Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 8:07 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
The Edgecombe County Steering Committee for the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative has asked us to report that they have prioritized the following project proposals to take forward for consideration by the Golden LEAF Foundation:
Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties - "Junior Staff Development Program - Workforce Training"
Rocky Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corporation - "Crossing at 64 Mixed Use Development"
OIC Family Medical Center - "OIC Family Medical Center"
Edgecombe County Public Schools - "1:1 Laptop Project for High Schools"
Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. - "The HOPE Program"
Rocky Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corporation - "Edgecombe County Business/Industrial Incubator Expansion"
Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools - "21st Century Technology for Globally Competitive Students"
Heritage Hospital - "Breast Cancer Patient Navigation Program"
Rocky Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corporation - "Heritage/Cultural Tourism Venue Development at Crossing at 64 Town Center: Edgecombe County African-American Heritage Trail"
Edgecombe County - "Wireless Connectivity in Edgecombe County"
These organizations must now complete full application packages for their projects which will be subject to full due diligence by the Golden LEAF Foundation staff and Board of Directors. The Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors will review and consider the applications and will make final funding determinations.
Edgecombe County Steering Committee members are: Evelyn Bulluck, Co-Chair; Vines Cobb, Co-Chair; Reuben Blackwell; Calvin Anderson, Lorenzo Carmon; Sue Perry Cole; Joyce Dickens; Wayne Hines; Steve Hoard; Linda Ingram; Andre Knight; Rudolph Knight; Deborah Lamm; Naeema Muhammad; Barbara Murphy; Sam Noble; Thomas Porter; Carol Quigless; Venesia Rushing; Doris Stith; Paige Temple; Craig Witherspoon.
The Edgecombe County Steering Committee and the Golden LEAF Foundation want to thank all who participated in the community forums and all project applicants.
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Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
I guess if Mr. Dancy can "shotgun" everybody - I can too!!!
Rebuttal:
The Wednesday newspaper listed the prioritized ten top projects for the Gold Leaf
grant. I am very disappointed at the choices selected.
The top priority was given for allocating $80,000 to pay for baby-sitting service
for only 20 children at the Boys and Girls Club. I thought the grant was to benefit the
maximum number of people, not just 20 children. As I understood, part of that money
was to be given to the children as “incentives” (bribes) to behave and study.
Second priority was to provide $405,000 for infrastructure at the “Crossing at 64”
project. As I understand, most of that construction is for commercial facilities. As I see
it, the enhanced infrastructure stands to enhance the development so the developer can
reap a greater profit.
Third priority was for OIC Family Medical Center to provide medical care for
indigenous people. I think that has considerable merit. However, I am concerned that if
we provide too many benefits for people who do not contribute to the economy of our
county, we will attract more people to migrate here who will be a social burden to our
community. Already, our county consistently has one of the greatest property tax rates in
North Carolina - exceeded only by Scotland County. When I complain of this, I am told
that the county social services burden is a major reason for our high taxes.
The most outrageous expenditure approved was for laptop computers for all our
high school students. Our school officials argue that we will greatly improve the
education of our students. First, they already tried that in Greene County. The SAT
scores released a few weeks ago show that there was not significant improvement in SAT
scores during the years that Greene County did this. The average score increased from
1354 to 1378; by comparison, adjacent Wayne County went from 1420 to 1438 without
laptops. In the beginning, school officials tried to pull a “snow job” by telling us that
since the laptops were put in Greene County Schools, the percentage of high school
graduates going to college increased from 26 percent to 94 per cent in just three years.
What they did not tell us was that John Edwards, as an experiment, set up scholarships
such that every high-school graduate in that county could go to college for free.
Apparently, Mr. Edwards was disappointed in the number of students who tried to make
a four-year loaf out of his bread. For what-ever-reason, this is the last year of his free
money. The laptops did not significantly improve SAT scores and the increased college
admissions were not the consequence of laptops.
In fact, I have offered to contribute $20,000 (about one-half of my annual income)
to a scholarship fund so that an Edgecombe County graduate can attend college to
become a high school math or science teacher. (THAT IS WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE
SPENT ALL OUR GOLD LEAF MONEY ON - GRANTS TO TRAIN BEST
POSSIBLE TEACHERS.) But only if, with laptop use, Edgecombe County high school
average SAT scores, now among the lowest in our state, improve by year 2011 to be
equal to the average of North Carolina high school SAT scores. (And it would be nice
if some othe people would add money to that.) The ratio Edgecombe to
NC tested must be at least as high (can’t test just the brightest). For 2008, Edgecombe
County students’ average score was only 1315 as compared to North Carolina average of
1489. (Edgecombe Early College - supposedly our brightest - only averaged 1202. They
were in the lowest 12.5 per cent of all the 136 NC schools tested.)
However, I submit this as a challenge. If the average SAT score of all students
tested in Edgecombe County in year 2011 does not come up to N.C. average, then my
pledge is revoked and our present County School Superintendent and School Board must
each agree to contribute just $10,000 to such a scholarship fund.
I can hardly afford to part with $20,000 but I am willing to make the pledge.
However, I don’t think those who are for buying computer game-toys have the intestinal
fortitude to take me up on the challenge - they haven’t as yet!!
Another boondoggle of Bright Leaf money is the $230,000 OIC “HOPE” project.
They propose to spend that much money on just a hundred or so students in the Rocky
Mount School system who get suspended from school in a year. We are already spending
a wad of money for children who do not appreciate the opportunity for an education.
There are much better solutions but laws would have to be changed. Why not allow a court
order to make the parent attend the class with any student who misbehaves, sit next to the
student to observe his/her child’s conduct in class. Just observe - not speak a word. I will
wager that the parent would not be put to this but once - the student would be so
humiliated that he/she would behave for the remainder of their school years. And, I think
the parent would do some serious counseling of his/her child. Further, we should change
our law to require every student to attend school until graduation or age 21, no matter
how many grades he or she has to repeat. If a student does not graduate high school,
minimum wage laws should not apply until he or she completes an approved
apprenticeship program. More classrooms?! Just do away with the “more-at-four”
baby-sitting class-rooms and put them to better use.
They also propose to spend $33,997 for Edgecombe County Incubator expansion.
As I understood, this was to enhance a facility created by a developer. I am concerned as
to how much this increases the value of the developer’s investment. Further, I understood
this was to increase the size of a large conference room. Nash Community College
already has a much larger and more versatile facility. Edgecombe Community College
has a facility similar to what they propose. A couple of commercial facilities have large
conference facilities which can be leased cheaper than building more. Wesleyan College,
just down the road, has facilities that can be used. The developer has already squandered
too much of our public money.
Another wasteful expenditure of $100,000 is a “breast cancer patient navigation
system.” As I understand, this is not money for medical treatment of cancer; this is only
for morale counseling. My question is: why do these cancer patients get this special
mental health care? Why is their need more urgent than similar mental health care for
people devastated with cancer of liver, pancreas , lung , colon , etc. They say they have
45 or 50 patients each year in Edgecombe County with breast cancer. Why do they each
need $2000 mental health care more so than do other people with horrible medical
problems?
They also approved $550,000 for creating a county-wide wireless internet
connectivity system. First, I spent most of my 20 years of military in Ground-Electronics
and Ground-Communications. I hold an FCC First-Class phone license with a RADAR
endorsement and an Amateur Radio Extra-Class license. The FCC authorizes me to
install, operate, maintain, or repair the most powerful radio, television and RADAR
equipment manufactured. I already looked into wireless internet while I was trying to get
broadband up-grade. I found that it works in cities where several WiFi-Max transceiver
sites can be set up,. each covering a small area with a large population. First, this
wireless internet connectivity operates in the microwave frequencies - similar to
microwave ovens. The maximum power on WiFi systems is about one watt - can’t have
much power for safety reasons. At such low power, the coverage range is only a mile or
two. And, at those frequencies, radio waves bounce off everything, like RADAR waves
do. Raindrops, tree leaves, buildings, passing vehicles, etc. interfere with transmission
paths.
I looked at internet connection via satellite. I know people who use this and are
pleased with it; however, this also requires a clear transmission path. Trees around my
home would block satellite down-link. I checked on getting connection through our
cable-TV provider. They refuse to upgrade their system for two-way internet connection
- they say it is “too expensive, not enough users to justify the expenditure.” I kept calling
the head of Sprint/Embarq in our service area and they finally ran broadband down my
road. I have been told that sparsely populated counties in Eastern North Carolina have
had phone-company internet service installed over their whole county with some source
of government grant money.
The enthusiasts for county-wide broadband need to go back to the planning room.
Find a lever or big stick to get the telephone company to upgrade the telephone cables all
over our county for broadband. Perhaps some of the Gold Leaf money can be used to start this.
I sat as an observer at a recent Gold Leaf committee meeting. Most of the plans
that I heard will benefit too small a number of our people and several sounded like
individuals stood to pocket unreasonable profits. The average productive citizen in this
county will not realize any benefit from any of this money and our county will not realize
any material gain.
Oliver Curtis Powell -
(252) 977-6775
See related:
In response to "Local committee members disappointed" Daily Southerner TJ Royal Reporter
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Friday, October 31, 2008 at 12:41 AM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
Greetings:
I attended the meetings up until the committee was chosen and I have been waiting patiently and tentatively to see the outcome. I was hoping that it was not going to come to this since all the committe members are adults. However, I felt it was going to come to this but I was hoping that everyone would respect the rules that were set and that everyone would have respected the outcome.
I found the article "Local committee members disappointed" to be somewhat interesting concerning the outcome of the ranking of the proposals when everyone knew that all the proposals would not make it. I can understand the following committee members frustration but I have a problem with the members singling out a proposal although the process was agreed upon by this committee.
Ms. Doris Stith Director of Community Enrichment Organization I find your comments, "But I have to recognize that it was the process that we agreed upon, and the outcome rendered, so we have to honor it," she said, to be somewhat funny as hell after you have voiced your concern about you were surprised at how the rankings came out, with the Boys & Girls Clubs' workforce development training program landing on top. It appears that CEO is playerhating since the Boys & Girls Club both operate within the Edgecombe County School Public System facility and is somewhat in competition within each other in Edgecombe County in my opinion. I could elaborate more however this enough.
Sam Nobles Tarboro Town Manager I find your comments, "But we voted on a process that we followed" and reached the current top 10 list, he added to be funny as hell after you have voiced your concern about you "would've preferred to see more projects from Edgecombe County as a whole, not just (the) Rocky Mount side. But the real kicker for me is your quote as follows, He added that in the future, he would entrust the decision-making of the Community Assistance Initiative with the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners. Oh hell no!!
Nobles your comment reminds me of Diane Lefiles Communications Director for Edgecombe County Public Schools comment during one of the meetings that I attended when she suggested that the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners to be the committee to decide for the county before this committee was chosen and we said oh no. I guess one would question why I am still against that when the Commissioners will be a 4 - 3 black majority after November 4. I am against it because I feel there should be a committee that consist of people from all over the county. I wonder did Lefiles and Nobles forget this.
I am trying to figure out where Calvin Anderson outgoing Edgecombe County Commissioner who was defeated by Evelyn Powell, is coming from with his comments, he felt the Boys & Girls Clubs program was a good one, but that he would not have ranked it as the top project for the county.
Mr. Anderson you said the goal of the initiative was to "stretch this money to affect the most citizens in Edgecombe." But with the Boys & Girls Clubs' project coming out on top, he said he would "not try to justify to my citizens that that's the No. 1 goal for development in the county." Well Anderson all you need to do is to tell your citizens that the commitee voted on a process and this was the outcome.
TJ Royal you say, "While Anderson did not promote a single project, he said he was sorry the $250,000 proposal for tourism development in the county did not make the top 10." Well since you didn't mention another project I feel the proposal for tourism development is a single project but I only have a high school diploma so maybe I don't get it.
Tarboro Town Councilman Dr. Steve Hoard said he would have agreed to the top 10 list earlier if he knew the 1:1 Laptop Initiative and his countywide wireless Internet connectivity made it. I found this to be quite interesting because I know these are dear to him. Hoard was instrumental in bringing the Greene County Superintendent to Edgecombe County to present the Laptop Initiative and how it has worked in their school system. These are dear to me as well however I recognize and understand that all the committee members have projects that are dear to them and I respect the committee report.
I found Hoard's comments funny as hell when he said that with the waterfront enhancement project directly affecting Tarboro, that he hoped it would be considered in the future. This goes to show that this project is dear to him however he didn't mention any of the other projects that are in the top ten.
I can agree with County Manager Lorenzo Carmon as he referred to the initial list of 54 proposals as a "strategic plan" the county can follow, for priority areas that could use funding in the future. I feel strongly that they should be revisited in the future.
Carmon said that his top issue for the county was health and wellness, that he was not focused on particular projects in the Community Assistance Initiative. This was a good comment and didn't single out any proposal that made the top ten.
As for the rankings, Carmon said he was "past" being surprised by the outcomes from the initiative. He said he did not expect that tourism would have been the top priority of the county, based on the number of votes that were taken during the ranking process back in July.
It appears that Carmon may have had a problem with the rankings at one time but he was "past" that now. That is a good thing because obviously it came to him that a process had been voted on and he decided to honor it like Stith and Nobles.
Carol Quigless, owner of Quigless Natural Health Center of Tarboro, shared Stith's surprise at the Boys & Girls Club project being ranked first. She was also surprised that the county marketing proposal and the ECC preservation program coordinator did not make it to the top 10.
I find it interesting that Quigless would single out the Boys & Girls Club project as well because she should have recognized that there was a process in place and the committee members voted.
"I just wished it had been more Tarboro-based initiatives in the ten. Although I think all the projects are good, I think Tarboro needed some based here," Quigless said.
Quigless I bet that the committee members from other towns/cities wanted projects based in their towns/cities as well but everyone ought to recognize that it do not work that way.
Everyone knew that all the projects would not get chosen so therefore I feel that the committee members should conduct themselves professionally and not single out projects but the process if the process is an issue. I find it interesting that the Boys & Girls Club was singled out. I know that it is a small number of children but I do not understand why they do not understand that the numbers could go up yearly.
As I stated early the laptop initiatives and the wireless internet is dear to me because everyone in the county could have access to the internet. I feel that the wireless internet could be a benefit to every project present and future.
In my closing, I want to thank all of the committee members for taking time out of their busy schedule to do this work. I also want to request that the committee members present and future will respect the projects and the people during future presentations.
Thank you TJ Royal for reporting on the Golden Leaf Foundation meetings reporting what really is being said and done.
See related:
"Local committee members disappointed" by TJ Royal
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Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
I agree with Councilman Hoard about working together. But time will depend on how this working together unfold because when a project(s) is chosen and certain people don't get what they want, will they want to continue to meet? We will see.
To this point, Tarboro Councilman Steve Hoard said, the initiative has served its purpose, as demonstrated by the assembly of the steering committee last month. As far as Hoard can recall, Edgecombe County has never seen a committee that represents the entire county.
“The biggest asset that is going to come out of this, I think, is for the far reaches of Edgecombe County, Rocky Mount, Tarboro — for us to be working together,” said Hoard, who is on the committee. “I want to keep that going.” (Rocky Mount Telegram)
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Golden Leaf/Edgecombe County Community Initiative
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Monday, September 15, 2008 at 11:02 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
I totally agree with the following:
Whichever projects are chosen, he said he wants the $2 million to "make a dramatic impact for the most people." He said he would keep an open mind about the projects the committee will consider sending to Golden LEAF for their approval.
One thing Anderson said he didn't want the steering committee to do is "focus on 15 smaller projects" for the $2 million. If that was done, he said it would "dilute what you can do for the county.
"If you split the pot too much, you lose the effectiveness of the large sum of money," he added. (Daily Southerner)
See related link:
Golden Leaf/Edgecombe County Community Initiative
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Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:07 AM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
I find the list of folks chosen to serve on the committee to be quite interesting. Can't figure out why Pinetops have not named a person especially when they met last week, however I sure hope they call a meeting and appoint someone so they can attend the meeting on next week.
Only Pinetops is left to select a representative for the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative steering committee.
Pinetops Mayor Vines Cobb said the steering committee selection did not appear on the Town Board's agenda at their last meeting on Sept. 2. "No names came up during the last meeting" for the steering committee, Cobb said. He added that he has not been in contact with Golden LEAF about the town's selection. (Daily Southerner)
See related link:
Golden Leaf/Edgecombe County Community Initiative
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 11:19 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
The fight between white and black folks of Edgecombe County is not new to me. I have been at the table, in the room and etc. with many of these same folks since the early 90s.
Times have changed and people have changed. There are some new faces at the table and in the room and some of them are not afraid to speak out. The old guards are not used to the changes.
Edgecombe County officials have cleared the first obstacle to fairness in their pursuit of a $2 million Golden LEAF Foundation community assistance grant — equal representation. (Rocky Mount Telegram)
See related link:
Golden Leaf/Edgecombe County Community Initiative
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 11:26 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
With most of the 22-person steering committee in place and the next community forum planned for midway between Tarboro and Rocky Mount, it seems Edgecombe County officials are working together to invest a $2 million grant, just as Golden LEAF Foundation officials predicted. (Rocky Mount Telegram)
I was wondering where would the next meeting be held. It appears that GL did what they thought would be good for all and not a select few. I hope that will be the stand that GL honors throughout the duration of the initiative.
See related link:
Golden Leaf/Edgecombe County Community Initiative
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Monday, September 8, 2008 at 9:19 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
Greetings Everyone:
Thank you all for your work and participation in the Edgecombe County/Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative process.
The next Community Forum will be on September 17, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at the East Carolina Agriculture and Education Center located at 1175 Kingsboro Road. Directions are as follows:
The East Carolina Agriculture and Education Center is located just off US 64 approximately 6 miles east of Rocky Mount and approximately 6 miles west of Tarboro. Take exit 478 onto Kingsboro Road. (Traveling from Rocky Mount, turn right onto Kingsboro Road and from Tarboro, turn left onto Kingsboro Road.) The Center is 0.6 mile on the left.
The tentative agenda for the September 17th meeting will include: introduction of the Steering Committee, brief overview of proposal summaries received through September 15th, and review and discussion of criteria that the Steering Committee should utilize in reviewing and prioritizing project ideas.
Attached are working DRAFT notes from the last community forum on August 13, 2008, a proposal summary form and notes from the July 29, 2008 community forum.
Please remember:
If you have a project that addresses a key issue area and objective and you want it to be considered by the steering committee, please fill out the attached project summary form and submit it by September 15, 2008 to Golden LEAF. Even if your project idea was discussed at the last community forum on August 13, 2008, please complete the project summary form attached. Also, please feel free to distribute this notification to nonprofit or governmental organizations who may want to submit a project summary for consideration. Proposal summaries can be e-mailed, faxed or mailed to the attention of Pat Cabe or Courtney Mills at the following:
fax: 252-442-7404
mail: Attention: Pat Cabe/Community Assistance Initiative
Golden LEAF Foundation
301 North Winstead Avenue
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Pat or Courtney at 442-7474 or toll-free at 888-684-8404. And thanks again for all your work.
Patricia Cabe
Golden LEAF Foundation
888-684-8404
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
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Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Posted in Golden Leaf Foundation
by DCN
As soon as N.C. Sen. A.B. Swindell, D-Nash, learned that Gerlach had an interest in the position, he said he began telling him about the specific needs of Nash and Edgecombe counties. (Rocky Mount Telegram)
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Rocky Mount NC - New gig for top Easley adviser, Golden Leaf Foundation
Golden Leaf/Edgecombe County Community Initiative
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