The cooler weather has continued, and it’s been really delightful. It has also stopped raining for the moment, and it continues to look a bit like an early fall. September is normally our driest month, and I’m hoping it will be again this year, because I have some cabin projects that need a couple of weeks of dry weather.
The runoff elections last Tuesday yielded mostly predictable results. Bill Simonds, the incumbent, defeated Tommy Ledford for Commission Chairman. Earl Johnson defeated Junior Farmer for Post 1, as well as for the remainder of Garnett Webb’s Post 1 term (Webb resigned to seek the Chairmanship). Shirley Sosebee defeated John T. Chastain for Tax Commissioner. In one race that did seem up in the air, Allison Sosebee soundly defeated Joe Hendricks for District Attorney. The Probate Judge race is still undecided at this point. Scott Kiker is leading Julie Queen by some 28 votes, but the election results have not been certified, and there is the possibility that Queen may demand a recount, which would further delay the result.
I continue to be impressed by the fact that there was only one person in any local race who would in any way have represented the interests and concerns of the second home and transplant population – Joe Webb – and he did not make the runoff for Post 1. Evidently, life is so wonderful here that these folks don’t care that they have no voice and no say in how things are run, and that their concerns continue to be ignored. I guess that is a strong testimony to the attractions of our laid back lifestyle, but it does concern me that everyone seems to be content to let the anti-environmental, “growth will take care of itself” attitude go unchallenged.