Thursday, December 31, 2020

REWAKENING

      As this day opens I fill my head with the many traditions before. Family, friends and laughter. The gathering of thoughts and ideas for the coming year. Resolutions made and resolutions broken. How I long the little arms that wrapped around my neck and required my protection, kissing the loved one as the New York ball drops. Shucks y'all, it was just last year....people were wearing depends to see it fall. New regulations from terrorists efforts and we see we are forbidden to go to the bathroom, yet no one stopped coming. I guess something new had to be tried....even before co-vid-19 the ability to change the way people do things was occurring and yet...no one noticed. Did anyone ever believe that people would wear a depends just to see to a New Year's Celebration? No, I don't suppose we did. In only 18 hours, this day will close and a New Year will begin and I pray for a revival and an awakening that no man has ever known.

 I pray that Americans stand for our country, Christians for their faith and parents for their children. Oh yea, we didn't lose our children.... we gave them away. We gave them to XBox and Nintendo and cell phones. We allowed Facebook, Twitter and Snap Chat to entertain them. While Grand Theft Auto taught them how to kill cops and victimize bystanders. Oh, I do pray for our youngsters! I pray that a shelter of protection keeps them from Satan's temptations they face in today's world. Heroin, crystal meth.....things that have robbed them from life for way too long. I pray that those who are on ADD/ADHD drugs..., are filled with a peace that drugs can not give them. Let me ask you this.....Has anyone tried taking your child to church and reading the Bible with them? Have you ever walked the grounds of a battle field and talked with your child about the sacrifices that were made? Do you even know what those sacrifices were? Has anyone mentioned to children of color that it was white men who fought and died for their freedom? Without them they could still be enslaved. Yet no one mentions the bravery of the American soldier and it's so painful to see how far respect and honor have been cast by the wayside. Our men in uniform have been treated as though their sacrifices mean nothing and our very foundation is being rocked. I pray for an awakening... a revival ..... A "Revakening ", per se.

As I close, much of what you just read will be forgotten....just like a lot of things that occurred this past year but some things are embedded in your mind for ever. Whether its the loss of a loved one....a new child or any other type of major event and if there wasn't one ....there's always Covid and the attempted dismantling of a strong economy. REVAKE AMERICA....stand up. We need real men to stand for this country and I just don't see men in high heels and dresses doing that for this country. I love you all....but it is what it is. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! May God keep you and shelter you from all the evil that lies waiting and always remember ......THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON THEE. ISAIAH 26:3


****See You January 6th in D.C. Start letting people know where you will be meeting to leave from your town. Not a million man march...how 'bout a 74 million man march. That's what I'm talking about.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

 

     

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

The most Expensive Spirit Ever Produced In Virginia, 8 Shires Jamestowne 1608 Single Malt Whiskey At $1,195.00 Per Bottle

 

(By; Chuck Thompson)

What is the most expensive spirit ever produced in Virginia?  8 Shires 1608 Single Malt Whiskey at a price tag of about $1,195.00 before tax.  So what makes this release so darn expensive?  The story behind this release is a very long one that is best experienced at the 8 Shires Coloniale Distillery in Williamsburg, but we are going to touch on a good amount of it here.  Back some years ago, the archeologists at Jamestown unearthed a well on Jamestown island that they estimated to have been capped back in 1608.  The well was no longer producing water.  When the archeologists uncapped that well, they found roughly 20 gallons of water at the bottom of the well.  They recovered the water and set it aside trying to figure out what to do with it.

  One of the archeologists is a brewer of beer, so he decided to try and make a special beer with some of the water.  It didn't come out very well.  With 10 gallons left, the archeologists still wanted to see something done with it.

  Enter Dr William Dodson, owner of 8 Shires Coloniale Distillery in Williamsburg.  After Dr Dodson was giving a lecture in town, the archeologist who had attended his lecture went up to meet him and told him about their find and that they still had 10 gallons of water left and did he have any ideas on what to do with it?  Dr Dodson knew exactly what to do with it.  Dr Dodson said, let's recreate the first distillations done in Virginia, aka North American continent and we will add this water into the release making it a very special limited edition.  This water is 412 years old now.  It was tested and is free of any contaminants.  

  Based on research, it was determined that Single Malt whiskey was the most likely base for spirits in Jamestown at that time period.   Dr Dodson set out to find a malt house in England that was in business during the Early 1600's and is still in business today.  He found one.  So the malt was brought in from England to make the Single Malt.  The next question, what kind of still did they use?  The archeologists were able to answer that having unearthed a glass alembic still.  So now the mission was to have several glass alembic still heads recreated so as to produce an authentic time period distillation.  Corning Glass works in New York State covered that.  They hand blew 5 period pieces.  

  Now, how was the spirit collected, into what kind of vessel and how long would it might have sat?  The research shows the most likely vessel for collecting the distilled spirits was into a wooden barrel and the barrels would have been set aside until needed.  Ah, the aging process.  Distilling was mainly done in the spring and the fall and enough was made to put into storage for a multiple amount of reasons.  So it may have sat for up to a year and a half before being used.  

  Now, packaging.  What Dr Dodson knew, glass blowing was one of the first industries in Jamestown and started in the year of 1608.  Each bottle of Jamestowne 1608 is hand blown by the glassblowers in Jamestown and the release comes with 2 shot glasses that were the common design of the time period, also hand blown by the Jamestown glass blowers.  The release comes in a hand made wooden box made with exotic woods.  The main wood used is walnut.  Each bottle is also hand dipped in wax to seal the tops and each waxed top has a special seal stamped into the wax.  Once this release sells through that's the end of them.  10 gallons of water only goes so far.  

  This is the most unique spirit I have ever seen produced anywhere by anyone.  This is not the full complete story, but it's the main gist of it.  The Jamestowne 1608 Single Malt is a distillery only release and can not be bought anywhere else including Virginia ABC stores.  So you will have to visit them at 7218 Merrimac Trail in Williamsburg.  They are open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1pm til 7pm.  The Distillery just released these and has already sold 108 bottles as of this writing.  A visit to the Distillery allows you to see and learn the rest of the story not covered here.  Cheers.

How To Save Your Restaurant Business. The Covid 19 Plan

 

(By; Chuck Thompson)

In the age of Covid 19, Restaurants are taking a major hit and are hurting financially like never before.  A business already known as very difficult to make money in, the restrictions of Covid 19 by government are making it nearly impossible for any owner of any restaurant to survive.  

  The latest ideas are curbside pickup or takeout are being pushed as owners try to find a way to survive in this new business climate.  The dinning in experience is now dead thanks to the new regulations.  Some still venture out for the dine in experience but the idea of having to wear a mask in between eating just does not sit right with many.  But it's the only choice given to the mass number of folks.

  What if we could devise a better plan?  Well this article is designed to help do just that.  I am not saying it is going to work, or that it will work for the majority, but it has tremendous potential.  A plan that lowers costs to the owner and increases potential sales across the board for the owners.  This can work for single owner establishments as well as very large national chains.  I call it the minimalist plan.  

  So what is the minimalist plan?  Here goes.  I propose that restaurants pick one menu item per day to serve for both lunch and dinner.  What that means.  If you are a sit down restaurant, the menu item could be for the day, Chicken Cordon Blue, French String Beans and Rice as the meal.  This meal can be adjunct with extra sales of say a dinner salad, and another adjunct of desert.  A sign is put out of what the meal of the day is.  This cuts the cost of preparing your full menu on a per order sale.  Everything can be prepared ahead of expected rush times and kept warm and fresh until sold.  What this accomplishes is a much lower food costs, lower labor costs and lower utilities costs.  You know what your customers will be ordering as they can only order what you have to offer.  

  Now I would not keep the same menu everyday.  The menu would change daily.  You can choose a 7 day cycle menu or a 14 day, 21 day, or even a 30 day menu cycle for your offers.  You can serve each customer much faster.  A switch in the menu each day could be instead of the main menu item, you could sell someone a full size salad instead of a dinner salad.   But that would be the only variation I would offer in order to keep costs down and service up.  If folks wish to dine in, they can do so but the offer is still the same and comes packaged in the same manner, again, to keep costs down.  

  Packaging is all throw away takeout style.  Even in house sit down dining.  Drinks are non alcoholic and sold in cups the same way as done in the fast food chains.  For sit down, drinks can be whatever you are allowed to legally sell.  If you are allowed to sell to go alcoholic drinks, then by all means never look a gift horse in the mouth.  

  Now, with lower costs it would be a good idea to lower the costs of the daily offering.  I myself do not want to pay full menu price for less than a full experience.  I have not been to a full service restaurant since Covid began.  To me, there is no longer a value in it.  But I am still willing to pay for a decent meal prepared, just not the full price of the sit down experience.  Some are and that's great.  I am not.  Now this isn't the only idea to use here.  This same plan can be put into play and used as a way of attracting new business and still maintain your normal daily restaurant business routine or use this as the main plan and supplement with a smaller version of what was once your main menu if you go such route.  Now these are just ideas.  I offer them as I do not like seeing businesses going out of business because of government interference.  I am working on other ideas that I hope to get up for other brick and mortar businesses that are equally being hurt by Covid 19.  Cheers.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Conversation Between Gloucester Supervisor and Superintendent of Schools


On October 20
th the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors (BOS) and School Board had a joint meeting. Near the end of the meeting, Supervisor Winebarger said the following:

“Dr. Clemons, glad you’re here. I’ve gotten multiple phone calls from parents saying that they’ve heard; and I want you to either tell me yes, or no or maybe so; that Gloucester is going to start requiring a class in black history in order to graduate and that they are going to start to teach history based on 1619 instead of 1609. Tell me it ain’t so.”

See the SlideShare presentation below to see the email conversation that followed and other emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) After that you will find a link to hear the Supervisor's question. After that you will find a link to a Board of Supervisor "Public Comment" section where certain people spoke about the Supervisor and his question to the Superintendent. 

Written By: Kenny Hogge, Sr.

SlideShare presentation of documents obtained under FOIA



Monday, December 14, 2020

Superintendent of Gloucester County Public Schools Plays Race Card


On October 20th the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors (BOS) and School Board had a joint meeting. Near the end of the meeting, Supervisor Winebarger said the following:

“Dr. Clemons, glad you’re here. I’ve gotten multiple phone calls from parents saying that they’ve heard; and I want you to either tell me yes, or no or maybe so; that Gloucester is going to start requiring a class in black history in order to graduate and that they are going to start to teach history based on 1619 instead of 1609. Tell me it ain’t so.”

For those who do not know, the 1619 date comes from what is known as the 1619 Project, a highly controversial black history piece created by several “journalists” at the New York Times. I strongly believe the Supervisor's, “Tell me it ain’t so.” ending to his question was directed solely at the inclusion of highly questionable content from the 1609 Project; something every American should be concerned about.   

Superintendent Clemons responded, but did not actually answer Mr. Winebarger’s question, so Mr. Winebarger sent Superintendent Clemons the following in an email:

“Rick, is Gloucester School Systems one of the 16 pilot programs and will the program be teaching history from 1609 or 1619? Mike”

At this point, nothing appears to be unusual; right? Just a simple conversation between a Supervisor and a School Superintendent. The Superintendent did respond with a partial answer to the Supervisor’s questions, but he also had a lot more to say. The following is the Superintendent's reply to the Supervisor:

Good Morning Mr. Winebarger:

As a follow-up to our conversation from the meeting last night, I will provide the Board of Supervisors and the School Board an outline of the course so all know the framework and contents within. I will make sure all know the periods of history that will be taught. In addition, GCPS is not one of the 16 districts piloting the course this year.

However, I must tell you that as an African American/black man, notwithstanding the fact that I happen to be the Superintendent of Schools in a majority non-minority community, I found your comments last night to be racially insensitive at a minimum if not downright racist in nature, and I am very disappointed, angry and offended by such comments.

Please let me be clear. I have no problem with anyone asking about the course, periods of time or content within. However, your comments around the fact of what you heard and if it was going to be required as a course for graduation is deeply disturbing. My question to you would be, "So what if it was a course needed for graduation?" Would you have a problem with that? Your comments in my view showed an insensitivity to African American History and it came across that it is not good enough or appropriate to teach in this community.

Please know that I do plan to follow up with you, the Board of Supervisors and the Gloucester community on this matter.

In closing, thanks for your time and I hope you have a great day! Sincerely,

Dr. Clemons

I don’t know about you, but I was floored by the Superintendent’s racial attack and the way he attempted to label the Supervisor an insensitive racist. Why would he say such things to someone asking a simple question on behalf of a Constituent? The Superintendent’s comments were nothing less than “race baiting”. (An attempt to deflect a conversation by implementing an assertion that the asker is racist.) I also believe there are political motivations behind the Superintendent’s unacceptable behavior. He, at least five School Board members and four to five Supervisors would love to see Mr. Winebarger leave the BOS. They want him gone because he and Supervisor Bazzani are the only two Supervisors who are constantly fiscally responsible in the way they vote and are more than willing to ask the tough questions. A few days later, the Supervisor sent the following in an email to the Superintendent:

Dear Dr. Clemons,

I have given your email to me dated October 21 some thought, especially given its concerning rhetoric. As the old saying goes, "Don't shoot the messenger". As a Supervisor elected by the citizens of this County, it is my duty to investigate and respond to questions or concerns expressed to me by my constituents. I always ask these questions in public, even though others may do so in private. I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future because it is my duty.

At the joint meeting of the School Board and Board of Supervisors on October 20, I relayed to you questions which I had been asked by a constituent. You provided partial answers in the meeting and indicated you would provide follow-up information. As a builder who has worked construction my entire life, I do not have the benefit of multiple degrees - I speak simply and plainly without any hidden agendas. On October 21, the morning after the meeting, I emailed you as a reminder of the information I was seeking. Your email response did not provide answers to enable me to respond to my constituent, but instead expressed your feelings about my question. In the joint meeting of the School Board and Board of Supervisors, the forum is one where the Boards ask the questions and the employees provide the answers. I regret that you attributed any insensitive or offensive meaning to my words - none was intended - it was just a question asked by one of my constituents about a course. I await your response to my inquires.

Your accusation that my "comment in [your] view showed an insensitivity to African American History and it came across that it is not good enough or appropriate to teach in this community" is grossly misguided and false. In my view, American History is the history of the American people. I believe that as Americans we are all a great melting pot and any American history course should highlight the participation of all Americans regardless of race, creed, or color, and the African American experience is absolutely an important part of our history.

Please know that I am ready and willing to have further discussions with you on this issue and encourage you to call me at your earliest convenience.

Mike Winebarger

Supervisor, Petsworth District

The Supervisor’s reply is pretty cut and dry. You certainly can’t blame him for doing what he was elected to do, unlike numerous other elected people in Gloucester County.

The story does not end there. On November 4, 2020, the Superintendent and several school employees spoke during the BOS meeting Public Comment period, publicly attacking Mr. Winebarger, with some attempting to label him a racist. Mr. Winebarger maintained his composure throughout the whole orchestrated ordeal. The same cannot be said about some of the speakers.

Several people in the community told me about the Superintendent’s email to the Supervisor, so I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the school system asking for all the Superintendent’s emails between October 16, 2020 and November 15, 2020; essentially 30 days’ worth. I was shocked by the following reply from the school system:

“the school division estimates that the cost for accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the records responsive your request is $2,926.00 based on 5,600 emails and estimated an average of one minute to review each, at the hourly rate of the Superintendent’s Executive Assistant.” 

They sure don’t want me or anyone else checking out their emails. That amount is ludicrous and beyond what I am willing to spend on seeking such information, so I revised my request to:

“all emails sent and or received by the Superintendent of GCPS that pertain to, reference, mention and or touch on the "1619 Project" and or African American history and or Black history and or Native American history during the time period of Oct 16, 2020 thru November 15, 2020.”

I received copies of several emails and a bill for $62.94. Like I've said before, transparency isn't cheap in Gloucester County. The entire first part of an email was completely redacted. It appears like the Superintendent forwarded the Supervisor’s question and the Superintendent’s response to someone they claim is exempt from being identified under the “Working Papers” FOIA release exemption. I have received many emails and other documents containing redactions authorized under FOIA, but I have never received any in which the sender, recipients, subject, date and 100% of the content was blacked out. I sure would like to know who the Superintendent forwarded the email to and what his comments were. One can only imagine at this point, but one thing is crystal clear, he does not want the People to know. 

Gloucester County has always been a civil place to live and raise children. Of course, we have had our moments and like everywhere, there are a handful of true racists of all skin colors, but overall, most people tend to get along without a lot chaos and drama. It seems the Superintendent does not feel that way. It seems like he thinks there is significant racial divide and inequality in Gloucester and in Gloucester schools and “as an African American/black man, notwithstanding the fact that he happens to be the Superintendent of Schools in a majority non-minority community,”  it appears he has done very little over the last several years to adequately blend his little part of the American melting pot into a unified culture of acceptance, instead choosing in this instance to spew unwarranted accusations of racism. In another instance he complained about his child not having a teacher of color since attending Gloucester schools. In still yet another instance of having taxpayers pay for his membership to the National Association of Black Educators. Of all people to complain about ethnic diversity when he is the one person in this community in the best position to cause effective improvements, not only in our schools but in our County as well; if the need truly exists. As for membership in the NABE; didn’t segregation end in the 60’s? Why does the Superintendent feel he must belong to a racially segregated organization? Should there also be separate organizations for each race of educators? The Superintendent certainly does not reflect unity, diversity, equality, integrity, civility and honor; all essential traits necessary to preserve American freedom, liberty, justice and equality for all. Instead, he travels the path of race baiting and exclusion to silence those who do not align with his ideals and agenda and to silence those who question what is taking place in our public school system.

When I attended Gloucester schools from the late 60’s till the late 70’s, we were taught to get along and respect each other, despite, nationality, skin color and financial or academic standing. We were also taught; our personal choices and level of effort would determine our destiny. We had black teachers and white teachers and thought of them all as just teachers. Their color didn’t matter, just like the color of our fellow students didn’t matter.  At GHS, Mr. Loring had a class in which the students replicated the cast of “Welcome Back Kotter”. We watched the Jefferson’s, Sanford and Son, All In The Family, Good Times and other shows that offered moral lessons on race relations, among other things. Today Gloucester has an activist school Superintendent who, despite his own career success as a “black man”, is setting a path for racial divide in our community in order to further progress the Socialist/Marxist/Communist movement that is jeopardizing our great Nation. Does anyone really want this kind of drama in Gloucester County? I know I don’t and believe we owe it to the children of Gloucester to put a stop to it sooner than later. Superintendent Clemons was welcomed into this community when he was selected for the job, but I believe because of this instance and other instances in other areas he is responsible for, he has worn that welcome out.

Below I have included a SlideShare presentation of the emails responsive to my FOIA request. I have also included links to the section of the Joint meeting where the Supervisor asked the question and subsequent section of the BOS meeting where the Public Comments were made.

Written By: Kenny Hogge, Sr.

Email Presentation


Friday, November 27, 2020

Election Fraud Case In George Includes the Governor As Defendant; Calls Out Iran and China

 


Below, we have provided a SlideShare presentation of the Plaintiffs' recent "Election Fraud" filing in the Great State of Georgia. Share it far and wide because mainstream and social media are hiding this from the People.


Monday, October 5, 2020

How Gloucester County, Virginia Taxpayers' Money Is Spent/Wasted. This can't go on.............


Not long ago I published an article demonstrating how some of our local tax dollars are spent/wasted. (Click here for article.) Even before publishing that article, we began looking at the County’s and School System’s use of Purchase Cards. Purchase Cards are commonly referred to as Credit Cards and in the instance of our local government, they are known as P-Cards.

Currently we are in possession of copies of P-Card statements from June 2019 thru June 2020 that the County charged me over $200 to obtain through a very deceptive, time-consuming, and frustrating Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Nevertheless, we have been able to conduct a general review of the statements and are well on our way to building spreadsheets that will enable us to take a much closer look at how our tax dollars are being spent. We also intend to ask our local government to allow us to review and copy some of the supporting document files for some of the charges. I say some of the supporting document files because it would literally take us weeks if not months and several hundred dollars or more in FOIA fees to the County to scrutinize such a magnitude of files. Transparency is expensive in Gloucester County.

What do we know about Gloucester’s P-Cards in general? We know a P-Card was used by the person convicted of stealing from the School System’s bus garage. (To read two related stories, Click here and click here.) We know thousands of purchases are made every month. We know some of the charges are payments for goods and services procured through a competitive bidding process. An example of such procurements is pizza from Domino’s for school lunches once a month. We know P-Cards are used to make purchases in other countries like Germany, Canada, The United Kingdom and Ireland. We know P-Cards are used to travel all over Virginia and to Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and other states. We know there are employees who use the P-Cards appropriately and we know there are ones who abuse them. We know we have more to learn and we are doing so.

I guess it’s time to tell you how much money we are talking about. From June 1, 2019 until June 30, 2020, they charged and paid off $4,437,897.19. Thus far, we have determined those charges were made by over 100 different P-Card holders but will not know the exact total until more work is done. Let’s look at some other things we have learned so far.

The following are the amounts spent per month for three consecutive months and the total spent each month on just a few Merchant Categories (MCC) of goods and services. (Purchases rounded to nearest $100)

$442,337.33 was charged during June 2019.

Airlines – $1,300

Lodging – $10,500

Meals – $1,500

Cox Communications – $40,300

Verizon – $11,800

Amazon – $21,500

Local Walmart, Food Lion & Kroger – $2,600

Organization Memberships – $955.10

Coffee Service – $300

Computer Software - $11,500

$695,379.49 was charged during July 2019.

Airlines – $2,400

Lodging – $10,700

Meals – $3,100

Cox Communications – $38,200

Verizon – $2,500

Amazon – $22,400

Local Walmart, Food Lion & Harris Teeter – $3,400

Organization Memberships – $4,900

Mulch and Lawncare – $700

Coffee Service - $200

Computer Software - $5,700

$293,198.46 was charged during August 2019.

Airlines – $4,900

Lodging – $3,700

Meals – $2,000

Cox Communications – $38,100

Verizon – $4,500

Amazon – $23,300

Local Walmart and Food Lion – $4,200

Organization Memberships – $10,000

Mulch and Lawn Care - $33,000

Coffee Services - $200

Computer Software - $600

There was a heck of a lot of money spent each month on air travel, lodging and meals. The examples above do not include reimbursements for cash receipts and do not reflect parking fees, tolls, fuel costs, car rentals, taxi fares, bus rentals, etc. related to travel. There were multiple people traveling every month throughout the 13-month period we are studying.

We pay Cox Communications a lot every month as well. The amount does not seem justified considering the number of people in the County who get no benefit from their service. I believe the same can be said about Verizon.

As for Amazon, Walmart, Food Lion, Kroger, Harris Teeter and a huge number of other suppliers, we will have no idea what all of that money was spent on until we get a look at the supporting document files for the charges. Rest assured, I will share whatever we find, good and bad. You can see more suppliers in the copies of P-Card statements I have provided in the SlideShare presentations below.

Organizations and memberships is another tax dollar eating category. Most of these organizations bring no direct benefit to Gloucester taxpayers and in some instances, they work against the citizenry and are downright Socialist and or divisive in nature. Examples of such entities are: Virginia School Board Association, Virginia Association of School Superintendents, Society For Human Resources,  National Alliance of Black Educators, National School Board Association, Virginia Association of Elementary School Teachers, Virginia Parks and Recreation Association, Realtor Association, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing and too many more to list here. You can click on each organization listed to visit their website. I encourage you to take a look at each of them.

The amount of tax dollars spent on Mulch and Lawncare services is, in my humble opinion, absolutely ludicrous. There seems to be plenty money to spend on luxury and unbeneficial things, but not enough to keep our schools maintained.

The County and School System have initiated an all out campaign to entice Gloucester residents to vote in favor of raising the local retail sales and use tax. They are disseminating flyers on social media that are full of deception. The words “may”, “potentially” and “probably” are words of uncertainty and lack of commitment and are used throughout their flier. If this tax increase is enacted it will not only provide the School System with a blank check for as much as $100 Million, it will also pave the way for a meals tax increase. Did you know Gloucester has already increased the lodging tax to raise more tax dollars for Recreation and Tourism? It’s true.

It is time for our School System and County to be forced into becoming fiscally responsible. We The People of Gloucester were ignored during the recent Public Hearing on the School System borrowing nearly $6 Million. This can never be allowed to happen again. The whole Public Hearing was nothing more than a sham and is not how government in the USA is supposed to work. Not one Public Comment speaker spoke in favor of the borrowing, yet every Supervisor except Mr. Winebarger and Mr. Bazzani voted yes to approve it. Mr. Winebarger and Mr. Bazzani voted no. This time they cannot ignore our voice. Let’s send them a clear message this year by voting “NO” on the tax increase and send another message next year by voting several School Board and Board of Supervisors members out of office.

Written By: Kenny Hogge Sr

Gloucester Point, Virginia


A few interesting transactions that we intend to look at further.

06/06   74208474X00072Q9D      JIMDO HAMBURG                                $240.00

06/06   74208474X00072Q9D      FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE              $2.40

JIMDO Hamburg     Website and webstore hosting from Hamburg, Germany.   https://www.jimdo.com/

07/22   24755426O3HM5N9Y2     FERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS           $600.50

07/23   24040836QS66JG33B        SWIFT CREEK MILL THEATER           $442.00

Ferguson Center for The Arts https://www.fergusoncenter.org/

Swift Creek Mill Theater http://siteline.vendini.com/site/swiftcreekmill.com/

08/27   24692167F2XDZV3Z6         SAN DIEGO ZOO WEB STORE           $725.00

San Diego Zoo We Store https://shopzoo.com/

 






Wednesday, September 2, 2020

THE DEVIL CAME A KNOCKIN' BY: VIOLET

The devil came a knockin' a long, long time ago
he's been dropping little seeds, in hopes that he could sow...
     For many years we have seen the gradual removal of God from our country. From our schools and our homes. We have replaced it with idols from sports, music and entertainment. For those of you who were raised in a family that believed in God you understand that what you fill your heart with is what you will display in your character. What have you allowed your child to fill their heads and hearts with? Have you been to school and listened in your child's class? Probably not. It's most likely that you just get so busy, right? No one understands any better than I that you have to work and provide for your child. Yet, if you really looked at what you're doing, you'd have to admit you could have taken or could take more time. Children need your time more than they need things. Always remember that.
He showed upon the door step of that which brings us peace
Now anger, rage and violence does not appear to cease.
     Looking at our young adults in our streets we see the results of what we have allowed our young people to fill their heads with. They have become desensitized because daily throughout their young lives they either heard words from songs about killing cops and raping women or played games of violence where shooting people was rewarded. They became a group of people who no longer valued the core of morals and values. Many do not even know what that means. The idea that those young people can not comprehend empathy is scary and yet we see it with our very eyes.
 I saw him in the corridor of where our children play 
and while lurking all around them, they never learned to pray
     And the leaders we have somehow allowed ourselves to follow is frightening. There have been times when a cold chill made the hairs of my arms rise as they looked into our televisions and lied like we were too naïve to realize that they were doing so. And now we see a man running to become our greatest leader using a website of a group specifically named after a terrorist group to get to his website. And an Hungarian man by the name of George Soros has supported this cause by paying this group to destroy cities and frighten people. Who do we blame for this disaster unfolding before us? We blame ourselves. We blame ourselves because we CHOSE not to instill these morals and values we knew and understood to be good, we wanted to give our children choices and we really didn't have time for them so... we allowed the village Hilary Clinton said you needed to raise them to do so.
The leaders came together to let the devil in 
And stood before the people promoting dreadful sin 
     We are now looking into possibilities of Our Country becoming something it was never intended to be. Something the bloodshed of our American soldiers would make in vain. We will see people standing in line for food rations being grateful for slothfulness, their pride will take them to destruction without realizing it before it's too late, while others envy those who work to own luxuries they struggle to destroy them. Some fill their slothful days with gluttony, attempting to eat their way to happiness, their greed to have the items in stores overtakes their sense of decency and they, rob steal and destroy. Prostitution is legalized and promoted, with no policemen in our streets women and men are subjected to sexual cruelties one can not imagine. We visibly see the wrath in the streets of the many hearts at unrest.....the chaos YOU brought them by inviting in technology to form your child's thinking. Perhaps the schools and universities have had a hand in the change of their hearts but the greatest role should be played by you. Stop blaming everybody and everything.... your child's behavior begins with you. You can not change the path they take as adults but you are the beginning, you are where they create what life should be like....what are you teaching them?
The devil came a knockin' for souls that lost their way
And he will win the battle if we don't start to pray

Thursday, August 20, 2020

$6 MILLION DOLLAR LOAN AND A NEW TAX? Is Gloucester, Va. Heading In The Right Direction?

The Gloucester County public school system, county administration, the School Board and the Board of Supervisors are pushing for a new 1% retail sales and use tax. The final decision about this tax will be made when the citizens of Gloucester vote on November 3rd. Many Gloucester citizens have been led to believe this tax is needed to prevent future real estate tax increases related to renovating and or constructing new Gloucester public school buildings. The same real estate tax insinuation was also used when the powers in control entered the landfill contract with Waste Management and when the Commonwealth started the lottery. They are also expecting to get our consent to borrow nearly $6 Million on September 1st. Remember, Silence is Consent.

Before deciding whether to consent to more borrowing or voting for or against the new tax, everyone should ask themselves; are those people really being responsible with the money they already get from us? It is my hope that I can open more citizens’ eyes to some, not all, of what they use our tax dollars for.

As you know, we have two public libraries. Some years back the powers in control decided to abandon our two libraries and began to rent spaces for them. It now costs us over $270,000 per year in rent payments alone. This has been going on for more than 20 years. That $5 million could have gone a long way towards building two libraries on land the County/School system already own.

Several years ago, we began renting our Public Health Department space after the powers in control vacated a building we already owned. Now we are paying over $86,000 per year in rent alone. The state reimburses us for that expenditure, making it appear like a good deal on the surface. But remember, federal money, state money, County money, it’s all the People’s tax money; right? What most people don’t realize is, when we previously owned our own space, the state was renting it from us, not from the Main Street Preservation Trust through us. Owning our own space again would generate enough long term revenue to maintain the space and offset some of the 45% Health Department cost share the County pays to the state or offset the cost of the department’s phone service; which annually are more than $450,000 and more than $10,000 respectively.

Several years ago, the powers in control of our County and Schools began to focus on building a new transportation facility for our School System. (Well, if the truth be known, they were factually focusing on vacating the bus garage and old Page properties to satisfy an adjacent landowner, but that is another story.) When an analysis was done of the County’s and the School’s existing transportation facilities, the County’s repair garage that was located at the intersection of Providence Road and Route 17, was finally publicly exposed to be in extremely poor and non-OSHA compliant condition. Instead of consolidating our County and School System transportation and repair facilities by renovating and expanding the existing bus facilities, the powers in control have decided to build a new School System transportation facility next to the new Page Middle School and the County now rents garage space from Bay Transit.

We currently pay for two finance directors: one in the School System and one in County administration. Their combined base salaries alone cost us over $235,000 in 2020.(See SlideShare below) The school system does not write checks or pay bills and all our tax money flows through the County finance office and the Treasurer’s office. Wouldn’t it be more economical if the School System and the County combined financial services at the County level instead of paying for two directors? The same type of consolidation could occur with information technology, facilities maintenance, grounds maintenance and transportation.  Consolidation of County and School System services would save well over a million tax dollars annually.

To some, Animal Control is a wonderful department, to others it is an overreaching arm of our local government. No matter what side you are on, I hope we can all agree that we do not need Animal Control employees patrolling our roads and streets looking for infractions or unreported loose animals. It should be a reactionary department, not a policing agency. We certainly do not need an Animal Control employee driving a taxpayer vehicle to Gloucester Point Beach twice a day to walk out on the pier far enough to view the people laying out and then driving around the swimming pool at the Gloucester Point Yacht Haven on his way back to Route 17. This has been going on for at least four years that I have witnessed. Wouldn’t we save tax dollars if the County Administrator reined in such wasteful behaviors?

We currently have a County department called “Community Engagement and Public Information”. (It was previously titled “Community Education”). This department’s budget is currently $575,591; $530,381 of that is nothing but salaries and benefits. This department performs functions normally performed by the School System, County administration, social services and I.T. They produce the Beehive printed newsletter and the Gloucester County Town Crier online newsletter. This department also acts as the Freedom of Information Act facilitator. Seven employees from this department facilitate community use of seven of our nine school facilities. The department also facilitates connecting the community with various nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations. Close to a half million dollars could be saved annually if this department were dismantled and the functions they perform returned to where they belong; the School System, County administration, social services and I.T. As for a Freedom of Information Act facilitator, there is no state or other code requiring such. Department heads and County administration could receive and respond to such requests.

Between 2018 and 2020, the budgets for the following County departments increased by the amounts shown. (See SlideShare below)

County Administration, $210,000.

Human Resources, $213,000.

Real Estate Assessment, $79,000.

Financial Services, $185,000.

Planning and Zoning, $128,000

Community Engagement, $41,000.

Engineering, $96,000.

Building Inspections, $109,000

From 2017 to 2021 the Gloucester Schools Superintendent’s salary increased by nearly $55,000. (See link below to 2017 news article referencing the Super’s pay and the SlideShare below)

There were other, less significant increases and a few decreases. The most significant decreases are as follows.

Geographic Information System (GIS), $18,000.

Animal Control, $8,000

Economic Development, $75,000

Information Technology (I.T.), $75,000

As we see, our local government keeps getting bigger and bigger and costing more and more of our hard-earned dollars. Now the powers in control want us to a submit to paying for a $6 Million loan and another 1% increase in our local retail sales and use tax: all for our School System. We must not forget, former Governor Terry McAuliffe made Gloucester part of the future Historic Circle (Currently known as the Historic Triangle). Once that transformation is complete, Gloucester will be added to the Tommy Tax localities. That will be at least another 1% tax added to our local retail sales and use tax. When will it stop? Not until we say enough is enough.

They are telling us part of the $6 Million loan is to build a new bus loop at Abingdon Elementary School. What they are not telling us is the contract for the bus loop was awarded back in February for $541,599.08 and is almost finished. (See SlideShare below.) In the loan information they are saying it will cost $790,000. (See SlideShare below) Why are they borrowing money for something that is nearly finished and why are they saying it will cost more than the contract price? At-Large Supervisor Ashley Chriscoe had this to say:

“The Achilles bus loop was started with the intent we would Need to do this borrowing to pay for it.”

Well, §15.2-1238 of the Code of Virginia states:

Except in emergency, no order for delivery on a contract or open market order for supplies or contractual services for any county department or agency shall be awarded until the chief financial officer has certified that the unencumbered balance in the appropriation concerned, in excess of all unpaid obligations, is sufficient to defray the cost of such order.

If they knew they were going to have to borrow money to pay for it, how could they award the contract seven months before having a Public Hearing to get our consent to borrow the money? Something stinks here and may very well be the reason our County Chief Financial Officer abruptly resigned. The Public Hearing is scheduled for September 1st. Comments can be submitted at the following link and will be read into the record during the Public Comment part of the hearing. ClickHere to submit your comments.

On November 28, 2016, I and less than 70 people attended an open house and viewed a film at Gloucester High School. It was our School System’s kickoff of their promotion to renovate GHS or build a new one. It was also the unveiling of a new education platform that is being implemented in our and many other school systems where the communities gave consent by silence. A platform where communism indoctrination is portrayed as a positive education experience. Where everyone gets a participation trophy and other collectivism traits are instilled. Page Middle School was designed to facilitate the platform and so are many of the construction related changes planned for GHS. A lot of the money they are asking for is to fund the ongoing transformation of our public schools and to fulfill the desires of a handful of greedy people who want the old Page and bus garage properties vacated.

Do we really want to give our School System a blank check for $100 Million in construction money from a new tax, on top of the $6 Million they want us to consent to borrowing on September 1st?  The time to voice your opinion on the loan is during the Board of Supervisors’ Public Hearing on September 1st and the new tax will be decided at the ballot box on November 3rd. Most of all remember, Silence Is Consent. Please don’t be silent……………….

Written By: Kenny Hogge, Sr., Gloucester Point, Va.


Link to article about School Superintendent pay:

https://www.dailypress.com/news/isle-of-wight/dp-nws-iw-superintendent-thornton-requesting-raise-20170516-story.html

Link to Online Public Hearing Comment Form:

https://www.gloucesterva.info/FormCenter/Virtual-Meetings-27/Virtual-Meetings-Citizen-Comment-Submiss-94

Link to Gloucester's Adopted 2020 Budget:

https://www.gloucesterva.info/DocumentCenter/View/7551/FY20-Approved-Budget-Book-Final-for-Posting-and-Printing-secured?bidId=

Link to Gloucester County Board of Supervisors' contact information:

https://www.gloucesterva.info/1091/Board-of-Supervisors

Link to Gloucester County School Board's contact information:

https://gets.gc.k12.va.us/school-board








Saturday, August 8, 2020

Who Is Joe Biden Really? By: Violet


    
I often times like to throw in some sarcasm or a bit of humor but because of the seriousness of this matter I doubt you will see much of it here. Due to the quarantine, which I won’t start sharing my opinions on that right now, I have found myself with more time than I’d prefer to have to watch television. With that being said….. we really need to talk about Joe Biden and who he really is.
     We have heard numerous theories as to why he is hunkering down in the basement and what his true intentions are. Below, I hope to not only help you see who he is but what his ill intentions are.
      In 1972, Joe Biden became the sixth youngest senator in American history for the state of Delaware, at some point, he became the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee which is most likely when he started relations with China (who donated 1 billion dollars to his son Hunter) and the Ukraine. We know that he had relations with China which might be why he still won't comment on China's connection with Corona Virus.  also know that Hunter Biden, Joe's son was making $83,333 a month from a Ukrainian gas company named Burisma for 18 months beginning in 2014, please note that his father Joe Biden was the vice President at the time and had the investigating Ukrainian fired. Although, Hunter had no experience in the gas industry, nor could he speak Ukrainian. Which should certainly raise the eyebrows of anyone who is screaming “white privilege” wouldn’t you say?
     In an interview with Time magazine in February of 2014, Mr Biden referred to himself as “the guy who did the crime bill ( Violent crime control bill and Law Enforcement Act) and the drug czar”, (which interestingly enough is defined as a ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution in the Miriam-Webster Dictionary), he was referring to his anti-drug bill (Anti-Drug Abuse Bill of 1986) “where I  spent years trying to change drug policy relative to cocaine, for example, crack and powder.” It’s important to note that all of these czar-like bills ended up incarcerating and detaining many people of color. Which certainly seems plausible that Mr. Biden has not changed his views and is therefore being kept under close watch not to unintentionally expose his real views.
     All of his vice-president potentials have disturbing backgrounds also which I had hoped to describe each one in this article but I will have a part two to cover that since there is so much you need to know about him first.
      For instance, in 1977, he stated that “without orderly integration’ his children would grow up in a racial jungle”. Which is discerning because he wasn’t referring to his children’s school as a jungle until the prospect of children of color were to attend their school. Now you can say “that was in 1977, he’s a changed a man now". Yet, May 22, of this year he said that “if you vote for Trump you ain’t black”, suggesting you have no other choice but to vote for him if you are black. The man who incarcerated black people for years upon years for drug violations that a young person of Caucasian descent would likely get a slap on the hand for. And only this past week, he stated that the “Latino community is diverse, unlike the African American Community” which basically states that you are all alike. You aren’t free thinkers…you’re black and incapable of free thinking. That’s his heart as of this week folks. Ponder that, okay?
In closing, I just discovered the "Czar" comment from Mr. Biden and the comparison to someone in Russia pre revolution, it's hair raising for me since they are constantly accusing our President of illegal shenanigans with Russia and we all know that Hilary Clinton paid for the Steele Dossier they attempted to impeach the president with, which, by the way, was done here in the United States and not Russia. But there was a clip of Obama whispering to Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev, "After the election I will have full flexibility." to do what? I didn’t get the opportunity to cover the “uncomfortable fondling” videos we see all over social media of Joe Biden putting his hands on little girls. Or the violation of your constitutional rights. So, I encourage you to come back and see part two of this, which will be focusing on his candidates for VP and I will be breaking it all down for you in the next segment which should allow you to see how he thinks. Who knows,  I think I may even take a third part to introduce you to the democratic connections to pedophilia and his anti-American views.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Blue Cities Riot: Coincidence or Not?

Okay peeps, I was doing some research and ran across something I found a little interesting. You can confirm what I am about to say, this wasn't my rant...but I guess it's turned into one.
We are all aware that New York, Virginia, California, Georgia and Minnesota are predominantly blue states. That's right controlled by democrats.
What you may not know is Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Texas are wavering or what we call "swing" states. Reno, where riots took place last night is liberal. In Florida, Miami Gardens is predominantly liberal, that's where the riots are. Philadelphia is liberal, riots are there also. Phoenix is the most liberal city in Arizona and.... you guessed it! It's liberal!! And riots are there. Austin Texas is predominantly blue. And guess what? Both Columbus and Cleveland are liberal cities... So.... Here's what we are seeing ... the liberal politicians are allowing this conduct. You don't see it in the "red" areas, only the blue. Now, you might believe in coincidences but I am not that naive.
I have repeatedly said, these are fear tactics imposed on the American people. If they can control the masses, they control this Country.
If, just having this bit of information doesn't open your eyes, then you have successfully graduated from that behavioral modification therapy they have been using on you and you are no longer capable of thinking for yourself.
Now think about this... Trump tells China... don't mess with Hong Kong... China stood on the line waiting to seize it. Then, China got mad about The AMCA pact it signed but was left with no alternative, except the high tariffs Trump described. As we all know, the impeachment was a flop and THEN the virus came from China. You know, that great country that gave Hunter Biden millions or was that a billion? Now, no one knows how deadly covid is but it seems more people have died in blue states than red states... Scary to think..... You don't suppose?....
I personally don't believe in coincidences, do you? Under great pressure Trump had masks and ventilators made at a rapid rate because China bought all of ours! Imagine that. Well, sadly the majority of the people who lost their lives were old veterans....Trump voters. Hmmm... Another coincidence? Then people realized they weren't getting as sick as they were told they were going to get. Naturally, a rebellion began to unfold, or unmask if you will.
Suddenly, out of the blue, no pun intended, a policeman murders a black man before a crowd of people. How many people do you know that commit crimes when they know 1) people are watching 2) people are recording. Something isn't right. You don't suppose that that behavioral modification therapy was applied, do you? I mean, he heard the pleas of the people and heeded no one. There's something we aren't supposed to see there. And this man is now under suicide watch.... you don't suppose he has the same guards watching his cell as Jeffrey Epstein did, do ya? I mean you can't testify if you aren't alive now can you?....eyes and ears folks. You might just see another coincidence.
Suddenly, bus loads are coming into cities and causing peaceful protests to turn violent.
If you think this is all a coincidence ..... Keep your head in the clouds.
The ONLY way they can take control of America is if they divide the people.
I see division but up until this horrendous murder of George Floyd took place we recognized one another as American citizens. And do you remember the white thrift store owner that said "white people" were trying to break in?
Something is amiss.... Kind of like that FISA report, that Russian dossier that Hilary had done, the impeachment farce and interestingly enough, the same people who headed that farce are running the rioting blue states.
Pretty interesting, eh?