More recently, that I can write about, was when a Cleveland County School Superintendent was in hot water over the school credit card fraud controversy and the School Board was in full cover-up mode, the Superintendent decides to “retire” (although retirement was not in his extended multi-year contract-only resignation was allowed with a 90 day notice), Gardner-Webb made a nice cushy job where the Superintendent could knock down his high dollar pay and keep his mouth shut. Which he did keep his mouth shut. Many believe the Superintendent “retired” to act as a “sacrificial lamb” so the school board could just say “Case Closed.”
Then, there was Gardner-Webb’s Godbold School of Business’ “study” that stated renovating the old historic Courthouse to become the Earl Scruggs Center would bring $220 million into Cleveland County over a ten year period. The Earl Scruggs Center has been open several years now and requires county and city tax money to pay the power bill.
Even the old Doran Mill property that the Commissioners actually gave away for nothing to the Dover Technology Group for an economical development project that never happened ended up with some Gardner-Webb involvement. A Partner in the group took timbers from the old mill and milled them into flooring for the NewGrass Brewery as well as allegedly selling scrap metal out of the mill for over a million dollars. When the original grand ideas for the mill property did not pan out, the Group put the property out for sale at very high prices. They advertised with an out of town real estate group to market the property at high prices as an industrial facility that would include a distillery AND a Gardner-Webb “Business Incubator. I think that particular For Sale sign is still up. Gardner-Webb went along with the scheme, Only thing was outside business folks were savvy enough not to fall for the scam. And why should they. The Commissioners just sold to Clearwater Paper property (for expansion) valued at $4.5 million for $1. That is right-ONE DOLLAR. In the end all the grand schemes failed and the Dover Group just gave the old Dover Mill property, with all the assets stripped out and sold, back to Cleveland County to keep from having to pay property taxes on the place.
So, who knows what Gardner-Webb is up to? You sure can’t tell from the Shelby Star article that comes out in print today. And Gardner-Webb ain’t telling neither. The only thing for sure is many employees will be out of jobs and the Cleveland County Economic Development Partnership will never mention it. As well as the County Commissioners who will be running for re-election.
