Folks, I have NOT had anything good to say about former Community College Board of Trustees Member and School Board Chairman Robert “Luke” Queen in quite a while. At the July 13th, 2021 Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees meeting Luke and his cohorts have shown the way to get rid of them all. All legal and necessary for the good of the education of the students of Cleveland County and the proper exercise of the Rule of Law. Good Job Luke!!!
First, a little “Civics” lesson:
Cleveland County, North Carolina is located in the state of North Carolina. One of the 0riginal 13 States of the United States of America.
North Carolina and the USA have both created Constitutions and Laws that we ALL have to abide by.
All Citizens in Cleveland County, North Carolina and the USA have to abide by these laws. The Rule of Law it is called. Including Robert A. Williams. Including Luke Queen. Including School Board Members. Including Community College Board of Trustee Members. Including the County Commissioners. ALL of us!!! With NO Exceptions. You, Me and everybody in between.
The basis of all our governmental oversight is NOT based on “Trust” but on “Checks and Balances.”
There are penalties for those that break or violate the laws of NC and the USA.
These concepts are the basis for our “Rule of Law” that we ALL are supposed to live by. Including our so-called county government leadership. Including the Commissioners, CCC BoTs, School Board, et al (and the others) involving the slimeball gooey illegal messes that Robert “Luke” Queen stirs up wherever he goes.
That being said, now, here are some specifics and some ‘gossip” (good information from sources that I will not reveal) regarding Luke Queen being expelled by the Commissioners from duties on the CCC Board of Trustees, AND the illegal acts by the Community College Board of Trustees that have followed.
At the June 15, 2021 Commissioner’s Meeting, the Commissioners read into the record a letter from Luke Queen (a resignation” letter has been included in several previous articles) that stated that the load on Luke from the both the School Board and the CCC BoTs was too much for him to handle and requested the Commissioners NOT select him for reappointment to the CCC BoT Board. Later it was determined that Luke had backdated the letter to June 1, 2021. The Commissioners appointed Jimmy Hensley to fill Luke Queens’s position at CCC as soon as Luke’s term at CCC ran out on June 30, 2021. It was also common knowledge that the Commissioners were NOT going to reappoint Luke Queen to the CCC Board anyway. For good reasons that the commissioners have not publicly disclosed.
But, the crowd of Trump-Haters in the Cleveland County Republican Party, Wes “Taliban Dan” Westmoreland, Dennis “Beetle” Bailey (both CCC BoT members), Kevin Whisnant and David Allen (both in CCGOP leadership positions) and perhaps a few others teamed up with NC State Senator Ted “Lap Dog” Alexander to scheme to thwart the will of the people and the Rule of Law to keep Luke Queen on the CCC BoT Board. They found, what they believed to be a loophole in the Commissioners right to choose a CCC BoT member that best suited the interests of students, taxpayers and citizens of Cleveland County and keep Luke Queen where THEY wanted him. With THEM running CCC into the ground.
This is the “loophole” that THEY found. An obscure North Carolina law. North Carolina General Stature 115D-12(b1). Which says: (Pertinent parts underlined)
§ 115D-12(b1) No person who has been employed full time by the community college within the prior 5 years and no spouse or child of a person currently employed full time by the community college shall serve on the board of trustees of that college.
Allegedly meaning Jimmy Hensley, the Commissioner’s appointment to replace Luke Queen, was a previous CCC Employee within the past 5 years and therefore could not serve as a BoT member. I do not know Jimmy Hensley or his work history and cannot verify that allegation.
But, if true, the Commissioner’s “vetting” process did not catch that point before Hensley was appointed by the Commissioners on June 15, 2021. However, the Commissioners were and are still the “Appointing Agency” and had the complete authority to appoint someone else, not the other mutinous BoT members who had NO authority at all to deem that Robert “Luke” Queen would stay on the CCC BoT board. Which they have done.
Of course, such a “miss” by the Commissioners made them look like total FOOLs and “dumb asses.” Further accentuated by Commissioner Johnny Hutchins, who is also a BoT member, taking off on a “beach trip” and being absent at the July 13, 2021 CCC BoT Meeting. One of the most important meetings of the year-as will soon be explained.
Editor’s Note: this mistake, if there was one, by the Commissioners only indicates the County Manager Brian Epley, County Attorney and Speaker of the House Tim Moore and Deputy County Attorney Martha Thompson were “asleep at the wheel” during this vetting process and did not flag any legal problem, if any existed, with the appointment of Jimmy Hensley. Or, were working on the many lawsuits against Cleveland County that have cropped up in recent years. I do not remember any such problem or all the lawsuits ever occurring when Attorney Bob Yelton was the County Attorney.
Also, at this point I must say that a source report indicated that a “late” telephone call from the CCC President’s Office (Dr. Jason Hurst-President) to the Commissioners informed the Commissioners of the alleged legal issue. Which tells me that Hurst was also in on the mutiny and exposing the Commissioners with their “pants down.”
Therefore, the total lack of action by the FOOL Commissioners totally enabled the Mutiny by the CCC BoT members to take over the July 13, 2021 CCC BoT meeting. Which by all standards was an illegal meeting. Please re-read my previous article titled “Massive Destruction of Trust at July 13th CCC BoT Board Meeting.” This article will take up where this last article left off!!!
So folks, what can be done for the citizens to take back control of Cleveland Community College from the rogue and mutinous Board of Trustees and their front man President Jason Hurst?
Actually, this will be easy and 100% legal; if the fool Commissioners have the “balls” to do it. I have already described it in general terms in my past several articles. I previously suggested the commissioners “declare an emergency” at CCC, fire ALL the Board of Trustee Members and re-appoint new members all around. All NEW members with some sense!!! And the fool mutinous BoT members have themselves blazed the trail for their own suicidal demise!.
When the fool BoTs mutinied using that single law, previously noted, NCGS 115D-12(b1); they should have paid more attention. There are other laws on that very same page and sprinkled about on other pages of North Carolina law that gives the Commissioners full power to get rid of all of the law-breaking crooks on the CCC BoT. A process of legal actions that will clean out CCC like a dose of salts. Something long overdue.
Before we get to removing the BoTs, lets look at how to replace them. The very next law from which the BoTs used to muting, NCGS 112D-12(c) deals with filling vacancies and who does the filling. The Commissioners get to fill eight on the 12 BoTs-a super majority.
The law says, in part, as shown below:
(c) Vacancies occurring in any group for whatever reason shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the agency or agencies authorized to select trustees of that group and in the manner in which regular selections are made.
The Agency that appoints eight of the 12 BoTs is the Cleveland County Commissioners.
Now, the easy part: Getting rid of the “bums” on the CCC BoTs. To make it real easy, you have to get rid of them all first and then start over. It can be done one at a time, but it is easier to go all the way and start over from scratch. I will show you the laws for both ways. And the criteria are easy to understand and follow. And the mutinous CCC BoTs have cut their own throats.
First, you have to realize that the law that applies in such matters require the State Board of Community Colleges to assure that Board of Trustee members obey applicable laws, rules and sound fiscal and management practices, as defined in State Board policy. Then, you have to realize that the State Board of Community Colleges is just as crooked as all the other State Boards. They very seldom would remove a local community college board of trustee member for doing what they themselves do.
So, how do you legally get around the State Board of Community Colleges? That is in the law too. NCGS 115D-6. The Commissioners cut off all local funding for CCC and the State Board goes away. I have already suggested that in my previous articles. Once the State Board is gone and CCC’s certification is gone, the Commissioners act to RE-Certify Cleveland Community College and appoint a brand-new set of Trustees. With Speaker of the House Tim Moore acting as the County Attorney and the Commissioners growing some balls, this can be done with a relatively great speed. And the Commissioners can turn themselves from FOOLS into HEROs at warp speed.
If the Commissioners are not quite so bold and heroic, there is NCGS 115D-6.5 titled Notice of noncompliance; appointment of an interim board of trustees that would require the State Board of Community Colleges to do their job as they are supposed to do. Again, Speaker of the House Tim Moore would have to do his due diligence to ensure the State Board does what they are already supposed to do. Not impossible, but a longer process. But, an insistent Speaker of the House breathing down the State Board’s neck could do wonders.
And, the present CCC BoTs facing such actions, and possible court actions, would likely be inclined to resign immediately and go hide in shame in a corner somewhere. If the were smart. But, if they were smart, none of this would happen in the first place.
That is when you remind the stupid and mutinous Board of Trustee member of their many sins, Like all their violations of State Laws.
Like the very July 13, 2021 CCC BoT meeting that has rekindled efforts to remove Luke Queen from the CCC BoT and eventually the School Board.
The July 13, 2021 CCC BoT Meeting was illegal in many ways.
NCGS 115D-18 requires that every year at the first BoT meeting in July that the BoTs elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary. The CCC BoTs did not have this on their July 13, 2021 meeting agenda and did not fulfill this action as required by law.
NCGS 115D-19 requires that a Trustee who is not capable of doing his job be removed. According to Luke Queen’s June 1, 2021 backdated letter of resignation, Luke clearly stated he was NOT up to the position of a CCC BoT and for the Commissioners NOT to re-appoint him.
NCGS 115D-19 also requires Trustees to refrain from immoral or disreputable acts. Backdating Public records as Luke Queen has done is not only unethical and immoral (possible lying), but it is disreputable and illegal.
Other of Luke Queen’s actions, outside of CCC BoT duties, that are immoral, disreputable, unethical and illegal cannot be separated from Luke Queen’s character (of lack thereof) making Luke untrustworthy and unworthy of serving on the CCC BoT Board. This is why the Commissioners did not reappoint Luke to the CCC BoT Board.)
For all the other CCC Bots at the July 13, 2021 to condone, support and enable Luke Queen’s immoral, disreputable, unethical and illegal acts makes them just as guilty as Luke Queen and is in disregard to discharging the proper duties of a Community College Trustee Board member.
Again, for more detailed information, re-read my previous article titled “Massive Destruction of Trust at July 13th CCC BoT Board Meeting.”
So, Commissioners, it is time for YOU to get the ball rolling to re-establish legal control of your own Board appointments and also to re-establish control at Cleveland Community College to provide an adequate (no superior) and cost-effective education for Cleveland County students. Us citizens and TAXPAYERS and VOTERS are watching YOU!!!