Melvin "Skip" Alston - Guilford County Commissioner

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State Youth Development Center to be considered for Guilford County

May. 3, 2007

Tonight I will be asking the County Commissioners to consider allowing the State of North Carolina to build a State Youth Development Center at the Guilford County Prison Farm that will house up to 32 youth. The construction cost will be approximately 11 million dollars and during the construction period it will provide between 120 to 149 new jobs. No County funds will be required for this center.

After the Center is built it will have a 3.7 to 5.2 million dollar operating budget and will provide 68 to 86 new permanent jobs.

This center will allow the family members of our children here in Guilford County which are now being held in youth centers across the state to have closer proximity to each other. Many Guilford county parents of children in these facilities are unable to visit these facilities in other cities due to the long distance from Guilford County. This in turn will allow a holistic approach to parenting and training skills to improve the lives of these families.

The center is also intended to Break the Cycle of our youth committing crimes in our community and will provide for positive Youth Development in helping them to focus on the positive things in life, instead of the negative.

Tonight we will only be directing the County Manager to conduct the feasibility of locating the State Youth Development Center at the Prison Farm.

If this center is going to be effective, it will require the entire community to become actively involved in helping our children to become productive citizens.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

published by Skip at 10:24 AM | in:
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Comments:
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Alternative to Incarceration

I want to commend you for all the work that you are doing in the field of finding alternatives to incarceration. For too long jail has been the hiding place for many victims of society's ills. Drug addicts do not need to waste taxpayer money sitting in jail, they should be in rehab where they can receive treatment and become productive members of society. Fathers that are behind in child support should be out earning a living so they can repay the money that they already owe; not sitting in jail getting further behind in support payments.

Please keep up the good work, I doubt that any of your detractors will be able to find something wrong with what you are doing now.

published by Ray Trapp at 1:39 PM, May. 3, 2007 | Link | |

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Make Examples Out Of Them

When older brothers and sisters are shipped off to far away reform schools or youth prisons their younger siblings don't get the chance to learn from the mistakes of their elders. By putting the youth correctional centers close to home little brother and little sister can learn first hand what the behavior they witnessed before incarceration brought to big brother and big sister.

For the poor traveling 100 miles is just as hard as traveling 1000. Nothing but good can come from this proposal.

published by billyjones at 10:50 PM, May. 3, 2007 | Link | |

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Untitled Comment

I am with you on this proposal also Mr. Alston. These children need to be closer to home so that the family can be involved in family counseling to determine the problems leading to the criminal behavior and hopefully correcting it.

That is two out of two that I have agreed with you on so far. You know you are making it difficult for me to defame you as I have on my blog. Instead I am writing posts in favor of your proposals, and (gulp) praising the infamous Skip Alston!

published by BrendaFayBowers at 6:02 PM, May. 4, 2007 | Link | |

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Youth Development Center

Thanks for your feed back on this subject. However, I need you to contact the other County Commissioners to convience them to see it the same way. These children really need our help. It is not about politics, we can play that some other time. We are talking about the lives of children.

Brenda, thanks for agreeing, Whose knows, we might agree on even more things, if we only would look at the facts and the principles on the issues, instead of the politics and the person.

Please follow this issue until we have the ground breaking ceremony. I will try to keep you up to date on the progress of this center.

published by Skip Alston at 5:18 PM, May. 5, 2007 | Link | |