Category Archives: Education

Who gets to serve on the Brooks County School Board —VDT

The VDT caught up with the TV stations today on the Quitman 10 story, and provided updates and context they did not.

David Rodock wrote on the front page of the VDT today, Gov. suspends `Quitman Ten’ officials,

On Tuesday, Deal issued his order prior to the Brooks County Board of Education’s first meeting of 2012. Dr. Nancy Whitfield-Dennard, Elizabeth Diane Thomas and Linda Faye Troutman were notified of this suspension at approximately 4:30 p.m., according to sources.
That’s a bit more context than the TV stations provided.

The VDT also says who gets to serve instead:

Following the governor’s suspension this week, Brooks County school board member Brad Shealy, who is also an assistant Southern district attorney, was appointed to serve as president of the board with board member Larry Cunningham serving as vice president. Shealy served many years as the school board president prior to Whitfield-Dennard being named president last year.
That seems to be the same Brad Shealy who used to be chairman until the recent election.

The VDT adds this context: Continue reading →

Gov. Deal suspended 3 Brooks Co. School Board members

The two local TV stations have an update on the Quitman 10: the governor has suspended the three who were elected to the Brooks County School Board. If the VDT has covered this, I must have missed it. (OK, I should look at today’s paper….) There’s also nothing about this on the Brooks County School Board website.

Jade Bulecza wrote for WALB yesterday, Governor orders Brooks Co. School Bd. suspensions

Superintendent Debra Folsom got the governor’s order Tuesday suspending the three board members.

“This is all new territory for us,” said Folsom. “We’re consulting our attorney to see what the next steps we will take to fill the positions.”

December 20 a review commission made up of the attorney general and two school board members from across Georgia were appointed by the governor to review the case.

“They heard evidence from the prosecution and from the accused and the conclusion of that they made a determination and forwarded that to the governor’s office whether to suspend or not to suspend the three school board members,” said South Georgia District Attorney Joe Mulholland.

December 30, the review panel unanimously made their decision.

That would be the same Joe Mulholland who’s been on TV saying things like Continue reading →

Quitman 10 to see Gov. Deal in Atlanta —George Rhynes

Received today. -jsq
Moreover, I have just been notified that the Quitman 10 will be traveling to Atlanta on Friday to meet with Georgia Governor Deal about remaining on the Brooks County Board of Education. I will most certainly miss Senator Robert Brown here in the State of Georgia.

-GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES

From Macon, Patrick Davis provides insight into the Quitman 10 case

While the Valdosta Daily Times, WCTV, and WALB remain silent about the Quitman 10, and all you hear on local TV is the D.A. giving his opinion of the case, in faraway Macon Patrick Davis digs into more things we should be hearing.

Patrick Davis wrote yesterday for the Macon Political Buzz Examiner, Jim Crow politics on display as Brooks County absentee case proceeds

Brad Shealy, who had been the long-time chairman of the Brooks Board of Education faced the prospect of being voted out as chairman and witnessing a majority-black Brooks County Board of Education for the first time ever.

Shealy lost his position when new leadership was elected in January 2011.

Shealy’s day job is the assistant district attorney under J. David Miller who originally started the investigation back in the late summer of 2010.

Excuse me? The former Brooks County school board chairman works for the D.A.’s office? And the D.A. is going on TV for pre-trial propaganda in the case?

Patrick Davis asks the obvious question: Continue reading →

D.A. Joe Mulholland on Fox News on the Quitman 10

This is what local TV viewers are hearing and seeing about the Quitman 10. Somebody tell me, is it appropriate for a district attorney to declare people guilty before trial?

Justin Schuver wrote for the Post-Searchlight 29 November 2011, Mulholland interviewed on Fox News

Local viewers of Fox News on Sunday morning might have seen a familiar face on their screen, as South Georgia Judicial Circuit District Attorney Joe Mulholland was interviewed by the national news station about his prosecution of a voter-fraud case in Brooks County, Ga.

Mulholland spoke to Fox News newsman Eric Shawn for approximately four-and-a-half minutes about the case, which involves 12 citizens charged for allegedly tampering in a July 2010 primary election.

According to the Valdosta Daily Times, school board incumbents Gary Rentz and Myra Exum were leading in their races, before the absentee ballots were counted. After those 979 absentee ballots were tabulated, challengers Linda Troutman and Elizabeth Thomas were able to overtake the incumbents’ leads and eventually win election in November.

On Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested

Continue reading →

Former Wal-Mart Department Managers Telling their stories —George Boston Rhynes

Received 5 December 2011. -jsq
Just another Wal-Mart Fired Untrained Department Manager. This is an initial introduction to a much bigger story of truth that cannot and will not be hidden forever! Nor will Wal-Mart Workers here in American continue to be mistreated and ignored as if we were in the Republic of China or in some other third world nation. Galatians 6:7, Saint Luke 4:18……
George’s introduction: Former Wal-Mart Department Managers Tell All at a Valdosta Diner!

And an interview: One of several Former Wal-Mart Department Managers Telling their stories of Truth:


Video by George Boston Rhynes for bostonbgr on YouTube and K.V.C.I.

-jsq

Some answers and some remaining questions about the Comprehensive Plan

When I spoke at the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) about the Short Term Work Projects (STWP) document on Monday, November 28th, I had questions about several sections, and many of the deleted or modified items. The next day I met with Lowndes County Planner Jason Davenport to discuss my questions. Some of my questions were answered to my satisfaction, some I still had concerns about, and some are still unanswered because they were not actually in his area of expertise.

The document covers all the cities in Lowndes County as well as the unincorporated area. I did get some questions about Valdosta projects answered by Valdosta City Planner Matt Martin in a telephone conversation.

Questions I had about Conservations of Sensitive Areas were answered in detail. For example: Continue reading →

Local state legislative delegation at the Country Club

At the State Legislative Luncheon at the Country Club yesterday, sponsored by the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce, I found it more interesting what the legislators didn’t mention than what they did.

Frequent attendees told me the audience was much larger than in previous years, and one attributed that to the recent school consolidation referendum. Sitting side by side were Chamber Chair Tom Gooding and FVCS President Sam Allen.

Jeff Hanson introduced the legislators. He’s the Chair of the Chamber’s Government Affairs Council (GAC). He said they are seeking more participants. Hm, they have an Energy and Environment Policy Committee that’s chaired by someone from Georgia Power….

Tim Golden announced that the local delegation’s highest priority was to get $32 million for a Health Science Center for VSU. VSU Interim President Dr. Levy was there, as was former president “Dr. Z” as Tim Golden called him.

I was just talking to someone from SGMC in the food line about how it would be nice if the Industrial Authority would promote healthcare industries more. It’s good that the legislators are doing that, although it’s not clear that there are not other things that should be even higher priority.

Tim Golden also wants to remove a sales tax Continue reading →

Private prison profits buying more laws to lock people up

Another report about money and private prisons (in addition to the ACLU’s Banking on Bondage), this one Public Campaign and PICO National Network, Unholy Alliance: How the Private Prison Industry is Corrupting Our Democracy and Promoting Mass Incarceration. It establishes that the “kids for cash” scandal, in which two judges accepted kickbacks in exchange for locking up juveniles, was just the tip of the iceberg.
Yet the reality is that private prison lobbyists regularly buy influence with state and federal officials, not only to win lucrative contracts, but also to change or preserve policies that increase the number of people behind bars. Private companies have made huge profits off the mass incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, and are now turning their attention to increasing the detention of Latino immigrants—the newest profit center for the prison industrial complex. Ultimately there is no way to reverse the costly trend toward mass incarceration without reducing the influence of these companies and their money in our democracy.
Here’s another example David Donnelly wrote for Huffpo 17 Nov 2011, Private Prisons Industry: Increasing Incarcerations, Maximizing Profits and Corrupting Our Democracy,
Earlier this year in Louisiana, a plan by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) to privatize prisons narrowly failed in a legislative committee by a vote of 13 to 12. The 12 members of the House Appropriations Committee who voted to approve the prison privatization plan have received more than three times more money from private prison donors than the 13 members who voted against the plan, according to an analysis of data from the Louisiana Ethics Administration and the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Gov. Jindal himself has taken nearly $30,000 from the private prison industry.
And of course in Georgia there’s HB 87, which isn’t really about excluding immigrants; Continue reading →

The private prison game: Banking on Bondage

Rania Khalek wrote for AlterNet 29 November 2011, The Shocking Ways the Corporate Prison Industry Games the System
Just a decade ago, private prisons were a dying industry awash in corruption and mired in lawsuits, particularly Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison operator. Today, these companies are booming once again, yet the lawsuits and scandals continue to pile up. Meanwhile, more and more evidence shows that compared to publicly run prisons, private jails are filthier, more violent, less accountable, and contrary to what privatization advocates peddle as truth, do not save money. In fact, more recent findings suggest that private prisons could be more costly.

So why are they still in business?

In a recently published report, “Banking on Bondage: Mass Incarceration and Private Prisons,” the American Civil Liberties Union examines the history of prison privatization and finds that private prison companies owe their continued and prosperous existence to skyrocketing immigration detention post September 11 as well as the firm hold they have gained over elected and appointed officials.

We’d already heard from Bloomberg that Continue reading →