CORRIDOR CHRONICLE
Ojeda boggles the mind
A Chronicle Editorial
It just gets, as the saying goes, more peculiar all the time.
State Senator Richard Ojeda, who apparently thinks there is political wisdom in constantly attacking his predecessor and other Logan County public officials, just can’t seem to get ANY facts straight.
Days after this newspaper did a story, quoting the state Department of Highways, with an explanation as to why barriers are still in place on Corridor G (US Route 119) with no construction taking place, Ojeda has come up with a completely different — and untrue — explanation.
What actually happened, as the DOH and all other local legislators confirmed at the time, is that the upper level of one lane on each side of the four-lane was removed in anticipation of paving. Once the 4-1/2-mile stretch was uncovered, it was determined that the concrete foundation underneath had deteriorated to the point that it would not support the new level of asphalt.
DOH spokesperson Brent Walker explained that the orange cones remained in place because the lanes are down to the deteriorated base and would not be safe to drive on. He said DOH officials were studying plans to reinforce the base and felt the DOH would still come close to meeting the deadline for the project to be completed.
While we noted at the time that Ojeda, who ran as an “open, transparent” candidate, refuses to respond to inquiries from this newspaper, we pointed out that State Senator Ron Stollings and Delegates Jeff Eldridge and Zack Maynard had been in contact with DOH officials and were told the same thing.
Now, along comes Ojeda with another of his “phantom” responses to the situation. It is similar to his absolutely incorrect statement that 31 of 34 state senators are lawyers. A check shows that five actually are but that does not deter Ojeda when he is distorting the facts.
In a Facebook response to a constituent, Ojeda said recently that the barriers are in place because “they (DOH) do it to get people used to the area being a work zone prior to actually placing pavement ….”
If “they” do that, it is safe to say that is news to the DOH. A supervisor said, “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Why would we create a traffic hazard for weeks or months to get somebody used to it? Used to what — a potential accident?”
All of which goes to show that the actual facts are not important to the freshman senator. He spouts charges and accusations about his predecessor and verbally assaults long-time Logan Commissioner Danny Godby with no regard to the truth. Attack, attack, attack … whether there is a reason or not. Ojeda goes so far as to mock Godby’s religion and accuses him of being a “puppet.” The voters of Logan County have consistently said Godby is a man of conviction who represents them well as a commissioner.
Public officials have a duty beyond that of ordinary citizens. One of their responsibilities is to be accurate in presenting issues and concerns to the public. Ojeda misses that standard over and over. He has difficulty in discerning facts from fantasy.
Nobody believes the Corridor is barricaded to “get people used” to the obstruction. It’s another Ojeda distortion that falls flatly on the face of truth.