Editor’s Note: For the 99.999% of Cleveland County residents that were not notified or informed, there was a big public presentation at the LeGrand Center–Monday, September 20, 2021 at 2:00PM regarding COVID in Cleveland County. To my accounting, I was the only member of the public that cared enough to attend. It was a “Dog and Pony Show” without the dogs and the ponies. But, be sure to read this all the way to the end for the real story.
COVID-19 has been a terrible thing over the past year and a half. Especially for those that have gotten bad cases of this China made and likely US paid for “novel” virus. Those that died from it, their families and the economic and educational impact from it that was mostly of our own dirty political making.
Let us clarify this one thing right to start with. What was the Cleveland County governmental entity that is in charge of healthcare emergencies? The Cleveland County Health Department or Cleveland County Schools?? If you said The Health Department-you are 100% correct!!
According to the Cleveland County Website, Home Page information for the Health Department you will find the following statements:
Cleveland County Health Department
MISSION
To assure, enhance, and protect the health of Cleveland County citizens, through education and prevention
VISION STATEMENT
Creating a healthy and safe community in which to live.
Notice that you find in both Mission and Vision Statement references to HEALTH!!!
For Cleveland County Schools you will find:
Cleveland County Schools
Our Mission
that will lead them to become a productive global citizen and a lifelong learner by partnering with our community to provide quality learning opportunities.
Notice that Cleveland County Schools Mission is only to provide quality learning opportunities. Also note that all School Nurses are contracted out from the Cleveland County Health Department. School Nurses are Health Department employees-not CCS School Employees.
So, one thing is crystal clear. The Cleveland County Health Department is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of Cleveland County citizens. No matter what. Anything the Cleveland County Schools does in regard to COVID-19 should, by rights, be done at the recommendations and oversight by the Cleveland County Health Department. A Department directly controlled by the Cleveland County Commissioners, through the Cleveland County Manager. That is the official and State Mandated chain of command. Anything less is just incompetence or downright negligence by the Commissioners themselves. Or corruption of some sort.
That is how things should have worked during all this COVID Pandemic. What was actually done was likely illegal. By illegal, I mean NOT in accordance with North Carolina. And no reason is a good reason for violating the law that the Commissioners have sworn an oath to uphold.
Now, let’s consider the COVID-19 Pandemic into this picture.
In March of 2020, one and a half years ago, Democrat North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued a directive to Shut down all public schools in North Carolina. At that particular time there were ZERO cases of COVID-19 in Cleveland County and NO DEATHS in Cleveland County from COVID-19. Cleveland County Schools shut down per the Governor’s Order as an “Abundance of Caution.” I heard “Abundance of Caution,” “Abundance of Caution,” “Abundance of Caution” till I was sick of hearing “Abundance of Caution. There was exactly ZERO “Follow the Science” in closing Cleveland County Schools as it was a long time before Cleveland County started to have isolated cases of COVID-19 and CCS had already been shut-down without science. Only the Governor’s mandate shut them down. Which the Cleveland County School Board did NOT challenge.
Note that closing down Cleveland County Schools dumped around 14,000 minor children (Students) into the daycare facilities in Cleveland County. Filling up all vacancies almost immediately, and leaving thousands without available care during the day so the parents could go to work. Many to most parents had to immediately stop outside employment to care for their children. Throwing the economy into a tailspin. Many believe that a lot of that was to take away President Donald Trump’s booming economy for political purposes during the 2020 Elections. Some, about 70+ million, would say it takes a fool to think otherwise.
Then, right before the 2020 Elections, the School Board incumbents up for re-election started talking about starting schools back up. “Oh,” they would say, “virtual learning at home is excellent; but not as good as ‘in-person learning’ at school.” Then the School Teacher’s union fired-up at school board meetings; “follow the science,” follow the science,” “follow the science.” But there was no science to start with. Since the CCS Schools shut down only per Governor Roy Cooper’s Mandate, there was no criteria or science to follow. No limits. No defendable COVID infection rates. Only stabs in the dark about what to keep track of and those stabs in the dark seemed to change every day. Every week. Until after Election Day. With Schools still closed. And every incumbent School Board Member got beat in the 2020 Elections.