"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell."
~ Harry S Truman
Here is our preliminary report .....
Thursday morning (7/22/2010) at the so-called "Gasconade County Road Department Meeting" in Drake, a serious altercation erupted when Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore began badgering and verbally abusing Northern District Assocate Commissioner Matt Penning. The verbal abuse went on for sometime while Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost who was "leading" the meeting sat on his hands and took no actions to stop it. Eventually the harrassment, brow-beating, bullying and swearing became so extreme that Commissioner Matt Penning simply excused himself and left the meeting rather than be goaded into a more serious response.
Unfortunately there were no media representatives in attendance at the meeting who can report to us on the nasty altercation which occurred. This time we won't be getting a lengthy transcript of the disgusting verbal exchange from any member of the media as we have in the past. County Clerk Lesa Lietzow does not currently attend the "road department" meetings and keep minutes, so we won't be able to read her "official" minutes of this meeting in the newspapers.
Nevertheless, Hermann Hearsay believes it is important that the good citizens of Gasconade County understand what is really going on in our three-man County Commission even if it isn't being covered by any of our traditional and non-traditional news media. We believe it is particularly important to report this story, because another "news" media outlet has been giving a certain vocal political pundit and provocateur a "soap box" (or "forum" as they choose to call it) from which he is allowed to launch untrue and extremely biased political attacks against Northern District Associate Commissioner Matt Penning.
But I digress. Back to the subject of the verbal altercation which Commissioner Lairmore reportedly created at the County Road Department Meeting in Drake this past Thursday morning ..... This incident, if it is true as described to me and I DO believe the account which has been described to me by one of the meeting attendees because I know this particular person to be very honest and straight-forward, was very unprofessional and very unfortunate. The incident was created entirely by Southern District Associate Commissioner Lairmore and NOT by Northern District Associate Commissioner Penning.
I'm going to do everything I can to flush out more of the ugly details regarding this story by attempting to contact all of the individuals who were directly involved in the incident which occurred during last Thursday's road department meeting in Drake. Perhaps I'll send them all an email or maybe I'll have to call them if they don't have an email address to see if they wouldn't mind responding to a few questions that I, as an admittedly amateur, part-time investigative reporter, have managed to formulate. Those who were present at the meeting in question are also quite welcome to come onto this site and make any comment they want. Others who may not have been in attendance at last Thursday's Road Department Meeting are also invited to comment. I promise to publish all comments in their entirety just as I always do, and I will not edit a single word.
The questions which it seems to me need to be responded to are these:
- What was the altercation all about? I understand it had something to do with county tire purchasing procedures and with the credit payments for usable tire casings which Central Tire Company paid to Gasconade County during this past year in which they had been awarded the contract. Is that true? What exactly is the issue, Commissioner Lairmore?
- I understand that it was Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore who initiated the mean-spirited verbal attack against Northern District Associate Commissioner Matt Penning? Is that true, Commissioner Lairmore? Is it true that you called your colleague a "lieing son-of-a-bitch" during the road department meeting and most regrettably in the presence of three county employees? Would you care to explain or refute?
- What specifically are you, Commissioner Lairmore, so concerned and agitated about? Why? Please explain.
- Commissioner Lairmore, why did you find it necessary to badger, brow-beat, belittle, accuse and curse at Commissioner Penning to the point that Commissioner Penning quite understandably felt he had no choice but to simply remove himself from the meeting?
- Commissioner Lairmore and Presiding Commissioner Jost, how many road department employees were forced to witness this unprofessional display by their County Commission "leaders"? Which road department employees witnessed this unprofessional exchange? We understand county employees Wayne Kottwitz, Roger Dahl and Debbie Thomas were present? Would you like to comment on this or refute it? How many man-hours of otherwise productive time were lost on this day by our road department employees so that they could witness your childish, unprofessional behavior?
- At the 'Meet The Candidates' night sponsored by The Farm Bureau Tuesday night in Owensville, you, Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost, took credit for the Gasconade County Commission "working so well together in harmony under your leadership". Why then did you allow this angry, bullying and unproductive line of interrogation by Commissioner Lairmore to go on for as long as it did? Mr. Jost, as Presiding Commissioner, isn't it your responsibility to maintain some semblance of professional decorum and order during official meetings of the County Commission?
- Mr. Kottwitz, Mr. Dahl and Ms. Thomas, I am very sorry that you were put in a situation whereby you were forced to witness this angry and unprofessional display by the very people who should be leading you. Do any of you wish to make a comment at this time? I completely understand if you don't.
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IF this holds true, and I have no reason to doubt it won't since I heard about it this weekend also, I believe it is time to call for the resignation of commissioner Lairmore immeadiatly.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, when the facts are presented, Presiding Commissioner Jost will receive his due rewards with a sound defeat from BOTH sides of the county.
And for the record, I reside in the South portion of Gasconade County IN Mr. Liarmore's portion of the county!
Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawdy! I do declare!
ReplyDeleteWell done, Jimmy!
ReplyDeleteClark
Say Jimmy, is that a blue tick coon hound?! Uncle Jed had a blue tick coon hound when we all lived back in Kentucky! Those dogs can pick up on a coon trail several days old!
ReplyDeleteJethro
I to heard about this last weekend and it's not the first time this sort of thing has happened. I'm ashamed that this is what represents my end of the county, the south end!
ReplyDeleteDick this is exactly what we've been trying to tell people for almost two years, maybe people will open their eyes. This sort of stuff has happened to others, they need to speak up! Martin
ReplyDeleteLove the Truman quote! Keep tellin' the truth! The best weapon against tyrants and bullies!
ReplyDeleteThurston
What a mess! Waiting to see what the meeting attendees have to say!
ReplyDeleteI hear the bullying and goading went on for several minutes before Matt finally decided to walk out. Why didn't Ron Jost call the meeting to order and stop Laimore?
ReplyDeleteBob
Just who is Larry Miskel? Lot's of us folk here in So. Gasconade Co. haven't the foggiest idea. With all the MULE SH__ Fiasco going on with the present commissioners {Jost and Larimore},we all agree "THEY NEED TO GO".
ReplyDeleteWe need to know something about this man before we head to the Polls.We don't know what he looks like,what are his qualifications,his education, militarty record, Family. These things are important to us as voters. And last but not least what will he do for us as Presiding Commissioner? {Maybe stuffing a real dirty rag in Larimore's mouth and stapeling it shut!!}
Why do people bully others?
ReplyDeletePeople bully others because it provides them with a sense of power.
How do you stop a bully from bullying others?
You call his bluff. You expose him publicly for what he really is. You confont him. Because he is a person of low self-esteem, he will not want the broader community to know what he is doing. Because he is often just a coward acting out and trying to appear powerful, he will stop bullying when confronted in front of others.
McMurphy, Cheswick, Harding and Martini were never this belligerent! Name calling, brow-beating, and yelling! What next? The Presiding Commissioner should have nipped this in the bud .... but he didn't. Why didn't he?
ReplyDeleteMildred Ratched, R.N.
John Morley said .... "It makes all the difference in the world whether we put truth in the first place, or in the second place."
ReplyDeleteOne can only imagine what Commissioner Lairmore will call Commissioner Penning during this week's Road Department Meeting! Matt, if he calls you a blankety blankety blankety blank, just fire back at him and call him a "one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater"! Ha ha ha! That'll show him!
ReplyDeleteJohnny
Pathetic!
ReplyDeleteBarry
No wonder Matt Penning wants the Road Department Superintendent to meet with the Commissioners at the public Commissioners' Meeting in the courthouse! When the public attends those meetings and when Charlie Brown's video camera is rolling, Lairmore tends to behave himself!
ReplyDeleteBeula
If Matt Penning is a "lieing son-of-a-bitch", then I'm a "monkey's uncle"!
ReplyDeleteLes
I hope that our good friends that we debate with on the other web sites now understand that Comm. Penning is not permitted to do much with these two clowns in control. Larimore has a nasty name he calls Mr. Penning at all the meetings when he thinks nobodys listening, I think this fits Larimore better! Can we say that name on this web?...Martin
ReplyDeleteHad a little talk with some friends this evening.......tuens out, there may be a larger audience than what Mr. Lairmore is used to at future "Road Dept." meetings. Let's see how big a man he is with a group of people there to hear him throw cuss words and accusations! The boy may think he's something, but in when it comes down to it, he works for me.....and you.....and everyone else in this county. Answer to ME "big man".
ReplyDeleteMark,
ReplyDeleteYou know what they say ... "Sunshine is the best disinfectant!" Open up the windows and the doors out there at the Road Department ... and let the "sun shine in"!
Gasco Citizen