I was disappointed to read in the May 1 paper that some of Winona Lake's elected officials are sloppily engaging in character assassination against one of our responsible citizens.
David Delp wrote you, as a representative of the Winona Lake Town Council, claiming to give us "the facts." I was going to try to count how many facts he got wrong in his short letter, but it was too daunting a task. You would expect an elected official to understand our judicial system. So far, the canal property owners have not been to federal court even once. Mr. Delp said that they have four times already. Would that count as one wrong "fact" or four? Wait, he said it four times, that could be 16!
Mr. Delp also says that you can get the council members' e-mail addresses from the town Web site. On the Web site, you can read about this town Council's projected goals for 2005, and half of the members have pictures up. Gee, do you think they're on the ball here? As of May 2, you will NOT find the council members' e-mail addresses. You can e-mail the "webmaster," another council member. If you do, please ask him to update the Web site. Maybe he'll listen to someone else.
Jeff Carroll, another councilman, thinks he is witty and suggested that the Nelsons move to Roseland. Very professional, Mr. Town Councilman. Roseland is a town where the people allowed their town council to get out of control. When it became clear to Jerry Nelson that our town council often only represented certain interests, he began to faithfully attend their meetings and question many of their shady doings and acts of favoritism. Our council has clearly attempted to be much more thorough and professional as a result of Jerry Nelson's attendance. Mr. Carroll, Roseland needed a Jerry Nelson. Without Jerry Nelson, Winona Lake might already be a Roseland.
Both of these council members blame Jerry Nelson for the town's waste of over $80,000 in a lawsuit with the canal property owners. I blame them - the ones who spent our money. If they had made a point to treat all property owners fairly, there would be no lawsuit. As to the amount of our money they have wasted in this lawsuit; they simply have not been good stewards of our tax dollars.
Many members of the current town council appear afraid of Jerry Nelson. But if they get the opportunity to work with him, I believe they would be pleasantly surprised, even relieved. Jerry Nelson is very competent in legal matters and very fair. Jerry Nelson is not beholden to any businessman or corporations in our community. He would bring an expectation of professionalism that our town currently lacks. Have you ever read a letter from Jerry Nelson that was not accurate and professional?
It's time for a change. It's time to make sure that all Winona Lake residents get representation. Be sure to vote this Tuesday!
