Tag Archives: Nathan Deal

Who gets to serve on the Brooks County School Board —VDT

The VDT caught up with the TV stations today on the Quitman 10 story, and provided updates and context they did not.

David Rodock wrote on the front page of the VDT today, Gov. suspends `Quitman Ten’ officials,

On Tuesday, Deal issued his order prior to the Brooks County Board of Education’s first meeting of 2012. Dr. Nancy Whitfield-Dennard, Elizabeth Diane Thomas and Linda Faye Troutman were notified of this suspension at approximately 4:30 p.m., according to sources.

That’s a bit more context than the TV stations provided.

The VDT also says who gets to serve instead:

Following the governor’s suspension this week, Brooks County school board member Brad Shealy, who is also an assistant Southern district attorney, was appointed to serve as president of the board with board member Larry Cunningham serving as vice president. Shealy served many years as the school board president prior to Whitfield-Dennard being named president last year.

That seems to be the same Brad Shealy who used to be chairman until the recent election.

The VDT adds this context: Continue reading →

Gov. Deal suspended 3 Brooks Co. School Board members

The two local TV stations have an update on the Quitman 10: the governor has suspended the three who were elected to the Brooks County School Board. If the VDT has covered this, I must have missed it. (OK, I should look at today’s paper….) There’s also nothing about this on the Brooks County School Board website.

Jade Bulecza wrote for WALB yesterday, Governor orders Brooks Co. School Bd. suspensions

Superintendent Debra Folsom got the governor’s order Tuesday suspending the three board members.
“This is all new territory for us,” said Folsom. “We’re consulting our attorney to see what the next steps we will take to fill the positions.”
December 20 a review commission made up of the attorney general and two school board members from across Georgia were appointed by the governor to review the case.
“They heard evidence from the prosecution and from the accused and the conclusion of that they made a determination and forwarded that to the governor’s office whether to suspend or not to suspend the three school board members,” said South Georgia District Attorney Joe Mulholland.
December 30, the review panel unanimously made their decision.

That would be the same Joe Mulholland who’s been on TV saying things like Continue reading →

Quitman 10 to see Gov. Deal in Atlanta —George Rhynes

Received today. -jsq

Moreover, I have just been notified that the Quitman 10 will be traveling to Atlanta on Friday to meet with Georgia Governor Deal about remaining on the Brooks County Board of Education. I will most certainly miss Senator Robert Brown here in the State of Georgia.
-GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES

Valdosta State Students defend their right of free speech

Campus authorities tried getting students to move away from the University Center where Governor Nathan Deal was having a luncheon. The students stood their ground.

Here’s the video.

Protesting Gov. Nathan Deal at Valdosta State University (VSU), 16 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

The students had been standing on the sidewalk in front of the Continue reading →

Pardons board rejects clemency for Troy Davis

So now it’s down to Gov. Deal.

In the VDT via AP today:

Georgia’s pardons board rejected a last-ditch clemency plea from death row inmate Troy Davis on Tuesday despite high-profile support from figures including the pope and a former FBI director for the claim that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989.
Davis is scheduled to die Wednesday by injection for the killing of off-duty Savannah officer Mark MacPhail, who was slain while rushing to help a homeless man being attacked. It is the fourth time in four years that Davis’ execution has been scheduled by Georgia officials.
Steve Hayes, spokesman for the Board of Pardons and Paroles, said

Continue reading →

Gov. Deal: the bad, prison slave labor competing with free labor

Gov. Nathan Deal said he was for free-enterprise chickens, but he wants the government to supply prison slave labor to grow them.

Continuing Gov. Deal: the good, the ugly, and the bad on prisons, quoting again from David Rodock’s interview with Gov. Nathan Deal in today’s VDT.

The Bad

Remember Gov. Deal mentioned poultry operators as an illustration of his bogus point that government intervention is always bad? Well, I guess he forgot that when he answered this question:

THE TIMES: Your proposal to have probationers replace illegal immigrants for farm labor. Did that idea work? If it didn’t or it did, what’s going to happen next year during the picking season?
DEAL: “Well, it worked with some success. I think there was a great deal of skepticism about it on whether these people will work and there is a threat associated with their presence. We have to remember that probationers are not under arrest. They are free in our society.

Really? Except for little things like not being able to vote if they are felons, and having to pay their probation officers. But back to the Gov.: Continue reading →

Gov. Deal: the good, the ugly, and the bad on prisons

Gov. Nathan Deal proposed a half-measure to reduce the Georgia prison population

that nonetheless is a useful measure (the good). He reiterated a bogus talking point (the ugly). Then he proceeded to contradict it in advocating something that would work against reducing the prison population (the bad).

David Rodock’s interview with Gov. Nathan Deal is in the VDT today.

The Good

THE TIMES: How are we going to address the large number of incarcerated citizens and decrease those numbers?
DEAL: “I think one of the better things we can do is have accountability in courts whether they be drug courts, DUI courts, mental-health courts, towards sentence reform. the like. We know that they work. We know the recidivism rate, if they go through those approaches rather than directly into the prison system. We have less recidivism. We break the addictions, and we’ve got to work very closely on that.”

I’ve previously noted that Gov. Deal has taken at least a tentative step towards sentence reform. That’s good, but not enough. Let’s do the rest, Continue reading →

WALB on protesters and Gov. Deal at VSU

Jade Bulecza wrote for WALB today, Protesters approach governor on Troy Davis

South Georgia death penalty opponents took their protest to the governor while he was in Valdosta.
Governor Deal was in Valdosta to tour VSU’s nursing college but death penalty opponents confronted him about the upcoming execution of cop killer Troy Davis.
A small group of demonstrators gathered a VSU to plead for clemency for Troy Davis.
“We hope he uses his influence to the pardons and parole board to get out get rid of this execution,” said Deandre Jones, the president of the VSU’s NAACP college chapter.
Protesters approached the governor as he left the university center.
“The committee has followed the legal process and has gone through the appellate court,” said Deal.
Davis’ execution is set for Wednesday for killing an off duty Savannah police officer in 1989.

Student protesters greet GA Gov. Nathan Deal @ VSU 16 Sep 2011

Possibly the last thing Gov. Nathan Deal expected to find at Valdosta State University greeted him: student protesters!

Their main question was about the impending Sept. 21st execution of Troy Anthony Davis, about whom Amnesty International says there is too much doubt.

Student protesters greet Governor Nathan Deal at Valdosta State University, 16 Sep 2011.
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

The press had already noticed: Continue reading →

Gov. Deal in Valdosta right now tomorrow

A little birdie tells me this is his schedule for ~~today~~ tomorrow. -jsq

7:30	Breakfast at the Quitman-Brooks Co. Museum & Cultural Center (202 North Culpepper Street, Quitman)
8:00	Walk across the street to Brooks Co. Courthouse to have a skillet contest and media opportunity (Brooks Co. Skillet Festival is the next day – Saturday, September 17 <96> a kickoff for the festival)
8:30	Depart Brooks Co., travel to Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (4089 Val-Tech Road, Valdosta)
9:00	Arrive WGTC, tour for one hour
10:00	Depart WGTC, travel to South Georgia Medical Center (2501 North Patterson Street, Valdosta)
10:15	Arrive SGMC, tour for 45 minutes
11:00	Depart SGMC, travel to Valdosta State University Nursing Building (1500 North Patterson Street, Valdosta)
11:15	Tour VSU Nursing Building
11:35	Walk across street to VSU University Center for lunch/presentation
11:45 — 1:15	Luncheon, VSU University Center