confused06

hi everyone, I just voted on my paper ballot in a CARDBOARD BOX VOTING BOOTH, Placed my ballot in an old fashioned Wooden Box too! I cannot believe #1) they did not use the election commission for this election #2) That I literally had to vote inside of a makeshift cardboard box with what looked like a shower curtain (and rod) attached to it. I have my fingers crossed until we find out the results, I will say that I did see a hec of lot more voters than I have ever seen for this type of election, Parents of children that my kids are friends with, young voters, I was impressed with what I saw at my facility at the Camp Road Fire Station. I was wondering how we can find out EXACTLY who ran this election, since they did not use the election commission, How do we know that these people are not all Town Supporters who will happily throw all of the "no" votes away?? I know that sounds mean, but I just feel like that is the point they(town supporters) have come to and it wouldnt surprise me if something like that happened, oh well, i guess we will find out tonight!!

i have emailed someone at THE JOURNAL to ask if I can get a copy of the letter. they do not have an online archive system, i thought they were associated to the post & courier ( i get the journal with my newspaper once a week) but apparently they are not, as soon as i can get some type of link I will post..........

Wow, thanks for the info, i havent been able to check online for awhile, i have to tell you i have gotten more information for you guys then i have from anyone else on this island. I believe that you are right, we have decided to vote against the incorporation in this upcoming election. I dont know what good it will do though, James Island has a terrible voter turnout.........those that want the town will vote, the rest either dont care what happens or are like I was a few months ago, to busy/consumed with life to get involved. I hope for the sake of James Island it (the incorporation) dosnt happen again. p.s. did anyone read Mary Clarks letter to the Editor in THE JOURNAL on May 11, 2006. If so , what did you think? There were a couple of comments my husband and I could just not figure out.

thank you so much for the response! I am well aware of the planning department at the city, and cannot get any help from them either. I just mailed mysecond letter to the city's RMC office to find out if we even have a neighborhood association (i mailed a letter to every resident on my street and not one person knew if we had an association or not). I believe you are right about annexing, we are just a small step away, I did email prior TOJI councilman Qualey also this morning at one last final attempt to get there side of the story without any Riley bashing. We have the annexation paperwork already, I just want to make sure that we are making the right decision for our family. i will be glad when this is all over...... thanks again!

hi, I am pretty new to all of this......please bear with me. I have been back on James Island for 4 years, I havent lived here since a teen (its been awhile!). I remarried (my husband lived over here) and then quit my job to stay home & care for 1 of my children who has Spina Bifida. Since I had more time during the day on my hands, I really wanted to become involved with my community, I have always loved James Island, it used to feel like a different little world when you would cross the bridge headed for home........laid back.......peaceful......beachy......nice. I was concerned (and ignorant) about what was happening with JI so I called Mary Clark (about 1 1/2 years ago). I was not at all impressed with her personally, she seemed uneducated & simple minded, but still a nice lady. I kept asking her WHY should we vote for JI and what I could do to help,( my main concern has always been the amount of developement over here.........if you havent taken a drive around the island lately, you should, there are condos, apartments, homes literally on top of each other) I spoke with Mary for about 1 hour on the phone, we did a lot of chatting about this and that, but I never got any clear answers. It was very evident that she did not like Riley & at the time I agreed with her. I'm sorry but he seems like a greedy snake............but will admit I have not studied up enough on his political career enough to say that full heartedly. Out of frustration, I gave up on my ideas of helping out my community & possibly involving myself in politics on any level. (I also became consumed by some issues in my own neighborhood on James Island, that I have still not been able to resolve as my Street is City of Charleston, but my home is County. (and I cant get either one of them to take responsibility for our neighborhood issues) Anyways, I am back in the loop again hopefully, I have read all of the posts listed on this site & done a little internet research to get "accquainted" with this mess again. But I am still CONFUSED!! Since ultimately people are going to do what is best for them and their family/finances/etc. Here are my questions: 1) What are the benefits of having a town? 2) Is there anything to do about slowing down the rate of developement on this island as it seems every available piece of land is being built on 3) Who is really responsible for building all of those ugly townhomes on the way out to the beach.........it used to be such a nice drive......... I guess once I figure out who's side I am on, then I can begin to involve myself politically as I believe I have something to offer on several different levels......... I have received the letters from the city..........they seem harsh..........i have spoken with Mary Clark (added note: on more than one occasion) ........she seemed harsh......... My husband and I are thinking of moving our family, I would love to stay on the island but refuse to pay $350,000 for a broken down home and I feel that James Island has lost a lot of its appeal for any type of quiet/laid back life. We are definitely leaving our neighborhood (WhiteHouse Plantation) because of the crime (we have 3 crack houses in our neighborhood); the apathy of my neighbors when it comes to neighborhood issues; and the fact that I cannot call 911 without it being a confusing mess, I guess if I take my cell phone out to the street, I can say I am city, but If i decide to walk into my yard I'll need to call again & ask for county. (By the way get this: 3/4 of my street is City and about 4 homes; the rest are county; City Police will not help with speeding because the person complaining-me- is a county resident; County will not help because when they are actually speeding, they are in the city's jurisdiction????) Help! I need some clear & concise answers! sorry for the long post!