Part III – People are talking!!! CCS Students Malnourished??? CCS Broke-Commissioners get the blame-and YOUR KIDS GO HUNGRY!!! Political Shenanigans Explode between CCS and Commissioners!!! December 7th Commissioner’s Meeting will be interesting!!! Report, research, gossip, arguendo and conclusions by Robert A. Williams

The Commissioners will select their Chairman and Vice-Chairman tonight, at the December 7, 2021, Commissioner’s Meeting. The date, December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day, is a day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “a day that will live in infamy.” Reminds us all that History does repeat itself. Lies, secrecy, and deceit in and between government agencies in Cleveland County are not exempt from this history.

First, let’s go back exactly one year.

At that time, both Commissioners Johnny Hutchins and Ronnie Whetstine wanted to be Chairman of the Commissioners. They were the most senior commissioners and had just gotten re-elected. Along with newcomer Kevin Gordon. Hutchins had already been Chairman and Whetstine had been Vice-Chairman. But both now wanted to be Chairman and ended refusing to vote for the other. And, in the end, refused to vote at all.

When Doug Bridges was nominated for Chairman, Deb Hardin and Kevin Gordon, along with Doug Bridges who voted for himself made it 3-0 for Bridges for Chairman. Then the same was repeated, A 3-0 vote for Deb Hardin for Vice-Chairman.

Fast forward to right now, newly obtained “gossip,” says that Ronnie Whetstine was the main instigator for removing Robert “Luke” Queen from the Cleveland Community College Board of Trustees this past June. Then Whetstine reportedly went rogue and joined Dennis Bailey, Wes Westmoreland, Kevin Whisnant, David Allen, and a handful of others to go to Senator Ted Alexander to re-appoint Luke Queen back onto the CCC Board of Trustees as a General Assembly appointment. Which ultimately made ALL the Cleveland County Commissioners look like a pack of “fools.” More gossip is a Cleveland County resident has allegedly made the statement that he would fund up to $1,000,000 to get Senator Ted Alexander run out of office at the next election. I expect I will support that effort myself. For the Commissioner’s meeting tonight, I predict that Ronnie Whetstine will NOT be selected for the commissioner’s Chairman or Vice-Chairman.

The smart Republican move would be to re-appoint Doug Bridges and Deb Hardin as Chairman and Vice-Chairman, not necessarily in that order. As both Bridges and Hardin are up for re-election in 2022. Or insert Kevin Gordon in that mix somewhere, Or next year anyway.

But, all this posturing for the Commissioners, as well as the selection for the School Board Chairman and Vice-Chairman pales in comparison to the dirty political tricks that are playing out between Luke Queen and his sheep school board against the Commissioners that is being “Generaled” by the CCS Nutrition Director. With the children of Cleveland County being served up as “cannon fodder” in their secret battle against one another. And, the root cause is as it is always about one thing. Money!!! Who gets it and who wastes it?

It goes like this:

Folks, if you remember, Jada Taylor Brown is the CCS Director of Nutrition. Ms. Brown was also the Number One user of the CCS P-Cards a few years ago. Ms. Brown’s use and likely misuse of the School’s Credit Cards included personal massages at the Spa at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville as well as major purchases of chewing gum, fast food crackers by the case, cases of energy drinks, candy, etc. None of these have the kind of “nutrition” that a Nutritionist should be purchasing for growing students at Cleveland County Schools. The School Board protected Jada Brown from any real close investigation of disciplinary action.

Since then, Jada Brown has moved school lunchrooms from actually preparing hot meals for CCS students, in favor of prepackaged foods. Sold all the lunchrooms pots and pans. Refrigerators, Stoves, etc. as surplus, getting pennies on the dollar in worth. And, during the pandemic, when meals served dropped from 16,000 down to 2,000, managed to spend all the CCS food service money down to pretty much ZERO.

Child Nutritionist Jada Brown has shown herself to be the “perfect” bureaucrat. Spend (waste) all the money available and then ask for more.

Now, Jada Brown is in a perfect position to exert “blackmail” on the folks who have the taxing authority to tax citizens and supply funding for CCS-The Cleveland County Commissioners. All in the name of what is “in the best interest of the children.”

And, it gets better (or worse if you are actually considering what is in the best interest of the Children}!!!

If you followed the “small print” (as I did) in the 2021 property re-evaluation and the follow-up tax rates that factor into what your tax bill will actually be, you will also find that the Commissioners lowered the County School Tax Rate from 15 cents per $100 valuation to 14 cents. Also, the County is to keep another penny of the school tax rate revenue for other school-related expenses. This totals a 13.33% reduction of school tax revenue going forward, although the property valuation went up more than $13.33%. Meaning CCS will NOT lose any actual funding. But the “wasters” at CCS ALWAYS want every dime in revenue they can get. They even RAISED their budget for 2021-2022 from $150 million to over $206 million. A 33% plus increase for who knows what?

Also, the County plans to build a new courthouse and jail “The “Justice Campus” estimated at $90 Million that will surely actually cost $125 Million plus. Instead of building new schools to replace the schools that are over 55 years old.

So, Luke Queen, Ron Humphries, Dennis Bailey, Kevin Whisnant, Wes Westmoreland, David Allen, others on the school board, and the Rogue Republicans would just love to “stick” it to the Commissioners. And how best to stick it to the commissioners? Screw over the children in school and blame it on the commissioners.

This is what they are doing!

I have attached two photos at the end of this article. These pictures are of the lunchroom “trays” at Crest High School and Crest Middle School. These “trays” are the same as many restaurants give you to take home takeout food. They are made of thin Styrofoam and are pretty flimsy.

At Crest High and Middle (no word about other schools) these trays are cut at the hinge to make two serving trays, One of the pics shows the bottom half with the day’s ration of food in it, and the other pic is a picture of the top half before a ration of food is put in it.

A parent called Crest and asked about the split trays. The School person told the parent that CCS is very low on money and they have to cut costs wherever they can. They have more trays coming but they are “stuck out in the ocean.” Folks, tis is way too strange for anybody to make up.

The “stuck on the ocean” refers to the latest national news showing all those large container ships waiting in line in the Los Angeles Harbor waiting to be unloaded. The school person also told the parent that much of the CCS food is also “stuck on the ocean” too. So much for fresh foods for our students.

Now folks, take a look at the food on the “bottom” tray that has a day’s ration of food on it. Almost half the “tray” is empty. Nothing but air! Although over half of CCS schools are “Free Lunch” Schools. But this takes “Free Lunch” to a whole new perspective.

Note that these pictures were taken in secret for fear of retaliation by Cleveland County Schools.

When this report and pictures reached me, my immediate thought was Jada Brown, School Admin, Luke Queen, and his Rogue Republicans are putting the squeeze on the Commissioners for more tax money for CCS to waste, AND, they are willing to sacrifice the nutrition of our children in their childish way to “throw a temper tantrum” to get what they want.

Also, I have heard no such reports from any other school, although this might be going on there too.

Folks, Cleveland County Citizens must unite into “Citizen Committees” to visit every school on a regular basis and report back to the people what is going on. Everything from food in the lunchroom to the Porno and Critical Race Theory books in the student library. And the classroom.

Do NOT believe anything CCS, Luke Queen, and the Rogue Republicans say about anything. WE must-see for our own selves what is going on.

Sorry folks, I gotta get ready for the Commissioners meeting this evening. I will be back soon.