Promises Made – Promises Kept!

Earlier this morning, the Shenandoah County School Board, on a 5-1 vote, agreed to once again name Stonewall Jackson HS – back to Stonewall Jackson HS.  Turner Ashby Middle School, which had also been renamed – will again be named Turner Ashby Middle School. 

I cannot overstate my thanks to the 5 Members of the Shenandoah County School Board who did the will of the people.  And I’d like to thank my partner in crime, Mike Schiebe, head of the Coalition for Better Schools, who did a lot of the legwork for the re-renaming of these 2 schools in Shenandoah County.  Mike has been a long time friend, tireless activist, and a heck of a grassroots worker. 

As most of you well know, School Board Members in each locale around the USA are under fire, as the School Systems are now the latest battlegrounds in the culture wars against the radical left.  Most of these brave conservative Americans who serve on School Boards are under daily harassment from this new group of counter culture leftists who are doing everything they can do to indoctrinate our children to believe that the USA is inherently evil and thus we should be more like socialist paradises such as Cuba, Venezuela, the former Soviet Union, etc. 

A special shout out needs to go to District 2 School Board Member Tom Streett, who was horribly, unfairly, and falsely attacked last night in public.  Board Member Street is a great American who I have recently gotten to know somewhat.  Tom believes in the goodness of the human spirit, he’s a humble guy who is trying to do his job.  Politics needs more Tom Streett’s.  I’m humbled to know him.

A special shout out to Shenandoah School Board Chair Dennis Barlow, Member Brandi Rutz, Member Gloria Carlineo, and Member (and my neighbor) Mike Rickard, all of whom stood up to the best that the radical left had to offer, and did not flinch.

We have many great School Board Members up and down the Congressional District, there are so many it is impossible to name them all.  Please, the next time you see one of them, take a few minutes to thank them for all the work they do, having to tolerate the abuse they get from the modern day Democrat Party. 

I did not speak last night at the meeting, but did attend the meeting. I was at an event with members of the Winchester GOP, who are doing everything they can to try and retake the Winchester City Council.  We have a great slate of candidates there, led by the next Mayor of Winchester (yes I’m getting ahead of myself but I believe), Les Veach.  

The radicals tried to take over the meeting, but failed in large part thanks to the steady leadership of Chairman Dennis Barlow. 

Mike Schiebe did note an interesting coincidence.  That the vote to re-rename Stonewall Jackson HS, came on the 161^st anniversary of Stonewall’s death – which occurred on May 10 1863.  The vote occurred early this morning, May 10 2024. 

Myself and several others did a lot of work over the past few years to take back the Shenandoah County School Board, and they did not disappoint!  Another special shout out to Wes Dellinger, John Chroniger, Madlyn Estep,  Supervisor Dennis Morris, Doug Whitelock, and several dozen other Republican or conservative activists who sat through hours of being labeled racist and other things too grotesque to list here. 

Back in 2020, when I became 1st Congressional District Chair, I made a promise to each of you that we were going to take back local governments, and we have done so.  Last night, this promise to each of you was again kept.  More work needs to be done, and we are in a struggle that will outlast each of us.  But we won a big victory, and thus need to be forever vigilant.