From her emergence on the CAEZ scene, Connie Lupardus has been controversial. On day one, during her first Bd meeting, boardsters said out loud, where did she come from? Lupardus had been hired as a part time person under the auspices of then Director, Jerry Sizemore. Several Boardsters questioned, how did she get hired? We didn't vote on the hire!
  That was years ago and she as since descended to the Director's perch, first as a full time leader and now, as a part time Director. All along, she has had the unquivering support of that Board. That's a good position to be in even if the ship is barely floating theses days.
  With most of the original founders retired, deceased, or otherwise out of the picture, the dedication  and commitment is all but gone. It's tough to stay interested when the Board has little say in the operation. All the committee jobs have long since disappeared. The Board shows up, hears great accolades from their Director, and then goes home without asking questions or getting detailed answers. It's easier and quicker that way.
  Without operation money, there's little to keep interest too. With meeting attendance at a 20 year low,  they changed the by-laws to where a meeting could be held if just a couple Boardsters showed up. Over the objections of the public, they did it anyway. It didn't help. Then, the decision was made to hold meetings every other month. Nope, the CAEZ went for months without a quorum.
   Now adays, we honestly think, Director Connie Lupardus, Big Lup to many, is deliberately trying to kill of the organization. Here's why
   CAEZ has always operated under West Virginia Open Meetings Law AKA Sunshine Laws. For the last four months, they have not. Director Lupardus has seen fit to convene regular meetings of the Board without posting a lawful meeting agenda on the meeting house door. When asked about it, she all but said, she didn't care. Her exact words were, you can just write us up! Her arrogance was front and center. When her Board heard of the problem, Ho, Hum, they didn't care.
  On Dec 3rd, a Board meeting called and once again, no agenda was posted as required by law. No agenda period. Big Lup is not embracing her responsibility as the leader of the pack.   So Bad is Big Lup's professionalism, Boardster and County Commissioner, Fran King, spoke out, I won't attend because their meetings are not legal.
  On the 3rd, there were but two Boardsters for the Economic Development Committee meeting. After that meeting concluded, at least one member of the public said he wasn't staying for the full Board meeting citing, he didn't want to be a part of the unlawful gathering.
  From Ignas Bernstein- It is better to say I don't know, than to lie about it.
  Or, from Marcelene Cox - I lie leads a man from a grove to a jungle.
  And maybe more fitting for Big Lup, A half truth is a whole lie.
  Let's talk about that.
   Hand down, Lup's worst trait is her ability to twist the truth into something unrecognizable. Over the past 20 years, she has spouted off about some dandy program coming our way. Month after month, Yelp, it's on the way and prosperity is just around the corner! In the end, it was all a whitewash with no substance underneath.
  One of those, one that she may never pull away from was a big time apple orchard coming our way. Alas Alike my fine feathered friends, the orchard would be the best thing since canned soup!!
   Even when the trees were all dead she lied about it. Another one of her breaches of truth was, the orchard was in this county. Heck, the darn plantings weren't even in County Clay. They were in Nicholas County. Oh, we're going to put up a big fence to keep the deer away! Well that turned into a single strand of cable around the dead saplings. That was another deviation from reality.
   Sometimes Lup can sound good on first blush. Frequently she spouts off about some dandy program ready to get started. During follow up questioning sessions, she falls apart , no answers could be provided. She falls flat on her face.
  Telling the truth is not her shining high point. It's gotten so bad, many just blow her off unwilling to believe any of her speculation and or promises.
  There is a certain battle between the Director and the Ace Cub Reporter. Lup tries very hard not to answer any of the reporter's questions. For that matter, she tries to ignore the wittle guy all together. What the aging Director has never learned is, that's the very thang that keeps the lad up and running. When an outright lie is passed, when she smugly casts him to the side and offers some smart arss remark, that doesn't pee him off, for the Ace Cub Reporter, that's an Oh Boy ! moment. A time to dig in and get the real facts.
  Talking about fibs. Heck, she told us two months ago she ws quitting her position. Turns out, that was another lie.
  Having got all that out, let's turn back to the Dec 3rd gathering.
  Instead of the normal 4pm start time, the Eco /Dev meeting did not get underway until 4:54. With only two Boardsters present and no Chair or Vice Chair on hand, Big Lup, "We're a little bit late." Daaah
  One of those silver promises was for a community college to come to Clayberry and offer meaningful course work on stuff like getting CDL licenses and utility technicians. In April, during a County Commission meeting, Lup promised , everything is a go with some of the classes beginning in May. She kept that story afloat all Summer. Sadly her Boardsters believed it hook, line, and sinker.
  Last month she finally told her Board, the Bridge Valley community college program is dead and has been dead for some time. On Dec 3rd, she was still beating the dead horse and saying, there is some kind of "snafu" with the School Board office.
  With little information provided committee members, it didn't take long to adjourn the meeting in just a few minutes.
  With no public agenda posted on the meeting house door, we skeddaddled.
  The CAEZ started out as a citizen run initiative. The idea was to give common citizens a gob of money and let them run a local based program. The idea is still a good idea. Unfortunately, it sure feels like, Connie Lupardus is deliberately trying to destroy the agency. And the Board never saw it coming. Sad.
  At this rate the Central Appalachia Empowerment Zone, the CAEZ doesn't have  a chance in the coming new year.
AW