When The Doors Close

So many the things that have been said here tonight, especially by elp6n, demonstrate perfectly why consolidation is bad for kids from the smaller towns.

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What do the residents of Pound have to show for their tax dollars? Pound has Foodland, The Dollar General, a carwash, a broken down footbridge, and a park that consists of a single small prefab play gym. They use the the old Christopher Gist High School as a town hall. I would prefer to see it used in a more academic sense (maybe even alongside the tow hall functions). A museum perhaps, education center, etc. But no. A town hall is all it is. There's no funding or desire to do more with it. Not a great sense of community there.

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Here's an example. Is this the kind of garbage that kids from Pound are going to hear every day if they are consolidated with Wise?

Talk about the annhialation of a community.. imagine youre from Pound. Your kid goes to school every day and is looked down on by some self-righteous idiot from Wise who thinks that because Wise has a college and a few businesses than their town is obviously superior to Pound, and that your kid should be ashamed to live there, and should want to move to Wise where things are "bigger and better.."

What utter rubbish. And don't say that stuff would not happen.. because if adults in Wise are capable of it, the kids will be even worse.

I absolutely agree with you Aphrodite4ever. I don't think that I could have said that any better myself. I love living here and I love Pound. Pound is my home and it always will be. Yes, we are small, but we are a tight-knit community and that's what I like about it. The schools are the the only good thing that Pound has left these days. By taking away our school, you are killing what's left of our little town. Instead of killing our community, why not try and build it back up. If people would put in the time and effort, they can build up these small communities around here instead of trying to take away what's left and make them ghost towns. To me, there is so many things wrong with consolidation that I don't know where to begin. But I refuse to roll over and let someone take away the only thing our small community has left.

Guess what?

Wise is superior to Pound.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...44/Popcorn.jpg

Things like this could be mentally detrimental to the students from the smaller communities and possible the communities themselves. Kids would grow up thinking if I stay here, then Im nothing but trash, when this is NOT true. When a kid hears that kind of trash everyday they begin to believe it. The they would move away from the area as soon as they had the chance and it would cripple our town even more than what it is now.

...idiot.

Since when? Just because you think you are doesnt make you superior. This is exactly the kind of trash our kids would be exposed to every day if we were to consolidate.

Businesses. But that is that.
And that was why? Wal-Mart. Which was already where?
And that is only because of the land and the College.
The only economic plan our great economic board has come up with.
And it wasn't their idea it was the person who developed the land. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Oh yeah we have a four year college. And it has a football team.
Should we all go ape [censored] and act like it's all about spirit. And saving the community.
Never move the college or touch it. I went there. Oh my gosh could they think of that. Would they? Oh no.
What was the cheer for the CAVS or UVA. Or ok UVA@Wise. Let's be correct and politically correct at that. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
And yeah a little sarcasim.
I'm a tad bit pissed by a few attitudes. So i guess im venting before i go to sleep. I'd rather it be off my mind so i can have my usual good 8.

Is that Coeburn or Rye Cove. And honestly no sarcasim. You take some great pics. I have always said that. Great pics.

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Since when? Just because you think you are doesnt make you superior.

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Let's see. Wise has many businesses. Pound is about like Jenkins, but with somewhat better roads.

The only reason Pound is more than a wide spot in the road is because of it's location in relation to 23 and 83. Does a town of 1000 people need a small school all to itself?

If Wise Co. was like Scott Co., meaning that it was pretty devoid of major roads, then I could see a reason to oppose consolidation.

But Wise Co. has great roads. So what if a kid has to ride a bus for 30 minutes? I went to school with kids who rode the bus for almost an hour morning and evening. Gives them time to sleep, do homework, or make out with their sweetie pie.

As for tax money staying with a locality, where do you think the majority of the funds for schools come from? The state. Like it or not, the eastern half of VA does a lot to finance the schools on this end of the state. If they had the same attitude as some here, schools on this end of the state would still be one room with a school marm.

Let's look at town populations for a moment. All taken from the 2000 census.

Big Stone Gap - 4856
Wise - 3255
Coeburn - 1996
Appalachia - 1839
Pound - 1009
St Paul - 1000

Two small towns less than 15 miles from the nearest town. Each of those nearest towns with at least twice the population. Then you've got Appy. Just two miles away from BSG, yet there are two schools. If any consolidation makes sense, it is Appy and PV.

Wise Co's population continues to drop and with that it makes less and less sense to operate 6 high schools in such a developed county. The only barrier is the thinking of those who refuse to let go of some inane mascot/school identity.

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Is that Coeburn or Rye Cove. And honestly no sarcasim. You take some great pics. I have always said that. Great pics.

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Not my work. One of the many funny photos I have saved to a folder for situations just like this.