COMMENTARY

ON THE MARK... No More Steve Andes
Commentary
By Mark Hallburn
Publisher
PutnamLIVE.com

Senior-tenured Putnam County Commissioner Stephen H. Andes is                                running for re-election                                   in 2008.

God save us!

Steve Andes wants                              another six years as                             Putnam County                            Commissioner.

We can't afford to give                            Steve Andes another six seconds!

Simply put, Steve Andes' style of "leadership" is bad for Putnam County.

There are dozens, maybe hundreds of reasons to send Steve Andes packing. For space consideration, I will give you a few.

 

* Steve Andes is bad because he puts Putnam County second.

During the May 6th meeting of the Putnam County Commission, Steve Andes was absent. Ignoring his oath of office to serve Putnam County, Andes was "moonlighting" at his job as a manager at Goody's in Southridge. Andes is paid more than $36,000 to be a Putnam County Commissioner, more than $700 a week. Andes should have told County Clerk Brian Wood not to pay him for that week. But Andes didn't. His "moonlighting" shows his priorities: Steve Andes cares about his wallet first and Putnam County second.

 

* Steve Andes is bad for Putnam County businesses.

Steve Andes nearly caused Tasty Blend foods to leave when he voted down the company's proposed expansion in Scott Depot. Fortunately Roy Elswick kept the company here, but was practically forced to buy Putnam County land in Fraziers Bottom.

Steve Andes voted against the Leslie Company John Deere dealership on Route 34, costing dozens of jobs and thousands in revenue to Putnam County.

Steve Andes voted against the DHHR office and retail complex in Hurricane costing more jobs and revenue. Andes says it would only transfer jobs from Scott Depot. Andes is wrong. The old office would be rented out providing new jobs and the new office would have created new construction jobs and new retail jobs.

During Steve Andes' term the Ames and Big Bear sites have been vacant for years, costing jobs and costing Putnam County revenue.

Steve Andes works for a Kanawha County clothing company as a manager, meaning he is competing against Putnam County for business. Our commissioners should be on our side attracting shoppers to Putnam County, not luring them to Southridge!

 

*Steve Andes is bad for Putnam County employees.

During Steve Andes' term Putnam County employees remain lower-paid than their counterparts in nearby Cabell and Kanawha Counties. Recently they were given raises of a few percentage points while Andes, a part-time commissioner and full-time buffoon, accepted a large raise on his own behalf. Our county employees work very hard and don't need to be insulted by a part-time commissioner taking big bucks while paying our employees tiny raises!

 

* Steve Andes is bad for Putnam County health care.

When Putnam General Hospital was about to close, I called Steve Andes and asked him what he'd done in the past year to try to save our county's only hospital. His response was classic and unforgettable: "I don't have time, I have to do orientation for an associate." (at the clothing store Andes manages in Southridge.) Obviously Steve Andes was more concerned about training clothing store employees than saving Putnam County's only hospital with its hundreds of high-paying jobs. Andes should have resigned that day. While CAMC eventually bought Putnam General, some people DID lose their jobs and a number of local vendors lost contracts as CAMC simply added the Putnam County hospital to their existing Charleston company contracts. Andes response shows how out-of-touch he is with what is important to Putnam County! He is a Clueless Commissioner who can't handle the very important job!

During Steve Andes' term, CAMC's Charleston hospitals expanded. Thomas Memorial Hospital expanded in South Charleston. St. Mary's continues to expand in Huntington. So does Cabell-Huntington. Putnam General closed its emergency room and nearly shut down completely.

There's no facility for a heart-cath in Putnam County. Despite our many families there isn't a maternity ward. What has Steve Andes done to solve these vital problems? He did orientation for an employee at the Charleston clothing store that he manages! We can't afford six more years of Steve Andes!

 

*Steve Andes is bad for Putnam County Parks and Recreation.

While playing politics with parks and rec, Steve Andes' hand-picked puppets on the new parks board killed the Kiddie Pool project, which would have attracted thousands of people to Putnam County. They would have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in local businesses, a boon to our local economy. Tourist money is the best. You don't have to provide water and sewer lines for tourists, and little fire or police protection. They spend their money and then go home. Andes foolishly turned his back on tourists. And in doing so, turned his back on their cash and a $250,000 grant that was given back that would have paid for much of the Kiddie Pool. Only stupid people give back $250,000. Andes made a stupid decision regarding the Kiddie Pool.

Steve Andes allowed a Cabell County resident, Dennis Prisk, to continue to serve as one of his parks and recreation commissioner puppets long after Prisk moved from Putnam County. For this transgression Andes should resign. However, Andes refuses to admit he is wrong, showing a complete lack of integrity!

Our parks and recreation system is grossly under-funded while Steve Andes promotes tax cuts that Putnam County does not need.

We should have a county park in each corner of Putnam County with swimming pools, tennis courts, soccer fields, basketball courts, football fields, and baseball diamonds at each. We don't. This is because Steve Andes has failed to make quality of life in Putnam County a high priority. And it's another reason to toss Steve Andes out of office in 2008.

 

* Steve Andes is bad for volunteers

After parks and recreation commissioners spoke out against the improper diversion of $500,000 from parks and rec to pay interest on the lottery and Marshall University land, Steve Andes retaliated by replacing the longtime volunteers with political puppets. One of those volunteers, then Parks and Recreation Commission President Sally Holliday, served on the board 37 years. Incompetent Andes not only replaced Holliday, he first sent her a letter removing her from the Planning Commission, a panel on which she never served. These insults by Steve Andes, as well as Commissioner Raymond "Joe" Haynes and former Commissioner James H. "Jim" Caruthers, Jr., who also blindly signed the Holliday dismissal letter show their incompetency and inability to lead Putnam County.

*Steve Andes is bad for 4-H.

For years the children and teenagers that participate in 4-H in Putnam County have begged for a camp. Each year they have to travel to Kanawha County to attend camp. They deserve and need a Putnam County camp. However, during Steve Andes' term, nothing has been done to solve this problem.

 

* Steve Andes is bad for Putnam County libraries.

Our library system has been grossly under-funded during Steve Andes' term. Libraries are a very important part of our society. However, Steve Andes' refusal to properly budget the Putnam Country library system is yet another one of Steve Andes' abysmal failures.

 

* Steve Andes is bad for our Museum in the Community.

Our museum is nearly broke. It is being sued because it hasn't paid the mortgage. Putnam County can easily pay off that mortgage and provide a small operating budget that the museum can build on. However, Steve Andes hasn't stepped to the plate, allowing Putnam County to continue to take a beating in the press because of our museum's dire financial problems. Cabell and Kanawha Counties support the arts. Putnam County should support the arts as well.

 

* Steve Andes is bad for Putnam County animals.

Every few months there are major complaints about the bad conditions at the Putnam County Animal Relief Center. This facility needs a wrecking ball and a brand new facility. Under Steve Andes' "leadership" our shelter continues to struggle due to an aging facility with few funds. Andes is a major cause of this problem. One reader suggested kenneling Andes. Unfortunately, that isn't legal in West Virginia.

 

*Steve Andes makes bad government decisions.

Steve Andes was asked to vote to dissolve the City of Hurricane, Putnam County's version of Nitro. While Andes is correctly opposed to Hurricane's constant thirst for annexation (to write more speeding tickets) when he had the chance to vote to dissolve Hurricane, Steve Andes blew it. Politicians need backbones. Steve Andes doesn't have the courage to do the correct thing!

 

*Steve Andes is bad for education.

When the Putnam County Development Authority voted to by 45 acres of land in Hurricane, we were promised an office park and a Marshall University satellite campus. Both would provide plenty of high-paying jobs. Five years later, we have neither. Instead, we have a Wal-Mart construction site that is a nuisance to the neighborhood as well as another retail site that has caused problems for the neighbors. Both will provide lots of low-paying jobs. Neither were open for "Black Friday" and neither will be open for Christmas. Meanwhile Andes continues to manage his clothing store in Southridge competing against Putnam County. What he SHOULD do is get his sorry backside to Hurricane and work 24-hours a day to get those stores open in time for SOME Christmas shopping. Instead, Steve Andes has failed again to lead!

And what happened to the promise of a Marshall University satellite campus Mr. Andes? Our college students don't have a university campus in Putnam County. Mr. Andes? Answer the question, Mr. Andes!!!!

 

*Steve Andes is bad for West Virginia's Athletes.

At a recent political forum, Steve Andes insulted Marshall and West Virginia athletes by bragging that they refused to put his Pennsylvania alma mater, Duquesne, on their schedules. According to Andes, Marshall and WVU don't want to take losses against Duquesne. Why is a Putnam County Commissioner insulting Marshall and WVU? And why doesn't Andes check the scoreboard, where in December, WVU's basketball team RIPPED Duquesne!

 

Putnam County needs to move forward. All of the above show how Steve Andes' "leadership" is backward. There are reasons why he has been called "Amish Andes," and "Abysmal Andes. They are reasons why Putnam County can't afford six more years of Andes' "leadership" that holds us back every day. Andes should resign, not shame us by running for re-election! If he doesn't get the obvious message and insists on running, Putnam County voters need to ship Andes out the door!

Mark 

Hallburn