BigBlueAlum 12 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 http://www.bdtonline.com/local/local_story_043222451.html Published: February 12, 2008 10:24 pm By CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph POCAHONTAS, Va. — Town officials in Pocahontas promised a fight Tuesday morning after learning of a surprise 4-1 vote by the Tazewell County School Board to set a March 3 school closure hearing for Pocahontas High School. “Every time I turn around someone wants to close Pocahontas,†Mayor Anita Brown said. “I’m here to tell you that as long as I’m mayor of Pocahontas, no one is going to close us down.†The school board made the surprise vote during its Monday night meeting in Tazewell. There was no mention of a school closure hearing for Pocahontas High School on the board’s printed agenda. “I was surprised,†David Woodard, the Northern District board member who cast the lone vote against the closure hearing, said. “It wasn’t on the agenda. It was slipped in. I told them it should have been on the agenda. It was hidden from the public, and I disagreed with that. I told them it was uncalled for.†School Superintendent Dr. Brenda Lawson was not available for comment Tuesday on the school closure hearing. However, Christine Kinser, assistant superintendent for instruction, confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the school board did vote 4-1 to set a school closure hearing for Pocahontas High School for Monday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. Kinser said the public hearing will be a part of the regular March school board meeting and will be held at the student center at the Tazewell County Career and Technical Center. Woodard said the motion made by board member Cookie Johnson calls for a relocation of the high school students in Pocahontas to either Graham or Tazewell. Woodard said the motion called for the closure of Pocahontas High School by the end of the current school year. Woodard said he will fight the proposed closure, and will challenge it again tonight during an adjourned school board meeting that starts at 7 p.m. at the career and technical center. “It’s a continuation of our meeting from Monday night,†Woodard said. “The public can’t speak, but I still hope we have a good showing there.†Woodard said the decision by the school board to ban students from West Virginia hurt Pocahontas High School, which had previously received students from neighboring McDowell County. Woodard said the school board also has gone back on its previous promise to give the Pocahontas community until 2009 to see if enrollment at the high school improves as a result of the new Pocahontas State Correctional Center. “Why aren’t we going until 2009?†Woodard asked. “All previous discussions and votes gave us until 2009. Last night, Mrs. Johnson mentioned we only received one student from the prison being down there. But the prison is not even at half capacity yet. It’s only been open for six months. They are scared the prison is actually going to do something, and enrollment is going to increase, and then they will be stuck with Pocahontas High School.†If the high school is closed, the Pocahontas community will suffer, Brown said. “It is going to devastate this town without a doubt,†the mayor said. “Not only is it going to move our kids, and get them to go somewhere else. But when they start taking money like that away from us, they are not only killing the school, but also the town.†Brown said town officials had just learned of the vote Tuesday morning, and were making plans to officially respond to the action of the school board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 I was just getting ready to post this...great minds think alike!!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBlueAlum 12 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 [ QUOTE ] I was just getting ready to post this...great minds think alike!!! LOL [/ QUOTE ] One just thinks a little faster than the other lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 For Pete's sake...I hope the School Board doesn't give in to the wackos this time....close it down.... Maybe the Mayor and Town manager need to get together and come up with some ways to bring business into town, instead of relying on school kids to spend their money in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Anyway, Mr. Woodard is incorrect in saying the facility is only half full. I have a good friend who works there and he says it will be over 80% full with the receipt of several hundred inmates that will be transferring in there this week and next. There has been no increase in "undetained" population in Pocahontas since the prison opened. There is no need to wait until 2009 to see if the school's enrollment will increase because it won't. The sooner the school is closed, the sooner Tazewell Co. can begin fixing/replacing existing structures that have more students than Pocahontas. As for devastating the town, have you been to Pocy lately??? Its already devastated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBlueAlum 12 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 [ QUOTE ] For Pete's sake...I hope the School Board doesn't give in to the wackos this time....close it down.... Maybe the Mayor and Town manager need to get together and come up with some ways to bring business into town, instead of relying on school kids to spend their money in town. [/ QUOTE ] There is no where to spend money in town right now. The school kids cant be spending their money there. There is honestly nothing in town besides one gas station. Watch this video if you havent been to town lately... ... it really is much worse if you see it in person. It is very sad. There is no chance of bringing new business into town...no one in there right mind would venture to open a business in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VHSLhelper 571 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 all they need to do is call around and see how much Red Onion helped Clintwood & Keen Mtn. helped Twin Valley - shouldn't take long fo 2 ppl. to say "zilch". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_Crue 49 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Just because someone works in a town does not mean they will reside in that town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Correct... The few $$ being spent in town ain't gonna matter much in the grand scheme of things in Pocahontas...How about just "unincorporating" Pocahontas...sending the kids to other schools and doing away with the mayor and the likes as well. Heck...Mudfork and Falls Mills don't have a mayor why whould Pocahontas? Haven't heard of a mayor of Tip-Top or Paint Lick either... Using the mayor of Pocahontas's logic, then every little community should have their own high school. Hey, I've got it...how about the Bishop High School Bishops?....and the Tip Top High School Tigers...that'd be cool. Tazewell County could have dozens of high schools that way and everybody would be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPF 412 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 [ QUOTE ] Correct... The few $$ being spent in town ain't gonna matter much in the grand scheme of things in Pocahontas...How about just "unincorporating" Pocahontas...sending the kids to other schools and doing away with the mayor and the likes as well. Heck...Mudfork and Falls Mills don't have a mayor why whould Pocahontas? Haven't heard of a mayor of Tip-Top or Paint Lick either... Using the mayor of Pocahontas's logic, then every little community should have their own high school. Hey, I've got it...how about the Bishop High School Bishops?....and the Tip Top High School Tigers...that'd be cool. Tazewell County could have dozens of high schools that way and everybody would be happy. [/ QUOTE ] Then we would be wise county.....Close it down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmaker 10 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 if i'm not mistaken bishop has already felt the pain of consolidation. now that its settled even the opposers probably will admit it was the right decision. its old history but at that time it cost the county about 10-12$ more per student to teach at bishop than any other taz. county school. i would like to see a similar comparison on pocy. and if those numbers are wrong how 'bout a more informed old timer offer the correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 [ QUOTE ] if i'm not mistaken bishop has already felt the pain of consolidation. now that its settled even the opposers probably will admit it was the right decision. its old history but at that time it cost the county about 10-12$ more per student to teach at bishop than any other taz. county school. i would like to see a similar comparison on pocy. and if those numbers are wrong how 'bout a more informed old timer offer the correction [/ QUOTE ] And that was back when $10-$12 was a lot of money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmaker 10 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 exactly my point G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain_55_04 10 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 [ QUOTE ] Anyway, Mr. Woodard is incorrect in saying the facility is only half full. I have a good friend who works there and he says it will be over 80% full with the receipt of several hundred inmates that will be transferring in there this week and next. There has been no increase in "undetained" population in Pocahontas since the prison opened. There is no need to wait until 2009 to see if the school's enrollment will increase because it won't. The sooner the school is closed, the sooner Tazewell Co. can begin fixing/replacing existing structures that have more students than Pocahontas. As for devastating the town, have you been to Pocy lately??? Its already devastated... [/ QUOTE ] yeah how do you expect pocahontas enrollment to become higher when tazwell county prohibits the enrollement of any west virginans....that is a little bs if i do say so myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPF 412 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Anyway, Mr. Woodard is incorrect in saying the facility is only half full. I have a good friend who works there and he says it will be over 80% full with the receipt of several hundred inmates that will be transferring in there this week and next. There has been no increase in "undetained" population in Pocahontas since the prison opened. There is no need to wait until 2009 to see if the school's enrollment will increase because it won't. The sooner the school is closed, the sooner Tazewell Co. can begin fixing/replacing existing structures that have more students than Pocahontas. As for devastating the town, have you been to Pocy lately??? Its already devastated... [/ QUOTE ] yeah how do you expect pocahontas enrollment to become higher when tazwell county prohibits the enrollement of any west virginans....that is a little bs if i do say so myself [/ QUOTE ] I assure you this....that affects Graham a whole lot more than Pocahontas. So much for the 500 families that were moving to Pocahontas...... And in case you haven't noticed this trend, if you look around you they don't put prisons in highly populated areas. The reason for this is no one wants to live near a prison. That is probably why Pocy's enrollment has not increased. And as a tax payer of Tazewell County, I say shut that money pit down and bus them to Graham or Tazewell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futbolking 766 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Anyway, Mr. Woodard is incorrect in saying the facility is only half full. I have a good friend who works there and he says it will be over 80% full with the receipt of several hundred inmates that will be transferring in there this week and next. There has been no increase in "undetained" population in Pocahontas since the prison opened. There is no need to wait until 2009 to see if the school's enrollment will increase because it won't. The sooner the school is closed, the sooner Tazewell Co. can begin fixing/replacing existing structures that have more students than Pocahontas. As for devastating the town, have you been to Pocy lately??? Its already devastated... [/ QUOTE ] yeah how do you expect pocahontas enrollment to become higher when tazwell county prohibits the enrollement of any west virginans....that is a little bs if i do say so myself [/ QUOTE ] I assure you this....that affects Graham a whole lot more than Pocahontas. So much for the 500 families that were moving to Pocahontas...... And in case you haven't noticed this trend, if you look around you they don't put prisons in highly populated areas. The reason for this is no one wants to live near a prison. That is probably why Pocy's enrollment has not increased. And as a tax payer of Tazewell County, I say shut that money pit down and bus them to Graham or Tazewell. [/ QUOTE ] Brilliant minds think alike. I can give you a "for-instance"... In Floyd County...some of the students there ride 45 minutes to the high school. I never heard any of them complaining about having their own high school....they shut down the old 3 high school system they had up there years ago...(Willis, Check and Floyd)...and it has worked out great for them. It's a drain on the taxpayers...and in these days of "slow" economic times and high gas prices...people need every penny they can get....CLOSE IT DOWN!!! All of you people from Pocy are just going to have to deal with the change, it's for the betterment of the entire county. You may THINK that your kids are getting a better education there...but they're NOT,more programs and extra-curricular stuff offered at the other schools and that people...makes a more well-rounded person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH31 2,526 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 What bothers me about this the most is, why wasn't this issue put on the agenda beforehand? Is it because they didn't want the public to be there to object? And why are they bringing it up now in the middle of a school year? If they are going to vote to close it, shouldn't they give sort of a "preparation year," for everyone in the school to get used to the idea of consolidation, and to know which direction they are going to go in when it happens? I believe the board voted before to wait until 2009 to make a decision. Apparently though, that was just an attempt to relax the community until the "all knowing" Cookie Johnson could sneak it into a meeting, along with all her other "great" ideas for the county. If all of you think this issue is just about Pocahontas, it isn't. At the last meeting this past Wednesday, while talking about some of the other schools in the county (Springville,North Tazewell,Raven,Tazewell & Richlands Elementarys and plenty others)..she stated that (with a chuckle) "In a few years,I hope those schools aren't here." This issue is about Pocahontas at the time being, but are you going to feel in a couple years when it's your school they're talking about closing? Put your self in the position of the Pocahontas students,faculty, and community members and tell me how you would feel about this situation. Everyone is going to have thier own opinions about why Pocahontas should be closed, or why it shouldn't be, but I'm not going into that situation at all right now. My argument is the board is going about this all wrong. Put it on the agenda so everyone will know about it, or hell, maybe even wait until 2009 to talk about this. Like you're supposed to. Some answers would be nice. They might want to go ahead and book a large seating area for the public hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmaker 10 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 dont cut your rant short there EH .the entire county will have to face this realization sooner or later (if this population trend does not change).Bottom line, these are difficult decisions that must be made for the betterment of the entire community. As for the west va argument Why should my tax money be spent to educate out of state kids for no other reason than to inflate the enrollment statistics at pocy, and prolong the inevitable.There are many hemmorages in the county school system. They must be contained one bleed at a time. This is a harsh reality, but a reality none the less. ] ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_school_blue 247 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 That is true, maker. But, that is not the issue. The issue is whether or not the sb intentionally left this matter off of the agenda. Trying to "sneak" Pocahontas into closure is underhanded. I ask myself this question, if this is true, what else will they try to "sneak" past the taxpayers of this county. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trublue 939 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Following is an article in the Bristol paper about declining enrollment in the Sullivan Co. TN school system and decisions that will have to be reached in the future. It's not just the Tazewell Co. area with declining enrollment. http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-02-15-0009.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudmaker 10 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 [ QUOTE ] That is true, maker. But, that is not the issue. The issue is whether or not the sb intentionally left this matter off of the agenda. Trying to "sneak" Pocahontas into closure is underhanded. I ask myself this question, if this is true, what else will they try to "sneak" past the taxpayers of this county. [/ QUOTE ]as mealy mouthed and wishy washy as this school board is i would be amazed if they had the spine to try and "sneak" anything past us. i am utterly surprised they didnt resolve to study it again.but if its any consolation --- keep screamin people of pocy! they will cave in and and propose to spend several thousand more dollars to have another study to tell them why the closure must happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jets 10 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Closing all these schools is killing the small communities around here. Stop the maddness!!!!!!!! People will move away to keep from bussung their kids so far. Look at Big Creek closing. a kid will have to ride a bus for hours one way by the time they get from horsepen to bradshaw. Its is so STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beside smaller classes are far better for the students Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLU 10 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djr4hurleyfb 12 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Smaller classes are one thing, but what is the student:teacher at Pocy currently? I'm sure its as low as 4 or 5 to 1 at times in the high school classes. I bet the Physics class has 3 students, tops (*actually, does Pocy have Physics?). What about French II? Calculus? We're talking about how many students here? 200? At what point is the #'s too small to say "something must be done?" Maybe the town of Pocy ought to increase the town residents tax and offer it up to "offset" the cost of keeping the school open. I mean, there the ones who desire it so. Why don't THEY pay for it instead of ME, and every single other Tazewell County resident? --- Now, I'm not saying the "lack of agenda" was proper. But we're talking about politicians here. What do you expect? Honesty? Integrity? Truth and value? Hah! Get real. The only thing these people are interested in is having their name on some decorative plaque hung to the right of the entrance of some 40 million dollar East Tazewell and West Tazewell High Schools that they "invisioned, helped fund, and seen through!" They are more interested in "leaving a mark" on the legacy of Tazewell County (*AKA, inflate there own ego*) than actually doing good by taxpayer dollars and serving the public as they should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olewave 44 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 amen brother, lets do the same thing in buchanan county and do away with hurley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.01bb665814ffc257795fe158cb2045c7.png.8a531ac878a82772b21014d7a6167582.png){kind=logo}
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.