Robert Griffin III's message

Hound: Saw this message from Robert Griffin III. The reporter from ESPN says that it was posted all season long. I still think he can play at a high level, but that is neither here nor there. Deal is that the mainstream press builds people up in order to tear them down. They latch on to a simple narrative and run with it and force momentum to fit their agenda. They don't care about the facts. The presstitutes are just weaving some funky concoction to spoon feed to their sheeple.

My question is what did RG3 ever do to deserve such disdain?... The Darkness is amongst us.

Welcome to 2016 - Economic Relevance - 1/11/2016

This won't take long. I still like posting, but have grown weary of long, thought out posts. I'm going to change how I cover City Council meetings and how I address local issues. It's time to change focus. You can only spend so much time addressing something that is broken to the degree I have with that subject matter. I will comment, but you'll have to watch their videos and read their minutes to get the details. Most people have shown, in my opinion, that they don't care what I think.

All politics begin at the local level, but one man or ten can't change things. Others talk about the necessity of fighting the good fight on the local level, but I don't see them expending the energy themselves. I'll continue to pay attention and make commentary on the issues, but I can't afford to spend 20 to 40 hours a week on this site.

I don't see the rosy scenario some others espouse. The intelligent people that I know talk about leaving the area, because they can't economically progress here. They talk about their children leaving and not coming back. They encourage me to leave, so that I can fulfill my professional destiny. A lot of people that feel it necessary to publicly say good things about the area, tell me that "off the record", this place is shot and won't come back any time soon.

The Big Economics picture is what is most relevant:




Bear Market: The Average U.S. Stock Is Already Down More Than 20 Percent - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - January 10, 2016

Stock Market Crash 2016: This Is The Worst Start To A Year For Stocks Ever - The Economic Collapse Blog - Michael Snyder - January 7, 2016

Hickory Housing Authority - "Challenge this sham in court" - Dr. Sidney Miles

Hickory Hound: Who is really looking out for residents of Hickory Public Housing? What Sidney Miles is arguing in the letter presented below is not what the City is addressing. Taxpayer Funds were misappropriated based on Federal Government findings and funds were not accounted for over a multi-year period. The City is taking the logical step based on HUD's finding and their real authority and handing over the authority to a non-political agency - the western Piedmont Council of Governments. This doesn't have much of anything to do with the property on 4th St SW or RAD program. This letter is an effort to draw attention away from the real issue -- corruption!

This doesn't absolve the City for its lack of action over the past nearly 4 years, since this all came to light. This has cost hundred of thousands of dollars. These actions have in no way been beneficial to the residents of Hickory Public Housing and there have been people who were fired for speaking up against the corruption.

The State of Hickory 2015

The Silence is Deafening

For the seventh consecutive year, I will attempt to relate the state of affairs involving Hickory's Economy and Culture through my, some might say, unique perspective. This obviously isn't how everyone sees things. Simply put, I would describe the condition of Hickory as So So... otherwise known as Same Ole, Same Ole.

It has been a little over 13 months since I last assessed Hickory's economic situation. Not much has happened around here over the past year. I have cut my postings back drastically, because there basically isn't much to talk about, because there hasn't been much going on.. and with a stagnant economy, there isn't much need to continuously go over the same issues that remain unaddressed.

In November 2014, we saw a Bond referendum passed where Hickory Inc. pushed a narrative that it was urgent that this happen, because of the state of the local economic condition. In 2015 a bond commission was formed under the auspices that it would play a role in the implementation of the $25 million of Bonds that were intended for Hickory's infrastructure. Another $15 million was set aside to develop a business park in the Startown area. The Economic Development Corporation led by Scott Millar will direct those monies. The Bond Commission has nothing to do with the business park project.

City Manager Mick Berry stated a few weeks ago at a City Council meeting that "the City" would be coming forward with some proposals about where some of those monies will be spent. It is still not completely clear when any of the bonds will be issued. Hickory Inc. will have to go to New York to speak and negotiate with Financial Advisors and Brokers before the issuance of any bonds. None of this is an overnight process. Once these negotiations are finalized -- financial rating, amount, duration, interest rates, costs -- then it will still be months before those bonds are sold on Wall Street. At a special meeting in November it was said that the first bonds will likely be issued in the Summer (July) of 2017. That is nearly 3 years since the urgent passage of this bond referendum.

Most of the work pertaining to the development of these bond related projects are happening behind the scenes. The projects seem to be the collaboration of the City's executive staff and the project development firm they have hired (Edit: Freese and Nichols is the consulting group that is working in conjunction with city executives) -- Frazier Associates of Staunton, Virginia. Frazier Associates also was hired in the past to design logos for the 2009 wayfinding proposal that hasn't been implemented yet, either.  The Bond Commission basically has no role in these projects other than to smile and nod their heads, maybe sprinkled in with a few audible ooohs and aaahs. All decisions have already been made and are awaiting the ink to dry from the rubber stamp. We'll see about this assessment moving forward into 2016.


Proud

We had an election this year, but it seems like most people didn't know it or care. There was only one contested race, brought about when Alderman Bruce Meisner stepped away after 32 years on Council. Vernon Tarlton was Alderman Meisner's handpicked candidate to replace himself and he won by the Club's usual 2 to 1 margin.

In 2012, the Ward Specific Voting Referendum failed by a very narrow margin and the race was very contentious. This was followed by a municipal election (2013) that was very vitriolic. The election that took place in 2015 very much resembled the election that took place in 2009, when Harry Hipps ran against Jill Patton and Hank Guess ran against Z. Anne Hoyle. The Club had already decided who they wanted and the local media tamped down any curiosity related to issues or democracy.

Many people are not happy with the direction of this community. I hear it all the time out in the public, but no one takes action. You don't hear it conveyed by the local media in anything other than a superfluous manner. As a matter of opinion, it seems that the local media is more interested in representing the local government than the people. The local media seems to be partners with the local governmental establishment.

In the past few weeks it was announced that Corning would be moving its Fiberoptic management operations to northwest Charlotte. The new local reporter went to the local figureheads and asked for their opinion on the move. They gave some strange answers, such as, 'We lost Corning, because of Charlotte's airport.' Huh? Hickory's airport is a mile away and wide open. Corning (and Siecor before) never had a problem utilizing Hickory's airport in the past.

We were also told about the #Corningproud initiative, which the local new reporter on the scene stated had been going on for 4 months. That initiative began back in March and we knew about this situation since October of last year. It seems that the heavy turnover of reporters and editors at the Hickory Daily Record is taking a heavy toll on the continuity of relevant news stories and issues facing the community.

What I take from the #Corningproud initiative is a question that begs to be asked... "When there is any economic development effort in Hickory, why is it always done in secret?"

The people of the community are always left in the dark. Give us something tangible. Tell us what you are working on. Tell us about the vision. If such a public effort as Hashtag-Corning is such an important tool utilized to retain a local business, then why isn't it just as important to make a similar effort to attract businesses?

Here's one plain and simple fact. In the beginning we were told that retaining Corning in its present location was important, because that was a gateway into the city and if that building is sitting empty, then that is going to look bad. It wasn't only about the loss of jobs, but also about having another big building sitting empty along the Highway 321 corridor. Well, in the past few weeks the story evolved into "the City" and Catawba County Economic Development Corporation were actively searching for locations to build a new building and infrastructure to keep Corning in the area -- oh and they were going to give them all kinds of tax breaks to boot. I guess that empty building on the Highway 321 corridor isn't so bad after all... but we know it is.

The deal is that when the former President of that division passed away a year and a half ago, then we lost all direct ties between Corning Management and Hickory. The Management of this Corning division (Fiberoptics) mostly lives in nice sections of Charlotte and like the amenities of Charlotte. If there is something that needs to be learned here, it is that we need to lose the idea of being separate from Charlotte. We need to connect Hickory to Charlotte in as many ways as possible.

One also needs to look at the type of people that Corning is hiring. These are young, bright, and active people, sort of like the opposite of what Hickory has become. Let's look at the ages of those serving on the Hickory City Council. What would the average be? 65? What have they represented? Who have they represented? What have their actions been? Who have they tried to attract?

When it comes to the local paper, since 2008, I believe we have seen 5+ City government beat writers and 3 editors (plus an interim) at the local paper. It seems like these reporters and editors believe that the history of Hickory began when they entered the city limits and no one is doing research, asking questions, or checking with the reporter they replaced. The reporting has been sloppy and what we get seems to be a stepping stone along a career path to a bigger and brighter community.

I've been told by people that "Letters to the Editor" are being suppressed and other stories have been suppressed. That could only come under the direction of the person running the paper. Most of the articles we have seen lately are essentially public relations pieces provided by Hickory Inc.'s communications department and the other local Powers That Be in the community. We never have a reporter asking an independent question and Hickory Inc. always gets the final word. I'm not telling you what to do, but I'd just wait until the City Snippets come out with your water bill.

Here is one simple and innocuous question that begs to be asked of each and every City Council member and the Mayor, "How does Hickory look different due to your influence during your tenure?"

Surely they could give us that.

Abracadabra

There has been no economic recovery since the recession began in 2008, when the housing bubble fully burst in front of our eyes along with the stock market. The numbers reported by the government are a slight of hand.

Everything depends on how one looks at the economy and what level they are looking at it from. If I have a million bucks in the bank, I'm looking at the economy completely differently than someone who is working a couple jobs and living paycheck to paycheck. If I have a $75,000 or $100,000 government job, then I think the government is wonderful; or at least as close to wonderful as it can be, when I don't have to deal with the peons. If the government is utilizing my services or buying my product, then I'm a lot less likely to criticize da Gubment.

Then there are those of us that look at the issues from a realistic perspective. Ut oh, we're the ones who are labeled as "negative". Look at the labor force participation rate percentage, which continues shrink. That is the real indicator of unemployment. Economists, like John Williams of Shadowstats show that we have a real unemployment rate of over 20% nationally, which is worse here. This would be an apples to apples comparison with what happened in the Great Depression.

This is the first "Economic Recovery" in the history of our nation in which the labor force participation rate has fallen. In a real economic recovery, people reenter the labor force and the participation rate rises. Any claimed recovery has been admittedly weak, when described by the U.S. Politburo.

The government has told us that there is no inflation, and it is true that gasoline prices have been in a steep deflationary cycle, but what about the grocery store. Have you been forced to change your purchasing habits? Are you being more creative at the family table to stretch your dollars? The price of petroleum might be down, but I haven't seen that correlate with the electric bill. Families are stretching budgets when it comes to a lot of what are deemed to be necessities.

Early holiday sales for 2015 have been a bust, down 10% from a year ago. It's called Black Friday, because this is when Retail stores usually go into the black for the year. Christmas sales are usually the make or break time of year for restaurant and retail establishments.` Consumers have seen no real income growth for years. Without income growth, personal credit cannot expand. People are strapped and/or tapped out, so it is hard to spend money at the microeconomic level for your average person/family.

A recent Federal Reserve report showed that around 50% of 25 year olds are living at home with their parents or grandparents. We have Boomer aged people in leadership positions telling us what your average Millennial generation young adult wants out of life. These people don't have a clue about what they are talking about. They are telling us this from a position of wealth, having worked 40+ years, owning their dwelling, with money in the financial markets.

Your average Millennial wants a lot of what the older generations want, but they can't have it, because the current state of the economy isn't going to support it. It's hard to buy a house, when the average hospitality/restaurant/retail job isn't going to support savings and investment. Many of the college educated young people are strapped, because of student loans that eat into any earnings they have, especially when there isn't a job related to their field of study. This poor generation is going to have a hard time affording marriage, forming a household, and progressing towards an independent existence.` If the older generations had a clue, they would want the younger generations to succeed and they would be mentoring them about Life Growth.


Government Incorporated doesn't really seem to care about a true assessment of the real economy. They seem to believe that it is their job to justify the current state of the economy. And so we get the reasoning behind changing how inflation and unemployment are monitored, because these are the real indicators of economic reality along with per capita income, wealth distribution, and the number of people needing economic assistance.

The current state of the government is just a mechanism, a tool, used to loot the people. The public trust is just a bank utilized to enhance the individual wealth of those who have access. Various special interests work to get certain people elected who will grant them access to the public trust. Essentially government access is for sell.

Conventional Propaganda says that we are, and have been, in an economic recovery. Even if it hasn't been at the pace we hoped for, we're working on it. Look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average up near 18,000 and the Standard and Poor's 500 over 2,000. By God, Happy days are here again.

I like what Harry Dent says, when he talks about his indicators are to study people, not the government. "Government's just react," Dent says. They reacted late during the last recession. Here in Hickory, they were late in admitting we had problems in 2001 and 2008. Our economy has been worse than the average ever since, when all throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, we were better than the average, because of our manufacturing base.

The Powers That Be weren't proactive towards economic evolution. Many worked towards limiting competition and controlling the marketplace. We are still seeing this now after a lost economic decade.

Good for the Goose and the Gander

I had an internet conversation with an acquaintance a couple months ago. Seems this person was upset because a property owner/shop owner allowed a person, who works for him, to keep their job, who had expressed diametrically opposite political viewpoints from her own. For God sakes, she supported the heritage of the Confederate Flag. Let's crucify her.

So this became the catalyst for this person going on a rant about this property owner charging exorbitant rents, not maintaining their properties, and forcing out long time tenants. And this person went as far as to call for a boycott of Union Square.

Some of the former shop owners and patrons lauded the courage for this person standing up to this Union Square property owner. When I pointed out that these same people had never shown appreciation, and even chastised me, for utilizing my god given right to discuss the issues of Union Square, they said it was different, because I was being negative.

My issues with Union Square have nothing to do with Confederate Flags or Rainbow Flags. My issues have to do with Hickory Inc. enhancing Union Square to the tune of millions of dollars, with little to no economic return for the taxpayer -- the investing body. I have nothing against Union Square property owners, shop owners, or their patrons, but I don't think it is the responsibility of the taxpayers (the investing party) to enhance the area for those people. They certainly aren't creating such a mechanism for other business owners in other parts of the City. It doesn't seem fair to me.

In this conversation, it was basically insinuated that I could be a comrade in arms. Seemed that it related to a notion of, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." I don't participate is such practices, but I have witnessed many such plans of action in Hickory in the past. It's petty and it needs to stop.

Stop with the personality politics. Stop with the personal issue politics. One person had it right, when they joined the conversation to say, "The people of Hickory are choking on their own hypocrisy - and don't even know it!"

I've got no problem with people calling it like they see it, even if I don't agree with them. It helps me think. I get tired of the old pretense being pulled out by people who want to always maintain the status quo and the narrative of the power structure by labeling a person who expresses themselves in a different manner than the norm as "you are being negative." That's always the Joker card dealt from an exhausted deck, when nothing else works. It seems to be the favorite expression of cult followers.

The deal is that people in Hickory aren't annoyed by people being negative. They don't like people who tell the truth -- or go against "the narrative."

Sense of Urgency

We recently saw the Federal Reserve raise the target intrabank transfer interest rate by .25% from 0% to .25% to .25% to .5%. This raising of the rates was psychological. This should have been done a long time ago. The Fed stated that they raised the target intrabank rate by .25%, because U-3 unemployment has fallen to 5%, but as I have already shown you, the real unemployment rate is not 5%. Years ago 5% was looked at as full employment. Back in January 2008, when all of this began, the National U-3 unemployment rate was 5% and went to 9.9% by November 2009 and now we are supposedly back to 5%, but even when one looks at unemployment numbers, they must understand that any jobs related numbers are a lagging indicator. Companies hire and lay off their work force after they assess the numbers.

When one looks towards other economic indicators, they see a sputtering, if not a faltering, economy. These other indicators point towards what will be an undeniable recession, which is essentially the next leg down in a long term depression. Retail sales and manufacturing indices are down. Raw material inputs, materials needed for building goods, are in a depression. Copper is way down in Value. Steel is way down in value. The price of petroleum has fallen, because of the lack of demand. There is a glut of raw materials on the market. There has been a buildup of wholesale goods. Those are indicators of a soon to follow slow down.

Janet Yellen, the Chair of the Federal Reserve talked about raising the target intrabank interest rate by another 1% throughout 2016. I just don't see this happening, because you can't raise interest rates during a recession without it having a negative multiplier effect on the economy. Also, there isn't a one-to-one effect when the Fed raises the intrabank rate in relation to banks raising the Prime Lending Rate. The effect means that rates rise exponentially as risks rise on loan paybacks/defaults.

We have seen three major bubbles in the economy from the late 90s up until now and our area has found a way to participate fully in each one of them. The 1990s saw the rise of the internet and many start-up companies and industries came into existence during that era. There were a lot of issues related to accounting fraud, such as we saw with the ENRON and other scandals. In 2000, the stock market plunged, especially in the tech sector and start-ups. The Hickory area was hurt because of the heavy investment in the fiberoptic industry. There were many people who were earning good money and living accordingly. Over the next several years the local economy stalled to a great degree, while the rest of the country recovered. Many of the local issues had to do with the hindrance of International trade agreements and a lack of a sense of urgency to look towards the horizon and adapt.

The next bubble was the real estate bubble. We did see some issues related to real estate, but not to the extent of some other areas, because our local economy hadn't overheated like some of the major metropolitan areas had. Once again we saw this caused by the financial sector. The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to fuel economic velocity. The government created policies and objectives to move the public towards home ownership. Banks wanted higher prices and with their governmental partnership, they had carte blanche to qualify anyone with a heartbeat for a loan, because it meant higher fees leading to short term higher profits. Appraisers, working in partnership with the banks, over appraised the values of homes in the supercharged environment. Real Estate professionals wanted those prices to be higher, because that meant higher commissions. It was all a marriage made in Hell that led up to the Panic of 2008.

Our issues related to the 2008 crash mostly centered around the slowing overall economy. Manufacturing companies sought to reduce inventory in the face of the shrinking economy. They sought lower labor costs and a more flexible workforce. Fewer houses sold meant less new furniture needed and emerging economic markets (China, India, etc.) were not concerned with the trappings of wealth like the United States is. Essentially the perfect economic storm had caused the local economy to come unhinged.

We are currently in, my opinion, a Money/Credit bubble. We are going into the 7th year of near zero percent interest rate and money printing (Quantitative Easing) environment.

Six firms— Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook Inc., Netflix Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. —now account for more than half of the $664 billion in value added this year to the Nasdaq Composite Index, according to data compiled by brokerage firm Jones Trading... The concentrated gains are spurring concerns that soft trading in much of the market could presage a pullback in the indexes. Many investors see echoes of prior market tops—including the 2007 peak and the late 1990s frenzy—when fewer and fewer stocks lifted the broader market. The S&P 500 is up 1% this year while the Nasdaq has gained 7.4%. (Wall Street Journal - July 26, 2015).

Look at upscale retailers, like you will find in the local malls, they are hurting badly. Look at their stock prices. These companies used to be the cornerstone of growth in the economy. They no longer are. WalMart is even hurting and has geared itself down to developing more grocery stores and they are looking into developing convenience stores. Instead of companies looking to step up most seem to be envious of the companies a level lower than their own.

What people can take to the bank, is that when this economic bubble breaks and the markets crash, the stock market will plunge. That is what happened in 1929, 1987, 2000, and 2008. The Federal Reserve and television talking heads said the economy was fine and ridiculed anyone who said there were choppy waters ahead. Then these same folks go into doom and gloom mode as soon as it happens, "What happened my friend?" That is what really creates the panic.

Artificial stimulus can't work forever. It's like we've all been told about 'sumpin for nuttin.' Only shysters and confidence men push that version of an acceptable economic reality. The debt burdens that we face are untenable and the dollar is worth about 2¢ compared to what it was worth in 1913.

You know this is right when you look at a Gold double eagle coin, which was valued at $20 back then. That was 9/10ths of an ounce of Gold valued at $20 and now that coin is worth a minimum of $1,000 without accounting for its numismatic value. Think about that $100 in 1913 being the equivalent of $5,000 today. That $5,000 reward for Billy the Kid in 1881, would be the equivalent of $500,000 today.

The goal of the Powers That Be is going to be to inflate our way out of our debt. We are going to first go through a deflationary cycle, because the velocity of the economy has slowed due to aging demographics and our hands being tied by burdensome debt, but I believe that there will be some kind of new currency established and when the old money is exchanged for the new money, the multiplier will not be equal. It will be obvious that they have further devalued the currency.

That was what Roosevelt did in 1933 when he made it illegal for Americans to trade gold and in 1934 the Gold Reserve act was passed. The price per ounce of gold was controlled by the U.S. Treasury and they changed the price per ounce of gold from $20.67 per ounce to $35 per ounce. Essentially, Americans lost 70% of the purchasing power of their money in one fell swoop. This could be done with your bank accounts utilizing a bail-in mechanism. Cash held on person would have to be exchanged for the new currency and they may just decide to make the new monetary exchange digital. This would make it easier to tax you and for them to further control and manipulate the currency.

Here's the deal. The Marketplace has wanted to find equilibrium for years, but the government's finagling hasn't allowed that to happen. The main issue is debt, whether it be National, Corporate, or personal. It all is going to have to be restructured -- much of it written down or off. The economy is going to deleverage through deflation and it wanted to do that back in 2008-09. The government wouldn't allow this to happen and has micromanaged the economy into knots to serve the interests of the special interest groups and mega-corporations. The market is like flowing water. It is going to find an avenue of dispersal. When you tie the market up over here, then it will build up pressure until it breaks through over there. The less the Powers That Be try to control the economy, the better the economy will perform.

Demographically Speaking

Economic Analyst/Investor Harry Dent bases his economic trends research on cycles. He says that the Baby Boomer generation peaked in their spending habits back in 2007, when the end of that generation turned 46 years old. We are currently going through many of the same cycles the country experienced back in the late 1920s and 1930s.

Mr. Dent also talks about the affluent sector. The top 20% of wealth in the United States, controls over 50% of aggregate income and spending. They don't peak in their spending habits until age 54 on average and that coincides with this year 2015. As the affluent sector of the economy pulls back on their consumption, then it is going to cause the economy to slow drastically and it will be worse as we move forward.

Internationally, the world population is aging. Some countries are worse than the United States. Japan has already aged dramatically . It is a major reason why their economy has stalled over the past 25 years. We have seen the negative effects this has had on Japan's younger generation. When one looks at the predicament of the United States Millennials, then one only needs to look towards Japan and their experience as an example.

What needs to happen is that we need to encourage young people to get on the road towards creating wealth and towards becoming nest builders. The older generations aren't spending money and they are draining government resources... and the younger generations cannot afford the upkeep that the Boomers expect. The Boomers think they are owed something, when the money has already been spent. The younger generations don't owe them anything. Their deal is with the government. The government that they created.

We are seeing a continued struggle in home values, because the 20 and 30 year olds are having a hard time buying homes. It's hard, under present economic circumstances, for young people to cobble together a living. The older people fuss about the younger generations aimless lives of drugs and video games, but where is the foundation for them to work with???

Projects

Frankly, I have a lot of information that I can provide, but I have grown tired of spending the time that it takes to relate that information. Labor on top of this blog has been draining me to the point that it has zapped my energy and made me sick and tired for a good deal of the year and I haven't been able to get my second wind back. I thought I would, but it just hasn't happened.

I have a house I need to work on and a life I need to work on. In 2011 and 2014, I lost two great influences on my life. My grandmothers lived long and fruitful lives and I couldn't expect them to live forever, but I miss them very much. I'm at the point where most of the people that I grew up knowing are gone and I was a failure at relationships and never had kids of my own, but that's just the way it goes. One grows weary of failures. I'm just letting you know that I'm not locking myself into this drama, because while it may be interesting, it will never be over. It will be over for me someday soon, but it will never be over.

The realities are stark. We have been facing a crisis for years. This isn't a time to willy-nilly be throwing money around. It is a time when we need to take stock of our current assets, restructure, repair, and maintain what we already have. During the deflationary cycle, bubbles will burst, prices will fall, and debt can and should be written down(off) so that we can get leaner and be able to put ourselves in a position to grow again.

I think that I have been pretty consistent in my philosophy. This is what I have tried to relate to people. Let's make investments that have a payoff. Let's work to get people healthy, because it will reduce burdensome healthcare costs. I think investments to get people outside and active are good investments. I think that investments to allow people to eat healthier and understand that what they eat plays a role in their health are good investments. I have seen Hickory make investments in these areas and this is where they are getting it a lot more right than wrong.

But like I told a friend, we don't need to pump more money into the government, because we have seen that the government is on many levels corrupt. Pumping more money into corruption only leads to more corruption. I think that was what the 2010 Tea Party movement was all about. After Obamacare was rammed down our throats, people wanted to see checks and balances brought back to the system, unfortunately that hasn't happened. Unfortunately, the current state of political affairs in the country is Bipolar.

The World Wrestling Federation faction of the Democrat party gets all worked up about the Tea Party. I appreciated the Tea Party movement until it was usurped by the Dixiecrat faction of the Republican Party. These people aren't in favor of limited government. They are in favor of micromanaging your personal lives under some kind of factionalized lifestyle that I really don't think they have thought through. It certainly doesn't represent Ronald Reagan or the founding fathers. It's some kind of perverted religious class system where they pick and choose the moral code and template. That isn't freedom my friends.

Seven long years ago, my friend Harry Hipps wrote a piece related to the old John Adams' quote, "A Nation of Laws and not of men."

Every day governments at every level make and change laws and statutes -- conditions change, ideas change, and/or circumstances change. God blessed America with the wisdom of the extraordinary men that created this exceptional country. Our Founding Fathers set us up with a constitutional framework dedicated to freedom from tyranny. Once we start to ignore our principles and ramrod things through by treating one person one way and someone else differently, then we are on the path to chaos.

Once this happens, we will see oppression of weaker, less powerful citizens by the richer, more connected ones; we will have mob rule; or both. We are seeing this happen almost routinely by the federal government and I fear we may be seeing this happen locally.

That was before the financial crisis took hold and look what we have seen since. There is a great divide amongst the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor. That chasm widens every day. Basically a few hundred people are running this country, dozens run North Carolina, and a handful control the direction of Hickory. You and I don't count to these people. We are fodder for their schemes.

We need some heroes. It can't be one man and it most certainly isn't me. I've seen a good friend arrested on trumped up charges. Another friend was arrested for demanding information she was entitled to. Another friend has been arrested and gone to the brink of being arrested for standing up for the poor people in this community. Another friend's life has been turned upside down because he had the audacity to attempt to change the power structure here... and another friend threw his hands up in the air and walked away because he said it was a lost cause. One guy I thought was on our side pulled a complete Benedict Arnold. I hope one day it turns out to be a Lando Calrissian, but folks it certainly looks like a Benedict Arnold from here.

A few years ago these people were standing beside me and we were making some real progress. We have made some progress, but it's never enough. There are people that cheered us on and egged us on, but they were fearful of getting involved, because they saw what has happened to people who have gotten involved on the wrong side of the club in the past.

How many times have I told you what was going to happen only to be labeled a conspiracy theorist and then months later it turns out that I nailed it? And then there are the people that told me that they supported what I was doing, only to turn around and in the end support the local power structure. I stuck my neck out on the line several times. I spent countless hours being pretty damned specific on the issues and then these people with blind faith do the opposite of what I suggest. Then what I say happens and the local power structure does what they always intended to do and people seem dazed and wondering, "What Happened?"

You really can't do much with that and so I must tell you that the Hickory Hound will have to evolve and at some point in time I may bail out of Hickory. I still care, but the vast majority of people in this community don't. As we enter 2016, I must say Que sera, sera... Whatever will be, will be... The future's not ours to see... Que sera, sera... What will be, will be.

Happy New Year and may God Bless even those that get on our nerves.

Peace.

The State of Hickory 2014
The State of Hickory 2013
The State of Hickory 2012
The State of Hickory 2011
The State of Hickory 2010
The State of Hickory 2009

Hickory City Council Workshop - November 3, 2015

CAPITAL PLANNING WORKSHOP 2015

These are projects for the near term horizon in Hickory. They explain the projects and how they will be funded, including the use on Issued Bond Funds proposed to begin in July 2017.





CAPITAL PLANNING WORKSHOP 2015
• Lackey Project – parking lot, boat dock, etc.
• Kiwanis Splash Pad
• NC Data Campus/Multi-Jurisdictional Park (Conover)
• Sandy Ridge Road - roundabouts
• Cloninger Mill Park
• City Park – Tennis Courts (Greater Hickory Tennis Association)
• Streetscapes/Zoning Overlay Consultant
• Way Finding/Gateway


LACKEY PROJECT
• Lackey Family to donate $5 -$7 million for memorial in Geitner Park
• Plans to construct lake house, performance dock, amphitheater, conservatory, canopy walk, gardens, overflow parking lot
• Design of project by Tunnel-Spangler-Walsh (TSW) is underway
• Estimated City cost of $750,000 for driveway, parking lot, restrooms, canoe launch, boat dock, fishing pier
• Operation/Maintenance costs unknown at this point


KIWANIS PARK SPLASH PAD
• City to own and maintain as addition to park operations
• Splash pad management team to finalize design/features
• Park to have “wow factor”, regional draw to visitors
• Estimated project cost of $250,000 - $350,000, depending on design
• Kiwanis clubs raising $100,000 towards project
• City share of $150,000 - $250,000 NC DATA CAMPUS/MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL PARK


NC DATA CAMPUS/MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL PARK
• Economic Development Partnership in Conover to attract data campus
• Loan of $2.6 million from NC Dept. of Commerce for 55 acre site development – water, sewer, electrical, stormwater, streets, sidewalks
• Multi-jurisdictional project between Catawba County (57%), Hickory (19%), Conover (18%), Maiden (5%) & Catawba (1%)
• Partner’s share in additional proper ty tax revenues based on investment
• Current year payment of $9,880
• Next year’s payment of $104,806 (difference of $94,926)
• Funded with Water & Sewer revenues


SANDY RIDGE ROAD - ROUNDABOUTS
• CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation Air Quality) grant of $3,697,684 received for FY 16/17
• Originally designed to add lanes at both intersections – due to ROW and utility relocation costs, roundabouts were selected
• Roundabouts planned at intersections of Sandy Ridge Rd/29th Ave Ne and 16th St/8th St Dr/ 21st Av NE to relieve traffic congestion
• Estimated project costs of $4,622,105
• City share of $924,421 (20% match)


CLONINGER MILL PARK
• City initiated master plan of 79 acres for future park in 2008
• Public meetings held in 2008 & 2009
• Many natural features including Falling Creek, waterfall, wide variety of vegetation, wildlife and ecological habitat
• Amenities proposed include picnicking, walking/bike trails, play areas, disc golf, environmental education, exercise stations
• Total project cost estimates of $2.9 million (2009 dollars)
• Phase I (access from Cloninger Mill Rd) estimated at $1.3 million
• Donation of $900,000 received from Outward Bound, balance of $400,000 – City share
• Staff and Parks/Recreation Commission reviewing revised master plan incorporating additional 10 acre commercial tract


CITY PARK – TENNIS COURTS
• 10-year Priority Use Agreement with Greater Hickory Tennis Association approved by Council on April 7, 2015– will contribute $125,000
• New picnic shelter/restroom/meeting room facility
• Addition of 250 linear feet of paved access road and 1440 linear feet of 8ft wide paved walkway
• Parking expansion from 20 spaces to 90 spaces (also to assist with additional parking requirements for Lackey Project), with curb/gutter and area lighting, removal of existing picnic shelter/restroom facility
• Additional parking will likely be needed in light of Lackey project expansion
• Estimated cost of $574,000 (balance of $449,000 funded by City)


STREETSCAPES/ZONING OVERLAY CONSULTANT
• Goal is to strengthen site design standards for private development in areas where streetscape improvements are planned.
• Overlay creates a more uniform appearance of private development regardless of underlying zoning requirement
• Coordination on lighting, landscaping, improved signage design and placement, and more efficient ingress/egress with new medians installed in streetscape.
• Staff developing RFQ to hire planning/design firm to develop new regulations for key areas of Hickory.
• Estimated cost of $150,000


WAY FINDING/GATEWAY
• Wayfinding Program installs approximately 100 new signs of varying sizes but similar design installed citywide to direct travelers into Hickory from surrounding highways and guide them to multiple public destinations.
• Original program was developed in 2008. Great recession prevented implementation at that time.
• Gateway signage is now a part of the bond program. Five gateways will be developed at key entry points into Hickory. Gateways are usually eye-catching welcome signage with landscaping and/or
public art designed to encourage motorists to recognize when they have arrived and to entice others to shop and shop, dine.
• Estimated cost of $800,000


BOND PROJECTS
• $40 million bond referendum passed in November 2014; seven years to issue debt
• Anticipating 2 or 3 bond issues - $15m/$15m/$10m or $20m/$20m depending on projects selected
• Issue debt in FY 2017-18 (July) – will require ½ year debt payment in 2018
• Tax increase planned in FY 2018-19 (3-4 cents)
• Design funds will need to be advanced from fund balance; may drop below 25% Council goal
• Fund balance amount between 20%-25% = $2.4 million


REVENUE CONSIDERATIONS
• Tag Fee – City currently receives $5/vehicle generating $170k annually; FY 15-16 legislation authorizes municipalities to charge up to $30/vehicle – additional revenue of $850k/year
• Parking fees for City amenities – e.g. Convention Center (Event Parking concept)

Carolina Tar Heels #1

Absolute Power rules Chapel Hill

I am going to relate to you some information I have read that was posted on the "Pack Pride" sports website that is dedicated to North Carolina State Wolfpack sports fans. I consider that site to be part of the new media, much in the same manner as the Hickory Hound. It is a forum where people relate ideas and stories of interest. Much of the information gleaned from this site, you will not find in the Old School Media.

The Old School Media's agenda seems to be to control information and filter it to fit into the scheme of the "Powers That Be's" agenda. That agenda, since the beginning of time, has been to maintain their power in the reality of the matrix that they have created. I am sure that floats over most of your heads.

The control of the overarching narrative of "Life's History" is part of the expression, "To the victor goes the spoils." UNC-Chapel Hill is the oldest university in the UNC system. Generations of political figures and professionals have filtered through the place. The identity of the alumni who have graced its halls has become an ideology, "We are better than you." That ideology in turn has formed into a system of religion for many. Pride in their university has gone beyond support and esteem and led to a cult like mentality seen in extreme religious philosophy. To question the stature of UNC-Chapel Hill ("Carolina"), as a university, is to commit a blasphemy not to be tolerated. Those who are critical of "Carolina's" mission are the enemy and must be vanquished. It is the dark side of Camelot.

My personal philosophy, in life, is that you aren't free unless you allow yourself to be free. You aren't controlled unless you allow yourself to be controlled. Most people don't understand the difference. Deal is that you aren't getting out of here alive, so don't take yourself so seriously. You will either be a help or a hindrance to others.

Do you like Good Guys? or Bad Guys? Do you think you are the most important part of this earth? If you do, then you will do anything and everything to obtain your personal wants, desires, and pleasures. If you have some selflessness, and understand that the world is more than just about yourself, then sometimes you are willing to take the backseat and let others shine, realizing that you personally benefit and that the "Ecosystem", the world as a whole, is stronger when more people are stronger, rather than concentrating power in the hands of one entity -- or the very few.

Athletics or Academics?

There is no two ways about it. There has been criminal mischief that has taken place at the University in Chapel Hill, as an example of the modern corruption of the State -- by that I mean the government. Fake Classes, Fake Grades, Fake Degrees, Forgery, Fraud, money changing hands, and no one has been prosecuted to date. For what? Basketball! What a freakin' joke.

UNC-Chapel Hill has now come out and admitted that they have spent over $10 million in Public Relations money related to this scandal. Then there are the legal fees paid by the University and the people surrounding this scandal that I am sure rival that $10 million figure. For what? A cover up of criminality and Basketball!

I've always thought they could have come clean a long time ago. I haven't written about the situation in a while, because I thought that it would surely all get sorted out. The problem with that is that it is too logical and corrupt people survive and thrive on the illogical, subterfuge, and false confidence.

The Powers That Be at UNC-Chapel Hill have fought this athletic fraud for five years, because it is wound so long and so tight, that if it unravels, it could unhinge the foundation that the State of North Carolina was built upon. It isn't an academic scandal. It's an athletic scandal. Athletes didn't go to class, didn't do schoolwork, and weren't tested. How can not participating in academics be an "academic scandal"? Logically it can't be. What it is, is criminal fraud.

The University in Chapel Hill has some graduates that are leaders in their field and do some cutting edge work, but their work is going to be undermined by this scandal. The University in Chapel Hill is already on academic probation related to this athletic scandal. If they don't clean the mess up, then they can lose accreditation. The loss of accreditation will mean the loss of billions of dollars of research money. They've already started feeling the financial repercussions of their win at all costs athletic program. The worst part is that some of these people don't care, because they want to win basketball games by hook or by crook -- apparently heavy on the crook.


The story of a Carolina Tar Heel basketball intern

Below is a warm and fuzzy story related on Pack Pride by a former intern for the beloved Tar Heel basketball program. This is how someone is treated when they decide they would rather not play ball anymore. Maybe you can get one of your children to be an intern for the Tar Heels, wouldn't that be neat? Read how exciting that adventure can be below. I know it made me jealous.

The story of 2pac1331:

I understand what I'm going to relate to you here sounds pretty insane, but bear with me....

I worked for the University of North Carolina Basketball program from 2004 to 2006, three years as a counselor for the summer camp, two years as a Junior Varsity (JV) and head Junior Varsity manager. The group I worked with assisted in preparation for all home JV and Varsity basketball games and sat behind the bench. I grew up believing the “Carolina Way” was real, and that UNC was a school of honor and integrity, but I quickly discovered the exact opposite was true.

What I came to discover was a fear-based environment, with a "god" at the top of the totem pole. That god is Roy Williams and under him are his minions of little generals -- the assistant coaches. There were occasions when we were waiting in the tunnel for JV practice to start and the Varsity team would walk by after their practice and we were told to stand because "Coach Williams was walking by."

The very first night at Granville Towers, while I was working the summer camp in 2004, I knew something wasn't right when the veteran managers were talking while we were hanging out around the swimming pool. Most of us new camp counselors were just star struck by getting to work for the UNC basketball team, but I could tell by their language that not everything was as it seemed to be. They wouldn't come right out and say it, but they said things like, "give it some time." It was an ominous omen for what I ended up being involved in and what has been exposed to the public over the past several years.

One former player, Reyshawn Terry, told me straight to my face that he never did his schoolwork and people wrote his papers for him. The fact that the players were cheating wasn't a secret at UNC, it was common knowledge among the managers and the general student population. It was one of those things that was just laughed off in conversation. But in reality, it was a cultural disease at UNC and it went straight to the top of the administration and above.

Beyond that, Chapel Hill is the most fake, superficial atmosphere you could ever imagine. If any of you watched that recent series, 'Wayward Pines' on Fox Network, it was like that town. The truth was something that you weren't allowed to speak of in Chapel Hill, as I'd soon find out. Truth was called "being negative" or “crazy” by the typical UNC-Chapel Hill student. "Be fake, be happy" was their real mantra. There is only so much of that web of lies a real person can take.

I'm going to be honest with you, towards the end of my 2nd year working for the program and after countless lies and deception, I had a mental breakdown. I don’t want to get into all the gory details, but this wasn't just about Tar Heel basketball, it was about the lie that the whole university had become. It was like a spiritual plague encompassed the whole town. I had major issues with the basketball program, administration, the fraternity ("greek") system, and just the random fake B.S. in general that had systemically infected the town.

I got so POed, that I went around telling people that I was going to "burn the city to the ground" and that the "whole place was corrupt and a lie." Well, needless to say, that was the first time they had me committed. From there my whole life changed drastically. I didn’t even know what mental illness was before this experience.

I ended up making the break from society, breaking away from the matrix, the bubble, whatever you want to call it. I had been a kid with tons of "friends", but that's when I learned that 95% of the people I knew weren't really friends. It was a heartbreaking revelation, but I ended up becoming a better man because of it, lonely hell yeah, but better. My rebellion targeted the arrogance and elitism that the entire school had become.

After I was heavily medicated, “re-educated,” and released from that first commitment, I continued preaching the gospel against "the Carolina way". One day, about a month later, I was overly spirited, and while driving through campus, zoomed passed a slow moving fire truck on Cameron Avenue. I backed my car up in front of the Old Well and preached about the corruption at UNC. The problem with all of this was that it was a couple weeks after the Muslim guy ran over all those people on campus. Needless to say, they freaked out when I passed the fire truck and locked me up again. I hadn't thought about any kind of consequences, because I was locked up at the time the incident with the Muslim guy happened. It was obvious that I wasn't trying to run anyone over, but in their perverted minds, they will use anything and everything against you, once you are at odds with them.

I ended up taking the rest of the semester off, but in order to return to campus for the fall, I was required by UNC to see a psychiatrist and psychologist weekly and accept being heavily medicated. The medication destroyed my personality and made me into a walking zombie. I spent several months trying to figure out what was going on, and why the “leaders” at UNC didn't care about what I was telling them. My family submitted to UNC's absolute will, which was tough. My Mom was adamant I take the medication, but she just didn’t understand what it was doing to me. It felt like me against the world back then. That’s why Tupac Shakur’s (2pac) music was so inspirational and appealing to me. There were no Mary Willingham's or Jay Smith's to turn to. I was completely alone.

I began writing letters to Roy Williams, his staff, and the administration at UNC in the Fall of '06 and that continued into the Spring of '07. The basketball program claimed I was taking out revenge for not being promoted. I was banned from the Dean Dome and told never to contact the basketball program again.

My life spiraled into a deep, dark depression, but I graduated in the Fall of 2007. I was granted special permission to attend graduation, since I was banned from the Dean Dome. It felt so special to actually be allowed to attend my own graduation... Haah... Actually it was devastating to sit there, knowing the dark truth. I listened to UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser spew lie after lie about "the Carolina Way" and "Carolina Family".

After graduation, I was enraged about everything that had happened and fired an angry "F You" letter off to Chancellor Moeser and Roy Williams and his entire staff. I told them that, one day, they would pay for what they had done -- with much more colorful language. I was extremely careful not to make any statement that could even be perceived as threatening, because I knew that they would use it against me. Remember though, anger is a sin in Chapel Hell.

Well, that ended up with UNC campus police following me out to the Harris-Teeter off of Airport Road, right down by I-40. They called my cell phone, while I was grocery shopping. I walked out to the parking lot and they put me in the back of their car and questioned me for about an hour. I remember telling him, I live for the day when we don’t need police anymore. He said, “then I won’t have a job.” And I said, “and the world will be a much better place without police.” They ended up letting me go, but followed me back up Airport road towards my apartment. Every time I would switch lanes, they would switch lanes. It was pretty scary. I ended up pulling into Key's Mini Mart (otherwise known as the "Murder Mart" around Chapel Hill) and they pulled up beside me and said, "We have some more questions."

I had quoted a Tupac Shakur song on Facebook, "Grab ya glocks when ya see 2pac, call the cops when ya see 2pac," and they told me that they interpreted this as me wanting to have a quote, "gun war with the police.” I didn't even own a gun. I vehemently denied this and they eventually let me go.

The next day I was called into my psychologist's office and told my behavior was unacceptable -- this is after I had graduated mind you -- and everyone in the basketball office was really "scared and concerned." I told my doctor several times that they just hated me and she denied it. “They care about you, they just want you to get better,” she would say. They called my Dad and he drove over from work. Campus police showed up and handcuffed me right in front of him and escorted me to the hospital -- I didn't resist. I wasn't out of control. It was humiliating. This would be my 3rd stint of being locked up and this was done directly at the hands of UNC Basketball and the Chancellor. The doctors were even befuddled as to why I was in there. Several people told me, you don't need to be here. My Dad has said this several times over the years. I just played the game, kept my head in the Bible and suffered through it. One of the nurses even told me verbatim, “hey man, just play the game and you’ll get out soon.”

The UNC Administrators repeatedly kept referring to the Virginia Tech shooting, which had happened within that past year. "We just don't know what you might do," they would say. I stood my ground numerous times that I had no intentions of using violence and didn't even own a weapon, but they would say, "we have to keep UNC safe."

After I was released in January 2008, I was banned from campus for 2 years and they scheduled a meeting with the Dean of Student Affairs at the time, Melissa Exum, for February 20, 2008. Don't know why I remember that date. I spilled everything to her, but she was a huge "homer", and I was the "psycho" so I had no pull. I greatly regret not taping our meeting, because she literally stated, "So what if basketball players are having their work done for them, what are you going to do about it." They were at the height of their arrogance of cheating and felt unstoppable.

When Eve Carson was murdered on March 5, 2008, I begged my psychologist to ask them to let me attend her memorial service at the Dean Dome, but they told her no and said, "that I might see some people there that would make me upset." These are devils we are talking about here, not people. They have no soul. I was clearly not a threat to anyone.

I moved out of Chapel Hell in June 2008 (hallelujah!!) and started reaching out to the media. I was put in contact with Tom Farrey at ESPN, in the summer of 2008, and we met in downtown Charlotte for dinner and I told him my story. He said he needed direct proof and I didn't have any.

Time went on and I connected with Dana O'Neil at ESPN and we communicated for the last several years as the scandal started to emerge. This is the same Dana O'Neil that wrote the article "This is what you get when you hire Larry Brown" -- UNC Basketball alum Larry Brown.

Dana did approach UNC in 2009, but didn’t give my name and Senior Associate Athletic Director of Communications Steve Kirschner asked her to confirm my initials. When she did confirm that it was me, he told her, “Don’t listen to this guy, he’s a nutjob.” That doesn’t sound like someone who cares about me and wants me “to get better,” as they would often relay to my doctors. And furthermore, it sounds like a HIPPA violation. When I was in UNC Hospitals, I was assured none of my medical information would be shared with UNC. These people are criminals and need to be thrown in prison for their countless crimes.

In the meantime, I have to admit that I had one more breakdown, lost my job, and went through absolute hell to get back on my feet. Damn near took my life and definitely gave up on fighting the UNC machine. At one point I told Dana, there's nothing I can do. They have won, or so I felt at the time.

As time passed and the stuff with the football team came out first and then people started coming forward (McCants, Willingham) and others, I had the courage to pick up the fight again.

I wrote UNC again in early 2012 and was banned from campus for the third time. I was banned on Valentine's Day that time, indefinitely, and to this day. This letter was much more humble in nature, and the captain of UNC police told me, "this was out of his hands, way above him. There are people that just don't want you here. What if they see you at a football game with their children?" I appealed the decision and lost.

Shortly after, I bought the gun. To put all this in perspective, I took $500 cash out of the bank (my Mom’s a banker and I didn’t want her to see that on my account), bought a Mossberg shotgun, hands shaking as I signed the paperwork. I stared at it for months in my bedroom closet, test fired it a couple times at my Grandparent’s old farm, hid it during the move up to DC so my Dad wouldn’t see it, and literally walked to the bar and got drunk one night planning to come back and take my life. By the grace of God I threw the gun down, drove back to NC and gave it away to my brother and decided to keep pushing ahead. That was in the fall of 2012. I guess Huckleberry Roy’s response to that would be, “How does it affect recruiting?” “Can Drake hang out with our team?” Thinking about death every second of every day is not very fun. There were lots of literal tears in those days. I cried in my car a lot.

I moved to Washington, DC to get away and get my life back together for the last few years, really got my career on track and just recently moved back to Raleigh and landed a good job. I met for lunch with Jay Smith who put me in touch with Wainstein's group last July 2014 and I told them my story "off the record." I met with Joseph Jay in a spaceship-like law firm with "$1,500 chairs" in DC. I contacted the entire enforcement staff at the NCAA and all but threatened them to do the right thing. I've written several media people emails. I am poised and ready to strike if need be.

I have a complete rap album ready for release and on stand by, produced by a friend. I will be recording rap videos this fall (on my own budget, don't have lunatics to give me over 100 thousand dollars, nor do I want that). My family and friends don't want me doing this, but still I fight on in secret, and maybe one day I'll take the mask off, but for now, I am just laying low and enjoying the ride -- because I thought I'd have to die before I saw their sins come to light.

I'll be the first to admit my multitude of flaws, mistakes, and regrets, and I'm quick to hit my knees in prayer every day to ask for God’s forgiveness (in my bathroom, not on Facebook), but to have it even implied by anyone that I don't have resolve, I will not take that from anyone on this planet. (This was in response to a poster that questioned my resolve in not sharing this story.)

Any of you out there in fantasyland, the next time you questions a mother f****'s resolve, make sure it's somebody -- and something -- you know.

I have been fighting this machine for the last decade and the decision to not release my story was the media's, not mine (God forbid that someone with mental issues did something other than kill someone).....I’ve had a gun stuck to the back of my head, been locked in a psychiatric unit 4 times, been banned from my alma mater UNC three times, threatened with criminal charges by UNC (communicating threats), compared to the Virginia Tech shooter, I could go on and on.

It was heartbreaking over the years to watch the people I worked with at UNC, who bowed down and played by their perverted rules, get jobs at universities or on NBA teams. I’d give anything to be a director of basketball operations at a school, or work for an NBA squad, well let me correct that, anything but my soul. That belongs to God.

My whole family has suffered tremendously from this experience and pretty much been torn apart. My Mom and I used to be really close, but now we hardly even speak anymore. It’s impossible to have a relationship and a family of my own, knowing that at some point I’ll have to tell a girl the truth. Mental illness ain’t too sexy in this world. Of course, the real truth is that the people at UNC are truly mentally ill and need to be institutionalized. My message to them is, this is not over.

I've damn near lost everything, but I've kept up the fight and it’s all because of the Lord... I don't owe anyone anything and I don't give a s*** whether any of you believe what I have conveyed to you or not, I've done more than my part to expose Carolina's schemes and evil in general, but at some point you have to take some time and regroup and that's what I have been doing.... Trying to get my life back.

The Hound's Epilogue

Think about if this were your child, a relative, or a friend... It should give one pause to think about whether they want someone growing up "the Carolina Way". All those of us, who have a clue, on the outside looking in, have asked is for this mess to get cleaned up. That doesn't mean swept under the rug and continued to carry on.

The clownship that is holding the flagship hostage seems to have shown that they are out to ruin people that don't go along with their program. There is one thing that can't be denied, it is one thing to be considered a rival to the interests of UNC-Chapel Hill as a university. It is far worse to be considered an enemy from within. Ask Mary Willingham, who came forward to detail the scheme that was set in place to maintain athlete eligibility for "at risk" athletes. Think about Rashaad McCants, who was once thought of as a big time hero for being part of the 2005 Championship team and is now painted as a malcontent for showing his transcript and fully exposing the fraudulent grade/eligibility scheme.

Why have so many people come forward anonymously with information that has been proven true? Why did they feel the need to remain anonymous? Are they afraid of the consequences?

Those who have come forward and been critical of what has been exposed about the athletic scandal at UNC-Chapel Hill have been labeled malcontents and treated as traitors. Notice that no one comes forward to prove UNC-CH's innocence. No one has come forward to prove those shining the light on all of this have been lying.

And then we see those who could be prosecuted for criminal charges of fraud, but played within the culturally corrupt system, have been allowed to retire with full benefits paid for by the taxpayers of North Carolina. Deals have been struck with the North Carolina Court system not to prosecute those who undeniably participated in this scheme, as proven by Attorney Kenneth Wainstein's report, which was limited in its investigative scope by UNC-Chapel Hill's administration. In a world where UNC-Chapel Hill doesn't have a stranglehold on the government and university system, there would have already been a full and independent investigation into every department of that university, after all that has come to light.

Just another example that I have seen of corruption being rewarded in a world that has lost its way. It sure appears that things will get a lot worse, before they will get any better. Thank You to 2Pac1331 for coming forward. They don't call 'em the Heels for 'nuthin.

Midnight has struck for the UNC Board of Governors - January 29, 2014

UNC Chapel Hill Criminal Fraud exposed in Athletics and Academics - January 16, 2014

Where are the UNC Board of Governors? -- 3 years later - PJ Hairston's 2013 Yukon: renter identified - July 1, 2013

My letter to the UNC Board of Governors about the UNC-CH Football Scandal  - July 7, 2011

Where are the UNC Board of Governors? - (Part 2) - Everybody knows "The Carolina Way"  - July 1, 2011

Where are the UNC Board of Governors?!?!? - UNC-Chapel Hill athletic scandal - October 1, 2010

State of North Carolina University System -- We've Got a Problem Here!!!  - September 18, 2010

Hickory City Council Video - November 3, 2015

Invocation by Cliff Moone

This was a short meeting lasting less than 30 minutes. Vickie Scott and Larry Pope spoke in relation to the Housing Authorityissue.

A Micro Enterprise grant program is being established using Community Development Block Grant Funds.