(This is something that I must vent...
CAUTION: It is NOT about fitness, healthy eating, or the gym. It may include foal language but I must get this off my chest. If I allow myself to calm down, it wouldn't be a good read...
Believe me, I am starving and would love to eat but I must write this...)
Today is May 25, 2012
Dear Gloucester County,
This is strictly about the nonsense of Gloucester County.
Today as I was leaving the gym and driving home, I realized that median intersection had two new stop signs at each end... This wouldn't necessarily bug me but as I kept driving I realized it was like that at a couple more intersections. It bugs me because the timing is horrible. My niece will be getting out of school in three days, to bug me more! Yes, she gets out in May, not June... I mean, I don't know how the money for this county is split up but currently they accomplished cutting about a whole month off the school calendar while successfully closing an entire school. Don't get me wrong, I know a couple of new stop signs are not going to save the school system, but I'm going to just point out a few things that I have been questioning in the back of my mind. It's really going to be a combination of events that money was poorly spent on that feeds the lack of "edd-jew-kay-chun".
These stop signs are not required and I fear that they are just a waste of taxpayers money and also a fine example of sign overkill. I'm shocked that there is not a sign in my backyard telling me where to park my car and to tell me my hallway is, "One Way". I know all drivers of a motorized vehicle are required to take a Drivers Test. You run out and fail to stop at a two, three, or four way intersection than you deserve to run into oncoming traffic. If you need help driving or forgot overnight how to drive, go to www.dmv.state.va.us/ and download the Driving Manual.
I'm not to good at math but a stop sign cost between $75 and $110. On my way home, I saw six new signs. I'm going to say that each new sign cost about $93. That comes to $558 without including the labor, the poles, and the obvious "One Way" signs. Sounds like a waste of money to me, just to inform me of something I already know. Gloucester County is infamous for its bad drivers, so what makes the increase of signs an answer? If you want to improve driving on the roads, make a "Gloucester County Terminology for Traffic Signs" brochure at the DMV.
It really bothers me when my niece's education is placed on a back burner for some fancy, new toys. Speaking of toys, you may have noticed while driving, seeing an occasional Crown Victorian or Impala police car. But this year, WATCH OUT, Gloucester County has pulled out all the stops with their brand new 2012 Dodge Chargers...WHERE THE HELL DID WE GET THE MONEY FOR THESE??!!
- Savings Account?
- Charity Donations?
- Taxpayers?
- Did they fall from the Gods?
Wherever the money came from is any ones guess, but come on!!
Really??!!
It bugs me because the timing is horrible...
That is an amazing jump from a 2006 Impala. What kind of cars do the Police Department think we own to outrun a 2012 Dodge Charger? Especially, if they keep buying the latest model each year. No one else in the surrounding cities and counties have these vehicles. I have only seen one of these new Chargers as a state police car. What makes Gloucester County the main candidate for this upgrade when our current budget was so out of wack? Knowing that we had a devastating tornado that wiped out one of the only two middle schools? The state didn't want to help the tornado victims but gave the Police Department brand new cars? Sounds a little fishy...
Now the estimated price of a Dodge Charger is between $26,500-$31,500. I'm going to say that Gloucester County has as least six or more of these bad boys. Including a gray one and a blue one that I would serious steal if he kept the keys in the ignition. Which brings us to a grand total of (using the cheapest prices to avoid sticker shock) $159,000.
My niece could have been learning Spanish right now...and she is only in the first grade. Once again, I don't know anything about the budget of Gloucester County. All I am doing is ranting about the wasted money that could have been going to these kids.
Next, on my list of questions are the Courthouse renovations. When I came through the Courthouse the other day, it made me wonder about the order of the remodel. I feel as though safety should come before pretty.
Why was the Gloucester Courthouse circle in need of a remodel? Only God knows that circle has been the same forever. Actually, wasn't the road around it repaved a couple years ago? Sounds like..WOOSH!!...a waste of money... The only real thing the Courthouse needs is some line painting and reflectors. People are quick to run you over in a pedestrian crosswalk. What should have happened first was the repairs to the Colosseum. Yeah, that Colosseum that is located right next to the library. I know for a fact, those bridges probably failed every inspection after 2005. Did anyone happen to notice the amount of rust underneath that road when they tore it up? That's what we have been driving over (and still are technically) for...well...ever. They were waiting for someone to fall through it first before bringing some light to the issue. I do applaud Gloucester though, for finally doing something about it. Don't clap too hard until they finish it. It should have been done before remodeling a traffic circle for the Daffodil Festival. I don't fear my life in a traffic circle unless it is at Wal-Mart. Come to think about it, those bridges should have been worked on before the first hole was dug near the Coleman Bridge.
While I'm on a roll, where is the money from the toll plaza going? (If you say to pay for the bridges in West Point, I'm going up there right now to fish off of them...)
As I continued on my third day of writing this novel, (lol) I came across multiple people who had extra concerns about the location of other tax money. I was trying to keep this short and simple but unfortunately Gloucester County (in my opinion) has failed to answer my questions. I feel as if I have been left in the dark about all meetings involving county money spending. Do these meetings even exist and are they open to the public?
This next little section are questions from people who attended the meeting to try and save T.C. Walker and Page. I was told that the School Board already had their mind made up before the first speaker... Sad times indeed... I can't really related since I didn't go there, but closing a school that produced highly intelligent children with great GPA makes no sense to me at all. Here are their questions and concerns:
- Does the insurance money from Page Middle School still exist?
- Was Page ever insured for weather damages?
- Are they currently saving for a new school?
- Where will all the children from T.C. Walker go?
- What was the main reason for closing this school?
- Where will the teachers go?
- Here is my amazing question... If we had to close T.C. Walker, why was it not considered to be a replacement Page. They are only three miles away from each other.
- How much more money do we have to be taxed to give these kids the education they deserve?
Can someone please tell me what a Professional Day is? I have no children in the school system and it didn't exist when I was going. Is it so children can professional sit at home and do nothing? My niece thinks she is home free on these days but instead is usually learning something new. We are going to start going over all the things she didn't learn or was quickly taught. I don't want to see her fall behind because of the lack of money going to these schools.
On a positive note, next year the children will be going to school until June 6. Well, we only had to close an entire school and supply our kids with everything AND the kitchen sink each year.
If you would like to see the difference in the school calendar, you can click on the following links.
Good old Gloucester County...
Full of horrible timings and budget crisis dilemmas.
Hopefully, next year will be a little bit more promising.
I guess as long as unplanned events do not occur, we will be fine?
Think about it, If you all had left my niece in school until June, I would have never pulled out the paper nor the pen to write this...
From,
The Concerned Citizens of Gloucester County
