ELECTED WINNERS WILL FIND IT EASY WITH "IS" HELP

"Whoever wins will face an array of daunting issues, from navigating the prospective closure of the U.S. Joint Forces Command to updating the city's blueprint for long-range development. Difficult decisions also await on transportation, schools, and whether to repair or replace an aging City Hall. "  So reads a headline in the Pilot. So let us solve the problems for the Council and City Manager. Wouldn't that be unique ...they get paid, we get taxed, we will do their thinking and they will get the credit.

1.  Closing JefCom: It will close, we insist they keep paying property taxes to offset taxes we no longer collect from 2200 unemployees who have moved on. And maybe ask them if we can use one of the empty buildings for our City Hall.

2.  Build two schools and settle the Board's fear of  making decisions. This keeps City Council out of it.


3.  Let's quit messing with the city's long range blueprint for develolopent. Settle issues individually.

4.  Transportation: Until Obama is gone it is no sure thing we can afford to own indivdual cars.

5.  Replace City Hall: If JefCom won't loan or give us an empty building we fix up City Hall and lower employee salaries by the same percentage they are overweight. This would relieve stress on the concrete foundation while we wait for better times.

You may submit additional comments and if they are as serious as ours we might print them.

SAY IT ISN'T SO

It just can’t be true, our new seasoned Police Chief lose his cool, impossible. Would he risk a bad image of fair city by refusing permission for human runners to raise money for a worthy cause when just a few weeks ago we had hordes of noisy motorcycles polluting the air, something runners never do? Not likely. If there was a mistake on the permit request wouldn’t a friendly police staffer merely pick up the phone? Our pleasant Chief sick and tired of anything, c’mon, you don’t make chief unless you can suppress such feelings. Yell on the phone and make reference to “outsiders” as though there is a high wall seperating the two cities; are you kidding, couldn’t have happened. No sane man would risk having the mayor come down on him for having jeopardised a city-to -city relationship. Was one of the two on the phone disengenous, or is it more likely their version of the verbal exchange has been altered deliberately? Interesting, and would be more so if phone calls were recorded.  Two questions arise;  was there really no response from both the Mayor and City Manager.....leaving the Chief to spin in the wind. And is Chris Jones that potent? Whom did he call and what did he say? Ah, the transparency ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

LET US BE STRAIGHT FORWARD

USE   IT  TO  EXPLAIN  THE SHAPE WE ARE  IN

Let's be honest, express it in simple words, dead on, nail it, never back off from this truth, even though you up might stir things up, stand your ground, it is your duty.

"To be fair about it, there are still a lot of people out there who think Obama, Pelosi and Reid -- otherwise known as the axis of evil -- are doing a bang-up job. Most of those people are those blacks who give their ears to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and their votes to the Democrats; college students who have never had to hold down a job or pay for their own beer or income taxes; and union members, who have all the attributes of sheep except for providing us with wool and lamb chops."

If only I had said it instead of Burt Prelutsky

A COMMENT THAT BECAME A POST

THIS COMMENT  PROVOKES AND WARRANTS A DEBATE.  HAVE AT IT.
The real issue is not about sin or other claims, it is about personal leadership and the demand by Ms Martin for such. One that aspires to a positon of leadership in our community, does not need to invoke a false claim of casting the sin word about, they lead by doing the right and proper things. The issue brought up by others who felt uncomfortable by politics in church are right to express what they felt. If Ms Martin were the leader she says she is, she would not intrude into the sabath with her poliotical demands and agents. This is but another issue that shows how little Ms Martin understands about Suffolk and the people who have lived here.

I was at first inclined to support her over Mr. Duman, but her actions and stratagies to gain office have shown her to be nothing less than a "carpet bagger" with all the negatives that term brings forth. I too do not want to see my church over-run by those who would champion a candidate, over observation of the little time we set aside to attend church.
So in response to the unkind and surley statements comments of note, get a life and attend church for what it is supposed to be for, not what your political agenda demands. You do your candiate no good on both counts. Attending my church and then demanding that you were right to intrude for your political need!

Virginia Tea Party Convention Report

My wife and I had the great pleasure of attending the 2-day Virginia Tea Party Convention in Richmond this past week and got a full sense of citizen outrage with politicians in BOTH parties who have wasted such vast amounts of wealth and accomplishing nothing except pandering to special interest groups! The theme of the Convention was "The Constitution Still Matters" and included dozens of fabulous lectures and breakout sessions that delved into just how far Congress and the Courts have departed from the document every elected official or Judge takes an Oath to honor, defend and uphold! In fact, however, most politicians and judges are more likely to view the Constitution as a coffee table decoration than as the basis of our government and the primary source for this nation’s laws! They don’t read it, don’t understand it, and only refer to snippets of it out of context when some staffer suggests that it might help score rhetorical points against citizens and opposing officials. In fact, we learned just how few elite legal school curriculums even teach Constitutional law, preferring to jump right to the Case law that distorts it and gives license to do whatever agenda current political correctness is trying to achieve at the moment. The entire weekend was filled with fantastic breakout sessions and main lecture hall speakers (university constitutional scholars, authors, Heritage Foundation experts, candidates, policy and political analysts), all far exceeding any public education session I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending in my over 60 years!

Several elected officials were present as panel members--very few as speakers. While a few of them were clearly enlightened, Virginia VA AG Cuccinelli was received like a rock star for his fundamental understanding that if Obamacare remains standing in its current form, our Constitutional Republic will for all intents and purposes become extinct! He clearly sees that if Big Government can force We the People to purchase a commercial product such as a politically correct insurance policy filled with government bureaucrat dictated content, the Government can then mandate that we do, purchase, stop purchasing, eat, not eat, attend, believe, live or not live, and accept ANYTHING! The entire fundamental concept of Limited Government and free people permitted to and responsible for living their own lives is over!

No politician or public official can attend such an event without taking away a heightened awareness of the utter contempt that many good people have for the mess local, state, and federal officials—and especially the U.S. Congress—have created through their ignorance of the Constitution and their refusal to follow it. The only debate for many is whether this is through utter incompetence, ignorance, or arrogance. The message is smaller government, less spending, and more freedom –and in spite of what the LSM reports, ANY legal citizen --or legal immigrant who wishes to become a citizen--of any income, ethnic background, education, or capability is welcome! Bigger government spenders or anyone who believes in taking from those who produce to redistribute this to those who won’t or don’t won’t find supporters among the Independent Tea Party movement!

QU IET ON THE SUFFOLK FRONT

1. If anything is happening in Suffolk it’s behind closed doors. 2. The big development in South Suffolk is being pondered by both sides, we think folks who would be enveloped in it are envisioning hordes of cars and strangers taking over the area. We believe the majority is against it. 3. Southern Magnolia playing at the SCCA will entertain less than a full house but actors are having fun. 4. A lady candidate for Council, her promo is here in “IS,” is said to be hiding the fact she serves as Treasurer for the SCCA. But why would she do that? 5. Local police, with some help from the Feds are mopping up the infamous Bloods and the streets are quieter at night. Do we credit the NAACP, Bill Cosby, or local police?

6. Who will decide if, when, and where we will build a new city hall, the mayor or the new Council? 7. We say ‘new’ because there will be at least one change; Duman or Martin will assume the mantle. ”Is” endorses Duman but we do not underestimate the power of women voters. The Republican Party switched allegiance with only days to go but that does not mean they will vote in lock step for Martin who is a bit full of herself.        We also endorse J. B. Varney for the Council to maintain the one term theory and bust up the triumvirate of Johnson, Johnson, and Gardy. You know, possible perception of impropriety.

8. “IS” wants, for the good of local Public Schools, to see Dr. Debra Wahlstrom get a seat on the School Board.  We would also like to see our weakened by  Skeeter School Board decide where and when a new school will be located…anywhere but Washington St…too much activity there already and then there is the bank. We think we know you will vote for November 2 and this time it will be for, “Change Back.

WISE CIRCUIT COURT DECISION

The Electoral Board situation is already an old cow pie, and judges of the Circuit Court refuse to step on it. Why attempt to settle this dispute when the characters involved in this drama are already reading from different scripts and life goes on.  Cow pies can be deceptive, time and sunshine cause them to crust  over but just below that  is an unsolvable mess no one wants to hear about. And this cow pie in particular does not deserve the attention of anyone. It would be difficult for a judge  or jury to keep from laughing as testimony and/or witnesses were brought  forward. We think the judges were at best scratching their heads at the notion that this mess deserved their attention. Case closed.

LOCAL HAPPENINGS

As a Chuckatuck resident I admit I would survive if the Chuckatuck  post office closed but I would surely miss seeing the one person gang that flies around it at lightning speed seeing to customer needs. Jackie Knight in a way is Chuckatuck, who has not met her, who has not handed her a package to mail? It is always a pleasure to see her “one man band” operation, very busy but always a smile and a hello. Now it’s 10:30 to 12:30 only and you may be in a longer line.

Consider the recent meeting where those volunteer literacy tutors were honored for what they do...teach those who somehow got behind how to read. Tutors give their time to help others enjoy books. The gathering at Pruden Center was to show appreciation to them but we wish we could have seen THEIR names in the paper. The speaker who bestowed the honors was named and even pictured at the lectern, so we won’t mention her name.   But we do mention Andy Damiani and thank him for putting November candidates on the spot in his soon to be released Roundtable Talk. Our endorsee for Council, Duman the car man, looked good. Almost all the candidates showed…be sure to vote.We definitely need some changes.

SEE YOUR MONEY IN ACTION

Drop by the old Courthouse to visit both your new Visitor Center and your share of the  $1,000,000 that came from your pocket to restore the grandeur of the 1800s. Of course explainers will point out that “the money was actually from grants so it actually wasn’t yours.” The Visitor Center is similar to a yacht, a hole in the water in which you pour money…employees pretending they are busy and recovering their cost by making telephone calls and dusting off the stacks of tourist pamphlets designed to direct travelers to interesting places. Suffolk citizens have yet to see proof there is profit in this business but so what, the coffee is free and they do have a cute little kitchen. I grant there is some pride in being able to provide such quarters with those huge white columns adorning Constance and Main. And as the tourist dollars roll in there is no excuse for not restoring the Phoenix Bank to its former glory. It is beginning to look like Washington Street will eventually outshine Main. Golly, even City Hall could end up there.   

ON TIME GRADUATION RATES WE CAN DO BETTER

On October 1^st, staff writers with the Virginian Pilot reported the graduation rates of schools and districts in the Hampton Roads area.  Suffolk’s on-time graduation rate for the 2009-2010 school year is 79.8%.  This means that we are successful with four of the five students we serve in terms of graduation from high school within four years.  This also means we have about 20% of our students who are NOT graduating on time.  

What can we do to help ensure that more of our students are successful in our schools?  Staff in Suffolk have already identified a number of things they are working on – better record keeping, after-school classes, and truancy and dropout prevention programs.  And that’s all good. But if we wait until High School to solve this problem we've waited too long.

Here are examples of what I would like to see to help ensure more of our students graduate on time.

1. Establish an accountability system that helps us with the picture of a student’s success throughout their enrollment in Suffolk Public Schools. 
2. This accountability system should help us identify students who are at risk much earlier than high school.  As low as kindergarten, make sure we identify students who struggle as readers and/or have poor school attendance.  Immediately put supports in place for these students.  Look for other markers as well.  We need to know who is overage in their grade levels.  We need to know which students haven’t yet been successful with Algebra by the end of the 8^th grade.  We need to know who is not reading on grade level K-12.  We simply must identify these students in order to help them.  And this cannot wait until high school.  We also need to ensure that all of our students can read by the end of the third grade – a marker for success throughout the rest of the child’s school career.
3. Increase the focus on literacy in all grade levels and all subject areas.  By the fourth grade, we should be moving from learning to read to reading to learn.  I'd want us to check our entire curriculum to ensure that we have systematically integrated literacy into all of the content areas.  Why literacy?  It's the key to successful learning and acquiring deep knowledge.
4.  I also want to make sure we don’t water down the curriculum for our struggling students.  This can happen unintentionally and often does.
5. Ensure that our professional development programs address the needs of our struggling students.  We improve in our profession when we are learning what we need to build a solid education for our students.  There are different strategies for different issues – and we want our teachers to have the best in their toolkits.
6. Place a greater emphasis on students in our middle schools, where early interventions are key to success in high school.
7. Make decisions that lead to higher student achievement for all students.  Support staff and administrators in designing differentiated schedules for students, based on their needs.  If we get a student in middle school who is not reading on grade level, then let’s make sure we give that student the time and structures to learn to read. 

As you can see, dealing with the graduation rate is a system-wide issue and needs to be solved in a district-wide way.

THE TRAP SNAPPED SHUT

Bad boys from gangs in Suffolk and  Portsmouth taken down and put away. Great news from both cities as people fed up with violence got some relief when Federal authorities joined local police to mop up gang leaders. Maybe that's what the NAACP caused last months when they finally demanded certain elements cease and desist. Whoever brought it on is to be congratulated but it was the police in both cities who had been working on the problem a long time in cooperation with federal authorities with the power to "arrange" arrests and trials that stuck. A lot of citizens in both cities can breathe easier and a lot of would be gang members can enjoy second thoughts.  We might add that the NAACP leaders should be grateful that their prayers were answered and maybe now they will keep an eye out for trouble and move quickly.

REP RANDY FORBES NAILS IT

If you  are interested in the dismantling of our nation's military to save money for the Obama administration's social programs see Rep Randy Forbes opinion piece in today's SNH. Forbes holds nothing back in his assessment of what is going on in the Pentagon. We have lived through these military declines before and regretted the time  and technology lost. There will be a clamoring for Gates's head but it is obvious he is only following the orders of higher ups who are following the dictates of highest. Perhaps this quick way to cut the nations indebtedness, mostly caused by the highest,  is to slash the military. But before very long the country will be screaming even louder about people out of work, and the nation's weakening defense. And surely our enemies will watch closely.

Back in 1940 we were able to organize quickly and rebuild our military just in time. But we had lost the technological gains we could have had and paid dearly for it. This will happen again unless there are dramatic changes in our government this November.  

PRES IDENT OBAMA AT WORK

TODAY  HE  WILL  FINALIZE  CONTENTS OF  STIMULUS PACKAGE.