Without much ado from the Shelby Star, the Cleveland County Commissioners unanimously voted last Tuesday evening to appoint Robert Queen to the Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees. A good move on the Commissioner’s part as election year is upon the majority of them. Eddie Holbrook, Ronnie Whetstine and Doug Bridges.
Robert Queen is a well known and positive quantity regarding the reforming of education in Cleveland County. Queen’s positions on issues related to the school board in particular and education in general were well publicized in his close run for the CCS school board in the 2017 election where over 52,000 voters stayed home and those few who did turn out were stupid enough to put Phillip “Bully” Glover back in along with a sexual predator. Thus prolonging the democrat incompetents that have been running CCS for way too many years.
The Commissioner’s appointment of Robert Queen and the previous appointment of Craig DeBrew to the CCC Board of Trustees were two good picks after a long run of not so good picks (like Jason Falls) that helped maintain the scandalous behavior at CCC for so long. Both Queen and DeBrew are engineers by trade, NC State Engineers at that. They are well trained and experienced in making logical decisions based on the true facts of the matter with the purpose of improving the situation at hand. I believe they will recognize the importance of adding a Pledge of Allegiance to the CCC Board of Trustee Meeting Agenda as well as following the letter of the law in running the BoT meetings. And keeping fair and accurate historical recordings of those meetings. I also believe Queen and DeBrew will lead the way in requiring transparency in all aspects of operating the Cleveland Community College.
In addition, I believe Queen and DeBrew’s example of honesty and straightforwardness, backed up with common sense and logical thinking will bring out those same qualities to other Board of Trustee members who have allowed their shining lights to be covered up with a basket, of going along to get along. Queen and DeBrew are new and will not necessarily be saddled with defending the problems of the past year that took too long to even start getting things under control. And, along with the selection of a new CCC President with a major emphasis on Workforce Development will be able to pull the rest of the BoT’s heads out of the sand and inspire a new vision of doing the right things and for the right reasons. The very things that inspire trust in an otherwise untrustworthy Board of Trustees.
I suggest the very first example of doing the right thing at the next BoT Meeting would be a motion by either Queen or DeBrew and seconded by the other (to force a vote) to add the Pledge of Allegiance to their meeting agenda. I believe this very thing would be akin to the Star in the East that led the Three Wise Men to baby Jesus in Bethlehem. I plan on being present at that next BoT Meeting to see this happen. If it doesn’t happen, I will let everybody know that more hard times are coming.
But folks, there are also some very bad things that still need to be fixed at Cleveland Community College. The first thing to remember is not one person at CCC has been disciplined in all this mess of scandals. Sure, Former President Steve Thornburg is gone. But he was paid royally (about $250,000) to leave. But every body else, except for the victims, are still there getting paid their big salaries and blaming everything on “disgruntled former Employees.” Emphasis on “former.”
Remember the new President starts Monday week, but the CCC BoT’s next scheduled meeting is about six weeks away in May. That meeting in May will probably be when Robert Queen is sworn in. No sooner. And the CCC BoTs have hired yes man Dr. Bill Aiken as a “consultant” for the month of April to help “smooth” the transition for the new President, Dr. Jason Hurst. You just have to know that Aiken, one who doesn’t want to talk to anybody unless they polish his apple, will surely be putting in good words to Dr. Hurst for the “wonderful staff” who caused the lawsuits, legal actions, illegal firings and such at CCC in the first place. Of course that won’t last long. As soon as I get Dr. Hurst’s direct email address I will be sending him my articles about the problems and suggested solutions at CCC as well as my thoughts about Workforce Development needs here in Cleveland County. Dr. Hurst will likely need as much help as he can get as I am sure the BoTs have painted a very rosy picture of CCC, leaving out all the problems and issues.
So folks, The struggle to right the many wrongs at CCC is not over. Not over by far. Actually it is only beginning. Selecting Dr. Hurst as the new President is a good baby step forward, as long as he is not corrupted too bad by Dr. Aiken right from the start. Robert Queen and Craig DeBrew are also good baby steps forward for the Board of Trustees, along with those that will join them in making the reforms that need to be made. But don’t expect any sudden and drastic improvement until the underlying problems and issues, just like the cancers that they are, are surgically removed from CCC. And the wrongs have been righted.
Stay Tuned folks. And remember the Commissioners part in all this and how close to election time it is. If the lessons of the 2017 Elections are revisited, the fate of the incumbent commissioners may be history anyway.
Click Here to read about Robert Queen.