Dunwoody Could Give Cell Towers a 30 Year Green Light

See our GTCO-ATL Comments at the end of this article!

From the Dunwoody "Neighborhood Newspaper":

City Council on Nov. 9 discussed contracts with Mobilite and Crown Castle to place small cell technology – “mini cell towers” used to boost cellphone signals – on city property.

One agreement would last 15 years with three automatic approvals totaling 30 years, while the other agreement starts at five years, with automatic approvals totaling 20 years.

City Attorney Lenny Felgin said the city-owned property includes traffic signal infrastructure at intersections and the agreements cover this use “95 percent of the time,” Felgin said.

Councilman Terry Nall asked if the agreement included parks property.

“We don’t have any anticipation of this equipment in our parks,” Felgin said. “If that changes in the future, we’ll probably come back to the council and ask that question at that time.”

The agreements allow structures located within the public way, including utility poles, streetlight poles, lighting fixtures, traffic signal poles, sign posts or other city-owned infrastructure.

Ellen Smith, the attorney for Crown Castle, said she doesn’t think the agreement allows the company to collocate on poles in city parks because the agreement only permits the company to collocate on poles in the public right of way.

“I don’t think that an applicant can come in and blanket the city parks with a bunch of mini cell towers,” Smith said. “That is not the intent of this agreement.”

Smith said Crown Castle plans to put up small cell towers around the mall and in the Perimeter area. “For Crown Castle, we’re talking about maybe 12 poles, generally around the Perimeter Mall area,” Smith said.

Nall said he would prefer to have a uniform agreement for all companies looking to locate small cell technology on city-owned poles. He said he didn’t like having two companies with two agreements.

City Council will discuss the agreements again at its Dec. 14 meeting.

***********************

GTCO-ATL Comments:    First note:  Remember, T-Mobile is Crown Castle.  Just a spin off name to further the same infrastructure plans.  So, the same underhanded tactics will be used and any sort of potential for something out of the ordinary to happen should be looked at very closely.  The  5% loophole mentioned by the city attorney is exactly the reason the council should vote this proposal down.  That room for error or deception is the entire reason for the request, not the other  95% of the time when they are only needed on traffic lights.  The city council should know whether they need traffic light transmissions wirelessly because it's most likely for the traffic ticketing the city does by using that technology.    If they didn't ask for this proposal then it's most likely NOT a plan to help out with that traffic cameras. 

Did they ever discuss whether or not there was an actual "need" for these towers?  What makes them "mini"?  Are they less powerful?  Or are they just shorter, less obstructive to the skyline but actually placing the radiation closer to ground level where they increase the exposure to nearby residents and office workers?  Are these towers needed to provide better quality service to the people?  Or are they simply a way to  police the area that is thought to have higher crime than other parts of the city? 

If there is no current evidence of poor service or no service, why are they considering this at all?  And, typically the medical area in nearby Sandy Springs has kept cell towers at a distance from them as they can interfere with sensitive medical equipment.  Will city council inquire about the possible effects of placing more towers closer to people or will they only look at the potential revenue and be blinded by the dollar signs like we have seen happen so many times before? 

Will Dunwoody residents finally wake up and see what is happening in time to have their opinions heard?  Or will the city council, unfamiliar with the entire controversy, simply be persuaded by the industry and their own studies and promises?  How much of that money is paid up front and what will it be used for?  Unaccounted for funds often become a slush fund and that leads to further corruption.  We wish we could say that everyone in DeKalb County is better educated on this subject after the long fought battle to stop cell towers from going up at our schools, but we know that government tends to have short term memory loss whenever dollar signs are flashed before them.  

Terry Nall asked a great question about the parks since cell towers often went on park property if they were denied at schools .  But, just asking the question isn't doing enough to protect your city's park land if your residents really don't want to turn it into a concrete version of its former self.  The council should be reviewing the zoning code now so they can suggest any updates to it that would prevent such tower placements in the future.  The only way to truly protect the community from unwanted intrusion or incompatible uses is to write the zoning ordinances as tightly as possible and then stick to them as often as possible so there is little "wiggle room" for granting exceptions. 

Dunwoody residents should also take note of the possibility of this agreement opening a door for "automatic" placement and approval of cell towers at schools, if Rep. Tom Taylor is successful in getting city schools approved by the legislature.    This agreement, together with the fact that Dunwoody was one of the few places that DID NOT OBJECT to the placement of towers at schools when asked in a referendum in late 2012, should be all the encouragement needed for Crown Castle to put a lot of effort into seeing this plan pass with as little hype as possible. 

11 Alive News Exposes Georgia's Ties to ALEC and Cell Phone Lobbyists

An Atlanta TV station just aired one of the best takedowns of the secretive nature of ALEC we've ever seen:
Posted by Media Matters for America on Friday, May 22, 2015

Ground Zero: DeKalb County

In 2013, when this video was compiled, Get the Cell Out - ATL and its varied partners throughout the county worked feverishly to help DeKalb communities protect their neighborhoods and schools.  Every person we met was shocked to hear about the plans to build these huge industrial structures right in the middle of residential neighborhoods, next to small children in their elementary schools, without a respectable explanation or opportunity to provide input into the process.

Schools should not be used as tax shelters for big businesses, regardless of whether or not they offer anything of value to the system.  Public schools are paid for by taxpayers for the sole purpose of educating the children.  To sublease the land right out from under the children is bad enough, but to do it without even respecting the local zoning regulations and safety ordinances put in place to protect people who live there defies the moral code of most real "persons" - even politicians in DeKalb.

We thank the commissioners, residents, students, parents and other advocates for safer wireless worldwide who have followed our story and helped us along the way.  As of today, it appears we have won a small battle for 12 schools in 12 neighborhoods in a growing megaopoly of the city of Atlanta.  But, just as this battle winds down, another picks up.

We invite you to follow our related blog called:  Save Tucker!  Our small town, outside Atlanta, with more than 122 years of history is being carved up by the state legislature and possibly set up for financial failure.  New cities are being proposed all around us and other cities are suddenly claiming annexation rights.  And, what's first on all their lists to take on in terms of start up services?

If you guessed "Planning and Zoning" then you would be correct!  And the city that started the trend?  Uber-rich Sandy Springs which was founded, in part, by a retired ATT executive.  And, the city movement that will supposedly "save" our own small town of Tucker?   Well, let's just say they have all the makings of a great "telecom" astro-turf group.  And, we should know.  We've been fighting them for years.  The fun will carry on a while longer...  so keep checking back here and on the Save Tucker! site, too!

It's Over!

Get the Cell Out - ATL was started in May 2011 

by just a few concerned parents simply walking 

their own neighborhood, talking with 

neighbors about the cell towers 

proposed for multiple schools 

across the county.  

We grew to an overwhelming outpouring of 

support when we hit an all time high of 75,000 voters 

who said "No" on a ballot referendum in July 2012 

when asked if they were in favor of 

"wireless telecommunications towers"

being placed on public school grounds.

Jan. 14, 2015:  Get the Cell Out - ATL has learned some news regarding our four year battle with T-mobile and our school system over the issue of cell phone towers that were approved for 9 schools back in July 2011.  

"The decision is important because it helps limit exemptions to zoning laws intended to protect neighborhoods from incompatible development," says County Commisioner Jeff Rader.

 "Governments (Federal, State, Local and Public Schools) retain this important prerogative, but it should only be exercised to directly advance their public mission, not simply to generate revenue."

We will have a statement on this issue in the coming days, but wanted to first get this information out to you as expeditiously as possible.  Dekalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader from District 2 has issued a press release, which can be read below, about the end to the six-way battle between the residents, the school board, the school administration, the county commissioners and the county CEO's office and, of course, T-mobile.  

Radar's statement was , unfortunately, not signed or dated. We believe it is legitimate, nonetheless.  But, we are still in the process of confirming its origin.  When we know more, we will post an  update on our website.  


Get the Cell Out - ATL was also informed just before the holidays by official sources that the school system's Superintendent Michael Thurmond reports that the contracts for all 9 of the schools originally slated for T Mobile cell towers "have been dropped."   As advised, we have waited until an "official announcement" before making any statements of our own, but we have remained on top of this issue and involved in the process as we have vowed to see it through to its conclusion.

Congratulations to everyone involved in every community who helped bring this subject to the forefront of their conversations and who held their elected officials accountable for their actions.   And thank you to every person involved in this fight and similar battles taking place across the country.  Your willingness to put yourself on the line in order to learn the truth and face skeptics should be an inspiration to others.  We would never been able to stand up to the "system" here if there were not success stories of others who had faced the same Goliath, and won their battle before ours.      


We appreciate Commissioner Jeff Rader , Commissioner Kathie Gannon and the entire DeKalb County Board of Commissioners for stepping up and taking on this fight against T Mobile while upholding the zoning code in our communities. 

If you have not educated yourself about the many adverse effects that have been documented about cell phone towers, please look over the many sources available on our website or email us with your questions.  A good source of information can also be found at the Center for Safer Wireless.

www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org

sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com

We also encourage everyone to thoroughly read the new zoning ordinance as suggested by Commissioner Rader and voice any feedback to the county commissioners and CEO's office as soon as possible. 

                                ---  Get the Cell Out - ATL

Now,  here is the statement from Jeff Rader's office:

Cell-phone Tower Update

One of the most pervasive signs of our mobile communications society is the proliferation of cell phone towers across the landscape.  In DeKalb, the mobile communications revolution occurred after the widespread development of the landscape, so the infill installation of these structures has been perceived as intrusive in many residential neighborhoods.  One recent decision and one pending regulation are relevant and noteworthy.

The recent noteworthy decision is the dismissal of a suit against DeKalb County by T-Mobile, a cellular provider.  T-Mobile had sued DeKalb seeking a building permit for structures on two DeKalb County School System (DCSS) properties in District 2: Lakeside High School and Margaret Harris Comprehensive School.  T Mobile had entered into a contract with DCSS seeking to invoke DCSS’s exemption from zoning regulation to erect the towers in residential districts where they are otherwise prohibited.  Encouraged by the DeKalb Board of Commissioners, the DeKalb County Administration declined to recognize the requested permits as exempt from zoning since the cell towers were not educational facilities.  T-Mobile sued, but canceled their contract with DCSS after the Federal Courts ruled in favor of DeKalb. T-Mobile also paid DeKalb County court costs incurred in our defense.  

Regardless of any bad publicity you may have heard about our county commissioners, 

they at least did the right thing for the communities they serve when they all signed a 

letter to the CEO's office, advising that any attempt to gain an "administrative permit"

instead of using the proper channels should be denied and our county's zoning ordinances 

should be upheld. 

The decision is important because it helps limit exemptions to zoning laws intended to protect neighborhoods from incompatible development.  Governments (Federal, State, Local and Public Schools) retain this important prerogative, but it should only be exercised to directly advance their public mission, not simply to generate revenue.

The pending decision on the regulation of cell towers is in our new zoning ordinance, which will soon be considered by the Board of Commissioners.  After considerable public input and a thorough investigation of relevant federal legislation, the current proposal would allow cellular antennas within or attached to nonresidential structures legally permitted in single-family neighborhoods.  These would include houses of worship or other institutions that are legally permitted to be of sufficient height to make a cellular antenna attractive to a carrier.  The new proposal would not allow the cell towers that were the object of the T-Mobile controversy.

The proposed policy turns on the inherent incompatibility of a free-standing antenna with a surrounding single family neighborhood, and not on the concerns that some citizens have about the radio waves generated by the antenna.  This is important because federal communications regulations prohibit local regulation of cellular antennas based on radio wave concerns.    We convened citizen stakeholders interested in this issue recently, who made suggestion on refining the policy for adoption.  

The new zoning ordinance can be found online at http://planningdekalb.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/finalDraftZoningCodeJan20151.pdf 


The commissioner can be reached at:  www.commissionerrader.com  *jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov*

T-Mobile Wants to Run the City of Tucker

Get this .... So, it may not too surprising, but still leaves us flabbergasted as to the extremes T-mobile will go to get their way... just learned that at least one person on the board for Tucker 2014, the city advocacy group that appeared out of nowhere and raised $30K cash without holding any major fundraisers, also works for T-mobile. Shocker.

Here is a link to his profile in the group Tucker 2014:  http://tucker2014.com/bio  (Look for Tres Scott).

Here is a link to his LinkedIn Profile:  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tres-scott/4/814/ab9  In case it is taken down, here is what it says about him:

Tres Scott's Experience

Manager, IT Revenue Validation

T-mobile

Public Company; 10,001+ employees; DT; Telecommunications industry

October 2005 – Present (8 years)

But, wait, there's more ... his wife was a part of our "Save Tucker!" group as she pretended to be on the fence about cityhood so she could report back to the city group about what we were doing an saying in our closed FB group.

As for the other members of their board - 2 of the 3 live on the same street as the T-mobile person. The third is a Libertarian (likes big business) who kicked one of our members off his Yahoo Discussion group for asking if anyone knew of an attorney in the area who could help stop T-mobile from putting cell towers at our public schools.

Zoning hearing tomorrow at the county level at 6:30 p.m. We're hoping to convince them that current zoning regulations are fine and do not need to be changed. Then, we'll have to focus on educating everyone all over again because the "city" that T-mobile wants to build is focused on three things: ZONING, PARKS, PUBLIC SAFETY.

In other words, cell towers on every block and everyone else gets a pink slip and higher taxes to pay for the spy cameras at every traffic light. Soon after they take office they will advocate for online education... you heard it here first. (Well, unless you live elsewhere, then you have already been down this path before.)

For more, please follow us on Facebook.  www.facebook.com/Get.the.Cell.Out.ATL

IMPORTANT MEETING: Cell towers focus of DeKalb meeting Monday

GTCO-ATL URGENT NOTICE:  If you do not want a cell phone tower to be placed at your child's school or in a residentially zoned part of DeKalb County, you are urged to attend this important meeting on MONDAY at 6:30 p.m.  

A show of support is very much needed so that we may keep ALL of our children, ALL of our schools and ALL of our communities safe from the unwanted and unnecessary intrusion of these dangerous structures.  

If you would like to be reminded about the many, many reasons that we believe cell towers should not be permitted in residential areas or on public properties such as schools, please refer to the bottom of this article.

Meeting notice, From the AJC

By April Hunt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County, which is in the process of rewriting its county code, will hold an informational meeting Monday about possible new regulations on cell towers.

The placement of towers on county schools has been a hot button issue among residents for years. Residents can offer input on code changes at the meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce St., Decatur.

Cell Towers Should Not Be Allowed in 

My Neighborhood or at My Child's School Because ...

1.)  A Non-Binding Advisory Referendum was conducted by the state legislature in July 2012 which showed overwhelming support for keeping cell towers OFF our school grounds.  62% of voters (more than 75,000 residents upon the final tally) voted NO when asked if telecommunications structures should be allowed on any public elementary, middle, high school or charter school in DeKalb County.  16 of 18 members of the DeKalb Delegation in the House also agreed by signing on to Rep. Karla Drenner's bill that would have banned this practice completely in DeKalb.  The bill was killed in committee by someone who does not even live here and who has been found guilty of DUI three times (Rep. Chuck Sims - R).  Obviously, his judgment is questionable and if it had not been for his decision to stop the bill, we would not even be discussing this issue right now.  

2.)  100% of the communities that were actually facing the possibility of a cell tower at their local school voted NO on the referendum, stating they do NOT want cell towers on school grounds.  Their voices have never been officially heard as the school board approved the decision without giving proper notification to the homeowners at any of the schools and giving a misleading flyer to parents which resulted in a failed attempt to hold public meetings on the subject.  Even then, the majority of the board members themselves did not even attend these meetings.  There was no Superintendent at the time the issue was voted on and nearly every board member (except Dr. Walker) later stated in a public meeting hosted by Crossroads News that they would have voted differently if they had to make the decision again.  And, in fact, the county commissioners themselves have already made a joint statement aganst the towers.

3.)  Cell Towers lower property values.  Fact.  Most of our county is already suffering from a decline in property values as a result of the housing crisis.  

4.)  RF radiation from a cell tower is constant, background radiation that you cannot escape from.  We know that high power radiation causes cancer.  What researchers are still debating is the long-term effects of low power exposure.  However, there has been enough evidence to cause the world's leading authority on cancer, the World Health Organization, to upgrade it to a "possible human carcinogen."  This announcement was made PRIOR to the school board's decision and should have been considered RELEVANT new information that would have given them cause to vote differently than other school boards in our area.  Their justification that it has taken place elsewhere is not enough for us to say that it is okay for us here.  In fact, this one area could be a way to help DeKalb appeal to new homebuyers and help restore our schools to a higher standard where we place the lives and education of children FIRST.  

5.)  Cell towers are aesthetically unpleasant.  Zoning laws should take into consideration what the residents in an area want or do not want to see when looking out their windows or driving through their neighborhood.  I do not know anyone who would want to be within sight of a cell tower.

5.)  Crime is invited to our communities when we place cell towers near our homes.  Constant 24 hour access is provided to our school grounds and, for many, to the back doors and back yards of our homes that are next to the schools.  The copper theft in the metro area has been widely reported and there is no security provided to keep unwanted intruders from using these parking areas to scope out our homes, or watch our children on their playgrounds or as they walk in their own neighborhoods.  This is a danger we do not need to add to the list for our police force, which is already spread thin.

6.)  The fall zone of a tower is necessary to be one and a half times the total height of a tower.  If this is not followed in a residential area, then you are placing a tower near structures that are occupied by people most of the time.  If a tower were to fall over for any reason, human life and private and public property is at risk.  Will the county's insurance cover the damage that would occur in these cases?  If not, they need to keep the cell towers in commercial and industrial areas as they are now.

7.)  Dangers of falling ice and debris.  Many injuries can happen in winter if ice collects at the top of a tower overnight and then large portions fall to the ground as the sun warms it later in the day.

8.)  Cell tower climbers could fall traumatizing children or residents who witness it.  It is currently known as the most dangerous job in America.  In fact, people on the ground could be killed by something as simple as a screwdriver falling out of a tower climber's pocket because of the rate of speed and resulting force by which it would hit anything in its way at ground level.  We've seen what a falling limb can do when it strikes a child.  We do not need to place more of these dangers above our children's heads.

9.)  It is NOT necessary to place cell towers closer to our homes or at our schools.  We have plenty of towers in our area as they each can transmit from 5 - 15 miles and federal law mandates that they exhaust all possibilities for co-location prior to building new structures.  If they want to build new towers, it is purely a competitive game of owning a tower closer so that the competition has to sublease from them instead of the other way around.  There are NO dead zones in all of DeKalb County, as confirmed by the FCC's latest map on 3G nationwide expansion.  Unless a cell company can prove it actually NEEDS for our zoning laws to change, why would we offer to make things easier for them (and more expensive for ourselves)?  They have all the access they need right now.  They may just have to pay a little more to provide the service by utilizing the existing towers and subleasing options available to them.  This is not an industry that needs our help in order to profit.  They are one of the richest industries in the world right now, just behind oil and war.  

10.)  Distrust of government is a big issue here right now. The Snowden case with the federal government already has citizens on edge about whether or not the U.S. government is spying on ordinary citizens, intercepting their wireless calls without search warrants or without any justifiable cause.  Citizens in DeKalb are already very aware of the allegations of corruption in various levels of our government.  We do not need more reasons to distrust you or be suspicious of those who are supposed to represent us.  What we DO need are reasons to trust.

CELL TOWERS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED 

IN ANY PART OF OUR COUNTY 

THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY ZONED FOR THEM.   

Please, represent us in the way that we have asked you to.  Do not allow the tainted money of the telecommunications industry to sway you.

Smoke Rise Residents Reach Out to DeKalb's New Interim CEO on Cell Tower Issue

8/17/13:  Note to Our Readers:  Dr. Johanna Stamper is a research scientist in mathematical biology. She has been trained in cancer research and is very concerned that there would be any possibility of cell towers being placed at schools, especially elementary schools, in our county. She says that once she explains the science, the concerns of the people in her neighborhood became much more elevated.  

If you share the concerns of Dr. Stamper and Get the Cell Out, please take a few moments to email or call, at a minimum, the following people who are critical to this struggle:

• Director of Public Works, DeKalb County:
• Director of Planning and Sustainability, DeKalb County:
• Interim CEO of DeKalb County:
• Interim Superintendent of DeKalb County Schools:
• And your county commissioner, school board representatives and state legislators.

8/13/13

Dear Smoke Signal Editors,

Thank you for printing the Letter to the Editor in your August 2013 newspaper edition.  It was from a new Smoke Rise family that recently learned about the former school board's vote to approve cell towers for several schools in DeKalb County, including one at Smoke Rise Elementary School.  We applaud your publication for helping to educate and inform your community on this issue.

Thank you to Robert Stamper and Dr. Johanna Stamper for stepping up to inform your new community of Smoke Rise about what you learned about the dangers of cell towers and encouraging them to contact their elected officials!  We have reprinted a letter to the editor written by Dr. Stamper which was published in the August 2013 edition of the Smoke Signal, a local newsletter for the residents in the Smoke Rise community.

We also thank the Smoke Rise Homeowners' Association for sending Virginia Reece as their representative to the Tucker Parent Council meeting at Brockett Elementary School at the end of the last school year.  We appreciate her comments and efforts to educate the Smoke Rise community and others in DeKalb who heard her dialogue with the Interim Superintendent Thurmond.

We have listed some contact details here in order to assist your efforts.  As Dr. Stamper noted, it is very important for the residents near any of the proposed school cell tower sites to voice their concerns to Commissioner Lee May as he is now the acting CEO of our county.

The county commissioners have all stated they would uphold the codes at the time, but those codes are now in a review process.  Don't let the cell tower companies slip changes past you that could lead to a tower being built without community input.

We hope you will visit our website, www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org, to keep up to date on this issue.  We want to remind your readers that when they email or speak to their local government officials, it is important to mention concern for ALL the schools in DeKalb County and ALL the children.  The safety of the children must come as the highest priority above anything else.  Our leaders need to know that this is one issue that cannot be used to pit communities against one another.  On this topic, we will not be divided.

Thanks Smoke Rise residents for being GOOD NEIGHBORS!

--- Get the Cell Out Atlanta

Please leave respectful comments below:

Watch Out, DeKalb. ATT is Getting Bigger

A huge cell tower and a dark, ominous storm cloud loom over an
ATT retail store in the Publix shopping plaza on Hugh Howell Road in
Tucker, GA.  Why is it that the cell towers made it onto the July 2011
ballot, but no one in the legislature wants to talk about them?
Where do we go from here?  

(click to read full story)

Wishful Thinking

We wish we could say that our schools and neighborhoods were safe from the intrusion of huge and ugly radiation spewing cell phone towers (like the one pictured here).  

We wish we could trust that our school board and school administration were focused on education, not securing themselves a nice slush fund while ruining our communities in the process. 

 But, we can't.  

That's why we continue to follow the clues that might help us stay out in front of them and their plans, and this latest announcement from ATT might be important.  (text included in article below this commentary.)

We've highlighted some of the pertinent content below in case you do not have time to read the article in its entirety.  But, even more importantly, you will want to check for any Alltel FCC permits that might be located near your home or school to determine if there are any old ones that ATT could have acquired along with the existing already-built towers.  Many times, these companies get the permits from the FCC and then sit on them for years before deciding to build.  Then, they can quickly get the special land use permits, or other land disturbance permit that is required by local law, and build without the public finding out.  

Normally, there would have to be a sign posted for 30 days at the location to alert the public about a hearing in front of the commissioners and Director of Planning in DeKalb County.  But, our county office is a bit distracted right now since the CEO Burrell Ellis had is home invaded a few days ago upon issue of a search warrant by a grand jury investigating problems with the Watershed Management Group.  And, remember, we were told that the school system can do whatever they want if the construction is for educational purposes.  

Superintendent Akinson's announcement about e-books could be a great excuse to claim an educational purpose, but it will not hold up in court.  Cell towers are not necessary to read content on a screen.  And there is no educational value to providing books in one format over another.  It's like saying do you want paper or plastic bags at the grocery.  Does it really matter?  

If she did try to show an educational value to this misguided decision, she would be hard pressed to find a school system that has improved as a result of going digital in any format, and certainally none the size of DeKalb.  In fact, in other states there are Attorney General investigations taking place right now to determine if there is criminal fraud taking place and there is definitely no educational benefit to the children when the money intended for their benefit is being stolen from them.  

The original 12 schools are mapped above.  Most of these T-mobile contracts with the school system appear to be expired, but the money has not been accounted for in any documentation we have been able to locate.  The only sites that still have contracts with valid expiration dates are Narvie J. Harris and Lakeside, but Lakeside's contracts is not signed by T-mobile so we are unsure if it is valid.  And the Narvie contract mentions "Panthersville" which is the nearby stadium that does look like it already has a cell tower, so we are not clear on whether there is actually one intended for the school grounds or not.

We Need Your Help, Too!

At Get the Cell Out - ATL, we are doing our best to keep our schools and communities informed about anything related to the cell towers, which voters said by a large majority that they did not want to see at our schools.  We believe there was more to the push for the towers than just the money or even the coverage at Lakeside.  We have been on a mission to find the answers and stay ahead of the game because we do not want to see a threat to our safety, property and health be another reason to drive good families away from our  area.  

Check for new tower permits near your address here:
http://antennasearch.com/

But, ultimately, we cannot do it all without your help.  So, if you live near a site that might have an old AllTell FCC permit, or you are not sure, or your school was on the original list of 12 targeted by the school board, then please take time as soon as possible to search the database at http://antennasearch.com/.  Plug in your address and you will see a list of towers within a four mile radius.  If you see one near your school, click  on it and it will tell you who owns that license.  This is the first step ATT will need before they can build.  So, the information you see will be the same thing they use to ask for a county building permit.  

Help Us Help You!

We can help you speak out at any public hearings in order to stop the permit from being issues, if such meetings are held.  But, first we have to know about the threat before we can determine the best course of action.  So, if you find that there are AllTel tower permits out there and they appear to be in residential zoned parts of the county, or right on public school grounds, please let us know as soon as possible.  You can send an email to: sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com.  We have several attorneys we may be able to get you in touch with who are aware of this situation and can fight to stop the towers from going up near your home or school.

And, don't worry, this is one lawsuit that won't cost the school system since it is between you and the tower company.  And, your have the right to collect attorney fees under the FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996 so long as you bring forward your protest within the 30 day shot clock window that is mandatory before a building or land use permit can be issued.  

Now... on to the news....

From TechnoBloom Technology Blog:  

AT&T acquires Alltel network to increase coverage and speed

AT&T is one huge company and it has no problem buying small telecommunications companies to increase even further. According to a press release issued today, AT&T acquired Atlantic Tele-Network Inc’s retail business. The retail business actually operates under the Alltel Brand name. If you are not familiar with Alltel, the company has coverage areas in Georgia, Illinois, Idaho, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. The network is considered to be a CDMA network and is the same technology used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint. AT&T has plans to convert the CDMA towers over to GSM in order to increase the overall coverage they provide in those areas already.

Both AT&T and AllTel customers will benefit with better and faster data connections after the acquisition. Once the deal is complete, those consumers on the Alltel network will need to upgrade their phones to work on the AT&T network, but the company did not provide any specific details regarding that right now. The deal is set to be closed during the second half of 2013, according to the report and then other details will be revealed. AT&T will not be the first mobile company to own Alltel, in fact Verizon bought the company back in 2009.

When the deal with Verizon Wireless went through, the FCC made the company divest more than 100 markets. At that time, AT&T went ahead and bought up 79 of those markets, leaving just 26 markets, which AT&T is looking to buy now. If you remember early last year AT&T tried to buy the T-Mobile network which was blocked by the FCC and turned out to be a big issue for AT&T. AT&T was looking for more towers and more spectrums and since the T-Mobile merger was blocked, the company was left looking elsewhere for both.

Now that AT&T has dropped away from T-Mobile, T-Mobile has been looking to buy MetroPCS. Other companies like Sprint have been looking for easy ways to expand as well and is in the middle of a merger with Clearwire. On the other side of the world, Softbank in Japan is looking to buy the Sprint network, so you can see that mergers and acquisitions are nothing uncommon in the wireless industry these days.

Charter Schools: Dialogue Between Dumb, Greedy and Corrupt

Virtual Charter Schools? What the Amendment is Not Telling You.

(click headline to read more...)

 

Is this what you were expecting from the charter school amendment?

From The Tucker Patch:  http://tucker.patch.com
Posted on October 15, 2012 at 12:25 am

 

 

Are there people out there just waiting to start charter schools but somehow cannot get them approved? 

 
Are there really charter schools that can operate on only the state's portion of the funding?
Who are these people and what kind of schools are they wanting to open here? 
 
Changing the state constitution is a big request. Before we vote on Nov. 6, let's make sure we know exactly what is at stake. 
 
Here's one possible scenario:

"Gee, I wonder how we can start a charter school without a building or enough money to pay lots of teachers," says nonexistent person #1.

"Yeah, and the 13 other charter schools, dozen or so magnet and theme schools, IB program schools, technological schools and neighborhood schools are just not enough. By golly, I need another choice," says fictitious person #2.

"I have a solution," says slick dressed K-12 or "Connections Academy" or "Other New Online School" sales and marketing representative.

"Wow, you look really smart," responds bozo actor #1.

"That's because I am," says the K-12 associate with his General American dialect so as to not give any clue to the fact that he is from out of state, or even another country.

"Have you considered a virtual charter school? Here are some fancy pamphlets I just so happen to have on this high gloss, heavy weighted paper stock, so you know you can trust what is typeset onto its pages."

"Yeah, we thought about that," says well paid spokesmodel #2, "but our local board of education will never approve something like that. We tried and tried to get them to approve a school with a promise of less than 50% graduation rate and a high drop-out after less than a year attendance, but they didn't like that idea. And they have really low standards."

"We can appeal to the state board of education, but they keep telling us we are broke and need to close schools, not start new ones. I'm guessing they wouldn't overturn the decision."

"Looks like we're stuck with the multiple options to choose from that we already have now. Plus, all the church-based schools and community schools. We are in the Bible Belt, after all."

"Don't forget about the private schools, honey. And the home school options," says the Man #1.

"Oh yeah, that's right. We have those options, too. Plus a state run online school and a local cyber-academy."

"Awwwww.... that's too bad," says Mr. K-12 man. "I have an idea for a virtual charter school that I need to sell to someone stupid. I thought you might want to try convincing a bunch of parents who don't know any better and like the idea of free laptops to sign their kids up! Their moms or dads will likely be expected to stay home with them, of course."

"What makes your school better than others?"

"We were first."

"Oh."

(awkward silence)

"And we have better graduation rates than other online schools, but not as good as brick-and-mortar schools."

"Uh-huh."

(Man #1 and Woman #2 start to walk away. But then..)

"Say, did I mention that we make millions and millions in profit? And we hardly cost the school district a thing?" says desperate salesman from K-12. "As long as I can keep signing the suckers, errr... I mean, kids....up, we can keep hiding the actual churn rate of our attendance and bragging about our annual enrollment increases. The more I sell, the more money for me and my bosses."
"Wow, you must be rich!"

"Yes, but don't worry about that. Besides, I have to watch out for some pesky lawsuits coming from New Mexico and Virginia. Oh, and Florida, too, I think."

"Awwww, you poor, misunderstood salesman. It's tough out there, isn't it? Here, let me count how much money you might have in that wallet for me and my friend here. We might be able to help you out," says greedy snake in the grass #1.

"What's your idea, Jim Bob?" says idiot actress #2.

"Well, the way I see it, we can help each other," says paid actor #1. "I have this friend who is in the state legislature. You know, the people who make the laws n' stuff. I will tell him the problems with the local school board and ask if he can help me start a virtual charter school."

"Once he hears about all the money, he'll surely say yes!" says doll face #2.

"Right! And then he can pass a law that says that some kind of a fake, made-up, overpaid board of people can approve our virtual school. Then we can hire Mr. K-12 here to run it for us and we won't have to worry about things like walls, ceilings, or teachers. We won't need libraries, or a football team or even books.  Think of how cheap this could be!"

"Then how will the kids learn?" says suddenly concerned accomplice #2.

"Who cares? Didn't you hear the man say he make lots of money?" says childless man #1.

"Yeah, but... I don't...."

"If we get the state to appoint a board and let them approve schools, then we can probably get a bunch of money, too!! You know, just like they promised the PTAs that kept quiet about the cell towers. Come to think of it, what ever happened with all that ... "

"But the kids..."

"Ma'am, don't worry about the kids. They will be fine. If they do not keep up, we have friends in the private prison industry who will be happy to take them in. They also make lots of money. Not your kids, of course. Other kids. Ones you won't even see because the school is online, remember??" says drooling K-12 representative as he gets out the contracts.

"Oh, I see. But, won't this take money away from the other schools?"

"Yes, some of it, but we will take a lot of the kids away, too. So, that local group of elected folks will actually have fewer kids to pretend to be educating, until ours start dropping out, of course, and returning to their local schools. But we will have the funds up front. That's all that really matters to us. See, It's a win, win!"

"Except for the kids...."

"Yeah, yeah, the kids," says the man #1 as he signs the contract. "There's always THAT, but ... think of all the money! As soon as the plan gets rolling, you will have enough to put your kids in any private school you want, so who cares what happens to the charter after that? We'll be long gone before anyone notices that the drop-out rates are alarming, some of the teachers aren't certified, some classes have as many as 400 students in them at once, the money goes out of state to help a business stay out of Chapter 11, the people can't threaten to vote for a new board since they were appointed, or that the kids are only using their computers to play games and cyber-bully their friends. And, if one gets lost, dropped or stolen, their parents have to reimburse us for 3X what it cost us. Remember, this is GEORGIA. We're #49th in the nation for education. There is no way the people here would ever think of all of the possible outcomes. They are all stupid."

"Wow, honey, you are a genius."

"Yeah, I went to community college for a year before I dropped out."

"Do you think the people in Georgia might vote NO to Amendment 1162 on Nov. 6?"

"Not a chance. Remember, Mr. K-12 is putting lots of money into the advertising. And people here will believe ANYTHING with a fancy slogan. Remember 'Untie Atlanta'? Oh wait... well, that was different... this will be different. It's for the kids."

"Okay, if you say so. Thank you Mr. K-12!"

"Don't thank me. Thank your legislators for joining The American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC, so they can further the profit-generating ideas of big businesses like mine instead of protecting the rights of the people like they were elected to do. You can read about them here."

"And, we can thank our uninformed, easily misled or generally apathetic voters for not showing up at the polls even for a Presidential election," says smug man #1 counting his money.

"Yes, and thank you to K-12 and Connections Academy, T-mobile, ATT and all those sneaky little people behind the scenes who have quietly been laying the infrastructure to make this all possible while they thought we were not paying attention," says woman #2 as she books her plane ticket to Hawaii.

"Thanks are in order all the way around," says man in new leadership position of heading up a charter school for the kids #1. I can now say that I helped bring two great ideas together - profiting off the low achievement and lack of parental involvement in my community and a way to use technology to give the appearance of real education to an entirely new generation of families."

"And, by piggybacking off the national obsession with charter schools, we can use the good reputation of that phrase to trick voters into approving HR 1162 on Nov. 6. Funny how a country can be at war protecting freedom while at home they are willing to just give their rights away."

"Funny?"

"Well, not funny ha-ha. More like funny / sad."

The Devil is in The Detail (How the Cell Tower Votes Shine a Light on DeKalb's "Corridor of Corruption")

Wonder exactly how the cell tower vote shook out and whether or not your own community said they were for or against the idea of cell towers at schools? 

Read more by clicking the headline for the full story. 

On July 31, 2012 Georgia voters took to the polls in the election primaries. In Dekalb County, a question popped up on the ballot with little explanation:

"Should the local, charter or independent school system of Dekalb County place or operate a telecommunications tower on any elementary, middle or high school property?"

The phrase, "The Devil is in the Detail," refers to a catch or mysterious element hidden in the details.^[1]

While opponents  of cell towers on school grounds were happy when the outcome was a strong 62% of voters saying "NO," GTCO-ATL was wondering if there was more we could learn from the data.  So, we dug a little deeper. 

From the start, we were critical of the validity of any data that might come from this question. First, it was asking too many things at once which is a common error people make when they are not properly trained in survey data analysis or proper question techniques.  We tried to alert those who were responsible for the question, Rep. Karla Drenner and Rep. Chuck Sims, but they did not respond. We then asked Gov. Deal to not sign the referendum as it was vague, not necessary and did not come from the people. He signed it anyway.

So, we determined that even though it might not go our way, at least it would tell us a few things that could be beneficial.

1. First, any area that answered yes, or even close, could be an area that is uninformed of the dangers and problems a cell tower could bring. We could focus more effort with our PR there.
2. Second, if we felt there were areas well informed that still said yes, we might be able to see specifically where corruption was influencing the voters.  Why wouldn't we think a yes could be a sincere, honest vote? Because we have been at this for more than a year and have never met anyone who has thought it was a good idea. Even those who like to debate us on the blogs will not take a pro-cell tower stance.
3. The third thing we thought we would learn would be where these "rural" Dekalb areas actually are located where Mr. Cunningham said they "welcomed the towers." Going by the way things appeared in the media, the South regions wanted the towers and money, while the North was leading the protests against them.  What we expected was to see strong opposition regardless of the location.

But, oddly enough, here is how the vote shook out:

(click chart to enlarge)

Here are some questions we had:

• Are these areas (highlighted in yellow) actually ignorant of the dangers of cell towers?
• Is the difference of just a few percentage points even enough statistically to be concerned about or is it safe to say that overall the entire county was against the idea of placing cell towers on the public school grounds?
• Should the school board inform T-mobile about the few areas that skewed slightly in favor of cell towers so they can be the ones to receive them?
• Is there a chance that the very few areas that skewed in favor of the towers had some sort of "inside information" to reassure them that they would not actually be the ones to receive the towers? 
• Are the areas of the county that were not selected for tower placements not going to receive the cooresponding technology either? 
• What is the purpose of a "non-binding advisory referendum" anyway?  Why did state legislators create this alternative to the total ban on towers that the citizens wanted?
• What did they expect to do with the results of this referendum?
• But, who are we advising?  Who will listen? 
• Who will actually do something with these results?
• If no one is going to act upon this ballot question and it will not influence (or "advise") anyone in a decision-making capacity, then why did taxpayers have to pay for it? 
• Why did we even have to take our time and resources to educate people about the question, and its poor wording, if the outcome was for no viable purpose? 
• Or, as we suggested originally, was this question created for someone else?  Someone OTHER than the citizens?  Perhaps if the results would have gone in the favor of the towers, they would have used the results.  If that is the case, then shouldn't THOSE PEOPLE (or businesses) be the ones who should have paid for it?  Not the voters of DeKalb County. 
• Were we really successful in stopping the towers? 
• Is the school board aware that the contracts have expired?
• Why won't our School Board or our county CEO tell us anything?

We may never know for sure, but we plotted the districts marked in yellow, above, on a map of the voting precincts.  After studying the areas and their relationship to each other, here's what we saw. 

 

(We are working to get a scanned version of this map

uploaded here for you.  Check back soon.)

WHERE WERE THE YES VOTES?

1. A small number of Dunwoody communities, and a

2. A small portion of the Lakeside or Emory-Lavista "Corridor" of schools.  

Note:  Almost all areas in favor were ITP, or "Inside the Perimeter."

WHO COULD THEY BE?

Of course this is all speculation on our part, but there could actually be four types of "yes" votes in these areas:

1. Voters who are completely unaware of the issue (just like we once were before this started)
2. Voters who think tower radiation is harmless for children and therefore our public land should be leased to T-mobile without concern (we have not actually met anyone like this, have you?)
3. Voters who have been told to vote yes (by an employer or friend) and do so because they do not have a personal, vested interest in the outcome.
4. Voters who have spoken to their board member, believe they will not be receiving a cell tower and therefore they do not care if a tower goes up somewhere else.

Note:  It is important to note that none of the areas (in the chart in yellow) actually had a cell tower going up near them. 

Of course we have no way of knowing why people voted the way they did.  We cannot go back and review the votes to ask follow-up questions.  And, people who were unaware of the issue had no way of selecting "I don't know" or "unaware" as their response.  These are just a few of the reasons we asked the Governor to veto this bill, but he went ahead and signed it.

Dunwoody

Those who voted in the Dunwoody area may have done so because they were not faced with this issue at their local schools.  Dunwoody did not have any of their schools on the original or reduced list for cell towers.  Does this mean they do not get the technology, either? 

If cell towers are actually a means for distributing the material of a virtual charter school, did certain folks in Dunwoody already know about this concept?  They have been advocating on the School Watch Blog for separate school districts.  So, have they been promised a way that they can make this happen in return for supporting the cell tower idea? 

Do we have a case of ignorant, but financially well-off, neighborhoods where they do not follow school news?  Or is this a case of yet another area of DeKalb selling someone else's neighborhood out when offered something they want for themselves? 

Lakeside / Fernbank and the Emory-Lavista Corridor

That leaves only a few districts that were either divided in their responses or barely tipped the scales in favor of towers on school grounds. But, with the exception of Lakeside High School, these areas were not facing the possibility of a tower at their own neighborhood school, at least not according to our Open Records Requests to see their contracts. 

So, Lakeside High area again emerges as one sticking out like a sore thumb. The school that reportedly initiated the request to their district representative, Paul Womack, who in turn brought the item to the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee while he was the chairman. Lakeside High School wants a tower, and the money of 12 towers so the Vallhalla Group can "finish the dream."   And the rest of us must endure all the baggage that it means to get roped into this issue while they sit back and smile.

In the Oct. 1 meeting agenda, a donation was accepted to finish the Lakeside construction for an outdoor eating area.  Yes, you read that correctly....

Did people really just vote "yes" to radiating other people's children for 30 years in exchange for an outdoor pavilion so their kids can get a little sun while they eat their non-free, non-reduced priced lunches?  Tell us that is not what is happening here? 

Then again, Lakeside has so many towers in a four mile radius, one more could not have possible been what made the difference, could it?

It appears that everything is proceeding according to plan.   But, who's plan is this??

Protests Come From the "North" (But the Public Votes Yes?)

"South" Board Members Vote Yes, but the Public Votes NO? 

Don't you find it interesting that we saw bigger than life protests coming from the areas where many people voted to be in favor?  AND, at the other end of the county, in the areas where we were told they "welcomed the towers," we saw the largest portion of people who voted against it? 

Have you figured out that things are not always as they seem here in DeKalb? 

And, many board members publically stated that they would have voted differently if they knew then what they know now.  See our story on this subject, here.

The cell towerss are a great lesson in not judging a book by its cover.  Rather, we should be judging our school books by the fact that they will soon not have any covers, just screens.  Hell, we don't even have librarians any longer! 
 
Most important:  Most People in Most Places Across the County Said NO CELL TOWERS AT OUR SCHOOLS.  And, for those of us who agree, if it is not a good idea for my school, then it is not a good idea for any school!

But, these are just a few of the ideas we came up with.  We would love to hear what you think.  Email us at sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com and let us know!

We did it once, now let's do it again! 

Vote NO on the charter school ammendment this November!  This is NOT about charter schools!  It is about creating virtual schools under a sneaky initiative put forth by corporations seeking new ways to profit, NOT about our children or parental choice.

VOTE NO to changing the state's constitution! 

NO MORE CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORITIES!

Don't GIVE AWAY our power!  Let's Take it BACK! 

What can we do instead?  Start looking for well-qualified people to run for the School Board in the next election!  WE can do this if we keep working together!  Stick up for your beliefs!  Inform your neighbors!  Talk about what is happening so that others will not have to suffer the same thing happening to them! 

See you at the upcoming meetings!  (see our meetings page) Ask Questions!  Remain Alert!  Do not Trust those in power who have something to gain from you.  Seek advice only from those uninterested third parties or people whom you trust before acting upon anything you see or hear in this school system.   

 

 

For more info, watch "The United States of ALEC" here:  http://billmoyers.com/



 VOTE NO TO CHARTER SCHOOLS! 

It is time to STOP FEEDING THE BEAST!

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Titelman, Gregory, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, Random House Reference, March 5, 1996p