The 2011 Pat Napoleon Community Service Award was presented to co-recipients at City Hall at last night’s City Council meeting.
Honorees Rob Schilling (host of 1070-AM WINA’s “The Schilling Show”) and Carole Thorpe (chairwoman of the Jefferson Area Tea Party) were commended for their accurate yet unheeded warnings to City Council against their allowance of the Occupy Charlottesville encampment. With media present, Mrs. Napoleon awarded the pair with certificates of merit and hardbound printings of the U.S. Constitution.
Occupy activists were evicted from Lee Park by city police on November 30 following over 40 days of encampment. The action resulted in 18 arrests and the unnecessary subjection of Charlottesville’s Finest to despicable shouts of obscenities that police officers calmly and professionally endured in the line of duty.
From the outset of the occupation to its end, Mr. Schilling and Mrs. Thorpe exposed multiple abuses of power and unequal protection under the law by City Council and its agents which included unprecedented waivers of numerous city codes, the issuance of a verbal directive by City Manager Maurice Jones to restrain police from enforcing park curfew prior to the grant of a legal permit, and an effort by Mayor Dave Norris to unfairly burden city taxpayers with the cost of over 40 days of electrical expense incurred in Lee Park.
Both recipients expressed gratitude for their prestigious recognition.
Mr. Schilling stated, “It is my great honor to receive this award from one of Charlottesville’s finest citizens, Pat Napoleon. Pat has been fearless in confronting corrupt government officials with difficult issues that would not otherwise have been discussed. Carole Thorpe, my co-recipient, although not a city resident, has done more to benefit Charlottesville citizens in the past few months than has the present City Council during their combined elected tenures.”
“I am humbled to receive this honor from Pat Napoleon, a great lady and patriot whose opinion matters more to me than the whole of Charlottesville city government”, Mrs. Thorpe said. “The sharing of this award does not diminish the honor by half, but its value is doubled when the co-recipient is the inestimable Rob Schilling. This award validates my efforts through the Jefferson Area Tea Party to serve our community with honesty, integrity, fairness, and respect for the law – objectives that I wish were practiced by Charlottesville City Council.”
A celebratory dinner with entertainment at another location followed the presentation.
Occupy Charlottesville responds to presentation of the 2011 Pat Napoleon Community Service Award, via Facebook:
Theater of the absurd is right. You wouldn’t know, from the way Rob boasts on his show, that this “award” is given by one person and one person only, and that it’s not an annual deal and one in in which the recipients are chosen from a field of candidates, as is the case with true awards, but was created specifically for Rob and Carole, to make a political point.
And what does this have to do with city council business? Nothing. Napoleon was grandstanding, that’s all.
Occupy Charlottesville responds to Napoleon Award by calling for public depiction of nudity and deviant sexual acts.
Read OC's bizarre rejoinder: http://wp.me/p1x2fK-1Ay.
I am still shocked at the west coast occupy group that did 83000 dollars damage in the park when they left…
Tim,
Wonder what the total tab was for the Lee Park “occupation” and aftermath? Maurice Jones, do you have that figure?
Every meeting Dave Norris reads out a bunch of proclamations and awards in an attempt to buy votes. Pat Napoleon’s award is one of the few given out in City Council chambers this year that has any merit.
@Shannon Harrington, Of course Pat Napoleon was well within her rights to use that free speech time to commend the actions of two citizens. What country do you live in? It was done during a portion of the meeting that is dedicated to Council’s hearing the opinions of members of the public. Perhaps you ought to download the agenda that is published ahead of each regular public meeting.
Rob, where were the comments about appropriateness when those two high girls sang a shrill song they had written in chambers about giving peace a chance? It lasted twice as long as Napoleon’s well-crafted words.
@Ken, there did not have to be a field of candidates How many candidates are up for the Paul Goodloe McIntire award annually. Not everyone who has received that award has done anything spectacular to deserve it. I think of it as an award given mainly by friends to friends. When you think about it, there shouldn’t be annual awards. Have-to awards soon lose their meaning by people searching for names to just fill in the blank. Maybe you ought to tell Dave Norris to cut back on his meaningless awards.
Rob, it’s good of you to defend Pat Napoleon’s honor – no pun intended – as someone who doesn’t grandstand, but contrary to what you said this afternoon, the mere fact that the award is named after a person hardly indicates that it’s given by one person alone. Awards tend to be named after people – Nobel, Pulitzer, Tony, Bessie, Obie, etc. – and those awards, unlike this phony one, are made by committees of experts – not individuals – who consider nominations made by a larger pool of people educated in the field. Calling Napoleon’s stunt an annual award instead of the first annual award also wrongly implies that it has a history, which adds significance, putting the awardee in the distinguished company of those deemed deserving of previous awards.
All of this is what gives awards cachet. It’s why they’re taken seriously: the fact that they reflect, not individual whim, but the carefully considered judgment of people recognized for their achievements in the field, people who take a vote, and who do so in the tradition of, and in consideration of, what their colleagues have previously considered worthy. It’s this process that gives the pronouncement weight. Napoleon may be a fine and thoughtful person and an asset to the community, but her act had none of this behind it. It was a reflection of personal opinion, not community judgment, and that’s why calling what she gave you an award is merely a piece of political propaganda.
You act like you’ve been given an honor, whereas in fact you’ve been lauded in a grandiose (that doesn’t mean “grand”) fashion by a political ally. And if that happened to me, or even if I received a genuine award, I hope I wouldn’t go publicly boasting about it. That’s another thing I don’t get about you, that you talk about your Christian faith but boast and put your opponents down personally. I see in this week’s Cville that a couple of people you called disgusting recently are CASA advocates for disadvantaged and abused children. Disgusting people, really?
Oh – and do I look “angry”? :-; Calling an opponent angry is a popular rhetorical device intended to dismiss the criticism by discrediting the critic.
Cville Eye, google Paul Goodloe McIntire Award and you’ll see that nominations are open to Cville Chamber of Commerce members. And I don’t follow everything Dave Norris does, but even if you’re right about what he does, that’s no defense of what Napoleon did.
so if there is no defense for what Ms. Napoleon did.
than there should be no defense for city counsle giving someone award each time they met.
Plus just based on the occupier posting theirselves show how immature they are…
Ken: if none of this is working the way it should, or way it was designed what is the answer. because I sure don’t have one? At least Rob and someother good people in this oneside town are trying. but tomorrow is trash day and my opinion will go the way of the trash.
just to clarify- the comments on the facebook page are referring to Ms. Napoleon’s absurd claim that occupy cville was holding orgies at the park at a meeting two weeks ago.
for the record- totally okay for individuals say anything want in their miniscule 3 minutes at city council- was it smart or effective? the only problem I would see if is if it tied up the list so that others wouldn’t be able to speak, which wasn’t the case Monday
Hi! My original question was put out there because I was under the impression that the time used at City Council was normally used in a way that was relevant to, or somehow involved, City Council.
Ms Harrington, The irresponsible and destructive actions of your Occupy group should be discussed in the forum-City Council. After all, your childish group has caused unbelievable damage and also racked up costs and in many ways. Didn’t City Council approve your stay in the park? Occupy Charlottesville is an embarrassment and obvious failure.
Hi Al – Sorry you feel that way. Occupy Charlottesville is not my group, though. It’s a grassroots collective of folks who are committed to helping each other out, as well as taking individual responsibility for their personal views and actions. I feel like this has been clarified quite a bit.
As for me, personally, I am an active participant because I am interested in seeing money out of politics, prosecution for corporate criminals, and a government whose loyalty is to the people.
Not really sure what you mean by unbelievable damage or costs, but the Occupy Movement, Occupy Charlottesville included, is by no means an obvious failure from the changes that I have personally seen – nor those that have been documented just over the past few months.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but these accusations seem to have a noticeable and repeated shortage of fact attached to them.
Hi Al – Sorry you feel that way. Occupy Charlottesville is not my group, though. It’s a grassroots collective of folks who are committed to helping each other out, as well as taking individual responsibility for their personal views and actions. I feel like this has been clarified quite a bit.
As for me, personally, I am an active participant because I am interested in seeing money out of politics, prosecution for corporate criminals, and a government whose loyalty is to the people.
Not really sure what you mean by unbelievable damage or costs, but the Occupy Movement, Occupy Charlottesville included, is by no means an obvious failure from the changes that I have personally seen – nor those that have been documented just over the past few months.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but these accusations seem to have a noticeable and repeated shortage of fact attached to them.
Paul wrote:
if none of this is working the way it should, or way it was designed what is the answer. because I sure don’t have one? At least Rob and someother good people in this oneside town are trying.
Paul, I admire Rob and Carole for working to advance their views in a town where those views are much ridiculed. I just wish Rob didn’t inadvertently give liberals excuse to ridicule their views – instead of challenging them to respond on point – by saying such uncharitable things about them day in and day out, and trying to pretend that’s alright just because he invites them to come on his show and doesn’t ridicule them to their faces.
If you really want to understand someone’s views, find one thing you can agree with and start from there. If you’re really interested in a productive dialogue, or at least an honest, enlightening exchange of views instead of an exchange of insults, look for the best in your opponent and give them credit for it. Are liberals just lazy and naive? Yeah, some of them are. Are conservatives just selfish and cold-hearted? Yeah, some of them are. But it’s terribly unfair, and intellectually and spiritually dishonest, to characterize one’s opponents as a whole by the behavior of the worst of them.
tomorrow is trash day and my opinion will go the way of the trash.
No, your opinion is going to live forever in cyberspace. :-) And I’m glad you wrote.
Yes, Ken all of our opinion will live forever in cyberspace. It’s a shame in a way that someone hasn’t figure out away for them to self delete after a period of time.
It seem in today world, it’s is easier to place the blame on the whole group instead of the individuals. When I used to work it was easier to blame the nurses for not following polices when it was non-nurses wanting us to give in…to come up with another policy because it was easier than dealing with person not doing their job. One thing I do find lacking in today world is lack of individual and organization accountable.Does ridicule work,no. How does one find middle ground when I have tired to talk to individuals who just wanted to shout me down because I will stand up for myself. Yes I put up signs in my yard that some individuals tell me I am stupid.
That I am non-human being because I don’t believe in big government. There is a solution out there but I am not smart enough to figure it out. city Counsel screwed up with the occupiers. But as a prayer I learned a long time ago — I am lucky to be alive, I could have woke up died. Instead I woke up in this precious human body. the purpose of my life is to work to help other in their time of need. I should not waste my life in any way. it seem of late that is what feel I am doing wasting my life…
Ken, You said the award should not be part of City Council business. Such a determinatin is ridiculous on your part. City Council approved the encampment that roped in the local police force for weeks/facilitated liquoring up minor girls/led to existing damage-paint- historic Lee statue, etc. etc. The local court system is now tied up in serving the lazy occupied animals. The costs are huge. More to come on that one.
Bottom line-All citizens including R. Schilling, C. Thorpe, and Napoleon are entitled to go before the board, and JUST AS THEY APPEARED this week. Ken, whether you/City Council like it or not, they were very successful in communicating an important message. Freedom of speech for all! ;-)))
Wolf, you’re right, everyone has the right to speak before City Council, and Napoleon spoke about a matter of city concern. I was in error to say that her praise itself had nothing to do with city business.
Having said that, I stand by everything else I said. Here’s an idea: maybe at the next council meeting Rob can stand up and give Carol Thorpe “the 2011 Rob Schilling Award,” and then she can give him “the 2011 Carol Thorpe Award.” And then next month you can give him the Wolf Award, and so on and so on once a month with Ken Boyd and Chris and Cville Eye and Singing Susan and all Rob’s biggest fans handing out their “awards.” And then at the end of the year, Rob can boast that he’s received 12 awards! Wouldn’t that be impressive? Or would it be deeply silly and self-aggrandizing? So why is boasting about Napoleon’s stunt any less so?
Hey Ken, THEY masterfully got YOUR goat/AND also COUNCILS’ goat! Looks to me you are just plain jealous of Schilling’s brilliant success as you obsess over this site! My guess, you and council better get used to it. Only the beginning, in my opinion.
Thank you Rob and Carole for exposing the abuses of law committed by the Charlottesville City Council in their support of the lawless an incoherent so called “Occupy Movement”.
When the residents of the community know the truth, they will side with what is right, and in that effort both of you led the way.
Ken should get his own radio program and blog to help all of us “selfish cold-hearted conservatives,” and show us the more reasoned way of missing the point and throwing people’s heartfelt religious convictions into their faces.
The general pompitude of the Liberal Mind. He could wish everyone a Sustainable Winter Solstice or season’s greetings, it would be great listening.
And after that, he could rationalize away all of (to quote Occupy Charlottesville)Dave “effing” Norris’ and City Council’s full support of law breaking, culminating in an ugly confrontation with the Charlottesville Police.
Honest to God — I am reading this thread of comments for the first time ever SIX YEARS later (12/20/17) and I can’t stop laughing!
Kudos to those who got both the message and the gotcha-joke behind this, and shame on those of you who took this WAAAY too seriously. This may be proof-positive of the old saying that Democrats (and others on the political left) have NO sense of humor.
Pat was deeply sincere in her desire to recognize me and Rob…and to do it in front of a captive Council and simultaneously embarrass them in their chambers and on live TV was sheer genius. For whatever else you may have thought about this event, you must grade us an “A” for ingenuity.