When I was about 10 years old, I decided I didn’t want to wait until I grew up to launch my career as a private eye.
You can either credit or castigate my parents for allowing me to sit up and watch Magnum P.I.
I started my business, “Private Investigative Undercover Detectives,” and my friends and I roamed the neighborhood and helped find lost pets. I remember we all got together in my room and made our own business cards and I still have one of them today; mother was sharp enough to keep a copy from 45 years ago.
She knew her kid was going somewhere!
We were successful in locating two pets, if memory serves, but one had sadly drowned in a neighbor’s swimming pool and the homeowner had already buried it, thinking it was a stray.
So, it shouldn’t be any surprise that I love the aspect of my job that requires me to be a bit of a detective, although the stakes tend to be much higher these days than simply looking for Ms. Myrtle’s lost beagle.
While I have been acquainted with former Augusta Housing and Community Development Director Hawthorne Welcher for at least the past four years, I have had probably five conversations or less with him during that time.
That is certainly not a lot of face time, but for a journalist it is more than ample time to make a decent assessment of someone beyond just a first impression.
I enjoy picking on Welcher’s rather loud attire, but I have to admire someone who meshes 1960s British mod with Pee Wee Herman and somehow makes it work. If I could do it, I would. But the best I can muster are my bright blue “shark” socks with dress pants and a thrift store tie.
Of course, the speculation over the past week has been Welcher’s sudden resignation shortly after the FBI visited the Marble Palace and went directly to the Finance Office, in some way points a finger directly at him for the misappropriation of the $6.5 million that the FBI is supposedly looking for.
Now, Welcher may be waiting until the check clears his Caymans bank account and the confirmation that his passport and yacht are waiting at the dock for him to split and enjoy a new life on the beach, as some of the whispers indicate. As I said, the rumors are swirling with the ferocity of the Saharan dust cloud.
I don’t think that is the case though.
Over the years, my impression of Welcher has been that of a good public servant. I have seen the way little old ladies sidle up and give him hugs at community events. In my experience, little old ladies are great judges of character and you are never too old for them to yank the Sunday spatula out of their purse and use it on you.
It is interesting to me that Welcher’s resignation letter was known to exist by the local media, sans me, before he actually tendered it to the Mayor’s Office and Clerk of Commission. This tells the detective in me that Welcher is already trying to rehabilitate his image.
I point out that I wasn’t tipped off and that is because Hawthorne knows that if he calls me, he will be peppered with questions that he likely does not want to either answer nor be forced to issue a “no comment.”
Another telling factor, at least to me, is that Welcher didn’t quit effectively immediately, but is staying on until June 6 to aid in the transition. This tells me that he remains committed to his career and, therefore, has reason to believe that his career is not over.
That is not, in my opinion, the actions of a person guilty of anything other than perhaps very poor judgement, likely made with some form of coercion from an outside party. Working for Augusta government means constantly avoiding spiderwebs, trap doors and the corruption that has long been institutionalized.
On the other hand, $6.5 million does not just disappear from the ledger overnight without an explanation. There is no way on planet Earth, in my opinion, that he does not know what happened to that money. I am willing to stake my bet that Welcher knows where the bodies are buried, but is waiting for the audit, or possibly the FBI to act, before spilling his guts to the public.
My inner Magnum P.I. hopes that Welcher did not allow himself to get anything other than his toes stuck in the web, and can move on with his reputation intact, it is always a shame to lose a good public servant.
This situation, yet again underscores the need for the Charter Review Committee to lean towards a stronger role for the mayor in city government.
As it is, “fiefdoms” are still allowed to exist. Commissioners routinely pick their city department and become an overlord, directing the director by either shielding them from that magic sixth vote their job hinges on or by threatening to garner the six votes needed to oust them and find someone more “compliant.”
If Augusta has a city manager that answers to the mayor, those fiefdoms will evaporate overnight.
Giving the mayor control over the budget may be a step too far, though. That is a spiderweb that has already ensnared the city once and the committee would be wise to revisit that history.
We have to remember that, no matter how well-meaning he was, Mayor Charles DeVaney ran the old city of Augusta into bankruptcy by using Water Works Utility funds to pay salaries.
When pipes began bursting all over town due to there being no funds for maintenance, the old city was doomed and that is the reason we have the obsolete charter that has wasted taxpayers dollars and left our city listless for almost 30 years.
Switching gears:
I don’t know if you have been following the story of Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel, but if not, you should. This kid is such a living inspiration. As someone who had to stare down cancer at age 54, I can’t imagine what it must be like for a child.
This young man has the same attitude I tried to maintain during my battle. You have to roll with the punches, stay determined to find joy and purpose in life and just leave the rest up to God.
DJ’s optimistic attitude has paid off, he has his badge and is on record as the youngest Secret Service agent in American history. That is something this former wannabe gumshoe 10 year-old-boy could have never even imagined!
If you will, take a moment and say a little prayer for this remarkable kid in hopes he gets well soon.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, Editorial Page Editor and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
