Ira Gershwin said it best

In this week's Sandersville Progress as a letter to the editor

Three years ago Washington County leaders got “engaged” to Cobb EMC, a non-profit co-op entangled in a web of court cases costing co-op members. The shadow of those questionable deals and bad decisions now stretches all the way to Washington County.

Perhaps our local leaders didn’t know the true extent of Cobb EMC’s problems when they signed on for Plant Washington. But now, after repeated court battles which have cost the co-op millions of dollars and forced the members to take THEIR co-op to court at their own personal expense, the writing is on the wall in big bold letters.

Dwight Brown’s legal woes are not over. On July 7, Brown was re-indicted, and charged with additional crimes. In addition to the 31 original counts of racketeering, theft, and making false statements, Brown is now charged with four counts of intimidating witnesses. The District Attorney has not ruled out the possibility of more indictments against other people.

The legal problems aren’t over for the Cobb EMC Board of Directors either. Judge Schuster has ordered the Board of Directors to appear in his courtroom on August 12. The ‘Marietta Daily Journal,” a respected newspaper in Cobb County owned by Ben Tarbutton III’s father-in-law, recently described the Cobb EMC Board of Directors as “unindicted co-conspirators.”  

Did our local leaders know about the dirty dealings at Cobb EMC? We hope not.

We may have fallen in love with Cobb EMC and all the pretty promises it made to us together with Power4Georgians. Four other EMCs called off the engagement two years ago.

 It’s not too late to call off this wedding. Some people will be disappointed. Feelings might be hurt. If we stop now, no one has to buy a bride’s maid dress they don’t like and will never wear again. There won’t be a mess to clean up after the raucous reception. A lot of money can be saved.

This engagement has run its course. Ira Gershwin said it best, “Let’s call the whole thing off.”

Katherine Helms Cummings

FACE Executive Director

Washington EMC member