Commissioner Won’t Apologize for Derogatory Term

A derogatory term used in a Carroll County Commission meeting is causing a commotion. Now, some members of the Hispanic community want an apology.

In a community where words are what travels fast there is one word grabbing headlines. That’s because the term “wetback” was spoken by 82-year-old County Commissioner William Head at Tuesday night’s meeting. There he blamed jail overcrowding on some members of the Hispanic population, referencing illegal immigrants with the derogatory term.

“It’s going to get worse as the criminals move in from Atlanta and based on what I see, the wetbacks from down south, we’re going to have more and more all the time,” Head said.

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Head was out of town Thursday, but in a voicemail he told Channel 2 he has no intentions of making an apology. He said, “They are illegal immigrants, they are wetbacks. I’m sure they don’t like that terminology, I really don’t care. I owe no one an apology. I stand by what I said.”

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Head’s fellow commissioner Randy Simpkins said he felt it was unfortunate Head made the comment but Head has been on the commission for 7 years and in that time he has never known him to be racist.