Cape Charles Mirror Report
by Wayne Creed
With the end of public comment on the proposed zoning ordinance looming, the citizens of Northampton County once again came out to hold their elected official’s feet to the fire over non-standard, unregulated Planned Urban Developments (PUDs), setbacks, but more importantly, to reinforce the message that large scale, intensive industrial poultry operations are inappropriate for this county. There were one hour and four minutes of public comments. While several speakers attacked the possibility of large scale poultry operations, the bombshell was dropped by Rebecca Geary, whose dramatic testimony provided context to the perception that the public may have been intentionally misled by County Staff and members of the Board of Supervisors in regards intensive chicken farming coming to Northampton, as well as the County’s intimate relationship with Tyson and possibly other large scale poultry processors.
“My family comes from Hogg Island originally, my great aunt was a school teacher there, and my family goes back to the 1600s. I am extremely vested in this county. There was a discussion about chicken houses and the contact that was or was not happening between Tyson and county representatives. I personally took the phone call from Tyson, between July 7th 2014 and April 2015. He wanted to speak to someone in regards to our County zoning situation because he had individuals that were very interested in having chicken farms in Northampton County, and he wanted to see what was possible. I recognized this as a business opportunity and transferred the call to Charles (McSwain). I let him know there was a Tyson representative on the phone, and asked if he would like to speak to him. He said yes, closed his door and he was on the phone for approximately an hour. He came back out, thanked me for transferring the call, and said it was a very valuable call, and very informative. He told the gentleman that at this time it was not possible to have chicken houses in Northampton County, but the zoning that was going to be put into place was going to give them exactly what they need to be able to come here. (audience applause). I just wanted to have that put into the record. And I will say that under oath. I want to thank you for keeping the setbacks and for addressing issues in the PUDs so that intensive chicken farming can’t come to Northampton. I was devastated when I read what was going to happen to Accomac county, and I don’t want that to happen here. Please keep in place lot coverage limits. Do not rely on the Chesapeake Bay Act, because that law can change. That law has to come from our County.”
Former Supervisor Andrew Barbour also voiced concerns about Intensive Poultry operations, “I’m here to talk about economic development. I know as supervisors you are under tremendous pressure to spur economic growth, and I know it is easier to talk about it then to actually do it; so I wasn’t surprised to hear that Charles McSwain had been in discussions with representatives of the chicken industry. As a supervisor in 2005 I also met with them, when they were trying to expand into Northampton County. After hearing their pitch, I decided that intensive chicken farming was not a good fit for Northampton county for one main reason—the costs far outweighed the benefits. From the grower’s perspective, they have to take out enormous loans to buy the houses and equipment, ten years ago it was half a million for two houses. They don’t own the birds themselves. They take the economic risks without any of the economic upside. The industry is using something called the tournament system, to rank their growers. Farmers that can produce chickens at the lowest price per pound, get favorable treatment. Farmers at the lower end get inferior birds—integrators will withhold birds, unless they do costly upgrades the houses. Constant cycle of debt and they can’t get out of it. Northampton would start behind the eight ball before the first bird arrives, because transportation costs are part of the calculation in the tournament rankings. The cost of bringing feed and transporting the birds to the process plant is all factored in. One of the encouragements was do not get more than twenty-five miles from the processing plant or you are already in trouble. A fraction of a penny separates the winners from the losers, Northampton growers would start at a disadvantage, to their Accomac counter parts. Why would we want to have this kind of industry here—a professor at the college of agriculture in Alban termed the growers as serfs with mortgages. Why would we put our emphasis there, to a support an industry that is going to damage two of the twin pillars of our economy; chicken farming is as hostile to aquaculture as you can get and our aquaculture industry is a stunning success. We have the largest producer of hard shell clams in the world. According to VIMs we employ five hundred people with a direct economic input of forty-two million and indirect of thirty-five million. From a branding standpoint aquaculture works hand in glove with the other success story, tourism. And you have a powerful story of what the region represents and the experience we offer and that translates into money. Intensive chicken farming is not conducive to tourism. Do not trade the pillars of our economy for something that is not good for our environment or our farmers. So do not change the existing zoning ordinance standards for lot coverage, setbacks, and keep Chesapeake Bay Act across the entire county”.
Mary Miller, former member of the Planning Commission, provided more indepth analysis of Planned Unit Developments, and how they are being structured under the proposed zoning, “even with sewer and water the town could not attract even the lowest priced chains. No justification for a residential PUD, the county has thousands of undeveloped building lots and static sales of those parcels indicate there is no additional pressure to develop those lots. Not only are you proposing a new district with unrestricted density, you have proposed massive housing density around town and waterfront villages. Where did this PUD idea come from? Not from the messages you have received from the public. Not from you competitiveness report, not from the Commissioner of Revenue report. Not even from your own appointed CPAC survey which told you three years ago two of the top things you need to do is improve education and provide a emergency medical facility.”
A.J. Singh, owner of Lankford Truck Plaza, voiced concerns about efforts to rezone parcels next to his business from Agriculture to Commercial (parcels 112-A-14 and 112-A-16), and the severe safety hazards it would create. Mr. Singh noted that his letters of opposition, as well as a petition did not make it into BoS meeting agenda packets, “I learned in my first letter to Chairman LeMond, and my second letter which contained a petition with one hundred signatures opposed to the rezoning were not in the file containing comments on the proposed zoning ordinance. You have been provided information on traffic safety issues at Lankford Truck Plaza and Cape Center. There have been several traffic fatalities at these locations…the common contributing safety factor is direct access to a median crossing on US13, where the extended length of the vehicular traffic blocks both lanes north and south. You have been provided information on the lack of progress at the proposed site and the failure of the parties to demonstrate diligent pursuit of the approved project. The parcels are zoned agriculture and should remain agriculture as commercial zoning for the project is inappropriate. My Supervisor (Hogg) and citizens have presented compelling evidence for agricultural zoning. Supervisor Hogg has requested an opinion on diligent pursuit from the Office of the Attorney General to assist in your decision whether the parties have lost their vested right in their approved project. I remind you it is the charge of the Board of Supervisors to address public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of this county. Promoting such a public health and safety hazard at this location is gross negligence on the part of any county staff, committees or commissions and the governing body.”
Real Estate broker, David Kabler noted that bringing intensive poultry to the County would not produce the kind of business investment needed, but may acutally be counter productive to, “attracting new investment; folks new to the Shore come to relocate here because they like what they see, and they invest in what they like and see, but also what they don’t see; industrial chicken houses. On Route 13 or on the Seaside, envision industrial chickens houses there. Once they are there, they will be there for a long, long time. The industry needs unspoiled areas for growth–in the Accomac report I gave you, Northampton is targeted by the industry for growth for new farms. I should also tell you, chicken farming only generated $1000 in revenue per year. But that comes with thirty thousand birds and over 25 tons of toxic manure; lots of toxic waste. What is wrong with that picture? We must be sure that the industry does not exeed our limitations set in the current zoning. Water and wind sheds should be evaluated to stop the spread of air borne contaminants, and screened from view. Impervious surfaces must protect our sole aquifer. Keep the setbacks and screen for adequate draining of runoff and toxic waste. PUDs, as written leave wide open the door with no regulation.”
Andy Teeling, also brought a plan for sustainable economic development, leveraging our many success stories that have been taking place in our schools, as well as in the County. Teeling offered that the County needs to hire a Public Relations person to “get the news out about what we are doing for our schools. I recommend the county hire a public relations person to maximize the media attention. This will raise a lot of eyebrows and get a lot of people looking at Northampton as a place to locate. A public relations person can market our many assets—who at the county level is marketing the great assets we have. The schools, the kids are our best asset but we have others that are not being marketed. There is money laying on the table since Mr. McSwain has left. I have a perfect candidate in mind, a Northampton resident, a graduate from the high school or Broadwater, who knows the county. Who is getting out of school with a degree in Communications, hired on a short term basis to serve as your PR person. He would know the county, he would know the school systems, a zero learning curve, he would be tech savvy because he would be up on all the latest, he could hit the ground running and write our great stories that are worthy of press releases that happen every week.”
Special Use Permits
Developer Angelo Manuel was on hand to defend two more applications for Special Use Permits for his Kiptopeke Village montage. What started out as hotel, then morphed into apartments, which then added a restaurant, and now has plans to mutate into pseudo convenience store (not allowed in a Hamlet, where the application is currently applied), with the addition of Food Trucks to be parked outside, presumably to accommodate construction crews during phase I of the design.
While residents such as Charles Bruchner and Terry Ramsey voiced concerns over parking and traffic, as well as confusion as to why there would be a need for a food truck parked outside a restaurant, Ken Dufty brought up the salient point that, even as the requests seemed small, taken in a broader context, things can quickly snowball and create unintended consequences. Dufty urged the Board to take the entire project into consideration when voting on a small, extracted aspect of it. Supervisor Hogg said he could not support it because the Hamlet designation prohibited convenience stores. The Special Use Permit to add an additional 200 feet of retail space carried, while the request to have a food truck on site was voted down.
2016 Assessments
Assessments, normally due in mid-December, will more than likely be extended to March 31st of 2016. The request for the extension is due to new software (VISION) being implemented, and additional time for staff to get up to speed is necessary. Administrator Nunez will make the extension request to the Circuit Court.
USDA Grant Obligations
Administrator Nunez informed the board that the County is moving forward with meeting the requirements of the USDA agreement. The USDA has approved the purchase of 2 school buses, 15 Teacher laptops, 2 Sheriff’s vehicles. In the works, Staff is preparing procurement documents for 2 more generators for the elementary schools, an EMS Quick Response Vehicle, CPR Instruction Kits for the schools, as well as a Sheriff’s Vehicle Detailing Package which includes painting and radio installation.
Chickens, chickens, chickens is just a smoke screen to sink Northampton County deeper into a hole of oblivlian. I laugh at former Supervisor giving their opinion when they were the one that gots us into this mess in the first place. Former planning board members also help to stick a stake into the heart of our county by shutting out any industry trying to come here. This whole zoning plan is a mess, drop it, start over, declare a tax free zone for large 500 corporations only, develope a theme park like Williamsberg, make it easy for Black business to come here.
I’m available to be on the planning board and shake up the ideas to bring Northampton County into the 21 st century to benefit all instead those few that don’t represent the people that want change.
‘Black Business’……….Really??? How does a business have ‘color’? After all that was done to Integrate, they sure do love Segregation, when it suits their purpose.
An entire Black shopping mall with Africian merchandizing to attract the thousand autos north and south , just for starters and yes Black matters.
‘African’????? Those folks are so American that they pass a white mans last name, usually a slave master, on to their babies today. Most could not point to the area of Africa that their ancestors came from if you gave them $5,000.00 and 5 minutes to guess. ‘African’??? Get Real!
A closed mind generally bring empires into decline, study the fall of the Roman Empire .
This is my last conversation with you.
Closed minded folks are the problem
A group of people hobbling along with a crutch of victimhood does not help.
What truly does not help is divisive narrow thinking. The African in African America refers specifically to that part of our populous that was randomly and violently kidnapped and ransomed from their tribal villages, only to be taken across an ocean to spend the rest of their lives in servitude. This is their heritage. The mantel of African applies to these citizens as much as European applies to the early white settlers. To imply that a certain group of citizens perceive themselves as special, or are hobbled is ludicrous. Maybe a nice long trip outside your seaside hamlet to experience the real world would do some good to “enlightened” and expand your mind and your thinking. IF not, I personally would appreciate you keeping your so-called viewpoints to yourself. It helps no one to spread untruths and prejudices. And it makes you look like a relic of the past. By the way, these certain businesses that Mr. Sacco has pointed out, they are known out in the “Real World” as specialty shops. They are geared to sell specific cultural items.
Thank You for making my point for me! Withams, White Rabbit, Horntown, Boston, New Road, Coal Kiln, Weirwood, Nassawadox…….ect. You don’t have to go far to see your ‘enlightenment.
Now, hopefully, I can get back on subject. What the Eastern Shore needs is a way to sustain a slow to moderate pace of growth while employing the general populous in the matters of either helping to create that growth or helping sustain (serve and supply) the growth once it is established. Northampton County is destined to become a bed room community for retirees. In fact, it is well on its way. The caution in this is, there is only so much resource infrastructure to support this growth. The trick is in the balance. You have a strong tourist industry and that creates a strain on the resources and with further growth more strain.
The answer is to figure out how far this trend can go before it begins to cost more than it is worth. The two major resources are water and area for waste. An over load of either will end up costing more than the tax base you have created and therefore will no longer be sustainable. Take water for instance. The aqua filter that runs from west to east under the lower portion of Northampton County is lying on top of a fractured and jumbled bedrock from an ancient crater. Below it and surrounding it is a sea bed containing salt water. One breach, or mishap and the clear drinking water is gone. Forever. Something to be seriously considered when talking about industrial input. How many homes can this aqua filter support? Have there been any studies done? Are the answers in the hands of your elected officials? Do you know the answer? The second resource contains a costly major network of infrastructure. I am talking about waste management. Sewer, fertilizer run off, animal waste, solid waste such as garage, abandoned cars, and derelict homes all affect the water table. And ultimately will affect the Chesapeake Bay as well. I understand that seafood farming or Aqua Industry is making a big comeback. The amount and quality of harvest depends on the cleanliness of the bay and seaside tributaries. The tourist industry is based upon a clean and well stocked bay. If any one of these areas collapse, the whole ball will unravel.
Lastly, the very fact that certain citizens are holding the Board’s feet to the fire bodes well for the Eastern Shore and her future. These elected officials have the future in their hands (and pens). Be very, very vigilant and insightful as to what is being granted in these zoning laws. It will not be worth the promises of growth and wealth gain to anyone in ten or twenty years if there is no water table to draw from. Please consider the future and the future generations in your decisions.
I have just returned from a meeting of the “Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Committe” meeting in Accomac. I have also attended the two previous Northampton BoS meetings. Citizen input is more important than ever. PLEASE take time to participate in your local government, as it is truly the one part of this republic’s government where one voice can be heard.
Umm…Mr. Bell would you mind clarifying? My grandparents and my mother lived in Weirwood back in the 1950’s. I was born in Nassawadox. So, your point is….?
Umm…….Mr. Chandler, how can you possible compare Weirwood in the 1950s to 2015? The colored folks that did business with Lynn Marsh’s Grocery and Darryl Kellam’s Coal Company are a far cry from the ones hanging around Nassawadox Shore Stop today or White Rabbit tonight. In 1976 when it was Bo Gunter’s store Big June struck me with his cane. Can you imagine what they would have done with him in the 1950’s for striking an 8 year old white kid with a cane? Times have changed, so have your people….Is this clear enough for you?
Mr. Bell. Crystal clear. And I get where you are coming from. But as an individual, you and I have to be very careful in generalizing a group of people as a complete entity. What I mean by this is, I agree much has changed since the fifties in our attitudes toward the black man. And the black man’s attitude has changed as well. I believe the shift occurred in the sixties when the Civil Rights bill was passed and the surge of black pride took hold. During the sixties and seventies there were many instances that empowered blacks to resist or to fight back against the tyranny of white suppression. By this progression, blacks were emboldened to rise and take a stand whenever and wherever the need arose. This could not have occurred during the fifties because the law was not on their side. No white child would ever have been struck by a person of color, because they were in fear of what retribution would occur.
But you know something…I tried to explain what has occurred (IMHO) over the past fifty years that has emboldened the African American. And I realize it won’t change your thinking. There are those that feel the blacks have just gotten too “Uppity” from being your face and dating white girls/white boys to putting a black man in the White House. Your attitudes will never change. Every time President Obama blinks, alarm bells go off for folks like you. I won’t change you. The anger you encounter when in public is caused by you. I cannot begin to explain that to you. But believe me when I tell you…If you and I were to walk into that Shore Stop in Nassawadox at the same time, I would have a much different experience than you would have. I wish I could make you see what perpetuates this, but I am afraid that may be too late. I am not sure what you did to get that caning. But it sure left a horrible scar.
Since you mentioned him…………………… The O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, no [radio edit: referring to male genitalia], nothing but abstract, empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.
He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-African Arabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya . Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively.
What he isn’t, not a genetic drop of, is ‘African-American,’ the descendant of enslaved Africans brought to America chained in slave ships. He hasn’t a single ancestor who was a slave. Instead, his Arab ancestors were slave owners. Slave-trading was the main Arab business in East Africafor centuries until the British ended it.
Let that sink in: Obama is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners. Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah.
It’s something Hillary doesn’t understand – how some complete neophyte came out of the blue and stole the Dem nomination from her. Obamamania is beyond politics and reason. It is a true religious cult, whose adherents reject Christianity yet still believe in Original Sin, transferring it from the evil of being human to the evil of being white.
Thus Obama has become the white liberals’ Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White. There is no reason or logic behind it, no faults or flaws of his can diminish it, no arguments Hillary could make of any kind can be effective against it. The absurdity of Hypocrisy Clothed In Human Flesh being their Savior is all the more cause for liberals to worship him: Credo quia absurdum, I believe it because it is absurd.
Thank heavens that the voting majority of Americans remain Christian and are in no desperate need of a phony savior.
He is ridiculous and should not be taken seriously by any thinking American.
Wow…just wow. This is the most skewed pile of dog crap I have laid eyes on in quite a while. I am not sure where you get your information from, but it’s not of this planet. You can foam and froth all you want, but it still does not change the fact that a person of color (he’s half Caucasian you know-talks about his mother all the time – loves his grandparents) inhabits the White House. The man you so intently demonize has kept this country’s economy and social fabric pretty much intact for the past eight years…and, is generally admired by the nation’s populace as a fair and decent man. I’ll let that sink in…
On another note, since YOU mentioned Christianity, I am going to post this: “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we’ve got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” Stephen Colbert
Have a great weekend, Mr. Bell.
You guys are certainly into revisionist history. Appears that you learned to rewrite history via Hillary Clinton and Fastboat.
Mr. Linsky, to whom do you direct your comment to? Is that your final word?
Victimhood? Absolutely not, Mr. Bell. But that does not absolve us/you from the duty to make amends for differences that can readily be attributed to sustained patterns of inequity – of course, you will likely goose-step your way out of this obligation… Disparaging African Americans AND homosexuals, Mr. Bell? (Himmler would be proud.) Society is enriched only when individuals embrace the full range of human identity and difference.
It is funny how people respond when Political Correctness, that has coddled you all for so many years, is taken away. Enjoy this diatribe that someone sent me recently………………For almost 150 years the United States has been conducting an interesting experiment. The subjects of the experiment: black people and working-class whites.
The hypothesis to be tested: Can a people taken from the jungles of Africa and forced into slavery be fully integrated as citizens in a majority white population?
The whites were descendants of Europeans who had created a majestic civilization. The former slaves had been tribal peoples with no written language and virtually no intellectual achievements. Acting on a policy that was not fair to either group, the government released newly freed black people into a white society that saw them as inferiors. America has struggled with racial discord ever since.
Decade after decade the problems persisted but the experimenters never gave up. They insisted that if they could find the right formula the experiment would work, and concocted program after program to get the result they wanted. They created the Freedman’s Bureau, passed civil rights laws, tried to build the Great Society, declared War on Poverty, ordered race preferences, built housing projects, and tried midnight basketball.
Their new laws intruded into people’s lives in ways that would have been otherwise unthinkable. They called in National Guard troops to enforce school integration. They outlawed freedom of association. Over the protests of parents, they put white children on buses and sent them to black schools and vice versa. They tried with money, special programs, relaxed standards, and endless handwringing to close the “achievement gap.” To keep white backlash in check they began punishing public and even private statements on race. They hung up Orwellian public banners that commanded whites to “Celebrate Diversity!” and “Say No to Racism.” Nothing was off limits if it might salvage the experiment.
Some thought that what W.E.B. Du Bois called the Talented Tenth would lead the way for black people. A group of elite, educated blacks would knock down doors of opportunity and show the world what blacks were capable of. There is a Talented Tenth. They are the black Americans who have become entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors and scientists. But ten percent is not enough. For the experiment to work, the ten percent has to be followed by a critical mass of people who can hold middle-class jobs and promote social stability. That is what is missing.
Through the years, too many black people continue to show an inability to function and prosper in a culture unsuited to them. Detroit is bankrupt, the south side of Chicago is a war zone, and the vast majority of black cities all over America are beset by degeneracy and violence. And blacks never take responsibility for their failures. Instead, they lash out in anger and resentment.
Across the generations and across the country, as we have seen in Detroit, Watts, Newark, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and now Ferguson, rioting and looting are just one racial incident away. The white elite would tell us that this doesn’t mean the experiment has failed. We just have to try harder. We need more money, more time, more understanding, more programs, and more opportunities.
But nothing changes no matter how much money is spent, no matter how many laws are passed, no matter how many black geniuses are portrayed on TV, and no matter who is president. Some argue it’s a problem of “culture,” as if culture creates people’s behavior instead of the other way around. Others blame “white privilege.”
But since 1965, when the elites opened America’s doors to the Third World, immigrants from Asia and India–people who are not white, not rich, and not “connected”–have quietly succeeded. While the children of these people are winning spelling bees and getting top scores on the SAT, black “youths” are committing half the country’s violent crime–crime, which includes viciously punching random white people on the street for the thrill of it that has nothing to do with poverty.
The experiment has failed. Not because of culture, or white privilege, or racism. The fundamental problem is that white people and black people are different. They differ intellectually and temperamentally. These differences result in permanent social incompatibility.
Our rulers don’t seem to understand just how tired their white subjects are with this experiment. They don’t understand that white people aren’t out to get black people; they are just exhausted with them. They are exhausted by the social pathologies, the violence, the endless complaints, and the blind racial solidarity, the bottomless pit of grievances, the excuses, and the reflexive animosity.
The elites explain everything with “racism,” and refuse to believe that white frustration could soon reach the boiling point.
Let me just preface your diatribe with this, Mr. Bell. Most of the time political incorrectness is a guise for bigotry. According to Collins Dictionary, Political Incorrectness is the attitude or policy shown by someone who does not care if they offend or upset any group of people in society who have a disadvantage, or who have been treated differently because of their sex, race or disability. That said, whether what I said can be construed as politically correct and what you’ve presented is politically incorrect, my point is, nothing could be further from the truth.
Let me point out the errors. First of all, our civilization is not some ongoing experiment. If anything, it is a shared experience. It is a living, breathing organic society experiencing the same laws, jurisdiction and societal norms placed upon us by rule of law, a constitutional government and state and local authority. We each live in respect of one another because of an unspoken (but clearly understood by many) and unbroken rule of live and let live. Those that live outside of that rule are usually harshly dealt with and removed from society. Sometimes, our system will fail us and law-breakers run free, while innocents are falsely incarcerated. This rarely happens, but this is the price of a free society. But to compare blacks and whites living together as an experiment is laughable. If anything, it is the end result of the “Experiment” of slavery failing and an assimilation of a bonded people into our form of governance. Remember, only white land owners could vote one hundred and fifty years ago. Today, ALL American citizens (Women, Blacks, Orientals, Native Americans, Latinos, the poor and the infirmed) can vote today. That is known as the evolution of the law. Our experience has evolved as well.
Second error. Europe at the time of slavery was not at all a majestic civilization. The Spanish Inquisition was in full bloom. Women (and some men) were still being burned at the stake for being accused of witchcraft. The Roman Catholic Church had a grip on kingdoms and kings and ruled by the hand of God. ALL of Europe was under some system of Kingdom/Fiefdom and the very poor (whites all) had no recourse in either the law or the economy. In fact, after enduring nearly a thousand years of Dark ages, the entire continent had just revived the premise that the earth revolved around the sun, (first known by the Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese, Western Africa and all of Islam). The church was just beginning to back off of burning heretics at the stake for spouting such nonsense. Europe was over crowded, filthy, over farmed and overused. Barely twenty percent of the male population could read or write. Constant famines decimated much of populace. Is it any wonder thousands left their homes and families to gain a foot hold in the New World?
Third error. You state America has been struggling with racial discord ever since emancipation. As this statement may be read in truth as a fact, it is the African American that has had the struggle. The very struggle that was caused by whites. White southerners have done their very best for the past one hundred and fifty years to keep black Americans fearful, disenfranchised, and politically detached, land poor and illiterate. Through the Klan and local law enforcement coupled with unlawful lynching, the fear factor alone perpetrated on America’s Blacks is unconscionable. Economic and political equality was unheard of in the south from 1865 until 1965 and the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The diatribe you posted asked the question: Can a people taken from the jungles of Africa and forced into slavery be fully integrated as citizens in a majority white population? If those same peoples are denied the education, economic wherewithal and local political clout for three generations, what do you think? And from the tone of this diatribe, I believe you want to blame the victims. What do you think would have happened if white Europeans had somehow been captured by Native Americans and forced into a slave system to support an ever growing Indian nation that formed its own centralized government and independent monetary system and keep those Europeans in bondage for five generations and then freed them as second class citizens to endure under a brutal and fearful system for three more generations. Do you think those European descendants would be the face of the landscape as we know it today? Do you not see the error in your assumption, just because we are all different, we are all not a fit in this society? There is much, much more to your “Failed” experiment than mere speaking points.
Lastly, those pesky intrusive laws upon the poor put upon whites such as National Guard being called out were due directly to the stubborn stance of many of those white parents unwilling to let loose of the status quo of racial imbalance. The closing of the “Achievement Gap” was a direct correlation due to the “Societal Gap” imposed upon the African American for the past one hundred years. The diversity you so eschew is what we as “God Fearing, Jesus Loving, Good Christians” should truly embrace. Diversity is the parable of the Good Samaritan. Had we been more of a diverse society in 1865, we would have recognized as our “Christian Duty” to educate and give a hand up the former slave into an integrated and loving society. Instead, we allowed ourselves to believe the lies and fears perpetrated by the elite and spread by ignorance. We became that which Christ would be ashamed. We not only looked down on our “fellow man”, we tried to crush his spirit while “demeaning” his existence. These African Americans today, who proudly wear their culture and make their way in the world (within societal norms-like the rest of us-but frighten you so) are the ones who refused to have their spirits broken. They refused to bend to a world that not only got rich off of their free labor, they work within that world to try and make it a better place now. I KNOW a lot of black folks, Mr. Bell. They are smart, industrious, creative, spiritual, loving, fun loving, self-aware family people who care very much about their community, their neighbors, their friends and their country. You could learn a lot from these folks. I have.
But I have to ask….what does this have to do with Citizenry Vigilance and holding County Supervisors accountable to their constituency…if anything? Wouldn’t your energy be better spent reading up on zoning and environmental impacts upon the ecosystem so you can be a more informed Shoreman? Seems our discussion is for another forum. Just my two cents worth.
But what about ‘Big June’, Weirwood, Nassawadox Shore Stop, White Rabbit, Withams, Horntown, Tick Town, ‘New Roads’, Bo Gunter’s Store and the way those folks have changed over the last 75 years??? Read my reply to you above…
Your two cents was well worth it, the students should read it, there not getting this sort of learning in the classroom. I have always been a forward thinking person, a sort of outside the box reasoning, I like to put into the hands of each black student a computer on every desk in the head start class, I guarantee you in twenty years half of that class would be running this county. I would be feeding these children micro chips instead potato chips, math instead of dancing, literature instead of singing. There would be two teachers in the room, the computer screen and the second would be the human teacher. Give me two years and I will transform the Black students in head start into scholars .
If Northampton County would split the Economic Development positionvacated by McSwain, and make one of the resulting positions a sort of admin assistant, whose main duty was grant writing /applications, we would have those computers/ipads, and many other things, for FREE! We could also enrich our tax base with research based grants, for the development of environmentally friendly, innovative industries. They, the new industries, would be paying Northamoton County for the privilege of working here, instead of dodging taxes( I reference the new Amazon solar farm in Accomack).
This is an excellent idea! The beginning of all knowledge is access. Ms. Sturgis is on to something here. I truly believe there is a direct correlation to cleanliness of environment to reaping the monetary rewards of tourism. It is a cycle worth pursuing. Watermen keep their jobs, restaurants prosper and local merchants and small industries such as Windsor Chairs and Brown Dog Ice Cream all reap the rewards. Once this is achieved, other new industries will appear thus creating an ever widening tax base. I am already seeing an increase in the appreciable arts, and family friendly events that draw the a lot of people. A good start.
Enjoy…….http://ourlighterside.com/2013/09/20/dr-james-d-manning-on-obama/
I’m glad here there all getting my ideas, let’s start getting taken back the industrial park from the cronies that the then board of Supervisors gave away for nothing instead of my idea to turn it into a veterans hospital for our wounded worriers
You sound as if you are running for office, Mr. Sacco.
Many Norghampton citizens have viable ideas (some completely out if the box, so to speak)concerning economic oportunity and sustainable growth for the county. That is why I urge all citizens to speak out at our BoS and other agency meetings. No idea or comment is too small or farfetched.
We need to turn Northampton from merely a surviving , into a thriving rural community. Emphasis on WE.
What is ‘ our wounded worriers’……..????
I fought for my country at age 17 in WW2, I will fight for Northampton County at age 90 to to take it from the bottom to the top and it can be done.
Mr.Sacco, thank you for your past, and continuing service. We will need you at the BoS meeting, Monday at 5 PM.