This time, 24 March 2011,
Angela Manning, minister of the 1500-member New Life Ministries
in Valdosta near the proposed site for the Wiregrass Power LLC biomass plant,
read from the Valdosta City Council’s own mission statement and
asked,
How do you adhere to your mission statement?Here’s the video: Continue reading
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?
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As Dr. George said Continue reading
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.
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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:
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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:
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Let’s meet
the CUEE board and ask them a simple question.
The Chair, Leroy Butler, named them in this order: Rusty Griffin (Vice-Chair), George Bennett, Tom Kurrie, Walter Hobgood, Johnny Ball, Jack Edwards, Jud Rackley, Gene Godfrey, and “last but certainly not least” Ruth Council. (Not named but listed on CUEE’s website are David Durland, Terry Hunt, and Ronnie Mathis.)
As I told Rusty Griffin, I congratulate CUEE on holding public meetings about their plans.
Here’s the question:
How many of the current CUEE board are from the county outside of Valdosta?Continue reading
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.More transcription after the video: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….
Roy Copeland: Continue reading
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:
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