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September 1, 2010

It couldn't happen here?

Charles Oliver

For the past 10 years, Peter Jawoski has hosted a Liberty Summer Seminar on a 16-hectare farm his parents own outside Clarington, Canada. The event features academics and policy experts talking about various aspects of freedom. But this year, local officials decided to show him just how much liberty Canadians really have. They cited his parents for using agricultural land “for a commercial conference,” a violation of local zoning laws. His parents face fines of up to $25,000 each if found guilty. Jawoski’s mother says the prohibitions on how they peacefully use their private property remind her of the oppression she lived under in Poland before Communism fell.



In Mississippi, Ceara Sturgis has sued Wesson Attendance Center Principal Ronald Greer and Coplah County School Superintendent Rickey Clopton after school officials refused to run her photo in the yearbook. Sturgis’ photo was not included because she wore a tuxedo in her portrait.



Parents in Butner, N.C., are a bit upset with the local school system after it published all the bus routes, including students’ names, addresses and when and where they got on the bus, on its website.



The Los Angeles Times decided to find out who are the most effective teachers in the local school district. So they looked at third- through fifth-grade students’ performance on statewide math and English tests and how well, or poorly, the students performed compared to their past scores under all of the teachers. It’s the sort of analysis school officials have been able to do for years but never have. The results showed there’s no link between a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom and the number of years he or she has taught or if the teacher has an advanced degree. It also showed there was no link between class size and the effectiveness of the teachers. It also showed that none of the most effective teachers have been recognized for their efforts. The local teachers union has blasted the paper for reporting these facts and called for a boycott of the Times.



Three years ago, the bulbs in two street lights went out in Suffolk, England. Council officials said that nearby power lines and trees made it too dangerous to replace the bulbs. But residents kept asking for the bulbs to be replaced, so now the Glemsford Parish Council has decided to move the streetlights to a safer location so workers can change the bulbs. The estimated cost of the project is more than $12,000.



Multnomah County, Ore., health inspectors shut down 7-year-old Julie Murphy’s lemonade stand, making her cry, after finding out she didn’t have a $120 temporary restaurant license. After media reported what had happened, County Chairman Jeff Cogen apologized to Murphy’s mother and ordered inspectors to use discretion when enforcing the law.



In Stewart County, Janice Wells called 911 to report a possible prowler outside her house. Police arrived quickly, and within a few minutes they were struggling with Wells, Tasering her several times and also spraying her with tear gas. One of the officers also accidentally Tasered himself. The Richland Police Department fired Officer Tim Murphy for his part in the incident, and Ryan Smith, of the Lumpkin Police Department, resigned after his department began the process to fire him. Smith was promptly hired by the Chattahoochee County Sheriff’s Office.



Charles Oliver is a staff writer for The Daily Citizen. Got a suggestion for It Couldn’t Happen Here? E-mail it to him at charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com.

 

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