Jamieson, Dooley Spar Over Wilbros’ Meeting Sponsorship

The topic of Wilbros as a sponsor of a regional meeting again comes up at a Toccoa City Commission meeting.

Monday, local resident Bryan Dooley again came before city commissioners.

Last week, Dooley criticized Toccoa City Commissioner Jeanette Jamieson for getting Wilbros to sponsor a Georgia Mountains Regional Commission meeting in Dillard earlier this month.

According to Dooley, Wilbros was recognized as a sponsor at the meeting and Jamieson was recognized for soliciting that sponsorship.

Dooley said there are multiple reasons he feels people should be concerned and upset about Jamieson getting the business at the center of a years-long odor controversy to help sponsor the meeting.

“According to your statement to the paper, we know you are probably Wilbros’ accountant, you have supported Fieldale, which supports Wilbros, Joe (Wilbanks, Wilbros’ owner) has lied numerous times on the stand, and you are only thinking about the city in the position you hold,” said Dooley. ”

Jamieson said she does not feel there is a problem overall.

“I do not do accounting for Joe Wilbanks or for Wilbros,” said Jamieson. “The businesses are called on constantly to help different projects. I had gone down through the list and got down to the ‘W’s’ and there he was. I think as long as he is in business in this county, he should be called on like anybody else.”

Referring to the legal side, she said that is in the courts.

Jamieson then went on to answer more of Dooley’s comments.

“I do not see any reason to apologize to you, Bryan, or anybody else for the fact that the man I was married to for many, many years and a fine fellow was employed by Fieldale. It was a fine job with great benefits and I appreciated every one of them.”

She went on to say there is one thing about this situation she does have a problem with.

“What bothers me about this entire issue as much as anything is the very person who brought the copy of the program back to (Bryan Dooley) sat over there and ate the dinner that was helped paid for by Joe Wilbanks and Wilbros,” said Jamieson. “Now I do not know if that falls under the category of biting the hand that feeds you, but it certainly falls under the category of hypocrisy.”

Meanwhile, Dooley said he and the Concerned Citizens of Toccoa-Stephens County are not quitting when it comes to their efforts to eliminate the odor and goes on to question the city’s commitment to that cause.

“You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on items that are seasonal … but you cannot help the very citizens you represent that are being harmed by (the odor),” said Dooley. “The county and the Concerned Citizens are working together and we need the city to demonstrate it has the interests of all people (at heart), not just Joe Wilbanks.”

Toccoa Mayor Gail Fry noted that while the city is no longer financially participating in the civil lawsuit filed by the Concerned Citizens against Wilbros for the odor, the city remains a plaintiff in the suit.