Editor, The Smithfield Times:

I read the article “Surry supervisor resigns, sues over biogas vote” (June 20) and wanted to convey a message to the readers.

Mr. Michael Drewry was my representative on the board. From the first day he was elected, he always conveyed to me that he only wanted to be a “citizen conduit to the county board.” He never let me down in his statement.

Concerning the Align biogas project, he knocked on doors, listened to the citizens surrounding the project and voted no. When citizens questioned the procedures that led to the 2-1 vote approval, he investigated the matter and determined the citizens had valid concerns. This resulted in a filing of a timely court petition to do nothing more than ask the county and Align to go back and correct the procedural errors.

When he asked the county board to support the process, the board declined. To avoid a conflict of interest, he had to resign. Reasonable minds could have avoided this situation by listening to the citizen concerns, learning from the situation and correcting any mistakes.

The result is that the district has lost a board member who cares about the citizens. To improve our county, we must be able to listen to the good and the bad, and make corrections when necessary which in the present situation was not done.

 

Thomas L. Byrd

Dendron