Mike Jacquin tries to help out, but offer of assistance is refused!

Published by Dick Schaefer, Award-winning, Unpaid, Part-time Contributing Writer and Amateur Investigative Reporter

Last Thursday at the Gasconade County Commission Meeting in Hermann (not the one in Drake), an "interesting" exchange occurred at the end of the meeting between Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore of Owensville and citizen activist Raymond "Mike" Jacquin of Hermann.  The exchange was recorded and published by CNL's Jeff Noedel.  Hermann Hearsay notes and finds it quite interesting that the 5 minute and 24 second discussion between Lairmore and Jacquin was the only portion of the 8/19 County Commission Meeting which has thus far received any "news" coverage by CNL.

Hermann Hearsay commends Mr. Jacquin for spending $98.10 (after-tax) of his own personal money to assist Commissioner Lairmore with questions he has repeatedly raised regarding tire and tire services expenditures that Northern District Associate Commissioner Matt Penning maintains should be competitively bid, expenditures which have not been bid out for years.  What a great citizen Mike Jacquin is for spending his own money to assist Commissioner Lairmore in the conduct of his official duties, duties which include digging into the details of tire and tire services expenditures so that he can better understand how much money the county has been spending without competitively bidding it!  Thank you, Mike!  Thanks for being a concerned citizen!

I was however disappointed in Commissioner Lairmore for fogging, dodging and deflecting questions and generally avoiding responsibility.  Commissioner Lairmore says he will not accept copies of the tire and tire services invoices for past years.  Apparently Jerry either doesn't have time to review these invoices OR he just doesn't want to be confronted by the inescapable truths which are documented by these invoices.  Which is it, Jerry?

As a side note, I'd like to say that I was disappointed that CNL did not report more substantial and meaningful details about the 8/19 County Commission Meeting.  I suppose that the commissioners did actually conduct some county business in this meeting?  Or is all county business now being conducted out at the Drake maintenance shed where meeting records are not kept?  Guess I'll just have to wait and read the official meeting minutes in The Hermann Advertiser-Courier or get myself a copy of the video tape which Charlie Brown records for airing on the Hermann cable news channel.