Councilman ends year in Highland with tongue-lashing for incoming members
The Highland Town Council’s tenor, at least for the foreseeable future, got set with an adversarial tone Monday after a veteran councilman questioned the honesty of two councilmanelects.
The council’s last meeting of the year started peacefully, with the outgoing councilmen finishing up plenary business, then sharing their gratitude for serving the town. Councilmanelect Roger Sheeman, who was in the audience, told the council the new members “will do their best” to govern as well as the outgoing council members.
“It will be an honor to sit in your chair,” Sheeman said. “I wish the council could be eight seats so we could all serve together.”
Councilman Mark Herek, D-2nd, who remains on the council, took exception to that.
“I don’t want to judge, but taking a quote from (ClerkTreasurer) Michael Griffin, the Bible tells us not to associate with ‘scoffers and fools,’” Herak responded when given the floor. “I have to tell you, (Sheeman) is insincere and talks out of both sides of his mouth. He talks about all eight of us serving together, but not three or four weeks ago, he gets on the radio is all ‘Hey, guys! The town department heads are crying out for leadership!’”
Herak was referring to Sheeman and Councilmanelect Tom Black’s appearance on the Lake County Republican Party-paid radio show on WJOB where Sheeman said, “We have a nucleus of good people in our town, and they’re just crying out for leadership — you know, ‘How can we get this done? How do we move forward?’”
Herak then turned his sights on Black, saying Black, who used photographs he took of one of the Russell Group’s other senior-living centers in his campaign on social media, seems to have changed his tune on opposing the senior center proposed for the land north of the Strack and Van Til Plaza on Cline Avenue, of which the original proposal was withdrawn for the time being in November.
“You better get your act together,” Herak said to Black, to which Black said the “solemn occasion” of the meeting was not the time to bring up those issues.
Herak further pointed out that Sheeman and Black spent a lot of time agreeing on a social media page whose focus is mostly negative things about the town, but now Sheeman has approached the administrator of that page to stop the negativity, especially where he’s concerned.
“When this board was being attacked, it was fine, but now it’s ‘Please quit! You’re making me look bad!’ ” Herak said.
Sheeman didn’t respond during the meeting but afterward called Herak’s comments “unprofessional.”
“Judge me on my four years, not some slander at a public meeting,” he said.
Prior to Herak’s comments, an at-times emotional Councilman Dan Vassar, D-3rd, thanked previous councilman with whom he served, the department heads for their leadership and the press for always being fair with him. He also thanked his family, particularly his dad, the late Larry Vassar.
“I was raised by two parents who set a shining example for volunteering and serving others,” Vassar said, choking up. “My father served his community until the day he died, and my mother, Nancy Vassar, was right by his side the entire time, giving of her own time and talents to not only further my dad’s causes but also her own.
But Vassar, too, pointed out the negativity of this past campaign.
“I tuned into a local radio station the night of this past election and when they mentioned Highland, all they could talk about was the amount of negativity present. With that amount of negativity, how can we ever expect our best and brightest citizens to step forward and want to serve,” he said.
Council President Steve Wagner, D-4th, and Councilman Konnie Kuiper, D-5th, thanked Highland residents for their support over the years.
“I still love Highland and will call it home,” Kuiper said.
The new council will be sworn in at noon Jan. 1.