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.
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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
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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
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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
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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