January 11, 2024
Comm. Don Jernigan and Comm. Sheila Jones weren’t happy after they were ousted from their Chair and Vice Chair seats by a majority of the BOC this past Monday night.
After losing his chairman’s seat, Jernigan didn’t move but handed the gavel over to the new Chair, Comm. Bruce Henry who was sitting on the end. It is always customary for the Chair to sit in the middle, but Jernigan wasn’t going to budge and tried to act like the Chair the rest of the night with his many “comments” and motions.
Jernigan nominated Sheila Jones for the vice chair position, which she has held for one year. Both she and Jernigan gained their seats with the vote of Gerald Stunkel at a contentious R2 zoning meeting last January 2023. The vote failed, with only Jernigan voting for her.
Comm. Asher Gray nominated Steven Ledford as vice chair and he was elected Vice Chair. Then Sheila Jones decided she had to have discussion AFTER the vote.
Comm. Jones wanted to have her say. She said she was certified (as are all the commissioners except newly elected Comm. Gray). She said she didn’t like the process. Comm. Henry reminded her that they followed what was in the bylaws. Then she said “they were supposed to work together, and this was just not right.” Comm. Gray reminded Ms. Jones that she didn’t seem to care about the process last year when she was elected.
Don Jernigan exploded! He turned bright red and raised his voice at Comm. Gray and continued to do so. (They were sitting next to each other.) There were words, lots of them, and the Chair tried to gavel this down, but Jernigan continued and said he was “tired of holding on.”
If you missed the meeting, you can watch it here. Scroll down to the meeting video and Start at about the 46 minute mark for the election of Chair and Vice Chair and the ensuing “conversations.”
Last year when a literal coup took place in front of 200+ people and Jernigan and Jones were elected Chair and Vice Chair, Comm. Henry politely got up and let Jernigan have the middle seat where the Chair sits. There was no “unfair process” accusation or yelling.
Friday, January 12, 2024 at 9:00am there is a called BOC meeting, and the first thing on the agenda is “Meeting Etiquette”.
Citizens, be informed and stay informed! Only by being informed, can the citizens understand what is being done and talked about, and then press our officials to make good decisions for everyone in Jasper County.
TWG
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