Dear Andrea, We spoke not long ago by phone. I just want to let you know
that plans to bring in a private prison here are not going to sit well with
many of us. In fact, it will most likely bring about a repeat of the recent
Biomass issue. I don’t mean we are opposed to it. I mean we are vehemently
opposed to it. It seems that Allen Ricketts and the other Board members
don’t understand that Valdosta’s citizens don’t want to be informed of, for
example, what finished products and raw materials will be stored in the
distribution center slated to locate in Valdosta AFTER the contract has been
signed. We have a right to know beforehand what kind of facility it is and
what will be stored there. Informing us after the fact is not transparency.
This is an issue that will continue to be revisited as long as the VLCIA
continues to act unilaterally without considering the wishes of those who
live here. We don’t want to be presented with a fait accompli. Also, the
VLCIA is really not doing due diligence when it continues to court
businesses that raise concerns over the ethical standards of the Board
itself. Thanks. Matt Flumerfelt
A private prison in Lowndes County would be a bad business decision: it would not increase employment, it would be likely to close because of lack of “customers”, and it would drive away knowledge-based workers. The letter I read to the Industrial Authority Board and Staff Tuesday on behalf of some members of the community sumarizes
appended documentation of all those and other points.
If you’d also like to sign, I’m still collecting signatures,
and will periodically drop off more signed copies.
Or, even better, write your own letter and send it to the Industrial Authority.
Submit it to this blog and we’ll probably publish it.
Opposed to a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. —John S. Quarterman
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 18 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Therefore, one must
ask, "Why would CUEE say the graduation rate for Valdosta High
School is in the low 50% range for all students and below 50% for
African Americans? The answer is simple. CUEE wants to mislead the
voters into believing that the graduation rate for Valdosta High
School is lower than it actually is. Therefore, not only does CUEE
make false statements, it also fails to state that the graduation
rate has improved significantly over the past 5 years for all
students and for African American Students. Again, this is an
attempt by CUEE to give the appearance that something other than what
is being done must be done. They do not tell us what should be done
other than to consolidate the school systems. The logic is
frightening to say the least.
October 14, 2011
George Boston Rhynes (229-251-8645)
Valdosta, Georgia 3605-1144
TO: All concerned citizens, Walmart Workers, internet and beyond!
Our Walmart in Bentonville, AK and how we were ignored by America’s Largest
Retail Giant (President Mike duke, Board Chairmen David Glass and about
thirteen other board members.
Is Walmart Now a god beside God; and answers to no one? —George Rhynes
For Respect,
Bentonville, Arkansas, Our Wal-Mart,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 October 2011.
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for K.V.C.I., Keeping Valdosta Citizen Informed.
However, this is nothing new for George Boston Rhynes; since I have
been ignored for over 3 1/2 years. After
Many people stood up at the Martin Luther King Jr Monument last Friday
and spoke.
Here they are (we may have missed a few).
At the MLK Monument —Occupy Valdosta
We are the 99%,
Marching to Occupy Valdosta, Occupy Valdosta,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
which we cited back in August.
It now gets 404 “No Such URL at This Domain”.
However, we know who they used to be, because that list got copied
by Vote No for the Children
to the two very interesting charts below, which show
real estate and
Valwood connections with CUEE.
So what’s going on?
Did CUEE’s website get termites, and we should trust the public schools to a group that can’t keep track of its own supporters?
Or have some of CUEE’s supporters defected
Continue reading →
I am sure you are aware that the vote of whether or not to consolidate
the Valdosta City Schools into the Lowndes County School System will be
held November 8, 2011. The City only is being asked to vote on whether
to dissolve the Valdosta City School charter. The proponents of the
referendum had a choice between putting the referendum in front of the
county and city or the city alone. The Lowndes County Board of
Education asked
No Private Prison —John S. Quarterman
We are the 99%,
Marching to Occupy Valdosta, Occupy Valdosta,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Doug Stoner, Georgia State Senator,
has said that
Georgia Power wasn’t
building nuclear plants with private money; they were using public money,
and that even a public utility is a subsidy.
So it appears he gets it.
Scott Holcomb, Georgia State Representative,
wants a state energy policy,
and has said:
Our lack of an energy policy is an absolute Achilles heel of our national policy.
Click on the pictures of each of the legislature members for their
contact information.
Even better, contact
your state representative or senator.
Or federal, since I think the new Plant Vogtle construction gets
federal subsidies, too.
Or write your local newspaper, or your local TV station, or the AJC.
Never before in the history of Valdosta have its citizens been met with
a greater challenge. The most powerful business interests in our city
have conspired to deceive us with a scheme to dilute the black vote,
and thereby rob our community of the political and economic benefits to
which we are rightly entitled.
We make up 55 percent of the city’s population. However, we are only 34
percent of the county’s population. If the city and county governments
are consolidated, which is the real goal of the Committee for Educational
Excellence (CUEE), we will lose forever the opportunity to have access to
the millions of federal dollars that will come to Valdosta, with which we
can rebuild our community; monies that we are now going to the North side.
This is, and never has been, about school unification. However, legally
that plans to bring in a private prison here are not going to sit well with many of us. In fact, it will most likely bring about a repeat of the recent Biomass issue. I don’t mean we are opposed to it. I mean we are vehemently opposed to it. It seems that Allen Ricketts and the other Board members don’t understand that Valdosta’s citizens don’t want to be informed of, for example, what finished products and raw materials will be stored in the distribution center slated to locate in Valdosta AFTER the contract has been signed. We have a right to know beforehand what kind of facility it is and what will be stored there. Informing us after the fact is not transparency. This is an issue that will continue to be revisited as long as the VLCIA continues to act unilaterally without considering the wishes of those who live here. We don’t want to be presented with a fait accompli. Also, the VLCIA is really not doing due diligence when it continues to court businesses that raise concerns over the ethical standards of the Board itself. Thanks. Matt Flumerfelt
