Friday, September 12, 2014

An Editorial Apology To Mr Kenneth Hogge, Gloucester, VA


This is an editorial apology to Mr Kennth E Hogge for the above picture I posted underneath his article.  This was an editorial liberty that I had taken on my own without the knowledge of Mr Hogge.  To Mr Hogge, I sincerely apologize for any harm this liberty may have caused you.

  With that said, I do not apologize for using these symbols in articles of late.  It represents what I perceive as government contempt for, "We The People" who pay the taxes only to see what is perceived as government corruption and abuse thrown back at us for no other reason than personal gain by the few at the expense of the many.  I am well aware that the symbols are perceived as hate symbols.  When one looks at the perceived corruption of government officials against "We The People", well then it is clear that "We The People" are hated by the few and are treated with complete contempt.

  How long have we been reporting on this site what has all of the appearances of illegal invasion of properties, theft of real and personal property, illegal laws, codes, ordinances used to prosecute innocent people for the gain of the few?  In our view, courts that ignore the law and assist with these thefts?  How long will we continue to expose these issues?  Is the use of these types of images over the top?  If I can come up with even stronger images I will use them.

   Government View of "We The People"
Death survivors of a Nazi Concentration Camp.

The Nazi party was the National Socialist Party.  Look what they managed to accomplish.  Is the use of these symbols over the top?  Or is our present government over the top that is forcing us to use these symbols to show what we see?  


Our forefathers fought for Life, Freedom, Liberty, Independence, and fair government.  For awhile it worked beyond anyone's wildest imaginations but a few decided they could not control it so it was undermined little by little and now we are surrendering our freedoms at an unprecedented rate.


English: First page of Constitution of the Uni...
English: First page of Constitution of the United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



The only thing they have not done is burn this document before our eyes, but they are working on it.





Over the top?  You decide.  Place your comments below.




EDA & Woodville School, Gloucester, Virginia



$200,000 Donation Made on Behalf of Gloucester Tax Payers Did you know they did that??
I recently posted an opinion calling for the abolishment of the Economic Development Authority of Gloucester County, Virginia (EDA).  In my opinion I commented about the EDA focusing the majority of its efforts on supporting the interests of a select few individuals and a few nonprofit organizations like the Gloucester Main Street Association, the Gloucester Community Foundation and the Main Street Gloucester Preservation Trust.  Another nonprofit organization that can now be added to the list is the T.C. Walker and Woodville/Rosenwald School Foundation (Woodville Foundation).  During our research we found the following information and more about the Woodville Foundation at: http://woodvillerosenwaldschool.org/foundation/
Foundation
The T.C. Walker and Woodville/Rosenwald School Foundation (the “Corporation”), as a Virginia nonstock corporation with a mission to receive, maintain and administer assets in perpetuity exclusively for charitable and educational purposes relating to the African American experience, including but not limited to the legacy of Woodville School, and Rosenwald Schools generally, and the contributions of T. C. Walker and other notable African Americans in Gloucester County, Virginia, filed Articles of Incorporation with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (the “SCC”), on May 22, 2012.
Foundation Members: 
Warren Deal, Ann Burruss, Charles Records, David Peebles, Wes Wilson, Fred Carter, John Spencer, Kay James, Dorothy Cooke, Leola Travis, Charlie Banks
Officers: 
Mr. Warren Deal, President, Ms. Ann Burruss, Vice-President, Mr. Charles Records, Secretary and Mr. David Peebles, Treasurer
Steering Committees: 
Property Steering Committee
[Dr. Wes Wilson, Mr. David Peebles]
Purpose: develop a plan, schedule, and cost to present to the foundation to 1) secure and stabilize the Woodville School and maintain it against further degradation; 2) maintain the property and grounds until it is preserved.  Implement the plan as approved.
Preservation Steering Committee
[Mr. Fred Carter, Mr. John Spencer, Mr. Charles Records]
Purpose: develop a plan, schedule, and cost to present to the foundation to 1) preserve the school and property in its 1923 form; 2) adapt/modify/improve the property so that it is accessible by the public and be made available for the purposes discussed at the retreat. Implement the plan as approved.
Education and Outreach Steering Committee
[Ms. Kay James, Dr. Leola Travis, Ms. Ann Burruss, Dr. Dorothy Cooke]
Purpose: 1) gather, compile, and preserve all history pertinent to the Woodville School specifically and the Rosenwald Schools in general; 2) create educational and interpretive material to interpret the Woodville School both pre and post preservation status; 3) create publicity, including a speaker’s list, to actively raise public awareness of the foundation and its mission; 4) identify and explore tangible uses of the building in all its stages that meet the purposes discussed at the retreat.  Implement the plan as approved.
Financial Steering Committee
[Mr. Charlie Banks, Mr. Warren Deal]
Purpose: 1) develop an operating budget; 2) develop a preservation budget; 3) develop a capital improvement budget; 4) develop a funding plan of solicitation, grants, etc to fund the respective budgets; 5) assist the board in identifying and engaging partners in all aspects of the foundation’s work.
   
Now doesn’t all of that seem so impressive?  Maybe it does, but the question the citizens of GloucesterCounty should be asking the local governing body is; what will the property and the schoolhouse do forGloucester’s economic stability and development?  Normally one would not ask such a question about a private organization that “appears” to be funded only by private donations and grants, but in this instance the question certainly needs to be asked because the tax payers of Gloucester County have already donated more than they know.
As it turns out, the property and schoolhouse the Woodville Foundation focus their attention on were purchased by the EDA in 2012.  According toGloucester County real estate assessment data;Gloucester County purchased the property and schoolhouse from David Peebles for $200,000.  The data further reveals the property and schoolhouse being assessed at only $85,000 at the time of sale. 
As a comparison we looked at the dynamics of Dr. Walter Reed’s birthplace, a historically preserved dwelling and property located on Hickory Fork Rd. in the Belroi section of Gloucester.  The private foundation that takes care of Dr. Reed’s birthplace owns the dwelling and property.  We also offer the Main Street Texaco service station as an example of a "so called" historic location that is also owned by a private foundation.  In these two instances citizens with a desire to donate too such a cause do so of their own free will.  In the instance of the Woodville Foundation $200,000 was donated for a purpose that does not promote the health, welfare and viability of the citizen funded EDA and was done so without the citizens’ knowledge and consent.  Can the tax payers in Gloucester claim their share of this donation when filing their taxes?  Probably not.  I agree with Gloucester Supervisor Phillip Bazanni; "Gloucester County needs to stay out of the real estate business."
Believe it or not, there is more to share about the EDA of Gloucester County, Virginia.  We will soon share what we have discovered about a house purchased on Greate Road at Gloucester Point and how it relates to the planning commission’s attempts to obtain the entire Waterview Subdivision and other property at Gloucester Point.
Kenneth E. Hogge, Sr.
Gloucester PointVa.


Gloucester, VA Board of Supervisors Meeting, Notes, Report Card For September, 2014




Notes for citizen comment during the Sept 2, 2014 Gloucester County Board of Supervisor meeting. (This is not an exact transcript of what was said but the notes used to make comments)

Chairman Orth, members of the Board, Ms. Garton, Mr. Wilmot

Wayne Crews

During the July BOS meeting I told you in my opinion there are five things to do to fix the problem in the county.

1.  Supervisor Integrity.

2.  Hold Department Heads to high standards.

3.  Stop personal use of government vehicles.

4.  Be good stewards of the resources.

5.  Bring County Ordinances into compliance with Virginia Code

Tonight I want to talk to you about two items.

First about being good stewards of resources.  The board has no problems spending money as you just showed with the consent agenda spending about $300K of taxpayers money on lights for a new park.  I have no issues with this [funds were donated].  Who will pay for the use of these lights?

Why are we not maintaining existing facilities?  For example: at Gloucester Point Beach the fences around the sand dunes are in poor shape and look bad.  The gazebo has peeling paint and graffiti that needs to be cleaned and painted.  Not to pick on parks and Rec.  The County garage on Rt 17 across from Providence Road is in need of a coat of paint at a minimum.  The Public Utilities facility is a disgrace and does not have functioning water and sewage.  These are just a few examples of things we need to maintain before buying new and expanding.

My second item is County Ordinance.  It appears to me it is too much to expect our County Attorney and Administrator and staffs to stay current with Virginia Code.  We get notices in the newspapers in June so we know what has changed.  We have to obey these new laws when they come into effect each July.  Why is it at the Sept BOS meeting there are no changes to County Code being discussed?  Also, it appears they have no issues writing ordinances that could endanger Animal Control Officers while enforcing Ordinances that are not in compliance with Virginia Code.


How to Fix This?
Here is what you need to do:

1.  Integrity at the Board of Supervisors level.
Quit voting for things that benefit you over the county.

2.  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.

3.  Fire employees on the spot if they use vehicles for personal business, except in the case of an emergency and the employee better contact the supervisors before the supervisor contacts them.  No shopping, banking, and fast food restaurants in county vehicles.  If trash is found in the vehicle from these places the employee needs to receive the same punishment.

4.  Quit wasting taxpayers money.  The Board of Supervisions and all county employees need to be good stewards of the resources.

5.  Bring County Ordinances into compliance with Virginia Code.  Mr. Wilmot can help you with this if not consider hiring a competent county attorney.

Thank you.

This is presented as notes used during the citizen comment period during the Sept 2, 2014 Gloucester County Board of Supervisors meeting and not as a transcript of the actual talk.  To get transcript please see the BOS video or County minutes.

Submitted by Wayne Crews


P.S.  It was interesting to see Mr. Chriscoe's reaction when he heard he just voted to spend money in the consent agenda as well as finding out how much of a socialist he is by his positions during the meeting.

BOS Report Card

In the July 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."


Until they fix the items  I think they need to be graded on their progress.  So I will grade them on the five items.  Maybe the School Board needs to be graded on the same items; I would but until they get above a “F” I will not waste my time.  I will keep track so we can present your grade when your next election comes up.

If any of the board members feels the grades are not fair I will consider their appeal.


1. Integrity at the Board of Supervisors level
Quit voting  or things that benefit you over the county.



Overall

D-

D-

















Aug 14

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 15

Feb

Mar

Apr

Robert Orth

A

D-















Christopher Hutson

F

D-















Ashley Chriscoe

F

D-















Andrew James, Jr.

F

D-















Michael Winebarger

F

D-















John Meyer, Jr.

F

D-















Phillip Bazzani

F

D-















Comment:             Aug - Dr. Orth did not vote for Ernest Lane.  Absent that night.
                        Sep - Why do you think more government intrusion into our lives is better?

2. 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.




Aug 14

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 15

Feb

Mar

Apr

Overall

F

F















Comment:        
Aug - Nothing has been fixed.
            Sept - Allowed department heads and supervisors to get away with not answering your questions.

3. Fire employees on the spot if they use vehicles for personal business, except in the case of an emergency and the employee better contact the supervisors before the supervisor contacts them.  No shopping, banking, and fast food restaurants in county vehicles.  If trash is found in the vehicle from these places the employee needs to receive the same punishment.




Aug 14

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 15

Feb

Mar

Apr

Overall

F

D+















Comment:
Sept - Appears employees are not going out to eat, however, they are still finding places to go to not work, cruising the beach.  Many different vehicles, departments cruising not including those that were actually there for work.   One month does not show a fix but it is trending in the correct direction.

4.  Quit wasting taxpayers money.  The Board of Supervisions and all county employees need to be good stewards of the resources.


Overall

D-



















Aug 14

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 15

Feb

Mar

Apr

Robert Orth

A

F















Christopher Hutson

F

F















Ashley Chriscoe

F

F















Andrew James, Jr.

F

F















Michael Winebarger

F

F















John Meyer, Jr.

F

F















Phillip Bazzani

F

F















Comment:
 Aug - Dr. Orth did not vote for Aberdeen Creek.  Absent that night.
Sept Continuing to make rules that cost taxpayers money.  Government intrusion into property rights.  Taking property from land owners on Rt. 17 without compensation.  Restricting property owners us of their property.

5.  Bring County Ordinances into compliance with Virginia Code.  Mr. Wilmot can help you with this if not consider hiring a competent county attorney.




Aug 14

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan 15

Feb

Mar

Apr

Overall

F

F-



































Comment: 
Aug – Who told you voting for Ernest Lane was a good idea?
            Sept Mr. Winebarger wanting to add a leash law to a subdivision and people did not want it, but not willing to fix County ordinances.  Increasing liability to the county being sued for illegal laws.

I am a tax payer and you need to 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.  Why is it you can all ask tough questions when I come up there and speak but not when I am watching from home?