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Man kills self in front of City Council after zoning decision
CNN ^ | 10/5/2007 | AP

Posted on 10/05/2007 5:49:29 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA

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.

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.

"Y'all have put me under. ... I'm out of here," he said before shooting himself in the head with a small handgun.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: badbusinessman; loser; mentalillness; nut; zoning
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To: Enterprise; wideawake
From the article:

From another article:

He would give free haircuts away but didn't have the money to expand his shop? To me it sounds like a typical liberal who wants to help everyone but have someone else pay the bills. They're all decent as long as it's on someone's else tab.
21 posted on 10/05/2007 6:11:00 AM PDT by HarleyD
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To: stevio

You posted: Good guy or not, stupid move.
***

I heard that his last words were, in response to someone laughing at him as he pointed the gun to his head, “ Shut up! You’re next!!”


22 posted on 10/05/2007 6:13:00 AM PDT by NCLaw441
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To: grjr21

Bud Dwyer was selfish and arrogant and delusional to state that others saw him as some sort of equivalent to the biblical character Job, just prior to his suicide. When the going got tough, did Job kill himself? No, but Bud Dwyer sure did.


23 posted on 10/05/2007 6:14:15 AM PDT by jdm
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To: HarleyD

A liberal would not give a vet. a free haircut !!!I know liberals they are the meanest, nastiest people on the face of the earth.


24 posted on 10/05/2007 6:14:45 AM PDT by Antique Gal (Build the Damn Fence !!!!)
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To: Judith Anne
"Push a guy over the line, and you just might have to witness his suicide."

And those who didn't vote against got to watch it too, not to mention anyone else in attandance who wasn't voting.

What ever happened to the mentality of not being a perpetual victim and overcoming one's circumstances?

25 posted on 10/05/2007 6:14:54 AM PDT by Sam's Army
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To: jdm

A complete digression I know but — that is one dangerous looking road in the background.

Don’t they have traffic engineer’s in Tennessee?


26 posted on 10/05/2007 6:15:35 AM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: HarleyD; wideawake
"He would give free haircuts away but didn't have the money to expand his shop? To me it sounds like a typical liberal who wants to help everyone but have someone else pay the bills. They're all decent as long as it's on someone's else tab."

That's hardly the definition of a liberal. This man gave of his own labor, only asking for repayment when circumstances permitted. A liberal would give a poor person a haircut and then expect you to pay for it.

27 posted on 10/05/2007 6:16:44 AM PDT by Enterprise (Those who "betray us" also "Betray U.S." They're called DEMOCRATS!)
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To: Judith Anne

Considering how much this man apparently did for the locals, including many soldiers, this is unfortunately a classic case of “no good deed goes unpunished.”


28 posted on 10/05/2007 6:17:23 AM PDT by jdm
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To: Lurker

This guy wanted his HOME zoned as commercial. In most states that would likely be illegal spot zoning. Imagine living in a neighborhood, only to find one day that your next door neighbor was now operating a convenience store from his home. This is why zoning regulations are important. Now, it may be that this guy lived in a home in the midst of other commercial development, which would have made the decision to deny his rezoning less supportable.

There must have been some reason why a majority decided to vote against his zoning application.


29 posted on 10/05/2007 6:18:14 AM PDT by NCLaw441
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To: HarleyD
A few days after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bo Ward put these words on the sign at his 12-chair barbershop near the main gate at Fort Campbell: “President Bush, show no mercy. Kick their ass!”

Doesn’t sound like a typical liberal to me.

30 posted on 10/05/2007 6:18:18 AM PDT by Between the Lines (I am very cognizant of my fallibility, sinfulness, and other limitations.)
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To: Sam's Army

That city council held power over him, and used it to his detriment; did you read the article?

He WAS a victim—of petty, power-mad city council members. Now, he is a victim no longer, they have no further power to hurt him.


31 posted on 10/05/2007 6:18:42 AM PDT by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Red in Blue PA
At least he didn’t take those he deemed responsible out before he killed himself, but I’ll bet for a second they were a little uncomfortable.
32 posted on 10/05/2007 6:19:16 AM PDT by BallyBill (Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
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To: metesky
Poor man thought he still lived in a free country.

He did.

He was hoping that the board would rezone his property so he could secure a business loan on more favorable terms.

Basically he was hoping that the board would vote to give him free money - his rights weren't infringed - they just didn't help him with his rent-seeking plans.

33 posted on 10/05/2007 6:19:17 AM PDT by wideawake (Why is it that so many self-proclaimed "Constitutionalists" know so little about the Constitution?)
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To: Red in Blue PA

These city councils and homeowner’s boards are SOOOOOO dictatorial....however Suicide is always bad....driven to desparation. The most upset I ever saw my father was when the county was going to take his house for a road......almost killed him.


34 posted on 10/05/2007 6:19:42 AM PDT by Suzy Quzy (Hillary '08...Her PHONINESS is REAL!!!)
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To: Sam's Army

Suicide was not an irrational response. It was an emotional response. And so quite human.

The guy would have been better off to have started over. The city would be better off to start fully respecting property rights, and get rid of all its zoning laws.


35 posted on 10/05/2007 6:20:30 AM PDT by sourcery (Referring a "social conservative" to the Ninth Amendment is like showing the Cross to Dracula.)
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To: sourcery

So is the theft of a person’s livelihood—which is what had just happened to the guy.


So a comission refuses to change zoning from residential to commercial and it’s the ‘Theft of his livelihood? What was it zoned when he bought the property. Kinda like bitching about the airport next door when it’s been there 20 years before the house was.


36 posted on 10/05/2007 6:21:31 AM PDT by BritExPatInFla
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To: NCLaw441

Found this on the web:

Although this was the man’s home and was zoned residential, don’t think he was trying to rezone a property in the middle of a neighborhood. This area is diverse in the number of residential and commercial properties. His address, 1517 Madison St, is right in the middle and across the street from property already zoned commercial. 1498, 1500, 1501, 1503, 1510, 1511, and 1516 Madison St are just to name a few.


37 posted on 10/05/2007 6:21:34 AM PDT by Between the Lines (I am very cognizant of my fallibility, sinfulness, and other limitations.)
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To: sourcery

“Suicide was not an irrational response.” => Suicide was not a rational response.


38 posted on 10/05/2007 6:21:56 AM PDT by sourcery (Referring a "social conservative" to the Ninth Amendment is like showing the Cross to Dracula.)
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To: Lurker; wideawake
Problems or not it's about time some of these zoning committees got a look at the consequences of their decisions.

They're damn lucky he didn't decide to take a few of them with him.

I fear our society is in an inevitable progression towards a time where both types of outcomes (suicide and homicide) will be much more common. Every public official who is in a position to make these sorts of life-altering decisions needs to read "The Ballad of Carl Drega", by Vin Suprynowicz and to remember that people who feel they have been forced into a situation by those officials where they nothing to lose, have nothing to lose.

39 posted on 10/05/2007 6:22:44 AM PDT by tarheelswamprat
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To: Enterprise

I was going to make a comment that if the bottom line was so important to him (so he could secure the loan he wanted and not have his business fail) why did he operate the business the way he did?

I mean no disrespect, just thinking out loud here, but how successful would any other company who lets people pay whenever they want be?

From what I’ve read, I do believe he had a warm heart, but sometimes too much generosity later leads to too many expectations and then if something doesn’t go your way, it hits you that much harder.


40 posted on 10/05/2007 6:23:05 AM PDT by jdm
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