On Asheboro, "Evil Keith" And "Mentors"

One of my New Year's resolutions was to turn more of my home-girl wrath on the hometown newspaper (that would be Asheboro's Courier Tribune) that treated the Pediatrician who came home to serve like something nasty on the bottom of a mill-owner's shoe . . . in favor of David & Bonnie Renfro's good buddies and biggest advertisers.

Two stories online (I refuse to pay for a subscription to that rag) caught my eye:

(1) It seems like we've discovered at least one of the reasons for the State of N.C. vs. Jeffrey Ray Martin to be continued.

Whatever. Whenever.

(2) With Keith Crisco now heading the N.C. Commerce Department, the Courier Tribune apparently thinks its path to the journalistic big leagues is to be "Evil Keith's" mouthpiece and/or official puffer-upper. (Disclaimer: "Evil Keith" is in quotes because the moniker did not originate with me. It actually dates back to Crisco's tenure on the school board, and can be credited to a teacher-not-my-Mother-whose-name-I-cannot-recall.)

This time Keith is promoting the notion of educational and professional mentors. Governor Perdue has asked her Cabinet to be mentors . . . "spending an hour a month with an adult".

???Only an hour???

Lately, my sainted Mother (who like one of Keith's mentors, was an "educational angel" to so many children over the years) has been hearing more and more from old students and parents of students . . . some of the parents being quite influential in the great scheme of things in Asheboro.

The proud parents update Mama on their kids' progress in their chosen professions (medicine/law/business) and complement her on giving them "a really good start".

The less-influential/more "ordinary" folk will ask Mom about her own kids (the doctor and the pilot). But not so much with the people-of-import. And that's because the right people" already know the answer to how/what Mary is doing.

You see, Mary has a blog.

And/so, there's a bit of a black cloud lingering over some of those conversations . . . and a bad taste left in the mouth.

For as it pertains to Keith and his small-town professional "mentors", Mama and I both have to ask the question . . .

"When it came down to simple right and wrong . . . where were these people . . . these "mentors" . . . when her daughter, as a young physician/child advocate under fire, needed them most?"

And in that context, it's very hard not to hurl when empty, "evil" suits like Keith Crisco and/or some of his very important pals hold themselves up as examples to anyone.

With "mentors" like that . . .