Some thoughts from Afghanistan

It is election time in Templeton once again and the blog is heating up, one more candidates night to go before the all important election. Please be sure to vote. First things first though, Thank you to the ladies (also town employees) at the Assessors Office for the package sent to me a short time ago. The solid chocolate easter bunny was a nice choice, especially for a choc o holic like myself. I did also bring a smile to my face as I opened the box. Now whom ever posted on here that being a selectmen is a thankless job surely did not know what they were talking about. Take time to speak with town employees, take time to stop and talk with town residents, especially when you see them at meetings and I am always shown why I like being a selectmen.

Even when speaking to someone who is on the other side of the political spectrum, as on election day when I am holding a sign for someone and he is holding a sign for another, a couple of former Marines talked about things, just things politics aside. We may not have agreed to agree on politics but we spoke civilly and we listened to each other cordially and then politely agreed we would be continuing to disagree. No, being a selectmen is not thankless, we just do not get paid for it (anymore ).
Now sometimes becoming a selectmen or any elected office for that matter means you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. This is because some people disagree with you, even if you were voted in with 100% of the vote, you will eventually make a statement, vote one way or the other, or just do something that someone will not like then the ball gets rolling and you have to take the heat. Sometimes I think it can also be what you did in the past or the little things that add up. Possibly a few big things and then it seems like you are on the radar forever. Take Virginia Wilder for example, elected out of a recall and a year later, she is very much still on the radar. So lets look back at history for a moment. Shortly after being elected, Virginia voted (forthwith) to fire the town attorney and rehire K&P, in the middle of the month no less. This move cost the taxpayers an extra 5 thousand dollars because they had to pay two law firms for one month. At the very least, the 3 selectmen could have waited and either done it at the end of the month or at least planned it a little better. So there is one questionable move by Ms. Wilder that cost taxpayers money. By itself, not a really really big deal, but of course there is more. Then Ms Wilder voted to fire Jeff Ritter, again in midterm (and within the law) of course this action led to a cost to the taxpayer (because Mr. Ritter had an employment contract unlike former coordinator Carol Skelton) and so a settlement was agreed to and voted on (conflict with town by-laws) then Ms. Wilder voted to bring back former coordinator Carol Skelton (her admitted dear friend, there is a word for hiring friends which escapes me at the moment) on top of this, Ms Wilder went before the Advisory board to ask for emergency funds for a salary account for Ms. Skelton. Ms Wilder also talked as if her being before the Advisory Board was a consensus move on behalf of the board of selectmen, it was not and as I was in attendance, I reminded the Advisory Board of this fact, Virginia Wilder was there on her own. As had been Bob Columbus trying the same thing, stating something that was untrue (is that considered fraud asking for money under false pretenses?) To top all of this off, there have been more than one person who has stated on this blog that Virginia Wilder lied to them leading up to the recall vote that got Ms. Wilder elected to office.
All of the above is documented with the exception of Virginia lieing, only those present know for sure and as an FYI, I included that in this piece to all who read this to show why some people may blog what they do about Virginia Wilder. I hope this demonstrates that sometimes people earn what others say about them and why sometimes it seems that certain people are constantly hounded of what they have done or not done. Actions speak volumns and perhaps Ms. Wilder is changing her ways but history has a way of reminding us of what has been done and of what to watch for in the future. I hope this piece gives all something to think about and it helps people to understand why the microscope may still be on Virginia Wilder, it could just be that a matter of trust is still in question because of her past actions. Some people may have not forgotten the picture of Ms. Wilder at a selectmen meeting at the cafeteria at NRHS where she was seen telling police officers to "throw that whole section over there out of the meeting"

Please stay safe Templeton;
Jeffrey Bennett