Latest news with #Chaney
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
City GOP makes pick for Ward 3 special election
PLATTSBURGH — Dennis Chaney is the city of Plattsburgh Republican Committee's pick in this November's special election for Ward 3 councilor. City Republican Chairperson David Souliere said Wednesday the committee is 'incredibly excited' to nominate Chaney, who lives on Rugar Street, for the seat. Souliere said Chaney graduated from Plattsburgh High School in 1975, attended Clinton Community College for two years and then served his country for 20 years in the United States Air Force, where he served as a security specialist, as well as a recruiter. This experience then led to his next career, 17 years at the Clinton County Sheriff's Department, where he served as a correction officer seargeant for 14 years, retiring as special deputy for the Clinton County Airport. 'Through these experiences Dennis has attained strong leadership qualities, along with the ability to collaborate, to attain goals that are in the best interests of his community as a whole,' Souliere wrote in a statement. 'These attributes will serve as a critical asset to the Common Council, and the Mayor, as they navigate long term debt stability, public safety issues, and future development within the City.' Souliere said Chaney is already thinking about ways to improve Ward 3. 'Within Ward 3 is the newly annexed property off of Reeves lane, Dennis looks forward to working with the Common Council, and the Mayor, to find the most sustainable and responsible use for this property,' Souliere said. 'In conclusion, we could not be more excited to have Dennis Chaney as our candidate for Ward 3 City Councilperson. He will be your FULL-TIME Councilperson!' The Ward 3 seat, which was made vacant in June when Democrat Elizabeth Gibbs resigned after six years on the job, will be up for grabs in a special election this November to fill the remainder of Gibbs' three-year term, which she was elected to last year. Mayor Wendell Hughes was given 30 days from July 1 to find and nominate a replacement for Gibbs through the rest of 2025. 'This was nothing I planned on doing,' Hughes said in June after news of Gibbs' resignation was announced in June. 'If somebody told me I would be replacing Elizabeth Gibbs, I would have argued all day, but I'm happy for her as a friend. She's a friend of mine, and I respect her a lot.' Gibbs' successor was made public Wednesday when the city of Plattsburgh shared that Hughes is expected to appoint resident Jackie Strack to the vacant Ward 3 seat through the end of 2025 at the Common Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Chaney and Strack now appear poised for a November General Election face-off. Solve the daily Crossword
Dominion Post
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Post 2 downs Buckhannon 5-2 to begin Area 2 tournament, faces Bridgeport Wednesday
MORGANTOWN – First-year head coach Jacob Goodknight enjoyed the resiliency of his players on Tuesday night as Morgantown Post 2 opened postseason play with a solid 5-2 victory over Buckhannon Post 7. Mason Chaney led Morgantown, going 3 for 3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. UHS graduate Daniel Grabo added a pair of hits while his classmate Tommy Montague tossed 2.2 innings of two-hit baseball to close the deal. With the victory, Post 2 advances to the 1-0 game of the Area 2 tournament to battle Bridgeport Post 68 Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Bridgeport defeated Clarksburg Post 13 5-2 in the opening game of the tournament. 'I loved the fight from our guys after letting a couple of runs early and actually falling behind at one point,' Goodknight said. 'They sort of small-balled us to death and forced some mistakes from us, but we came right back and put two runs up ourselves. Like we told them, in postseason play the goal is to go 1-0 every single day, every single game.' Post 2 starter Jack Bryner allowed the first two runners to reach base but earned three straight strikeouts to close the top half of the opening inning. Morgantown took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an infield error, but Buckhannon punched back in the top of the third with two runs to steal the lead. Post 2 tied the game in the same inning on a sacrifice fly by Nate Wolfe that scored Chaney. Bryner used only 11 pitches to exit the top of the fourth, giving his offense the much-needed confidence boost it needed entering the bottom half. Parker Jeffries singled with one out, and Brance McCune followed with a shot to center that got past the outfield, allowing the go-ahead run to score as McCune took third. He scored on another sac fly (this time by Chaney) to double the lead at 4-2, and the final run came in the fifth as Grabo took home on a wild pitch. 'Mason (Chaney) has stepped up for us on and off the field,' Goodknight said. 'We're up three, and he hits a ball in the infield but beats it out for a single on bad knees. That just shows the heart he has. After the game, he's in the dugout, making sure everyone leaves as a team together. All we ask of them is to play hard and play for each other.' Post 2 will have a quick 24-hour turnaround against a talented Bridgeport roster. The winner will advance to play Thursday in the Area 2 championship and will hold the advantage of having a 2-0 record, needing to lose twice to be eliminated. 'Every day we try to emphasize the little things and do those right,' Goodknight said. 'It doesn't matter who we play, we are trying to go out there to win every game. We know teams are going to try to manufacture runs against us, so we need to remain focused on our goals at all times and how we can achieve those.'
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Former LSU hoops star joins HBCU coaching staff
Grambling, La. - Grambling State just made a power move. Former LSU women's basketball star and high school coaching standout Quianna Chaney is officially joining the GSU Lady Tigers as an assistant coach for the 2025–26 season. With deep Louisiana roots and a résumé that blends elite playing experience with proven coaching success, Chaney's arrival is a big boost for Grambling State - and a major win for HBCU hoops. "When you surround yourself with winners, the conversations are just different," said Grambling head coach Courtney Simmons. "Coach Quianna brings experience, a wealth of knowledge, and an edge I've been missing. GSU Women's Basketball definitely got better today." That's not just talk. Quianna Chaney comes to Grambling after a dominant seven-year run at Southern University Lab School. There she built one of Louisiana's top high school girls basketball programs. Her teams claimed the 2022 Louisiana State Championship, finished as 2023 State Runner-Up, and secured back-to-back district titles. Along the way, she racked up Coach of the Year honors - including District Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023, and the 2022 Stars of Stars Coach of the Year. But her legacy started long before the sidelines. As a player, Chaney was a certified bucket at LSU from 2004 to 2008. Guiding the Tigers to make four straight NCAA Final Four runs. She left Baton Rouge second in school history in three-pointers made and attempted, tallying 1,345 career points. Her list of accolades includes All-SEC and All-Louisiana honors, Academic All-SEC selections, and a reputation as one of the most lethal shooters in program history. After college, Chaney was drafted 19th overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky before taking her talents overseas to play for Bota? SK in Turkey. Now, she's bringing that championship DNA back to the college ranks - this time at a proud HBCU. "I am truly excited and blessed to join the Grambling State University Women's Basketball coaching staff," Chaney said. "When God opens new doors, I walk through them with faith and purpose. I look forward to contributing to the continued success of this historic program - it's all about the SWAC now!" The post Former LSU hoops star joins HBCU coaching staff appeared first on HBCU Gameday. Copyright HBCU Gameday 2012-2025
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Black Mecca' no longer? Atlanta prices cause families to move out of the city
The City of Atlanta is not considered 'The Black Mecca' any longer, according to a national study. The reason - Black people can't afford to live in the city anymore or don't want to pay inflated prices. We spoke to several Atlanta natives and those who moved here for college and didn't want to leave. They all feel forced out of the city, like Latresa Chaney. 'I grew here – I wasn't trying to leave OK ... Hey if you ain't rich – you can't live here – you got to go somewhere,' said Latresa Chaney. She told Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes that for the first time, she had to move her family out of the city - to Decatur. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'I'm transitioning my children from school to school behind trying to have stable housing,' said Chaney. She lived in the Forest Cove Apartments until city officials condemned the complex and tore it down. She told Fernandes, elected officials promised to relocate her in the city using her Section 8 voucher, which she says never happened. 'You displaced 300 families ... I felt so let down – like I've invested my life here,' said Chaney. Civil Rights Activist Devin Barrington-Ward says people who made up the Black Mecca didn't move out to the suburbs because they wanted to. He said a lack of policy displaced them. For the past two decades, Ward says elected officials have made it easier for out-of-state investors to afford homes, rather than homegrown people. He says it's the reason why investors own 30% of single-family homes in the city. 'When we see what type of money is being given to corporate developers – as far as tax breaks from the city and the county - of course Black folks would no longer be able to afford to live in the city of Atlanta. These are policy decisions being made by people who are in elected office,' said Ward. According to data from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition - Atlanta had the second highest amount of census tracks to flip from majority Black to white between 1980 - 2020. Only Washington, D.C had more. 'Everything that I liked, everything that I could see myself in, it was just impossible,' said Clark Atlanta Graduate Jahmel Terrell. Jahmel has a different situation, but the same struggles owning a home in Atlanta. 'It makes you feel unworthy – undeserving – you can't afford this,' said Terrell. After he graduated from Clark Atlanta University, he worked as a civil servant for 25 years and still couldn't afford a home in the city. His plan is to rent outside the city until he can save enough money to buy a home. Maja Sly is an affordable housing advocate and realtor who has been helping Terrell achieve his dream. 'We have home prices that have gone up $100,000 for the same size unit since 2021. In Summerhill a 1,200 square-foot townhome is $600,000,' said Sly. Sly says the prices won't change. However, she says Atlanta is different than other cities because it offers resources people don't know about. 'We have the best programs, not just in the state of Georgia but in the city of Atlanta – to make home ownership affordable. It's gentrification on paper, but there's a bigger story that has to be told about this,' said Sly. A city spokesperson told Fernandes that programs like InvestAtlanta are designed to help legacy residents on a case-by-case basis. Many rights activists say that's not enough to solve the systemic issue of racial and wealth inequality in Atlanta. 'Until we see that the level of funding that is given to invest in people – everyday working class people matches that of what we're giving wealthy out of town developers – it is just a Band-aid on a bullet wound,' said Ward. OTHER RESOURCES: Georgia Dream Homeownership Program Atlanta Housing [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Epic Charter School superintendent resigns after major cuts to staff, facilities
Epic Charter School Superintendent Bart Banfield speaks at a meeting of the school's governing board on Nov. 14 at the 50 Penn Place complex in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Amid mass layoffs of educators, the superintendent of Epic Charter School has resigned. The virtual charter school announced Monday that Bart Banfield has stepped down after six years in charge. Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Justin Hunt will lead the school in the interim while Epic's governing board searches for a permanent hire. Banfield led Epic during multiple turbulent periods while the school weathered criminal investigations, a forensic audit, a threat of closure and up-and-down enrollment. 'Bart Banfield's leadership has helped shape our school and strengthen its mission to provide an exceptional, personalized education for students across Oklahoma,' Ginger Casper, president of Epic's school board, said. 'We are grateful for his contributions and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.' During Banfield's tenure, Epic rapidly grew into the largest school district in Oklahoma in 2020 as families sought online schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Epic, now the state's third-largest district, has experienced declining enrollment ever since, which contributed to pay cuts and layoffs in October. District officials at the time said they overestimated their yearly enrollment by 4,000 students. This month, the school eliminated 357 teaching and administrative jobs in the latest round of staff cuts. It will close its in-person learning centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, as well. Epic's finances have been under the microscope for several years. The school's co-founders, Ben Harris and David Chaney, were charged in 2022 with embezzlement, racketeering and a litany of other financial crimes stemming from their leadership of Epic. Harris and Chaney deny allegations that they wrongfully pocketed millions of taxpayer dollars intended for Epic students. Former Epic CFO Josh Brock also was charged in the case and has agreed to testify against the co-founders in exchange for no prison time. Banfield succeeded Chaney as Epic's superintendent in 2019. He first joined Epic in 2014 as assistant superintendent of instruction. Harris and Chaney, whose company was paid to manage the school, remained intricately linked with Epic until 2021, when the school's governing board cut ties with them and their business. While facing threats of closure from the state, Epic's governing board and Banfield's administration implemented financial, organizational and transparency reforms that converted the school into a self-run entity without an outside company involved in its management. Until 2021, Harris and Chaney's company had run and profited from Epic since they founded the school in 2011. Hunt, who is now interim superintendent, experienced the transition along with Banfield. He was hired in 2017 as managing director of instruction and became deputy superintendent of instruction in 2021. 'Mr. Hunt brings with him a strong commitment to Epic's mission and a deep understanding of our community's needs,' Casper said. 'We are confident that his leadership will ensure continuity and stability as we move forward.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
