Appomattox County resident takes keen interest in town politics

Appomattox County resident Nina Beasley had a quick answer when asked recently what she’d do if the Town of Appomattox ever annexed her property.

“I said, ‘It’d give me a chance to run for town council.’”

Although Beasley, 76, lives just outside the town, she follows politics there because, she said, it affects the county, too.

That’s especially true when it comes to the public water supply, which has long been a source of debate in both localities. The issue was particularly heated this year as discussions intensified about a proposed waterline connection along U.S. 460 from Concord to the Town of Appomattox.

The ongoing controversy drew Beasley, a former county supervisor, to use Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act earlier this year to secure copies of e-mails between former mayor John Wilson, who lost his bid for re-election in May to Paul Harvey, and three council members who served with him.

Beasley ultimately received the text of dozens of e-mails. She said they confirmed her belief that “electronic conversations” about topics related to the politics surrounding waterline were underway between Wilson and some members of council

Wilson and others involved said in August that they did nothing wrong and that the communication was needed in order to discuss the issues.

While communication with other council members through e-mail is legal, it’s against the spirit of the FOI act, Acting Director of the Virginia Open Government Council Megan Rhyne said in August.

“If they have done this purposefully to keep us from getting water and to make things go their way, it tells me that’s their personal agenda and they’re not working for the town or county and I want to know why,” Beasley said recently. “And I’m going to find out why.”

Appomattox town clerk Roxanne Paulette said an average of two FOI requests that require substantial time to process come in per year, but Beasley’s was the first to request any form of e-mail conversations.

Paulette said Beasley’s request for electronic communication was a surprise to officials. “We figured it was coming at one point or another, but we were surprised it found little Appomattox so soon,” she said.

The town does not have a written policy regarding charges to recover costs from FOI requests, but Paulette said she expects town council will change that in upcoming months “because they’re becoming a little more common than they used to and they are requiring more research than they have in the past.”

Beasley has lived in Appomattox her entire life. After graduating from high school in 1952, she worked at several jobs in town before taking a temporary job at what later became the Virginia Department of Transportation. She retired 30 years later in 1991 and then decided to run for the newly created Falling River supervisor seat.

She ran against two men and won narrowly. She was the first, and only, woman supervisor in Appomattox County.

Beasley served only one four-year term because she wanted to travel with her husband.

She left public office in 1994 but has been a steady presence at public meetings during the past few months, sometimes attending as many as six meetings each month, from supervisors to town council to various committees.

“You have a right to go to those meetings. That’s the only way you can keep up with what’s going on because they’re not going to tell you,” Beasley said. “Most people, unless it’s a really big issue, they don’t care.”

What sets Beasley apart is her strong sense of integrity and honesty, said Bill Slagle, a long-time friend. “I think she is willing to take a step out and demand the government perform honestly and openly. It’s a good thing for the community to have people like Nina.”

Beasley has been criticized by some who say she doesn’t have a stake in town issues because she lives outside town limits. But she said she has two main reasons to be involved.

“I do pay for water and the town is part of the county as far as I’m concerned and I’m concerned about what’s happening in the entire county and the town included.”

She said she purchases public water and pays the much higher rates for customers living outside of town.

The other reason, she said, is that the water line is critical to county growth. “I would love to see our county grow. We have nothing here for our young people. When they graduate, they leave because there’s no work here.”

As for the FOI request, Beasley said she is not convinced that she has yet received all the e-mails from the specified time period, and she intends to pursue that information. She even has retained a lawyer to take the matter to court if she has to.

“You know, if they e-mail all this time, they don’t stop for a period of time and not e-mail,” she said. “Of course, it’s going to make a lot of people unhappy.

“But that’s OK, I’m unhappy with them.”