The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Rampant Drug Use During School Hours At ACPS; Why Is Drug Dealing & Use Unchecked At ACPS?

Episode Date: October 23, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Rampant Drug Use During School Hours At ACPS Why Is Drug Dealing & Use Unchecked At ACPS? Why Are Known Drug Dealers Not Being Expelled? Is ACPS Using Vague Communication As A Cover? Downtown Mall Violence Caught On Camera Downtown Assault Linked To The Haven Shelter Is It Time To Move The Haven From Downtown Mall? Converting Cherry Ave Thrift Store To Homeless Shelter 22% Of CVille Area Families Don’t Make Enough $ Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Jerry Miller was live on The I Love CVille Show! Follow The I Love CVille Show on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-i-love-cville-show-with-jerry-miller/id1473278344 Follow The I Love CVille Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7vPYSxtueet3r8GHNboJs3 The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

Good afternoon, guys. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on a Wednesday. It's a pleasure to connect with you through the I Love Seville Network. Today's show is going to be one that is difficult, and it will include topic matter that will make you uncomfortable. We will talk about the state of schools in central Virginia, a community that's known for its wealth, for its sophistication, for its influence from the

University of Virginia. But some of the stories that I've been hearing since Sunday evening when a 16-year-old at Monticello High School reached out to me through her mother's Facebook account with her mother's permission, with her mother sitting next to her on the couch. The 16-year-old at Monticello High School relayed information to me that was beyond troubling. Overdosing in schools, and that was Monday evening I received that direct message from the 16-year-old. Correction, please. Overdosing in schools, laced carts tied to vaping, students getting high on school grounds during school hours, in the teacher's bathroom,

off school grounds, and then coming back to school high, smoking and vaping drugs that they think are THC and cannabis and weed, and figuring out right after vaping that it's far from it, leading to foaming at the mouth, leading to desks being thrown, chairs being thrown and hurled at students, 911 and rescue squads being called, CPR being performed on students, students whisked out of hallways and classrooms on stretchers and put in the back of ambulances and taken to hospitals in the area. I had a conversation today with a father,

and he's given me permission to relay this story to you. His daughter, a senior at Monticello High School, and she was taken from school at Monticello in an ambulance because she vaped what she thought was THC. It was unfortunately something far from it. And immediately after vaping what she thought was THC, she became disoriented and disoriented to the point of not being able to speak correctly, dizzy, wobbly, and falling down, was immediately taken to the nurse at Monticello High School. The nurse said, this is beyond my purview of what I can do here as a school nurse, called the ambulance, called 911, and this senior was taken to the hospital at UVA. She received the laced vape cart from a classmate, a young man. The young man was identified,

was reported to the proper authorities within the school. The young man, after being reported to the authorities of the school, was back in school a short time later. And this father was beyond frustrated. He said, my daughter, and I understand she is culpable and she has a responsibility here. He says, I understand that she smoked a vape pen thinking it was THC during school hours. And if she were to do this at any job, she would be fired. He went as far as saying this, if my daughter was charged by the law, I would have

supported the charge so she learned a tough lesson. This father made this comment to me, I have on a number of occasions found vape pens with THC and cannabis in them in her backpack among other vape pens with tobacco and nicotine in them. He realizes his daughter is not an angel or perfect, but he made this very clear point to me. Explain to me, Jerry, how someone is bringing drugs to the school, is being identified as the dealer of these drugs, is peddling pens, vape pens, as if they were THC, and instead it's some kind of synthetic drug that is completely different from what the community, what parents,

what students know as weed, as cannabis at THC. When the students are smoking them, they become beyond disoriented. We have reports of foaming at the mouth. We have reports of picking up desks and chairs and throwing them at other students. Reports of students being taken out of the school on stretchers, CPR being performed, and rushed to hospitals. Overdosing. As of this point, no student has died of the overdose. The father I spoke to, Judah, overheard the conversation. We will wheel Judah Wickhauer into this show in a matter of moments. The father who spoke to me this morning after watching yesterday's show said this verbatim.

Is it going to take the death of a local student before Albemarle County Public Schools becomes honest and straightforward with the rampant drug use and drug dealing that is happening in its hallways? That took me aback and gave me pause. I did not have a response to this father on the phone besides listening with empathy, and I'm a man who makes his living with words. We are working to potentially have him on the program. He is obviously concerned with his daughter, and he understands that speaking frankly is how change is going to be made, so he's at a crossroads personally.

Daughter and family in community. A lot we're going to cover on today's program, and we're going to ask questions that may make you the viewer and listener, that may make you the mom and dad, that may make you the teacher, the vice principal, the principal, that may make you the assistant superintendent, the superintendent, or the school board member uncomfortable, angry, frustrated, or scared. But it's a topic that must be in the news cycle, because that's how change is going to be made. These are the questions I want to cover today. Why is rampant drug use during school hours within Albemarle County Public Schools, Charlottesville Public Schools, and other public school systems in Central Virginia going unchecked?

Why is drug dealing going unchecked? Why are known drug dealers not being expelled from school systems locally? And is Albemarle County Public Schools using vague communication with parents, vague email communication about events that are happening to kids in hallways and classrooms. Is that a strategy to cover up what is an epidemic in our local public schools? A lot we're going to cover on today's show.

We will also, after this first topic, show about a 60-second video of an assault on the downtown mall, an assault that stemmed from theft at the Haven Day Shelter on Market Street. I'm going to ask a very uncomfortable question. Is it time we moved the Haven Day Shelter away from the downtown mall? I'm a supporter of what the Haven does,

but day shelters that create an aggregation or congregation of trouble around the epicenter of commerce, of tourism, and the brand identity of a region, the A-blocks we call downtown Charlottesville. Are those not conflicts? Can they coexist, or is it a clear divorce that needs to happen? So much to cover on today's program. Studio camera, then two-shot, we'll weave Judah Wickhauer into the program. First, Judah Wickhauer, you in attendance, sitting next to me as I have the conversation with a very frustrated father.

Yeah, I mean, I heard one side of it. This frustrated father asks straightforward questions with the permission he gave to us to talk about it on the show. Why is rampant drug use going unchecked within Albemarle County Public Schools? He spoke specifically of Albemarle County Public Schools because his daughter is a senior at Monticello High School. He asked, why is rampant drug dealing going unchecked

within Albemarle County Public Schools? He specifically talked to Monticello. He said, why are known drug dealers not being suspended at the least, expelled in a real world? 100%. Why is that not happening? Why are they given second, third, and fourth chances?

And he asked about the communication we highlighted yesterday, if it was a cover-up from the superintendent's office, a strategy from the office to cover up what is an epidemic that clearly is gaining momentum locally within school, classrooms, hallways, and corridors. I'll start opening it with you anywhere you want to go before I offer some takes on this. Ginny Hu, thank you for watching the program. Viewers and listeners, tag someone on the show.

Share the program with a parent that needs to hear this. Kara Redman, Megan Hart, Janice Boyce-Trevillian, thank you for watching the program. I'll get to your comments in a matter of moments. First, I'd like to hear what Judah Wittgower has to say. I'm surprised this parent and potentially other parents aren't on the phone all day. I'd be on the phone with the school. I'd be on the phone with the police. I'd be on the phone with my lawyer. And I would be 100% on the phone with my representative. I mean, this is...

If it was just kids selling drugs in the school unchecked, that would be bad enough. If it was just my kid buying drugs from someone at a school and nothing's being done about it, that would be worse. But the fact that five kids had an OD on the same day and they know who sold them the vape pens and as you said, nothing's been done about it, I would be beyond livid. I would be finding out, I would be talking to whoever I could to find out how this either stops or somebody goes to prison.

Megan Hart in the comment section of the I Love Seville Facebook page says there looks like there was another medical call today at Monticello High School. When does it stop? That would be a notification parents receive via email. Megan Hart also says, I feel like when you start to ignore things, it's time for you to move to something else because you are no longer being a leader. A reason why I say Dr. Matthew Haas has to go. He is not a leader.

Megan Hart in the comment section of the Facebook. I love Seville. Janice Boyce Trevelyan wants to know if law enforcement was called. Megan Hart also says that there are other concerns that are happening, and she highlights the medical call today. Kara Redman says, yes, they searched the kid that sold it and found it. Ed Lauderback watching. What the heck is in these things? I highlighted

on yesterday's show, today's drugs of choice, synthetic. That doesn't mean it wasn't THC, though. There could have been something laced with it, but there's no indication that it was something completely, utterly different. As I highlighted, today's drug of choice, synthetic. The drugs of yesteryear, not that it makes it okay. Something you would see growing from the ground. A synthetic drug created in a lab is going to have elements to it that can be far more dangerous than the drugs of yesteryear. And maybe this is Jerry becoming an older guy and the old,

I used to walk five miles uphill each day barefoot in snow to get to school. But with some common sense, and parenting is as much about survival as it is using common sense to get to the end of the day, to get to nap time, bedtime, to wake up the next morning and keep your kids safe. With some common sense, if you're taking drugs that you buy on the internet and have mailed to you with a P.O. box in 5th Street Station that's been set up without your parents knowing, you're buying it online. This is happening everywhere in Central Virginia. I have half a dozen messages from parents or students in my inbox that say their friends are buying drugs online and having the drugs mailed to nondescript P.O. boxes

that they personally rent in shopping centers like Fifth Street Station or shopping centers like the Food Lion Shopping Center at the base of Pantops. They're buying drugs from people they don't know, made in laboratories overseas, on the cheap, and the response from this is potentially deadly. And I have so many questions. My first question of all this,

before I start pointing fingers at kids, and before I start pointing fingers at kids, and before I start pointing fingers at parents, and that's not what I want to do as a father of two, my first question is in regards to the communication from the public school system and the superintendent's office. The vice principal at Monticello High School sent a vague email, and one of the viewers and listeners that watches this program that I trust said, it's challenging to hold an assistant principal accountable because we know the email was ghost

written from them and approved by others, most likely the superintendent's office or legal within the school system. And he's right. The assistant principal that's sending the email from Monticello High School to parents, he's a pawn on a chessboard. Maybe you can make the argument that he's a knight or a bishop, but he is certainly not the king or the queen. And the king or the queen are the superintendent or the school attorney who writes the language and says, if there's a problem,

this is the language you send to parents. And my issue with that as a parent myself is if you are vague with communication of what's happening as it pertains to drug dealing, as it pertains to overdosing on drugs, as it pertains to brawling and fighting and violence on grounds, on school property, then are you part of the cover-up yourself? Is it a strategy to keep parents from knowing what's going on? And if it's a strategy to cover things up, to make it seem like it's okay, then that right there is the first to blame and has the most culpability. A 17-year-old, an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old that overdoses on drugs, they have responsibility and culpability. But these are children.

A 17-year-old, an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old that's dealing drugs on school grounds, they should be suspended. They should be expelled. They have culpability falls under the culpability standards of a superintendent's office using vague language to deceive or trick parents on what is actually happening. And parents should say enough already. And I want you rotating the lower thirds on screen, please. So folks can see what we're talking about. Kevin Higgins, Bill McChesney, I'll get to your comments. Jessica Lilly, I'll get to your comments. Viewers and listeners, share the show, tag a parent, let them know what's going on.

Juan Sarmiento asked a very good question. Why is legacy media not covering this in their respective news cycles? Why are we not seeing this on the TV stations, on the radio stations or the newspapers? I want to know that question as well. Is it because the reporters are fresh out of college and they don't have

the connections to report stories that matter? Because this doesn't show up in a press release and an inbox and it's easy reporting low-hanging fruit? Is that why? Is news in 2024 in communities like Charlottesville about reporting nothing but press releases and the rainbows and sunshine of the community? Because from my standpoint, it's up to the watchdogs of the community, the new sources of the community, to educate the community on the good, the bad, and the ugly. And when it comes to overdosing and dealing drugs on school grounds, in classrooms, in hallways, when it comes to students leaving school property

during school hours to walk to the local vape store or to buy some lace carts from the local drug dealer and then to get effed up on school property during school hours to the point where 911 and rescue squads are needed, taxpayer dollars, that's an epidemic. Yeah. The father I talked to today, a senior at Monticello High School, his daughter overdosing to the point of a rescue squad taking to UVA Health, to the hospital system. The school nurse saying, I can't do anything about this, the father fighting the drugs in her backpack,

turning the drugs into the principal and the principal's office, saying, this is what my daughter took. This is who gave the drugs to my daughter. I want to know if this is fentanyl or what it's laced with. And I want to know what you're going to do with this young man who dealt these drugs to my daughter. And then having crickets and silence from the administration, despite his daughter in an ambulance fighting for her life. Frustrated, infuriated, sad, demoralized, downtrodden, crushed,

now testing his daughter at home, checking her backpack regularly, and said if she was arrested and had a charge against her, I would have supported it. I want to ask you a very pointed question, viewer and listener, viewers and listeners. Very pointed question for the viewers and listeners and for you, Judah Wickauer. For you, Jessica Lilly, Ed Lauterbach,

Kara Redman, Ray Caddell. If the communication, Kevin Higgins and Bill McChesney, is strategically vague, does that not reek of a cover-up to you? To me, it says either a cover-up or they just have no intention of doing anything. Like, we don't think this is an issue. What is worse? we don't think this is an issue, so... What is worse? I don't know.

What is worse? A cover-up tied to vague communication to hide what's going on. That's intent. Or apathy or laziness, this isn't our responsibility. There's still intent there. What's worse?

I don't know. Kevin Higgins, this is 100% a cover-up. Kevin Higgins, you get what you vote for, period. I'd hire a retired general to fix this. Bill McChesney says this is mass vaping. There's not any difference between a deadly vape pen and a firearm. Jessica Lilly, parents have not received an email yet. We only know because our children tell us or we have an app that shows it.

It's called Pulse Point. It's crazy. Does it not reek of a cover-up? And here's a very straightforward question for the viewers and listeners, and for you, Judah Wickauer. Why has a statement not been made by Dr. Matthew Haas and Dr. Royal Gurley,

Superintendent ACPS, Superintendent Charlottesville Public Schools. Step further, why have statements not been made by elected officials called school board members? I wonder how much they know. I mean, I would imagine they know less than the superintendent. You're saying school board members don't know that rescue squads are being called to public schools, whisking students away on stretchers, students that are pale, eyes rolled

back, CPR being performed on them. Those students taken to hospitals fighting for their life. The school board member can plead ignorance. I'm sure they know some of it by now. School board members aren't, it's not like they're're it's not like they work at the school so i would imagine they're probably finding out about this or at about the same rate as the parents that's just a guess but most of them have jobs right you're saying the school board members the six or seven people that are responsible for managing hundreds of billions of dollars in school budgets every year are on the same level of knowledge and communication as the parents that are in the dark right now.

I mean, is that... If that is the case, if Judah is right, then this is a multi-level cover-up. Where the school board members that are responsible for hiring and firing superintendents, paying and holding accountable leadership for public schools, are being kept in the dark by the same people that are keeping parents in the dark. That is a cover-up. Ginny Hu on Twitter, my question is, if this issue is being hidden from the community, how much else do we not know? Ginny Hu on Twitter, like I said yesterday,

why are so many of the students allowed to walk off school grounds in the middle of the day? Ginny Hu on Twitter. It definitely smells like someone saying whatever the legal department told them to say. Yeah. That raises the question, how is the legal department

suggesting that this is a good idea? How do they not know that this is going to get out and not just blow over? Five kids OD on the same day and you just want to keep it on the down low for now, that's crazy.

What's even crazier to me, that's crazy. You're 100% crazy. What is also crazy to me is a notorious and known drug dealer offered second, third, and fourth chances and seen in school days after being apprehended for dealing drugs on school grounds. 100%.

That right there is... I would want them out of the school if they were selling cigarettes on school grounds, especially if it was to my kid. But to find out that it's THC and then to find out that it's laced with who knows what and that the obvious results, that's insanity. seriously i i if there aren't dozens of parents out there calling their representatives and asking wtf are you going by representatives what do you mean school board members no i mean like government i mean are you talking boards of supervisors what is the representative that you're talking your state representative specifically what are you speaking of a state representative. Specifically, what are you speaking of? You're a state representative. You're a congressperson. U.S. senators?

State senators? Congressmen? I'm not sure why you're grilling me on this. I would be calling my congressperson. Okay. You're saying you would take this to a federally elected person to handle at the local level? At some point, it's going to trickle down and somebody is going to get... The people you take this to are the school board members. The school board members who are

responsible for hiring and firing people in the school system. The school board members who are responsible for hiring school resource officers. the school board members who are responsible for bringing drug dogs into hallways and classrooms to sniff out illegal activity. You take this to a congressman, a U.S. congressman, he's going to say, what the heck do you want me to do on this? You want me to take this to Capitol Hill?

I want you to put your boot on some necks and make sure that something gets done about this. You really think that going to the school board members is going to make sure that something gets done? The school board member is responsible for how the money is spent in the local school system. The school board member is responsible for whether superintendents keep or lose their jobs, whether a metal detector is at the front door of schools, whether a school resource officer is policing schools, whether a dog comes into schools and sniffs lockers for illegal drugs. And we see how much they've done about all of that. Well, you just made the argument that the school board members don't know that they're being kept in the dark. You literally said that five minutes ago. If we're using your logic, you communicate with the school board member first.

Isn't that what you said? That is what you said, right? It wasn't a statement of fact. I don't know what the school board members know. I think we're getting in the weeds here. No kidding. A U.S. congressman is not going to be able to do anything at Alamaro High School. All right.

Or Monticello High School. Dr. Karen Wolf, I think all the students found with illegal drugs on school grounds should be expelled. No second chances. You agree with that, Judah? Yeah, I'd go along with that. I agree with that 100%. Amen. Amen. Janice Boyce Trevelyan Ed Lauterbach I know of a county in Maryland

that has had multiple teens taken off buses from getting caught vaping on the bus one route is almost empty because so many were caught Heather Piller-Haislip take it to the school board if they don't do anything then go to the upper levels

Janice Boyce Trevelyan is concerned that the school boards are nothing but protecting the superintendent. To your point. Yeah, I know. Bill McChesney says, what, do you want Tim Kaine to look into this, Judah? Kevin Higgins says, what is going on right now is pure insanity. The definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. what is happening? 20-minute conversations with someone who hosts me,

me having a 20-minute conversation, Judah, next to you in the car. I host a podcast on the internet. I have a father reaching out to me as if it was almost confessional in a Catholic church. The gambit of emotions, anger, frustration, sorrow, concern, and it's closed with this. It's going to take the death of someone in a school before real change happens. And I'm on the other side of the line,

unsure how to respond to that. Wahoo89 makes the comment, well, I guess the school board is on the cover-up as well if they're doing nothing about it as well. I'll paint a picture for the viewer and listener. I'll paint a picture for Judah. Here's a picture for the viewer and listener, and here's a picture for Judah. Here's a picture for the viewer and listener, and here's a picture for Judah. Here's a picture for the moms and dads. Here's a picture for the freshmen, sophomore, junior, and seniors in high school, the assistant principals,

the principals, and the teachers. Are you ready, Judah? A known drug dealer is given second and third chances and can continue going back to school despite being known to deal drugs, despite being caught dealing drugs, despite one student going to the principal's office and the administration saying, these are the drugs I got from that young man right there. Test these drugs.

I thought it was THC. It wasn't. I had to go to the hospital. The young man is given second and third chances. Eventually, after the second or third chance, synthetic drugs are vaped on grounds. A student dies from vaping synthetic drugs on school grounds. It's tracked the death and the synthetic drug use

back to the same drug dealer, a drug dealer that has had a paper trail of reporting done about his behavior. The parents are left with this situation. My kid is dead. They go through the grieving process, and as the grieving process evolves and changes, it gets to the point of litigation.

And the parents say this, wait a second. The school system has known for a long time that there was a notorious drug dealer on grounds and nothing was done about it. The principal's office knew, the superintendent's office knew, and the school board members knew, and they did nothing about it,

and now my child is gone that right there is a lawsuit of significant proportions no doubt Ashley Moyer says this there's multiple comments coming in on the I Love Seville Facebook page share the show on the I Love Seville Facebook page so folks can see the moms and parents commenting on it. I'm trying to keep up with the comments here. They're coming in quick. Jessica Lily says they also have hall monitors, not that they make a

difference. Ashley Moyer talks about don't mark my word because I haven't laid eyes on it, but my students have told me there's a presence all the time now. Karen Wolf, allowing that student in the school is putting other children in danger. There is no way I tolerate that as a parent with a child in that school. She also says, how can the schools not hold themselves accountable for keeping these children safe? This is absolutely unbelievable. I'll close by asking the same questions again. My first question is, why is drug dealing and drug use unchecked in many of our high schools in central Virginia?

My second question is, why are notorious and known drug dealers, students in our high schools, not being expelled? My third question is, Alamaro County Public Schools and its communication with parents using vague language as a strategic cover-up to lessen the severity of what is happening. My follow-up question is, if it is vague language as a cover-up

to lessen the severity of what is happening or the perceived severity with parents, what is the legal liability if a young man or a young woman dies because of what is happening in schools? Anything you want to add, J-Dubs, that you think we're missing? No. What has taken you aback the most from all this? I mean, obviously the fact that they're not doing anything about it. Nothing's been done. They let the kids stay.

They send out a vague message. And, you know, it doesn't sound like they're going to do anything about it. That's insane. Insane. I would have, I don't know. I mean, you know, if I was working in the school and I was in charge of something, I would be on the phone. I would be talking to people. I would be trying to start a group to raise enough fuss that this never happens again.

Here's a really difficult question. Very difficult question. You tell me if you think this question is fair or not. Are the biggest culprits or folks to blame throughout this entire sad, sad story, me, my wife, and us as parents who have allowed the situation to get to this point. Tiffany Bradley, before you answer that question, puts in the comment section of the I Love Seville Facebook page, my son just told me that a girl overdosed today at Monticello High School.

We have been told that there's been half a dozen overdoses at Monticello High School this week alone. Synthetic drugs, lace carts, it's an epidemic. And I'm going to ask the frank question again, the most uncomfortable one of them all. Is it us, me? Us, my wife? us, our neighbors, us, our friend group, us, the parents that are the most culpable because we've allowed it to get to this point? do we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and say how have we not used our mama bear and our papa bear

tendencies and instincts to prevent this from happening no I don't think so I think you're scrubcribing a little too much knowledge to a rather large group of people. Our teenage kids are smoking drugs they have no idea what they are while living in our homes under our watch wearing the clothes that

we bought for them carrying the lunchbox that carries the food that we bought for them in the backpack that has the initials of our family on the outside of it? That is a tough question. Savannah Brown, Savannah Bowen, that just gave me the chills. Me too. Me too. Who is responsible for my sons for our sons my wife and I

first I think it's about damn time that we have communication from Dr. Matthew Haas and Dr. Royal Gurley. Superintendent Haas and Superintendent Gurley. It's about damn time you speak to your parents. opposed to using the pawns on the chessboard, your assistant principals, to pass along vague language, cryptic language, word salad, and three paragraphs via email. The next headline is another concerning one, and it's another topic that's awkward if you want to rotate the lower thirds. Let me know when you have the video ready to go.

It's ready. Judah, this footage that we're about to show took place at 1046 in the morning on Sunday while you were sitting in a church pew and I was changing the diaper of a 22 month old child. 1046 in the morning on Sunday on the downtown mall next to Hamilton's Restaurant. Please play what is an assault on the mall caught on camera in three, two, one. In that video, I've been told, released by Travis Wilburn, I know Travis,

Travis cares about downtown Charlottesville immensely. significant skin in the game as it pertains to Charlottesville City, Albemarle County, and downtown Charlottesville, Travis Wilborn has. Significant. I've known the man for years. Releases the video. Goes to the police department.

The police department releases it to the police department, the police department releases it to the media. You see a man running for his life. Then he trips right next to the patio of Hamilton's restaurant, falls to the

pedestrian brick walkway on the mall, and then is immediately pummeled, kicked, stopped, curbed, assaulted by two men chasing him over a beef that originated at the Haven day shelter. If it wasn't for the female that entered the picture at the end, who knows how far the assault would have gone. She broke it up.

The details we know, a fight that started because of a theft at the Haven, the day shelter for the homeless on Market Street. The Haven, directly across from Lee Park, sorry, Emancipation, sorry, Market Street Park, a park that

is a choir room for the houseless. I'm going to ask another extremely awkward question. Uncomfortable question. Fair question. The questions I've asked today, awkward, uncomfortable, raw, authentic, but fair. Here's another one.

Is it time to get the haven off the downtown mall? Is it time to remove the shelters from the downtown mall? Is it time to return the downtown mall to what the downtown mall is intended to be? Eight blocks that are part of the brand identity, that are part of food and beverage, entertainment, commerce, shopping, quality of life for a region called Central Virginia. There are many in the community that say, I don't go to Charlottesville. I won't go to Charlottesville. I don't like its politics.

I don't feel safe down there. Whether you live in Louisa, Orange, Green, Fluvanna, Madison, Nelson, Barbersville, Ivy, Crozet, the eight blocks that we call the downtown mall in Charlottesville are your brand identity. August 11th and August 12th, when Nazis hit Charlottesville, every county in central Virginia was linked to that, the darkest day in Charlottesville history. Your home value tied to what happens in downtown Charlottesville, anywhere you live in central Virginia, whether you admit it or not. You travel outside of central Virginia, and you say you're from Barbersville, you say you're from Faber, you say you're from Scottsville,

you say you're from Nelson, Stannersville, Ruckersville, Lake Monticello, you say you're from Ivy, You say you're from Greenwood. You say you're from Afton. Everyone's like, where the hell is that? Then you tell them you're from Charlottesville. Oh, I know where Charlottesville's from. You guys were in the news for the Nazis. Oh, it's UVA.

It's Thomas Jefferson. I know Charlottesville. Your brand, your home is tied to these eight blocks. And I will go out on a limb and I will catch tremendous crossfire for saying this. It is time to remove the shelters that are causing an identity of homelessness and houselessness and trouble and violence from the downtown mall. Sam Sanders in Monday's city council meeting says, let's work with the Salvation Army to convert a thrift store. Is that one of our headlines that you can put on screen? To convert a thrift store on Cherry Avenue into a homeless shelter. I'm all for that. And then the haters are going to say this, oh, Jerry just wants the houseless out of sight and out of mind. That's BS. I am all for a hand up. Not a handout, but a hand up. All for a hand up. That hand up doesn't have to happen on the

eight blocks that are the brand of a region. That hand up doesn't have to happen on the eight blocks that are the brand of a region. That hand up doesn't have bus line next to the hospital within walking distance of downtown, within walking distance of grounds, still in the heartbeat of the community. You're having Sunday brunch after the 9 a.m. church service on

downtown Charlottesville with your wife and your kids, with your grandma, your grandpa, your poppy and your mima. And while drinking your Bloody Mary or sipping your coffee or eating your steak and eggs, your scrambled eggs, your bacon, egg and cheese,

you look over to the right and there's two men curb stomping and kicking the face and ribs of another man who's down on the ground. That happened on Sunday at 1046 in the morning. And you know what? You know whose responsibility this is not? The houseless.

It's not Chief Kotch cautious in the police department. Nor can they do much because panhandling is a form of freedom of speech and expression. And by the letter of the law, the downtown mall is a public park. And think about what we have done as a community. We've created a downtown mall that has the following.

Free internet for anyone to use. Electrical outlets for everyone to charge their phones. Half a dozen shelters that offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner for free. Wealthy foot traffic up and down the mall that you can shake down for money and panhandle, a library and a post office to get out of inclement weather, rain, heat, and cold, so you can chill. There's three people living at the post office right now.

At the post office, living at the post office. Go into the library on Market Street. My wife doesn't do that anymore, not with our boys. Go into the library on Market Street and ask the librarians how often they fear for their lives or fear for their safety. They'll tell you, I've asked them this question, often. We've created eight blocks that is the perfect storm for trouble, for loitering.

And those eight blocks are indicative of every county in this region. And you may not want to hear it, but it's a fact. It's the Wednesday edition of the I Love Seville show. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you.