WOW! I was thinking that maybe somebody should give that guy an award. I mean, he is only saying what most Blount County citizens think of these lowlife politicians around here anyhow. They may not be "treasonous" but they are certainly "trash" with how they run things here. So, three cheers for whoever said this to them.

These "fringe libertarian types" are the ones fighting for your rights that you apparently don't understand.

I think some of the folks who are afraid of the Stormwater Ordinances don't understand the bigger picture here. We need regulations and inspectors to keep an eye on our County's creek banks, because if we don't, those illegal immigrants will use them to crawl through and launch attacks from. This new Storm Water ordinance is actually a guise to help Homeland Security monitor the migration patterns of Illegal Aliens, be they from here or another planet.

So don't get too excited about the new ordinances. They're here for your protection. If you see any folks in space suits with Buck Roger's Ray-Guns walking through your ditchlines, just rest assured that they're there for your protection.

I am reaching out to any and everyone that will listen to my thoughts concerning the treatment of the special needs students attending Heritage high school. I hope that at least one person out there will agree with me on something needs to change.

Monday through Friday, I am there to witness the disrespect and humiliation those students are subjected to in the morning and again in the afternoon. Not only do the parents of these students have to drop them off in the rear of the school, but so do the special need buses. Now I am not referring to the rear parking lot where some of the other students park, I mean behind the cafeteria right next to their service entrance where their waste dumpster is located. These students are dropped off within 100 yds of this disgusting container.

Now most parents do not have a difficult time getting in and out of this small area Blount County Schools and Heritage High School call a parking lot. However, if you throw in the six or seven buses with the 3 to 4 parent vehicles then add bus #90, which is a larger bus parked there every day, along with the 6 to 8 employee vehicles, it makes a tight squeeze. Let us not forget the 100+ students that are walking through there to get to class. I challenge you to drive into this “parking area” around 8:15am and 3:15pm to 3:25pm Monday through Friday. If you do not get frustrated or have to slam on your brakes, then I will stand silent. I challenge you to sit there and witness the struggle the parents and bus drivers are subjected to each day in order to drop off or pick up the students. The afternoons are especially difficult for the bus drivers. Not only must they try to find an area to park their bus (all of them), but they also have to watch for and “dodge” the other students who walk out in front of them and walk in the middle of the road and refuse to move. I noticed a few of the buses have wheelchair lifts on them. If they were to need to lower them, exactly how are they to do so safely?

My questions to Blount County Schools and Heritage High School is why is it “acceptable” for these students and only these students to be dropped off and picked up in the rear of the school by the service entrance? Why is it “acceptable” for these students to walk to “their entrance” in the rain or snow? The other students have a covering over their head leading up to the front door. I know when I attended Heritage High School a few years ago; all students entered and exited the school through the front doors. Why has this changed? Have we become a school system that is ashamed of their special needs students? Have we become a county that just lets this go on without questioning it? These are our children. Just because they face different challenges each and every day, does not mean they should be pushed aside and to the rear out of sight. The special needs students attending Heritage Middle School are picked up out front with the other students and dropped off just around the corner, but not hidden as if they something to be ashamed of.

If Blount County Schools and Heritage High School insist on these students being dropped off and picked up in this area, then I suggest they designate it a student drop off/pick up zone and a bus parking only zone. In my opinion, there is no reason for the employees not to park in the rear parking lot. It would be so simple for the employees to park in the very first row of parking and walk to the school just like everyone else. As for bus #90, there is no reason for it not to be parked in the rear, by the FFA livestock holding pens, or inside one of the side fenced areas. If Blount County Schools and Heritage High School would make this happen for the parents, bus drivers and the students, it would be more efficient and safer.

I believe as a community if we join together, this issue will be resolved. I sincerely hope that you do not discard this letter and this concern for the students and join me in finding a solution.

“In a safe environment, we will prepare our students for successful living.” I found this quote on the Blount County Schools website. What is a safe environment?