Man kills self in front of City Council

[flamingpie2500]

Source: Associated Press

CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A business owner shot and killed himself during a City Council meeting Thursday night after members voted against his request to rezone his property, witnesses said.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/05/owner.suicide.ap/index.html

---

This is truly sad, and quite the commentary on what is going on in this country today.

[Mythsaje]

1. Wow...

He must've truly been desperate.

That's just so sad.

[MADem]

2. I think it is sad, but I think it reflects on this guy's mental and economic state, not the state of

his community or the country. Even though the country isn't in great shape, this guy overextended himself and his customer base was in Iraq--he was having trouble paying his bills as a result.

He had a business in a residential area. The town refused to rezone his business commercial, so he could get a larger loan against the property. He was a lousy businessman, he anticipated spending money he didn't have, and couldn't secure, and he was broke. He snapped.

More detail here: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/COUNTY05/710050417/1006/NEWS

Ward, owner of Bo’s Barber Shop across from Fort Campbell’s Gate 1 entrance, had said the rezoning would increase his property value, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded...The council approved first reading of the request last month, when Ward tearfully explained that his barbershop would go under — with most of the 101st Airborne deploying to Iraq — if the council did not approve the request.

“If this (zone change) doesn’t go through, I lose my home, I lose my shop, I lose everything I got,” he said then.

After Thursday’s 5-7 vote was cast, Ward stood and walked steadily toward the council.

“Johnny (Piper), I know I can’t speak,” Ward said over the mayor, who was telling Ward the public comment period had ended.

“Y’all have put me under,” Ward said, pulling out a small silver handgun.

“I’m out of here.”

[liberal N proud]

11. I bet there is more to the story than what was reported in some local rag

City Councils are notorious for their corruption, land deals and grievances and conflicting personalities. I know from personal experiences that if you piss the wrong mayor or council member off in some of these communities, they will use their office to rein down on you with every ordinance and decision they have at their power.

But if that is the case here, we most likely will never know. It is just sad it became so desperate for this guy that he didn't see any way out.

[MADem]

12. I do think the story is a mix of mental state and unfortunate finances

The guy didn't see a way out, and it's likely his mental state that caused him to feel that way.

The truth of the matter is, it's ONLY MONEY. There are people, as we all know, who have lost EVERYTHING, and they come back. It might be rough for awhile, but they come through.

His mental state likely left him unable to see that big picture--that, yeah, you might lose your business (but nowadays, banks won't foreclose if you go to them and show that you have a hope in hell of getting on your feet--it's bad for THEM, too) but you can always go do something else. Life is worth living, even without a barber shop. He just couldn't see that.

I don't know that the council was corrupt. He was asking for a change, from residential zoning to commercial--and that's a big change, affecting one's neighbors. Perhaps the neighbors didn't like the idea of opening up their neighborhood to more businesses, because once one gets in, more follow. It can mess up the character of a neighborhood (and the war won't last forever--they could end up with a commercial ghost town down the line). I know--I lived in a neighborhood that went from residential, to mixed use, to mostly commercial inside of a decade.

[liberal N proud]

13. Yeah, who knows what goes through someones mind

These stories are always so sad.

[toopers]

34. Well, we know what went through Ward's mind . . .

[nealmhughes]

19. The Tennesseean is not a "local rag"! Al Gore worked there before going into politics,

and is one of the "quality papers" in the South.

[NashVegas]

21. Yeah, It Is, Kind Of

The Tennessean is a Gannett paper, it's the only thing we have going here in Nashville, as far as comprehensive dailies go, and its journalistic standards are the pits. It may be a better paper than its smaller competitors, but that doesn't elevate it to NYT status.

For one example, recent Tennessean stories on the Jena 6 completely leave out the details of almost everything that happened that led up to the beating, leaving its readers to think African Americans are up in arms over nothing.

The other thing they do, that drives me up a freaking wall, is rely on storytelling methods rather than actual journalism. Note the difference between the Tennessean's lede and that of the smaller, Clarksville paper:

Tennessean:

A self-inflicted gunshot during Thursday’s City Council meeting ended a life, a business and years of public meetings at 108 Public Square.

The council had just voted down the second reading of a request from Ronald “Bo” Ward to have his Madison Street home rezoned as commercial property.

Ward, owner of Bo’s Barber Shop across from Fort Campbell’s Gate 1 entrance, had said the rezoning would increase his property value, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded his shop.

Clarksville Leaf Chronicle:

The owner of Fort Campbell Boulevard's Bo's Barber Shop shot himself in the head at 8:15 tonight during a City Council meeting.

The council had just voted down the second reading of a request from Ronald “Bo” Ward, of 1517 Madison St., to have his home rezoned as commercial.

Ward, owner of Bo’s Barber Shop across from Gate 1 on Fort Campbell Boulevard, had said the rezoning would increase his property value, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded his shop.

And the nationals -

Associated Press:

A business owner shot and killed himself during a City Council meeting Thursday night after members voted against his request to rezone his property, witnesses said.

Ronald "Bo" Ward, owner of Bo's Barber Shop, had told the council his business would go under if he couldn't get his home rezoned as commercial. After the 5-7 vote Thursday night, Ward stood and walked toward the council.

AHN:

A Clarksville, TN man who said that his business would go under if the City Council wouldn't rezone his home to commercial use to enable him get a loan against it to offset expenses from expanding his barber shop shot and killed himself in the meeting Thursday night after his request was denied.

"Y'all have put me under. ... I'm out of here," Ronald "Bo" Ward, owner of Bo's Barber Shop said before he shot himself in the head with a small handgun, the Leaf-Chronicle reports.


The Tennessean does this all the time. Instead of reporting the news as news, they write ledes and sometimes whole stories as if speaking to a group of people sitting around a campfire. It's annoying.

[KansDem]

22. "City Councils are notorious for their corruption..."

Ain't that the truth!

Years ago my sister worked for a dentist who ran for city council only for the reason of rezoning some areas in which he owned property. He was hoping to make big bucks off the instant valuation of his land with the new zoning.

And I thought at the time, "Don't people run for government offices out of a sense of duty to the community/country?" Man, was I ever naive!

I don't remember if he won or, if he did if he was able to perform his nefarious deed; I just remember being flummoxed by the reason he ran.

[guruoo]

35. His home was on a main street, but in what is currently a residential area

There are private homes on both sides, and these neighbors objectd
to a business being placed between them.

[tomreedtoon]

3. Sad, but probably necessary.

In most towns, the city council is full of people who pass laws without any regard for the people affected by those laws. Rather than shooting the members of the council - which would have been pointless, since they can replace those noodniks endlessly - or shootingh himself in private, he shot himself in front of them, hopefully traumatizing them and making them realize the evil they did.

May they end up like Lady Macbeth, unable to wash the blood from their hands.

[w4rma]

14. Woah, woah, woah. What "evil" did the city council do? Refusing to rezone a residential neighborhood

is not "evil".

[NashVegas]

18. I Agree - Not Evil - BUT

As the price of gas goes through the roof, we're going to have to lose the "bedroom communities" - at least the middle and working class ones - to allow for more urban-like living, where people don't have to drive to work.

This is already happening in other parts of Tennessee.

[SharonAnn]

33. They regard some of the people affected by the laws. Themselves!

[Lasher]

4. Reminds me of Budd Dwyer

He was the Pennsylvania state treasurer who shot himself during a 1987 televised press conference he had called. He had been convicted of taking a kickback and committed suicide the day before he was to have been sentenced. I never forgot that.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

5. Except Budd Dwyer Was A Repuke Criminal

And by so killing himself, prior to his actual conviction....a la Ken Lay, he allowed his wife to get a Large, Large pension, which when he was convicted(or indicted, I can't recall) the very next day, he would not have been eligible for.

This individual apparently made some poor financial decisions, and then got screwed over. Budd Dwyer was a corrupt politician, who sought to gain more by killing himself, than had he lived the rest of his life in disgrace.

[Patriot Abroad]

6. Good point, change in laws needed.

It would be satisfying to see Congress pass some sort of law about this; as Democrats gain power in congress in 2008, an honest Attorney General is put in place and more investigations get launched, it would be a shame to see a number of Repugs offing themselves just as the wheels of justice start closing them in . ..

[cyclezealot]

7. but lay did not commit suicide?

So was his wife just lucky.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

9. Well, Who Really Knows, Right?

He was supposedly rushed to the hospital, under strange circumstances. Various officials were out of town that weekend.

But I was just drawing a comparison in that because he died when he did, before sentencing, he was technically "off the hook" for the penalties he would have had if still alive. Ken Lay and family would have had large liabilities, but they all escaped them when he died.

[KaptBunnyPants]

29. Ken Lay is not dead.

10 to 1 that bastard is drinking margaritas on a beach somewhere.

[TomClash]

8. Another Willy Loman

And an unwitting victim of the War in Iraq and at home.

[fasttense]

10. Welcome to the bush economy

Where his policies destroy America, one debtor at a time.

[customerserviceguy]

28. Hold it, this ain't Bush

He's done a lot of evil, but he didn't hold this guy's life in his hands. The power to zone is the power to enrich, or impoverish, and it was held by those who witnessed the suicide. May every zoning authority in the country be made aware of this.

[Release The Hounds]

31. Sure

As a zoning administrator, I'll be sure to base all my future decisions on whether someone is suicidal.

[Xenotime]

32. Exactly..

Extend yourself to the point of destruction...that's the american way.

[rodeodance]

15. may his family find comfort

[TwilightGardener]

16. OK, this is sad but it is NOT commentary on anything, except perhaps on what

mentally troubled people are capable of. He wanted his property rezoned to be able to take a loan out on the increased value after rezoning--he needed that loan to help pay for a recent expansion of his barber shop. He was a poor financial planner, he didn't get his way, he blew his head off. He's pretty much the only one to blame here--not society, or GWB, or the council.

[otherlander]

30. Agreed. nt

[NashVegas]

17. Nugget Within the Story

The council approved first reading of the request last month, when Ward tearfully explained that his barbershop would go under — with most of the 101st Airborne deploying to Iraq — if the council did not approve the request.

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/COUNTY05/71004081

Here's more from a message board:

http://forums.theleafchronicle.com/viewtopic.php?t=18282&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

With the long 15 month deployment & all, I am guessing from his experiences of past deployments, he was really worried about the financial hit his barber shop would take when all the troops left, and is that why he was attempting to get his place on Madison St. rezoned from residential to commercial?,,,, So he & his sons & other workers could take in business from that side of town during the deployment to keep his business afloat ?

[rateyes]

20. Another Bush War Casualty. nt

[shrike]

23. What could have happened here

Among the many hats I've worn in my life has been that of municipal reporter for a metropolitan daily. I've covered more Council meetings than I care to admit to. (I have no ties whatsoever to Clarksville, never even seen the city.)

I noticed, in the story, that the Council had passed the rezoning on first reading. THEN, it was rejected on second reading. What happened in the interim? I'd bet any amount of money the man's neighbors complained MIGHTILY.

People really wig out when something changes in their neighborhood. Sometimes it's perfectly justified. Other times, it's just plain weird: I remember the people who objected to a fresh market going into their area because "it would bring strangers in the neighborhood" who would abduct their children. (The area was heavily Republican, big shock.)

Maybe the man's neighbors had friends on the Council. Maybe they complained so loudly that the Council decided to back down. When I hear people talk about bribes, I wish they could understand that it's much more subtle than that. There's influence-peddling, making contacts, getting ahead.

I feel tremendously sorry for everyone involved in this tragedy. I especially feel sorry for the man's widow, who had to watch it all. It was probably a very complicated situation; things happened behind the scenes we'll never know about.

[eppur_se_muova]

24. Looks like he helped people, thought others would do the same for him.

Ward was well known for supporting soldiers from the nearby Fort Campbell Army post and was once recognized by its former commander, Gen. David Petraeus. His barber shop was often visited by media reporting on the local economic impact of thousands of soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division being deployed to Iraq.

"He treated soldiers like his own children," said George Heath, a longtime patron of Bo's Barber Shop and the Fort Campbell public affairs officer.

"If a soldier came in and said he needed a haircut but didn't have any money, Bo would cut his hair and tell him to pay him when he could."

In 2004, Petraeus, sent Ward a postcard during the division's first deployment to Iraq, thanking him for keeping his shop open during the deployment and "giving haircuts to children of our families."
***
more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/05/owner.suicide.ap/index.html

[Judi Lynn]

25. Man Kills Himself At City Council Meeting

Man Kills Himself At City Council Meeting
Tennessee Barber Shop Owner Puts Gun To His Head After Losing Zoning Vote
Comments 28
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2007

(AP) A business owner shot and killed himself during a City Council meeting after members voted against his request to rezone his property, witnesses said.

Ronald "Bo" Ward, owner of Bo's Barber Shop, had told the council his business would go under if he could not get his home rezoned as commercial. After the 5-7 vote Thursday night, Ward stood and walked toward the council.

"Ya'll have put me under ... I'm out of here," he said before shooting himself in the head with a small handgun.
(snip)

Ward had said the rezoning would increase his property value, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded his shop.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/05/national/main3333692.shtml?source=mostpop_story

[Stand and Fight]

26. Maybe some of the people so quick to judge should visit this site and read:

http://forums.theleafchronicle.com/viewtopic.php?t=18282&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

There seems to be some pretty quick jumping to conclusions on this thread. Get an understanding for the man through the people who knew him and the area...

[Fredda Weinberg]

27. The continued deployments is the repeated issue ... damn n/t