FL-AMBER ALERT Haleigh Cummings 5 yrs. old - Putnam County #15

[Silk]

Welcome to the rural south. Of course, not every community down here is like this, but I think you'll find that a lot of us are less shocked and appalled by it. I know thousands of people just like the Griffis/Sheffields/Cummings/Creslins. Rent "Dancing Outlaw" or "Southern Comfort" and you'll see what I mean.

I worked in the Emergency Room for 26 years in rural SC. These folks are much more common than you think. And aside from the ones who end up in the news, etc., most of them are fiercly protective of their children and love them very much. You mess with these redneck's kids, you may very well get shot! Many of them are also the dedicated volunteers in your fire departments and EMS services.

The redneck you are comdemning may be the very one who saves your life if you are traveling in this neck of the woods.

 

[KOOL LOOK]

Thenks for the explanation. Why weren't the charges expunged from his record?

Probably because he didn't pay the court to have it done when the time came the court would allow it. He probably needs to look into that and hasn't ever thought to do so. Education is a winner everytime. Encourage your kids I say, hehe sorry, I've been teaching this school year and I see many students who don't understand the importance and I don't think it's being taught at home to embrace it fully. Even for some that aren't poor, so economics isn't always the culprit of neglect.

 

[legallee]

The public schools in the south are not funded well. My H.S. in the Midwest was ranked above all the private schools. Down here, the opposite is true. I'm not saying that all public school systems here are rotten but a lot of them are. Your son comes from a home where a value is placed on education and he receives support from you. That is not true for every student. I don't have any friends in TN or GA that send their children to public schools. My mother is a retired teacher in the Midwest, she tests my daughter yearly to make sure she is up to par b/c the standards here are just not as good.

I TOTALLY disagree with your assessment of the south! I was born and raised in the south. Graduated with honors. My niece, born and raised in the south, graduated with honors and was in the top 4 nationally with the highest SAT scores. I now live in the Midwest and I've seen more poor standards in the Midwest schools than I ever seen back home. And they are NOT funded or supported by the community! It doesn't matter where you live. Education starts and ends at home.

 

[karenmamo]

Kid Finders ASKED to leave ? This is wonderful, wonderful news ! Is this on the news ?

OK...I was on a roadtrip today..still am.
While there about 60 of us learned we would see neither Geo, nor the KFN because they had been asked to leave when they showed up this morning.
That was all I got.
Don't know who told them to leave.
Guess it belongs in some rumor thread, huh?
But a good rumor.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

I have to agree about the public schools myself, FL ranks something like 47 of 50 in cost per student, teacher pay is also one of the lowest in the nation. We had our son in private school through 5th grade(all we could afford) and was shocked at how public schools in Lake county operate.

And there may be something to the class issue too. So many of the people I know have their kids in private school here and there is not a lot of association with his old classmates now that my son left those friends for public school. Funny at the private school he was considered rather poor but at public school he is considered rich..LOL!

Florida, IN GENERAL, is rated VERY POOR in the public school picture. IMO it has more to do with the larger districts and the "urban" settings. The very rural schools are lacking in technology - but very very very rich in parental, volunteer support. The larger districts are dens of corruption for aspiring politicians - you get yourself elected to a school board FIRST and then springboard off that to state senate or higher - we just had one school board member here do JUST THAT. She was only on the board for like 6 months when she announced she was going to run in the upcoming election for state senate! Ya really think she had the best interests of our children first and foremost? Nope. So, I guess it just depends on your district and state about the "southern" schools.

 

[LCoastMom]

Swag, I know about both. My uncle, back in the day, raised/fought champion fighting dogs, this was La and I know that fighting dogs still goes on all over the south. Also, know about fights because too. Louisiana was one of the last states to ban /dog fighting.

Any LEO/ACO you speak to will tell you, dog fighting and fighting go hand in hand with drug abuse/use.

When a ring comes down almost always in my experience you will have DEA hand in hand with AC to make the arrests and make sure everything goes by the books.

 

[PattyCake]

Wonder who asked kidfinders to leave???
Bravo whoever it was.

:clap::clap::clap:
Best decision for all involved. Especially for Haleigh.

 

[mydailyopinions]

I have to agree about the public schools myself, FL ranks something like 47 of 50 in cost per student, teacher pay is also one of the lowest in the nation. We had our son in private school through 5th grade(all we could afford) and was shocked at how public schools in Lake county operate.

And there may be something to the class issue too. So many of the people I know have their kids in private school here and there is not a lot of association with his old classmates now that my son left those friends for public school. Funny at the private school he was considered rather poor but at public school he is considered rich..LOL!

Imagine that 47 out of 50 in cost per student with underpaid teachers yet most states are giving a free education to inmates who commit the most horrific of crimes, 3 square meals a day, no bills at all! This isn't a standards problem, this is clearly a government problem! Its no wonder our children suffer.
The class issue is not learned at schools, it is learned at home. JMHO

 

[Kat]

:furious:Unless you have had dealings with these sad folks it is hard to imagine their lifestyle....I work with a woman who just got legal custody of her 5 year old gd....the things that child went thru would make your head blow off....the lifestyle was at least a step up from this poor family though....when you ask about what about meal time that day for Haleigh,lesson doing,etc., those are probably not "normal" daily events...they eat but when? no regular schedule at all....if you look around the next time you are say at a Walmart you will see the different levels people live in.....not how I would want to live and it totally breaks my heart when I see these small kids but it does not tell me they aren't loved....they repeat what they learn...if they are not exposed to anything better it usually just gets repeated as they grow up.....and living where I do, the cokk (sp) fighting is done here if people can get away with it far out in the country....not as much as it used to be though...this whole dang mess just tears me up.....I want this madness to end for these kids!!!!!!!!

Nana46 I do understand your level of frustration with Haleigh being missing and I feel the same way too.

However, I must take issue when it is said that Haleigh probably didn't have a regular schedule. That she wasn't fed dinner at a certain time. That she wasn't put to bed at a certain time.

Because we just haven't seen anything to support that speculation. I came from a desperately poor family. My Mother was 16 when she gave birth to me, my bio-dad was 17. On my Dad's side I come from people that came down off the mountains to look for better jobs. ( Appalachian people).

From my Mom's side they came from the Deep South (MS) and I have never heard it referred to the "Dirty South" until it was called that in rap songs. It's just not referred to in that manner by Southerners.

I have been called poor white trash, I have been called a redneck, I have been called a cr@cker, but I was loved. I was fed. And my parents made sure I got to school for a public education everyday for 12 years.

So I"m going to sign off now because I can tell I'm getting to wound up with all the talk about "those people" from that "culture".

Have a good day all and believe it or not I'm going to Walmart

 

[KOOL LOOK]

I worked in the Emergency Room for 26 years in rural SC. These folks are much more common than you think. And aside from the ones who end up in the news, etc., most of them are fiercly protective of their children and love them very much. You mess with these redneck's kids, you may very well get shot! Many of them are also the dedicated volunteers in your fire departments and EMS services.

The redneck you are comdemning may be the very one who saves your life if you are traveling in this neck of the woods.

Really? I'm in rural SC and our young uns mean alot to us. Wonder if we could have ran across each other.

 

[Khaki_Pants]

Any links for where the presser will be? Ty in advance.

 

[Nana46]

:clap::clap::clap:
Best decision for all involved. Especially for Haleigh.

You got that right
I have to leave so will miss the presser..You good folks hold down the fort and I will be praying for Haleigh while I am gone

 

[tehcloser]

Family & friends have gathered with each family at two seperate locations. Media is turned away at the Cummings' home.

Twitter update

 

[Marina2]

Thenks for the explanation. Why weren't the charges expunged from his record?

He has to take the initiative to get that ball rolling, ie get a lawyer to file the paperwork, etc. This is likely an expense he can't afford while making ten dollars an hour and supporting two children. He certainly needs them expunged. You can see how having this on his record reflects on him even though he was never prosecuted, not even a plea bargain. The prosecutor dropped it because he didn't have a case. If there was the slightest chance they could convict him they would have.

 

[sega-sleuth]

Bravo!!! :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

I asked Marc K. twice (on his threads) to please take Ronnie under his wing. I hope he steps in to guide him through this nightmare. Ronnie needs someone who will provide him with sage advice and who can really understand his position. George wasn't that person, imo.

Hmmm...imagine that?! Well placed correspondence can be such a useful tool. Kudos to the people who made this possible!

Thank you for asking Marc to take Ronnie under his wing, He needs it!! He needs someone to guide him and I totally agree GA is not the person to do this.
KFN had no business down there at all, but I think he was following GA. Tim Miller is there and he WILL get the job done!! Thank God for Tim, he is a God send!!

 

[obguthr]

Imagine that 47 out of 50 in cost per student with underpaid teachers yet most states are giving a free education to inmates who commit the most horrific of crimes, 3 square meals a day, no bills at all! This isn't a standards problem, this is clearly a government problem! Its no wonder our children suffer.
The class issue is not learned at schools, it is learned at home. JMHO

Keep in mind cost of living. I know Virginia doesn't rank very high in that list either, but it shouldn't. The cost of living is relatively low in Virginia, so $35,000/year can go a long way here.

 

[tehcloser]

Anyone have presser links???????????????/

 

[LCoastMom]

I worked in the Emergency Room for 26 years in rural SC. These folks are much more common than you think. And aside from the ones who end up in the news, etc., most of them are fiercly protective of their children and love them very much. You mess with these redneck's kids, you may very well get shot! Many of them are also the dedicated volunteers in your fire departments and EMS services.

The redneck you are comdemning may be the very one who saves your life if you are traveling in this neck of the woods.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Thank you for this, different is not always wrong! Individuals make up a community, all kinds of individuals. If there is proof of wrong doing, point it at the individual not the community....

 

[PattyCake]

I worked in the Emergency Room for 26 years in rural SC. These folks are much more common than you think. And aside from the ones who end up in the news, etc., most of them are fiercly protective of their children and love them very much. You mess with these redneck's kids, you may very well get shot! Many of them are also the dedicated volunteers in your fire departments and EMS services.

The redneck you are comdemning may be the very one who saves your life if you are traveling in this neck of the woods.

ITA, I believe the biggest redneck that is the most heartbreaking is Mark Lunsford. That man did everything right by his child, no matter where he was living. God bless Jessica's soul. May she help guide Haleigh home.

 

[NoraLee]

I 100% disagree! My son whom is 15 years old ranks in the top 300 in the United States as a 10th grader with classes being taken right now that will be credited in college before he even gets there. He was born in the south and goes to a southern public school. It is not the system, it is what a child makes of their education and the support they receive from home.
Not just by race but by class? What is that supposed to mean?

I 100% agree with you, mydaily. My dtrs were raised in Knoxville, TN. My older dtr graduated with honors, came up to MI and graduated from college with a nice GPA. My other dtr entered high school in MI and continued to get A's. Some people [including my relatives] continue to believe myths about the South. [Some of this has to do with portrayals on tv shows and movies.]