I've been seeing a lot of traffic to my Cumberland County Voter Guide post with the keyword "Reuben Cashwell" lately. Unfortunately though, there is little information to be found about the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor candidates Reuben Cashwell or D. H. Vinson. I don't even know what the job entails. So here is my research about the job and the candidates (I will update it if and as I know more):First, the job. The mission of the SWCD is:
The mission of Cumberland Soil and Water Conservation District is to take available technical, financial, and educational resources and administer programs designed to encourage individual responsibility to conserve, improve, and sustain our soil and water resources for future generations.The positions on the SWCD are mostly elected (emphasis added by me):
Cumberland Soil and Water Conservation District offers free technical assistance to landowners in the county with land management, drainage, wetlands, soils information, best management practices and other land resource problems.
A five-member Board of Supervisors governs the Cumberland Soil and Water Conservation District. Three are elected in the general election; two are appointed by the North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Commission.Now, the candidates:.
Their terms of office are for four years and are staggered. The terms of office begin on the first Monday in December following election or appointment. They receive no salary.
Reuben Cashwell is a farmer from Autryville. Mr. Cashwell planted a wheat variety test in the Beaverdam Community (link as Word doc). Out of Cumberland County farmers who received farm subsidies from the 5-year Extension of the 2002 Farm Bill, he was 83rd with $12,960. He ran for a position in the Local Administrative Area of the USDA Farm Service Agency in 2005 and came in 3rd for Cumberland County (pdf link). He also helped with the Edna W. Jones Memorial Garden at the J.W. Seabrook Elementary School.
D. H. Vinson is the current Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor. He lives in Autryville. From the 2007 SWCD Annual Report (pdf):
Mr. D. H. Vinson is a farmer and resident of the Beaver Dam community. He is serving his second term on the Board. Mr. Vinson is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
So far this is all I have found about both candidates and none of it is very helpful for deciding who to vote for. If you are so inclined, call them up and ask them yourselves. From their candidate filing, Reuben Cashwell's number is (910) 531-3859 and D. H. Vinson's number is (910) 531-3284. That is all I've got. I wish someone would interview these guys or at lest provide a little more information on them beyond the mostly trivial and stupid stuff I was able to find with Google.
