Ten years ago, Bob Ford was a Democrat and a Morgan County Commissioner.<\/p>\n
Bert Lustig at the time was a volunteer with the Morgan County Solid Waste Authority (MCSWA).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last time I recall Bob Ford placing a series of large ads in the Morgan Messenger he was disguised as a Democrat and serving as a County Commissioner,\u201d Lustig said this week. \u201cI remember the subject of those ads well. Despite having the bully pulpit of the County Commission, Ford chose to work around his fellow Commissioners by running privately funded ads personally attacking the members of the MCSWA for doing their required duty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lustig says that the issue at the time was the application by the so-called Morgan County Potting Soil LLC, MCPS, to operate a waste-processing factory in the Morgan County Industrial Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe State of West Virginia assigned the task of reviewing such applications to the local Solid Waste Authority,\u201d Lustig said. \u201cMany on the MCSWA recognized the threat that the incinerator and other operations of the proposed facility posed to our air and water quality and the tourism industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Authority gave the facility a fair and thorough review, including public hearings. But, apparently, this was not satisfactory to Ford who seemed to feel that anything other than open arms for his \u2018friends,\u2019 as the two other Commissioners took to calling the applicants, was a personal affront. The attack ads were his response.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy a long and complicated process the MCSWA gave its approval to MCPS, then rescinded that approval,\u201d Lustig recalls. \u201cHowever, Morgan County got a taste of Bob\u2019s pet project anyway. The same applicants later opened a scaled down version of their facility, outside the jurisdiction of the MCSWA, at the old Compton\u2019s Truck facility on 522 South. \u00a0As soon as production started, there were complaints by neighbors of the facility about dust and noise. Then very shortly thereafter, the facility was closed and Morgan County was finally rid of this bad idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure whom Bob Ford means when he says that he has the ability to work with others, but if he means his friends, and not necessarily for the good of Morgan County, this is a good example for his resume.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ten years ago, Bob Ford was a Democrat and a Morgan County Commissioner. Bert Lustig at the time was a volunteer with the Morgan County Solid Waste Authority (MCSWA). \u201cThe last time I recall Bob Ford placing a series of … Continue reading