And Phyllis writes Mr. Brown et. al

What great points:

I'm writing you today out of great concern regarding the BHS situation. The need for a new school, not a repaired one, is becoming more evident with every new piece of information regarding the building on Prices Fork Rd. As repair costs continue to escalate, the folly of putting any more of the taxpayers precious dollars into old BHS is clear. The answer is not in challenging the town building/safety inspector to lower her standards regarding the minimal code requirements for a school which will house 1177 of our children. The answer is not to accuse legitimately concerned parents of being 'bullies' for using the same constitutionally protected, nonviolent methods of free speech and discretionary spending power that liberated this country from segregationist policies and brought about the Civil Rights Amendment. The answer is to provide long overdue, safe, and appropriately sized facilities for our children in Blacksburg and Riner. Mr. Creed's comments questioning the need for a sprinkler system at BHS were astounding. Instead of using this question as an argument to lower Montgomery County's school system to the lowest common denominator, we need to question why it has ever been acceptable to house children in facilities with inadequate fire control/safety systems. Mr. Brown commented on the county's future need to purchase 10 new fire trucks, but is questioning the need for sprinklers in schools!

Blacksburg parents are being portrayed as spoiled, rich folks who simply want a new school for their kids. In fact, the median household income for Blacksburg, Va in 2008 according to city-data.com was $29,264 versus the median income in Virgina of $61,233. Blacksburg parents are perceived as 'complainers', when in fact we have quietly endured a building that was constructed with criminal negligence, the extent of which is just now being uncovered. Montgomery County was the victim of this criminal negligence many years ago. Our innocent children and the faculty and staff of BHS have endured the consequences for over 30 years. The substandard conditions over those years are finally being compiled and presented publicly in testimony before your board. As Montgomery County citizens we all, affluent and poor alike, deserve safe, appropriate facilities for our children's education. We're not asking for a 'Taj Mahal'. We are asking for a facility that will not collapse on the student body, will protect our children at legal standards from emergencies such as fire, and provides disabled students facilities as required by ADA standards.

Please consider the best interest of our entire county, and vote in favor of a new BHS, a new AHS, and a renovated AMS.

Sincerely,
Phyllis Garnett-Deakin

Letter to Bill Brown, Montgomery County Board of Supervisors

Bill Brown is the former Chief of Police for Blacksburg. He has claimed that his constituents, Blacksburg residents, are overwhelmingly in favor of repairing our death trap of a high school instead of building a new school for about 8% more cost. He is wrong- there is no data to back up his claim. This is my letter to him regarding his false claims.


Dear Mr. Brown,

I am once again on business travel and was not able to attend the joint meeting last night. I am also not able to come to tonight's meeting- I travel regularly to support my three growing businesses at the CRC which your board is doing a great deal to torpedo whenever I am away. I want to express my full support for the slight property tax increase to secure loans and build a new Blacksburg High School and Auburn High School.

I am very disappointed to hear, and hope these reports are incorrect, that you are representing that your constituency is overwhelmingly in favor of repairing the old high school. I simply can't understand how this is true, unless you produce many redacted emails from your constituents and give us access to whatever public opinion polling you have conducted. We certainly have made our polling available to you, which showed a massive majority in favor of new schools. It is bad enough that Mr. Creed seems to think we should fight against installing a proper sprinkler system and HVAC.

And as to intimidation, I would respectfully ask you not to make claims like that in the future. Our democracy requires and should encourage participation. You cannot berate the same people you claimed "did not care" when we don't show up and then turn around and accuse us of intimidating people who disagree with us when we do.

The polling we conducted showed well over 75% of Blacksburg residents supporting a new BHS and AHS. The numbers showing up at meetings represent that majority. I represent the feelings of a majority of business owners in Blacksburg who feel the same. This is a clear case of a constituency crying out to our elected leaders to tax us more so that we may all invest in a healthy county environment that produces the growth of intellectual and manufacturing businesses. I urge you all to vote yes to the increase tonight to support the building projects recommended to you by the school board.

Most Sincerely,

Doug Garnett-Deakin

Survey results and letter to the BOS

September 20, 2010
Dear Montgomery County Board of Supervisors:
Your recent decision concerning repairing Blacksburg High School and the manner in which you
made the decision troubles many people. This issue is not over, as you may have hoped. At
the end of last week, a group of concerned residents launched an electronic survey of parents
of children in the Blacksburg schools. While this survey was not scientific, we wish to share
some of the survey results with you. Within the first 18 hours more than 700 responses were
received and a total of 1,133 people completed the survey. One response per computer was
allowed so ballot box stuffing could be avoided. The survey was open about 3 days.
A review of the survey results provides the following highlights:
 54.0% said they would not feel safe if their children attended repaired BHS
 24.9% of those that felt unsafe would send their child to a high school other than BHS
 73.2% believe that spending $15 million in repairs on BHS is not worth it
 74.2% said that taxes should be increased to build a new Blacksburg High School
 523 responded with individual comments, which we attach to this letter
 30.5% of the respondents do not have a student in the Blacksburg strand.
Conclusions and observations drawn from these statistics, our knowledge of the county, and the
comments received include:
 The survey represents about 30% of the Blacksburg students, many residents that do not
have students and even some residents of different areas of the county.
 A significant number of students will be lost from the MCPS system if BHS is repaired.
 A general outrage exists with the manner the Board of Supervisors acted on such an
important topic without giving the public notice or an opportunity for input.
 The clear majority opinion is to raise taxes and build a new BHS.
 More data is needed before any appropriate decision can be made. The decision was
reckless because it was made without knowing the full extent of the repairs required and
therefore the full cost and implications of the repairs cannot be understood.
 Many people raised the concern that repairing BHS will negatively impact the economic
development of our region.
We provide these data points for your consideration. Judging by the response rate, there
remains an intense interest in this topic and the issues should be addressed with the utmost
care and attention. We encourage you to your own public survey to revisit your decision and
more accurately consider the costs, timelines and safety factors resulting from your decisions.
Feel free to contact me at fenrich@idintl.com if you have questions concerning this survey and
the results.
Sincerely,
Richard K. Fenrich
cc: Superintendent Brenda Blackburn, Montgomery County School Board, The Roanoke Times

This is a good example of asynchronous collaboration to solve real world problems

Douglas Garnett-Deakin ‎#Zombie survival tip of the day: "Get up the staircase, then destroy it. " - Max Brooks
Top of Form
2 hours ago via TweetDeck · Comment ·LikeUnlike
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· Acie Slade likes this.
·
o
Douglas Garnett-Deakin fair enough. I was thinking fire escape- steep, easier to destroy. But it's Max's top ten.
47 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Acie Slade You could pour a can Acme Motor Oil down the staircase. Worked great in Looney Tunes
42 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Looney tunes Zombies. I am FOR this concept. FYI- be careful in Zombie attacks with engine oils, gasoline, and other flammable items- you are trying to get the high ground and nothing can pose more danger to the high ground than fire. Let's... be careful out there, my friends.See More
41 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
o
William Rodenfels yeah, I had a short (no comments from the peanut gallery) thought about adding a flame thrower to my zombie kit, but then thought a bunch of flaming slow burning torches running around was not a good idea...
39 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Acie Slade Good thinkin' ...I was never much for land tactics. Has that Zombie tv series started yet? ...on AMC? SciFi?
36 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Douglas Garnett-Deakin
‎"a bunch of flaming slow burning torches running around was not a good idea" I think this is a phrase we can all live by. In fact, I want that bumpersticker. With Zombies, you really need to either get the head off the body or destroy the ...head. Torching just causes more trouble than it solves. I think the number 1 land tactic is to slow with large objects (no, caltrops do NOT slow zombies, but shopping carts do) and 2 remove or crush the head with something.See More
31 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Douglas Garnett-Deakin FYI- Virginia Tech Defense has a "Zombie Kill of the Week" play they highlight. I love that.
31 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Douglas Garnett-Deakin http://www.thenorthendzone.com/2010-articles/september/zombie-kill-of-the-week.html
30 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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William Rodenfels Dunno Acie? Just had another thought for the zombie kit that I quickly discard...Bow & arrow w/dynamite (Like Dukes of Hazzard), but thinking that the zombies are coming towards you & depending on how slow the wick burns, could blow up in your face (literally)
30 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Acie Slade Hmm...can hollowpoints be legally purchased in VA? Not sure about MD. Of course, if the Zombie sh!t hit the fan then all legalities would go out the window I suppose
24 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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William Rodenfels I kinda' like the idea of killing them with Justin Bieber songs or letting me sing karoke. Either is pretty destructive!! (worked on "attack of the killer tomatoes)...which are kinda like zombie vegitables
23 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Douglas Garnett-Deakin Rule 7: Stock up. Don't be afraid to steal, since you are probably stealing from the undead at this point. I should point out Rule 9 is Blades don't need to be reloaded. So be careful not to rely on guns alone.
23 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
o
William Rodenfels It really depends if the zombies are the fast running zombies like in 28 Days, or the slow pokes like in Shaun of the Dead. Really would need to have two different tactics to fight
19 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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Acie Slade Could go for blades in an open space vs. sparse opposition. So maybe claymores then sniper volleys from the high ground then mop up with swordsmen. Might lose some good men to unexploded claymores though. Such is battle
13 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
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William Rodenfels I like the idea of the claymores. I was thinking more to old school tactics and charging with calvary and sabers. The horses could bowl over and trample, you have the high ground, speed of the horse to help the chop[ping with sabers, and as a last resort skoot out of there faster than the zombies.
7 minutes ago · LikeUnlike
o
Douglas Garnett-Deakin
I have to say that 28 days was not a movie about zombies, so I wouldn't worry about that. Rage infection fighting tactics would be much different.I like that you are both thinking about "Defense
Bottom of Form

Updated standings in my pickem poll

This is only about spotting early trends, but where I deviate from before the season the most is maybe Tampa Bay. No one saw them coming out. Now, keep in mind that this is about match ups- are the Redskins going to be really great this year? No, but they have a really easy schedule. Is Dallas going to be horrible? Well, maybe, plus they have a really hard schedule. I just love watching their implosion.


National Football Conference
NFC EAST
W
L
Washington
11
5
NY Giants
9
7
Dallas
6
10
Philadelphia
7
9
NFC NORTH
W
L
Green Bay
12
4
Minnesota
11
5
Chicago
4
12
Detroit
1
15
NFC SOUTH
W
L
New Orleans
10
6
Atlanta
10
6
Carolina
8
8
Tampa Bay
6
10
NFC WEST
W
L
San Francisco
11
5
Arizona
4
12
St. Louis
3
13
Seattle
3
13
American Football Conference
AFC EAST
W
L
New England
13
3
NY Jets
10
6
Miami
9
7
Buffalo
4
12
AFC NORTH
W
L
Baltimore
14
2
Pittsburgh
10
6
Cincinnati
9
7
Cleveland
3
13
AFC SOUTH
W
L
Indianapolis
11
5
Jacksonville
9
7
Houston
9
7
Tennessee
4
12
AFC WEST
W
L
Denver
9
7
San Diego
9
7
Oakland
9
7
Kansas City
7
9

Montgomery county shenanigans

The Board of Supervisors jumped in an early vote on Blacksburg High School. First of all, they have the costs wrong. Second of all, this starts the downward spiral of businesses in Montgomery County for over a decade.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/260358

Quietly

I'm never going to finish this thing, but what's the point? This is just therapy, not really writing. You can tell, reading it. But it is something old, raw, and new to share on this day.


Quietly

Ask me about the day
September 11
ask me about that day and I know
the first tower, the second tower
the call from a friend
turn on the tv
I’m busy
turn on the tv
ok, what? A plane, two planes
a tower, two towers
I see it
they are burning
I see it
the goddamned reception is bad
I see it
what?
I see it
they are both on fire

and for a moment I stopped
and felt my chest and felt my hand
as if it palsied and withered.

and a moment when I thought again about my business
an interviewee was waiting for me
and a meeting after that, maybe I would cancel now
the interviewee needed to talk to me, I had kept
him waiting

and the tv voices were barely audible over snow
watching in a conference room
on the seventh floor.

and the tv barely had a picture.

The towers vomited smoke
like engines at full bore.
And this felt like war.


another phone call
my partner, where is everyone
mostly here
in another building
just two locations, everyone I work with
get them together
anyone who wants to leave
I have an interviewee still
he’s been waiting 30 minutes
planes hit the buildings,
terrorists?
large planes not the twin prop
and the goddamned tv
and I can remember every person who
came to the conference room and
asked me what the latest was, what was
wrong with the reception
my brother even worked there
and I would get nothing done

Now I could sit
a minute

The tv seems like cotton wool, snowy
and New York so distant. Smoke piles skyward
and seems even distinct through the snow.

I wish the next moments were sharp
a fast knuckle in my arm
like me and my brother as kids, whack
laughter, those memories are clear
but by the time someone told me to come to the window
I felt tired,
and not too interested in the clear sky
and the oil stain smoke rising about a half
mile away, to the north.

Certainly, I said, this is bad.

I stand in an unfamiliar office
watching the Pentagon smoke jet fuel.

Well, that’s it for me, for the day

dismiss the interviewee with
a quick, firm handshake
talk on the phone
no cell phones
land lines, yes
tell people to go home
head out myself
yes, the oil stain
Pentagon burning and so
many people spilled from offices
to watch on the street

rush to the car
in another building
meet friends
yes, yes, that’s the Pentagon
or near it
a sudden explosion, pop, bam
I was in the street
people ducked and threw hands up
and I hurried

into my car with three others
one working cell phone

Windows down for fear of shatter
we waded home, in and out of streets
three and a half hours
with fighter jets circling us
and back to a clear television.

The towers had come down by then.
The Pentagon smoldered with a foul new mouth.
I passed the afternoon looking up room numbers
for corridors
that lay like stacked files
neglected
crushed, with friends inside.

I did go back two days later.
I cried at the cots for blood donors
lining the mall inside the building,
the soot smell.

Those lying on the cots
look like the victims to me
and I can only stare.

ok, enough school. Back to football. My NFL Predictions, set in stone.

Stupid copy and paste doesn't look great, but I have Minnesota winning it all. I know, stupid, but it's not that old guy.

San Fran is a really good team this year, but mainly they play in the worst division in history so they are going to look awesome and fail in the playoffs. Baltimore is the real deal- I only have them losing because bad things happen to good teams every once in a while. In a real matchup I'd pick Baltimore. For the Skins, this is all about coach and not at all about QB. I know I'm drinking koolaid again.

I think I picked the NY Jets to win too many games. I would flip them and Miami easily. I can see the Jets being the biggest fail of the season. And Dallas? Heh, I picked them to win too many.

National Football Conference
NFC EAST
W
L
Washington
11
5
NY Giants
9
7
Dallas
8
8
Philadelphia
7
9
NFC NORTH
W
L
Green Bay
12
4
Minnesota
12
4
Chicago
3
13
Detroit
1
15
NFC SOUTH
W
L
New Orleans
10
6
Atlanta
10
6
Carolina
9
7
Tampa Bay
6
10
NFC WEST
W
L
San Francisco
12
4
Arizona
4
12
St. Louis
3
13
Seattle
2
14
American Football Conference
AFC EAST
W
L
New England
13
3
NY Jets
10
6
Miami
8
8
Buffalo
4
12
AFC NORTH
W
L
Baltimore
14
2
Pittsburgh
9
7
Cincinnati
9
7
Cleveland
2
14
AFC SOUTH
W
L
Indianapolis
12
4
Jacksonville
8
8
Houston
7
9
Tennessee
5
11
AFC WEST
W
L
Denver
10
6
San Diego
10
6
Oakland
9
7
Kansas City
6
10

Wildcard 1
Atlanta at Washington
Washington
31-10

Minnesota at New Orleans
Minnesota
20-7

NY Jets at Indianapolis
Indianapolis
42-14

Denver at San Diego
Denver
24-21

Divisionals
Washington at San Francisco
Washington
20-10

Minnesota at Green Bay
Minnesota
20-17

Indianapolis at New England
New England
34-28

Denver at Baltimore
Baltimore
42-3

Championships
Minnesota at Washington
Minnesota
21-17

New England at Baltimore
Baltimore
28-24

Superbowl
Minnesota
14-10

Edited for the Roanoke Times

Dear Montgomery County Supervisors:

I am writing you as a parent of upcoming 7th and 4th graders and as a medium sized business owner. I want to encourage all of you to vote for plans to bring all Blacksburg strand students back to the area as soon as feasible and to vote for a tax increase and bond issuance to construct new high schools in Blacksburg and Auburn.

I own a high tech company with over 30 employees, paying county and town of Blacksburg taxes. Due to the apparent lack of will to invest in education in this county, I am now forced to investigate moving my company long term to either Albemarle or Culpeper counties. I know personally of two other companies of similar size who have moved to Salem due to school quality. I know of other similar companies in and individuals looking to do the same. I simply cannot continue to grow in this area and recruit talented individuals if the answer to the question "how are your secondary schools" is "we have no high school and/or middle school".

This issue is not about the cost of raising taxes, but rather the cost of not investing in infrastructure. As it stands, the county will lose much more money in "bright flight" than it will in the cost of building these schools. With the same population, Albemarle County raises almost 3 times the tax revenue of Montgomery County. That fact is noticed by business investors like myself. I know the median income in Albemarle is more: about $64,000 for a family as compared to about $47,000 in Montgomery, but with a 27% lower median income, we raise 53% lower revenues for schools.

Historically, my largest hurdle to growth in Montgomery County has been transportation, though it is a lower concern than education and income. I cannot imagine how this area expects to prosper with the educational system taking such a tremendous hit with no will to fix it long term.

As a parent I have been appalled by both the process and attitude behind all of this discussion. I have made well known my disappointment that the school board and administration did not begin a planning process for BHS students in March or April before they had the engineering reports. I am still saddened that the decision was to disrupt two student bodies and not just one. I have come to be appalled by the conditions in Auburn and wonder why I had not known of them sooner. I am frankly stunned to find this county in the situation it is in and wonder how you can justify the serious gaps in safety (why was the BHS gym roof not inspected on a regular basis?) and planning (how could you not let revenue for the county grow when the economy was going so well to set aside money for a stormy time like we find ourselves in now?).

For school solutions: let me state that I am for repairing the current high school if it can be done swiftly to get all students back into their home strands. The progress made on OCMS should be lauded, but the distance to the school and the fact that students have tiny lockers for supplies, no lockers for gym and have to haul almost everything they have from building to building and going outside during winter weather is hardly a school to point to and say- here's our fantastic long term BMS. If it can be done before next school year, you should fix BHS. But I cannot understand justification for rebuilding the BHS gym. That expenditure would be a complete waste- there is a community center that is under used across the street that high schoolers already use for swimming activities.

As for higher taxes: you must first consider how many people you will lose without taking proper action. People, businesses, perhaps even educational institutions. Why not consider an exemption for increase for lower income households? I would gladly pay double a $.12/$100 increase on property tax if I knew it would go toward school construction. And not just for construction in Blacksburg, but for Auburn as well.

And I Respond to the Board

Dear Ms. Perkins,

I want to thank you and Mary Biggs for getting back to me so promptly on my comments and suggestions. The information about the Dillon Rule and meal taxes was very informative.

I noticed neither of you commented on my points of construction or repair. What I can assume from your taxation comments is that the raising of $110 M or $124 M is a fairly low likelihood. If that is the case, I urge you to move as swiftly as possible to repair the current BHS structure for the cost of $6 M. Please also do not consider rebuilding the gym from scratch as that money should be saved for the future construction of a new BHS per the county's original schedule. The group of parents I work with along with the sentiment of the BMS PTA, per Lisa Garcia's comments in today's Roanoke Times, is to return BMS and BHS to their proper locations and facilities as soon as possible. I once again urge the BOS and the School Board to plan for the worst now, then go about hoping for the best.

This does not mean I am not urging you to raise property taxes across the county to build both BHS and AHS right now: I still feel that is a necessary business investment for the county.

Sincerely,

Doug

BOS Chair Responds to My Email

To all:

An answer to questions raised: we do have a policy that allows those who are 65 and older and/or those who are disabled to receive a reduction in taxes. We are a Dillon Rule state; we can only do those things that the state allows. Counties do not have the same permission to tax as cities and towns do. We are hampered not only by these state policies but also by the fact that most of the restaurants and hotels are in the town limits, not in the county. The real estate tax is about all we have. Also, the state refuses to raise taxes on much of anything, i.e. gasoline, and the past several years has required counties to give back monies for certain areas of government for which the state has given money, i.e. some Constitutional Officers.

At our last meeting a member of our board asked if we could raise taxes for some and not for all. The answer is no.

Believe me, I share your frustration. I am sorry that businesses choose to leave, for they are the very groups who have the ability to pay and to help secure changes as well as benefits for our children.

Thank you for your comments and concerns. I appreciate your willingness to share.

Annette Perkins

Open Letter to Montgomery County Board of Supervisors

Where I tilt at windmills once again. All politics is local and I try to use my economic position in the community to give hard facts to our leaders.


Dear Montgomery County Supervisors:

I am writing you as both a parent of upcoming 7th and 4th graders and as a medium sized business owner in the county. I want to encourage all of you to vote for plans to bring all Blacksburg strand students back to the area as soon as is feasible and to vote for a tax increase and bond issuance to construct new high schools in Blacksburg and Auburn.

My company, from which I write this email with contact information below, has a gross income of over $5,000,000 annually, growing at a rate of about 40% each year with a history going back well over 10 years. This is a high tech company with over 30 employees, paying county and town of Blacksburg taxes. We are located at the CRC and are in a newly built out office space just across from the school of osteopathy. Due to the apparent lack of will to invest in education in this county, I am now forced to look at moving my company to either Albemarle or Culpeper counties. I know personally of two other companies of similar size who have moved to Salem due to the better school system there before the collapse of BHS. I know of other similar companies in Montgomery county and individuals looking at the same. I simply cannot continue to grow in this area and recruit and retain talented individuals if the answer to the question "how are your secondary schools" is "we have no high school and/or middle school".

This issue is not about the cost of raising taxes, but rather the cost of not investing in infrastructure. As the issue stands, the county will lose much more money in "bright flight" than it will in the cost of building these schools. With the same population, Albemarle County raises almost 3 times the tax revenue of Montgomery County. That fact is noticed by business investors like myself. I know the median income in Albemarle is more: about $64,000 for a family as compared to about $47,000 in Montgomery, but this difference does not account for their extraordinary contribution to education.

Historically, my largest hurdle to growth in Montgomery county has been transportation. This issue is usually about 5th on the list of importance for myself or any potential hire, well after 1) income, 2) educational system, 3) quality of life, 4) safety. I cannot imagine how this area expects to prosper with the educational system taking such a tremendous hit while the perception of the county being willing to fix this problem is perceived as nonexistent.

As a parent I have been appalled by both the process and attitude behind all of this discussion. I have made well known my disappointment that the school board and administration did not begin a planning process for BHS students in March or April before they had the engineering reports - you ALWAYS plan for the worst and hope for the best. I am still disgusted that the decision was to disrupt two student bodies and not just one. I have come to be appalled by the conditions in Auburn and wonder why I had not known of them sooner, perhaps this is my fault. I am frankly stunned to find this county in the situation it is in and wonder how you can justify the serious gaps in safety (why was the BHS gym roof not inspected along with others on a regular basis?) and planning (how could you not let revenue for the county grow when the economy was going so well to set aside money for a stormy time like we find ourselves in now?).

For school solutions: let me state that I am for repairing the current high school if it can be done swiftly to get all students back into their home strands (although I may be in the minority on this issues because I know so many parents who do not believe the main structure can be made safe). The progress made on OCMS should be lauded, but the distance to the school and the fact that students have tiny lockers for supplies, no lockers for gym and have to haul almost everything they have from building to building and going outside during winter weather is hardly a school to point to and say- here's our fantastic long term BMS. If it can be done before next school year, you should fix BHS. But I could not, for a minute, understand justification for rebuilding the BHS gym. That expenditure would be a complete waste- there is a community center that is under used across the street that high schoolers already use for swimming activities. Gyms, unlike schools, actually are not needed as core to giving students an education.

For tax solutions: first of all you must consider how many people you will lose without taking proper action. People, businesses, perhaps even educational institutions. Second of all, why only look at a property tax increase? Why not consider an exemption for increase for lower income households? I know almost every parent in Blacksburg would gladly pay double a $.12/$100 increase on property tax if we knew it would go toward school construction. And not just for construction in Blacksburg, but for Auburn as well. I would happily go out to dinner more to pay a 3%-5% special tax on meals if I knew it would be properly invested. There are many other avenues you could explore and the good faith and future growth in the county could be restored, vastly offsetting any hardship (little as it would be) to any short term tax increase.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration,


Doug Garnett-Deakin

Trying to get through all the idiots

I do try to be positive. Honest. I'm just not very good at it.

Nothing like 5 days in cities to completely destroy any efforts of trying to feel good about my fellow humans. What a bumbling bunch of rude pointless pin heads.

Whew. That felt good. And this time I was not just thinking about the school board, but I am now! So, they dampened my vacation. So what. They have a collapsed school to worry about and how best to put 6th graders into rat infested, broken down gyms. I have to keep in mind they don't have the luxury of worrying about their children in lead painted based asbestos dens while sipping wine in Paris, like moi. So, enough with them and their degenerate proclivities to putting off where to best torture 7th graders during summer break.

And on to London and to Paris. We have been to both cities now with 4 days to split and we have seen next to nothing. It's amazing how little you can see with so many people. But for me and Phyllis- we've seen both and the point of this trip is to be with the kids. We are doing that in spades. We are not just giving them quality time, but quantity time. So much nagging and arguing they will never in their lives feel neglected.

In London, we got to Stomped. Great fun. Loud. I had to scoot out early with Nelson, but all well worth it. We paid way too much to eat way too little at Harrods and just had a blast.

In Paris, we did manage to split out 50 euro museum passes on the Musee D'Orsey, the Louvre and St. Chappelle. I think individually that would have come to 20 Euro. A, c'est la vie.

The Batobus is fantastic in France. It cruises the river and you can buy a multiday pass and just get around via it. The best way to see some of the city, avoid traffic and get places.

We tried the velib. Fantastic idea and it worked great, but the bikes are too big and heavy for Nelson. If he were two years older, this would have been the best way to get around. I recommend it, but you MUST get an amex card with a chip in it to use the things, so plan ahead.

C'est tout pour aujoudi.

New Letter to Montgomery County School Board

Dear School Board Members,

I read the entirety of the Roanoke Times article this morning regarding your new choices available. I want to encourage you to vote unanimously for the BMS campus option. I believe that option is the best of bad options that accomplishes the following: 1) keeps all Blacksburg students in Blacksburg; 2) does not put students into a substandard and perhaps dangerous facility as testified by teachers who used to work at OCMS; 3) puts county (our) money into a temporary solution for a temporary problem; 4) it mostly affects only one student body- the one that actually had this happen to them.

I still say you should be planning for the immediate construction of the new high school in Blacksburg- we all know the old building is going to be condemned. Perhaps this is the time you should be taking legal action against the insurance company to speed it's condemnation of that property?

I will reiterate my earlier points that I am extremely disappointed in the board and Superintendent Blackburn for delaying this decision making process when there was no reason to not be going through this process in April. There was absolutely no reason.

For board members in Blacksburg considering shipping BMS students to OCMS, if you vote in that manner, I will work tirelessly to have you removed from the board as soon as possible. For those of you outside Blacksburg- this decision should not affect your constituents in any manner- I implore you to look beyond short term cost and more toward the will of parents who are actually affected by your decisions.

Most Respectfully,

Doug Garnett-Deakin

Letter to Representative Goodlatte

Dear Representative Goodlatte,

I read with interest your comments about the Poff Federal building in Roanoke and you not wanting GSA to spend Recovery Act money on the environmental improvements to that building. I do not write to comment on your position, but certainly understand it as well thought out. As a disclaimer, I am a HUBZone contractor working for the GSA in Blacksburg, Virginia so I understand the nature of the program and the intention of it to both stimulate the economy and encourage "greening" of public buildings.

As you probably know, Montgomery county and Blacksburg have had significant challenges since our high school gym collapsed in February of 2010. It is now very apparent that our High School will be condemned after an engineering report is finalized at the end of this month - one that has already necessitated the relocation of students for the coming year. The reason I am writing is that I would like to propose that you, Representative Boucher, Senators Webb and Waner, State Senator Edwards and Smith, State Delegate Shuler and Nutter together or separately petition the Obama Administration to allow a portion of the $51 million budgeted for Poff to become available for the building of a new Blacksburg High School to help our community.

I understand that you do not represent Blacksburg, but consider that Virginia Tech is undergoing great expense on community improvements to increase it's ability to recruit top notch faculty and that the improvements to Virginia Tech help the entire South West Virginia economy at large which you do represent. I also know that shifting this sort of funding is quite a stretch, but Federal Recovery Act money is completely fungible and can be directed to other programs as long as the funds do two things: stimulate the economy for which they were intended and advance green technologies. I believe replacing Blacksburg High School could do both of these: the new high school will employ construction workers, architects and engineers and could in fact be designed as LEED Gold or Platinum certified, fitting the greening requirement and even giving the Virginia Tech community a higher profile in this regard.

I simply request that you consider this and discuss it with Representative Boucher and other colleagues. It is a stretch, but the potential community impact and positive story this could generate- the true thinking outside of the box use of what is ultimately all of our money - could be tremendous. I do not advocate the Federal money solely as a "the Federal Government can come to the rescue" type of action- I am pushing the state and the local community to fund this solution as it can. I have advocated a special local tax assessment located just in Blacksburg, not all of Montgomery county, as well as the setting aside of county and state help. I have told the county as an individual and small business owner that I would donate to a fund for the High School construction. I think the solution to this problem can come from all levels of government and personal responsibility as all levels of government are simply an ever expanding extension of what we can all do as larger and larger communities.

The county estimates $24 million to complete the new High School, as the site has already been selected and purchased. The LEED platinum solution may require more in initial investment, recovered over the first 5 years of the project.

I simply ask that you consider this and please do feel free to contact me with any questions about our local situation that extends in so many ways beyond our small community.

Sincerest Regards,


Doug Garnett-Deakin

A response to Mr. Wendell Jones, MCPS chair

Mr. Jones,

Please feel free to call me Doug.

One point in rebuttal of your taking exception- the last communication from the school system in fact looks to limit the "choices" put in front of the community. While the "choices" are expanded to 4 from 2 they are still extremely narrow in focus, thus going counter to your point entirely.

I fully acknowledge this community and everyone involved have been through some horrendous events - not just this last year but the entire decade. Rather than list these, let me just say this is exactly why you are being inundated by cries from parents who are so against our children being moved out of our community- to being farther from home for when they have simple colds or have some student bring two guns to school. After meeting with a group of both BMS and BHS parents last night, that was the single most unifying point. We are unanimous in insisting that our children not be moved out of Blacksburg- middle or high schoolers.

Now, to points that may actually make this possible, I am wanting to know in what capacity the board and superintendent have looked into non-traditional spaces to house BHS students within Blacksburg. Even if they do not conform, my group would like a list of possibilities discovered by your group and reasons they were ruled out. We would like to know of searches which places might marginally be made available. We would like to know what laws require in these spaces, and what might simply be school board rules (e.g., is a cafeteria required of a school space for a year). Specifically, I have confirmed from two sources that Virginia Tech has offered space for BHS students and I would like to know why this is not acceptable. My group is of one mind that Virginia Tech is absolutely the best atmosphere and place available. I cannot imagine Virginia Tech as a University that wants to attract world class talent can be at all happy that they now have to explain we have no high school and that students may be sent to another town in near condemned facilities.

As to timing, the board and other leadership absolutely should have been planning this coming school year in March if not April. I have now had insight from several people who have walked the inside of BHS to know that any person confronted with sloping floors and wall damage would know this school is going to be condemned, or at the very least not ready for 2010. Dr. Blackburn was kind enough to call me yesterday and discuss the situation, and she confirmed that there is visible sloping and mis-matched slabs on the floor of the main BHS building.

So why the wait? It is not the OWPR report- not with such visible damage. The perception the wait must leave in anyone's mind, and it certainly does in mine, is that you waited to hold public working sessions until vacation had begun because so many parents have left the area. The second perception is that the time-line is thus compacted and the community is forced to make a quicker decision than it would normally. That is a common negotiation tactic in business, and I am very hopeful this was not your intention. Whether intentional or not is really beside the point in many ways, however, the wait should not have happened given the internal makeup of BHS. The result is quite justified anger and anguish.

I have no insight to budgetary matters, but please give me any information on that side you care to write up and I will work on it. I think you would be surprised at how many residents would be willing to support a special tax assessment to get the new BHS started ASAP. Also, I think you would be surprised about the incredible ground swell of support this body would get if you simply stated "our second priority we will pursue until we have a comprehensive plan, after housing students for 2010, is to build a new BHS. We will get the students housing for 2010, then we will work solely on the construction of the new BHS, period."


Most Sincerely,


Doug Garnett-Deakin

---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Phn. 540-443-9245
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------


From:
To: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cc:
Date: 06/18/2010 05:46 PM
Subject: RE: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board




Mr. Deakin,

Thank you for your recent email, concerns and efforts. First, as parent of a rising 6th grader at BMS and a rising Junior at BHS, I fully understand the concerns cited by parents and the Blacksburg community. Additionally, my daughter graduated from BHS this year - so my family dealt first hand with the revised school schedule and the impact it had on the Blacksburg School Community. Also worth mentioning, on February 12th, 2010 - my entire family was inside the BHS gymnasium prior to its collapse on February 13th. After observing the destruction of the collapse first hand, I feel very fortunate that my family is safe (as well as other’s in attendance that evening) and we were able to complete the school year and no one was injured as a result of the collapse.

I do take exception to defining our process of generating options as resulting in poor ideas when they haven’t been given the appropriate amount of the time to be discussed. The only “bad” idea is the one that is not discussed and dismissed without careful thought. Plus, I don’t believe taking the appropriate amount of time required to insure our school buildings are safe for daily use should be termed as wasteful. This is very complex and difficult problem to resolve and it has required the involvement of multiple entities to insure proper procedures and policies are followed.

While the educational setting for both BHS and BMS students will be potentially impacted for the short-term and the proposed options, ideas and resulting decisions will not be palatable to everyone (including myself), we must recognize that other school communities within Montgomery County deal with overcrowded conditions, aging buildings and the increasing use of mobile units.

Plus, as we move forward, let’s be mindful and keep in perspective the BHS / BMS building and facilities decisions we are making have a short term impact, but the greater long term impact on the educational quality of all students in Montgomery County was the nearly eight million dollar reduction in the division operational budget. The rebuilding of a building is simple when compare to the budgetary challenges we face in rebuilding the quality of education for all students in Montgomery County.

I look forward to developing a solution that is able to provide a quality and safe educational experience for both BMS and BHS students.

Again, thank you for your email and your efforts to support the students and staff of the Blacksburg Community.

Best Regards,

B. Wendell Jones
MCPS - Chair
392-2750

From: doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com [mailto:doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 10:18 PM
To: Jones, Wendell; Christine.McCann@jpidev.com; Doug_Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com; drfoster@mcps.org; jbond@mcps.org; jtivers1@comcast.net; michael.stowe@roanoke.com; palbritton@mail.mcps.org; pfranklin@mcps.org; pgarnett@vt.edu; whopkins@vt.edu; anna.mallory@roanoke.com; Kelly Linkenhoker; district21@senate.virginia.gov; district22@senate.virginia.gov; DelJShuler@house.virginia.gov; deldnutter@house.virginia.gov
Cc: Doug_Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to submit some excellent ideas from Kelly Linkenhoker that have already been sent to you. They are listed below after some more comments to follow my email from yesterday and further research on my part.

Something very important you need to understand is that your current poor ideas are throwing up two huge, terrifying warning signs to BMS parents- 1) you are proposing moving our children into intrinsically more dangerous environments (either an over crowded new school or into a substandard facility) and at the same time 2) you are moving them much farther away from us so that when situations from simple colds to say a kid bringing guns to school or the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a protest occur, it is that much more of a hardship for us to get to our children and remove them from those situations.

I will also say, it is most clear to me now that the BHS building will be condemned. I spoke to Phyllis Albritton today and understand that the construction company that ripped Blacksburg off with this horrible building is no longer in business and the county cannot sue them. I also discovered from the reporting in the Roanoke Times and other sources, that the structural flaws below the floors and in the extremely dangerous strut work (reason for gym collapse) are most definitely going to lead to a report of condemnation and if not there is no way any sane, safety minded person would allow students back into that facility. Therefore I have contacted Senator Edwards, Del Nutter and Del Shumer to pursue state or federal emergency funds and would encourage the community to support Kelly's last point that without delay the MCPS begin bid and selection for construction of a new high school. And for you to NOT fritter away another 6 months coming to that absolutely necessary understanding.

I apologize to Kelly for lifting her work as supplied to me by a friend, but her ideas were so much better than mine and certainly yours, that I could not help but forward them on and will read them on Monday in your public session.

I will be hosting a BMS parent planning session at my house tomorrow night to further collect ideas. I would also add that I would very much be in favor of a special assessment tax for funding the high school and other creative funding ideas. I would be willing personally to donate money to a fund for construction of a proper high school and/or investment in the ideas below. My company would be as well. I would personally organize and lead fund raisers to do the same. I will contact government representatives and lobby for any funds available to make this happen. But I will do absolutely none of this to pay one dollar to poor ideas that put my children and others in danger, as I believe your ideas will.


-----------------------

1) Keeping 6th grades in their respective elementary schools and putting mobile units on the BMS site to house 7th and 8th grade students, with BHS occupying the BMS building with 9th through 12th grades. This would keep all Blacksburg students in the communities that they are comfortable with and depend on. This way high school students have the
technology and equipment necessary to keep from compromising their education and the middle school students (7th and 8th) are not displaced from the security of their community school. 6th grade students would remain in nurturing environments during the transition to more demanding curriculum. I would be very disappointed to see any Blacksburg students removed from the community they call home. This interferes with supports for students before and after school hours.

2) Make a campus at the BMS ??? Take the money you would spend to get the OLD CMS ready and put the money into building a campus that could service our students for the next 1-2 years while a new high school is built on the land we have ready for a new school.

3) Start building a new High School ASAP. Blacksburg needs a high school and to wait makes no sense to our children or our community.

I understand that all solutions will be complicated but I hope to see our community work through this without the added stress of an alternate location.

Thanks and take care,
Kelly Linkenhoker
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Phn. 540-443-9245
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------

From: Doug Garnett-Deakin/JPI
To: palbritton@mail.mcps.org, pfranklin@mcps.org, drfoster@mcps.org, jbond@mcps.org, BJones@moog.com, jtivers1@comcast.net, whopkins@vt.edu
Cc: michael.stowe@roanoke.com, pgarnett@vt.edu, Christine McCann/JPI@JPI, Doug Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com
Date: 06/16/2010 04:11 PM
Subject: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board








Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Like so many parents in Blacksburg, I have been following the debate of what to do with Blacksburg High School students in the upcoming year. I am the parent of an upcoming 7th grader and 4th grader, but do not have a child enrolled in BHS. First of all, I would like to express my displeasure with the progress of the safety report to date and the lack of planning that, in my view, should have been done in March and April of this year. I have little doubt in my mind that the safety report could have been done well before now and, more importantly, that the board and superintendent could have been planning with public involvement in the Spring regardless of the report completion.

That aside, I am appalled that you consider the movement and disruption of two groups of children a correct decision as opposed to disrupting a single group- the high school is affected in this situation, not the middle school, so the high school student body should be the only group disrupted. I worked on Pentagon relocation after 9/11 and know that the primary rule to follow in relocation due to disaster is to effect as few groups or individuals as possible. I see no reason you could put forward as a group as to why this rule should not be applied here. The principal of BHS is even on record stating that the lab facilities at BMS are not adequate for the high school students.

I agree with Joe Ivers' quote in today's Roanoke Times:

"Nowhere in here do I see anything but them being put in situations where they're going to be vulnerable," board member Joe Ivers said. "It just seems to beat the middle school students."

Middle school is an incredibly hard transition time and they are the wrong group to disrupt in this manner, much less bus them into either 1) a dilapidated old structure that is barely able to hold up to Upward basketball games or 2) a complete over crowding in the new Christiansburg MS.

I will also say that there is little likelihood that the report will come back to you with a suggestion that BHS can be used. I know few professionals that would sign off on that. The only real option you have is to move immediately to constructing the new high school in the new site as planned, just simply moved up in priority. As for the high schoolers for this year, I see little palatable option than moving them to trailers or splitting them up to various high schools in the county.

If the school board does move forward with the idea of busing middle schoolers, I will remove my daughter from the school system and I will explore my legal options for having the county compensate me for said move. As superintendent Blackburn was quoted "Time is our enemy at this point". To this I would add, time has been our enemy since day 1 following the collapse of the gym and you should have acted then for planning for the coming school year. For anyone to use time as a pressure point on parents at this moment for your own lack of action is unconscionable.

---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------

Another great email

Such a creative and intelligent community. I'm going to keep posting these until I get into big trouble.


From: Hope
Subject: [Bms-pta] Letter from BMS Staff
To: bms-pta@listserv.bburg.bev.net
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 9:24 PM


Dear BMS families,
As a follow-up to the information about the online input form, we would
like to share with you what the BMS staff has done in response to the
proposals presented at Tuesday's school board meeting. We met as a
faculty yesterday and discussed the impacts of these proposals on our
BMS community. Collectively we composed a document outlining our
thoughts and concerns. We have created this document for you to
consider. We encourage you to contact the superintendent and each of
the school board members and invite you to use any of the points from
our document in your discussions. Please also consider attending the
community meetings on Monday, June 21st at 3pm and 7pm in the BMS
auditorium. We appreciate your continued support of our school
community.
Thank you,
Carol Fox and Andrea Langston



An Opportunity for Excellence

Our community has proven numerous times that we are resilient and committed to our children and each other. This is just another opportunity to not only persevere but to look to improve on our educational ideas and environments.

§ We feel the tragedy for our BHS community should not be turned into a double tragedy by displacing our BMS community. The focus is to support the needs of the faculty and students of BHS as they cope with this crisis. To do this, we need to create an educational environment for all students impacted that best meets their developmental and academic needs in the short term and can benefit our district's educational progress in the future.

§ As professionals we should see this as an opportunity for educational improvement. If we use a proactive thought process with a focus on long-term implications and enduring solutions, opportunities will become apparent. It is imperative to address this problem with paramount consideration for the educational needs of all students involved. Long-term educational objectives and implications should drive the decision, not capacity numbers or athletics, both of which can be solved through alternative physical arrangements.

§ A decade ago members of the BMS and CMS communities collaborated to select the building design utilized in the two new middle schools. At BMS we use this specialized physical environment to foster important tenets of the middle school concept addressing the unique developmental and instructional needs of young adolescents. These buildings feature separate hallways for each grade level subdivided into smaller areas for academic teams, a design that helps middle school educators meet the needs of middle school students and builds smaller learning communities within a large school. The environment is actually used as a teacher. Our space supports teaming, inclusion, flexible grouping, collaboration, and integrated curriculum which are all essential components of a strong middle school program. Additionally, family involvement in the education of their children is an essential characteristic of a successful middle school. This becomes problematic if our school is not located in our community.

§ Current enrollment at BHS is 1,117 and BMS is 883. The difference in enrollment is 234 students. OCMS, with a capacity of 775, is not adequate for either school population. Therefore, relocating either school would require extensive modifications and mobile units so all costs must be considered.

§ Although BMS has a capacity of 1200 students, it was not designed to house four grade levels. It is a middle school designed to house three grade levels. The BMS campus cannot support the entire BHS program.

§ Remaining efficient is crucial in the final decision of the placement. We want this plan to have positive long term effects on all impacted in our division. Customizing a building to meet the high school needs is necessary. It would be beneficial to utilize a building that can benefit from this expense after the high school has left the facility. OCMS fits this description because of the alternative high school programs that would re-inhabit the facility. Customizing BMS to support BHS involves spending scarce funds on modifications that will require subsequent funding to restore BMS to its original state once BHS has its own facility.

§ If BMS were moved to OCMS there would also be costs for customizing this facility to meet our needs as a middle school. OCMS would need to be greatly modified to meet our teaming, technology, and instructional program needs. The cost of relocating two schools and seven grade levels to provide for their academic needs compared to the cost of housing one school with four grade levels, which is already displaced, must be considered. Furthermore, any money invested in any facility should continue to benefit the students of MCPS long after the temporary housing needs of BHS are resolved.

§ During the shared occupancy, the facilities at BMS did not meet the needs of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. In addition, they were concerned that their students’ ability to compete well in VICA and other such competitions would be affected. These competitions lead to opportunities for post-high school education and employment. This group of students is often overlooked in the rush to provide academic and athletic needs.

§ The challenge this crisis presents provides an opportunity to look to research-based education reform for innovative ideas to enhance the educational offerings of MCPS. For example, research shows that 9^th grade is a pivotal year for students as they transition from middle school to the changing demands of high school. The idea of a Ninth Grade Academy, which separates the 9^th grade from the traditional high school, addresses this critical transition by creating a smaller learning community which provides more structure and direction for students. An option like this would open up new ways to think about a space for BHS students. We have facilities in our district such as the OBMS annex building that could house a 9th grade class. This would leave only grades 10-12 relocating to OCMS.

Follow up letter to the MCPS School Board

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to submit some excellent ideas from Kelly Linkenhoker that have already been sent to you. They are listed below after some more comments to follow my email from yesterday and further research on my part.

Something very important you need to understand is that your current poor ideas are throwing up two huge, terrifying warning signs to BMS parents- 1) you are proposing moving our children into intrinsically more dangerous environments (either an over crowded new school or into a substandard facility) and at the same time 2) you are moving them much farther away from us so that when situations from simple colds to say a kid bringing guns to school or the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a protest occur, it is that much more of a hardship for us to get to our children and remove them from those situations.

I will also say, it is most clear to me now that the BHS building will be condemned. I spoke to Phyllis Albritton today and understand that the construction company that ripped Blacksburg off with this horrible building is no longer in business and the county cannot sue them. I also discovered from the reporting in the Roanoke Times and other sources, that the structural flaws below the floors and in the extremely dangerous strut work (reason for gym collapse) are most definitely going to lead to a report of condemnation and if not there is no way any sane, safety minded person would allow students back into that facility. Therefore I have contacted Senator Edwards, Del Nutter and Del Shumer to pursue state or federal emergency funds and would encourage the community to support Kelly's last point that without delay the MCPS begin bid and selection for construction of a new high school. And for you to NOT fritter away another 6 months coming to that absolutely necessary understanding.

I apologize to Kelly for lifting her work as supplied to me by a friend, but her ideas were so much better than mine and certainly yours, that I could not help but forward them on and will read them on Monday in your public session.

I will be hosting a BMS parent planning session at my house tomorrow night to further collect ideas. I would also add that I would very much be in favor of a special assessment tax for funding the high school and other creative funding ideas. I would be willing personally to donate money to a fund for construction of a proper high school and/or investment in the ideas below. My company would be as well. I would personally organize and lead fund raisers to do the same. I will contact government representatives and lobby for any funds available to make this happen. But I will do absolutely none of this to pay one dollar to poor ideas that put my children and others in danger, as I believe your ideas will.


-----------------------

1) Keeping 6th grades in their respective elementary schools and putting mobile units on the BMS site to house 7th and 8th grade students, with BHS occupying the BMS building with 9th through 12th grades. This would keep all Blacksburg students in the communities that they are comfortable with and depend on. This way high school students have the
technology and equipment necessary to keep from compromising their education and the middle school students (7th and 8th) are not displaced from the security of their community school. 6th grade students would remain in nurturing environments during the transition to more demanding curriculum. I would be very disappointed to see any Blacksburg students removed from the community they call home. This interferes with supports for students before and after school hours.

2) Make a campus at the BMS ??? Take the money you would spend to get the OLD CMS ready and put the money into building a campus that could service our students for the next 1-2 years while a new high school is built on the land we have ready for a new school.

3) Start building a new High School ASAP. Blacksburg needs a high school and to wait makes no sense to our children or our community.

I understand that all solutions will be complicated but I hope to see our community work through this without the added stress of an alternate location.

Thanks and take care,
Kelly Linkenhoker

An open letter to the Montgomery County (VA) School Board

The issue: http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/250511

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Like so many parents in Blacksburg, I have been following the debate of what to do with Blacksburg High School students in the upcoming year. I am the parent of an upcoming 7th grader and 4th grader, but do not have a child enrolled in BHS. First of all, I would like to express my displeasure with the progress of the safety report to date and the lack of planning that, in my view, should have been done in March and April of this year. I have little doubt in my mind that the safety report could have been done well before now and, more importantly, that the board and superintendent could have been planning with public involvement in the Spring regardless of the report completion.

That aside, I am appalled that you consider the movement and disruption of two groups of children a correct decision as opposed to disrupting a single group- the high school is affected in this situation, not the middle school, so the high school student body should be the only group disrupted. I worked on Pentagon relocation after 9/11 and know that the primary rule to follow in relocation due to disaster is to effect as few groups or individuals as possible. I see no reason you could put forward as a group as to why this rule should not be applied here. The principal of BHS is even on record stating that the lab facilities at BMS are not adequate for the high school students.

I agree with Joe Ivers' quote in today's Roanoke Times:

"Nowhere in here do I see anything but them being put in situations where they're going to be vulnerable," board member Joe Ivers said. "It just seems to beat the middle school students."

Middle school is an incredibly hard transition time and they are the wrong group to disrupt in this manner, much less bus them into either 1) a dilapidated old structure that is barely able to hold up to Upward basketball games or 2) a complete over crowding in the new Christiansburg MS.

I will also say that there is little likelihood that the report will come back to you with a suggestion that BHS can be used. I know few professionals that would sign off on that. The only real option you have is to move immediately to constructing the new high school in the new site as planned, just simply moved up in priority. As for the high schoolers for this year, I see little palatable option than moving them to trailers or splitting them up to various high schools in the county.

If the school board does move forward with the idea of busing middle schoolers, I will remove my daughter from the school system and I will explore my legal options for having the county compensate me for said move. As superintendent Blackburn was quoted "Time is our enemy at this point". To this I would add, time has been our enemy since day 1 following the collapse of the gym and you should have acted then for planning for the coming school year. For anyone to use time as a pressure point on parents at this moment for your own lack of action is unconscionable.

What is the White House doing about the Gulf Oil disaster?

Much, much more than the news is reporting:

This is what an administration is supposed to do for a national disaster.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/05/ongoing-administration-wide-response-deepwater-bp-oil-spill

Total response vessels: more than 1150
Containment boom deployed: more than 1.73 million feet
Containment boom available: more than 275,000 feet
Sorbent boom deployed: more than 730,000 feet
Sorbent boom available: more than 1.25 million feet
Total boom deployed: more than 2.46 million feet (regular plus sorbent boom)
Total boom available: more than 1.52 million feet (regular plus sorbent boom)
Oily water recovered: more than 10.24 million gallons
Surface dispersant used: approximately 685,000 gallons
Subsea dispersant used: approximately 100,000
Total dispersant used: approximately 785,000
Dispersant available: more than 340,000 gallons
Overall personnel responding: more than 22,000

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/25/869846/-What-the-Obama-Administration-is-Doing-About-The-Oil-%28More-Than-You-Think%29

This is for Aran

Here you go honey, I have lyric for your first song, if you like them. Dunton's Right Faeries.

This word is banjo
This word is guitar
This word is bass
This word is drum
God, if I could play
I would beat drum
Until the rhythm
Was so powerful
You would dance
On the end of a board
Six thousand feet
Above my breathing

This word is mandolin
This word is violin
This word is spoon
This word is thigh
God, if I could play
I would twirl and sing
Until you swayed
And stayed here
For the night
And held me dear

I don’t think I can be stronger, love
Than the snow on our roof
Than the weight of the wood
As strength in winter

This word is soprano
And my mother’s singing
This word is baton
And my father’s music
This word is steady
And your foot
And this word is
Never going to end
God, if I could play
I would pound
The stage until you
Jumped to me
And we swirled relentlessly
I don’t think I can be stronger, love
Than the snow on our roof
Than the weight of the wood
As strength in winter

This word is instrument
This word is nothing
This word is you
This word is never complete
God, if I could stay
And drink this one night
As I could drink you
I might be happy
I might move on

I don’t think I can be stronger, love
Than the snow on our roof
Than the weight of the wood
I’m gone this winter

Listening to Music

This word is banjo
This word is guitar
This word is bass
This word is drum
God, if I could play
I would beat you
Until the rhythm
Was so powerful
You would dance
On the end of a board
Six thousand feet
Above my breathing

Well, maybe not

Dear Doug, dear Doug, why do you make plans?

To break them, my dear, to break them I make plans.

Dear Doug, dear Doug, how do you mend your plans?

With the internet, my dear, the internet I mend my plans.

And so Edinburgh it shall be!

A slight change of itinerary and we'll scoot up to Scotland for two days in July. Aye, I plan to get the Prince Charlie, a couple of pints of fine whisky and poke around my favorite map store for half a day.

She Stares at Me

Though she’s looking away
I know she does
Because she told me.

Don’t let her fool you
She is a statue
More real than you

I’ve hidden in the back yard
To avoid her
Because she whispers to me

She follows me to the café
And sits there
With her macchiato untouched

I don’t know what I’ve done
She won’t say
Her sadness has followed me all day

I resolve not to go and see her again
To steady myself
To stay home, regard nothing

But I return to the museum
Tugging at my lip
And she stares at me, already disappointed

Recommended Hot Sauce

I've never been a big hot sauce guy, but Blair's line of "Death" sauces have made me a big enthusiast. And the fever is quickly spreading through my family. Blair's has a whole range of sauces. The kids and I both enjoy Pure Death Sauce. I love just the tinniest dab of Mega Death Sauce and look forward to trying many others.

Social media to help aid recovery

Old dog, new tricks. My client uses twitter to push contracts out the door:

A Righteous Open Letter

I wish I had written this:

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/a/m/americandad/2010/03/an-open-letter-to-conservative.php?ref=mp

And I refuse to say there is anything like this from the center left. There just is not.

Dear Conservative Americans,

The years have not been kind to you. I grew up in a profoundly
Republican home, so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the
one we see now. You've lost me and you've lost most of America.
Because I believe having responsible choices is important to democracy,
I'd like to give you some advice and an invitation.

First, the invitation: Come back to us.

Mitt Romney and Individual Mandates

An excellent snippit: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/bye_mitt.php?ref=fpblg

Of course, this is a reasonable man who will never be President, unless he runs as a Spector Democrat. He'd actually do quite well in that mold in 2016.

Mitt Romney, April 11th, 2006: "Some of my libertarian friends balk at what looks like an individual mandate. But remember, someone has to pay for the health care that must, by law, be provided: Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian."

Let us all remember that mandates were a very Conservative and Republican idea and a well thought out one. To my dear friends who think this is a way to challenge the bill in court need simply to look at their paychecks- FICA, Medicare. Federally mandated programs you have no choice participating in. If you are ideologically opposed to those, then, fine, you have an argument. If not, sorry, you have almost nothing to stand on.

Anyway, this is just a post about mandates, where they came from and why Mitt will never be President. He should still be entertaining to watch in the primaries.

There is a Flag by the Mailbox

Flapping out to the left
Nearly horizontal and maroon
And the trees bend like dancers
Bestowing a small blessing
On its thin head

It means nothing
It is the news of the day
It is pushed by March wind
It is simply cold, like us
And it will be gone
By the morning

My Child is Baking

Cookies for us all later
and I've lit the fire
and we listen to music
lightly
while gray March has returned
to hold us fast
inside
and we are happy
like Thanksgiving has come
again

Where would you explore?

I'm going to start my list here and expand it as I come up with ideas:

1) 2011 summer is get the kids out west, the slow way like I used to go. Southern MO, the Rockies, ranching
2) 2012 Turkey, the Black sea... hard to say from there- Israel? Armenia? Something in that area, but I don't want to travel around like mad and miss the small things.
3) 2013 Promised backpacking with Aran in Scotland. Will do something similar with Nelson when he is 14, but Aran and I may want to do this when she is 15 and flip the other trip.
4) 2014 China (no clue)
5) 2015 The Nile, Luxor
6) 2016 We can tour the moon then, right?

Ayn Rand did not write the Bible

Stephen Colbert,interviewing Mary Matalin:

Colbert: First question, why are you wearing a cross? You know Jesus preached social justice. Makes you look like a commie.

Matalin: Yes he did. He also preached teach em how to fish. Not give em a fish, right? You don't work you don't eat.

Colbert: He said "I will make you fishers of men." I don't think Jesus said "if you don't work you don't eat." I think that was Cool Hand Luke.

UPDATE: Colbert is a comedian. Please understand that. And if Jesus is a capitalist in any form, then I am the man in the freaking moon. And you are too. And you know it. Dude gave people bread, wine, fish, said give away half of all you own, turn the other cheek, everyone is blessed with grace and it is up to no man to take that away from you.

He was not out there preaching for all of us to work hard for money, but to work hard for forgiveness, to share, to love, etc.

Back from Chicago

I need to write about Amtrak- since we’ve spent almost 32 hours on board. But I’m so tired I’m afraid my thoughts might be very negative. The sleeping car arrangements were ok- tiny, but comfy. About what I expected. But talking to other passengers at breakfast, it turns out the Cardinal is one of the few trains that they put the sleeping car on the back of the train. What results is much more bumping and sways through the night. Like being on the back end of a very long roller coaster with no straps, I woke about 2 am white knuckling my bed like an inner city American finding himself suddenly on a Siberian Tiger.

So, I’ll write more later. We had fun. We did something very different. We’re both very, very tired.

A trip through the near west

The train from Prince, WV was only about 40 minutes late: much better than I’ve encountered in the past. A different experience riding in our own cabin- steward met us to get on board, set us up and escorted us to the dining car. I won’t say much about “dinner” save to comment that it is Amtrak food. Just bring your own.

Our room is a tiny thing about 4 feet deep. Just barely enough for us to sit in. But it is delightful. It’s quiet and we have our own space and window. At night, Aran had her own bunk up top and me below. While some say the rocking of the train (me, and I heard about it) will send you off to wonderful sleep, it really isn’t restful. I’m giving up sleep for the weekend I see. The rocking is fine, but the starts, stops, bumps, slow downs, speed ups, they don’t do anything for sleep.

Aran seems to truly be having a blast. It’s all very different and new to her (me too). Her delight in all of the little things is the best part of this trip.

Chicago today.

We're off to Chicago, finally!

Our long delayed train trip begins this afternoon. 6:30 we catch the Cardinal in Prince West Virginia and ride through the New River Gorge. Then it's over night through Cincy, Indianapolis with little green apples and on to Chicago. We get there at 10am and depart to come back at 5:25pm. Just enough time to catch the bus out for White Castles and a trip up the Sears Tower.

Aran and I are this ( ) excited.

Health Care Debate

Thought I'd copy over a little face book back and forth on health care. I think I make a pretty good point about public option and have no idea why it is so controversial. I'm no expert, which is obvious, but I don't think this is so complex that ordinary people can't understand it. What is ridiculous in this country is that 50% of all bankruptcies are because of illness. That isn't just immoral, it hurts our productivity and our country.

Douglas Garnett-Deakin In a recession, double digit health care premiums in 11 states (not just California) from a company that has had 27 multimillion dollar junkets in one year. Solution? Competition, pure and simple. Let all companies sell in all states. AND start a Public Option. Two huge ideas from each side, both will drive down prices like the price of my house last year.
11 hours ago · Comment ·LikeUnlike
Elizabeth Halstead Oxendine likes this.

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Ideas from both sides! Are you a commie?
11 hours ago ·

Acie Slade
I'm definitely onboard with competition. Which doesn't mean that you aren't a commie
11 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Public option is great competition. So's removing anti-trust protection. So's me opening "Doug's house o'health care". We shall fix you with beer and crab cakes.- Stalin out
11 hours ago ·

Chris Massey
Public option os not a competition. No one would be able to compete with either the cost of capital (though with these deficits that might be changing!) or the ability to change the rules of the game through new or different laws. Public option = nonstarter for real progress. Your other ideas are spot on though.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Hmm.. 3 examples off the top of my head- 1) pre-k through post doctorate educational system, 2) public transportation, 3) roads, d) libraries (I have problems counting from our public education system). All three have private and public options in vastly varying degrees. Private schools do great and have a great niche even though k-12 is pretty ... See Moremuch 100% public funding. I love my library, but buy books, CDs, movies, etc. I love a good toll road if it gets me there faster. The bus sucks, but does the job sometimes.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
As for health care public option, as a private business owner and long time consumer of Anthem, there is about a .001% chance I would change my company to a public option even if the cost was 25% lower. I am absolutely serious about that. Can you imagine what my professional employees would think? But I do think it would curb those massive rate hikes I see each year completely out of tune with the economy.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Oh, jeeze- US postal service vs. Fed Ex or UPS etc. I use them both all the time. They each have their place and work reasonably well.
2 hours ago ·

UPDATE: Some feedback from mom.


Carol Rogers
education, most roads, libraries are local or state rather than federal and eliminating Dept of ed would save a lot. Postal Service is private now except when they continue to lose $. competition over state lines by private cos. is great idea. down right conservative
3 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
hmm.. highway system is 90% Federal if I'm not wrong. To argue state is better than federal for no other reason than that it is local is to ignore that our population is much more mobile than it was 30-40 years ago. But this is about health care, and to say a public option would not work is to ignore many, many public/private options that are out ... See Morethere- bet they county funded, state funded or federally funded. They work. The postal service is funded by the fees we pay to the publicly owned postal service- how is that different than paying to buy publicly owned insurance service? Student loans have that option- Sallie Mae, Dept. of Educ, or private. Both work great.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
And our last "Conservative" President came out with No Child- Federally mandated state level unfunded program.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
I do agree with limiting tort lawsuits, but I think people who favor it may not have thought it through. But as part of fixing the entire system, I'd be for it.
20 minutes ago ·

John Balthis
preach on brother!
14 minutes ago ·