Enough said...

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President George W. Bush (43)

All terrain knobby tires, Trip computer, Sport eye protection, etc...

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President Barack H. Obama (44)
Cushy fat tires, Book rack on back, "Ring-Ring" ringer, etc...

"Can we have Balloon Rides"?!.....

The Newsleader has an interesting article about the meetings they are having over at the Augusta County Government Center to bring the newly elected Supervisors up to speed before they take their seats next month.... "Operation Drumbeat" has more info and quotes...

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Fireworks or Explosion?....

Had hoped to finish this site (Operation Drumbeat) a bit more before posting but the antics continue at the Augusta County Board of Supervisor meetings...

A fitting deal for my friend...

"Went to a Hockey game and a Political fight broke out"!!!...

A few weeks back I went with a friend to a UVA vs. Radford Ice Hockey game in Charlottesville and was sitting watching the Sports channel before the game when we turned to find a familiar and notorious ex-political player from the Shenandoah Valley standing there. As with many times in the past it was he who was to seek out the conversation\debate\conflict, and like many times before it became a back & forth from extreme offense to extreme defense tactics to argue his points...

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My hockey friend did a great job of deflecting personal attacks from the intruder as well as providing numerous facts and examples to set the record straight when the visitor started to revise history to fit his claims.

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Incredibly this went on for 1 1/2 hours and he left 3 different times only to return again and again once the facts were provided that clashed with his agenda and\or desired recollection

of past events.

Radford ended up beating UVA in the game....

Augusta County Election night 2011...

Supervisor-elect Michael Shull with his family at the Augusta County Republican headquarters after learning he won the Riverheads Supervisor seat...

Augusta County Commissioner of Revenue Jean Shrewsbury and Augusta County Treasurer Richard Homes...

Delegate Richard "Dickie" Bell (20th District House)...

Door to Door with Augusta County Republican Candidate Jeremy Shifflett...

Had the opportunity to do some good old fashion door to door campaigning with Augusta County Beverley Manor District Supervisor Jeremy Shifflett who is campaigning for his second term on the Board of Supervisors. I volunteered for Jeremy when he first stepped up to the plate and ran for Supervisor four years ago. It's now that much better now that he has a proven track record of representing Beverley Manor district and it shows when he goes door to door resulting in residents seeking him out in the neighborhood to show their support...

It was good to get back to the basic form of campaigning by getting out there and meeting with the people who will decide the direction of their district on election day Tuesday November 8th. Jeremy was kept busy talking with his constituents as we worked our way down the streets and this gave him the opportunity to talk with the people regarding the past four years as well as some of the "questionable" claims made by his opponent. There is great value for the citizen to be able to meet face to face with their Supervisor to discuss issues that effect them and their families. Many appreciate the opportunity to confront and ask questions about claims being made in the local press and several commented on the negative visits by opposing candidates across the county...

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Documentation of what a candidate has done in the past is a valuable tool for the voter to utilize when making a decision on election day as well as different media formats to dispel false claims that are out there. Simple and honest practices are expected and appreciated by the voters when it comes to identifying the candidates and what they stand for. I have always liked it when a Candidate identifies himself and the party he supports right on their campaign signs such as "Jeremy Shifflett *Republican for Supervisor* Beverley Manor District...

And yes, there is a car wash in Verona!...

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Sure, yeah, I am the (a) Republican Candidate"... Wink~wink... Widespread?...

It seems that word is getting out around the county that several of the “Independent” candidates in the Augusta County Supervisor race are claiming to be “the” or “a” republican candidate when going from door to door or when soliciting campaign sign locations…

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Reports are that several of those doing this quickly change to “a” republican candidate once questioned or challenged by those they are soliciting support from. But in fact they are not the Republican candidate and are actually misrepresenting themselves to garner potential votes.

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It appears former Augusta Republican Committee chairman Kurt Michael has used this “tactic” several times already and more examples are coming out. If true, it then means that Kurt Michael is using his past tenure as chairman of the local Republican party as a campaign “tool” to solicit support in the present campaign for Supervisor of Wayne district, when in fact he is not the Republican candidate in the race. This “tactic” may work with the potential voter who knows little or nothing of Kurt Michael’s past history, or knowledge of the infamous past GOP mass meeting that turned ugly once Kurt Michael was voted out as the Chairman of the Augusta Republican Committee by the majority of republican voters present.

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There are several reports of candidates misrepresenting themselves as the “True” Republican candidate when soliciting campaign sign locations in the county. Several of these candidates have been told to take down their signs once the landowner finds out the truth about the false claims and you can be sure that does not sit well in the business community. If you see a campaign sign that just does not look right in front of a business you know, ask that landowner if they know the true status of that candidacy… Word of mouth and friends talking does wonders!...

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But with Augusta County’s history of voting 70%+ for Republican candidates in the past, it’s obvious that several of these “Independent” candidates, possibly even a former Democrat member, would seek support of the Republican “label” if it might help them in this election.

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It is important to talk to your neighbors, the people you work with, and the people you socialize with to ensure that they get the real info regarding claims being made by some candidates who are seeking their support\votes when in fact they are misrepresenting themselves… Word of mouth and the truth works wonders when it gets out there!...

There is now a letter to the editor in the Staunton Newsleader from the Chairman of the Augusta County Republican Committee advising readers of this obvious problem with candidates claiming to be the Republican candidate when they are not......

JMU

Attended my first JMU Ice Hockey game last night when they played UVA at the Main Street Arena in Charlottesville. Also first time at the arena in Charlottesville which has nice ice but very limited area for fans to watch the game. Most and best area is right up against the glass but folding chairs if you are looking to sit. Bonus is the Pub at one end of the rink where you can sit and watch with an ale the HD sport programs\games that are on at the same time between periods.





Teams were fun to watch but it’s obvious that it’s the beginning of the season and these guys will get better as they play together some more. The JMU team was better at passing and running 3 hit plays before shooting on goal and many times beat the UVA goalie but missed the net with their shots. UVA for the most part shot on goal as soon as they got the puck and several goals were made from the Blue line…





JMU goalie was good if he had defense back there with him but on UVA breakaways he looked scared and not skating up to challenge the shooter coming his way. Overall a good game with action even with the score going JMU way 10 to 4…



It was also fun to watch the Charlottesville crowd with many of the students from both JMU & UVA due to free admission and available beer. Another highlight was watching the local family groups come in all dressed up and ready to be seen by all. Think of a “The Housewives of Charlottesville” episode…

Augusta Supervisor Race: "The Pot calling the Kettle Black"?....

The local Staunton newspaper (NewsLeader) recently did a piece on the Augusta County Board of Supervisor race where the challenger, David Karaffa (I), brought to light that the current Beverly Manor Supervisor, Jeremy Shifflett (R) has missed other than BOS meetings in the past. All of the seven Augusta County Supervisors are on special community committees and many times are welcome to attend but are not allowed to actually vote during the process...

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Unfortunately the NewsLeader did not investigate or explore the meeting attendance record of any of the other Supervisors thus making this basically a "Political Hit Piece" by Karaffa against the sitting Beverley Manor District Supervisor...

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Interestingly the NewsLeader article has gotten numerous comments from local citizens who have seen this piece for what it is. In addition to this one commentor has provided an interesting link to the minutes of a BOS meeting where one Supervisor (Beyler) questions another Supervisor (Pyles) regarding his attendance to a committee that dealt directly with the recent Augusta County re-assessment process that he (Pyles) has actively criticized and has been very critical about. The BOS transcript shows Beyler asking Pyles if he had attended these meetings and especially the meeting that dealt with the methodology used to perform the re-assessment process. Supervisor Pyles never really answers the attendance question or provides an actual number, if any, of meetings that he attended...

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The re-assessment issue has become a obvious political tool used by members of the "Gang of Four" (Tracy Pyles, David Karaffa, Kurt Michael, Michael Pattie) who are all running for the Supervisor seats in their own districts. Instead of allowing the re-assessment process to evolve and allow the homeowner to challenge their individual assessment by the procedure provided, members Pyles & Kurt Michael organized a protest by county citizens before the actual individual challenge process was allowed to happen or complete. The vast majority of those protesting no longer see it as an issue now that the process was allowed to be completed as required by law, they had the opportunity to challenge any questionable assessment, and the BOS set an appropriate tax rate with the current economic situation...

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With the above transcript of the Augusta BOS meeting it is obvious that Shifflett is not the only one that has missed committee meetings in the past and thus the "Pot calling the Kettle black" reference above...

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The hope here is that the local newspapers will further investigate issues like this and others sure to come in the future so the voters will have all information to make their decision with....

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