Folks, there is an old saying: “The Devil is in the Details!” The so-called “Emergency” School Board meeting held at 12 Noon on August 18th, 2021 at the Cleveland County School’s Central Offices is a perfect proof of that old saying. It also justifies my knick-name for School Board Chairman Robert “Luke” Queen. “Luke” being short for “Lucifer” –an ancient mythology name for the “Shining One.” The Devil trying to convince backsliding Christians that he is the “light of Venus”. When, in actuality, he is the head General in the armies of Satan. The Devil Himself. Trying to deceive the people at every twist and turn.
But, hey folks. Don’t believe a word that I say. Watch the CCS video of the August 16th Emergency Meeting yourself and let me fill you in on what actually happened behind the scenes.
First, this past Tuesday evening I received a call asking if I had seen the notice for an EMERGENCY School Board Meeting Wednesday at Noon.? At that time, I had not. The caller said that various people were calling around encouraging folks to show up at this meeting and sign up to speak during Public Participation. Public Participation bring a requirement by North Carolina Law that requires governmental agencies to reserve a certain amount of time at agency business meetings for the public to have the opportunity to speak directly to their elected officials. It has been my experience that every governmental agency in Cleveland County tries to discourage people from coming out to speak to them. The Cleveland County Schools School Board being no exception. I told the caller that I would check my email and come out to the meeting and sign up to speak. Something I have stopped doing as the School Board, Commissioners and the Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees listen to the speakers because they have to, but I have never known of them actually doing anything about what they hear. The speaker’s words just go in one ear and out the other ear of the officials.
As far as the School Board goes, they don’t even include what the speaker says in the minutes of their meetings. For instance, the approved Minutes of the July 26, 2021 School Board Meeting, Public Participation simply says: “Nannette Leonhart, Margorie Hooper and Suzan Parris addressed the Board.” Not one word about what each person said to the School Board. Since I was there and took notes. I can tell you right now that all three spoke about CCS teaching Critical Race Theory and doing other bad acts. You can check for yourself by looking up this meeting on the CCS School Board meeting videos.
When I hung up from the call noted above, I checked my email “Inbox” and there was the notice for the Emergency School Board Meeting for August 16, 2021. And a link to the Agenda.
I pulled up the Agenda and Immediately smelled a rat!!!
This Emergency Called School Board Meeting agenda had exactly four items:
1.A call to Order and the Pledge of Allegiance.
2.Adoption of the Agenda
3.Called Meeting Item/COVID Update
4.Adjourn the meeting.
I am offering $100 to the first person who can find the “Emergency” in this Emergency Called Meeting!!!
As soon as I saw the agenda, I “knew” several things:
1.Something crooked was going on.
2.It was a well-planned scheme-totally worked out beforehand by “Luke” and his henchmen. Joel Shores, Rodney Fitch and Ron Humphries. And Superintendent Stephen Fisher-The Secretary to the School Board.
3.By calling the meeting an “Emergency” meeting, it was their intention to use this as a “ruse” to NOT allow any public participation at all. They apparently did NOT care to hear from citizens, tax payers or parents and do what they damn well pleased. Parliamentary Procedures, North Carolina state laws, school board policy, the best interest of students be damned!! No Matter.
So, Williams, I thought, what can be done? I put my “thinking cap” on. The first thing to do was to get there early and scout the place out. I arrived at CCS Central Services before 11:30 AM and found the parking in front of the building and the parking lot beside the building already mostly full. I found a place way in the back.
I entered the Central Services Auditorium and lots of people were already there. I picked a copy of the agenda to confirm and verify that Public Participation was NOT on the latest agenda-it was the same. Then I overheard school board member Danny Blanton telling others that he was going to make a motion to place “Public Participation” on the agenda when the meeting got started.
I moseyed on over to the front of the auditorium where the Public Participation “Sign-Up” sheets are usually kept. No sign-up sheets were available. Luke and his friends had made sure of that. So, I took the agenda I had just picked up, turned it over and commenced to “hand draw” a Public Participation sign in sheet myself.
I drew in the date, I printed “Emergency School Board Meeting Sign in Sheet” in big letters across the top of the page. I put the number “1” right below that and signed my name.
Others had watched what I was doing and came up and signed their names too. Pretty soon there were 15 names on my hand-made Public Participation Sign-In Sheet.