Change of Mind On ATV Ambulance

Congratulations to the Ambulance Committee for coming to their senses and voting against spending over $17,000.00 for a used ATV, an enclosed trailer to store and transport it and a carrier for it. Trailer hitches, extra vehicle and helmets not included.

The Ambulance Service headed by Mr. Roy Griggs had requested the committee allow them to move some excess money around in their budget and purchase this equipment to be used "for getting injured hunters out of the woods". While this may have sounded reasonable and necessary when presented by Mr. Griggs in the last meeting, sounder heads prevailed and examined the request outside the emotional plea of Mr. Griggs.

First of all the ambulance personnel do not go into the woods and get injured hunters, they do not go down embankments and cut people out of wrecked vehicles, they do not drive across field to get farmers from under overturned tractors, those things are done very efficiently by the Rescue Squad Members. What I strongly suspect the ATV would be used for by the Ambulance Service is to bobble around the very flat grounds of the Ag. Center during the fair; for parades, football games and other events where a crowd might be gathered, even thought those activities would allow for an ambulance.

It seems that the Ambulance Service padded their budget once again, this time by about $190,000.00 and now they are looking for a way to spend all that money. What a terrible agonizing burden that must be compared to simply not spending the money on frivolous wants and giving the taxpayer a break.    

Do You Know This Man, You Should We Are Paying Him To Work Against Us

Charles W. (Chuck) Cagle is a shareholder and chair of the Education Law Practice Group for the firm’s Nashville office. He oversees the firm’s representation of over 70 public boards of education, two private schools, two private universities, and a private medical school in a variety of legal matters including employment issues related to both licensed and classified employees, employee and student discipline, employee and student rights, special education and disability accommodation, constitutional rights issues, sexual harassment and bullying issues, civil rights, desegregation, school system consolidation, tort liability, school system business practices, school funding, taxation, and school construction.

Mr. Cagle also is a registered lobbyist with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. His list of lobbying clients includes school superintendents, school employee professional organizations, school boards, private schools, and Pearson Inc the textbook and testing giant that is one of the pushers behind Common Core.

Mr. Cagle is the legal counsel for the Giles County School Board. 

Here’s an interesting thing about Mr. Cagle, not only has his legal advice been somewhat questionable, (remember it was he who told the School Board that they did not need a written letter of resignation from Dr. Webb and they could go ahead and appoint Mr Smith as Director, remember paying both Dr Webb and Mr Smith for being director then the big pay off to Dr. Webb), the questions of conflicts of interest are monumental. Understand that as the main lobbyist for Pearson Inc. his job is to present their interest in the most beneficial way for them. As a lobbyist and attorney for School Superintendents and numerous school boards across the state he has a unique position of influence with them. So what it basically comes down to is Mr. Cagle is representing both the seller of textbooks and testing materials and the buyer of those materials. Basically this is the equivalent of going into court with the District Attorney and your defense attorney being the same person. How can you come out ahead with that kind of set up.  Now add to that the fact that Mr. Cagle is a leader for SCORE who is pushing the Common Core scam down our throats and you can add the judge to the DA and defense attorney as being all the same person. Think there is a conflict of interest? 

Last Thursday night, according to the Cleveland Daily Banner the Bradley County Board of Education felt there was a conflict of interest because they voted to fire Mr. Cagle as their attorney because he is a registered lobbyist for interest other than school boards. 

Can Giles County be expected to follow the example of Bradley County, will our Board of Education even question the probability of a conflict of interest by Mr. Cagle. It’s very doubtful since this county has a history of not questioning the status quo, “we done it this way for 200 years”, of accepting whatever “officials” tell them and the matter of a “conflict of interest, even incredibly expensive ones, are dismissed with “I vote my conscience”.