April 6th, 2020 by WCBC Radio
After some confusion which led to the plant being shut down last Wednesday- American Woodmark officially reopened its operations Thursday evening. The company, one of the larger employers in the county, is located on McMullen Highway at the Barton Business Park. It manufactures kitchen and bathroom cabinets. District 1C Delegate Mike McKay told WCBC News that he participated in a meeting with state and local representatives Thursday afternoon- and while he could not provide details about the initial closure- he did confirm that the matter has been resolved…
April 06, 2020 at 7:13 am, Mark said:
So Mike McKay thinks making money off kitchen and bathroom cabinets takes precedent over protecting the lives of the local citizens. Typical sick ‘Christian’ Republican.
April 06, 2020 at 7:27 am, mac said:
There’s a lesson here for everyone.
Delegate Mike McKay is the go to fixit guy if you need something done that isn’t on the up and up.
He is not concerned with the constituents of this area unless they are business owners with deep pockets.
Proof of that is the fact that McKay has repeatedly voted against raising the minimum wage for workers,such as those that are now confronted with possible death from Covid-19.
I would be interested to know if the plant manager shows how safe it is to work there by taking his turn working the line rather than isolated in an office. He/she should set up a desk on the floor and remain working there until the all clear is given. All day, every day. It’s only fair.
But then we’re not interested in fair, but just profit.
Thanks again McKay.
April 06, 2020 at 7:53 am, Welchy said:
Mckay has nothing to do with any of this, but of course needs some press. The sheriff on the other hand will take his typical route of avoiding controversy and shifting any blame of wrong decisions
April 06, 2020 at 10:27 am, Mark said:
> So why did McKay intervene? The Sheriff closed it once but someone down state forced him to relent. Not his fault he’s getting jerked all over.
April 06, 2020 at 8:12 am, Ken said:
Actually, the blame for this should fall on Governor Hogan, if, in fact, he did sign off on this stupidity. There is no reason why the governor couldn’t have said no and not doing so makes me question how serious he is moving forward.
April 06, 2020 at 8:42 am, Carolyn said:
Mark, with all the fear and upset going on and I appreciate your input, NO need to make remarks like “sick Christian Republician.
April 06, 2020 at 10:23 am, Mark said:
> Sorry, but that’s what HE SAYS he is, NOT ME! (I just added the truthful ‘sick’ qualifier) And McKay ONLY ran for office to get taxpayer funded healthcare for himself & his family, like the hypocrite he is.
April 06, 2020 at 1:39 pm, Mark said:
> I use to think Mike was being a stand up guy when he hired handicapped, ex cons, etc. Then I found out he only did that because the government was subsidizing their wages. Getting free labor from the taxpayers. Mike will only do the ‘Christian’ thing if you pay him to! and I would say that is ‘sick’!
April 06, 2020 at 5:01 pm, Joe Wellberg said:
> Okay Mark what innuendo did you come up with about McKay.
April 06, 2020 at 9:56 pm, Mark said:
> Truth hurts huh?
April 07, 2020 at 10:35 am, Joe Wellberg said:
> No Mark. The innuendo you are making about McKay is truly unproven to why he ran and won. He faced 2 opponents in the 2018 primary but he won because people liked him and his stances. I understand the next time he might be running against Buckel because the district lines will shift east or their might only be 2 sub districts.
April 06, 2020 at 10:21 am, Joe Wellberg said:
Anyone who claims to work at American Woodmark and wanting it closed isn’t really employed their. It is similar to another location and the words are the same. Their is no one working their who wants to force 500 employees to take time off. It is best to keep it open and the sick are forced to be quarantine.
April 06, 2020 at 10:25 am, Mark said:
> They are fearful of being fired and losing what little they make but are also FORCED to chose between eating or getting sick. And it’s immoral to force them to pick between the two, except sicko’s like you see no problem!
April 06, 2020 at 10:33 am, Joe Wellberg said:
> If their are those working their who can retire now and have so much problems medically then they need to file for their retirement. Also someone behind the petition is someone who is seriously mentally ill. If someone has a underlying problem then they should see a doctor to see if they will catch coronavirus.
April 06, 2020 at 1:33 pm, Mark said:
> Ever dawn on you that some have family members that have medical issues?? But I guess you’d say they can just go rent a place elsewhere, like they can afford TWO rents??
April 06, 2020 at 1:35 pm, Mark said:
> And ANYONE can catch the virus, doesn’t take a damn doctor to tell you that! Well, maybe someone as obtuse as you needs told… sheeesh
April 06, 2020 at 4:54 pm, Ken said:
> Joe, Two points, if I may.
There is no question about this – everyone is susceptible to catching this virus. It is true that people who have underlying medical issues are more likely to die but perfectly healthy people have died from this virus.
As far as calling someone mentally ill because they believe that they need to have their place of employment shut down, maybe you might want to put yourself in their shoes. For all you know, these people could have a senior member of their family living with them or, like my wife, have someone in their family who suffers from Asthma.
In fact, out of the 500 people who are employed there, we could expect more than a quarter of them to have someone in their immediate family who has a respiratory illnesses based on average US health statistics.
And dying for a low pay job isn’t something these people signed on for, nor should that be forced on them.
April 06, 2020 at 4:57 pm, Joe Wellberg said:
> Unemployment would be worse. Shutting down is not an answer.
April 06, 2020 at 12:20 pm, Mark said:
SORRY for the sick label. I am just a GROUCHY liberal and upset Epstein Island is shut down.
April 06, 2020 at 8:31 pm, Ken said:
> Joe, thanks, I honestly appreciate you explaining why you believe what you do.
What I see is if we keep these businesses open, we will spread the virus further but I admit, I don’t know how many more people might get infected.
For the sake of argument, can we agree that there is some number where keeping this business open becomes more expensive in the terms of medical cost and possible deaths than closing it for a few weeks?
If so, we then need to decide what that number is.
Epidemiologists tell me that each infected person will likely pass this virus onto five or six other people. That means if 50 people out of the 500 employees catch the virus, they will likely give it to 250 new people.
The problem really starts to get bad when those 250 people pass it to another 1,250 people – don’t even get me started on how many those people might infect.
I admit that these number are a wild ass guess. But what if it is only half that number? How much in medical bills will we all pay (because we all pay for it, as you know).
There is a number. What separates us is that you are willing to risk it while I believe that a risk too dangerous to bargain with.
What do you think?
April 06, 2020 at 10:00 pm, Mark said:
> It’s obvious,Joe thinks unemployment is worse than death. Money over a life! He’s not hard to get, and he calls others ‘mentally ill’! ha
April 06, 2020 at 11:54 pm, Joe Wellberg said:
> Hey Mark you want people to starve to death next. Like shutting down grocery stores and all takeout places. Time to end the shutdowns and reopen the economy. Then people can make a living. Shutdowns will lead to death like suicides.
April 07, 2020 at 6:25 am, Ken said:
> Joe, I am sure that no one wants people to starve to death. I haven’t heard anyone calling for grocery stores and take out food to close either. These are essential. Kitchen cabinets are not.
For the time being unemployment can cover everyone for a month – and if the entire country acted responsibly, that’s all we’d need.
And yes, there is a chance that some people might kill themselves but we do know that a lot of people will die if we don’t follow the advice of the experts.
There is no easy way out – period. We either trust the people who know how to handle this or we are flying blind with hunches guiding us.
April 07, 2020 at 6:19 am, Ken said:
> Mark, forgive me for saying this – but you’re not helping. Please work to show the kind of respect you wish to be treated with.
April 07, 2020 at 6:55 am, Mark said:
> And I know you mean well, but a lifetime has taught me that you can NOT reason with folks like Joe. They are blinded by their own ignorance and hatred. And people like him only want to cause others harm for their OWN selfish gains, and that deserves NO respect, imho.
April 07, 2020 at 6:56 am, Mark said:
> p.s. and Joe’s name calling doesn’t bother me and he’s too dumb to be insulted himself!
April 07, 2020 at 7:05 am, Mark said:
> And lastly, the idea that money should be put ahead of lives and the ignorance Joe shows (and others like him) is only going to cause more people to get sick & possibly die and I REFUSE to respect those ideas and those that espouse them as they are immoral beyond anything! And worrying about being polite like it’s a tea party when lives are at stake is a bit naive to me, no matter how well meaning. Stay safe friend
April 07, 2020 at 9:41 am, Ken said:
> So, we have reached a point where we might as well as stand back and hurl insults at each other? What’s the point?
I can’t think of a thing Joe has said that I can even marginally agree with but that doesn’t mean any of us is going to be enriched if we just get nasty.
Still, it’s your choice.
April 07, 2020 at 1:17 pm, Mark said:
> I try to keep the insults to a min. but they go over Joe’s head anyway. Just have no patience for the ignorant fools and am long since fed up with all the harm people like Joe do to others. You have to speak up to his hate & ignorance and if you give the hate & ignorance ‘respect’ you are elevating it to the same high value of decency. I’d rather not. I give EVERYONE respect by default, it’s their choice to lose it by their actions and Joe lost his the first time he opened his hateful, uneducated mouth.
April 08, 2020 at 9:29 am, Joe Wellberg said:
> Their is nothing uneducated about my comments. The shut down crowd is so uneducated and dumb. So do you all want people to not get groceries where National Guard trucks have to feed people food.
April 08, 2020 at 9:33 am, Joe Wellberg said:
> If you don’t get the part about National Guard trucks have to feed people when you all want to shut down grocery stores. Then you are so out of touch.
April 06, 2020 at 10:01 pm, Mark said:
https://www.times-news.com/coronavirus/petition-calls-for-american-woodmark-closing/article_d2208064-7855-11ea-8398-47711828ef27.html?fbclid=IwAR0pu7cz3RC9E3Bcq4MqOCEMIbxiw3GKsLIV1YMi8SKGFSM10N_X3sEiv3o
April 06, 2020 at 11:55 pm, Joe Wellberg said:
> The Times-News has written a article to promote a fake movement.
April 06, 2020 at 10:06 pm, Tom W said:
Keeping workers and the community safe and well is essential. Producing cabinets during a pandemic isn’t.