N&R headline is somewhat misleading — it implies Rockingham County commissioners have formally requested that Chairman Keith Mabe step down following his DWI arrest over the weekend; instead it appears as though commissioners have talked among themselves and privately agreed that Mabe should step down:
“The commissioners have talked one-on-one and expressed concerns to me as a vice chair that they think Commissioner Mabe should step down as chairman, and I have relayed that message to Chairman Mabe and Chairman Mabe refused,” said Craig Travis, vice chairman of the board.
Mabe blames his arrest on “six doses of his dead aunt’s prescription of paregoric, a medication used to treat diarrhea, which he said has a 47.7 percent alcohol content and 2 percent morphine per 2 mL.” But for the first time, it’s reported that Mabe had “had glassy eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet” and that he emitted “strong odor of alcohol.”
Mabe earlier claimed he did not consume alcohol —other than the paregoric—-following his arrest. You know what they say —- it’s not so much the crime as the cover up. Stay tuned.
