According to reports from trusted sources:
1. The usual political forum sponsored by the NAACP has allegedly been hijacked by the Ebenezer Association of black churches in Cleveland County. Sources report this forum was poorly reported in last Friday’s Shelby Star that this Forum would be held at the Cleveland County Schools Central Offices Auditorium at 400 W Marion Street Tuesday at 6 PM. Massa Eddie or his surrogates are reported to be requiring that no questions be asked about the Sports Complex proposed by Willie Green or Massa Eddie will not show up. No word from any other incumbent Commissioner candidates.
2. Commissioner “Massa Eddie” Holbrook as well as all the other Commissioners, County Manager, Assistant County Manager and County Clerk are refusing to accept my emailed requests for public records in violation of State law. Others copied on the emailed request have received their copy. Apparently Massa Eddie has declared that nobody in the Cleveland County.com system can receive my emails. The rejected email notice arrived today in regard to a request for qualifications and pay of former County Managers Jeff Richardson, Jason Falls and present County Manager Brian Epley. Also, Commissioners are saying my request for emails regarding these County Managers over the past six months would cost me $59,065 and would include over one million documents when state says I should be able to inspect those records for free.
For your information, the email that was rejected stated:
To: Phyllis Noland;
;Eddie Holbrook ;Ronnie Whetstine ;Doug Bridges ;Susan Allen ;Johnny Hutchins ;Brian Epley ;Kerri Melton ;Tim Moore ; From: Robert A. Williams
Ms. Noland, Commissioners,
Please note that I have attached the Guide to Open Meetings and Public Records produced by former Attorney General and now Governor Roy Cooper, AGAIN, for your information and use. Also note that I would never consider authorizing anybody in Cleveland County Governmental to charge me for copying 1,000,000 (one million) pages of documents without my review. What I would probably receive would be one page of an irrelevant document copied one million times.
According to my review of the attached guide, I am allowed to inspect any and all public documents for free and would only be charged reasonable rates for those copies that I specifically requested to be copied. Also, according to the attached guide, it is Cleveland County’s responsibility to store public documents in an easily retrievable manner and at no cost to the requester. The attached guide also states that it would be Cleveland County’s responsibility to do any reviews, etc. required for the document inspection at no cost to the requester. As far as any IT assistance, that would also be Cleveland County’s responsibility and free to the requester. However, I have an IT expert that would be glad to assist Cleveland County in the recovery of the emails that I requested for no charge to Cleveland County.
I would also state that I am totally displeased with Cleveland County’s responses to the public records that I have requested and feel these poor responses are planned schemes concocted and directed at the highest levels (Commissioners-especially Commissioners running for re-election) with the intent to prevent the public to know and understand the real aspects of county business that are probably unethical and likely illegal too.
I am restating my requests to inspect public records as previously submitted immediately and in accordance with Federal and North Carolina law. I am not authorizing and will refuse to pay for copying millions (your numbers) of documents for which I am supposed to be able to inspect for no fees or charges.
Regards,
Robert A. Williams
Massa Eddie and the others obviously didn’t want any of this to be on his email records, Same with everybody else on the county IT system. It is easier to lie when the records have been erased from their computers. But, I have a copy and it is available for all to see.
3. The Rev. Dante Murphy replied to my article “Commissioner Holbrook Plays Race Card.” Rev. Murphy’s c comment certainly and totally refutes Massa Eddie’s claim to anything positive about his claim of good relations with the black community. Massa Eddie’s MO as well as other so called white leadership in Cleveland County regarding race relations is to “pay off” the “Uncle Toms” in the black community with the expectation that the Uncle Toms will keep the other black citizens under control and do the bidding of all the other white “Massas” in Cleveland County.