Project Sunrise Economic Development Project is a farce and a joke!! Commissioners approve $3,590,400 giveaway with ZERO questions!! Report, Analysis and Conclusions by Robert A
Editor’s Note: By now about 100% of Cleveland County citizens have heard the Shelby Daily Star called the “Shelby Daily Liar” at one time or another. Once again, the Shelby Daily Liar has lived up to its reputation.
At the August 1, 2023 Commissioners Meeting the Cleveland County Commissioners held a Public Hearing on the CC Economic Development Program’s project called Project Sunrise. The Commissioners had deceptively changed the rules for the public making comments during Citizen’s Recognition and Public Hearings to limit the publics opportunity to speak under the First Amendment and adopted those rules illegally NOT taking a vote on the policy change rules in an open session. This has become a common and often occurrence with these present Cleveland County Commissioners; Johnny Hutchins, Ronnie Whetstine, Deb Hardin, Doug Bridges and led by Kevin Gordon. (And, the CCS School Board too.)
As it happened, Robert A spotted the commissioners deception, sidestepped around it and spoke during the Public Hearing on Project Sunrise. Robert A had picked up on the commissioners “finagling” the incentive numbers to falsely show that they were selling property to the unnamed company (a Chinese company) at twice its value but then almost silently giving back to the Chinese by at around $1.5 Million MORE (by CC taxpayers paying for the clearing and grading of the property) than the $2.2 Million the Commissioners say they got from the Chinese from the sale of the property. Robert A’s previous articles about Project Sunrise describe this in more detail.
This secret detail discovered by Robert A and disclosed in his comments during the public hearing and later in his articles must have embarrassed the Commissioners. First Commissioner Johnny Hutchins, before his motion to approve the deal, stated that the 134 good paying jobs would pay everything back in 5-6 years.
Then, the Commissioners sent their press release to the Shelby Daily Liar who regurgitated and repeated all the Commissioners lies and talking points and reported nothing that Robert A had stated during the Public Hearing. The Shelby Daily Liar then included a statement from Commissioner Doug Bridges which stated: “We need more higher paying jobs.”
Of course, Commissioners Johnny Hutchins, Doug Bridges and the CCS School Board, Cleveland County needs more high paying jobs. But when will the Commissioners and the Daily Liar (and the CCS School Board) get the message that Cleveland County citizens, taxpayers and voters want truth, not deception. The following example is how YOUR deception works.
Let’s consider the Chinese Company’s workforce of 134 workers. 85% (114 of the workers) get paid at $9 per hour and 20 managers get payed at $90 per hour.
Let’s do the math in rounded off numbers:
114 workers X $9 per hour = 1026
20 supervisors X $90 per hour = 1800
_____
$2826
$2826 / 134 total workers = $21.09 Per hour AVERAGE PAY
Folks, do you see how deceptive the Commissioners and the Shelby Daily Liars are??? The example chosen, with 85% of workers at poverty levels can be shown, when mixed in with the managers making 10 times as much can show an average pay of over $21 per hour!!!
Also, folks, don’t you wonder where Robert A came up with the percentages and the 10 times pay difference between the lowest and highest pay??? (Hint! Hint! He didn’t have to go to China!!) It’s from Cleveland County Schools pay scales. Where the Superintendent and his inner circle each make well over $200,000 per year ($96+ per hour) and Teachers Aids and Bus Drivers who make around $20,000 per year ($9.60 per hour). Or thereabouts. Folks, China ain’t got noting on Cleveland County in regards to wage disparities.
Also, Robert A and an associate have, now with 99% confidence, discovered the Chinese company that has just out-negotiated our dummy Cleveland County Commissioners. It is the SHEMAR company from Communist China, who just filed as a NC Corporation with the NC Secretary of State on June 22, 2023. This company will make what is called “composite external insulation” products for electrical power transmission and distribution. Further investigation shows that this composite external insulation design was developed by the Siemens Company, headquartered in Munich, Germany. And was a technology stolen by the Chinese. So, our CC Commissioners and American Companies in particular are not the only ones whose greed has helped the Chinese Communists to steal our technology. BTW, don’t be planning on buying any of this insulation at Lowes for use on your house. This stuff is used on very high voltage (100,000 plus volt) electrical transmission wires that hang from those very tall electrical towers that crisscross NC, the USA and the world. It is installed directly onto those electrical wires where the insulated areas of the wires are then clamped directly to the steel of the transmission towers.
It is also presently unknown by Robert A whether or not toxic chemicals are used in the manufacturing processes that will be going on at Project Sunrise. It is very unlikely that the Commissioners nor the attorneys who presented the Project Sunrise to the Commissioner or the CC Economic Development Partnership folks, whoever and wherever they are, even thought about this aspect of Project Sunrise. The time limits the Commissioners put on public hearings and public participation didn’t allow Robert A to say anything to the Commissioners about that aspect of the Project Sunrise fiasco. And, it’s a safe bet that the Daily Liar will never think to ask that question either. They never do.
Stay tuned folks. If you want to ever get the truth about anything going on here in Cleveland County, you best be coming here first. And, NEVER-EVER believe a Press Release put out by the Commissioners or the CCS School Board and sent to the Shelby Daily Liar.