Lynnell Hancock wrote for Smithsonian Magazine September 2011, Why Are Finland’s Schools Successful? Here’s a clue:
So what do they do? Drill the weak students on test questions? Nope: Continue reading“Children from wealthy families with lots of education can be taught by stupid teachers,” Louhivuori said, smiling. “We try to catch the weak students. It’s deep in our thinking.”
Ariel Hart wrote for the AJC 15 August 2011, Regional transportation list approved
New swifter ramps! Countless arterial roads less clogged! Well, except by pedestrians trying to scurry through the faster traffic.If the projects are built, in just over a decade passengers could be riding trains from Atlanta to Cobb County or to Emory University, or traveling new, swifter ramps through the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange, or finding countless arterial roads wider and less clogged, from Henry County to Cherokee County and all points in between.
Why, in the second decade of the 21st century, do we continue with a failed traffic model from the middle of the 20th century? Seems to me traffic safety should be pertinent and should include pedestrians. and instead of more unsafe roads making life unpleasant and unsafe for communities, we could go for roads that serve communities.
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Walter C. Jones wrote for jacksonville.com 5 August 2011, Sunshine law changes to come up in Georgia redistricting session Public records statute is part of redistricting session, says state AG.
Olens unveiled news of the hearing by the House Judiciary Committee while he was participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Atlanta Press Club.Good point.Members of the club offered him suggestions on how to broaden the law to help them get documents from government agencies.
One reporter even suggested extending the open-records requirements to the governor. Current law exempts the governor’s office, but recent occupants have chosen to voluntarily comply in most cases.
Olens said he had to be realistic.
“The problem is I need a majority in the House and a majority in the Senate, and I need to get the bill passed,” he said. “Everyone should be subject to the Open Records Act … but you have to make a decision if you want to improve the law or you just want to whine.”
AP reported more detail back on 1 March 2011, Georgia may change open meetings law: New attorney general offers many changes, tougher penalties Continue reading
Mike Morrison wrote for Jacksonville.com 4 August 2011, 14 dogs die from heatstroke at Waycross kennel; cooling fans pledged
And on 10 August he wrote, Continue readingThe heat has killed dogs at the Waycross animal shelter because the kennel isn’t wired to power fans, but a city official said Wednesday that help is on the way.
Okefenokee Humane Society shelter manager Ben Hood said 14 dogs have died of heatstroke in the past three months, including a 7-month-old black Lab that died Wednesday.
“We’ve had record high temperatures this year,” Hood said, “but we don’t have any fans in the kennel because we don’t have any electricity out there.”
5.a. Change Order to Snake Nation Road ContractWe heard last time from Joe Pritchard that the county had received some estimates for resurfacing on Snake Nation Road, but he needed some time to organize funding before presenting details. OK, fair enough, but why is it a Change Order? Didn’t they just vote on realignment of Snake Nation Road in June? Why two months later a Change Order, which usually means have to do it right now with no competitive bids?
Here’s a backgrounder from the VDT about
a sinkhole being discovered on Snake Nation Road last December.
And here’s the VDT in May on
costs for fixing it:
“We are purchasing the property to the north, 5.22 acres, for $40,000 to reroute the road,” said County Manager Joe Pritchard.Rerouting the road will cost approximately $300,000 versus at least twice that amount to reinforce the hole, put in concrete supports, and fill it to prevent the road from collapsing again.
Here’s the agenda for this morning and tomorrow evening.
Continue readingLOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Churches and pastors need to view this video and see about these animals. That is since we read so much information about the Animal Shelter in our area about abused animals. What about these animals and the thirty deaths that no elected official, church, human being or orgnzations seem to care about.Continue reading
Did you know that Valdosta-Lowndes County Jail is leading the State of Georgia in Jail Deaths for whatever reason. Yet, no one is talking about these people many of whom are military veterans that served their nation. So where is the humanity to man?
Yes, we have had 30 jail deaths since 1994 to 2009 and not the Lowndes County Attorney has put it in a letter in so many words
According to the City of Valdosta’s website 19 August 2011: Continue reading
Campbell Robertson wrote for the New York Times 13 August 2011, Bishops Criticize Tough Alabama Immigration Law
Continue readingCULLMAN, Ala. —On a sofa in the hallway of his office here, Mitchell Williams, the pastor of First United Methodist Church, announced that he was going to break the law. He is not the only church leader making such a declaration these days.
Josh Anderson for the New York TimesSince June, when Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, signed an immigration enforcement law called the toughest in the country by critics and supporters alike, the opposition has been vocal and unceasing.
Thousands of protesters have marched. Anxious farmers
Most of Lowndes County’s boondoggle road widening
projects seem to have been bounced off the list.
This one is still on there:
$8 million to widen old US 41 North.
Some of the other projects may also be boondoggles for all I know,
but at least all the ones to widen roads right to the north edge
of the county and thus drive development all the way into
agricultural and forest areas are gone.
Here’s the list:
Continue reading
For those who miss their regular daily diet of animal shelter issues,
Susan Leavens has started a facebook group called
Georgia’s Regulatory Animal Protection Division the truth behind them.
And who knows? Maybe soon we’ll hear results of that investigation down at the sheriff’s office. Or maybe Gary Black will live up to his campaign promises. Or maybe Lowndes County will let the Humane Society train animal control officers. The more people ask for these things to happen, the more likely they will happen.
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