Another in a long line of disappointments
Let me be blunt: Benton Harbor residents suffer in ways that a civilized society would never allow. Sometimes Rev. Pinkney practically shouts for help. Some in BH believed the arrival of Heartland Revolution and John Waltz would make a difference.
Waltz needed Recall Rick and "end the EFM law" petitioners and claimed he had a $60K budget. He said he'd hire BH residents. Small jobs like this are needed badly in BH. (As are substantial employment...)
Mike Williams and Donna Rosman were interested in working on both efforts, but lost trust in Waltz when he hired a St. Joe resident for the job. It looked to them like Waltz never intended to hire BH residents -- to this date he has hired none. Mike Williams reports telling Waltz to stay out of BH, and also telling Commissioner Dennis Knowles that he will no longer associate with him because of his connection to Waltz and Heartland, and because Knowles voted in favor of bringing EFM Harris to BH.
Traverse City and BH sources have reported receiving emails from John Waltz advising people not to work with Rev. Pinkney. Waltz's reasons are not known, but we wonder if Pinkney being a thorn in Whirlpool's side has anything to do with it. We hope Waltz doesn't disapprove of Pinkney's daily court watching, attempting to stop juvenile and innocent convictions, daily counseling of residents at the soup kitchen and library, and various other justice related activities. (His goal of getting 1000 residents registered to vote has just been achieved.)
John Waltz turned out to be another in a long line of disappointments for BH residents. When will sincere and genuine help come to this long-suffering and isolated community?