.jpg)
Ronald Cash, a lifelong Buena Vista resident who has worked for Dominion Energy Virginia the past 35 years, puts finding and recruiting new industries at the top of his priorities for what he’ll seek to accomplish, if he’s elected to City Council this fall.
“Residential taxes alone cannot sustain our city,” he said. “Every little bit helps but smoke shops, hair salons and ice cream shops do not generate the tax revenues of an industry or large commercial enterprise.”
Upgrading the city’s wastewater treatment plant and replacing aging water and sewer lines throughout the city are sorely needed and long overdue, Cash says. He applauds city leaders for securing funding through the United States Department of Agriculture to help pay for the WWTP work but adds that “this is only the beginning of what is needed. The water and sewer lines in BV are aging and problems are widespread. The water system has leaks frequently, resulting in a loss of our most precious resource. The sewer lines are prone to infiltration from ground water resulting in additional load on the [WWTP] during periods of heavy rain and during flooding the plant is vulnerable to dangerous and potentially illegal discharges into the Maury River.”
He said he’s very concerned about recent vandalism to communications equipment that put the phone service down for a period of time. The incident showed just how vulnerable to sabotage the city’s utilities are, which puts at risk the city’s water, sewer, communications and electrical distribution systems. He calls on the city’s leadership and police department to place a priority on enhancing the security of this infrastructure.
Another issue he wants to bring attention to is “the illegal drug problem in Buena Vista. … Drugs are robbing individuals of productive lives and dignity. Drugs are robbing every American community of its citizens, its labor pool, its families and the city’s future. Grassroots groups like Rockbridge Recovery are having great success helping addicts find support and resources to quit drugs and build new lives. We
Please start my subscription to The News-Gazette
Credit Card Number ____________________________ Card Expiration Date ____________________________ Signature _____________________________________ need to encourage more support groups, faith-based and secular. We absolutely must identify, arrest and jail the drug dealers … for a very long time.”
Cash said he is committed to the city retaining its own school system. “Buena Vista’s identity is tied very closely to its schools and ball teams,” he commented. “Take those away from Buena Vista and I think the death bell will begin to toll. Schools need to be a priority. Capital projects obviously will need to be undertaken from time to time; however, everything does not need to be the Cadillac model. A five-year plan, ten-year plan and so on should be developed to plot a path forward for our schools. Teachers pay needs to keep pace with other schools so we can retain top talent.”
He calls for a moratorium on hiring new city employees while undertaking a city-wide effort to eliminate waste. “Every department should be scrutinized with the goal of improving efficiencies to allow staff reductions,” he said. “This [will] surely be unpopular within the ranks of city employees but it is what I am convinced is prudent. I will lose votes at the courthouse for my position but thrifty citizens, who talk about this regularly, will support me.”
A 1977 graduate of Parry McCluer High School, Cash holds civil engineering degrees from Virginia Western Community College and Bluefield State College and is a veteran of the U.S. Marines Corps.
