Letters to the Editor

Prince Edward County School System

An Educational System in Crisis

Dear Editor,

It has been almost 17 years since I moved here to Rice, Virginia, and even now, as it was then, we have deteriorating schools and education system. We don’t even have an Assistant Superintendent, while ours is MIA. We have an Elementary School with mold and leaking roofs; and we wonder why?

It is said, “stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” We keep the same ineffective school board, and the same shabby administration, and wonder why our educational system hasn’t improved, but become worse.

I am for infusing new and more monies and resources into improving our whole educational system in Prince Edward, as Supervisor Jim Wilks has suggested and attempted to do, but not under this same failed School Board or School Administration! Unlike Mr. Bruce Davis, who seems to feel as though we should not expect performance and improvement of our schools and that the citizens should instead give more of our tax dollars, while getting less.

Susan Kimbrough, new to the scene, offers us that hope of new leadership, and accountability. As current School Board has failed to deliver a safe and productive education for our children.

In closing Prince Edward County Schools: Our schools are in crisis, which in turn places our very county in crisis. Businesses don’t come to areas where there isn’t a trainable workforce; graduates do not stay in an area that has no upward career mobility; pay remains below the cost of living, equaling less income and less revenue.

So how important is Our Educational System? More valuable than we will ever know.

Kenneth W. Jackson

Rice, Va.

County Citizen Urges Re-examination of Randolph Project

Dear Editor,

Rural means rural. People choose to live in rural areas for a reason, and it is the opposite of being in the midst of a commercial industrial project.
Agricultural means agricultural, not commercial or industrial. A “solar farm” may sound like it belongs in the countryside, but it doesn’t because it is an installation that encompasses many acres of agriculture-zoned area and is a gross misuse of a conditional use permit. The Randolph Project should never have passed muster at the planning and zoning level since it violates the Charlotte County Comprehensive Plan to preserve and protect rural culture.
Solar panels are made in China where manufacturing methods bear no resemblance to stringent manufacturing integrity. Long term use of the panels could cause leaching into the soil beneath and ruin the land for decades. The Randolph Project is in close proximity to a vital river; part of which is designated as scenic. This project could violate that designation.
Catastrophic events may cause damage to solar panels. What happens if the company walks away or declares bankruptcy? The Randolph area floods frequently. How likely are compounds in the panels to contaminate runoff or reach the water table? Solar farms wipe out wildlife habitat, which is another loss for Charlotte County! Are wetlands being disturbed? Will there be mitigation? How long will it take buffers to fill in and block the view of the panels? 
Are setbacks to the benefit of the landowners or those negatively impacted by the intrusive structures? Adjoining landowners opposed can’t just uproot and move. This is their home and their life is being altered by greedy landowners, most of whom do not live within the project area. Will there be maintenance on the fence lines and bare spaces visible from roads? A nearby county is a prime example of poor maintenance practices visible from a major thoroughfare. Will Charlotte County landowners be more respectful and vigilant?
No other county in Virginia has allowed such massive projects. Neither has any jurisdiction in the country except in desert lands in the western US. Why is that? Those with common sense know that an industrial facility as large as the Randolph Project, affecting 21,000 acres of farmland and woodland, is not a viable use of Charlotte County’s rural agricultural zoned land, and will directly have a negative impact 400 area households. It will stigmatize the entire county’s heritage tourism, property values and rural way of life.
I urge the Board of Supervisors to increase the buffers and setbacks to reasonable limits as proposed by a group of concerned residents and to place a moratorium on any further projects until more benefit/detriment assessments can be made on current projects approved to date. Citizens of Charlotte County, please rally around your neighbors and help them fight this industrial infringement our leaders have allowed to happen. Attend the Board of Supervisors meeting at 1:30 p.m. on September 13th and voice your support that setbacks be increased to reasonable limits as proposed in motion passed at August Board of Supervisors’ meeting.   

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Adams, Citizen

Charlotte County, Virginia 

Commonsense and Medical vs

Political (agenda) Science

Dear Editor,

For me my commonsense tells me that anything blocking natural air flow is not good, especially if you are breathing in more of your outgoing carbon dioxide (co2) and the bad bacteria your body is trying to get rid of, than the fresh air. My commonsense also tells me that making children from the age of 2 and up having to wear a mask is hurting our children not only medically but is also slowing down the rate of learning when children are most teachable. Commonsense when a child is first learning to talk, pronounce letters, words, and sentences they not only use their ears to listen; but also their eyes to mimic the mouth and lips of what is being said. So without the children being able to see mouth movement this slows down the learning. Any parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent out there is aware of this; they just have to get past all the fear that is being pushed and rely on their commonsense. Unfortunately commonsense is not so common and/or is being taken over by the constant fear being pushed on all of us.

So we have all heard follow the science, well since this is medical my commonsense told me to follow the medical (pre politicalized). So I did just that I had heard a couple of people saying a few medical words I had no clue what they meant so decided to research. The definitions to the words I looked up came from (Blakiston’s Gould Medical Dictionary Third Edition).

Alkalemia– an elevation of blood pH above normal levels

Alkalosis- an abnormal state characterized by processes tending to decrease the blood concentration of hydrogen ion below the normal range, and by compensatory processes alternating blood buffers in a manner to minimize  decreases of blood concentration of hydrogen ion

Acidosis- an abnormal state characterized by the processes tending to increase the blood concentration of hydrogen ion above the normal range, and by compensatory mechanisms alternating blood buffers in a manner tending to minimize increase of blood concentration of hydrogen ion

Respiratory Alkalosis– an abnormal state in which a tendency decreased blood concentration of hydrogen ion results from accelerated pulmonary elimination of carbon dioxide (co2).

Respiratory Acidosis– an abnormal state in which a tendency to increased blood concentration of hydrogen ions results from pulmonary retention of carbon dioxide,

So after looking up just those five words destroys the science (political agenda) that masks are safe. Respiratory Alkalosis think hyper ventilating  usually given a paper bag told to place over mouth and nose and breath in eventually your breathing slows and balances out the pH. On the same hand Respiratory Acidosis is cause by not being to get rid of carbon dioxide and breathing in fresh air. Here is where my commonsense kicks in again blocked airflow to much carbon dioxide which means all of our organs are not getting the oxygen needed making them work harder and unnecessarily. MASKS BAD!!!

So for the people that need a little more information stuck on following the science (political agenda) of masks are to protect and do not cause harm; I will leave the mask issue alone for a minute. I used my critical thinking which isn’t taught anymore they just want you to recite answers to questions these days. So outside the box thinking I traveled and where I ended up the science ( political agenda ) hadn’t made it there or they felt that no critical thinkers are left I’m sure after this gets printed there will be a big dash to change what I found. I started thinking air quality in buildings, so I went to osha.gov indoor air quality in commercial and institutional buildings. (osha 3430-042011) on page 18 of 32 there is a whole section on carbon dioxide standards and effects if those standards are not met. Just a couple of the things mentioned exposure to high ppm ( parts per million ) co2 can produce  a variety of ill health effects such as headaches, dizziness, tingling feeling, difficulty in breathing, increased heart rate, and poor concentration. So I present this question if this is an osha thing air quality for room with people just seating in them and breathing have high standards for said air quality and ventilation why would you think a child or anybody as far as that goes that it’s safe to wear a mask all day. Osha also has strict guide lines for working conditions with like confined spaces ect. People that do work in these areas have special meters to detect poor air and other things that are life threating.

Where is the science (political agenda) on this? I have seen numerous test supposedly proving the science right but have yet to see any science test that are plain and simple you know so everyone can understand without running this fancy thing or that fancy thing and using 500 dollar words. Simple test use the air monitoring machine without a mask then place a mask on and see what happens. They won’t do it because it’s not their science (political agenda)

Bottom line  for me and my commonsense  Masks harm especially our children the government has no right to mandate our children or us as far as that goes to wear a mask. One a mandate is not a law and two the most important we not the government raise our kids and decide what’s best for them

Lastly I hope people will read this and think for themselves and not just be consumed by the continuous fear mongering. God bless America and our Troops.

Justin Antonellini

Keysville Va.

(Editor’s Note: The above letter was run without any editing from our proofreading department.)

Lunenburg Would Benefit from SHINE

Dear Editor,

I’m writing to voice my support for the Red Brick Solar project. 

The Red Brick Solar project will provide Lunenburg County substantial, steady and guaranteed revenue – with a nearly twenty-fold increase in local tax revenues. In addition to the hundreds of jobs it will create, local landowners will also benefit from the increased value the project provides for their land and local businesses will benefit from the development and construction of this project. 

Historically, Virginia has lagged other Eastern states in solar development, with many solar jobs going to out-of-state workers. Noting this dynamic, SHINE’s founders came together in 2018 to identify ways of ensuring that more solar jobs and their economic benefits go to the communities where the work is being done.  What came from this discussion was a strategic, collaborative approach – to launch SHINE as a vehicle for preparing Virginians to compete for career-launching jobs in the rapidly growing solar field, enriching our communities and ensuring they reap the long-term economic benefits of solar’s unheralded growth. Projects like Red Brick Solar will ensure those benefits for Lunenburg County and help Virginia stay competitive. 

Currently ranked 18th in the country by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Virginia generates 1.03% of its total electricity needs from solar resources. Owing to a number of factors – significant declines in solar production costs and passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act among them – the Commonwealth’s solar power output is expected to increase significantly over the next 5 years. We at SHINE estimate that 3-5 gigawatts of solar capacity (enough, on average, to power 950,000 homes) will come online over the state in the next few years, generating tens of thousands of career-building jobs, many of which could go to residents of Lunenburg County. 

Lunenburg County has the opportunity to benefit from this wave of growth and the good-paying jobs, millions in economic impact and nearly $200k/yr in county tax revenues that come along with it. 

Respectfully,

David J Peterson

Executive Director  

SHINE  

Solar Hands-on Instructional Network of Excellence