To the Editor:

I thought that I would warn you about a multimillion dollar foreign-owned operation that is attempting to con and manipulate elected officials here in Jackson County out of millions of your money for their personal gain.

Heery International, ostensibly based in Atlanta yet actually owned and controlled by Balfour Beatty, a globalist operation based in London, presented the Jackson County commissioners with a “customized survey” in April alleging that we must expand our justice and administration building (used to be known as a county courthouse) by almost 36 thousand square feet and more than $11 million in construction and remodeling costs because allegedly the current building won’t meet our needs in 2024.

Concerning this “customized survey,” some the many questions I have are: was this “customized survey” paid for by an independent organization, who wrote it, how was the questionnaire/survey designed (what ‘slant’ of questions was used), and most importantly was this “customized survey” based on any independent accurate and meaningful information?

According to the promotional material handed out to myself and others at the April commissioners meeting where this was presented, this “customized survey” was allegedly confirmed by interviews, tours and an overall facility assessment. How convenient! Methinks Heery International wanted this faux survey confirmed by non-existent quantitative data so that they could try to sell us something that we don’t need.

One of the claims that we need new courtrooms is that the current courtrooms aren’t wheel chair accessible (ADA) or large enough. Poppycock. Simply extend the front part of the jury boxes to be wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and build ramps. This can be done by local contractors for a few thousand dollars — not the millions that Heery International wants to soak us for. Besides, catch any prosecutor on a day where you’ve bought him lunch and he’s just pled a big criminal case that’s going to make him look very good politically and, well I think that you see what I mean. Attorneys on both sides prefer overwhelmingly to plead out cases — saves them time, they don’t have to do the research for a trial and it makes them look good — because of this much less courtroom space is needed than worried superior court judges fear.

What we have here is an overseas operation that stands to make a killing off of you and I utilizing what is in effect hearsay evidence, non-scientific data and irrational inferences to con our elected office-holders into committing you to pay for it. These johnnie-come-lately con men aren’t the first such carpetbaggers that have slunk into Jackson County. Send these flim-flam men packing before they pick your wallet or worse.

Carl Iobst

Cullowhee