Golden Globe for Sopchoppy Drama
If there were ever a time for The Wakulla Sun to increase its subscription level to meteoric heights, that time has arrived. The article on the front page of the Oct. 22 issue, “Sopchoppy Drama,” was as suspenseful as any Agatha Christie plot. Readers were left agonizing over what the future holds. The Wakulla Sun can capitalize on this frenzy of wonder by making a weekly article on this simmering contagion of intrigue. It was impossible to stop reading the article once the first accusation of malfeasance was charged. Misogyny, lawsuits, nepotism, sex, drunkards, cops and assaults all under one roof, too good to be true! I would not be surprised to see all of the Sun’s papers gone from the Walmart lobby, every coin operated newspaper vending machine empty and a line at the office door next week in anticipation of Act II. Congrations to The Wakulla Sun and Linda Ann McDonald. The Enquirer be damned.
Tim Caldwell Panacea
Telling candidates apart
Editor, The Sun:
Okay, so here we are with three candidates running for County Commissioner, District 4 that essentially share the same view on controlling growth and development in Wakulla County. However, the job of being a county commissioner is much more than a single issue. To me, it gets down to administrative experience and a wide breadth of exposure to situations that call upon the commissioner to exercise clear-minded thinking and decision skills. One must understand that a decision in one area of government can have contrary effects in other areas. There is only one candidate who has the ingredients of that recipe: Beverly Keister. She managed a career that is quite awesome in its exposure to gain a wide field of experience and did so beginning in high school. Beverly Keister achieved National Honor Society status as a junior in high school (Thomasville) then earned dual majors and a master’s degree in accounting while becoming an assistant to the Dean of Accounting in Illinois and tutored other university students on the side. She advanced into the “real-world” at the prestigious KPMG accounting firm and earned her CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in St. Louis. That exposure led her to another major city (Atlanta) as a top-level manager with a savings and loan and another prestigious accounting firm, Arthur Anderson. What she learned from on-the-job training led to an appointment to manage the contract with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC),… I remember the RTC very well as it was created by the federal government to work-out the mess of the financial industry in the late 1980’s that was triggered by things she understood,… part of which was changes in IRS regulations. A major example of a change in one area of government having a devastating effect on the country. She moved from that rat-race to being chief financial officer of an Atlanta area chamber of commerce. Almost 30 years ago, after a car accident, she moved to the family home her father had built in Wakulla County. She worked for Watkins Engineers in Tallahassee a noted firm which had long-held the contract for one of the largest employers in our area; Buckeye Cellulose in Taylor County, aka Proctor and Gamble. Beverly knows that big companies are largely supported by an array of small businesses and will work to welcome those businesses to Wakulla; small and large. She is sworn to do so in compliance with Wakulla’s Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan. Again, small changes here and there can have both positive and negative effects elsewhere; she understands that. Her career achievements led to a dedicated mid-life desire to share her accounting background and experiences with the public sector via Wakulla Clerk of Court and the Florida Department of Revenue. With all due respect, the other two candidates combined can’t match her skillset and breadth of problem solving,.. nice and sincere people they may be. Beverly’s community service includes treasurer for Habitat for Humanity and currently for Ochlockonee Bay Methodist Church. The latter is where I first observed her level-headed administrative abilities in action. Her involvement included the Panacea Volunteer Fire Department and after retirement at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab. She has a daughter who graduated from Wakulla High who has given her two precious grandchildren. Beverly considers the person running for office to be more important than the party (if any) with which a candidate may be associated, in casting one’s vote. So do I. Think about it. We have a willing and able asset in Wakulla County who understands what it means to multi-task various sectors that might fall under the purview of a county commissioner. Vote accordingly.
L. James Parham
Panacea