First Posted: 3/12/2015
BEAVERDAM — As a small village, it was important for officials with the village of Beaverdam to speak with their congressman to let him know their concerns.
Congressman Jim Jordan visited Beaverdam, the village of Cairo and the village of Bluffton Thursday to better connect with residents.
“It’s great that he stopped here. He didn’t have to stop in our little town, but he did. He looked around and saw what we’ve done around here, how the town’s working and how we’re making it better every day,” Beaverdam Councilwoman Pamela LePine said.
“When you’re a representative and you have a week off from Washington, you need to get out and talk to folks or businesses across the district, or meet with the locals,” Jordan said.
“I’ve never got to meet him on a one-on-one basis,” Mayor of Beaverdam Roberta Beemer said. “It just really means a lot to the village.”
Jordan said the largest complaint he’s heard in his visits is the struggle companies have with finding qualified employees, particularly manufacturers. Jordan said he has been told, “‘In spite of all the goofy things that are going on in Washington, we’re still creating jobs. Our biggest problem is we can’t find people who have the skill set we need.”
Largely, the reason for hiring issues is the drug problem across the nation, Jordan said. Employers are looking for candidates with a high work ethic, skill set and can pass a drug test, Jordan said he’s heard.
Resident Theresa Cameron told Jordan that said she believes that people should be drug tested to receive welfare assistance.
“All these dopies out here, and they’re everywhere,” she said. “Get rid of that. I’m not paying my tax money so somebody can get a needle in their arm, that’s wrong.”
There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed, Jordan said.
“In Washington, making sure that our social safety net is there for people who truly need it, and it’s not there to encourage people and be a disincentive to work,” he said.
Jordan said he enjoyed meeting with those who attended the meeting.
“Inspite of the Obama administration, we still have this wonderful thing called the Fist Amendment,” Jordan said. “They’re going to get the chance to exercise that.”
LePine said she felt Jordan was easy to talk to and genuinely cared about their opinions.
“It was great to talk to him. He’s just a human,” Cameron said. “Some of them are snooty.”
