2023 A Look Back: Nobody puts baby in a corner award
Macon County Commissioner John Shearl called for County Manager Derek Roland’s resignation earlier this year.
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The classic 1980s dance film Dirty Dancing taught all of us that “nobody puts Baby in a corner.” And if one does, that baby might just erupt from the corner with wild and salacious dance moves.
In December, Macon County Commissioner John Shearl offered a stark reminder of the dangers of putting a baby in a corner.
After Shearl berated County Manager Derek Roland during a public meeting for an increasing county budget — despite Macon County maintaining the lowest property tax rate in the state — Shearl asked for Roland’s resignation. Members of the public were quick to hold Shearl to account and ask him to apologize publicly. However, Shearl made no such apology, choosing instead to take the moment to harken back to Patrick Swayze’s audacious dance moves and his insistence that Baby would indeed not be put in a corner.
“If you back me in a corner, when I come out of that corner it’s going to get ugly,” said Shearl. “I’m not going to crumble, I’m not going to bow down to whatever, but I assure you that when I come out of that corner it’s not going to be pleasant. And in my mind, I was backed in a corner and that’s not where I want to be.”
