11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Florida Parent Trigger Bill SB 1718 Dies on 20-20 vote--Status Quo Wins Again!
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Fractured Republican Senate=Win for Status Quo
I received this below email just a short time ago from the FSBA: (Note: Since I supported passage of this bill, feel free to email the NAY voters below and ask them why they are against empowering Parents to participate in decsisions regarding forcing a fix on chronically failing schools in Florida!!)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
A bit more information on the defeat of SB 1718 -- the Parent Trigger Bill:
The bill died on a 20-20 tie vote. Below is the record of the vote:
Yeas:JD AlexanderThad AltmanLizbeth BenacquistoMike BennettEllyn BogdanoffMiguel Diaz de la PortillaGreg EversAnitere FloresDon GaetzRene GarciaAndy GardinerMike HaridopolosJack LatvalaJoe NegronJim NormanGarrett RichterDavid SimmonsRonda StormsJohn ThrasherStephen Wise
Nays: (with email address)Oscar Braynon -- braynon.oscar.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:braynon.oscar.web@flsenate.gov>Larcenia Bullard -- bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov>Charlie Dean -- dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov>Nancy Detert -- detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov>Paula Dockery -- dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov>Mike Fasano -- fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov>Audrey Gibson -- gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov>Alan Hays -- hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov>Dennis Jones -- jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov>Arthenia Joyner -- joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov>Evelyn Lynn -- lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov>Gwen Margolis -- margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov>Bill Montford -- montford.bill.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:montford.bill.web@flsenate.gov>Steve Oelrich -- oelrich.steve.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:oelrich.steve.web@flsenate.gov>Nan Rich -- rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov>Jeremy Ring -- ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov>Maria Sachs -- sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov>Gary Siplin -- siplin.gary.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:siplin.gary.web@flsenate.gov>Chris Smith -- smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov>Eleanor Sobel -- sobel.eleanor.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:sobel.eleanor.web@flsenate.gov>
Please sent an email to each of the Senators that voted “Nay” to thank them for standing up for the best interests of students, parents, and public education. Also, please send an email to the following parent groups and thank them for their activism and hard work. We would NOT have seen this success without their tireless work. [NOTE: we have only listed the leaders of these groups, but there are many others in each group who have worked in this true grassroots effort to defeat this bill. Please be sure to ask that they share your thanks with the members of their network]
50th No MoreColleen Wood -- casacolleen@aol.com
Florida PTAJean Hovey, President -- jhoveypta@bellsouth.net Mindy Gould, Legislative Chair -- mindygouldpta@aol.com
Fund Education NowKathleen Oropeza -- kathleeno@cfl.rr.com Christine Bramuchi -- cbramuchi@cfl.rr.com Linda Kobert -- lgkdesign@msn.com
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ruth
Fractured Republican Senate=Win for Status QuoI received this below email just a short time ago from the FSBA: (Note: Since I supported passage of this bill, feel free to email the NAY voters below and ask them why they are against empowering Parents to participate in decsisions regarding forcing a fix on chronically failing schools in Florida!!)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
A bit more information on the defeat of SB 1718 -- the Parent Trigger Bill:
The bill died on a 20-20 tie vote. Below is the record of the vote:
Yeas:JD AlexanderThad AltmanLizbeth BenacquistoMike BennettEllyn BogdanoffMiguel Diaz de la PortillaGreg EversAnitere FloresDon GaetzRene GarciaAndy GardinerMike HaridopolosJack LatvalaJoe NegronJim NormanGarrett RichterDavid SimmonsRonda StormsJohn ThrasherStephen Wise
Nays: (with email address)Oscar Braynon -- braynon.oscar.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:braynon.oscar.web@flsenate.gov>Larcenia Bullard -- bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:bullard.larcenia.web@flsenate.gov>Charlie Dean -- dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:dean.charles.web@flsenate.gov>Nancy Detert -- detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov>Paula Dockery -- dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov>Mike Fasano -- fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov>Audrey Gibson -- gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov>Alan Hays -- hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:hays.alan.web@flsenate.gov>Dennis Jones -- jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:jones.dennis.web@flsenate.gov>Arthenia Joyner -- joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov>Evelyn Lynn -- lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov>Gwen Margolis -- margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:margolis.gwen.web@flsenate.gov>Bill Montford -- montford.bill.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:montford.bill.web@flsenate.gov>Steve Oelrich -- oelrich.steve.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:oelrich.steve.web@flsenate.gov>Nan Rich -- rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov>Jeremy Ring -- ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov>Maria Sachs -- sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:sachs.maria.web@flsenate.gov>Gary Siplin -- siplin.gary.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:siplin.gary.web@flsenate.gov>Chris Smith -- smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov>Eleanor Sobel -- sobel.eleanor.web@flsenate.gov <mailto:sobel.eleanor.web@flsenate.gov>
Please sent an email to each of the Senators that voted “Nay” to thank them for standing up for the best interests of students, parents, and public education. Also, please send an email to the following parent groups and thank them for their activism and hard work. We would NOT have seen this success without their tireless work. [NOTE: we have only listed the leaders of these groups, but there are many others in each group who have worked in this true grassroots effort to defeat this bill. Please be sure to ask that they share your thanks with the members of their network]
50th No MoreColleen Wood -- casacolleen@aol.com
Florida PTAJean Hovey, President -- jhoveypta@bellsouth.net Mindy Gould, Legislative Chair -- mindygouldpta@aol.com
Fund Education NowKathleen Oropeza -- kathleeno@cfl.rr.com Christine Bramuchi -- cbramuchi@cfl.rr.com Linda Kobert -- lgkdesign@msn.com
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ruth
Proposed Florida Senate Districts 1 and 3 Ruled Constitutionally Invalid by Florida Supreme Court
To contact us Click HERE
Sometimes it seems that nobody listens to the voices of the common folks. When I went to the hearing on redistricting in June of last year at PSC and gave my testimony (page 72-74 of this document) I did not think one differing opinion could make a difference. Was I wrong? Who knows, but at the hearing there was a lot of support for horizontally drawn senate districts in the panhandle (particularly among representatives present from the Florida Farm Bureau), whereas I respectfully requested that the districts be drawn vertically so as not to dilute Escambia/Santa Rosa’s representation in the state legislature. The Senate eventually submitted the redrawn districts that were strikingly similar to the previous Senate districts 2 and 4, drawn horizontally and bisecting Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. (These districts as redrawn were challenged in court.) A portion of the justification for the drawing of these districts in this fashion was, per Senate staff analysis, based upon the public testimony. From the analysis: “coastal and rural districts were created based on public testimony received by the Legislature” Ironically, I spoke against this sort of a rationale in my testimony-- as did a number of other speakers in Pensacola. Apparently the Court noticed, as they mention in their decision:“Although the Senate staff analysis points to selected testimony in favor of the horizontal orientation, a review of the public hearings demonstrates that the public testimony in support of horizontal coastal and rural districts was by no means unanimous. While members of the public testified that they wanted coastal areas together and separate from rural areas because of common interests, other members of the public testified in support of vertical districts that would unite counties.”
So the Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the proposed re-drawn districts 1 and 3 are indeed unconstitutional. From today’s Supreme Court ruling: (discussion of the two panhandle districts is on pages 142-149)“The incumbents in Districts 1 and 3 both live in Okaloosa County and would represent largely the same constituencies as they did under the 2002 plan. The drawing of the districts sacrificed compactness—a constitutional imperative—in order to keep coastal communities together. Further, although the Senate followed numerous different boundaries when drawing Districts 1 and 3, often switching between different types of boundaries within the space of a few miles, it sacrificed compactness, not in a reasoned balancing effort to comply with the requirements of equal population or to utilize political or geographical boundaries such as municipal or county boundaries, but rather to create a coastal district and an inland rural district. We also consider it significant that in doing so, a high percentage of population from predecessor districts was retained to the benefit of the incumbents. While it is not only the fact that the districts maintained overwhelming percentages of the former core constituencies in isolation, in the context of our overall analysis of this district, it is significant. There is no valid constitutional justification for the decision to draw Districts 1 and 3 in this configuration, and we conclude that Districts 1 and 3 are constitutionally invalid.” Sometimes the commoners are not just screaming from the bottom of a well—sometimes their voices are heard.
Sometimes it seems that nobody listens to the voices of the common folks. When I went to the hearing on redistricting in June of last year at PSC and gave my testimony (page 72-74 of this document) I did not think one differing opinion could make a difference. Was I wrong? Who knows, but at the hearing there was a lot of support for horizontally drawn senate districts in the panhandle (particularly among representatives present from the Florida Farm Bureau), whereas I respectfully requested that the districts be drawn vertically so as not to dilute Escambia/Santa Rosa’s representation in the state legislature. The Senate eventually submitted the redrawn districts that were strikingly similar to the previous Senate districts 2 and 4, drawn horizontally and bisecting Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. (These districts as redrawn were challenged in court.) A portion of the justification for the drawing of these districts in this fashion was, per Senate staff analysis, based upon the public testimony. From the analysis: “coastal and rural districts were created based on public testimony received by the Legislature” Ironically, I spoke against this sort of a rationale in my testimony-- as did a number of other speakers in Pensacola. Apparently the Court noticed, as they mention in their decision:“Although the Senate staff analysis points to selected testimony in favor of the horizontal orientation, a review of the public hearings demonstrates that the public testimony in support of horizontal coastal and rural districts was by no means unanimous. While members of the public testified that they wanted coastal areas together and separate from rural areas because of common interests, other members of the public testified in support of vertical districts that would unite counties.”
So the Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the proposed re-drawn districts 1 and 3 are indeed unconstitutional. From today’s Supreme Court ruling: (discussion of the two panhandle districts is on pages 142-149)“The incumbents in Districts 1 and 3 both live in Okaloosa County and would represent largely the same constituencies as they did under the 2002 plan. The drawing of the districts sacrificed compactness—a constitutional imperative—in order to keep coastal communities together. Further, although the Senate followed numerous different boundaries when drawing Districts 1 and 3, often switching between different types of boundaries within the space of a few miles, it sacrificed compactness, not in a reasoned balancing effort to comply with the requirements of equal population or to utilize political or geographical boundaries such as municipal or county boundaries, but rather to create a coastal district and an inland rural district. We also consider it significant that in doing so, a high percentage of population from predecessor districts was retained to the benefit of the incumbents. While it is not only the fact that the districts maintained overwhelming percentages of the former core constituencies in isolation, in the context of our overall analysis of this district, it is significant. There is no valid constitutional justification for the decision to draw Districts 1 and 3 in this configuration, and we conclude that Districts 1 and 3 are constitutionally invalid.” Sometimes the commoners are not just screaming from the bottom of a well—sometimes their voices are heard.
A Touching Story from Yesterday's Graduation
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In the intermission between the West Florida High and Pine Forest High School graduations, a young man came by the green room to meet with the school board and to say hello. Immediately it became apparent that this young man had some disabilities that he was confronting; however, his personality and demeanor were upbeat as he proceeded to work the room and pose for photographs with the assembled district personnel.My colleague Gerald Boone gave me the back story on Cody—he was supposed to graduate last year with his fraternal twin in the class of 2011—however brain cancer and the treatments he had been receiving for this condition led to his graduation being postponed a year. Cody had overcome some tough family circumstances as well, and he was a promising athlete in his freshman year. Emotions became difficult for Mr. Boone to contain as he showed me a picture of Cody playing tennis in ninth grade—a happy and smiling ninth grader! But then came the Brain cancer diagnosis. And athletics fell by the wayside. And next came the doctor’s prognosis that Cody would not walk again and may not live to see his own high school graduation. Cody did not give up though-- he worked through and fought back against his medical condition. His school family at Pine Forest rallied around him—electing him homecoming king by an overwhelming majority vote!Cody channeled this support and his own inner-strength and proved those doctors wrong yesterday and not only lived to see his graduation—he walked across the stage unassisted to a huge standing ovation! It was an awe-inspiring moment that left me numb.Meeting inspiring young people like Cody make me feel fortunate and thankful for the things I have and for the life I lead. Most peoples’ lives (mine especially) are a cake walk compared to what Cody has to deal with—and yet there he is, smiling and living his life to his fullest!Many of us could take a life lesson from Cody’s example.Meeting this young man yesterday and hearing his story made the day one I won’t soon forget.
In the intermission between the West Florida High and Pine Forest High School graduations, a young man came by the green room to meet with the school board and to say hello. Immediately it became apparent that this young man had some disabilities that he was confronting; however, his personality and demeanor were upbeat as he proceeded to work the room and pose for photographs with the assembled district personnel.My colleague Gerald Boone gave me the back story on Cody—he was supposed to graduate last year with his fraternal twin in the class of 2011—however brain cancer and the treatments he had been receiving for this condition led to his graduation being postponed a year. Cody had overcome some tough family circumstances as well, and he was a promising athlete in his freshman year. Emotions became difficult for Mr. Boone to contain as he showed me a picture of Cody playing tennis in ninth grade—a happy and smiling ninth grader! But then came the Brain cancer diagnosis. And athletics fell by the wayside. And next came the doctor’s prognosis that Cody would not walk again and may not live to see his own high school graduation. Cody did not give up though-- he worked through and fought back against his medical condition. His school family at Pine Forest rallied around him—electing him homecoming king by an overwhelming majority vote!Cody channeled this support and his own inner-strength and proved those doctors wrong yesterday and not only lived to see his graduation—he walked across the stage unassisted to a huge standing ovation! It was an awe-inspiring moment that left me numb.Meeting inspiring young people like Cody make me feel fortunate and thankful for the things I have and for the life I lead. Most peoples’ lives (mine especially) are a cake walk compared to what Cody has to deal with—and yet there he is, smiling and living his life to his fullest!Many of us could take a life lesson from Cody’s example.Meeting this young man yesterday and hearing his story made the day one I won’t soon forget.
A.A. Dixon-A Leap of Faith and the Reasons Why
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The school board voted last night to allow A.A. Dixon to remain open despite the fact that Dixon's state FCAT grade may come back as an F for the second year in a row. State school grades will be released any day.
Last Thursday during the workshop, the idea of an amendment to the previous agreement was not even on the horizon. Three board members of five expressed an inclination to allow the charter contract "sudden death" clause to remain intact, even though the charters' finances had apparently stabilized and many community partners had stepped up to pledge support.
Friday, superintendent Thomas sent all board members this document--clearly illustrating that this school is making progress and these students are making significant learning gains.
Then Linda Moultrie requested an amendment to the charter be added to the Board's agenda on Monday.
Adding to these developments, new state law that speaks to the appeals process for a double F charter was brought to the attention of the board in the eleventh hour on Tuesday. All of this led to a finalized draft amendment for board consideration to be presented at the table during the regular meeting.
Blend in to this commotion a sizable crowd of supporters gathered to advocate for Dixon--and what you end up with is a temporary reprieve for this charter school; their fate, more than likely, will be decided by the Florida State Board of Education at some point over the next 6 months.
But the school is intact for the near term, on tenuous footing. More is certainly to come on this school......
Last Thursday during the workshop, the idea of an amendment to the previous agreement was not even on the horizon. Three board members of five expressed an inclination to allow the charter contract "sudden death" clause to remain intact, even though the charters' finances had apparently stabilized and many community partners had stepped up to pledge support.
Friday, superintendent Thomas sent all board members this document--clearly illustrating that this school is making progress and these students are making significant learning gains.
Then Linda Moultrie requested an amendment to the charter be added to the Board's agenda on Monday.
Adding to these developments, new state law that speaks to the appeals process for a double F charter was brought to the attention of the board in the eleventh hour on Tuesday. All of this led to a finalized draft amendment for board consideration to be presented at the table during the regular meeting.
Blend in to this commotion a sizable crowd of supporters gathered to advocate for Dixon--and what you end up with is a temporary reprieve for this charter school; their fate, more than likely, will be decided by the Florida State Board of Education at some point over the next 6 months.
But the school is intact for the near term, on tenuous footing. More is certainly to come on this school......
Hiring the Best, Most Qualified Candidates Regardless of Race is the Right Thing to Do, Part I
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Recently the Escambia County School District has come under fire for not hiring enough administrative, professional, and instructional employees that are ethnic minorities. I have seen this manifest itself as our district, for two years running, not having ANY Hispanic administrators---none, nada. For two years running I have asked the EEOC director about this apparently severe underrepresentation—I mean Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic minority in our nation and they comprise roughly 5% of our student population—yet we have [ZERO] “0” administrators of Hispanic origin. If a conversation were to be had about underrepresentation, I think a valid first priority would/should be to find a way to recruit and hire more Hispanic employees. My questions about these disparities apparently fall on deaf ears as the situation does not change. And the local press ignores this relevant issue. Asians represent a substantial part of our students on the west side—and yet we continue to have very few employees of Asian descent. This situation goes along un-challenged and ignored. Nobody wants to talk about Asian employees or Asian student achievement—just subjects not to be discussed, I suppose. Nope-- Instead, we are taken to task by the weekly tabloid on our low numbers of African-American employees specifically. In what seems to be a never-ending barrage of accusations and sinister allegations from one minor local weekly publication in particular,
the fact that we do not, as a percentage of employees relative to the county population percentages, employ a greater number of selected minorities (African-Americans), this makes us automatic failures. We should be more like Gadsden County, this tabloid paper asserts! Gadsden County, Really? ? Gadsden County has the distinction of being one of the most challenged public school districts in the state of Florida. Nowhere near the top of the list of 67 Counties in any academic category. To be fair, though--Gadsden County faces some tough issues. They have a high number of free and reduced lunch students, as does Escambia County. And they are a rural district, as is the upper part of Escambia County. The similarities end there, though... In the last seven years, Gadsden county schools have clocked district grades as follows: two D’s, an F, and four C’s. Not that good. As a matter of fact, in 2006, our supposedly “horrible” Escambia County public school district notched a respectable “B” letter grade from Tallahassee—while at the same time Gadsden County was an “F” rated school district, stuck in a rut. But we’re supposedly failures because we are not hiring like Gadsden is doing? I’m not saying these things about Gadsden County Schools to be unkind or mean spirited; Rather, I’m attempting to point out the failed logic coming from this one local paper with respect to their criticisms of our district. It really is as simple as this: Suppose this is a 100 Meter Dash, and Escambia came in 3rd and Gadsden came in 8th— yet the tabloid tells us we should be more like Gadsden because Gadsden’s form, stride, and technique is better. The 3rd place finisher should be more like the 8th place runner??!!?? What???? Yeah-that’s some really hazy logic that makes no sense whatsoever. Here is a real news flash for the Pensacola Tabloid-- If Gadsden’s model of hiring is supposed to be the gold standard—that’s not a standard as a policymaker and a taxpayer that I want to replicate for my constituents, okay.
But it does not end here, though. Now, this same anti-Escambia County School District publication is lambasting us because at a recent meeting seven new administrative positions were filled and none of the hires were African-American. This is somehow to be construed as a terrible turn of events. We must be absolute failures, according to this paper.My question is this—what if no qualified African Americans applied for these jobs? What if the African Americans that did apply were not as well qualified as the eventual selectees? Should we hire substandard employees and discriminate against better qualified candidates in an attempt to simply have more African-American employees? I say no way! I could not justify that sort of logic. And, as a practical matter, such action would fly in the face of one of our bedrock school board policies, from School Board Administrative Policy 1.17, Nondiscrimination:“The board does not unlawfully discriminate against any person on the basis of gender, age, race, religious creed, color, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or disability in the educational programs or activities which it operates or in the employment of personnel and does not tolerate such discrimination” I have said it in meetings before and I’ll say it again here—we should always strive to hire the most well qualified employees that are available---REGARDLESS OF RACE. Although the school board only approves recommended hires, with the exception of School Board Secretary and Attorney, we do have a say in the process. We, as a legislative body, set policy that guides the hiring and we create and delete positions. But the Superintendent and his staff actually recruit, interview, and eventually hire the roughly 6500 district employees. With this said, if I am ever told of blatant and legitimate discrimination against anyone by this district, I’ll never hesitate to ask questions and get answers, that is a fact. But I will not genuflect in apology or shame to a weekly tabloid that, once again, has a skewed vision of reality and an assessment of this situation that is badly wrong.
Recently the Escambia County School District has come under fire for not hiring enough administrative, professional, and instructional employees that are ethnic minorities. I have seen this manifest itself as our district, for two years running, not having ANY Hispanic administrators---none, nada. For two years running I have asked the EEOC director about this apparently severe underrepresentation—I mean Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic minority in our nation and they comprise roughly 5% of our student population—yet we have [ZERO] “0” administrators of Hispanic origin. If a conversation were to be had about underrepresentation, I think a valid first priority would/should be to find a way to recruit and hire more Hispanic employees. My questions about these disparities apparently fall on deaf ears as the situation does not change. And the local press ignores this relevant issue. Asians represent a substantial part of our students on the west side—and yet we continue to have very few employees of Asian descent. This situation goes along un-challenged and ignored. Nobody wants to talk about Asian employees or Asian student achievement—just subjects not to be discussed, I suppose. Nope-- Instead, we are taken to task by the weekly tabloid on our low numbers of African-American employees specifically. In what seems to be a never-ending barrage of accusations and sinister allegations from one minor local weekly publication in particular,
the fact that we do not, as a percentage of employees relative to the county population percentages, employ a greater number of selected minorities (African-Americans), this makes us automatic failures. We should be more like Gadsden County, this tabloid paper asserts! Gadsden County, Really? ? Gadsden County has the distinction of being one of the most challenged public school districts in the state of Florida. Nowhere near the top of the list of 67 Counties in any academic category. To be fair, though--Gadsden County faces some tough issues. They have a high number of free and reduced lunch students, as does Escambia County. And they are a rural district, as is the upper part of Escambia County. The similarities end there, though... In the last seven years, Gadsden county schools have clocked district grades as follows: two D’s, an F, and four C’s. Not that good. As a matter of fact, in 2006, our supposedly “horrible” Escambia County public school district notched a respectable “B” letter grade from Tallahassee—while at the same time Gadsden County was an “F” rated school district, stuck in a rut. But we’re supposedly failures because we are not hiring like Gadsden is doing? I’m not saying these things about Gadsden County Schools to be unkind or mean spirited; Rather, I’m attempting to point out the failed logic coming from this one local paper with respect to their criticisms of our district. It really is as simple as this: Suppose this is a 100 Meter Dash, and Escambia came in 3rd and Gadsden came in 8th— yet the tabloid tells us we should be more like Gadsden because Gadsden’s form, stride, and technique is better. The 3rd place finisher should be more like the 8th place runner??!!?? What???? Yeah-that’s some really hazy logic that makes no sense whatsoever. Here is a real news flash for the Pensacola Tabloid-- If Gadsden’s model of hiring is supposed to be the gold standard—that’s not a standard as a policymaker and a taxpayer that I want to replicate for my constituents, okay.
But it does not end here, though. Now, this same anti-Escambia County School District publication is lambasting us because at a recent meeting seven new administrative positions were filled and none of the hires were African-American. This is somehow to be construed as a terrible turn of events. We must be absolute failures, according to this paper.My question is this—what if no qualified African Americans applied for these jobs? What if the African Americans that did apply were not as well qualified as the eventual selectees? Should we hire substandard employees and discriminate against better qualified candidates in an attempt to simply have more African-American employees? I say no way! I could not justify that sort of logic. And, as a practical matter, such action would fly in the face of one of our bedrock school board policies, from School Board Administrative Policy 1.17, Nondiscrimination:“The board does not unlawfully discriminate against any person on the basis of gender, age, race, religious creed, color, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or disability in the educational programs or activities which it operates or in the employment of personnel and does not tolerate such discrimination” I have said it in meetings before and I’ll say it again here—we should always strive to hire the most well qualified employees that are available---REGARDLESS OF RACE. Although the school board only approves recommended hires, with the exception of School Board Secretary and Attorney, we do have a say in the process. We, as a legislative body, set policy that guides the hiring and we create and delete positions. But the Superintendent and his staff actually recruit, interview, and eventually hire the roughly 6500 district employees. With this said, if I am ever told of blatant and legitimate discrimination against anyone by this district, I’ll never hesitate to ask questions and get answers, that is a fact. But I will not genuflect in apology or shame to a weekly tabloid that, once again, has a skewed vision of reality and an assessment of this situation that is badly wrong.
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Senator Bill Nelson Coming to Town Again.....AKA Let the RESTORE Act Victory Dance Begin
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In April, Senator Bill Nelson came to PSC to address a group of local leaders and elected officials. It was billed as a question and answer session with the Senator.
I showed up and the small conference room held roughly three dozen citizens. Right away, the forum turned into a one-way lobbying session for the passage of the RESTORE act--and the demonization of those Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate that were opposed.
After a lengthy dissertation from the Senator about how good RESTORE would be, his handlers opened up the floor for questions. The Senator took a total of five (5) questions and then his staff called the meeting.
Several participants seemed peeved about not getting an opportunity to ask questions of the Senator. My sense was it (the meeting) was just an effort to lobby for the act and get some good press during this campaign year. Nothing wrong with this, but I wanted a better answer to my question about the dangerous level of student loan defaults in our country--and what I got was a weak, canned response that was so generic and bland it could have been labeled "Great Value" like a Wal-Mart house product.
He is the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee--and he couldn't answer this one question of significance and great importance?
On Monday, I've been invited to attend another "meet and greet" with Senator Nelson at the same bat-time, same bat-channel (PSC President's conference center, 8:00-9:00AM). But I'm on the fence about going this time--I don't necessarily want to sit around for another campaign commercial in real-time and listen to the Senator gloat and pound his chest about RESTORE. Who knows, he might even do a quick bow celebrating the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act-which Nelson strongly supported. (Uh, he probably won't mention the healthcare law, as I'm sure his focus panels have told him it is not popular around the panhandle, and he already has a luke-warm yet effective response crafted and honed to regurgitate when asked about the health care law---I'll paraphrase it here: "There are problems with the law, but the system is broken and something had to be done so I supported the Affordable Care Act"...It will be some form of that type of answer to any questions about healthcare, you heard it here first!.
I want the ability to ask questions if I go to this meeting; not just to sit there listening to sea stories about RESTORE act passing and how great Healthcare Reform will be.... Okay, it passed, good job, now how about getting a budget passed in the Senate this year? How about passing a Balanced Budget Act? How about tackling entitlement reform? How about fixing the broken tax code? How about fixing Medicare and Social Security so the funding can be solvent? How about addressing the dismal job gains of the last three months? How about articulating a plan to tackle the runaway spending and massive $16Trillion Federal Debt? How about solving illegal immigration and violence at the border? How about weighing in on Eric Holder and Fast and Furious? How about answering a question of substance with a reasoned, intelligent response instead of a canned, distilled, and homogenized campaign talking point?
If I do go to this dog and pony show, and that's a big IF because I have an important standing meeting on Mondays at 9:00 at NAS Pensacola, I once again will not fall in line and limit my questions to the RESTORE act. If I go, I'm not going to throw a softball as most others in the room will be doing. IF I go, my point blank question to the Senator will be this:
"How come the Senate and the House cannot get a budget passed for three years running, and putting aside partisan politics, can you, as an important committee chairman, commit to the voters this year that you will work to get this done?"
He is the Senate Finance Committee chairman--can he answer this one question without simply pointing fingers and/or equivocating?
They probably won't let me in the room this time.
In April, Senator Bill Nelson came to PSC to address a group of local leaders and elected officials. It was billed as a question and answer session with the Senator.
I showed up and the small conference room held roughly three dozen citizens. Right away, the forum turned into a one-way lobbying session for the passage of the RESTORE act--and the demonization of those Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate that were opposed.
After a lengthy dissertation from the Senator about how good RESTORE would be, his handlers opened up the floor for questions. The Senator took a total of five (5) questions and then his staff called the meeting.
Several participants seemed peeved about not getting an opportunity to ask questions of the Senator. My sense was it (the meeting) was just an effort to lobby for the act and get some good press during this campaign year. Nothing wrong with this, but I wanted a better answer to my question about the dangerous level of student loan defaults in our country--and what I got was a weak, canned response that was so generic and bland it could have been labeled "Great Value" like a Wal-Mart house product.
He is the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee--and he couldn't answer this one question of significance and great importance?
On Monday, I've been invited to attend another "meet and greet" with Senator Nelson at the same bat-time, same bat-channel (PSC President's conference center, 8:00-9:00AM). But I'm on the fence about going this time--I don't necessarily want to sit around for another campaign commercial in real-time and listen to the Senator gloat and pound his chest about RESTORE. Who knows, he might even do a quick bow celebrating the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act-which Nelson strongly supported. (Uh, he probably won't mention the healthcare law, as I'm sure his focus panels have told him it is not popular around the panhandle, and he already has a luke-warm yet effective response crafted and honed to regurgitate when asked about the health care law---I'll paraphrase it here: "There are problems with the law, but the system is broken and something had to be done so I supported the Affordable Care Act"...It will be some form of that type of answer to any questions about healthcare, you heard it here first!.
I want the ability to ask questions if I go to this meeting; not just to sit there listening to sea stories about RESTORE act passing and how great Healthcare Reform will be.... Okay, it passed, good job, now how about getting a budget passed in the Senate this year? How about passing a Balanced Budget Act? How about tackling entitlement reform? How about fixing the broken tax code? How about fixing Medicare and Social Security so the funding can be solvent? How about addressing the dismal job gains of the last three months? How about articulating a plan to tackle the runaway spending and massive $16Trillion Federal Debt? How about solving illegal immigration and violence at the border? How about weighing in on Eric Holder and Fast and Furious? How about answering a question of substance with a reasoned, intelligent response instead of a canned, distilled, and homogenized campaign talking point?
If I do go to this dog and pony show, and that's a big IF because I have an important standing meeting on Mondays at 9:00 at NAS Pensacola, I once again will not fall in line and limit my questions to the RESTORE act. If I go, I'm not going to throw a softball as most others in the room will be doing. IF I go, my point blank question to the Senator will be this:
"How come the Senate and the House cannot get a budget passed for three years running, and putting aside partisan politics, can you, as an important committee chairman, commit to the voters this year that you will work to get this done?"
He is the Senate Finance Committee chairman--can he answer this one question without simply pointing fingers and/or equivocating?
They probably won't let me in the room this time.
NFASG Meeting 2-12-12 Advocates Arsenal - IEP Tips and Strategies the Regulations Don't Tell You
To contact us Click HERE
FYI – Please come join me as I speak on “IEP Tips and Strategies the Regulations Don't Tell You” at the 2/12/12 NFASG meeting below. Make your reservations to DebbieDobbs@comcast.net .
Please share with other parents, professionals and disability groups!!
Advocacy & Consulting Services - IEPadvocate4you
Carol Sadler, Special Education Consultant/Advocate
GA Advocacy Office PLSP I Graduate
770-442-8357
1105 Rock Pointe Look
Woodstock, GA 30188
CarolSadler@bellsouth.net
www.IEPadvocate4You.com
http://iepadvocate4you.blogspot.com
IEPadvocate4you also now on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IEPadvocate4you-Carol-Sadler-Special-Education-ConsultantAdvocate/139597000964
http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolsadleriepadvocate4you
"There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people." ---- Thomas Jefferson
“Refrain from Restraining, Secluding and Corporal Punishment & Aversives are Abusive and Dehumanizing” ---- Carol Sadler, Advocate
GNET=GetNoEducation/Therapy=PsychoNOed=Jail without Jury or Trial=Imprisonment without Legal Representation
CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED
Information contained in this communication is confidential and privileged. It is not meant to represent legal or medical advice, but rather advice given based on my knowledge as a trained Parent Advocate by the GA Advocacy Office, Council of Parent Advocates & Attorneys, CHADD, LDA, the GA DOE Parent Mentor program as an invited guest and the special education attorneys that I often work with on educational matters. Please do not forward without my permission.
[Attachment(s) from Debbie Dobbs included below]
__._,_.___
Attachment(s) from Debbie Dobbs
2 of 2 File(s)
NFASG Meeting 2-12-12 Advocates Arsenal - IEP Tips and Strategies the Regulations Don't Tell You
To contact us Click HERE
FYI – Please come join me as I speak on “IEP Tips and Strategies the Regulations Don't Tell You” at the 2/12/12 NFASG meeting below. Make your reservations to DebbieDobbs@comcast.net .
Please share with other parents, professionals and disability groups!!
Advocacy & Consulting Services - IEPadvocate4you
Carol Sadler, Special Education Consultant/Advocate
GA Advocacy Office PLSP I Graduate
770-442-8357
1105 Rock Pointe Look
Woodstock, GA 30188
CarolSadler@bellsouth.net
www.IEPadvocate4You.com
http://iepadvocate4you.blogspot.com
IEPadvocate4you also now on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IEPadvocate4you-Carol-Sadler-Special-Education-ConsultantAdvocate/139597000964
http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolsadleriepadvocate4you
"There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people." ---- Thomas Jefferson
“Refrain from Restraining, Secluding and Corporal Punishment & Aversives are Abusive and Dehumanizing” ---- Carol Sadler, Advocate
GNET=GetNoEducation/Therapy=PsychoNOed=Jail without Jury or Trial=Imprisonment without Legal Representation
CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED
Information contained in this communication is confidential and privileged. It is not meant to represent legal or medical advice, but rather advice given based on my knowledge as a trained Parent Advocate by the GA Advocacy Office, Council of Parent Advocates & Attorneys, CHADD, LDA, the GA DOE Parent Mentor program as an invited guest and the special education attorneys that I often work with on educational matters. Please do not forward without my permission.
[Attachment(s) from Debbie Dobbs included below]
__._,_.___
Attachment(s) from Debbie Dobbs
2 of 2 File(s)
Tomorrow!! NFASG Meeting 2-12-12 Advocates Arsenal - IEP Tips and Strategies the Regulations Don't Tell You
To contact us Click HERE
FYI – Wrap up snuggly warm and come join me as I speak tomorrow on “IEP Tips and Strategies the Regulations Don't Tell You” at the 2/12/12 NFASG meeting below. Not too late to make your reservations to DebbieDobbs@comcast.net . Information to help you advocate for our precious babies!!
Please share with other parents, professionals and disability groups!!
Advocacy & Consulting Services - IEPadvocate4you
Carol Sadler, Special Education Consultant/Advocate
GA Advocacy Office PLSP I Graduate
770-442-8357
1105 Rock Pointe Look
Woodstock, GA 30188
CarolSadler@bellsouth.net
www.IEPadvocate4You.com
http://iepadvocate4you.blogspot.com
IEPadvocate4you also now on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IEPadvocate4you-Carol-Sadler-Special-Education-ConsultantAdvocate/139597000964
http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolsadleriepadvocate4you
Attachment(s) from Debbie Dobbs
2 of 2 File(s)
Meeting Announcement 2-12.pdf
__._,_.___
Father files $10.5M suit over Roswell student's death
To contact us Click HERE
Father files $10.5M suit over Roswell student's death
Father files $10.5M suit over Roswell student's death
http://www.ajc.com/news/north-fulton/father-files-10-5m-1369099.html
I met and had lunch with Mr. Hatcher at AW’s Due Process Hearing. This is another very sad and tragic story of abuse and neglect in Fulton County Schools. Parents must stand together and hold the School District accountable……….
Advocacy & Consulting Services - IEPadvocate4you
Carol Sadler, Special Education Consultant/Advocate
GA Advocacy Office PLSP I Graduate
770-442-8357
1105 Rock Pointe Look
Woodstock, GA 30188
CarolSadler@bellsouth.net
www.IEPadvocate4You.com
http://iepadvocate4you.blogspot.com
IEPadvocate4you also now on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IEPadvocate4you-Carol-Sadler-Special-Education-ConsultantAdvocate/139597000964
http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolsadleriepadvocate4you
"There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people." ---- Thomas Jefferson
“Refrain from Restraining, Secluding and Corporal Punishment & Aversives are Abusive and Dehumanizing” ---- Carol Sadler, Advocate
GNET=GetNoEducation/Therapy=PsychoNOed=Jail without Jury or Trial=Imprisonment without Legal Representation
CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED
Information contained in this communication is confidential and privileged. It is not meant to represent legal or medical advice, but rather advice given based on my knowledge as a trained Parent Advocate by the GA Advocacy Office, Council of Parent Advocates & Attorneys, CHADD, LDA, the GA DOE Parent Mentor program as an invited guest and the special education attorneys that I often work with on educational matters. Please do not forward without my permission.
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Throw the bums out!
To contact us Click HERE
Here is Ryan Craig's column from this week's newspaper:
LET'S THROW THE BUMS OUT
Let me be straight about this, I am so mad with the elected officials in Washington D.C. that I’m going to refrain from saying what I really want to say (mainly because this is a family newspaper) and I’m going to turn over my anger to a favorite 1930s saying by those who were hit by the both the economic tidal wave of fiscal mismanagement and politicians who couldn’t handle them:
LET’S THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!
Ray Stevens also has a really good song with the same title and as we all know Ray Stevens is rarely wrong.
Also let me be clear, I don’t care if you are a Democrat, a Democrat who votes like a Republican, a Republican who votes like a Tea Party member, a Tea Party member who votes like they have some sort of special way of reading the Constitution or one of the Independent so influential (in effect, they elected President Obama) in the previous two national elections; you all shoulder the blame.
All of us.
I sat and watched in horror of the brinkmanship, partisan rhetoric and murky dealings that really gave us nothing except a terrible set of options and a debt limit that was raised as part of the most pitiful amount of governing in several generations.
Then a few days later, Standard & Poor’s —- a credit agency —- said what we all were thinking: Let’s throw the bums out! Or at least, let’s make an effort to lower debt, raise revenue and give some stability to a world-wide market that is shakier than turtle trying to walk on a washing machine on spin cycle.
The agency took the United States’ credit rating from AAA (which is perfect) to AA+ (which is still super good, but just bad enough to make Wall Street and every other market in the world go absolutely nuts).
Sure, the same politicians who caused the problem because they think compromise is a akin to weakness despite 240 years of our history that contradicts otherwise, started finger pointing.
The Republicans called the credit lowering “Obama’s reduction;” the White House called the same thing “The Tea Party reduction.”
Basically, there is no way this isn’t the fault of everyone in Congress, the White House and those in the so-called “media” who make a living throwing what former GOP strongman Alan Simpson called “sharp elbows” — “instead of having a caucus where you sit down and say ‘What are you going to do for your county?’ you sit figuring out how to screw the other side.”
Simpson, who was about as fiscally responsible and conservative as it gets when he was in office, told Time magazine that America was “the healthiest horse in the glue factory” and needs to get serious about cutting our deficit.
“The absolute rigidity of the parties,” he said. “I’ve never seen that before. Somebody said they’re as rigid as a fireplace poker but without the occasional warmth.”
A couple facts: The U.S. deficit is $14 trillion. You could not count that high in your lifetime. The average share of that deficit is a little over $120,000 per household. For the first time since the Great Depression you have a generation that thinks their lives will not be as good as their parents’ or grandparents’.
Let’s throw the bums out!
Another problem for you and I —- you know, regular people who work for a living —- will be that the credit downgrade for the U.S. and places like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have a majority of the home loans in the nation, will make it much harder to go to a bank and get a loan.
Basically those who have money will gobble up cheap stocks and those who took a huge hit in 2008 will take another ding.
This year over 1,000 millionaires paid no taxes at all. The rich will remain so while all the rest of us become poorer.
While I’m not a fan of socialism, I’m also not a fan of Darwinian capitalism either. The system is rigged for the rich and your American Dream is vanishing by the day as the money is transferred slowly but surely.
Let’s throw the bums out!
There is no reason to think that the current group of jackals we have will change for the better.
So, I say let’s take responsibility for our own lives by not borrowing more than we can cover. Let’s take responsibility for those who make or have made our lives worse.
Let’s throw the bums out!
Let’s celebrate in five years when Rand Paul, and hopefully his ideas that could cripple the lives of our children and grandchildren, is defeated and the last of the bums in Washington D.C. are gone.
This column is not about politics, it is about life, and no one can convince me that a slow, thoughtful effort to rid ourselves of the cancer that has set in in Washington D.C. has to be about politics. They all deserve nothing less than to join the unemployment line.
It is time that we demand more than a bunch of sound bites from those who sign no tax pledges before going into office and then take an oath to serve the people. It is time to stop voting for people who won’t sit in a room with people who have differing opinions on things like abortion, tax codes or what is the best way to run a school.
They are all supposed to serve the people who put them in the office, but instead they seem to serve everyone else first. The biggest problem in D.C. is that everyone seems to serve two (or more) masters and we all learned in Sunday School that way of thinking only brings destruction and anarchy.
So, please, make every effort, send this column to everyone you know. Let’s start taking our task seriously.
Let’s throw the bums out!
Every …
Single …
Last ….
One ….
Of …
Them ….
LET'S THROW THE BUMS OUT
Let me be straight about this, I am so mad with the elected officials in Washington D.C. that I’m going to refrain from saying what I really want to say (mainly because this is a family newspaper) and I’m going to turn over my anger to a favorite 1930s saying by those who were hit by the both the economic tidal wave of fiscal mismanagement and politicians who couldn’t handle them:
LET’S THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!
Ray Stevens also has a really good song with the same title and as we all know Ray Stevens is rarely wrong.
Also let me be clear, I don’t care if you are a Democrat, a Democrat who votes like a Republican, a Republican who votes like a Tea Party member, a Tea Party member who votes like they have some sort of special way of reading the Constitution or one of the Independent so influential (in effect, they elected President Obama) in the previous two national elections; you all shoulder the blame.
All of us.
I sat and watched in horror of the brinkmanship, partisan rhetoric and murky dealings that really gave us nothing except a terrible set of options and a debt limit that was raised as part of the most pitiful amount of governing in several generations.
Then a few days later, Standard & Poor’s —- a credit agency —- said what we all were thinking: Let’s throw the bums out! Or at least, let’s make an effort to lower debt, raise revenue and give some stability to a world-wide market that is shakier than turtle trying to walk on a washing machine on spin cycle.
The agency took the United States’ credit rating from AAA (which is perfect) to AA+ (which is still super good, but just bad enough to make Wall Street and every other market in the world go absolutely nuts).
Sure, the same politicians who caused the problem because they think compromise is a akin to weakness despite 240 years of our history that contradicts otherwise, started finger pointing.
The Republicans called the credit lowering “Obama’s reduction;” the White House called the same thing “The Tea Party reduction.”
Basically, there is no way this isn’t the fault of everyone in Congress, the White House and those in the so-called “media” who make a living throwing what former GOP strongman Alan Simpson called “sharp elbows” — “instead of having a caucus where you sit down and say ‘What are you going to do for your county?’ you sit figuring out how to screw the other side.”
Simpson, who was about as fiscally responsible and conservative as it gets when he was in office, told Time magazine that America was “the healthiest horse in the glue factory” and needs to get serious about cutting our deficit.
“The absolute rigidity of the parties,” he said. “I’ve never seen that before. Somebody said they’re as rigid as a fireplace poker but without the occasional warmth.”
A couple facts: The U.S. deficit is $14 trillion. You could not count that high in your lifetime. The average share of that deficit is a little over $120,000 per household. For the first time since the Great Depression you have a generation that thinks their lives will not be as good as their parents’ or grandparents’.
Let’s throw the bums out!
Another problem for you and I —- you know, regular people who work for a living —- will be that the credit downgrade for the U.S. and places like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have a majority of the home loans in the nation, will make it much harder to go to a bank and get a loan.
Basically those who have money will gobble up cheap stocks and those who took a huge hit in 2008 will take another ding.
This year over 1,000 millionaires paid no taxes at all. The rich will remain so while all the rest of us become poorer.
While I’m not a fan of socialism, I’m also not a fan of Darwinian capitalism either. The system is rigged for the rich and your American Dream is vanishing by the day as the money is transferred slowly but surely.
Let’s throw the bums out!
There is no reason to think that the current group of jackals we have will change for the better.
So, I say let’s take responsibility for our own lives by not borrowing more than we can cover. Let’s take responsibility for those who make or have made our lives worse.
Let’s throw the bums out!
Let’s celebrate in five years when Rand Paul, and hopefully his ideas that could cripple the lives of our children and grandchildren, is defeated and the last of the bums in Washington D.C. are gone.
This column is not about politics, it is about life, and no one can convince me that a slow, thoughtful effort to rid ourselves of the cancer that has set in in Washington D.C. has to be about politics. They all deserve nothing less than to join the unemployment line.
It is time that we demand more than a bunch of sound bites from those who sign no tax pledges before going into office and then take an oath to serve the people. It is time to stop voting for people who won’t sit in a room with people who have differing opinions on things like abortion, tax codes or what is the best way to run a school.
They are all supposed to serve the people who put them in the office, but instead they seem to serve everyone else first. The biggest problem in D.C. is that everyone seems to serve two (or more) masters and we all learned in Sunday School that way of thinking only brings destruction and anarchy.
So, please, make every effort, send this column to everyone you know. Let’s start taking our task seriously.
Let’s throw the bums out!
Every …
Single …
Last ….
One ….
Of …
Them ….
The trouble with towers
To contact us Click HERE
(This week's column by Ryan Craig.)
Don’t think me an ingrate, but I’m about to shore up my complaining pants, tighten my sass belt and straighten my tie of righteous indignation and dance the dance with my angry shoes.
AT&T, you break my heart.
We have reported and reported on the possibility that you would bring us better service here in “wittle-old” Todd County.
You teased us with your towers that will bring service, that will look like those cool commercials with apps that can tell you how many fleas are on our dogs or make us a sandwich when we are tired.
We complained bitterly about your stance that Todd County didn’t have enough customers ... and we still probably don’t, but thanks to that gigantic silicon making thing to the south of us, you guys got a lot of pressure to get something going.
(Sorry, I stopped to take a call and, I would swear to this in front of a judge on a stack of Bibles, the person on the phone lost their service. Their AT&T service.)
Anyway, you dedicated with major pomp and circumstance a tower in south Todd. It wasn’t immediately working, but now it is.
The tower in Clifty — I will get into why I say Clifty and not north Todd later — was up and working faster but many have complained that while they are happy to have cell phone service they were perplexed as to why there is only basic or 2G service.
Since there was no real indication of when 3G (or hopefully 4G since 5G is on its way) will come to Clifty, it seems like the excitement in north Todd at the posibility of overall wireless broadband service is a fleeting dream.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem that people in most places would care so much about, except in Todd County, most of the houses outside of the cities don’t have broadband access. Or, at best, they have satellite service which is not always what most experts consider affordable.
Most are stuck with 1994 technology in their homes and a burning dislike in their hearts for companies that see a profit margin before they can see their customers.
Also, we have a high school full of students who have laptops, and there have been real issues for almost three years now getting good high-speed service for the students to use at home.
Truthfully, I think most people on a daily basis don’t see the absolute need for better broadband access, but as the technological world heads farther away from desktop computing to mobile broadband devices like cell phones, laptops and hybrid devices like the iPad, the need for a good infrastructure becomes more and more apparent.
Still, after all the complaining, and, trust us, this newspaper and its editor have complained to the governor, state and U.S. representatives and senators and even AT&T itself. It boggles our mind that we might have to be glad that the slither of north Todd that can get a fast signal through the hills and hollers might be as good as it gets for a long while.
Here’s a story that is absolutely true and scary at the same time:
When this newspaper had a Web site with HD videos, an avid reader and supporter of the newspaper told me he had to download a video in the morning before he went to work on his slow dial-up service and when he’d get home in the afternoon, he would sometimes see the download of the video had just finished up.
That is real problem ... for 1998!
People often ask me when I’m going to put a Web site back up and I tell them that I would be glad to when I thought there would be enough of my readers who could watch our videos and enjoy our site instead of just the parts that will upload at the speed of slug.
Hilda Legg, who has served in the Rural Utilities Service and in the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C., and now serves as a consultant in Rural Economic Development with emphasis in telecommunications deployment in rural America, told me in 2007 (that’s right, four years ago) that high-speed broadband access might be the most important single infrastructure a rural community can have.
Just like market-to-farm roads in the 1930s and electricity in the following decades, she said broadband will be key to the future of rural America staying with the rest of the country, much less the rest of the world.
It just saddens me to see our struggles when communities in Kentucky much smaller than ours have broadband service or are on their way to good service through USDA grants.
The grants, as part of the stimulus package a few years back, were deemed too small for large companies like AT&T.
So if a slow drip by AT&T is the best we can do then our leaders and those who seek a better and brighter future should be commended for what we have.
Still, our leaders (and AT&T) should be challenged to bring in more and better service to Todd County.
Then I can retire my complaining pants and sass belt and enjoy a world where anywhere I go — and I do mean anywhere — I can look up information on the internet on my mobile device just like those folks in the big city.
We should accept nothing less ... we deserve nothing less.
Don’t think me an ingrate, but I’m about to shore up my complaining pants, tighten my sass belt and straighten my tie of righteous indignation and dance the dance with my angry shoes.
AT&T, you break my heart.
We have reported and reported on the possibility that you would bring us better service here in “wittle-old” Todd County.
You teased us with your towers that will bring service, that will look like those cool commercials with apps that can tell you how many fleas are on our dogs or make us a sandwich when we are tired.
We complained bitterly about your stance that Todd County didn’t have enough customers ... and we still probably don’t, but thanks to that gigantic silicon making thing to the south of us, you guys got a lot of pressure to get something going.
(Sorry, I stopped to take a call and, I would swear to this in front of a judge on a stack of Bibles, the person on the phone lost their service. Their AT&T service.)
Anyway, you dedicated with major pomp and circumstance a tower in south Todd. It wasn’t immediately working, but now it is.
The tower in Clifty — I will get into why I say Clifty and not north Todd later — was up and working faster but many have complained that while they are happy to have cell phone service they were perplexed as to why there is only basic or 2G service.
Since there was no real indication of when 3G (or hopefully 4G since 5G is on its way) will come to Clifty, it seems like the excitement in north Todd at the posibility of overall wireless broadband service is a fleeting dream.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem that people in most places would care so much about, except in Todd County, most of the houses outside of the cities don’t have broadband access. Or, at best, they have satellite service which is not always what most experts consider affordable.
Most are stuck with 1994 technology in their homes and a burning dislike in their hearts for companies that see a profit margin before they can see their customers.
Also, we have a high school full of students who have laptops, and there have been real issues for almost three years now getting good high-speed service for the students to use at home.
Truthfully, I think most people on a daily basis don’t see the absolute need for better broadband access, but as the technological world heads farther away from desktop computing to mobile broadband devices like cell phones, laptops and hybrid devices like the iPad, the need for a good infrastructure becomes more and more apparent.
Still, after all the complaining, and, trust us, this newspaper and its editor have complained to the governor, state and U.S. representatives and senators and even AT&T itself. It boggles our mind that we might have to be glad that the slither of north Todd that can get a fast signal through the hills and hollers might be as good as it gets for a long while.
Here’s a story that is absolutely true and scary at the same time:
When this newspaper had a Web site with HD videos, an avid reader and supporter of the newspaper told me he had to download a video in the morning before he went to work on his slow dial-up service and when he’d get home in the afternoon, he would sometimes see the download of the video had just finished up.
That is real problem ... for 1998!
People often ask me when I’m going to put a Web site back up and I tell them that I would be glad to when I thought there would be enough of my readers who could watch our videos and enjoy our site instead of just the parts that will upload at the speed of slug.
Hilda Legg, who has served in the Rural Utilities Service and in the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, D.C., and now serves as a consultant in Rural Economic Development with emphasis in telecommunications deployment in rural America, told me in 2007 (that’s right, four years ago) that high-speed broadband access might be the most important single infrastructure a rural community can have.
Just like market-to-farm roads in the 1930s and electricity in the following decades, she said broadband will be key to the future of rural America staying with the rest of the country, much less the rest of the world.
It just saddens me to see our struggles when communities in Kentucky much smaller than ours have broadband service or are on their way to good service through USDA grants.
The grants, as part of the stimulus package a few years back, were deemed too small for large companies like AT&T.
So if a slow drip by AT&T is the best we can do then our leaders and those who seek a better and brighter future should be commended for what we have.
Still, our leaders (and AT&T) should be challenged to bring in more and better service to Todd County.
Then I can retire my complaining pants and sass belt and enjoy a world where anywhere I go — and I do mean anywhere — I can look up information on the internet on my mobile device just like those folks in the big city.
We should accept nothing less ... we deserve nothing less.
Dye pleads guilty
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Garrett Dye will serve at least 20 years in prison after confessing today to the murder of his adopted sister in Todd County Circuit Court today.
Dye faces a 50-year sentence and must serve 20 of those years before being eligible for parole, said Todd Circuit Judge Tyler Gill.
Official sentencing will be Nov. 23.
Dye entered a conditional guilty plea, which means he can appeal to the state Supreme Court.
See next week's Standard for the full story.
Dye faces a 50-year sentence and must serve 20 of those years before being eligible for parole, said Todd Circuit Judge Tyler Gill.
Official sentencing will be Nov. 23.
Dye entered a conditional guilty plea, which means he can appeal to the state Supreme Court.
See next week's Standard for the full story.
Listen to Gov. Beshear's speech about child abuse files
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Gov. Steve Beshear today (Nov. 29) has directed the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to open the records of cases in which child abuse or neglect resulted in a child fatality or near fatality.
This is a big win for all of those that wondered if there would ever be any light through the darkness of red tape and secrecy in the Cabinet.
Here is the mp3 of the speech:
A video, taken by David Thompson of the Kentucky Press Association can been seen here:
See this week's Standard for a full story and analysis.
This is a big win for all of those that wondered if there would ever be any light through the darkness of red tape and secrecy in the Cabinet.
Here is the mp3 of the speech:
A video, taken by David Thompson of the Kentucky Press Association can been seen here:
See this week's Standard for a full story and analysis.
SEVERE WEATHER FOR FRIDAY!!!
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STORM WARNING TOMORROW FOR TODD COUNTY. Here is what we are hearing from a briefing today with the National Weather Service: Expect heavy storms, starting after midnight, which could produce some hail. There should be a break through the morning then as early as noon Friday there could be"violent storms and strong, long tracked tornadoes ... expected across the region." For Todd County the worst should be here between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., but the weather service said there could be storms in the area until 6 p.m. The large storms could produce multiple tornadoes, high winds, hail, a large amount of lightening and even some flooding for some areas. This is the most serious warning Todd County has had in years and is similar to the storm system that produced a tornado that hit north Todd County in 2006 destroying homes and a church. One weather official from Christian County told the weather spotters there, "This is one of the most dangerous situations I have seen in some time and I strongly urge everyone to begin preparations now." According to Todd County School Superintendent Mike Kenner there will be a decision made about when students are released tomorrow. Friday is an early-release day. So take precautions and keep your weather radios (or TV until the power goes out) close. Be safe!
STORM WARNING TOMORROW FOR TODD COUNTY. Here is what we are hearing from a briefing today with the National Weather Service: Expect heavy storms, starting after midnight, which could produce some hail. There should be a break through the morning then as early as noon Friday there could be"violent storms and strong, long tracked tornadoes ... expected across the region." For Todd County the worst should be here between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., but the weather service said there could be storms in the area until 6 p.m. The large storms could produce multiple tornadoes, high winds, hail, a large amount of lightening and even some flooding for some areas. This is the most serious warning Todd County has had in years and is similar to the storm system that produced a tornado that hit north Todd County in 2006 destroying homes and a church. One weather official from Christian County told the weather spotters there, "This is one of the most dangerous situations I have seen in some time and I strongly urge everyone to begin preparations now." According to Todd County School Superintendent Mike Kenner there will be a decision made about when students are released tomorrow. Friday is an early-release day. So take precautions and keep your weather radios (or TV until the power goes out) close. Be safe!
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