Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25

[Bullwinkle]

      Anyone capable of this kind of name calling has no business running a newspaper. Having an opinion is one thing, belittling other people with degrading epithets is the mark of a vengeful person.

[Ross]

      Anyone capable of this kind of name calling has no business running a newspaper. Having an opinion is one thing, belittling other people with degrading epithets is the mark of a vengeful person.

Amen to that Bullwinkle.

[Ross]

You hit the nail on the head Bullwinkle. 

Upoladeb may I ask your definition of social idiots?

Perhaps some questions might help with your definition!

Try these questions:


Really who are social idiots?

Would possibly be People that call others names in a bullying way?

Would possibly be People that are unable to answer reasonable questions about their activities?

Would it possibly be People that lie? 

Would it possibly be People that work in secrecy from the rest of their surrounding society?

Would it possibly be People that avoid the interest of people on this local forum, especially when they said they said they would utilize this forum to keep the people informed and then refuse to communicate openly and honestly?

Would it possibly be People that offer up to do an expose' in secret and then make excuses not to do it?

Doesn't this actually define social idiots?

[upoladeb]

Ross you need to start a new post unless you are vain.There is only 1 commissioner left that this was about.Some of you ought to figure out what 3000 peoples share of $900,000.00 would be and send the residents a check for what we've lost by the ugly wind farm being here.I know it hasn't lowered my taxes or fixed any of the roads in Oak Valley township,Kudos to the lady that stood up by her self to defend her local newpaper.And thank you Ross for being concerned and involved in our county.

[Ross]

Ross you need to start a new post unless you are vain.There is only 1 commissioner left that this was about.Some of you ought to figure out what 3000 peoples share of $900,000.00 would be and send the residents a check for what we've lost by the ugly wind farm being here.I know it hasn't lowered my taxes or fixed any of the roads in Oak Valley township,Kudos to the lady that stood up by her self to defend her local newpaper.And thank you Ross for being concerned and involved in our county.

I must point out that if you look at your property tax for 2013 they were reduced by about 20% by our present County Commissioners and they have voted and approved a reduction for next year utilizing the wind farm money. I believe this is happening because as you pointed out, we only have one Elk Konnected, LLC affiliated County Commissioner on the County Commissioners Board.

You mention 3000 people sharing the cost of $900,000 I don't know where you come up with $900,000 when the numbers mentioned at the school board meetings has been as high as $6 million.

And I think you are referring to the population of Elk County, the population of Elk County has fallen well below that figure! It has fallen below 2880! But, it is not the population as a whole that pays West Elk School property taxes. The number of property owners in the West Elk School District is far lower. I must apologize for not knowing the number of property owners in the West Elk School District but Perhaps someone can  inform us of that number?

While on the other hand, and although I can not identify how many West Elk School Board Members are Elk Konnected, LLC and that is because of what I perceive, as their secrecy, the West Elk School Board may very well be under the influence of Elk Konnected, LLC. And I believe if you check your property tax paper work you will find that the West Elk School Board members have raised your property taxes.

Oh, and please give this some thought, if you vote to approve the monstrosity of all those building extensions --- that will increase your property tax even more. And you can bet that will mean even more tax increases yearly for more and more maintenance costs and probably more maintenance personnel. And there is so much more involved if Critical Thinking is engaged.
 
I don't believe, I need to start a new thread just because, you believe this thread was about just County Commissioners! And this is definitely not about vanity; I make far too many mistakes to be vain. So, I have no idea where you get that idea!

This thread is about the liberalism that exists in this county. It's about those that want to tax us to death! It's about the greedy that want to grab and control the wind farm, wind fall for their own greedy uses !

Perhaps in an indirect way, I suppose this thread is about possible unknown connections with the United Nations Agenda 21, unbeknownst to those involved.

This thread is about even more than that!

This thread is about the weird ideas on page one of this thread.

This thread is about the crazy idea, that a Taj Mahal of a School Building and Professional type Sports Center near Howard will draw people to Howard, increasing their population, improving their economy (increasing retailer's profits) or improving educational standards,  standards improvement involves the School Board paying attention to the fact that it is possible to be done, not by a building bigger and bigger un-needed building  ! There was a movie called, "Build it And They Will Come", fiction as in not real! Life just doesn't work like that! That's why it's called fiction. Get it!

When will they want (not need) to build an enclosure of the football, track and baseball fields?

This thread is about morals, ethics, honesty and transparency and much, much more!

This thread also provides reminders if you read back through it, about what has taken place over the last few years. Which some people would prefer would go away, isn't that right?

Why destroy history?
To hide the truth, right?

If the kind people that provide this excellent tool for communication with the folks (the voters and taxpayers and consumers, friends and neighbors) of Elk County, have no problem with the continuation of this thread, why should you?

And please, do not harass them about this thread, as has been done in the past. They are knowledgeable people and are fully aware of this thread, they also provide this entire forum at no cost to anyone that chooses to use it. And if you don't like this thread no one is forcing you to read it!

There are 13798 Topics you have been provided and the privilege of viewing!

Be thankful for their generosity.

Upoladeb, thank you for recognizing my concern for Elk County!

No, I was not born and raised here, but I am a native Kansan born and raised in Independence.

Which is really of no importance, especially when I am spending my money in Elk County?

After being gone from Kansas earning a decent living in various big cities, since 1964,
I chose to make Elk County my retirement home.

Unlike people that may have been born and raised here I CHOSE to live here and have endured being called an outsider numerous times.

So Be It!

But, I have never been called an outsider when spending my monies any in of the retail merchants establishments or when paying my property taxes and that is nice.

Once again, Upoladeb, thank you for recognizing my concern for Elk County!

So, now that I have stepped further out on the limb, those of you that have a desire to slap me down, I extend my welcome to you to do so. Thank You!

There is just no proper rebuttal to the truth is there?

And please remember you have the POWER of the VOTE. When this comes about encourage your friends to vote as well.
Lets just say "NO" to the Smoke and Mirrors shall we ?

Be SMART, be SENSIBLE, be FRUGAL, re-open the Moline Grade School and save millions and problems solved.

Be SMART, Be SENSIBLE, Be FRUGAL, Just Tell The Elite " NO "

[Ross]

 

Fortunately, we didn't make the top ten in worst list,
But for how long?
But we didn't make it in the top Ten List either.

There is always room for improvement in educational standards, which would be a very positive goal for the West Elk School Board to work on improving. I'm sure they use they could the aid of the West Elk Site Council in such an endeavor. Do they want Improved Educational Standards at West Elk or just bigger un-needed buildings? Let's wait and see what has priority with these people, it shouldn't take long to find out, in my opinion!

Anything in (bold blue is my emphasis, remarks in parenthesis are also mine) .

States With the Best (and Worst) Schools 

By Thomas C. Frohlich and Michael B. Sauter   January 14, 2014 6:37 am EST

For years, American students have consistently ranked poorly compared to most developed nations. And according to a recently released study, the U.S. education system remains mediocre, receiving a C− grade, for the third year in a row.

(Doesn't West Elk USD 282 fall under this catagory ?)

Click here to see the states with the best school systems: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/01/14/states-with-the-best-and-worst-schools-2/2/

Click here to see the states with the worst school systems: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/01/14/states-with-the-best-and-worst-schools-2/4/

Education news and research publication Education Week released its 18th annual survey of the status of education in all 50 states. The K-12 Achievement Index is one indicator in Education Week's "Quality Counts" report that measures key education outcomes and provides ranks and grades for each state based on their commitment to improve educational policies and practices. This year, Massachusetts received the highest score, a B, while Mississippi got an F. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the states with the best and worst scores for K-12 achievement.

The discussion of quality of education often turns quickly to money. It appears that the states with the highest levels of achievement generally also spend more money on education. The states with the top five grades in achievement are all in the top 15 for funding per student, adjusted for the cost of living. Only one of the 10 worst states for student achievement was in the top 15 for spending per student, cost-adjusted.

(I don't believe they are talking about spending for un-need buildings, Or sports field either, do you? ?)


Senior Research Associate at the Education Week Research Center, Sterling Lloyd, explained that funding is not necessarily "the deciding factor" that determines the quality of education. Of course, he added, "most people would acknowledge that if there's not enough money there then it makes things difficult for educators and makes it very difficult to improve achievement."

There is a surprising lack of correlation between the state's K-12 achievement and the presence of policies Education Week identified as important. Five of the 10 states with the best achievement scores are among the worst in the country for setting standards and using assessment techniques that are most likely to be effective, according to Education Week. Meanwhile, Louisiana and West Virginia are the second- and third-best states for standards, but they are both among the five worst states in student achievement.

Lloyd explained that one reason for this disparity may be the amount of time it takes for good policies to have an impact on schools. "One of the things we find is that the states that have historically had lower student achievement tend to perform better on the policy side of things. Often, this is because they've put in place an aggressive policy agenda, in part because they've had low achievement over the years."

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 11 best-scoring and 10 worst-scoring states in K-12 achievement, based on Education Week's 2014 Quality Counts report. Education Week analyzed six separate categories that measure different components of the education system. These categories are K-12 achievement; standards, assessment and accountability; the teaching profession ; school finance; students' chances for long-term success; and transitions and alignment. K-12 achievement measures test scores and graduation rates. Standards, assessment and accountability determines whether schools measure student achievement through standardized testing and rewards and penalizes schools based on performance. The teaching profession category measures whether schools hold teachers accountable to high standards and provide incentives for performance. School finance measures whether the state is spending money on students and identifies funding inequality. The students chances for long-term success category measures family background and employment opportunities. Transitions and alignment measures how schools manage students' transitions between the school systems and secondary education or employment. All data are for the most recent available year.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/01/14/states-with-the-best-and-worst-schools-2/

[upoladeb]

Ross $900,000.00 is the wind farm money divided by 3000 residents in Elk county that their quality of living will be changed as long as they live ...meaning the view and blinking red lights

[Ross]

Ross $900,000.00 is the wind farm money divided by 3000 residents in Elk county that their quality of living will be changed as long as they live ...meaning the view and blinking red lights

Okay so I misunderstood you, I did say I make mistakes. Thanks for correcting me.

But still the population is below 2880.

I just did a search and came up with 2720 at:
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=population%20of%20Elk%20County%2C%20kansas

So, if you take the $900,000 (I do not know the exact amount) and divide it by 2720 residents that would only provide $330.88 per person. Not much for changing one's quality of life in my opinion. Nor do I think any NGO can utilize that money to improve anyone's quality of life, because they have never expressed a way of doing so!

But because the county commissioners are using the money to improve county roads and county equipment and ambulance services I believe it improves the quality of life for everyone in a more serious manner.

If there is a better way, I believe at least two county commissioners will listen to anyone that has a suggestion. They have an open forum for anyone to talk and it is informal.

Please double check my math and make sure I got it right.

[Ross]

This in my opinion is where quality of life begins and we should demand the best teaching of each and every child not just a few. Quality of life is not dependent on the very best of sporting fields, arena's and the very largest of un-needed buildings. These last items are for people with extreme ego's.

Is the following what it takes to improve education in the US of A?

California students sue state over teacher-protection laws

January 27, 2014 |12:12PM ET

Lawsuit sponsored by advocacy group says tenure and seniority laws can keep low-quality teachers in classrooms Nine California public school students sponsored by an advocacy group are suing the state over its laws on teacher tenure, seniority and other protections that the plaintiffs say keep bad educators in classrooms.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/27/california-courtcasetoaddressteachertenureseniority.html

[Ross]

Whether you are pro or con I appreciate all the people that are visiting 
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/27/california-courtcasetoaddressteachertenureseniority.html

It makes my efforts well worth while.

Thank You !

P.S. No, it does not tell me who visits because I don't require a log on so, it only tells me when someone has opened the web site and it has been pretty frequent.