Not Always Right !

State and Federal departments are not always right.

When the State Department of Insurance ''investigated'' they failed to take in consideration that the claim had things that were not damaged by the water.

There were a roomful of residents, including yourself, when Raylene said, ''It wasn't damaged by the water but needed replaced or fixed.'' To me, I guess alone, is FRAUD !!

Your refusal to admit you heard her say it shows your character. The same as your refusal to check out the invoices from Pomeroy. You were finance chair and had plenty of oppuntunity to prove me wrong, but you have elected to try to make the residents think I am on a ''vendetta'' against Russolillo.

You have the nerve to say you aren't covering for anyone?

You have aided and abetted their fraud.

You are no friend to the residents of Valleyview.

Disappointed

Ms. White,

I am disappointed. I again offer to help and share your information and you ignore the offer and acuse me of wrong doing.

I do agree with you that the State and Federal agencies do not always get it right. We have to rely on their expert opinions and judgements. I am sorry that you feel that every agency you have dealt with got it wrong. Instead of complaining about things, I decided that it was best to fix the problems. I also worked to pass legislation that would prevent others from causing the Village harm or getting away with something because the Village did not have a formal policy.

I believe that everyone that had a hand in causing the problems for Valleyview should be held accountable. In reviewing the law and the opinions of the State Attorney General and Auditor, it would have been very difficult (if not impossible) and expensive to take action in the courts. You wanted to throw good money after the bad. The returns were not worth the risk, in my opinion, to bring lawsuits that the Village most likely would have lost costing the Village more money.

The Village brought the former Clerk Treasurers to Court and they settled and the Village recovered money. They were responsible, but if the Village Council had been doing their job properly the Clerks' mistakes may have been caught sooner and corrected sooner saving the Village time and money.

I never heard Raylene make the statement that you claim that she did. I did not hear it. Does not mean that she did not say it, I can only say that I never heard her make that statement.

Everything that was on the insurance claim filed by the Village was valid. The examiner came to the Village, asked questions of those that would know about what happened and he made his report. I never spoke with the examiner or was involved in any shape or form with the claim. I believe that the claim was fair and it made possible getting repairs completed that were caused by the flooding of Village Hall.

While serving on Council as the Finance Chair, my focus was on fixing the problems facing the Village and getting the financial health of the Village going again. I feel that I accomplished that and again, I worked to put in place policies and procedures to prevent problems from happening in the future.

I believe that I made Valleyview a better place while serving in Office. Valleyview was in better shaped when my term ended than when I took office. I worked hard to make sure the future of Valleyview was protected. I believe that a large portion of residents would feel that I was a friend to the residents of Valleyview. Did I make everyone happy with my votes or actions? The obvious answer is No, but I believe that everything I did was in the best interest of Valleyview. That may not have been in the best interest of an individual resident, but while serving on Council I have to look at what is best for Valleyview to insure its continued existence.

Also Disappointed

Mr. Parrish says he is disappointed in me. I am very disappointed in him. He has had every opportunity to check out what I have said. He does not think the law and residents of Valleyview are worth his time.

It is all well and good to pass legislation to close loopholes, but the problems should have been corrected. It is a lot of resident's money involved.

He keeps harping about the attorney's general's opinions. These opinions are not the laws passed by legislators. The AGO should not be able to ignor the law without the benefit of going before the law makers and ask the law to be changed.

In the bid for governor, you will be exchanging one corrupt politician for another. Taft ranks only second to the governor of Alaska in corrupt policies.

The people should get their heads out of the sand. You can not better yourselves by exchanging Petro or Blackwell for Taft.

Valleyview cannot better it's self by supporting people who adhere to the corrupt policies of Russolillo and cover for him.

If I were still in Ohio, someone would be in jail. Isn't it strange that the people who have accused me of theft, libel and corruption have not taken me to court? Pomeroy's, Brad Smith accused me of ruining his business. Hackney and Sons did also when I found out that the Village paid him $600.00 for work in the Village when the mower wasn't working. Guess what, records show the mower wasn't broken.

I have told Mr. Parrish where to look but he chooses not to. OPWC will give him any records he wants. Parrish blames council and not Russolillo. If he would check he will find that some invoices went to OPWC before council approved them. Invoices where given to Russolillo by Brad Smith. He was supposed to give them to council for approval. OOPS, did he forget? You bettcha !!

If I found the ''secret'' with all the obstacles put in front of me, surly Mr. Parrish could do the same. His excuses are just that. It takes a man to admit his faults. Just as Russolillo and Raylene, he is not what he wants you to believe. When you take others money under false pretencies that is fraud.

When you refuse to do anything to get it back, that is aiding and abetting. I can never be proven to have done this. This puts me above these people.

Inaction is no action. This is what the people of Valleyview have gotten from the authority.

Interpretation Of The Law

Ms. White wrote:
''He keeps harping about the attorney's general's opinions. These opinions are not the laws passed by legislators. The AGO should not be able to ignor the law without the benefit of going before the law makers and ask the law to be changed.''

You are correct Ms. White that the opinions are not the law. The opinions from the Attorney General and the Auditor is the guidance given to the public officials of the the State of Ohio as to how a law can be interpreted and they cite former court cases to defend their positions.

Based on those opinions provided by the Attorney General and Auditor, it did not and does not make sense for the Village to pursue some of the matters further. In my opinion the Village would be wasting money trying to sue some of the former public officials and losing in court. How would you recover the money than Ms. White? The residents of this Village expect that their money will be used for the good of the Village and the benefit of all.

The Attorney General and Auditor do not make the law, they enforce the law as written by the Ohio House and Senate. The Courts interpret the laws when a case is brought before them. The opinions provide guidance in the gray areas of the law that the Legislature did not spell out specifically and try to help public officials to stay out of trouble. Opinions are overturned from time to time, but that is only after a case has been brought before the courts.

The Village of Valleyview works the same way as the State with three branches of government. The Council passes the laws and resolutions and the Mayor and Clerk/Treasurer act on those resolutions. Council provides oversight to the Mayor and Clerk/Treasurer to make sure that they are performing their job properly and not misspending the money of the Village. I sound like a broken record, but if Council had been providing the proper oversight and doing their jobs many of the problems that you have complained about could have been prevented or corrected. It did not happen.

I can only say that while I served on Council I worked to insure that the money of the Village was spent properly and worked to recover the funds from the Clerk/Treasurers who had made mistakes and made the Village incurr penalties and interest on the IRS debt. If Council had been doing their job they could have saved the Village money.

Just blame EVERYONE who is at fault, not just the two or three people YOU want to single out.