Berryville, Va. — In another example of how Republican “RINOs” are just as destructive, if not worse, than left wing democrats, the Turner Ashby Camp 1567, Sons of Confederate Veterans, has been battling the woke Clarke County Board of Supervisors over the ownership of the Confederate monument which serves as a war memorial to the fallen sons of Clarke County from 1861-1865. The issue is David Weiss, the so-called Republican on the Board.
The Clarke County War Memorial has cost county taxpayers almost $150,000 so far. At that pace, with the coming “reimagining” landscaping disaster of a project of the courthouse grounds, that price tag will be closer to $500,000 or more.
Board of Supervisors Chairman, David Weiss, is obsessed with defeating the non-profit Turner Ashby Camp in court. Taxpayers need to be aware of what this one-sided fight is costing them. According to a recent FOIA request, 70% of which was redacted with black ink, legal and consultant invoices alone added up to $125,800 from Jan. 2021 to June 2022.
Weiss wanted to originally remove the monument, but he was shot down by his own monument committee’s recommendation. He’s been obsessed with muscling his way over the other BOS members in his crusade to “reimagine” the courthouse grounds in response to not getting his way with the monument.
Working quickly and under the public radar, Weiss has directed county attorneys to stop the Turner Ashby Camp’s appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Why? Because Weiss has no accountability and simply doesn’t care – it’s other peoples’ money why should he! He is intoxicated with this little power he has as Chairman.
The public needs to wake up and stop this. Weiss is trying to get the design work done quickly before the Appeals court gives its decision. That ruling could force the Clarke County Court to halt ownership of the monument and allow Turner Ashby its day in court with a fair trial it never received. When that happens, the money spent on Weiss’s designs will be a complete loss to taxpayers, thanks to him. Not to mention the taxpayer money spent on Weiss’s continuing fight with Turner Ashby Camp in court keeps adding up.
A design firm, RHI Consultants of New York, has already been chosen with ridiculous landscaping plans that defy imagination without any kind of engineering analysis. That nightmare project will likely cost taxpayers $500,000 before it’s over.
Turner Ashby Camp approached the county with a fair, no-cost deal back in March 2021, offering to care for and maintain the monument at no cost to taxpayers. Instead, Weiss ignored them and chose to go on a crusade of spending. In documents, the majority of county board members wished to remove the Confederate monument, stopped in part by public outcry that advised them to keep the monument.
The Clarke County Board of Supervisors elections are in 2023. It’s time for someone to vote these people out and stop this fast-paced spending orgy of David Weiss.