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Mr. Johnson, It was thrashed out behind closed doors as any personnel problem should be, and then to allow the person losing his job to go with some dignity his areas of poor performance are not aired in public. That is just common decency, as well as employer/employee ethical behavior. The specific reasons are not even given to the other employees as it does not concern them. Alston, Davis and Coleman made it an ugly scene demeaning to Mr. Best. He was not in anyway eulogize in their hate filled ranting and accusation of race being the only cause for dismissal. He knew the reasons for his dismissal because from reading your newspaper I surely knew them. The White commissioners tried to let him walk out with his pride and dignity in tact it is a shame his own race didn’t do likewise. He could have gone on to another job and this incident wouldn’t have had an affect on him, but now this ugliness will follow him where ever he goes. All thanks to Alston, Davis and Coleman.

Don't know where you're getting your information, Allen, but your first and second items above render your "sources" somewhat suspect.

If you'll refer to my other postings -- Jenks was NEVER presented with the charges against him by Bruce Davis, Our Man In Control, or by his boss, Willie Best; before, during or at any time SINCE his suspension. [I believe your expression was, "defies reason," and "disingenuous."] Mm-hmm.

After being cleared by the GC DA's office, The County Manager's Office, The North Carolina Department of Revenue and the SBI ALL OF WHOM cleared him of any allegations by Bruce Davis [prompted by Skip Alston] -- he was re-instated in the position he had administered to the applause and envy of neighborhing Counties and commendation THREE STATE DEPARTMENTS.

But, wait! You mean after all this -- The Board of Commissioners had the TEMERITY to present him with a directive for improvements? Most ironic, in that the STATE had already applauded the 2004 revaluation work of Guilford County's Tax Department as among the best they'd ever seen from ANY County, and certainly the best in Guilford County's history.

You would search far and wide within Guilford County government offices, or in those of neighboring counties to find a note of admiration for Willie Best's performance as the GC County Manager. You'd find quite a few responses about what a nice guy he is -- and a hush-hush response about how he was never in control of the office or any of its responsibilities.

So. The "list of improvements" were submitted to Jenks Crayton, why? Not, as you imply -- because he truly erred in his performance and was being given a second chance. Rather, that four Commissioners needed some public relations damage control for the mess they created ... for "personal reasons."

Ah. Enter Bruce Davis and Skip Alston again. Enter your charge of "personalities" gone wild, again. They insisted on this "slap on the hand." Within the Department and among peers in neighboring Tax Departments -- the "list of improvements" are a joke, the weak need of weak individuals to build personal self-esteem.

I don't understand your item # 2 above. Who are the "yours" and the "your" in this point. Director Crayton's treatment had no "favorable" points. None.

You continue to harp on the concept that the Commissioners gave Mr. Best a raise -- then abruptly fired him. What's new, Allen?

Your naivete concerning the inner workings of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners begins to make your comments suspect.

We've already discussed the Jenks Crayton to hell and beyond -- might want to check out their inconsistent handling of Guilford County personnel matters of all levels. I had no idea some of the murkier "closed door" collusions and blind-siding of substantial numbers of the rest of the Board was so poorly understood by the News & Record.

Their is enough muck in the Jenks Crayton matter alone to bury an entire generation of mastodons...including the way charges were presented to Davis and Alston privately, and their attempts to cover up ANY investigation as to their sources [from within the Tax Department] to the ridiculous charges they didn't even have the accumen to question before costing the County close to $100,000 in a personal grudge against Crayton -- simply because both had been published in the N&R for not paying their taxes!!! -- a publication Crayton has/had no control over as it is public records.

Getting into deep stuff? Oh, yeah, Allen. Again -- I'm surprised that the N&R's investigative team is not aware of items even known to the public about County Government. Somebody ain't diggin' deep enough, Bud. Somebody at the N&R needs to get off their comfortable duff and TRULY do some investigative reporting into a Board of Commissioners that, as you stated so well, is veering wildly off-course due to ... "personal reasons."

Only an "idiot" could disagree with BrendaBee's posting.

Skip Alston, Bruce Davis and Carolyn Coleman were responsible for using "personal" fears, angers, needs, whatever -- to overlook the concerns of common decency to the man, Willie Best, who was attempting to leave with the dignity he has always demonstrated.

I sincerely hope each and every one of them, at some point, understand deeply how shamefully they abandoned and disgraced him ... as all but one of the other Commissioners graciously attempted to keep a very, very shakey ship from sinking.

Hopefully, you DO understand, by now, that Mr. Best WAS FULLY cognizant of the reasons of his termination, behind closed doors -- AS HE WISHED. Mr. Crayton, on the other hand, has NEVER been presented with the allegations against him; neither behind or in front of closed doors. Fair? Unreasonable? Oh, yeah.

I'm beginning to realize that the News & Record has a very limited network of reliable sources into the workings of the County.

Mr. Groendes:
I had many conversations with the principals involved in the Jenks Crayton case, including numerous commissioners and Mr. Crayton himself.
But I think you're missing the point; I don't doubt for a minute that Crayton's case was mishandled. Badly.
I was only using his case for context -- to paint a backdrop of the commissioners handling a personnel issue clumsily and insensitively. Yet again.
My previous postings on the Crayton debacle will bear that out, I hope.
You can look 'em up.
As for Mr. Best, I never have insisted tht his performance was or wasn't lacking.
But I do know the commissioners' performance ws seriously lacking in addressing this issue.
Remember also that the Crayton episode wasn't merely the work of Alston and Davis. Paul Gibson was a major critic, too.

Allen, Mr. Gibson may have been an initial credit of Mr. Crayton early on; however he relented when the state audit results came back.

I believe that left those tax experts of Alston and Davis as the ones not convinced.

Yes he did, but he is not a Crayton fan and still has his misgivings about the tax director.

I agree that we should give credit where credit is due about this Willie Best issue. However, much of the time over the years he acted like he was very depressed and then for a period of time he was off work because of heart surgery, a side effect is depression.

Another issue is that he divorced his sick black wife with two little (girls) children in poor, rundown Halifax for a much younger uneducated and trashy white woman who I believe he has married and lives with in this big house off the golf course. How could he do this to his family? I have no sympathy for him.