Dateline October 27, 2023, News-Etna Ohio.
After the Tuesday meeting three days ago, I intended to ask Gary Burkholder, a candidate for Re-election to trustee rejected in 2008 and 2012 by voters, about his 4-to-8-hour meetings and civility in the township meetings, one of the campaigns talking points Evans promotes for him. Civility and warehouses are the two main topics voters are asking about. He held his temper for perhaps 30 seconds. I understand how painful revisiting a failed past is. When confronted with dates and times, Gary came unwound like a cheap golf ball.
I also asked him if, when he was president of the trustees, about an 8-hour trustee meeting on March 25, 2004 (see Etna Meetings book, Townhall). He said, “I don’t remember that’s been 20 years ago.” Fair enough. I said did you have a lot of 8-hour meetings? He said, “No”. I replied it seems like an 8-hour meeting would be memorable. There are a lot of 4-hour sessions too.
Gary became agitated and yelled, “I’m not talking to you! I know what you are trying to do!” The anger and hate for anyone not on board with the Burkholder Evans agenda is palpable. The next day, I was entered into the Burkholder Evans smear campaign. Tyrants, even wannabe tyrants, dislike being questioned. For a campaign to run on hate it must necessarily must be thin on substance.
I was amazed at how quickly Gary, the Father of Etna Warehouses, now a Keep Etna Rural conversion for the election, cracked under one question. There may have been good reasons for the many 4-hour and even 8-hour meetings. I only looked through a couple of months of township records. Like a fossil record, it tells us what kind of animal we are dealing with.
Burkholder and Evans want to forget Gary’s record. I would, too, 7 or 8 positions listed on the resume, everything except re-election or a professional relationship that exceeds four years. While the Burkholder Evans Group bashes me on Facebook, they block me from posting on the Burkholder Evans Etna Community Group.
Jon Hanson