Wednesday July 26, 2023
ANALYSIS: Emails Push Back Timeline on Stafford Methadone Clinic Controversy | COMMENTARY: Racial Tropes Have No Place in Education
ANALYSIS: Emails Push Back Timeline on Stafford Methadone Clinic Controversy
By Daniel P. Cortez
“O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!”
This quote from 19th century Scottish author Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem, Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field, chronicles actions caused by deceit.
It’s a fitting quote with respect to the planned methadone clinic in the old Dollar General Store in Woodlawn Shopping Center off Deacon Road in Stafford County, Virginia.
The controversy erupted publicly in May 2023, when residents of Falmouth became aware that Concerted Care Group wanted to build the aforementioned clinic.
The county and its leaders, however, knew of the possibility of a clinic a good deal earlier and did not inform the public.
Documents received under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from Stafford County officials suggest that at least some Board of Supervisors’ members knew, or should have known, about the possibility of a clinic as early as January 2022 due to new state legislation.
An email from Dean Lynch, the executive director of the Virginia Association of Counties (VACO) dated January 26, 2022, and sent to all Virginia County Administrators -- with a blind copy sent to Supervisor Meg Bohmke, also serving then as the President of VACO -- shared aspects of new state code language regarding opiate addiction treatment centers.
The final sentence of the communication from Lynch states:
We would appreciate receiving any thoughts and or impacts on your county regarding these bills ASAP—thank you!
Two other supervisors – Crystal Vanuch and Monica Gary – also should have been aware of the change in legislation. Public documents citing actions at the January 11, 2022, Board of Supervisors’ meeting show Vanuch and Gary were unanimously voted to serve on the county’s legislative committee.
Methadone clinics are political hot potatoes, and I would contend that Bohmke, certainly, and Vanuch and Gary, should have known in 2022 that zoning requirements for such clinics had been augmented and if citizens had concerns about such a facility coming to Stafford they voice it straight-away. After all, more information is better than less information.
That didn’t happen. And for all of 2022, the citizens of Falmouth were unaware of the possibilities.
According to Gary, the legislative committee actually does not track legislation at the state level.
"We work with a lobbyist who communicates our priorities to state legislators,” she stated.
Well then clearly, Stafford’s lobbyist Julia Hammond, with Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies in Richmond, shares some of the responsibility for not sharing such critical information along with Bohmke, Vanuch and Gary.
The plan becomes reality
On January 3, 2023, a letter from an attorney for the Concerted Care Group was sent to the county’s Zoning Department to determine if a methadone clinic could operate on the Deacon Road property. Once the Zoning Department decided the clinic fit within the property’s zoning requirements, the county was supposed to have alerted the adjacent property owners – it failed to do so.
In spite of the fact that neither Bohmke, Vanuch, nor Gary, for whatever reason, in January 2022 did not, or would not, inform citizens of Stafford about the change in legislation regarding the placement of methadone clinics, the Zoning Department certainly should have gone public in January 2023 when they received the letter from Concerted Care Group’s attorney.
Delegate Tara Durant immediately reacted when she heard from upset Falmouth residents on May 29 – the first time that she became aware of the situation.
She communicated with Nelson Smith, the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services on July 18, 2023, asking his department to “…carefully examine the application when received to insure it is in compliance with all federal, state and local regulatory requirements, including Stafford County’s zoning ordinances.”
Smith responded the next day stating the DBHDS had not received an application from a provider to operate at the designated Deacon Road location.
Smith further commented:
Based upon the facts shared by you, it may appear that preliminary approval was granted by the locality before the law took effect and without proper notice of individuals and businesses in close proximity. Should an application be submitted, DBHDS will carefully review the application with the County to ensure all legal requirements and processes have been followed appropriately.
Smith also indicated the local zoning board could reference local ordinances if they believed the proposed location or the provided service was not in compliance.
Durant verified the first zoning request by the Maryland based company Concerted Care Group was made in August 2022, but it was delayed until 2023 to keep within the new state provision.
The reality remains that the company, according to Durant, could, depending on how they apply for their zoning application, continue a by-right application.
Doing good; Doing right
Durant stated her support of the new state legislation to allow more medication-assisted treatment sites (MAT), and the legislation received unanimous support in both legislative chambers. It was also in keeping with Governor Youngkin’s “Right Help Right Now” initiative for addicts.
But Durant nevertheless has concerns about the location and is remaining responsive to citizen’s complaints.
“At the end of the day I support responsible business, and I understand the community’s desire for safety," Durant added.
The legislation she supported respects the local authority that resides with the local community’s elected leaders.
A failure of communication
Looking at the timeline of the bill in question, Stafford County was in the midst of dealing with a critical snowstorm and the termination of the then county administrator in January 2022 when the legislation was making its way through the General Assembly.
Such a tragic communication failure remains a clear demonstration of the need to retain knowledge and proficiency at the highest level of local government.
Stafford officials are now discussing the feasibility of having a special meeting to further discuss the issue.
As organizers of the Facebook group 22405 Neighborhood Watch collect funding for legal fees, they have until Aug. 2 to file a zoning appeal.
Being sued by the applicant or even local citizens now remains a serious concern. Should such a meeting actually take place, in an effort to allow for maximum transparency and participation, it should be in the evening -- and the public should most certainly be allowed to comment.
In short, the county could face yet another lawsuit that costs taxpayers dearly, such as the debacle over the Muslim Cemetery – literally a stone’s throw from Vanuch’s residence – which cost taxpayers about $1 million.
Demerits for those who attempted to drop a methadone clinic in a community without the slightest concern for community input or community safety. One more reminder that our elected officials serve the public trust, and that the public does not exist merely to be governed by those who simply "know better" than we do.
Daniel P. Cortez of Stafford is a long-time writer/broadcaster, a Presidential Appointee and serves as the volunteer co-chairman of the Latinos for Youngkin Coalition
COMMENTARY: Racial Tropes Have No Place in Education
by Martin Davis
Hubris is a signaling trait of bigotry, and no one personified this better than Archie Bunker, the fictional blue-collar dock worker who lived in Queens, New York, and was the featured character in Norman Lear’s classic sitcom, “All in the Family.”
America was not a simpler place during the 1970s when “All in the Family” was the crown jewel in CBS’ lineup. It was a more honest time, however, in that the country was finally confronting the very real problems it faced regarding race, white supremacy, and the expansion of rights for all. Rights promised by the Founders, but never fully realized.
People watched the show not to laugh at and insult Bunker, but to laugh alongside him - often nervously - as Archie wrestled with a changing world. We laughed because Bunker was relatable, and many white audience members could see themselves in his character. And as such, they saw the necessity of changing themselves.
And we laughed because Bunker was a sympathetic character. Archie, we learned as the series progressed, also had a heart, as well as the ability to self-reflect on his own bigotry and grow into a better man.
No one, however, was laughing Monday night, when deep into yet another marathon School Board meeting, superintendent Mark Taylor spoke in terms that are indefensible for anyone, but especially someone in the field of education. A field dedicated to creating opportunities by offering a sound and robust education to everyone enrolled.
Saying it plain
Discussing his controversial policy to put adults in the schools to increase supervision, Taylor defended the idea by saying that it’s not new, and that the NAACP’s Mo Petway:
… came forward with a suggestion of developing volunteer groups of adults that are background-checked, approved to be in our building; we’re not picking them up at the Southern border and flying them up here to do this …
And in so many words, there it was - Taylor’s Archie Bunker moment.
Let’s start with the obvious. There was absolutely no reason for Taylor to reach for a bigoted insult to make his point. He had already stated that volunteers would be background-checked and approved to be in the building. His point was made.
But Taylor was compelled to go further. He had to reach for a group of people - Latinos - who, in his mind, apparently, represent a race that isn’t trustworthy, and isn’t worthy of respect.
His statement harkens back to the ugly, dehumanizing slurs hurled at Black Americans throughout much of the 20th century - and are still repeated in some corners. During Jim Crow, whites often portrayed Blacks as brutish, and described them as such. They also used the insult “coons” to dehumanize Blacks. And this is just a sample.
In retrospect, there is no denying both the messaging of such language - Blacks are inferior to whites - and the bigoted stereotypes behind the insults.
Today, the largest minority population in Spotsylvania, according to U.S. News & World Report, is Latinos. One in five students.
Imagine how they, and their parents, must have reacted to Taylor’s words.
A man who has physically removed books to protect children from “pornography,” is using pornographic tropes to implicate an entire race of people.
Taylor, of course, is hardly alone. Contrary to current hysteria over people crossing the Southern Border - with some going so far as to call this mass migration an “invasion” - white Americans have long hurled insults and expressed bigoted ideas about those from Central America fleeing to the United States.
None other than John Adams said of people in South America that they were:
a people more ignorant, more bigoted, more superstitious, more implicitly credulous in the sanctity of royalty, more blindly devoted to their priests . . . than any people in Europe, even in Spain
In 1952, President Eisenhower launched “Operation Wetback” to slow immigrants crossing the border illegally.
This list could go on for pages, but the point is made. (For more on this, see this piece in the Washington Post.)
But not being alone in his irresponsible expressions does not render Taylor’s actions excusable.
If Taylor knew more of the Latino community in our area - the community that makes up one-fifth of the students he is charged with ensuring each receives a sound education - he would know of the enormous risks many of their families have taken to escape violence and extreme poverty, so their children can have a better opportunity in a land that is supposed to be a beacon of freedom.
He would know more of the incredible breadth of culture and viewpoints in the community. And he would know that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than their native-born peers.
Knowing these realities, and coming to know Latinos as human beings, has a way of doing to people what that knowledge did to Archie Bunker. It softened him over time, and helped him grow as a human.
To borrow language that Taylor should understand, seeing the other as fully human makes one a better Christian. In fact, welcoming the stranger, caring for the least of us, was at the core of Christ’s message.
In one moment, we heard Taylor say out loud what too many Americans have long felt about our neighbors to the south.
If Taylor had any of Archie Bunker’s capacity for self-reflection, he would have already admitted his poor choice of words and begun to work to repair the damage.
Or he would so act when he or his minions read this column.
If he can’t do that, then he should do what is best not only for the Latinos in our schools and their families - but for every child and family in our community.
He should resign.
Every once in a while, unwittingly and shamefully, Mark Taylor is transparent. Yes, he should resign and take his minions with him
Excellent local reporting on the methadone clinic.