Why did Cyrus run?

 I'm sure (well, hopeful, at least) that the deputies figured this out before I thought of it.

Why did Cyrus run out of the Shell station Sunday evening after he was suspected of attempted shoplifting? If he had a gun in his pocket, he would not have wanted to be there when the sheriff's deputies arrived. 

They would have searched him and found it.

Why did 14-year-old Cyrus have a gun? Did he? Will RCSD find his DNA and fingerprints on the gun and on the ammo? 

In one of her comments online, WIS' Judi Gatson referred to "shots". Was more than one round fired by anyone? The Coroner mentioned only one wound.

Had that gun been fired? Will there be GSR on Cyrus' hand?

Guilty until found Innocent

Reading the news stories of Sheriff Lott's statement by WIS, WACH, and WLTX about the shooting of Cyrus Carmack-Belton, 14, a Summit Parkway Middle School Student, just about anyone will conclude that Rick Chow murdered Cyrus.

I don't.

In the minds of many, it is heresy to raise any questions about the shooting of a black "child". Comments on Facebook are over-the-top. If I drive by that Shell station today, I expect to see it burned to the ground.

In the online article of WLTX, Sheriff Lott called the "crime 'senseless' ". So he had already decided that a crime occurred, when Chow shot Cyrus. And calling it "senseless" inflames the public, which is already looking for the next "Michael Brown" excuse. You know, an "innocent" black being gunned down by a white person.

Lott denies that Cyrus was shoplifting bottles of water, because he had put them back in the cooler. It sounds to me like Cyrus' shoplifting was interrupted by the owner. The crime of shoplifting did not occur, because Cyrus put the bottles back after "touching" them. He didn't carry them out of the store.

WLTX says Cyrus "left the store". Another media report says he ran from the store. Which is it?

The owner's son (name and age not given) chased Cyrus, with Chow following. Chow was armed. In that neighborhood, if I were a business owner, I'd be armed, too. Wouldn't you?

Cyrus fell and got up. Chow's son tells his father that Cyrus had a gun. Chow shot Cyrus. That leaves a huge hole in the story. "Why?"

In a Facebook comment, WIS' Judi Gatson referred to "shots". Really? Plural? The Coroner refers to only one wound.

RCSD found a gun near Cyrus' body. Will RCSD find Cyrus' fingerprints and DNA on the gun? How soon will the sheriff release that information? What is a 14-year-old doing with a gun??? (Hello, Richland 2 Safety Committee and BeSmart!!!)

Now comes the statement in the article that "investigators determined the gun was not pointed at the men (Chow and his son)." They mean, when they found it. Finding an inanimate object (gun) on the ground tells them absolutely nothing about any direction in which it might have been pointed!

The WLTX article says the sheriff said "there's been a lot of misinformation". Now there is an honest statement. And, to me, it looks like a lot of it came from the sheriff.

For the sheriff to call this "tragic" and "one of these things were [sic] you just stand up and shake your head" and "There's no reason for this to happen" instills a bias in the mind of the public. Law enforcement is supposed to be neutral. Isn't it?

14 y/o with gun shot

WLTX reports today that 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton died after being shot. The article says he was a Summit Parkway Middle School student.

Sheriff Lott announced that a convenience store owner has been charged with murder.

It was just last Monday that Richland Two's Board Safety Committee sponsored a Summer Safety meeting. And BeSmart is supposed to be ending gun violence.

A summary of the article.

The store owner thought the kid was shop-lifting. An argument followed in the store. The kid ran off. The store owner and the owner's son chased him. The kid fell down, got up, and continued running. The owner's son told his dad that the kid had a gun. The store owner shot the kid, hitting him in the back.

Sheriff's investigators found a gun near the kid's body.

Last week I admonished students' preparing for the summer, "Don't do stupid stuff."

The convenience store is at Parklane Road and Springtree Drive. That is eight miles from the school. Did the kid live near the Shell convenience store? Is that why he was in there about 8:00PM yesterday (Sunday)?

There are holes in the story in the paper. Did the kid point the gun back over his shoulder as he ran from the owner?

OK, so the owner shouldn't have chased him, once he left the store without merchandise that had not been paid for. 

The article says that Richland 2 issued a statement, saying, "The Richland 2 family is devastated ..." and "....students, teachers and school staff are grieving ..." 

Not true. Few even know about it yet.

Sheriff Lott says, "People [sic] pray for this family."

Right, people. Pray that families will teach their kids not to do stupid stuff!

Maine school district refuses to rent to church

In Maine a school district refused to rent a high school auditorium to a church. Read this article in The Daily Signal, a communication of the Heritage Foundation.

The Pines Church in Bangor, Maine, outgrew its space and wanted to lease space for worship services.

The superintendent and a board member, Chris McLaughlin (a subscriber to use of personal pronouns) wanted answers to questions about DEI, same-sex marriages, abortion, conversion therapy, sex education, etc. Read McLaughlin's request to the superintendent in the article.

Since "Chris" might be the first name of either a man or woman, he could simply display his email signature line as (Mr.) Chris McLaughlin, and skip the personal-pronoun stupidity.

The only proper questions for the church would have been whether anything illegal would be done on the premises and whether the premises would be left in the same (or better) condition than found.

Are there any churches meeting in Richland 2 spaces?

5/23/23 Public Participation

Westwood High School sophomore Ethan Lopez offered important comments to the board about in-school experience with safety issues. 

After the McPherson & Jacobson consultant told the board about the negative comments about the board during the stakeholder interviews, I offered some advice to the board that I had received from a neighbor, whose employment history includes organizational management.

He had written the following to me.

“Without guidelines, people start doing each other's work. That causes a lot of confusion and disruption. 

For starters, assume that an organization such as the Richland - 2 School District has five distinct roles:

STRATEGIC, LEADERSHIP, SUPERVISORY, OPERATIONAL, and EXECUTION. 

STRATEGIC is the work reserved for the Board. It looks far out into the future, establishes policy and audits the processes.

LEADERSHIP is the work of the Superintendent and her/his administrative staff, who implement policy.

SUPERVISORY is the work of the School Principals.

OPERATIONAL is the work of the Department Heads leading the day-to-day sessions.

EXECUTION  is the work of the classroom teachers who deliver the established daily contacts with students.

When there is transgression into others' roles, confusion and 9-hour Board meetings result. Think of the concept as driving lanes. Stay in your own lane and do the work you are assigned to do. The trip will be much smoother!!!!”    

My comments during Public Participation followed Ethan's.

Unfortunately, many of the current board members have a very difficult time staying in their lanes. That's because they lack experience in serving as executives. 

Blistering Report coming from "Mac & Jake"

At the school board meeting on May 23, the consultant from the superintendent-search firm of McPherson & Jacobson LLC in Omaha informed the board that a lengthy report is being compiled for the District that is not entirely complimentary of the board. The report summarizes stakeholder feedback that was gathered in surveys.

The consultant tried to soften the punch that the board will feel when they read the report. Watch her in action here.

The board may have received its copy today or will receive it tomorrow. The report, expected to be in the 150-page range, will be published on the District's website on Tuesday (May 30). Well, we'll see about that.

The consultant mentioned that issues of conflict and dysfunction exist on the board. No kidding!

She mentioned other areas for improvement: That the board should govern, not manage. There is a lack of trust among board members. Low morale of staff. 

The poor audio connection with the second consultant, who was apparently in his Omaha office, occurred when a make-do arrangement for audio varied from the steps that Richland 2 had set up. When the audio didn't make it from Omaha on the Zoom call, a cell phone connection was established and the Richland 2 sound technician had to hold the cell phone to a microphone, contributing to the poor audio and an echo. This was not the fault of Richland 2. 

Did Monica Scott really say a representative from "Mac & Jake Law Firm" was there to present information? I replayed her introduction 4-5 times, and that is how it sounded to me. If you hear it differently, please let me know what you think she said.

Permanent Expulsion - only for Murder?

At tonight's School Board Meeting (5/23/2023) Item 8.3 on the agenda was Student Permanent Expulsion. The student, of course, was not identified.

After the Motion and Second. Trustee Monica Scott launched into how anyone can make a mistake. She said, basically, that no student should be permanently expelled - except maybe for Murder. Her defense of the student starts here: At 1:59:30 on   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10860996/videos/236321838

You know, everyone makes mistakes. And the board shouldn't sit there in Judgment.

Well, that's was a board does. It makes decisions. She has a teaching and an administrative background. Her defense of students' making mistakes is the reason that crime continues on school campuses. It's why teachers get assaulted, and students get beaten up and bullied.

Because students have learned that there aren't any REAL consequences. 

If Monica doesn't want to "sit in judgment" when a student commits a serious crime on campus, then she ought to resign from the board! Tomorrow!

I started to stand and leave several times, while she was speaking. Finally I did. I wish others had stood and walked out while she was speaking. 

I'll take a wild guess that it was the Ridge View High School stabber who was being expelled tonight. But I don't know. It could have been one of the kids who took a pistol to school. 

I'm tired of hearing about illegal aliens who have been deported many times and return to the U.S. and commit heinous crimes. I'm tired of reading about inmates of prisons and jails being released, only to then murder someone. 

Every principal could write a list of kids in his school who have committed serious offenses and still in school. 

It's too bad the District will not identify the student who was permanently expelled last night.