Tag Archives: Georgia

Why school consolidation is useless: bright flight

What local county grew twice as fast as any of the others? If you guessed Lowndes, nope, no prize for you. The answer, according to the 2000 census, is Lanier County:

What school consolidation would get us is more of that. Not white flight, rather bright flight, to Lanier and other counties. Many of the leaders of the local African-American community already don’t live in Valdosta; they live in Lowndes County or even Berrien County. More of both black and white people will move out of a county with a consolidated school district, resulting in lower educational results not just for Valdosta but also for Lowndes schools. Is that what we want?

How about all the people who claim they know how to take our schools to “the next level” get on with doing that right now with the two existing school systems?

-jsq

Biomass protesters @ VCC 24 March 2011

Black and white, young and old, conservative and liberal, college professors and unemployed: dozens of them demonstrated against biomass outside the Valdosta City Council meeting, 24 March 2011:

As Dr. George said Continue reading →

Wiregrass Tech: fastest growing and award winning

According to Community College Week Magazine,
Valdosta Technical College (which is now Wiregrass Georgia Technical College) earned the honor as being the fastest-growing college in the nation among colleges with enrollments of equal size.
Its size range is enrollments 2,500 to 4,999 (see page 8.) Enrollment went up at Wiregrass Tech 45% between Fall 2008 and 2009.

Also, the Technical College System of Georgia named Wiregrass Tech Technical College of the Year for 2010.

-jsq

We have plenty of sunshine here –Dr. Serrán-Pagán @ VCC 24 March 2011

Dr. Cristóbal Serrán-Pagán y Fuentes reminds us we don’t need a biomass plant because:
We have plenty of sunshine here.
You’d think the Valdosta City Council would know that, since only about a month ago Mayor Fretti assisted groundbreaking for Wiregrass Solar LLC. Maybe it takes somebody from Spain to remind everyone. Spain, which is a leader in solar power in the world. Spain, which is actually north of Georgia.

Here’s the video:


Protesters outside the
Regular meeting of the Valdosta City Council, 24 March 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

What do you need to see to conclude this biomass plant is a bad idea? –Dr. Mark Patrick George @ VCC 24 March 2011

Dr. George gets to the point! After talking to several Valdosta City Council members, he has observed that people make up their minds regardless of evidence. So he wants to know:
What evidence would you need to see to conclude this is a bad idea?
Dr. George also gets at something even deeper that Council might consider a wakeup call:
The public outcry about this across the political spectrum, from conservative to liberal.
People against the biomass plant are not just black or white or young or old or conservative or liberal or college professors or unemployed: they are all of those things. The intransigence of elected and appointed officials is causing citizens to stand up and be heard on this and other issues around the county. This issue is serving as a catalyst for people to demand more transparent and responsive government.

Here’s the video:


Regular meeting of the Valdosta City Council, 24 March 2011,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Wiregrass Technical College @ VLCIA 15 March 2011

Wiregrass Technical College wants to expand onto some land owned by the Industrial Authority, using SPLOST funds.

Chairman Jerry Jennett:

The point is they’re landlocked.

And so what you want to do is you want to take what your tract is now and have the ability to expand your building in the future. You want to move your training facility now and….

More transcription after the video:


Regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, VLCIA,
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director,
Allan Ricketts Program Manager, 15 March 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Roy Copeland: Continue reading →

What Are Our Priorities? –Dr. Noll @ LCC 22 March 2011

Dr. Noll raised a number of issues about community priorities at the Lowndes County Commission meeting of 22 March 2011 and asked what are our priorities?

The Sierra Club letter he mentions was posted last week. For NOAA Weather Radios see previous posts. Here is the video:


Regular meeting of the Lowndes County Commission, 22 March 2011.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Appended is the script Dr. Noll says he was reading. I’ve added a few links to relevant posts. -jsq Continue reading →

School consolidation: CUUE kick-off event tomorrow night

Do you think the Valdosta and Lowndes County School Systems should be consolidated? I don’t, but CUEE does, and they’re having an “official kick-off” 6PM tomorrow, 24 March 2011, at the Gazebo Room, James H. Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place, Valdosta.

Note at the top of the invitation:

It’s Your Decision. It’s Your Choice.
Well, not if you live in the county outside Valdosta, it’s not. CUEE is promoting a referendum for Valdosta voters in November 2011 for Valdosta to give up its school system: Continue reading →

VDT on LCC last night

LAKE is thrilled when the VDT covers things so we don’t have to. David S. Rodock in his writeup in VDT this morning on yesterday’s Lowndes County Commission meeting includes this list that was not displayed in the public meeting, yet was approved by the commissioners. Car 41 No where are you?

Here’s the list: Continue reading →

South Georgia already in drought: parameters for industry?

Droughts and floods: maybe we need to manage water better, including managing industrial use of water.

According to the AP, Ga. foresters brace for busy wildfire season:

A cold, wet winter has left northern parts of the state in decent shape, but in southern Georgia river flows and soil moisture are both at some of the lowest points that would be expected in a century, said David Stooksbury, Georgia’s state climatologist at the University of Georgia.
The nearterm effects:
“We have a good fuel load with plenty of dry vegetation, the soil is dry and there’s a low relative humidity and there’s wind,” Stooksbury said. “That is the simple recipe for a trash fire to get out of control very quickly and become a wildfire.”
Yes, Sunday Georgia Forestry cut off burn permits in Lowndes County because some fires had gotten out of control.

The long term problem? Continue reading →