Garrett: ‘Eyes & Ears’ Needed

@WWU: Thank you for acknowledging the great work of the HRC. People do not understand the impact this office has on EVERYONE! You can see that by the lack of knowledge displayed in some of these posts. Unfortunately, most people think of it as a service needed only by minorities.

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@Ragnar: Ask Officer Drahous who was questioning the City and the Police Department about his Rights to get his job as a Officer back when he returned after being called for duty in Iraq about 3 TIMES. They tried to say he lost his seniority to his job. I heard about it at Wheeling Hospital, We're very proud of you Officer David Drahous.

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Let's face it. The HRC exists to allow 5% of the area population (you know which group) to use tax dollars to push themselves to the front of the line for taxpayer handouts.

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Best way to fill the lack of funds for the WHRC is to cut salaries of mayor, council and city manager to make up the difference. After all they are for the Wheeling having the best for the people. The federal government cut pay why not council cutting their pay.

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RichardWhee: The HRC protects the rights of ALL. Specifically those who have been discriminated against in employment, housing, and places open to public because of race, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, age (40+), disability, and familial status(specifically to housing). An organization I belonged to was wrongly accused of discrimination and without the HRC they could have incurred tremendous expenses in court. Thank goodness this was handled in Wheeling and not 200 miles away!

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@Richardwhee: Ha Ha Ha !! Same thing can be said of the ENTIRE STATE of WEST VIRGINIA!! IT's a Politicians Heaven, just a white-collar managed Laundry Mat for Federal Dollars; a complete waste for United States of America’s time and resources, uninhabitable for legitimate business and downright dangerous for blue-collar human-based life forms.

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I have neverr been to or inquired of the Human Rights. What actually have they done to improve [If needed} things? Seemes to me that this office was created to say that Wheeling has one. Now the powers that be say it's not needed and the money could be better used.

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@JusticeMonitor: Hefner is worried about where the lunches are served and who’s paying….Same as when he represented the City’s Population…”Waiter, I’m here for a meeting and will require your best table by the window away from the kitchen chatter. I’ll have my usual glass of complementary bottled water and an ashtray for my 2 cigarette lunch”… Unless someone else was buying of course.

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If anyone is interested, This is what I understood or interpreted about “GoodOleWheelinOC” When US Attorney Sharon Potter was working at the Pleasure of the President (that made her and the likes of the Office a “AT WILL” employee of the United States)….Well, she was working in conjunction of the West Virginia State Bar Association on the areas lawyers and inheritance practices. OK this is how it’s supposed to work. When someone Dies and leaves their estate to be settled its turned over to the executor of the will and through a lawyer that money is turned over to a trust fund , that trust fund earns interest and its usually a year before that estate is settled.

(continued below)

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(Continued from above)

The Interest off of that estate is sent to the Public Defenders by decree for an Attorney to represent an accused person whom can’t afford legal counsel (Appointed Lawyer) This is what was happening: The Lawyer in charge of the estate was putting the money in a money market account and splitting the interest jumping the Public Defenders take of a chance to receive money for services rendered, someone has to pay and it was the responsibility of the State Taxpayer to make up the difference the estate lawyer was circumventing the money and the State hired Defense Team was going broke. A “Conflict of Interest” and a Federal Crime Punishable by disbarment, Fine and possibly Federal Jail time.

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@Hef...hence the word "implication"

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I earnestly suggest that you look at the annual report this organization furnishes to the council and you will readily see what a waste of money this agency is.

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Did I say the lunches were paid for? A bit defensive I would say. I wonder?

The Wheeling Health Right is by far the most important of all of the various agencies.

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If I do recall council was asking for a raise themselves. There making approx $780.00 per month, if they worked for 10 hours a week which I knowing some members daily activities and 10 hours is generous that's $19.50 dollars per hour not including any benefits or other compensation, $19.50 per hour don't think there's many citizens in the city making that kinda money !! No wonder we have decention among us here, tear down the city, eliminate jobs, build playgrounds, but lets give ourselves nice new offices and raises WOW

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DisplacedWVian,

You said,

"Wheeling Health Right

Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling

Greater Wheeling Homeless Coalition

...only serve to PROMOTE more homelessness in the community"

WHAT!

I bet you also believe that the POOR HAVE ALL THE MONEY too.

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The problem is our local government is in Business and not providing governance. The help organizations and the Rights commission are a check on the local actions of governance when people fall on hard times due to economic variations the Church and Help organizations kick in to lull the tide, which brings a person to their knees while the Rights Organization mediates the situation with the elected/appointed government. To have the elected /appointed “Covernment” to pull and place funding between Help and Rights is a disservice to the CDBG funding and its Original intentions, a clear “Conflict of Interest”.

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Although the HRC has been funded by CDBG monies, it is not mandatory that only those funds be used. In the past, they received General Fund monies. I suppose the City Manager would rather spend $180K from the General Fund for police cruisers to an out-of-state business rather than invest $66k on promoting Human Rights in the City of Wheeling. Does anyone understand this rationale when there is a $1 MILLION cash carryover??

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In response to Hef's implication that tax dollars were used at meetings;that is a blatant untruth. Every member and the Director paid, and continues to pay, for their own meals. You should be ashamed of yourself, Hef. Are you sure you're not on City Council? Maybe you should be asking who pays for Council and it's Administration's meals.

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I have been a vocal opponent of the WHRC as I see it a redundancy in bureaucracy. But having recently spoken to one of its volunteer members (a man of high integrity that I have the utmost regard for), my position has softened to some degree.

Due largely to the logistics involved, the local commission is able to resolve many of the cases brought before it through arbitration, which in the long run could potentially save the taxpayer money by not having these cases getting rapped up in the state system. However, they do need a reasonable budget in which to operate.

Given the choice of whether to spend the CDBG funds on this commission or on the Wheeling Health Right, the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, the Greater Wheeling Homeless Coalition, which only serve to promote more homelessness in the community, I'll take the WHRC every time.

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This is outrageous, actually an invitation to a unapproved outside 3rd party for interjection into the mediation process, may I suggest MS-13, I've heard they can't be bought too expensive for approach but most decisions are final. (Or we can go to the Arian Nation or back to the Klan; Motorcycle Clubs haven’t held up well but did do some local hold-ups (protection money, about 25 years ago). Beings the Jersey/York mob is well established through the City/State gambling interest (would be more of the same). I like MS-13 personally with 85+30 Local L/E of the Caucasian race a smithering of color may accent the base. (Kind of like making a house a little more personalized (white walls and beige ceilings)).

New business prospects ??

Coming Soon: By the Day Gun Rental and Ammunition Sales.

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Sooooo again how much did we spend on the new CHAIRS AND CHAMBER like $166,000.00 that's right she will lose her job, struggle even more with paying her bills, insurance, butt and I do mean BUTT we will have some soft tooshies in council meeting. The few hours that there there a month, WAIT that's right they also want a RAISE !!!

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The effect of this downsizing will be most noticeable in the restaurant industry. The lunches this group must hold to conduct business will stop when the tax dollars stop.

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