Protesters shut down meeting

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Fire code violation leads to scheduling of a special forum

By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- So many people showed up to protest the recent real estate reassessments at Tuesday night's Board of Supervisors meeting, a special forum to hear their complaints has been scheduled for Thursday evening.

At a rally Friday in downtown Woodstock organized by Strasburg resident Phil Hunt, roughly 100 people, angry with government spending and the reassessments they recently received in the mail, showed up. His exhortation to show up at Tuesday's supervisors meeting was taken so much to heart, the fire code was violated.

Adding another element of surprise Tuesday evening, County Administrator Vince Poling announced during the board meeting later that he plans to retire in 2010. He has been the administrator for 14 years.

A crowd started gathering an hour before the supervisors' meeting. One person brought pink slips of paper with "You're fired" written on them to give to supervisors.

Sheriff Timothy C. Carter said a count of the people inside the board chambers came to 173. He estimated another 40-60 were gathered in the building hallway and outside the front doors.

Supervisors Chairman David Ferguson addressed the throng.

"Before I call tonight's meeting to order, I would like to put forward a recommendation to the group to see if it's to your liking," he said. "We're already in violation of the fire code for this building."

His announcement was met with boos.

"Take our tax money, build a bigger building," one person said.

Another said, "It's getting too hot for them."

Because the government center isn't big enough to allow everyone who wished to speak to do so, Ferguson said, there will be a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the school systems' central campus. A specific location will be announced this morning, Carter said after the meeting.

Hunt told the audience he agreed the room was too small.

"I just want to thank each and every one of you for showing up tonight," he said. "It means so much to me. It means so much to the citizens of Shenandoah County. I will go through the storm. I will do whatever it takes to stand with you, to be with you. I just want to watch out for my brothers and sisters in the community, and that's all I want."

A resident stepped up to the podium.

"The benefit of having this Thursday night [is] you can bring three people with you," he said.

As the crowd dispersed, Fort Valley resident Robert Dierling said he planned to come back Thursday.

"We just want to see why the hell these taxes are going crazy," he said. "I'm going to bring a couple more [people] with me, too."

Hunt said he felt he let residents down because they didn't get to speak, but was looking forward to seeing them Thursday.

Barbara McDonald, of Strasburg, said she'll be there Thursday "with bells on." She said she and her brother own identical tracts of land, and his assessment went up $1,700, and hers went up $45,000.

Fort Valley resident Dan Knapp's assessment went up 125 percent, he said, which he can't afford in this economy. He's in the construction business, and hasn't had much work lately.

"We haven't had beef in my house in 10 months," Knapp said. "We eat deer, and we eat vegetables from the garden."

He's coming out Thursday night, "and I will be bringing more people. It's just ridiculous."