Don't spare the rod

The crazies are at it again. The latest touchy-feely idea to come from this country's so-called researchers is that boot camps and discipline do not curb teen violence but counseling does. What hog wash. The premise is that boot camps encourage more violence but an hour on the couch can cure a life learned habit.

Some kids cannot be rehabilitated under any circumstance even boot camp - others though are testing the water to find their way in life. If the only punishment these kids face is an hour with a so called counselor preaching abstinence and self imposed suffering, what is the likely result? While growing up in England after WW2 life was hard, food was short and it was not unknown for kids like me to occasionally stray from the lawful path. But if I misbehaved at school, not only would I be beaten with a stick by the headmaster but I would be beaten again by my dad if he found out. If I broke one of society's laws I faced going to juvenile detention school (boot camp.)  Thankfully I never experienced one of those places first hand but I talked with boys that did and what they told me shook me to the core. Had I or my friends faced only a counselor if we did wrong then I would in all likelihood not be writing this editorial today. It is time for those of us left with a modicum of common sense to reverse the dangerous trend of counseling for every ill. I wonder how those advocating counseling would have reacted to the 9-11 terrorists.
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Damp dilemma

Detention ponds or is it retention ponds? - are still causing feverish hand-wringing among some of our local officials. No one seems to know what to do. A detention pond located in the Benjamin Crest subdivision is fueling the controversy. Let me be clear right now, the pond in question is neither a detention pond or a retention pond because it was not engineered or constructed to be either. A retention pond retains water like a lake - a detention pond detains a specific volume of water for a predetermined time. The Benjamin Crest hole in the ground does neither. Who is responsible? The developer Paul Rice is undoubtedly responsible but so are the people in the official position to regulate its construction. One hears a lot of talk from Bradley County Commissioner William (Bill) Varnell about how the county needs to take care of the problem. Interestingly, Varnell was Chairman of the Bradley County Regional Planning Commission when the pond was being constructed and according to the state planning office in Chattanooga at the time, regulation authority was unlawfully handed to the Cleveland planning department and had to be returned to the county. Also, there was some doubt by observers that the subdivision was even voted on by the B.C Planning Commission. Varnell is at the center of the mess yet he is giving the impression that he is being the good guy. Also, Leonard Hilton, who owns property he claims is being damaged by the subdivision water runoff, would hold the burden of proof in the event of a lawsuit unless Bradley county accepts responsibility as Varnell is urging. It could be argued that Hilton would find it difficult to prevail in a lawsuit against the citizens of Bradley county and would stand a better chance of proving official misconduct and seeking damages from those involved with construction and regulation. The Bradley county citizen can reasonably expect those officials responsible for this mess to sort it out at their own expense.
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It's only money

One of the letters on page 12 ["letters" on this website] is from Mark Heinzman, vice president of SHEA-PC, a Minnesota computer supply company that responded to an "invitation to bid" on new equipment for the Cleveland City School System. Specification requirements were sent to a number of vendors and Heinzman's company was the lowest bidder, being more than 10% lower ($10,000) than its nearest rival PCS Inc. of Louisville Tennessee. When PCS Inc. was awarded the contract, Heinzman made a formal protest of local bias to Director of Schools Dr. Rick Denning, and the City of Cleveland Board of Education. Dr. Denning said that PCS Inc. won the bid because in his and his staff's opinion they had better local references and their ability to service the equipment was superior. He said there was a potential for lost student learning time if the equipment was not serviced promptly and PCS Inc. seemed the better choice. Tennessee law requires that government bodies accept the lowest and best bidder when "best" can be determined by the governing body itself. Why am I writing about this in the "What do you think" column? This dispute poses a number of important questions about the bid awarding process and how it translates into a good or bad deal for the taxpayer. I have every confidence in the integrity and honesty of Dr. Denning, don't ask me why, it's just a gut feeling. But to choose a company for services because they are known locally would be like a government body in Tennessee buying only Saturn cars because the are made here. While checking SHEA-PC and PCS Inc. on the internet, both companies seemed equally reputable but there appeared to be a link between PCS Inc. and TETA (Tennessee Educational Technology Association) which includes technology educators from this region. They regularly participate in the TETA Summer Institute and this year hosted a gala for its members. Dr. Denning said he did not know if Cleveland school system personnel were members of TETA.  PCS Inc. also visits classrooms as part of their public relations effort.  Despite my personal confidence in Dr. Denning, I have reservations over school system administrative staff awarding contracts without individual approval of the Cleveland City Board Of Education. I was under the impression that an elected body could not delegate this authority. While I personally prefer to shop locally, competitive price would be the deciding factor and so it should be for spending the taxpayer's money. It could be setting an unhealthy precedent for local governing bodies to pay more than the absolute minimum for a product if it needs to be purchased locally. It seems to be circumventing the idea of competitive bidding.
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