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We all get distracted by things sometimes. Maybe it’s what’s on tv when you promised to mow the yard or maybe there’s a football game on right at the same time you agreed to go visit the in-laws. Hey, accidents happen. But when the distraction involves our local governments, I’m not as forgiving. In fact, I’m downright suspicious. I start wondering why is there such a big stink about this one thing and what are they trying to distract us from? 

I mean, look over at Buckingham. All this spring and summer, a handful of people from both parties have been up in arms over this thing with their electoral board. Now granted, I don’t live there, but it seems weird to get so worked up over this and for nothing to change. But at the same time, I don’t see anybody upset that their supervisors increased the salaries for the next board, as well as the next planning commission.

Where do you think that comes from? That extra money is coming from your taxes. I see them sell a piece of land, then buy it back, paying more than they sold it for. Now, after saying they wanted to preserve the trees, they’re looking to have the trees on the property cut, sold and the land cleared. Did I get all that right? But instead of demanding answers about that, both political parties in Buckingham seem determined to focus on other things. Seems like a distraction to me. 

Now let’s turn to Prince Edward County, where I call home. For more than a year now, we’ve had to hear about the strangest thing: a flag ordinance. Somebody with too much time on their hands sat around and really decided that gee, government needs to regulate how big of a flag someone can put on their own property. What I read in the Herald’s last story was even more headsmacking.

Before pushing out their flag ordinance, rules and speeches, nobody bothered to check and see what this would do to cemeteries. All of these families who want to do nothing more than honor their relatives by sticking an American flag near their grave would be in violation of the county rules, if you have more than three in a parcel of land. Spoiler alert: there’s more than three in every cemetery parcel, I can promise you that.

But just like Buckingham, I have to ask. Is that really the issue here? Or are we being distracted, so the county supervisors can sneak something else in while we’re all upset over this? It makes a man wonder. 

Paul Xavier
Prince Edward County