It is interesting that more people show up at the annual city budget meeting with pleas for SCCA funding than do persons involved with SNH Toys For Tots, and guess who gets the most every time. You do your own comparison of citizens who can afford to patronize the Culture Center and those kids, also citizens, that don’t find much under a Christmas tree if they have one. In one instance the dollars given are a voluntary act, the donor decides how much to give to unfortunate kids. The SCCA contribution is determined by SCCA request and a city council decision as to how much of already collected tax dollars to take. It is difficult to determine the income of SCCA users but easy to calculate incomes of those who are given toys paid for by volunteers. Toys for Tots set a goal and hope the necessary contributions arrive on time. SCCA can depend on those 8 members of Council determining what is best for us 83,000. The toy estimate of $45,000 was short by $14,000 but 5160 kids were apparently satisfied. Cultural recipients are decidedly less, based on ticket sales. I understand that one can avail them of culture every day while certain kids are very pleased by what happens at least one day a year.Sunday, January 2, 2011
VOLUNTARY VERSUS INVOLUNTARY
It is interesting that more people show up at the annual city budget meeting with pleas for SCCA funding than do persons involved with SNH Toys For Tots, and guess who gets the most every time. You do your own comparison of citizens who can afford to patronize the Culture Center and those kids, also citizens, that don’t find much under a Christmas tree if they have one. In one instance the dollars given are a voluntary act, the donor decides how much to give to unfortunate kids. The SCCA contribution is determined by SCCA request and a city council decision as to how much of already collected tax dollars to take. It is difficult to determine the income of SCCA users but easy to calculate incomes of those who are given toys paid for by volunteers. Toys for Tots set a goal and hope the necessary contributions arrive on time. SCCA can depend on those 8 members of Council determining what is best for us 83,000. The toy estimate of $45,000 was short by $14,000 but 5160 kids were apparently satisfied. Cultural recipients are decidedly less, based on ticket sales. I understand that one can avail them of culture every day while certain kids are very pleased by what happens at least one day a year.
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Crime Rate Falls in 2010...huh?! Does government forcably taking our taxes and giving it to non-profits considered a crime? Most rational citizens would say the City Manager focus her attention on city matters and leave the non-profits to private contributions. Whomever prepared those crime statistics is either consuming illegal goods taken from the evidence room or (more likely) is positioning themselves to demand a whopping increase in their city department budget. Instead of taking a bite out of crime this city takes a bite out of your wallet.
A major problem with the SCCA is that it grossly fails in its "culture" mission for Suffolk. Look in any Sunday paper, and the reader will find hundreds of show, concerts, programs, plays, etc. throughout Tidewater EXCEPT in Suffolk. Rather than become part of the "culture" scene and including many of programs shared throughout Tidewater, the somewhat limited intellect of the SCCA top two or three has caused Suffolk to be 100% excluded from the annual Virginia Art Festival shows favored every year by young children up to senior citizens.
Instead, The SCCA attemps to hide its almost 100% lack of acceptance in the Suffolk community by (1) blaming the local "hicks" who don't know what is best for themselves, (2) dropping most popular programs and relying on local talent productions and church shows that have failed to be popular at the SCCA and are best continued in the community through churches and schools, whose track record in this arena (including local Little Theater productions) make the SCCA look pathetic and quite properly should demand to know why the SCCA staff continues to seek a $450,000 annual subsidy from the City over and above the many incomes (annual memberships, rents, classes, sponsorships, major donations, restaurant profits, gift shop) that are also mysteriously included in a bottomlesss hole and never really accounted for, especially if its true as your other comments have recently said that many tickets sales and much sponsorship publicity is given away and "compted" to hype up the dwindling lack of interest. Anyone with a computer can check the ticket sales and spot the obvious "blocking out" of sections to try to hype up the appearance.
The problem here is the failure of an arrogent few to be supported by our citizens who are being forced to be accused of "anti-culure" lifestyles when they actually just simply resenr the secrecy, mismanagement, and arrogance of a few hand-picked board members and highly paid staff with little accountability other than as as "gofers" for misplaced elitism.
The SCCA can be saved at about a small percentage of the subsidy it now demands (and then brags to call its budget "almost even") by just getting a big old broom (some would say "mop").
What is there to lose by correcting this albatross. We presently have no symphony, no opera. no modern dance, no full ballet, no plays, second rate bands that our young people don't want even though they spend millions on concerts in nearby communities every year, a restaurant that has flopped and yet is arrogantly defended by the SCCA to avoid the animosity created in the community by making this "restaurant" (and some say one florist and one wine vendor) exclusively required for use by any groups seeking to rent the SCCA.
Suffolk doesn't hate "culture" but it does hate what a few divas and primadonnas are doing to conceal poor judgment here and to nitpick the activities of now its second executive director.
We need the "culture" of all of the program areas noted above, but a bowling alley or a movie theater should hardly be treated as a threat to anyone's perverse definition of "culture" that we should be required to like to the exclusion of what is popular and prevalent in virtually every local Tidewater area than ours.
When a post is removed by a blog administrator it would be helpful to your readers to understand why. Was profane language used, or a personal attack on a private citizen or otherwise liabelous statement. If it was to advance a political agenda of either the commentator or InsideSuffolk it should allowed. We all know what happened last October before the election in Chuckatuck and Holy Neck. Be fair for a change after all it is a new year.
The comment deleted by a blog administrator contained nothing of the nature described by the previous comment. As often happens the writer had sent the same comment twice, one after the other, and it was a long comment. We did, however use it as a, word for word Post because it was quite revealing
Mr P,
Sorry for the duplicate send. You were kind enough to delete it rather than expose my computer illiteracy.
Not all of us are as young and computer literate as you young bucks who serve our community with your blog.
There are times that more comments aren't deleted on IS. But what you don't know won't hurt you. In the "We want you Back" Post the Hitler quote seems very appropriate under the circumstances. Any WW2 Veterans still around here?
I honestly don't know what the 1:54post means. Are you attempting to criticize IS or even veterans. If so, you are nuts. If not, then maybe I'm not so smart since I can't understand you.
If you mean well, please forgive me for needing help to understand your message.
If you don't mean well, no need tp respond because of me.
Yes, he is taking a shot at me for the simple reason I don't publish his rantings. The gentleman is a muckraker first class.I print something of his now and then to give him hope. He is probably a nice guy full of some kind of hate.
The Hitler comment isnt just about WW2 and or its vets.The only ones who might be offended are those who deny history and are just ignorant of it.And befofre the racism card is played, I dont like the white part of the man either nor of any liberal progressive white person.
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