Speakers pro and con school unification assembled up front
to talk about procedures, and a listener took exception to that.
Dr. Lee Allen said the important thing was “the simple idea of what we want to do”
and then talked about the 1960s and what he didn’t want to hear about that.
He never did say what he wanted to do now.
Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading
We have complaints that some people couldn’t understand
what Dr. Mark George was saying in
the previous post of his remarks at Monday’s Lowndes County Democratic Party meeting,
so here’s another version from a different camera.
Feedback, please.
He said the Chamber of Commerce said schools were not its issue. Dr. George pointed out that it was the Chamber and the real estate industry that largely produced the current situation by funelling people to the county schools.
He said the unification project started with a request from the Industrial Authority, who said it didn’t look good when potential industry saw there was a black school system and a white school system. (The timing of this is interesting, because it comes after Brad Lofton was hired as VLCIA Executive Director, and other people formerly associated with VLCIA say they were never asked by any potential industry how many school systems we have.)
Dr. George discussed many other interesting points, such as CUEE’s terminology drift from consolidation to integration to unification.
Here’s Part 1 of 2:
Camera 2: Dr. Mark George about CUEE @ LCDP 2 May 2011 Part 1 of 2:
Debate between proponents of school system unification (CUEE) and opponents,
at Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), Gretchen Quarterman chair,
Videos by George Rhynes, Jim Parker, John S. Quarterman, and Gretchen Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 May 2011.
In this second video from camera 2,
Dr. George noted
that the Valdosta school system is internally segregated.
He said both he and Rev. Rose asked to have somebody put on the CUEE council, and that that didn’t happen.
There’s more; you can watch it for yourself. Here’s Part 2 of 2:
Camera 2: Dr. Mark George about CUEE @ LCDP 2 May 2011 Part 2 of 2:
Debate between proponents of school system unification (CUEE) and opponents,
at Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), Gretchen Quarterman chair,
Videos by George Rhynes, Jim Parker, John S. Quarterman, and Gretchen Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 May 2011.
-jsq
Update: See other post for
videos from another camera with better sound.
Dr. Mark George pointed out that school consolidation didn’t solve some problems last time:
In 2011 our schools were more segregated racially than they were in 1968.He questioned why people should believe that consolidation, even if called unification, would solve those same problems this time.
Continuing the
debate between proponents and opponents of unification of the
Valdosta and Lowndes County School Systems, organized by
Gretchen Quarterman, chair of the
The Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP).
Here, speaking against, is Dr. Mark George.
Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading
Rev. George Bennett stated what he believes:
I’m on the CUEE board because I believe a unified school system can better serve children of our community, and particularly children in the city of Valdosta.
Gretchen Quarterman, chair of the The Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), organized a debate between proponents and opponents of unification of the Valdosta and Lowndes County School Systems. Here, speaking for, is Dr. George Bennett, on the board of Community Unification for Educational Excellence (CUEE).
In the first video, Dr. Bennett talks about his history with the Valdosta schools. Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading
I ran across some interesting information at
The American Lung Association
web site about
the state of air quality.
There were several things that jumped out at me right away.
Do the leaders of our area really want us to be like the Atlanta area? Do we want to poison our children, our parents and our grandparents with dirty air? Dirty air leads to both lung and cardiovascular disease.
What are a few of things we could do to keep our air clean?
-Gretchen
Gretchen Quarterman continued
interviewing County Clerk Paige Dukes
about the owl on the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.
Q: “Are there other owls around town?”
A: “There may be!”
Paige suggests owl spotters. She says the owls cost about $20 each, and this one works for the county without any further expenditure.
Here’s the video: Continue reading
That owl on the top of the Lowndes County Courthouse:
where did it come from?
As the owl watched,
Gretchen Quarterman asked County Clerk Paige Dukes.
Q: “So Paige, why is the owl up there?”
A: “The owl is up there to deter any of the pigeons in the area from flying into the courthouse.”
The owl has been on the courthouse since 2007. More details in the video: Continue reading
Downtown Valdosta Farm Days begin two weeks from tomorrow:
Bringing the best of the country to the heart of the City!There’s a calendar on their website, along with how to become a vendor.Downtown Valdosta Farm Days is a bi-weekly farmers’ market featuring local farmers and artisans and also serves to educate the community about eating local, nutrition and food choices.
Downtown Farmers Market
First and Third Saturdays from May to September
9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Lowndes County Courthouse Square, Downtown Valdosta
More on this story as it develops.
-jsq
I wanted to know what the council and the protesters will do
when the biomass plant is canceled.
I still want to know: what will you do?
Here’s the video, followed by my points.
What will you do? —John S. Quarterman @ VCC 7 April 2011
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 April 2011,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Before I started, the mayor noted that many people needed to go to an event at 7PM (he didn’t name it, but it was the 100 Black Men Annual Dinner.) He offered to proceed with scheduled business and re-open Citizens to be Heard at the end of the meeting. Nobody objected. I had already waited until nobody else seemed to want to speak.
My points: Continue reading
Matt Flumerfelt says he’s a musician, writer, and poet,
and doesn’t usually go in for speaking about politics.
But he’s come to the conclusion that the biomass plant
is a bad idea.
Here’s the video:
Biomass is a bad idea —Matt Flumerfelt @ VLCIA 19 April 2011
Regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, VLCIA,
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director, 19 April 2011,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq