See also the statements against consolidation by
both school boards.
Many citizens spoke at the
29 August 2011 VBOE meeting
where all but one Valdosta School Board member
voted for the statement against consolidation.
VBOE then held three open forums:
Continue reading
Commissioner Crawford Powell wanted exemptions or exceptions
to Lowndes County’s travel policy for
“department heads, elected officials, County Manager”.
Commissioner Richard Raines just wanted the limits raised.
Commissioner Joyce Evans preferred they
…make a statement that we should not exceed a certain amount per day.Chairman Ashley Paulk said exceptions were a problem and indicated they would be a bad idea. Powell and Raines are the same Commissioners who thought accepting a federal grant for NOAA Weather Radios would be “wasteful spending” of tax dollars and who refused a federal grant for an emergency vehicle. Spending local taxes seems fine with then when it comes to their travel expenses. They finally adopted a total of $75/day for meals. I hate to agree with Frank Barnas, but GSA standard for trips to Atlanta is $56/day.
At the Monday 24 October 2011 County Commission Work Session, County Manager Pritchard said the county’s travel policy had been discussed during their retreat and during budget preparations, with changes for mileage reimbursement, meal limitations, and use of tax forms. .
This is the policy we have been acting under since the adoption of the budget. I just wanted to bring it back before you to make this adoption public.Joyce Evans expressed a concern about it saying the County Manager or his designee could approve expenses. She seemed to want the designee part removed.
Crawford Powell said:
and why I call on them to stand up and say whether they are for or against it:
the same old disproved disinformation sent again yesterday by a
CUEE board member from
the Chamber’s own email address to Chamber members.
If you support CUEE, you support this disinformation campaign
instead of real research that shows consolidation would do nothing
to improve education, it would raise everyone’s taxes, and
it would not help attract industry.
Instead, it would seriously damage public education.
This is not a time to be silent. Which side are you on? CUEE and the Chamber’s propaganda campaign? Or public education, and you will vote no?
CUEE Board Member “Jud Rackley, CPA” emailed yesterday from chamber@valdostachamber.com, subject “The Truth About School Taxes and Unification”, including:
I’ve heard several people say school unification will cause a significant tax increase. Yet, no one seems to know why this would happen. It appears this rumor is based on a document circulated by the Lowndes County Board of Education.
Dr. Troy Davis
spelled out why taxes would increase,
based on actual tax statements, plus information from the Lowndes County
Tax Assessors’ office and the actual budgets of the Valdosta and Lowndes
County School Systems.
See also former Valdosta
School Superintendent Sam Allen’s partial list
of massive layoffs, service cuts, and school closings
caused by reduced income because of less federal and state funding,
and increased costs due to bussing.
And the formal statements against consolidation approved overwhelmingly
by both school boards.
In addition to these statements by people with actual experience in school
administration, see also
the extensive statement against consolidation by the Valdosta City Council,
and
even the VDT turned against this consolidation effort.
If that’s not enough, David Mullis has compiled all the research
into a convenient
Grassroots Handbook Against School Consolidation.
Opposed to all this evidence, we have this undocumented letter Continue reading
Without discussion, the Lowndes County Commissioners at their regular
meeting two weeks ago on 11 October 2011. approved an intergovernmental
agreement with South Georgia Medical Center to guarantee more than $100
million in bonds, for expansion of SGMC facilities, to include 96 new
private rooms in the Dasher Heart Center, the 5 story parking deck,
now under construction and due to be completed in early 2012, and Life
Safety and Generator Equipment updates.
If one had not been at the work session and heard the presentation at their work session the day before, one would have no idea what this agenda item was about, since the Commission does not post such presentations anywhere the public can see them. Fortunately, LAKE was there and videoed it.
Here’s the video:
Lowndes County Commissioners approve intergovernmental agreement with SGMC
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-gretchen
Representatives from SGMC gave a two part presentation
about expansion of SGMC facilities, to include 96 new
private rooms in the Dasher Heart Center, the 5 story
parking deck, now under construction and due to be completed
in early 2012, and Life Safety and Generator Equipment updates.
Additionally, they spoke briefly on the acquisition of Smith Northview Hospital on September 1, 2011. Smith Northview operates as a campus of SGMC and all Smith Northview employees are now SGMC employees.
The second part of the presentation was about the financial Continue reading
Dear Andrea, We spoke not long ago by phone. I just want to let you knowthat plans to bring in a private prison here are not going to sit well with many of us. In fact, it will most likely bring about a repeat of the recent Biomass issue. I don’t mean we are opposed to it. I mean we are vehemently opposed to it. It seems that Allen Ricketts and the other Board members don’t understand that Valdosta’s citizens don’t want to be informed of, for example, what finished products and raw materials will be stored in the distribution center slated to locate in Valdosta AFTER the contract has been signed. We have a right to know beforehand what kind of facility it is and what will be stored there. Informing us after the fact is not transparency. This is an issue that will continue to be revisited as long as the VLCIA continues to act unilaterally without considering the wishes of those who live here. We don’t want to be presented with a fait accompli. Also, the VLCIA is really not doing due diligence when it continues to court businesses that raise concerns over the ethical standards of the Board itself. Thanks. Matt Flumerfelt
A private prison in Lowndes County would be a bad business decision: it would not increase employment, it would be likely to close because of lack of “customers”, and it would drive away knowledge-based workers. The letter I read to the Industrial Authority Board and Staff Tuesday on behalf of some members of the community sumarizes
appended documentation of all those and other points.
If you’d also like to sign, I’m still collecting signatures, and will periodically drop off more signed copies. Or, even better, write your own letter and send it to the Industrial Authority. Submit it to this blog and we’ll probably publish it.
Here’s the video:
Opposed to a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. —John S. Quarterman
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 18 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Text of the letter is appended; follow the link for the documentation. Continue reading
Dear Media:Continue readingI am sure you are aware that the vote of whether or not to consolidate
For those of you concerned about nuclear energy, here are some quick, meaningful actions you can take today. Maybe you aren’t concerned about nuclear energy. I bet you ARE concerned about $$$$.Learn more about how Georgia Power is getting your money at the state and federal level. All US taxpayers all over the US are basically cosigning a loan for $8.3 B for the Vogtle reactors. Simultaneously, Georgia Power is raising your electric rates to fund the pre-construction costs by pulling the same advanced cost recovery scheme as SC and FL. You can learn more about the controversy surrounding the loan guarantees here
Calculate how much Vogtle is costing you on your monthly bill
(Look for “Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery Rider:”)
-Mandy Hancock
Thanks for posting this John!Continue readingMr. Bowers’ visit and his comments are almost comical, particularly his quote that “the government is stimulating for renewables to give them a running chance but, when you remove them, the question is can they run on their own two feet?”
A good question! Fact is that neither coal nor nuclear would be able to “run on their two own feet” if it wasn’t for the large subsidies both have received for decades. Now these are nicely hidden subsidies so that the average consumer thinks he is getting a bargain, without realizing that it is us, the consumers, who have actually paid for this “inexpensive rate”.
At the same time truly renewable and clean energies
