Thanks to Sister Sholanda for the 400% bump in my web traffic this morning. Apparently there is some renewed interest in my piece of bewilderment on the state of the State when it comes to big money poured into projects that do little to create jobs. {http://shoalandaspeaks.blogspot.com/}
But for the reader who might be interested in a fresh correspondence I would like to mention my good friend Roger Bedford. Now I have pledged to say nothing bad about Roger for the duration of the campaign. And I mean it. But facts are neither bad or good, they merely are.
The facts, insofar as I understand it, are thus:
On the Tuesday morning 95.5 Radio show WFMH, I may have mentioned that the sitting State Senator had not attended the yearly get together at Northwest Shoals, The first Alabama Public Junior College, in my 25 year recollection. Twenty minutes after the show aired I got a call giving me a "heads up" that Senator Bedford would be attending. ( For newcomers to the blog, my 25 year Democrat, Incumbent, Opponent in the upcoming contest in November. AKA my DIO.)
On the same week as the radio show I met with the candidates for Fayette County school board to give them an opportunity to talk about the needs for schools to their Senate Hopeful. The issue on the table was books for the grammar schools.
Now I don't know all the particulars but it seems that the State Board has mandated a certain curriculum upon which the young students will be tested.
The public schools progress, and their ranking, will be related to how well those students do on this mandatory curriculum. The schools have no money for books. Particularly second grade math books. So the schools are in a position of having students tested on material the teachers cannot teach because funds are not available to buy the required books. Typical.
Also of concern were the amount of supplies the parents have to purchase each year. This is a problem. If you have a half dozen kids starting school then you need to be ready to fork out more than $100 per child for supplies for the school.
I truly expected Roger to show up at our inservice with a 6.6 million dollar grant to build a new building like he did for UNA, or $625,000 for another sewer system for another goat farm. or another 1.6 million for a new "spec" building for industries that ain't here and ain't on the way. But he didn't..
He showed up and raffled off six $250 checks to state employees. Some say four, some say two, I counted six.
Now, I know this money was not his personally. That would be vote buying which is illegal. As a lawyer he is not going to do anything illegal (cough-hatchact). And I know the money wasn't campaign finance money, that too would be illegal. So I suspect it to be that nefarious kind of money known among the taxpayers as
"Your Money".
Your tax dollars raffled off according to the recipient's birthday while seven year old's in Fayette county start second grade without the proper math books. The money apparently channeled through our Northwest Community College Foundation. That, gentle reader is the current legislative leadership's commitment to education.
And it is the fundamental difference between the incumbent and myself. I believe we need to put the money where it is needed. In the schools to buy scissors and toilet paper and even math books occasionally - Instead of handing it out willy-nilly to people who already draw a State check.
I invite you, gentle reader, to look into this. Call the director of the NWSCC foundation, ask where the money came from, Ask where it is going and what restrictions there are on people who received it. And while you are at it remind them that funny handling of the foundation money already brought down one President and ultimately a Chancellor.
So Roger, If you are listening, trot on down to Fayette and do your job. Raffle off a few second grade textbooks with that money instead of using it to buy votes in my home town.
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