By Hurricane Rina McCoy
GILMER FREE PRESS REVEALS THE SECRETS BEING HELD BY PETER BARR AND THE GLENVILLE STATE COLLEGE INVOLVING FOIA REQUESTS FROM LAWRENCE SMITH OF THE WV RECORD!
GOOD WORK LAWRENCE!! THANK YOU GILMER FREE PRESS DOT NET
CommunityConcerns™: Why is Information Being Withheld?
Evil Lurks from on top of the hill in the VILLE! Glenville, West Virginia where the POWER ELITE meet!
Unimpeded access to information to which Gilmer County public is entitled is imperative.
When information locks are imposed by officials in power who supposedly represent the public’s interests, grave danger is imposed.
That is because withholding of information interferes with checks and balances necessary for accountability.
Citizens in Gilmer County have endured information locks too long.
For some examples, there is secrecy involving what Mr. Blankenship and the State are doing with our school system including responses to recent alleged abuses of our children, details about settlement of the law suit against the County Commission, activities at Glenville State College including those associated with the Gilmer Housing Partners, GSC Housing Corporation, GSC Foundation, GSC Research Corporation, GSC Public Safety, and much, much more.
When information is not provided in a timely basis and roadblocks are intentionally laid to thwart and delay its release, that fuels suspicions that attempts are being made to hide embarrassing information citizens have the right to know.
Fortunately, winds of change are sweeping Gilmer County.
Gone forever are days of repression when citizens will sit back passively to be content to be spoon fed information from handlers.
In this perspective, the following documents obtained by The Gilmer Free Press are to inform Gilmer County citizens about inroads being made to allow the cleansing action of information openness to sanitize the County.
The saying that freedom is not free is true, and the concept is not restricted to what our brave men and women warriors are doing abroad.
To preserve freedom in Gilmer County we must maintain constant vigilance and to be assertive as responsible citizens.
Request Sent to Glenville State College Campus Security:
Security on Campus:
I’m a reporter with The West Virginia Record in Charleston. I’m investigating how two higher education institutions in the state may have cooked their books regarding campus crime statistics.
The first you know about. It is allegations that Marshall University last year kept two sets of campus crime statistics.
The other is Glenville State College. Information has been provided to me that the College is not keeping accurate statistics, including those regarding alleged sexual assaults.
In late September, I sent a Freedom of Information Act request to Daniel Bell, the campus police chief, asking to see all crime statistics the department was required to disclose pursuant to the Cleary Act since 1996. I made to visit to campus Oct. 3 to view the requested documents.
When I arrived to their office just after noon, I found the door locked. I called the number posted on the door, and was told they were closed for lunch, and I needed to return after 1 p.m. (No office hours were posted on the door).
After conducting some related research at the county courthouse nearby, I returned to the office just after 4 p.m. Though two officers were on duty, they informed me Bell already left for the day, and only he had access to that information.
One of the officers got Bell on the telephone. In our conversation, Bell informed me he had no intentions of returning to the office, and I needed to come back the next day during normal business hours (which he never said what those were), and he would provide me the information I requested.
I feel one of the reasons I got the run around was due to the fact that the day I was on campus was the day Glenville was required to make available its 2010 crime statistics, and they weren’t ready..
Regardless, the reason for my inquiry is to ask if your organization has a list of all institutions of higher education that the U.S. Department of Education has sanctioned for Cleary Act violations since its passage in 1990. I remember Salem-Teikyo University, now Salem International University, here in West Virginia was one.
I would like to use that information as part of my upcoming story. I realize DoE has it, but, as you well know, they take their own sweet time in responding to requests for information.
Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated. In addition to this e-mail address, I can be reached via telephone at (304) 397-6075.
Lawrence J. Smith
Information consultants serving the Virginias and Ohio
Public records research * Process serving * Asset/Heir location
Return Visit to Glenville to View Requested Crime Statistics:
Chief Bell:
This message is to alert you to a planned return trip I’m making to Glenville to view the documents I requested in September, as well as others the Department is required to disclose to the public pursuant to federal law. To prevent another snafu like happened during my previous visit, I’d like to know the Department’s office hours, and if those hours will be kept the week of Nov.. 21-25.
Lawrence Smith
Finally after getting the getting the runaround in wanting to see the 990 returns, the following correspondence was received from Dr. Peter Barr’s Office on December 08, 2011, directing to a Web site that contains the information. It is a third-party site that anyone can access for free after registering.
Below you will find PDFs to the IRS 990 returns for all three non-profit organizations associated with Glenville State – the Foundation, the Housing Corporation and the Research and Development Corporation:
Glenville State College Foundation
2010
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2010/556/021/2010-556021123-06969fea-9.pdf
2009
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/556/021/2009-556021123-058ae6f9-9.pdf
2008
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/556/021/2008-556021123-04782c2b-9.pdf
Glenville State College Housing Corporation
2010
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2010/550/527/2010-550527235-06d37d03-9.pdf
2009
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/550/527/2009-550527235-056667c3-9.pdf
2008
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/550/527/2008-550527235-0451b630-9.pdf
Glenville State College Research and Development Corporation
2010
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2010/550/713/2010-550713410-06d37cee-9.pdf
2009
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/550/713/2009-550713410-056667b4-9.pdf
2008
www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/550/713/2008-550713410-0451b658-9.pdf
GFP – 12.09.2011
Concerned Citizens Free Press 