I knew he’d do it sooner or later, Dennis Craff, Public Relations Director just made his first mistake…he replied to a piece by the editor of the Suffolk News Herald. He resented the editor saying the Public Survey was a waste of $10,000 when it was only a waste of $9000. And Craff insists it was not a waste and the &uot;survey&uot; was a statistical measure of a population in an attempt to ascertain the public opinion of city services. I admire his nerve but by replying he opened a very large can…we can now expect him to right our every wrong, answer our every complaint and answer every question, and about time. Previous to this display of courage we, who speak up, have mostly met with a wall of silence. Ask anyone who has appeared before Council on a mission of his or her own. Their uttering is almost always never answered, certainly not at the time, and usually never. I’m sure some higher city official is saying, &uot;Dennis, I warned you.&uot;

We did a TV session of Damiani’s Round Table Talk in Studio 1A, the editor’s office, and Andy’s guest was the prolific writer and gourmet chef, Patrick Evans-Hylton, who recently completed his book about the history of the Peanut Fest and the man who gave Suffolk it’s first community hospital in honor of the memory of his wife, Louise Obici. Patrick’s book is laden with photos and anecdotes and takes you back in time many years in Suffolk history. Amedeo was an early American, from Italy, entrepreneur who found a way to eliminate the middlemen of his business, selling peanuts. The jar of peanut butter in your cupboard contains a bit of the ghost of Mr. Obici.

Mr. Damiani was near to tears when he spoke of the coming destruction of the Birdsong fitness center on Main. Only esoteric reasons will cause the $150,000 demolition, another cost that can be chalked up the esoteric Cultural Center. The valuable one of a kind building will be removed because the &uot;Group of Four&uot; wants a clear shot of the restored High School from Main street. Which reminds me of the very informative letter to the editor submitted by the thinking gentleman, Everett Revel. He hints at, whether that was his intention or not, that the city is finding cute ways to slip money into the coffers of the convoluted Cultural Center. $200,000 plus from IDA, $150,000, for the Birdsong demise, $50,000 for removal of the Print Shop, $400,000 for the Finney Avenue extension, also for esoteric reasons. His numbers take the &uot;small&uot; public/private partnership to $5,649,000.

This ought to wake up even council members who are hanging their hat on the success of this obtuse venture. Certainly Mr. Craff is studying the possibility of challenging Mr. Revel, who I hope will continue to write to the Editor…he has a way of succinctly wrapping matters up. Like Zell Miller did at the Republican Convention. No one in Suffolk believes the Cultural Center will survive without constant subsidies from the city tax collections. We property taxpayers will pay for whatever culture we get or don’t get.

I’m finding more and more businessmen who actually believe the new Conference Center will be kept successfully and profitably busy by CEOs bringing their people together for a day or two of brainstorming. Well why not…the hotel will have a bar and grill and Kelly’s is not that far away if they need an adventure crossing Main and/or Constance. I notice the fancy railed bridge to nowhere is nearly complete and will provide a more direct and less dangerous route to Wendy’s.

Think about it…what if your business was panhandling…how would you like the idea of Council discussing your right to full employment? You don’t even need a business license to do your important work, the city may change that, and every city needs a few if only to sop up pocket change that might otherwise end up in the courthouse fountain or a parking meter that can easily be robbed. These major Council decisions must wrack the brains of those who must decide the fate of the poor or mentally unhinged. I still say find out how much they make in a day and pay them that amount to clean the downtown streets. Or provide official uniforms and pay them to ticket handicap space violators. They’ll be rich.

Robert Pocklington lives in Suffolk and is a regular News-Herald columnist. He can be reached at robert.pocklington@suffolknewsherald.com.