Gloucester, VA Board of Supervisors &School Board Joint Meeting With Notes, Sept. 2014

Open letter to Gloucester County.

In the July and first September Board of Supervisors (BOS)  meeting I spoke during the citizen comment period and gave the BOS a list of things they need to do to make Gloucester County "The Land of the Life Worth Living."

Based on the grades on the two report cards I was told that I should provide you with ways to improve your grades. 

Before I do that I have to make a comment about the September 16^th joint meeting.  Does anyone on the School Administrative staff have a degree of any kind?  The staff went into joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors totally unprepared.  I know I would not have any degree if I went into a test as unprepared as the School Board Staff was last night.  With the salaries we pay can’t we get someone with a degree or at least someone that knows why they are going to a meeting as employees?  If I was a member of the School Board I would be embarrassed.

I am going to look at the second item that I am grading the BOS with:  Hold Department Heads and Supervisors to high standards and get rid of them when they break the rules.  You cannot hold lower level employees to high standards if they are not practiced at the higher levels.

There were numerous examples provided in the two September meetings.

I will start with the meeting on the 16^th.  The School Board staff did a great job of not having prepared anything in my opinion with a standard answer that we will get back with you later with an answer.  Do not have any more meetings with them if they do not come prepared as it's a total waste of your time.  If they do, tell them the meeting is over and that you will develop a budget for them without their input.  You give them about $10 million less than they want one year and maybe they will get the hint they need to provide open and honest communications with you.  I do not think it will happen a second time.

In my opinion the County Staff is equally lazy and predictable and like to talk in circles for several minutes without answering your questions hoping you will forget the question or answer they are not responsible.

First, tell them you want an executive summary answer, 20 words or less, and if you need more information you will ask another question again with a short answer.  I like what Mr. Meyer said about the flood document that it needed to be a pamphlet that anyone could read quickly and not a novel as it currently exist.  Hold the staff accountable and make them reduce the document to a size anyone can read and understand; we are not paying them by the pound.  What are they trying to hide?  If it is above the 6^th – 8^th grade reading level they are trying to hide something.  This is the level that most documents are written that are readily used by most of the population.  Above this level it is a coffee table book that is not read.

Second, when you have employees that tell you they are not responsible for what they are presenting to you?  Tell them it is with great sorrow that you accept their resignation effective immediately?  I think it was an ms ditzy that said that; I would have to go back to the agenda to get the persons actual name.  If they are responsible for preparing the document and tell you something like that then they are very much overpaid and need to leave.

Third, when they do this;  stop the speaker telling them they are done; then ask Ms. Garton to get someone qualified to make the presentation.

If you use these suggestions I do not think you will continue to have problems getting answers and employees giving you the required respect.

I am a tax payer and you need to be held accountable to “We the People”.

I have a voter registration card and know how to use it.

Respectfully submitted by

Wayne Crews

Gloucester Point District

P.S.  The school population is increasing because of the new superintendent? What has he done for us for him to make this kind of statement and can he provide proof he is responsible?  You have to go to the meetings or watch them on TV.  More entertaining than anything else on TV in the time slot.  I think the meeting made the top Nelson rating for the night in the time slot if not it should have.

York Herald 2014 11, By Phil Bazzani, GC BoS 

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The Salvation Army, "Doing The Most Harm", Part 5

Just some updates on this ongoing story. We have contacted the Salvation Army Corporate Headquarters numerous times. Not once have they chosen to respond to any of our questions. Nor do they seem to care when one of their outposts does harm to a family. We also contacted CBN, The Christian Broadcasting Network whom checked on this story but also chose not to respond. Governor Robert F McDonnell, and Senator Mark Warner have not chimed in nor has the Associated Press. Maybe dealing with negative stories about major charities around the holidays is bad for business? If a person or a corporate entity caused this type of harm to a family, they would be subject to a lawsuit. But because it's a charity, they can do whatever they want? This is pretty much like running over a person, finding out the person that you ran over was homeless and since that was the case, you get a get out of jail free card. We have a lot more to go with this story and it will not be going away. We will keep on top of all of this until someone is held accountable for their actions.

The Salvation Army, "Doing The Most Harm", Part 4

Breaking News. We just leaned from an internal source that the local Salvation Army has inside employee theft issues. So let's see, there is something fishy about the way the homless family we have been reporting on has been treated and now we learn this. Isn't that just amazing. Could it just be a coincidence? Well when we looked at all the evidence coming from the homless family, there were just way to many coincidences there to believe that they could all be just coindidental. When you make reports like this folks, you had better make sure you can back them up with evidence or you are open to a lawsuit. We are not open to one. We have secured the information and are not in the least worried about it.

Salvation Army, "Doing The Most Harm", Part 3. It Get's Worse

Since we broke the story on the one homeless family another one has surfaced and there seems that there is a pattern of the Salvation Army promising that what you tell them will remain in that office and not be reported to any outside agencies whatsoever. Well the new family that has come forward was also turned into Social Services after the family did NOT receive help from Sallie. So there is a clear pattern that whatever you tell the Salvation Army under promises of anonymous information, it just isn't so. They will report you making a bad situation worse. How do you trust an organization like this?

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