« Ward 6 seat will likely remain vacant for now | Main | Homes may not qualify for soundproofing »
September 20, 2005
Please allow me to introduce myself ...
Hello North High Point!
Yes, the North High Point & Jamestown blog is alive again. I'm the News & Record's new reporter covering that area, and that means I get to participate in this blog explosion going on here in the Triad.
I'm excited to be here and hopefully will give folks a reason to stop by.
So here's a little bit about me: I'm coming from The News Leader in Staunton, Va. where I worked for 15 months covering the city of Waynesboro. Before Staunton I was the South Carroll reporter at the Carroll County Times, which is a lil' sis of the News & Record.
Coming here is sort of a homecoming. I've never lived in the Triad but my family is from Greensboro and I've been coming here my whole life to visit.
Well that's probably enough for now. I look forward to hearing from ya ...
Posted by Jonathan Jones at September 20, 2005 1:46 PM
Comments
Let me be the first to say:
Get Terry Grier Outa Here and the SW/Central/Andrews school assignment system sucks.
Okay, that should prepare you for half of the comments on this blog.
ps I like the Stones reference in the title
Posted by: Patrick Eakes at September 21, 2005 3:10 PM
Thanks Patrick.
I consider myself forewarned. And I'm just glad somebody's reading already.
Jonathan
Posted by: Jonathan Jones at September 21, 2005 6:01 PM
GREAT first comment Mr. Eakes.
Seriously, Mr. Jones needs to understand the frustration that is going on in this area. Because this school issue IS at the forefront of the hearts and souls of most of the citizens does not mean that we are second-class citizens needing reprimand for airing our concerns.
We are actually commited, educated parents that chose to live in this community and expect nothing less than the right to a decent education.
I would hope that Mr. Jones will show some compassion towards this fragile subject and even offer some hope thru this blog that our community ebraces its children and agrees that this school situation needs immediate attention.
Welcome Mr. Jones, we are passionate but a harmless lot of folk!
Posted by: J-towner at September 22, 2005 9:55 AM
Jonathan,
Do you find it interesting that the first post that you received on your new assignment here was from a Greensboro resident? Mr. Eakes (a scattered mind by his own admission) made a disdainful comment about the NHP/Jamestown's folks concerns over the choice plan/school board/terry grier/redistricting, etc., but since he is someone who lives in Greensboro, what does he know of it? I thought that the objective of establishing this blog was to give residents of that area a forum to talk about the things that concern them. If you are going to ban them from talking about their concerns about what's happening to them in the schools, then you might as well wrap this blog up and mail it in. You won't be anymore successful than your predecessor was. The day Justin banned discussion of the schools on this blog was the day that this blog died.
Posted by: Stormy at September 22, 2005 10:47 AM
Jonathan, welcome to the land of no representation. People tend to fend for themselves over here. Next we need to figure out to support old High Point when the Furniture Market goes jetting off to Sin City.
Posted by: SkeetClub1 at September 22, 2005 11:42 AM
I am in the process of transferring from Chicago. My wife and I would like to settle in this area due to the proximity to work.
Can someone please explain the school situation here. My wife and I have lived all over the country and we cannot comprehend what is going on here. It sounds like the people running the School System are stuck in the 1960's.
Posted by: WindyCity at September 22, 2005 11:50 AM
Thanks to all for the responses.
I'll try to respond to a few of them.
J-towner: I certainly understand what an emotional issue schools can be/are and I know there's a lot of concern in this community about the situation. I hope you'll never find me denigrating of this or any other issue.
Stormy: I have no intention of banning any subject (although Spam will be deleted). If comments get too vitriolic or are vicious ad hominem then I reserve the right to remove them. But y'all can talk about the schools as much as you want within those guidelines. Schools will be a part of my beat, but a small one at that. We have several dedicated reporters who focus on them and I think y'all know where the education blog is.
WindyCity: I'm not the best person to explain that too you. I'm still learning about the situation, as well as my beat, and don't feel up to speed enough to give a fair recap. You might pose the question to one of the reporters over at the Chalkboard:
http://blog.news-record.com/chalkboard/
And I'm sure there are people here willing to give their opinion.
Thanks again to everyone for reading
Posted by: Jonathan Jones at September 22, 2005 12:22 PM
I heard that Target at Oak Hollow Mall will be closing. Have you heard anything about it?
Posted by: Cecilia at September 22, 2005 5:18 PM
No Cecilia I haven't. But thanks for the tip. I will look into it.
Jonathan
Posted by: Jonathan Jones at September 22, 2005 5:29 PM
I heard that the High Point High Schools plan is illegal? Can you look into that?
Posted by: google at September 22, 2005 6:27 PM
Hey Patrick,
I'm an old stones fan myself - your welcome message to Jonathan reminded me of one of my favorite stones songs
You can't always get what you want
"Get Terry Grier Outa Here and the SW/Central/Andrews school assignment system sucks."
but what really stinks is we can't even get what we need
By the way, has anyone heard how Jonathan's predecessor is doing in his new career?
Posted by: nomore at September 22, 2005 10:24 PM
Johnathon,
good luck but be forwarned.
It stinks around here. We get pooped on all the time.
Taxation without representation.
The school subjext will never die as long as they dont put the situation right.
Have patience......If you dont we will make you sick!
Pick up the fight and join us too.
Thx
The ordinary pooped on citizens of N.High Point.
Posted by: Forked at September 22, 2005 11:08 PM
The Oak Hollow Target might be closing?
Hold on, I'm calling Dot. Can you say Middle College?
It's a great location, right in between Andrews & Central and very close to the city jail.
Posted by: Sueseeeeee at September 23, 2005 9:29 AM
Stormy, sorry for my delayed response.
I do have a Greensboro address, but I live in Adams Farm. That puts me about a mile outside the former SW district affected by the school choice plan.
I am anything but a disinterested observer and have taken Terry Grier to task at my blog. My point was that this blog is about much, much more than the school choice plan, but the majority of comments are about that topic.
Posted by: Patrick Eakes at September 24, 2005 1:24 PM
If this blog is about much, much more than the choice plan, how come no one comments on the other strands?
North High Point IS the choice plan. The choice plan dominates North High Point. This is what the residents care about, their children and their schools. But the rest of the county does still not "get it".
Good Luck Windy City. You would be "blown away" if you had to have it all explained to you. Call your realtor. She will tell you to move to the Northwest end of the county or save your money for private school. That would be simpler than explaining it.
Posted by: Cindy at September 24, 2005 10:06 PM
Mr. Eakes,
What's the name of your blog? I can't wait to visit a blog that has "taken Terry Grier to task"!
What's it called, "My blog about Incompetent Superintendents"?
Or "The blog of Doctors to Stear clear of"
OR "Git him outta here blog"??
What? I'm dying!??
Also, thank you for being an interested observer to the chaos in North HP/Jamestown. I see that you almost got tossed in the mix but your fine School Board rep. saved you.
Please do continue to not only observe but speak out about the injustices being done to your High Point neighbors.
I can't wait to visit your blog. Would you be interested in a nice magnet for your car? It's black and gold and has a nice catchy phrase.
Posted by: your neighbor at September 25, 2005 4:40 PM
Patrick, Beware the Choice Plan may come knocking at your back door too. Smith HS is not too far away from Ragsdale. What is so wonderful for High Point is also great for Greensboro. The legal thing to do would be to give the entire county these state-of-the-art magnet-like programs. Swapping plans are just wonderful for everyone.
Posted by: Minda at September 25, 2005 7:01 PM
Patrick/Johnathon
we will only go away when the school board gives us the same rights as the rest of guilford county.
What is that I hear you say?
Yes, its neighborhood schools or ragsdale included in the mix too with the rest. Be careful boy!
Until that happens if you dont like it you had better stay off the blogs.
N&R you had better close down your blogs.
The more you comment that you dont like it. The more it will fire us up and the more you will read about it.
Its a vicious circle.
HAHAHAHAHA(EVIL LAUGH).
Posted by: urneyboraswell at September 25, 2005 10:25 PM
There is a recent article in the New York Times about Wake County and the benefits of social engineering by income. They have done it in the entire county. So Ragsdale beware!
Posted by: Eli at September 25, 2005 10:40 PM
Posted by: Patrick Eakes at September 26, 2005 4:24 PM
I live in the High Point school choice area. My children go to private school and home school. If we qualified for Southwest we would enroll them. What makes little sense to me is why they don't draw some cirles around the schools and determine a 2-3 mile lock in zone in which all students go to that school. How can you have any kind of stable home sale process when people can't be assured of the school their kids will go to? Couple that with the additional gas needed to bus kids far from home - this is just a brainless plan.
Posted by: Victor at November 1, 2005 4:25 PM
Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate.
Posted by: ps at November 21, 2005 8:47 PM
