Tag Archives: Education

VSU Health Sciences: much better than a private prison

I hate to agree with the VDT but Health Sciences at VSU would be good for the community. If we weren’t spending so many state tax dollars locking people up, we’d be able to afford that more easily. And it turns out the Georgia House found the money.

Staff Writer editorialized yesterday, A ray of hope for VSU project,

Amid the lost homes of this past weekend’s tornado and severe storms, South Georgia could use an infusion of hope.

Good news came Monday with word that the Valdosta State University Health Sciences and Business Administration building has a renewed shot at becoming reality.

Earlier this year, the $23.5 million project was assumed dead. Though its inclusion had been expected, the building was not part of the 2012 state budget.

Later that day it was back in the proposed 2013 Georgia budget. David Rodock wrote today for the VDT, Funding for new VSU building approved, Continue reading →

Video: Drive Away CCA radio (John S. Quarterman interviewed by Chris Beckham)

The motorcade went well and you can still help Drive Away CCA!

Turning radio into TV, here’s LAKE video of Tuesday morning’s interview with Chris Beckham about Drive Away CCA, the motorcade against the private prison. Listen for the mentions of Sheriff Chris Prine (he is opposed to the private prison “I want him in my jail, not a private jail”) Winn Roberson (the motorcade was his idea), Matt Flumerfelt (he filed the open records request that revealed the contracts with the March 13th), Bobbi Anne Hancock (she dug up a history of CCA that reveals problems for many years and she had a very funny interview with VLCIA executive director Andrea Schruijer), George Boston Rhynes (he’s been following incarceration and especially jail issues for many years), and former sheriff and current Lowndes County Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk (he listed a number of hurdles the prison project would have to leap before it could happen), and also the VDT. Too many other people are involved to name here.

Here’s the video:


Video: Drive Away CCA radio (John S. Quarterman interviewed by Chris Beckham)
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Radio WVGA 105.9 FM with Chris Beckham, Drive Away CCA (DAC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Audio from WVGA 105.9 Also, audio from WVGA 105.9 is available.

There are plently of things you can still do to help Drive Away CCA:

  • Sign the petition.
  • Speak at the Valdosta City Council meeting Thursday or at the Lowndes County Commission meeting next Tuesday. They’re both implicated in this private prison decision.
  • Write a letter to the editor.
  • I’m sure other people can think of many other things.
CCA cares about “public acceptance of the Company’s services”. If we show enough public opposition, we can Drive Away CCA!

-jsq

Georgia prison population plummetting

In two years, the legislature went from denial to doing something about the unsupportable costs of Georgia’s prison system. The Georgia prison population is already plumetting, and will drop more. This makes a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia an even worse business deal. If it ever opens, it probably will close.

Two years ago the Georgia legislature was in denial, as Carrie Teegardin wrote for the AJC 4 April 2010, Georgia prison population, costs on rise,

As Georgia lawmakers desperately search for ways to slash spending, they are not debating an option taken by other states: cutting the prison population.

Georgia operates the fifth-largest prison system in the nation, at a cost of $1 billion a year. The job of overseeing 60,000 inmates and 150,000 felons on probation consumes 1 of every 17 state dollars.

The state’s prison population has jumped by more than a quarter in the past decade and officials expect the number of state inmates to continue to creep upward. Georgia has resorted to measures other than reducing the prison population to keep corrections spending under control.

19 months later, things had changed, as the Atlanta Business Chronic reported 15 December 2011, BJS: Georgia prison population drops in 2010, Continue reading →

Blazer Gardens recognized by VDT for promoting healthy food

Healthy food got recognition on the front page of the VDT today.

In today’s capitalistic food market, several people have felt compelled to begin “living organically.” This philosophy has been brought to Valdosta and centralized by a group at Valdosta State University.

Bobbi Hancock, a VSU student, founded Blazer Gardens@VSU in August 2010. The group currently has 14 active members.

“There was reports of a food pantry being implemented on campus and that was implemented because there was students going to the dining hall asking for food,” said Hancock. “I just thought, if we could teach students how to grow food, it would eliminate a lot of the issues we have with campus hunger.”

Blazer Gardens started as nothing but seeds in the yard of Kathryn Grant, an organization member.

“This was an opportunity for me to understand and for me to appreciate how my food is grown,” said Grant.

From their professor:
Dr. Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Blazer Gardens faculty advisor and VSU professor of modern classical languages, said she feels compelled to get involved with this organization.

“I think we are what we eat, so I want to be clean and organic and safe,” said Espinosa-Dulanto.

Maybe they can help us all not eat poisons and even stop Monsanto and ConAgra from poisoning our food supply. It’s good health and it’s good business.

-jsq

WCTV spins GABEO meeting as week-long protest

I suppose it is a week-long protest, especially the 3PM march today, but it’s also a meeting of a legislative caucus. Ah, TV, got to be brief!

Greg Gullberg wrote for WCTV yesterday, Protesters Descend On Quitman For Weekend Long Rally: Protesters gear up to rally against what they call voter intimidation revolving around the “Quitman 12”.

Hundreds of protesters from across Georgia descend on Quitman in Brooks County.

They gathered at area restaurants like the Wiregrass Restaurant & Bar Friday night. They’re gearing up for a weekend long rally against what they call voter intimidation.

The “Quitman 12” is the focus of the march Saturday at the Quitman court house. The 12 include three Brooks County School Board members, along with nine other defendants who were indicted for charges of voter fraud.

WCTV quoted George Rhynes, and also:
Latoya Hamilton is a Quitman resident and also a Protester.

“To me, being a small city like this, it’s the first time something like this is being held in Quitman. It’s an honor being a part of this. It’s pretty much history in the making,” Hamilton tells Gullberg.

Appearances are expected by Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Rep. Tyrone Brooks and many more. Events start Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. The march starts at 3:00 p.m.

I agree with her and with George, that it’s a historic event.

-jsq

3PM today in Quitman: GABEO March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression

The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) is holding its general meeting in Quitman this weekend in support of the Quitman 10. The big public event is this afternoon:
3:00 p.m. March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression (March from Shumate Street Church of Christ to Brooks County Courthouse)

In this video, George Rhynes interviews Rev. Floyd Rose about how GABEO heard about the Quitman 10+2. Rev. Rose also expresses hope that the local media will announce the GABEO meeting. (The VDT did have a story on it the other day, although it doesn’t seem to be online.) Amont many other points, he notes that the school board members of the Quitman 10 were elected mostly by white voters in Brooks County.

Here’s the video:


3PM today in Quitman: GABEO March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression
March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression,
Meeting in Quitman to support the Quitman 10+2, Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 February 2012.
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for K.V.C.I., the bostongbr on YouTube.

-jsq

LTE: Tell the Industrial Authority No private prison —John S. Quarterman

My LTE in the VDT today. -jsq
Industrial Authority Executive Director Andrea Schruijer told me to expect their board to say something at their 2PM Thursday board meeting about the private prison Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) wants to build on US 84 at Perimeter Road. If they don’t give CCA another extension, the contract expires March 13th.

There’s still time to contact them, (229) 259-9972. Or go to their board meeting at 101 North Ashley Street, 2PM Thursday February 23rd.

A private prison would not increase employment in Lowndes County. It would not even save the state money. And it would have high risk of closing after or even before it opened, because of escapes and inmate disturbances, and most importantly because the state and federal governments can no longer afford to incarcerate so many people. That would leave us and the state holding the bag for any investment in building it.

Outsourcing public justice for private profit at taxpayer expense is not only bad business, we the taxpayers can’t afford to pay for it while public education is under increasing budgetary pressure.

As members of the local community, we do not wish to live in a private prison colony, with the attendant risks of inmate violence and escape, and the accompanying public opprobrium that would drive away the knowledge-based workers we claim to be trying to attract.

Finally, public justice should not be a matter of private profit.

John S. Quarterman
lives in Lowndes County

You may recognize the wording from the petition. You can always write your own letter with your own reasons.

-jsq

FL Gov. Scott doesn’t care what the FL Senate thinks about private prisons

Governor Scott doesn’t care what Florida legislature voted. Wonder if he owns CCA stock. -gretchen

David Royse wrote for the News Service of Florida yesterday, Scott Will Explore Ways to Privatize Prisons without Law Change,

Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he will explore opportunities to privatize state prisons on his own following the Senate’s defeat of a bill that would have required some prisons be bid out to private companies.

Speaking to reporters Thursday morning after a public event on insurance fraud, Scott acknowledged that initially he didn’t consider privatizing prisons a priority, but was disappointed the Senate voted down a bill that would have done that, and said he’ll explore what many backers of the Senate plan said was a possibility that the governor could order privatization unilaterally.

The irony:

Scott pointed out that there are fewer inmates than anticipated and that it didn’t make sense to spend state dollars on half-full prisons.
Maybe nobody told Gov. Scott CCA wants guaranteed 90% occupancy.

More irony: Continue reading →

Grading policy convenient timing for charter school vote —Barbara Stratton

Received Monday on Media flap over Lowndes grading. -jsq
I found the controversy over the Lowndes Grading Policy convenient timing for last week’s House vote on HR 1162 for a GA Constitutional Amendment to allow the state to establish Charter Schools with no oversight by local boards of education. HR 1162 failed the necessary 2/3 vote on 02/08/12. However,it was approved to be reconsidered on 02/09/12 so it has not gone away. Our 3 South GA republican representatives all voted in favor of HR 1162. (No surprises there, but we will remember in November.) Meanwhile part of the reason HR 1162 failed was the state Democratic Caucus undercut the House vote by requesting Democrats deny HR 1162 in favor of their version HR 1335, which they say goes further in allowing state officials to over ride local school board denials of special schools.

Obviously CUEE is not the only party interested in undermining and over riding local school board authority. However, I suspect CUEE had a hand in the phone campaign asking Lowndes school parents to call Rep. Shaw if they were in favor of HR 1162 because we all know that is one of their tactics. The message did not say to call if they were against it. CUEE is definitely still very much in the mix for discrediting local school board authority and our elected officials are evidently in their corner.

-Barbara Stratton

School grading controversy successfully stirred

I don’t usually promote anonymous blog comments, but here’s one received Monday on Media flap over Lowndes grading. -jsq
The reporter didn’t call it “new”, Troy Davis did when he sent it to all the teachers. Maybe you should talk with some teachers who are deeply against the policy before you start ranting. And to correlate this with consolidation is ridiculous, you’re just stretching for controversy.

-Amy

Dr. Smith enumerated several other things which he alleged that reporter misrepresented; see above link. And Dr. Troy Davis set the record straight yesterday in the VDT.

I’d be happy to talk to teachers, pro or con. Send ’em over!

“Stretching for controversy”? Around here you have to duck to avoid controversy. You know, like the VDT saying it won’t publish any more stories about school consolidation….

I see the VDT is not ducking this one, though, rather helping stir it up. In yesterday’s story, the VDT announced mission accomplished:

The new grading policy for grades third through eighth released by the Lowndes County school system in January has stirred controversy locally and even nationally.
It wasn’t the grading policy that stirred controversy, it was Scott James, Fox News, the VDT, the AJC, the SMN, etc. And that “controversy” will make it easier the next time “unification” rears its ugly head.

-jsq