Obama Campaign Snubbed Bristol, Va., Leaders For Visit Prep
By Earl Neikirk/Bristol Herald Courier
Lights are installed on a platform with will be lifted to the ceiling of the gym at Virginia High School for the Obama townhall meeting on Thursday.
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Published: June 5, 2008
Updated: June 5, 2008
BRISTOL, Va. – Long before Barack Obama arrives in Bristol today, his advance team stepped on the toes of some city officials.The city, which is hosting the town hall meeting inside Virginia High School and providing police, fire and emergency medical personnel to staff it, has largely been left out of the loop on planning the hastily arranged event, City Manager Bill Dennison said
“There are any number of things we could have done to assist with this,” Dennison said. “But they [campaign advance team] did not see fit to request our assistance or inform anyone – other than [VHS principal] Ina Danko. Most of what I know about this, I learned from the news media.”
Dennison said he began hearing rumors about the visit Tuesday morning, but was never contacted by anyone from the campaign.
Members of the Obama advance team working inside the high school gym Wednesday said they couldn’t comment on the record about anything.
The city would have rearranged its bus schedules to help the elderly and handicapped have better access to the event or offered other assistance, Dennison said.
In a Wednesday afternoon phone interview, Dennison said he hadn’t been notified that Long Crescent – the street in front of the gym entrance – would be closed during the event.
The city manager said he has complained to the Secret Service, who contacted police Chief Bill Price to have the department assist with security.
“We would have done it. But to have a third party calling to use our officers on overtime was a mistake,” Dennison said. “I told the Secret Service that the chain of command starts at the top.
“The event puts the spotlight on the city and gives people a chance to meet one of the candidates, which are good things. But it certainly could have been handled better from the standpoint of local participation,” the city manager said.
All 2,000 tickets for the event were given away by about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, prompting a flood of phone calls to the high school.
“A lot of people were calling and asking for tickets,” Danko said. “Whole groups of people came this morning [Wednesday] trying to get tickets, but I understand they were all gone early.”
Distributing tickets was only the tip of the iceberg as about 20 electricians and workers spent hours preparing the “Bearcat Den” for today’s event, under the watchful eyes of the campaign advance team and Secret Service agents.
Outside the building, parking is expected to be at a premium, police Capt. Maynard Ratcliff said.
“People should plan to get here early in order to get a close parking place,” Ratcliff said. “There are plenty of lots around the school, but if you don’t get here early you might wind up walking quite a ways.”
Anyone not attending today’s event is asked to avoid the area around the high school.
One lane of Long Crescent will be closed starting about 7 a.m. and both lanes will be closed during the event, Ratcliff said. Parking won’t be allowed along the south side of the street and people parking along other streets should avoid fire hydrants, driveways and not park on street corners. Violators will be ticketed or towed.
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Reader Reactions
dadw5boys, This presumptive nominee was NOT elected- he was selected in case you missed it but HE believes he is the “messiah” so move over peasants- you don’t matter. pumapac.org
citizen x
I have been hammered by the Healthcare Industry too. My son needed and operation the doctors ordered but the HMO delayed it “till medically necessary”. When it became medically necessary it was too late really. Now my son no longer talks, walks with a limp and will never even be potty trained. While he is smart he is trapped in his body only able to comminicate needs nothing more. He was so normal and only needed a preventive operation. Now the HMO has handed society a multi million dollar bill after I am gone for his care. Please thanks them for me too!
I recently read the CEO was leaving Wellmont and they said he had made the hospital “more competitive”. I was amazed to see that! Competition for what? Sick people or the Dollars from sick people?
How can you veiw your fellow Americans as a cash machine? Where exactly do “DO NO HARM “ come into play in a competitve healthcare enviornment?
They talk about the 25% HMO’S take out of the Healthcare system but never mention the 28% Hospital Managers and theose other staffs take. The ones who collect all your infpormation, do economic forecast and plan the budgets to make a profit.
1 manager could over see 5 or 10 hospitals making sure they all had the same Equipment. They could pay doctors and nurses more just by cutting the dead wood paper pushers. So add them togeather and you see nearly 48% of the Health Care dollars go to people who provide no heath care at all.
Yes we do agree on many things. Here read this and maybe you will understand my position on a few things.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/07/17/how_traders_gamble_with_your_energy_dollars/
And here is the effect of that loophole in the law.
http://www.rsi-ireland.com/documents/DarkPoolsVol2.pdf
See that loophole allows these Electronic Furutres traders to hide from regulation and to even become Economic Terrorist by Privatizing the World Engery Furtures Markets.
Now waht if they could do that with Food Furutres? Beef, pork, soybeans, corn, orange juice any or all.
So, we have had 43 greatest days in American history. Dadw5boys, we have agreed on so many things here on this site; yet we have somehow now clashed. I am truly sorry if I have stepped on your toes, because I have had much respect for your opinions in the past. I’m not sure where the “DOLLAR” and “PURE CAPITOLISM” comment came from. I’m not happy about the fact that I can’t afford Health Insurance just as much as the next person; but I don’t see the government as the answer to that problem. They are already working hard to help bring down the price of a barrel of oil. They are so successful at that, I can’t wait for them to start messing with health care. With their track record, only the rich will have access to any health care. Soon only the rich will be able to have enough gas to get to the hospital. If it weren’t for capitolism, how could you or I either one maybe one day be able to afford the things that we need?
Dennision, Did you see the new Crusaders? The military is allowing the religious leaders access to Our Soldiers during the time in their training where they are most easily influenced for religious training.
They are training ARMED RELIGIOUS MISSIONARIES.
The new Crusades is apparently what the Bush Adminstration has started!!111
Ok; so it’s no wonder that our city officials don’t see us as important no one seems to get the just of the article at hand. It’s not religion, race…ect. It is the “Obama Campaign Snubbed Bristol, Va., Leaders”.
So setting aside the Democrate/ Republican rhetoric and not to say our teachers are not some of the most important people to contibute to each of our lives… . I’d love to see our city officials as enthusiastic about taking care of our general population in Bristol, VA as they are wanting rub noses politically. We have needs in Bristol, VA that aren’t being met. Check out the street falling apart on Sycamore Street I did major damage to my car hitting pot holes there, traffic issues on Lee Hwy around exit 7 that are ridiculous, handicap accessibility downtown, employment for our citizens besides retail and fast food (no one can feed a family on that much less pay taxes), we could use some improvements for opportunities in our school system for our kids as well as adults and the list can go on.
Spend your efforts on things that will enhance living for the population of Bristol, VA and maybe that will impress as well as just rubbing noses politically with those you wish to impress. Bristol is a"good place to live”, but there is room for definate improvement.
In case you still don’t realize it any Inauguration of any President is the Greastest day in American History.
It mean FREE PEOPLE still vote and chose their leaders!
If you want to you can rationalize anything that has ever happened to you in life as evil! Actually I was like you once I knew everything. Then I grew up and realize I know very little and that nothing is really what it appears to be on the surface.
So when you start living for the DOLLAR you will only see what you want to see.
If you really like PURE CAPITALISM try living in Brazil. The largest industry there is Personal Security. Seems people like to get home alive for some reason.
If Predatory Capitalism is your love then Nigeria is the place to be. People live on less than a dollar a day while big business and their government sells off the countrys natural resources really cheap!
Ask a Teacher how many hours they work.
I know I see I first hand.
Dadw5boys and soulrebel,
I did not say “ALL”, I said “NEARLY ALL”, but none the less; I apologize for any that may have taken offense. Especially to you Soulrebel, I hope the teachers in your family are able to touch the lives of many children. Dadw5boys, please note that I know many bleeding heart liberals, and they are all proud to call themselves that term. They take pride in it. I wouldn’t, but they do. As for teacher work hours, they do work hard and they do a job that I wouldn’t take for anything less than double what they do get paid (which is pretty good….check out the salary database); but trying to make your point by majorly inflating your numbers for their work hours really makes your argument appear more emotion driven than fact driven. Just as I made an error to generalize, you sank to my level by getting emotional. I do support teachers, as long as they keep religious and political opinions out of the classroom. I had a teacher in High School that made us watch the first inauguration of Bill Clinton…She stood in front of the class and told us , quote, “This is the greatest day in American history that we are witnessing.“ That was her opinion, yet she was trying to indoctrinate. She was not the only one to do this.
The comments from the ‘good christian’ people who ‘know God’ about they’re fellow man..ie Hebrew and Muslim…without knowledge of Torah or Koran…You are scarey and since most of you seem to be Mccain supporters that is evidence enough to cause me to vote Democrate NO MATTER WHO THEY OFFER. (the Crusades are long gone people .. to ‘cut down’ others for the sake of your own ego is not considered civilized)
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