Council meeting disrupted by non-resident

(11/10) Rudeness, profanity, and bullying was sadly on display at the November Town Council meeting when a complainant, who is a non-resident, supposedly living with his girlfriend on Second Street, repeatedly voiced his opinion during the Council’s deliberation of his complaint about resident John Smith parking his work truck and trailer outside of his house opposite where the complainant is currently residing.

The first two outbursts from the complainant drew firm rebukes from Burgess Barnes, the last outburst, which was laced with profanity, resulted in the complainant being directed to leave the meeting. On the way out, the complainant verbally assaulted an older member of the audience, which resulted in the Sheriff’s office being called.

The complainant apparently felt his rudeness, profanity, and bullying was fully justified because Barnes and the Town Code Enforcer spoke in high terms about all their interactions with Smith as Smith worked with the Town to find a resolution to the issue.

Smith, who is a fiberoptic repairman, said that he is always on call and needs to have his trailer near him. "There are some days I’m working 80-hours a week," he said. "I don’t want to cause any trouble and I’ll do whatever the town asks me to do."

A very civil Smith said that prior to starting to park his Ford F-150 and 7-foot utility trailer in front of his house, he reached out to all his neighbors to see if that was a problem. "Everyone said it was ok. No one had a problem with me doing it. Every time I pull in front of my house, I get out of the truck to make sure I’m not blocking anyone’s driveway, or their ability to safely get onto the road."

"I really don’t want to cause any trouble," Smith repeated. "The town’s code enforcer has been very kind to me, and has been helping me with options."

Smith said he has never met the complainant, who according to the Town Code Enforcer, filed the complaint because he claims Smith’s parking of his truck on the street is "blocking his view."

"How hard is it to talk to people face to face?" Smith said. "It would have been nice if he had walked across the street and told me my trailer bothered him."

Barnes expressed empathy for Smith’s situation and thanked him for understanding that the town had to enforce the Town’s code which prohibits the parking of commercial trailers on the Town’s streets.

In a show of ‘class,’ at the end of the meeting, Smith offered to escort the individual who had been verbally accosted by the complainant to their car to ensure they got home safely – and in doing so, showed what it really means to be a true resident of Woodsboro.