COULD THIS HAPPEN IN SUFFOLK

Outside England's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1 for cars ($1.40), £5 for busses (about $7). Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent. The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility. The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee. The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll. Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (or some such scenario), is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own; and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars! And no one even knows his name!

RALEIGH VERSUS CLASON

Well we now have a fight brewing between a Constitutional Officer and a Military Reservist. We don’t want to get in the middle of this one but we will accept your comments. Both have experience; both are dedicated to service to their community. “Good Old boy” may affect the outcome and suspected cover-ups of bad news. We have heard nothing but positive about the performance of the Sheriff and his department but will keep an open mind about “time for change.” If there is any way that Clason can improve the department we’d like to hear about it. As far as we can tell, the sheriff’s popularity is not exclusive with downtown residents. If there is any real difference between North and South Suffolk it might become evident during this campaign...but we suspect that our sheriff has not neglected voters up there.

RIGHT ON THE BUTTON

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation andhigh taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

Charley Reese

HOW DO WE GET OUT OF THIS MESS

Record Debt: * As of July 31st the national debt stood at: $11,669,251,349,504 ($11.7 trillion). * With a population of just under 307 million, that works out to $38,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. During the month of July, the national debt increased by $124 billion. *That is an increase of $4 billion a day; $170 million an hour; $3 million a minute; and $46,000 a second. * The government spent $19 billion just on interest in July. That is $612 million a day in interest payments. Increase Since the Democrats Took Control of Congress: * As of June 31st, the national debt had increased $3 trillion since the Democrats took control of Congress on January 3, 2007. That works out to an increase of nearly $10,000 per person.

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Debt:* At the end of May, the U.S. government owed China $801.billion. We owed Japan $677 billion, and we owed oil exporting nations such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait $193 billion. * In the first five months of this year alone, our debt to China has increased by $74 billion or 10%.

FROM REPORT BY REPRESENTATVE FORBES

The SPSA Deal?

The deal with SPSA and our neighbors to the east was set several years ago by contract. Now it seems that the big urban cities and others want to renegotiate the terms of the deal, and not in our favor! The following was brought to the last meeting of the SPSA Board:

"The Southeastern Public Service Authority Board of Directors shot down a surprise proposal Wednesday from Portsmouth to evaluate the disparate tipping fees paid by member communities."

This issue was brought forward by Portsmouth (and Norfolk, IOW and others) in response to the $170 per ton tipping fees now assessed for all but, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. Our City Manager, (to her great credit) voted this down and for good reason. We have taken the problems and issues of having the land-fill in our city and even the loss of development potential; as the costs to Suffolk for having the land-fill in our little town. However, the most defining issue has been that for the last several years SPSA as a group, has voted for unrealistically low tipping fees to make the big cities happy and have used borrowing to pay for day to day operations. Now that SPSA is in a huge hole (economically) there is a call to throw-out the existing contract and make a new deal... That is what is unfair, not the contract itself! The cities other than Suffolk and Virginia Beach made-out for years by artificially low tipping fees they were responsible for and as a result, debt went out of sight for their benefit. Now these same cities want Suffolk to help bear the present costs to pay such borrowing back and that is a problem (not to mention unfair)!

Those who paid low tipping fees for years will not and should not try to rope Suffolk into solving their problems now! Our City Manager was exactly right to vote NO, and should also explain that Suffolk will not do a reverse payout, so as to cover the insufficient tipping fees charged in the past to Portsmouth, Norfolk and others. SPSA as a group has a contract with Suffolk and that deal should stand firm and without wiggle room!

Roger A. Leonard, MPA

NO REASON FOR US TO SLOW DOWN

We noted this morning that the counter down in the left hand corner of this page indicates that just over forty thousand different computers have logged on to this combination blog and website. We would like to know how we are doing...have we been of some help in keeping up with Suffolk governnment and schools? And you might tell us how we can improve.

In the interest of what is happening to our country we have ventured into national affairs, only because we believe much is wrong up in Washington.

THINK ABOUT THIS

Did city staff fail to forecast the decrease in city building permits. They may have planned on 1000+ permits a year into infinity. We now know that growth is not going to happen to pay for the necessary build out in water and sewer infrastructure. Without new money flowing in at $12,000+ per connection for water and sewer connections, the costs for expanding the system falls to current users of the system. The city said 18 months ago rates are to rise by over 400% in the next six years. But this projection is low now that city income has fallen faster…fees and cost could rise much faster in years to come.

As they build out extra capacity in the water and sewer system to offer service to new residential and commercial developments (they one day hope to attract) it is necessary to have the capacity already in place to supply users as they hook up. Present users must pay this cost now or very soon, they are the only source of money for this "Enterprise Fund". The council will approve development and expect the self-funded enterprise fund for utilities to build out. No problem until huge development is necessary. The only solution is to fund big expansion needs for capacity from proffers or development funds, but that is not how it is done here and the cost is shifted to the present users. So as we see the city approve development like Center-Point, McDonnell Development, and other huge plans along Rt58 and near Rt17, the result is soaring utility costs for projects that must be funded and constructed ahead of time. So the result is the present users are going to pay for future users. The same can be said about buying more water from Norfolk for those future users…Council is being maneuvered now to borrow tens of millions to build out the utility system necessary to buy Norfolk water later…water for future users. So expect utility rates to rise dramatically. Inside Suffolk Team

LOOKING THE OTHER WAY

Out here in the sticks we get to pay about $5,000 a year in property taxes but we don't get sewer, or water, and never had city supplied trash containers, but now we no longer get limb or cuttings removal either. And just to make sure we don't burn our yard debris piles they prohibited open burning under penalty of $2,500 "gotcha fines," I just see this as another revenue grab. And, worse, City officials just wrote a letter to the Commonwealth opposing any regulations that would finally start holding builders, developers, farmers, livestock owners, and home owners financially responsible for failing to control stormwater, sediment, and nutrient runoff from their own sites, farms, pastures, and yards. These city "leaders" would rather ignore the problems and then turn around and tax the entire population to mitigate area flooding problems and try to clean up all the waterways that they have let their developer buddies and big farmers destroy through uncontrolled discharges into our ditches and waterways. The ultimate result of this "looking the other way" will be even more expensive and massive civil engineering and water reclamation projects to bring down the high nutrient, heavy metals, pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste levels which turn our water toxic, feed the algae blooms, and contribute to biological oxygen demand (BOD) which occurs when organic/ vegetative matter is allowed to reach our waterways where it rots and eats oxygen in the process, driving dissolved oxygen levels down to levels where only scavenger fish can survive.

This post offered by a THINKING taxpayer.

THROW THAT BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER

There will be no major changes in health care this year, next year, or for several years if Obama’s plan calls for more than ten dollars of new debt. There is an awakening taking place in Washington this morning as the specter of debt rises higher than the sun. There will be words like “Wow,” “Gee Whiz,” “I didn’t think it was this bad.” Even the most hapless Representatives and Senators will utter them. If there is even a scintilla of brain in the head of the most liberal of them they will understand their job is at risk in the next election should they continue the madness. It will occur to the majority that it is best to solve health care problems for those legal citizens that want protection but cannot afford it. Even Tort reform will now come under consideration. But we must keep a sharp bayonet to their butts to help them think, or this nation eventually becomes a banana Republic.

PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE THIS OUT

Let me get this straight: Obama's health care plan will be written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it, signed by a president who smokes, funded by a treasury Secretary who did not pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that is nearly broke. What possibly could go wrong?

Author Unknown

It is all about TRUST!

It is amazing to me that the argument about revising and changing our national policy on health-care has become more a discussion about "Trust in Government", than anything else. Who trusts what the President and Congress has to say, when they are more concerned about vilifying the people who question them, than explaining their huge and expensive legislative proposal. They are talking about sweeping changes that will fundimentaly change our lives, in a most personal way (between us and our doctor)?

The American people have always been a suspicious lot of government, especially "Big-Government" since we told King George to "Pack-it-in! However, the way things now stand the second big push to revise health-care looks like it is going to burst into flames like Hillary Clinton exploding into raging anger about a question of what Bill thinks!..." This legislation is overly complex at more than two-thousand pages, including amendments and no one seems to really understand what is in it, or not... The talking-heads have described the issues in ways that only confuse the issues and the congress and President have only made it worse by attacking those who question them, rather than adressing the questions.

The real question to ask is: If our leaders really want to fix the health-care system, why is there no "TORT Reform" included to limit medical law-suits? The cost of excessive tests and procedures to protect health-care providers (Doctors), from liability has been one of the biggest drivers of higher and higher costs, but the present legislation is mute on the topic. Why? The American People are smart enough to know that what is proposed will not work without tort-reform and want to know why the legislators don't know it too...

Until Tort Reform becomes a major part of the discussion, it is clear that no one in America will take "Health-Care Reform Legislation" seriously. The American people know a snake-oil pitch when they see one and health-care reform without tort reform is "Snake-Oil". We as a society need to limit the legal demands for excessive and unnecessary medical tests and procedures, just to protect care-givers from almost unlimited liability claims. According to the AMA, the average doctor now pays almost 42% of his gross income to pay liability malpractice insurance premiums. That is where cost control must be reviewed, along with these other issues. Until then, "WE the PEOPLE" will not take the discussion of health-care reform seriously... COMMENTS?

Roger A. Leonard, MPA

VERY SCARY READ THIS AGAIN

'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.' The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years' 'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith; to great courage; to abundance; to complacency; to apathy; to dependence; back into bondage.

In last election the number of States won by: Democrats: 19, Republicans: 29. Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000, by Republicans: 2,427,000. Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million, by Republicans: 143 million.

In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...' the United States is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.

ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS ISN'T QUITE

Twelve of 21 Suffolk Public Schools failed to meet benchmarks established by the No Child Left Behind Act said the Virginia Department of Education. Our Deputy Superintendent said, “We are disappointed with the results and we want to see what we can do differently.” ‘There needs to be some changes,” said Dr. Liverman. Both statements are profound.

One encouraging note is that Elephant’s Fork, Mack Benn, Jr., and Mount Zion elementary schools will allow sanctions that include allowing parents to SWITCH THEIR CHILDREN to successful schools. That would be a crack in the dam wall. But does Dr. Liverman really expect responses from School Board members he has encouraged to provide input on coming changes to the Federal Law?

Dr. Liverman referred to the increasing standards in the No Child Left Behind Act, meaning that by 2014 any school in which 100 percent of the students did not pass every Standards of Learning test on the first try will miss AYP. Things may be tightening up.

CHUCKATUCK HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

Tuesday, August 18, the Greater Chuckatuck Historical Foundation will meet at 7PM in the fellowship hall of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church. The board will have many advancements to report. The board believes the Foundation is ready to move from the "idea" stage to the "action" stage. With that said, action is needed from everyone who has an interest in this project. Come if you are interested in local archaeology, want to know more about the Suffolk/Chuckatuck escarpment that forms the ridge above Route 10 between the village of Chuckatuck and the Isle of Wight line? Help us map the land grants to early settlers along the Nansemond River and Chuckatuck Creek? Maybe you know your way around the Library of Virginia which holds information that would reveal more about our history? Does the Revolutionary War interests you? Find more about the British burning Milner's Town which was located near the new Veteran Cemetery. I live in what was once Milner’s town on a western branch of the Nansemond River. It is complete with a cemetery last used in 1930 and we know who is buried there.

THE INDIANS ARE GATHERING

HEAP BIG INDIAN POW WOW AUGUST 15/16 SAT/SUN

Lone Star Lakes will once again tremble under the moccasins of the Nansemond Indians dancing to the rhythmic beat of drums and incantations of those whirling and twirling colored beads, feathers and deer hide garments. The dances may not be as much for rain as for hopes that the City Council, under the misdirection of Bennett and Brown will once again hear the pleas of those who wish for a village of teepees in our forest. No doubt the Mayor, as she has for years, will be there to promise her assistance in gathering the strength of Council to make this tourist attraction come alive. Sure it is hot in August but you won’t be dancing…find shade or a seat in the bleachers. And bring wampum for soft cold drinks, warm food, and souvenirs. If you are not there you can count on Chief Bass to haunt your dreams with scary Indian bow and arrow attacks. Help us create the Indian village of Mattanock.