Catherine Dunton Doughty, 89, Cape Charles Native

December 31, 2012

Catherine Dunton Doughty, 89, wife of George Nottingham Doughty and a resident of Cape Charles, passed away Sunday, December 30, at Heritage Hall Healthcare in Nassawadox.

A funeral service will be conducted 11 a.m. Wednesday, January 2, at Trinity United Methodist Church with Reverends Elizabeth A. Lutz and Jack D. Pruitt officiating. Interment will follow in Cape Charles Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, c/o Mrs. Ida Robbins, 23089 Carr Lane, Cape Charles, VA 23310.

A native of Cape Charles, Mrs. Doughty was the daughter of the late Richard Eubank Dunton and the late Florence Lambertson Dunton. She was a retired office manager for Rite Aid Pharmacy in Wilmington, DE, a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Northampton Chapter #2, and a member of Trinity United Methodist Church. She was an avid bridge player. [Read more…]

COMMENTARY:
Notes from a Come-Here: Tales Out of School

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

December 31, 2012

I arrived in Cape Charles almost three years ago after giving up trying to save the program that had been my job at the U.S. Department of State. It was a sad time for me because I learned that corruption at high levels was untouchable at the State Department.

The Office of Special Counsel, which is supposed to protect whistleblowers, was toothless in my case, and the Merit Systems Protection Board was worse.

I was just doing my job — to provide supplies to residences of ambassadors and other high-level government officials for their official entertaining overseas.

But when it came time to solicit bids for custom glassware, I discovered that my supervisor planned to award a no-bid contract to a small “disadvantaged” company that had no experience with glassware.

I tried to persuade my superiors that a no-bid contract with that company, which had just emerged from bankruptcy, was not a good idea. They were unresponsive.

I went up the chain of command, without success, and finally “blew the whistle” to the Inspector General. Then I made the mistake of letting a State Department official know what I had done.

I was relieved of all my job responsibilities.

It is little consolation to me that the contractor later went to prison for defrauding the government, because that was for a contract at a different government agency, where she lacked friends in high places. At the State Department, where I worked, she had been untouchable.

The New York Post published a few stories about the scandal, and then lost interest.

I reported the matter to the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, but there was no oversight, let alone any reform.

I took early retirement, and we moved far, far away from Washington corruption — all the way to Cape Charles.

We met the mayor, who was very personable, and Town Council members, also personable, who appeared happily engaged for the welfare of the town.

We were regulars at the beach and the pier, but did not attend any Town Council meetings. After our experience in Washington, we were happy to stay away from politics. [Read more…]

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