There is no question that the safety in the Bibb County Public School System is first and foremost on the minds of parents, students and the administration of the system as there will be two different public forums discussing violence in the schools as well as a new special Task Force created to look at what can be done about the discipline problem that has been growing exponetially every day.  It seems like every time we turn on the news, read the paper or hit refresh on our computer, another incident has happened in one of our schools.  From the violence reported at Northeast High School in January up to the weapons being found in the parking lot of Rutland High just last week the problems continue to grow.  But violence on our school campuses is nothing new.

Friday morning April 22, 1983 was like any other morning to Bibb County Campus Police Officer Euel “Bubba” Smith as he patrolled the grounds at Central High School.  Smith, a former Macon City Police Officer, had been on the Campus Police force for about two years  when he saw a suspicious man wandering the Central grounds.  According to an article written in the Macon Telegraph, the suspicious man was 23 year old James Lee Patterson, “a Hillcrest Avenue resident with a history of drug abuse and mental illness.”  By all accounts Patterson didn’t show any of these characteristics as Officer Smith asked him why he was on campus , even getting “peaceably” into Smith’s patrol car.  Suddenly, Patterson changed grabbing Smith’s .357 Magnum and shooting him with his own gun.  Officer Smith made it to the hospital but died soon after becoming the first Campus Police Officer  in the United States who was killed in the line of duty.  Let that sink in people….There had been no Officer before Euel Smith who paid the ultimate price for protecting our students.    Patterson was arrested at the scene, charged with Smith’s murder and eventually convicted. 

Very few people remember Officer Smith and the tragedy that took his life almost 30 years ago outside of the men who  served with him that are still on the Campus Police, his friends and of course his family.  About the only places you can see his name is one of far too many forgotten souls that are inscribed on a wall for fallen police officers who have died in the line of duty at the Training Center in Forsyth and on a painted mural in the Campus Police building .  His name certainly isn’t a household name and his story is barely mentioned on the internet.  As a matter of fact the only references I could find are an online copy of the 1983 Southwest High School yearbook and a memorial page for him on The Officer Down Memorial Page at  http://www.odmp.org/officer/12413-police-officer-euel-thomas-smith . I hope that we can change that.

It is my hopes that the Bibb County Campus Police building be renamed the “Euel Smith Campus Police Building”.  Further, there should be a plaque in the building honoring Officer Smith as the nation’s first fallen Campus Police officer who gave his life protecting the students of Bibb County in order that this brave and honorable man’s memory lives on forever and not forgotten.

Officer H. R. Beck who served with Smith on the Macon Police Department,  told The Telegraph in 1983 about Officer Smith that, “If you were sad, you could look at him and he’d try to make you laugh.  He always wanted to help people and didn’t expect anything in return.”   Our community owes it to his family and his memory.  I hope you agree.

This morning I received information that the Bibb County School System has requested ALL Mathematics books for Grades 1-8 are being returned to the central warehouse.  I further have learned that no books are scheduled to be issued for the upcoming year.  Upon learning this, I emailed Bibb BOE Spokesperson Stephanie Hartley and asked specifically:

"Could you please confirm or deny that grades 1-8 will no longer be using math books?"  Her reply:   " I have recieved confirmation of this."

There you have it....As if our math scores aren't poor enough, now Dr. Dallemand is going to be taking away a tool for parents to help their children study at night....And since there is money specifically allocated for textbooks, where the hell is that money going?  Now I'm certain that some of these books are a little older, but somehow or another I think 2+2 is always 4, pi is always 3.14159 and the Pythagorean Theorem is always going to be the same...

Garrison Keillor once wrote that "'a book is a gift you can open again and again, " unless that is if you're a student in the Bibb County School System.

By Charles Jackson

 

Federalism is broadly defined as a compromise between between extreme concentrations of power with an emphasis on less central and more state government power. The Tenth Amendment is the linchpin of that compromise.

 A funny thing happened on the way to President Obama's “evolving” views on same sex “marriage”: he endorsed the quaint notion - for the liberal-left - of Federalism.

The president said the issue is “best left for the states to decide.” Barack Obama has become a states' righter! OMG!

For some, “states' rights” still conjures up its infamous misuse to justify - wrongly -  racial discrimination.

However, its true application was and is the principle that the states gave birth to the nation: the central government did not because there was no central government.

That principle is embodied in the Bill of Rights -  ratified in 1791 - which includes the Tenth Amendment:

 

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The liberal-left begrudgingly embraces states' rights only when it temporarily suits their political agenda.

Knowing that affirmative federal same sex “marriage” legislation is a nonstarter, they're stuck with their tepid support of states' rights as the only vehicle available. But that path, too, is stymied by those “bigoted” voters a/k/a the American people.

Last week, North Carolina - by a margin of 61 percent of the vote - became the 30th state to ban gay “marriage” in its state Constitution. Other states have enacted legislative statutes doing the same. Every time a states' voters have had a ballot box opportunity, they have voted - most by large majorities - to ban it, not legalize it.

In 2008, with 52 percent of the vote, the very Blue state of  California, passed a law - via a ballot proposition - restricting marriage to one man and one woman A federal judge there, supported by an appellate court panel, has ruled that a ban on same-sex “marriage”violates the 14th Amendment right to equal protection. That decision will probably reach the Supreme Court.

Following the North Carolina vote, the Human Rights Campaign Fund and the LGBT bullies began to articulate some of that dream, saying that the ultimate goal now is federal action to thwart and reverse the states - i.e., the voters - from weighing in. When they can't win at the ballot box, the same sex “marriage” proponents will attempt to legislate and always litigate.

The New York Times - a shrill and reliable ally of the same sex “marriage” lobby - opined that Obama's Federalism doesn't go far enough: “We have one major point of disagreement with Mr. Obama: his support for the concept of states deciding this issue on their own.”

Obama's “let the states decide” evolution doesn't apply to his Administration's position - led by Herr Eric Holder - on two other Federalist-related issues:

The Supreme Court is set to rule next month on Herr Holder's legal challenge to Arizona's right to regulate immigration within its own borders. And despite voters in several states saying “Yes” to medical marijuana, )

Herr Holder's U.S. Attorneys and their DEA Gestapo-like cowboys routinely raid,harass and prosecute medical marijuana facilities and providers.

So much for the liberal-left's adherence to Federalism and the reserved powers of the “States respectively or to the people.” The liberal-left is grounded on the use of central government powers.

Conservatives believe that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution.
The liberal-left is antithetical to that belief.

Related Articles

“Hooray for States' Rights! Part 2,” (Red County, July 15, 2010)

“Hooray for States' Rights!,” (Red County, November 7, 2008

During his latest infomercial pumping up the Macon Miracle, Bibb County School Superintendent Romain Dallemand told a crowd at the Macon Rotary Club that he had 'always decided' to pay for his trip to Belgium, and said that local reporters who brought it out, that would be me,  are 'creating sensationalism'.  No doctor....We are  holding you accountable like Cheryl Coryea did when you bought a $5000 desk in Rochester then hid it off of the school district's property.  The difference is you can't fire me.  Too bad.,...I'd nail you for $300,000 too, like she did when she settled out of court. 

You sir are covering your arse and no one except for your toadies are falling for it.  If you planned on paying for it all along, why didn't you just say so to begin with? 

Thanks to WeArePolitics own Scott Serafy for showing us just how Dr. Dallemand is really using our money.

I'd like to thank a 'Curious' reader of WeArePolitics for introducing me to a man who very well could have been separated at birth from Bibb County Superintendent of Schools Romain Dallemand:  Dr. Charles Hopson, formerly of the Pulaski County Arkansas Special School District, which is right outside of Little Rock.

See if any of these things sound familiar:

Hopson was hired into the school system in July, 2010 coming with very little experience.  (He actually has a bit more than the dear doctor serving as a Middle School Principal for eight years, a High School Principal for five years and a year in administrative roles, all in the Portland, Oregon School System. 

"Hitting the ground running", Hopson introduced the district to Glenn Singleton's methods employed in "Courageous Conversation".  (See these letters of referral.)

In another ground-breaking move, Hopson introduced the Confucius Institute to the district and announced that Mandarin Chinese will be taught.

A local reporter files a complaint against Dr. Hopson for failure to release information.  It's apparent something is being hidden.

A legislative Joint Auditing Team recommends "that the state remove the school board out of frustration that officials have not adequately addressed long-standing audit findings and that the district chronically lacks sufficient internal controls to properly manage its finances."  (See link above.)

A Whistleblower, June Elliott, files suit against Dr. Hopson, claiming irregular hiring practices.

June 20, 2011, the Arkansas Board of Education abolishes and disolves the Pulaski County Special School District and fires Hopson because of irregularities in audits and accounting practices.

Hopson in return files a $500,000 suit against the District.
 
So....Any of this sounding familiar?  Will this be the future of the Bibb County Board of Education and Dr. Dallemand?  It took a little over a year in Arkansas...How long will it take in Macon?

I gave this riddle yesterday on Facebook: 

What's worse than Dr. Dallemand going on a trip at the Bibb County taxpayers expense with nothing to show for it?

The Answer:  Dr. Dallemand scheduling trips, paying for them with our money, then not going on them or even getting a refund.

On at least three occassions in the past few months, the good doctor has scheduled very expensive conferences or trips only to cancel them and not be able to recieve a refund.

The Macon Telegraph reported on February 26th about a cancelled trip to Oxford, England that cost the taxpayers a whopping $1865....NO REFUND GIVEN.

I discovered his non-trip to New York a few weeks ago.  Now granted, he can use the credit on Travelocity, but as of yet he hasn't...Though he has traveled since and had the opportunity to do so.  Cost:  $355.55.

In the Telegraph story above, they mentioned briefly about a trip to Houston, Texas and that it had a "$815 registration fee. Staff members said Dallemand was at work Feb. 21." 

This has now been verified through an open records request that Dr. Dallemand cancelled the trip and that the $815 registration fee was NOT refunded to the taxpayers.  On top of that, what wasn't reported was that he also paid for the trip, again on Travelocity, to the tune of another $218!   (See below) Total:  $1033 ...WITH NO REFUND GIVEN!

From Donna Simmons, Administrative Assistant of School Operations:

"Per your Open Records Request, attached please find a copy of the airfare invoice to Houston, Texas. As you know this flight was canceled. According to accounting, there has been no refund.  In addition, there are no documents pertaining to meals, lodging, etc..., pertaining to this trip to Houston in possession of Bibb County School District.
 
    If you have any questions feel free to call Randy Howard."

And directly from Mr. Howard, the Bibb County BOE attorney regarding the actual registration fee:

"Our accounting department has no documents pertaining to the registration fee being refunded."

GRAND TOTAL OF the Big Spending, Squandering Superintendent: $3254...

And this is just the low hanging fruit that I've found...Can you imagine how much more would be discovered with a complete forensic audit?  (That is if the audit were done by a completely unbiased accountant that somebody besides the culprit picked...)  I promise you there are thousands and thousands of dollars that are just being thrown away.  Thousands and thousand of your dollars.

$3254........ this is just a complete and total waste of our money that he is just literally flushing down the toilet.  I bet he doesn't have to beg for toilet paper to wipe with, like our kids are though.  He probably uses $50 bills.

Next up:  How would you like to know how much some of the administrators are making?  Talk about a waste!  OY!

I just recieved confirmation from the Bibb Coutny BOE  that Bibb County School Superintendent Romain Dallemand is in Belleview, Michigan.   Dallemand is part of a five-member team that is part of a meeting called a "District Qar Visit".  Qar means Quality Review Team and will be making recommendations on how to improve the Van Buren School District located in Belleview. 

As I understand it, this is a professional courtesy extended and not a mandatory trip, and while I agree that our local leaders should exhibit a 'team player' attitude with other districts, I ask should we not get our own house in order first?  If it were only this trip, I'd be patting Dr. Dallemand on the back.  But add this to the various other trips he's made since his hiring, and I'd say it's very unneccesary at this point.   

I quite honestly don't know how Dr. Dallemand will be able to adjust to such primitive conditions.  In the news article below from The Belleville Independent, it states:

"They’ll eat in their hotel and Kullis (Special Services Supervisor Diane Kullis)  has prepared carryout menus from local restaurants, so they can order and school representatives can pick up and bring the meals to the hotel. The team will continue working into the evening and start again early on Tuesday. They will split up in order to visit six different schools."

Please see the link here that explains what he will be doing: http://www.thebellevilleindependent.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=524

WeArePolitics has learned through  unconfirmed yet highly reliable sources, that Bibb County School Superintendent is gaining some more frequent flyer miles and is traveling outside the district yet again.  I've attemtped to contact the school district through email and phone call and have not received a confirmation nor denial yet.

As you all remember, Dr. Dallemand just returned from a trip to Ghent, Belgium.  Ok...He paid for that himself after the stink raised by taxpayers after WeArePolitics uncovered his plans.  Where in the world can he be off to this time???    I will certainly let you know when this is confirmed and where the good doctor has traveled to this time.