Sheriff Lott on Gun Violence

Sheriff Lott 3/9/2022

Watch this interview on WIS-TV with Sheriff Lott.

https://www.wistv.com/2022/03/09/sheriff-leon-lott-addresses-teen-gun-violence-richland-county/

A 16-year-old has been charged with murdering a 14-year-old on March 7. The body was found near 2400 Kneece Road, only a couple of blocks north of Richland North East High School (through a wooded area). Were they students at RNE?

OK, Richland 2. You announced BeSMART. What's up with that? Is anything going on at all?

Is it just another plaque on the wall? Another program of "Talk, No Walk"?

I wanted to volunteer (that was before I was banned from school property until July 1) and get involved. I was a deputy sheriff (reserve) in Colorado for almost eight years. I've been handling guns safely for many years. I wanted to know what Richland 2 is actually going to do about preventing gun violence.

What did Supt. Davis recommend? Join BeSMART. Give me a break!

BeSMART is part of the Michael Bloomberg Everytown for Gun Safety and MOMs Demand Action crowd. Those groups talk about gun violence. My opinion is that they are mostly anti-gun, and their idea of stopping gun violence is to get rid of all privately-owned guns.

Will that happen in the USA? Not likely. What if every citizen in Ukraine had had a gun? How far would the Russians have gotten?

Sheriff Lott is right. You have to get into the heads of the kids (and adults) and convince them that banging away is not the right step.

Is there any anti-gun violence group in Columbia or Richland County that is doing more than just talking about it???

In Memory of Mike Royko (1932-1997))

This morning I was thinking about the late Mike Royko, long-time columnist and humorist for the Chicago Tribune and other Chicago papers and 1972 Pulitzer Prize winner.

I lived in Chicago from 1965-1970 and enjoyed his columns. His targets were politicians, lawyers, bad cops, tow truck drivers and anyone else who cheated the public. 

When I was preparing to move from Chicago in 1970, I called Mike. He answered his phone with a gruff, "Yeah?" I told him that I had enjoyed his columns and was moving to Denver, where I probably would no longer find his columns. At the time I thought he sounded like an old man; he wasn't. He would have been about 38, only a few years old than I. 

I remember thinking that Mike sounded close to tears at the end of my call. I doubted then that very many people had ever called to thank him.

Perhaps I'll finally buy his book and learn whether some of my blogposts might get close to his writing style.

Trustees fail to acknowledge Complaints

This week I filed three complaints with Richland 2 school board trustees under Board Policy KE. That's the policy that directs trustees to forward complaints to the superintendent. I had previously filed other complaints.

KE also gives the Complainant the right to file a complaint with the Board, if the superintendent's decision is unsatisfactory.

Then the Board MUST schedule a Grievance at the next Regular Board Meeting or at a special-called meeting.

IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO FILE A COMPLAINT, DO SO IMMEDIATELY, because the Board is about to revise Policy KE and take the public's teeth out of it.

What were my complaints, and to whom did I submit them?

3/8/2022 To Teresa Holmes. Against Marq Claxton for improperly banning me from ALL Richland 2 properties, instead of just from R2i2, contrary to (Administrative Rule) AR KI-R Visitors.

3/8/2022 To Cheryl Caution-Parker. Against Marq Claxton for denying me access to the Sandhills Public Library.

3/8/2022 To Amelia McKie. Against the District for too-broad, vague, indefinite language in Administrative Rule KI-R and using end-of-school-year as a duration for many Trespass Notices, rather than tailoring the length to the specific incident.

3/7/2022 To Manning. Against Pamela Davis. Forwarded my Feb. 1, 2022 complaint (originally sent to Matt Sherman, Principal, Blythewood High School). 

3/1/2022 To Holmes. Against Claxton for denying access to attend the public press conference at R2i2 about the new SROs.

The lack of acknowledgement causes me to believe that the Board Member may not have forwarded my complaint to the superintendent. If that's true, then the Board Member violated Board Policy KE.

The District employs a Special Assistant to the School Board. That position was, I believe, advertised as a $45,000/year executive assistant to the board chair. At the time I wondered why the District would provide a secretary to the board chair. When a board member receives a complaint, all s/he has to do is forward it to the executive assistant, who then documents it and forwards it to the superintendent. That executive assistant should calendar for a follow-up, in case the superintendent doesn't handle it promptly. 

Remember, the superintendent is accountable to the school board. He works for them; not vice-versa.

Is that how it works? Shouldn't the Complainant be informed of the superintendent's decision and action?