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- Chief Highknocker
- You aren't local until you have at least three generations in the cemetery.
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48 comments:
Who knows what is happening with Lindenwood and ABA these days?????
Who cares!
Well, I care. Many people care. Apparently you do not.
Regarding Lindenwood, I am not surprised that they have totally f_cked everything up. It was obvious that Doug Crusan and Ted Dominowski were far too inexperienced to take on a project of this magnitude. The ABA made a gigantic mistake. I still can't believe that no one was fired for making such incredibly bad decisions. The entire ABA should be sold to someone who knows what they are doing and has the means to accomplish it.
Does anyone know the status of the "Estates of Lawsonia" project? Is Lindenwood still involved? Are they still partners with the ABA?
I am told that two lots have been sold and houses on those lots will start in the spring.
Lindenwood's loan with the New London bank is in some peril because the bank is being investigated by the feds.
A development could have been done that preserved the drive along the road and the look of the place. The speculative frenzy of the times clashed with thoughtful development. Ditto for Maplewood. We can't get those places back and what has happened to them makes me sad. It also is a step back for Green Lake's long-term future as a tourist destination.
I don't understand the Town of Brooklyn's recent decision to give money to Lindenwood Development via a "Special Assessment". Where will the money come from if there are no homeowners in the Estates of Lawsonia to pay the assessment?
Your right, you don't understand. A special assessment would be more like a lien against the property opposed to "giving anyone money". And for the record, the town did not do that. They put in place the needed tools to file a special assessment if it should become necessary in the future.
I'd also like to remind everyone that the Estates of Lawsonia looks the way it does (roads widths, etc) because that is what the ABA homeowners wanted. How soon you forget the "Development Done Right" folks and the huge stink the put up about not wanting these "narrow and dangerous" private roads.
Lastly, I heard through the grapevine that Lindenwood has arranged for(or is arranging for) private equity funding to replace the bank loan and keep the project moving ahead.
"Preserve the drive along the road"
I believe there is about 800 feet of property that has lake access. Thats not alot when you think the Lake is 7 miles long and 2 plus miles wide. Buy a piece from these guys and you can look at it all day long..
Name the areas around the lake where locals or visitors can drive along the water. Not much.
I was told the Lindenwood development project is heading toward foreclosure. Just a matter of time before it is public. The ABA has some financial stake in this as well in the way the loans were arranged. Their only hope now is if they can convince some donors to cover their bank loan losses to keep them afloat. They keep making cuts to try to stay alive. One Vice President who handled their finances left for another job to get out of this mess. Another was let go who was supposed to be raising money for them. They recently fired all of their golf course employees and contracted with a golf management company in hopes of saving some money. Now the rumor is they are looking into taking all of the phones out of guest rooms to save those costs. Where is the accountability for the mess they are now in? Some development this turned out to be.
I told you so!
Ditto! I knew before one tree was cut down that this project was doomed. In my opinion, what the leadership at the ABA has allowed to happen is criminal. What a huge shame.
This is what happens when an organization is run with no real accountability.
On Tuesday the city council voted 3 to 2 to approve severence pay for the chief of police. Rumor has it that it is worth about $50,000 over three years. The meeting was to be on signs but it was just a cover for the severence pay. Thank you for spending $50,000 of our tax dollars!
I am wondering WHY? the chief should get any severance. Hed is the one that is retiring at his own choice. I never got severance for my job when I retired!!!
What about the upcoming eightieth edition of the school referendum? Yea or Nay?
Absolutely NAY!
The severance pay for the retiring police chief gets me sick. I say that the council members who voted for it get out their checkbooks and hand over the money. The taxpayers said NO and the city council did not listen!
We need new council members! They should be fired! They're a bunch of dingbats!
The school board will be discussing Ken Bates contract at the school board meeting tonight. They seriously need to get rid of this guy. He is destroying our school. Another family just left, and will be sending their kids to Markesan. Another family i know pulled their child out and said they will never, ever allow their kids to attend Green Lake schools again. Yet another parent I talked with said they are looking into Ripon schools. The IB program is NOT RIGHT FOR GREEN LAKE!
$50K when I retire would be nice. And the chief isn't actually retiring-retiring. Word is he is going to work for the sheriff's department. So he'll still be working, making money and living the high life on an additional $50K that the FEMALES on our CITY COUNCIL voted for. The 2 guys were against it.
the IB program in Green lake is a JOKE
Important information from last night about Ken Bates and the school board – posted at www.riponpress.com
The school board has finally figured out that we don't need a full time administrator. It's about time!
Shame on Wendy, Meade and Gordy for putting their own interests ahead of their constituents. I can't wait until each of them are off the school board. Bates might have them wrapped around his finger, but the writing is on the wall. (two analogies in one sentence!)
What is with the school allowing the students to run around town unsupervised for two days? They call that "Take a Break". How about they teachers keep the kids in the classrooms and teach them what it is that we taxpayers are paying them to teach. No breaks necessary.
The school would be legally and financially liable for anything happening to the students while they are wandering around unsupervised all day. I can't believe they would even consider doing this, but after seeing how that school is run, I am not surprised. When I send my kids to school, I want them IN the school, in the classroom, learning. Needless to say, I won't be sending my kids to Green Lake.
"Take a Break" is NOT unsupervised- it's amazing the amount of lies that are written here. The sad thing is that many people just believe this load of crap without ever finding out any facts for themselves.
The kids that we saw were absolutely unsupervised. Talk about lies!
The taxpayers are paying over $35,000 per day to educate the students at GLSD. I use the term educate lightly. For the administration to think that taking two days off for the children to recreate is a good idea is ludicrous. And people wonder why there is an educational crisis in our county. This is totally, 100% unacceptable.
I will also attest to the fact the students that I saw downtown during the Take a Break days were unsupervised. At first I wondered why there was no school that day, then someone told me what was going on. If they were supposed to be supervised, then the teacher(s) in charge must have been hanging out at Sugar Lips drinking cappuccino or something, because there was no adult anywhere to be seen.
Also, I have to agree that this is not a wise use of taxpayer dollars. Spending over $70,000 for two days so that the kids can play games is not what I pay my taxes for.
I heard the kids talking about doing all kinds of things. Learning how to write and produce a video, how to correctly sing a song for performance, how to prepare a healthy meal, were some of the things they talked about. They talked about teachers being involved or guest presenters. Granted, it wasn't science or math, or other core subjects, but I think the point of it was to help expose to other areas, stimulate learning in areas different than their daily routine. Maybe we could lighten up a bit here. Learning does happen in lots of ways as part of their education for life. If they were doing this every month, I'd be concerned, but generally my observation is that the teachers focus on regular lessons and quite a good number of our students score well compared to state standards and other schools in their core subjects. I am not for kids going around town unsupervised, however high school kids already have open campus for lunch hour and are able to navigate Green Lake during lunch hour on a daily basis if they desire. If the kids were out doing a project, and they had to visit a business or do something tied to the lake as part of a project, maybe that is where they were going? We are so quick to judge without knowing the facts.
I can hear the Japanese laughing at you all the way from here.
You mean the same Japanese that haven't figured out how to control their population, and stuff people on public transit, like cattle in cattle cars? You mean the same ones who have the fine quality of life, to achieve the ability to live in 8X8 rooms? Yep, they are a fine lot to be jealous of.
That has to be one of the stupidest posts that I have ever read on this blog.
January 29, 2011 RICHMOND VA — Local legislators have agreed to kill a bill that would have eliminated student fees as part of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate testing requirements in Virginia schools.
This was an attempt by a Democrat legislator to force ALL Virginia taxpayers to pick up the tab for IB exams. It is a disgusting example of IB attempting to ride on the back of the more recognized, less expensive AP, to worm its way into our public schools. Bravo, Virginia Legislature!
Isn't this interesting, considering that GLSD is NOT requiring families to pay for their IB expenses. In many schools, it cost over $1000 per year per student PLUS test fees for every test, payable by the family. In MOST school systems, IB is OPTIONAL.
GET IB OUT OF GREEN LAKE!!!
My child participated in the Take a Break program a few years ago. They loved it, had fun, and learned. I think it's a nice way for kids to learn about something that's not a traditional school subject. It's only once a year for two days. It might spark an interest for a future career, encourage a hobby, or provide some practical learning experience.
I agree with the last blogger. The whole point is to expose kids to other things that might spark other interests. In the course of history, many people who have achieved great things in life, will talk about how someone in their youth gave them a chance, or helped them try something new beyond their daily routine, which sparked their interest and helped them succeed. But some of the bloggers on here just can't stand the thought that the school might try to do some creative things with kids. There is a reason that kids grow up and succeed. They are given opportunity to learn, grown and try different things.
That's all fine, then they should do that on a Saturday, on their own time and their own dime. There are only 181 school days in a school year. Taking two of them to play games is ridiculous. Of course the kids enjoyed it. That's not the point. The taxpayers are paying over $35,000 PER DAY for education at GLSD. We never had "Take a Break" when I was in school, and we did just fine without it. Let's get back to academics.
I am not discouraging the "Take a break" program and do believe that it can be educational, if students are encouraged to find a job or educate themselves on something they like, etc...blah blah blah. Then why aren't we doing a program where they can hang out with their parents at work for the day, or a 2day internship at a business or something they would be intersted in doing - that way a adult is always supervising them.
If it's all about experience and education then lets give this opportunity - and with adult supervision.
And the IB program is a JOKE!!! I don't even pay $35K a year for my child to go to Parochial/Private school.
pardon my spelling and grammer.
Actually, I was one of the ones defending take a break, but the previous blogger makes a very good case for getting kids to job shadow, explore careers, etc. I think it's an excellent idea.
I just can't imagine what naive nerve you have to spout off about a situation which you obviously have no knowledge about nor business of yours. You saw something outside of your local establishment and something possesses you to spread trash about it. There is no wonder why businesses around you do not succeed.
While I was not there, I did get a different story from the students and teachers. And this was before the blog bitch session started.
What you did not see was the big yellow bus atop Hill St. The driver and two teachers attended a group of students. The students were on a geocache scavenger hunt type adventure where they learned to use GPS devices, follow clues, and create teamwork to find 5-6 hidden caches located downtown. The groups started at differ points and rotated around from cache to cache. The supervisors were able to see the groups travel from cache to cache. They chose not to lead the groups to each cahce nor interfere with their teamwork. Later they went to more geocaches along the Lake. Here the groups competed with each other. This was one period per day for two days.
Not at all the same situation you lead people to believe.
I you have nothing good to say...try harder to keep your big mouth shut.
So you paid a bus driver for the day as well? And we taxpayers are supposed be elated by your remarks or what? Am I supposed to be thrilled that the kids went geo-caching at taxpayer expense? How wonderful! That will help my student get into a good college. The kids can't read, are failing math and science, but it's all okay, because they know how to find hidden caches. I am guessing the teachers really were sitting in Sugar Lips while the students wandered around on their own.
The school is absolutely clueless.
I couldn't agree more.
again, maybe looking at how we can improve the situation would be better then the name calling and fighting about it.
I did the job shadowing in middle, high and college (interships). It takes more then one time to really discover what you want to do as far as a job, but also helps you decide what you don't want to do.
And you go more then 1 period for 2days...it would make more sense to do 1 whole day (and you don't have to pay for bussing) or you could do 2 days for middle school students.
High school students could make a WHOLE course out of job shadowing or JOB Skills course. combined with learning how to interview, fill out applications and doing a resume' and actually CREATING a Good work ethic.
FYI: BLOGS are for BITCHING, or sharing info. That's why they are BLOGS!!!
If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen!
Learning how to use GPS is valuable.
For example, a student in Green Lake may Twitter your coordinates to Dorthy and Todo in Kansas so they will know where to land the house.
Technology is pretty advanced these days. Sounds like some people on here are a little jealous of it and I bet they wish they knew how to use a gps. If they understood it, they would support the geo cache trip as it really is a very good and educational activity which kids can go do in their own free time once they know how to do it.
Yes, it's so advanced that you have to read the brochure that comes with the GPS unit! Come on folks...it isn't rocket science.
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day...give a student a GPS unit and do some geo cache-ing and waste the taxpayers money for life.
These are things that they can DO ON THEIR OWN TIME...It's called play-time or free-time...
Not 'on my dime time'. Keep them in school and teach them the building blocks of education...geo cache-ing isn't one of them.
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