are health hazard zones. The city has no budget. The water is brown. The potholes are growing. The new "Commissioner of Engineering" is not an actual engineer, but the "Assistant Commissioner" is. The City has no Wastewater Director or Community Development Director. The City's website still lists a fired employees as a department head (and calls the mayor "him.") http://www.portsmouthoh.org/ The City's insurance is still a screwed up mess. She is trying to give all city contracts to out-of-town or out-of-state businesses. The City is out of salt. Volunteers in the mayor's office are handling sensitive information, like personnel files (social security numbers, disciplinary actions, medical records). But the mayor has a new bathroom. Nice to know she has her priorities straight. We are still wondering who is going to pay for her grand "powder room." (By the way, that's tile, not linoleum.) Someday (sooner or later) we will have a male mayor. We hope he appreciates the mayor's decorating style. The mayor's motto: "If it ain't broke, fix it anyway. It's only money."

Scioto Voice

We owe the Scioto Voice Newspaper an apology. In order to try to counteract a ridiculous boycott by the hateful CAVE people, we have been encouraging area residents to support the struggling Portsmouth Daily Times newspaper with ads, subscriptions, encouraging letters to the editor, and any other way they can. (For example, click here.)

But we forgot to mention another important local paper, The Scioto Voice. It is a weekly favorite for many residents, especially in the Sciotoville and Wheelersburg area. For that, we apologize. Especially after this gem of a headline in the most recent issue.

The Scioto Voice also deserves and needs the community's support. The front page of the latest issue of the Scioto Voice can always be found at this link: www.thesciotovoice.com/news/news1.pdf.

An on-line subscription for out-of-town friends or relatives with roots in our area is always a great gift idea. Both the Portsmouth Daily Times and the Scioto Voice offer on-line subscriptions.

Mayor Jane Murray's Latest Embarrassment

The sad, strange, embarrassing story of our new mayor continues to get more and more bizarre. She is by far the most incompetent mayor that we have had since the charter was changed in the late 1980s to return the city to a mayoral form of government. She is even worse than we expected...and that is saying a lot! She continues to rampage through our beloved city like a cow in a china shop! But Her Highness's latest fiasco amazes even us at P-Town Underground. Sources who claim to be connected with the City started emailing us, beginning about a week ago, that Mayor Murray was trying to hire YET ANOTHER felon to be in charge of an important position with the City of Portsmouth. But that seemed unbelievable, even for this mayor! However, we can now verify that Murray is trying to hire a man who was charged in a Toledo Courtroom, in September of 2009 with attempted murder. JAMES P. SCISSON: Class III Wastewater Operator Our sources told us that two weeks ago, Murray and Jeff Peck interviewed a Class III Operator named Jim Scisson from Toledo, Ohio to replace fired Wastewater Director, Rick Duncan. Scisson was given a tour of the Wastewater Plant and introduced to several City employees.

Based on a story in yesterday's Portsmouth Daily Times (2/3/2010), we can now say that our sources are right. The paper reported that in Murray's disastrous meeting with the Ohio EPA, Peck and Murray revealed that they have been trying to recruit Scisson (who the Times refers to as "Sisson.") to run the city’s Wastewater Plant.

From the Portsmouth Daily Times:

Peck talked about hiring James Sisson as an operator for the city’s Wastewater Plant.

Peck said... “We’ve actually got someone who is willing to come on board right this minute for the salary that the city has allotted. This guy is actually a class III, (referring to Scisson) and it is my understanding that he has just submitted the paperwork to get his class IV.”

“That would be news to me that he (Scisson) applied for his class IV. As of yesterday, we had not received the application,” Barienbrock said.

Peck is obviously lying (as he and Murray did throughout the Times story), and Mr. Barienbrock, an official with the Ohio EPA, calls him on it.

Also, it is obvious that, once again, the Mayor and her staff have not done their homework. Surely they would not have knowingly offered a job to a man who just recently plead guilty to a reduced charge after being prosecuted in the Lucas County Courthouse with ATTEMPTED MURDER!! (But with these people you never know!)

According to court records, Scisson pled "not guilty by reason of insanity" of the charges and was placed on "electronic monitoring." In December, Scisson pled guilty to a charge of "aggrevated menacing" and was placed on 2 years probation.

If you want to check it out for yourself, go to http://www.co.lucas.oh.us/index.aspx?nid=99, and type in Scisson James.

Mayor Murray continues to blow us away. What is it with Murray's attraction to felons and lunatics? Murray is supposed to get the criminal element out of our City, not import them from Toledo!

God help our city!

Attention: P-Town Fans Invited!! (UPDATED 2/2/10)

Conversation with the Mayor A Community Meeting with Mayor Jane Murray Sat., Jan. 30th at 1:00 pm Christ United Methodist Church 5731 Gallia Street, Sciotoville (across from East High School)

How 'bout it fans? Anyone want to attend Jane Murray's "Community Meeting"?

Do any of you P-Towners have any good questions for her honor? Feel free to share by leaving a comment below.

Special note to the Irish Mob. Keep it clean, guys. ;)

UPDATE:

Murray's meeting was a dud. Other than Mayor Murray and her cronies (Councilman Rich Noel and disgraced former councilman Harold Daub) only five people attended, including former Wastewater Director Rick Duncan and his uncle who lives in Sciotoville. Murray and Noel threatened to call the police if Duncan didn't leave. Duncan said he just wanted to see if Murray was going to slander him again. At about 1:10 P.M., Murray said she was going to re-schedule the meeting due to "bad weather."