Yep, you read that right, the Christmas display sponsored by the Jackson County Parks Department down at Longview Lake was brought to you by Frank White Jr. and the Legislators. Oh, it’s a gift too, mind you, so bow down and show your appreciation to His Majesty King Frank. You may kiss the ring. Did they pay for this out of their own pockets or did the taxpayers foot the bill for this monument to Frank’s inflated sense of self importance?

This News Dog is a little more than incensed at the very thought of this public Christmas display being hijacked by Frank and his Robber Baron tax-and-spend legislators, and being offered up as a “gift.”

Let’s put some things into perspective for the folks on high in the Courthouse, shall we?

This so-called “gift” is brought to you by the same folks who last year brought you triple-digit property tax hikes, then doubled down on stupid with County Assessor Gail McCann Beatty, who repeatedly attempted to justify the increases despite the third party tax assessor vendor’s abysmal performance record in three other counties in Ohio and New York State.

We don’t have the print space this week to fully excoriate County Executive White and his legislative henchmen, but suffice it to say, Jackson County taxpayers should be hoppin’ mad, given the elitist attitude put on grand display for all to see. This Dog wonders what those County maintenance guys thought when they were putting this monument to Frank’s bloated ego together.

Here’s the bottom line for this civically-minded News Dog: instead of paying homage to yourself in bright lights, if you and the Legislators are in the gift-giving mood, how about cutting taxes and fees for the small businesses and those on fixed incomes that have been severely impacted by the government mandated lockdowns during the pandemic? Or how about rolling back property taxes for those in the city’s urban core, predominantly east of Troost, who are still struggling to pay last year’s tax bill, much less open this year’s time bomb from the County.

While the rest of the business community struggles to make payroll, it certainly occurs to this self-employed News Dog that you and the rest of the brass hats at the courthouse haven’t missed a paycheck. The Dog doubts any of those suggestions will fly, but it would be a nice gesture instead of feeding Frank’s ego at the expense of the taxpaying public.