Healthy Options had a table at the first Valdosta Downtown Farm Days,
and Chastity told us about their products with no preservatives and no synthetics.
Chastity tells us about Healthy Options of Days Gone By
Downtown Valdosta Farm Days, Courthouse Square,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 May 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Mr. John Robinson pointed out that school board problems and biomass
are not the only issues around here, and for example the south side
of town needs money so people there can become more productive citizens.
At the 21 April 2011 Valdosta City Council meeting,
He specifically recommended getting
Valdosta Small Emerging Business (VSEB) up and running.
Let us try to come together and find some method —John Robinson
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 April 2011,
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Amanda Peacock explains it all (Downtown Valdosta Farm Days)
Downtown Valdosta Farm Days, Courthouse Square,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 May 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Ashley Paulk said he is code enforcement!
Let’s go back a year to the rezoning of Old Pine Road on 8 June 2010,
as an example of how some things fit together around here.
First a bit more about lot size, and then code enforcement and traffic.
Commissioner Richard Lee wanted to know if Coy Brightwell
was the spokesperson for the people against.
Brightwell said some others would also speak,
but R-10 was the closest to a quarter acre lot, and that’s what they
were for.
Lot size and code enforcement on Old Pine Road, 8 June 2010 Part 1 of 3:
Rezoning REZ-2010-06, Glen Laurel, Old Pine Rd,
Regular monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC)
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 8 June 2010,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman
for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
A Mr. Mulligan of Bemiss Road wanted to know
A Mr. Mulligan of Bemiss Road wanted to know
Who develops these plans, the county, or the developer?
Pretty much everyone agrees there are problems with the two local
school systems in this county, those of Lowndes and Valdosta.
Proponents and opponents of school unification even agree on many
of the details.
They just don’t agree on the solution.
CUEE believes that unification will somehow lead to solutions to all this,
and
believe is the word they use,
because they have no evidence.
Opponents such as me
don’t see any plan to get to better education, and some think that unification
will cause problems that CUEE is not even considering,
just like integration did in 1969.
Here’s a pair of pie charts from 2008 from
Who’s losing in Winnersville?
a project unification opponent Dr. Mark George was involved in:
I completely agree with Alex Rowell. What is the purpose of
consolidation/’unification’? Is the purpose to desegregate the two school
districts? If so, how will the new school district deal with the issues
that Leigh Touchton brings up with regard to education not serving black
male students. How will a larger school district better meet the needs of
a much more diverse student body? Furthermore, What do the parents in the
county think about desegregation of their distict? (Because if they don’t
want it, there is no doubt that ‘unification’ will be a disaster for ALL)
OR is the purpose to reduce cost by reducing administrators in the head
office? If that is the purpose where are the students in this decision.
“If you believe in the end that running one system is cheaper than
running two school systems. If in the end you are going to cast a vote
for a single system because you think it would save money, I wouldn’t
cast my vote. I do not think it will save money.”
And, indeed, where are the students in this decision?
What NAACP has advocated for is cultural competency from our teachers,
this is not necessarily a black or white issue. Often it’s more a matter
of class than race; for example, far too many middle class teachers
expect middle class behavior from children who are living in poverty
and this is an unfair expectation. There are also deep-seated issues
regarding black males that cultural competency won’t address: namely,
that many black teenaged males don’t see any benefit to a high school
education because so many of their family members cannot find work here
in Valdosta. What’s the point to an education if one is still shut out
of most successful careers?
Consolidation won’t be the magic bullet that solves these problems,
there aren’t even any CUEE representatives speaking to these issues. To
most of our members, we think these issues will get worse rather than
better if the two systems were to merge.
Roger Budd III read a speech about socialism and communism
and government oppression.
He didn’t like not being able to build a restaurant
because he hadn’t yet been able to get a building permit.
Hm, I guess he wouldn’t like the city paying for
making videos of its meetings available to the public,
like me and my socialist buddy Dan Davis suggested.
He didn’t like it —Roger Budd III @ VCC 21 April 2011
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 April 2011,
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
After a student award was announced,
Roy Taylor’s attorney addressed the council about
the mayor’s expenses during Citizens to be Heard.
Roy Taylor is visible in the audience as the camera pans.
The mayor was not there;
he has since explained
he was spending quality time with his family.
The mayor’s expenses —Roy Taylor @ VCC 21 March 2011 Part 1 of 3:
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 April 2011,
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
I didn’t intend to say anything Monday, but since
Rev. Bennett named me in his introduction
I thought it necessary to stand up and make it clear that
I do not support CUEE’s plan for school system unification.
After some examples of things on which I agreed or disagreed with
Ashley Paulk, the VDT, the Chamber of Commerce, and VLCIA,
I mentioned that after an SCLC meeting Rusty Griffin told
me that nobody who was not for unification would be accepted
on the CUEE board.
I praised
the upcoming Thursday meeting about education,
but pointed out that commitee would not report back before
the proposed unification vote,
and the CUEE board still had only one member from the county
outside Valdosta, so:
This is not diversification,
this is not representative of the people,
this a small pressure group,
and nothing personal against you,
a small pressure group that is trying to decide
for the rest of us.
Once again, why I’m opposed to CUEE’s unification scheme:
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