Yes, let’s celebrate Hannah Solar and this solar array!
But why do people have to keep gilding the lily and
claiming it’s the largest in the state when
it wasn’t even back at groundbreaking?
So if Valdosta Mayor John Fretti and County Commissioner Crawford Powell have agreed to expand this solar array
if somebody leapfrogs it, time to get cracking!
It was already leapfrogged before it was built.
After lauding his class of Leadership Lowndes over others,
Mayor Fretti complimented various local organizations and said:
…not only that it has a good quality of life,
it has the infrastructure that is needed for industrial recruitment,
but that you will be successful when you locate in Valdosta-Lowndes County,
and I think Hannah Solar is evidence of that.
All true, and note which comes first: “a good quality of life.”
Mayor Fretti quoted the first law of thermodynamics
(conservation and conservation of energy) and remarked:
But now we have some energy sources in our area that we can take advantage of.
Unfortunately we don’t have an ocean for tidal power.
Unfortunately we don’t have geothermal as much as other areas of the country.
We do have sunlight.
Certainly not as much as some areas of the country,
but we have an abundance enough that we could put out
what is currently the largest array in the state of Georgia.
Our Lord began his ministry by declaring “release to the
captives…” (Luke 4:18 NRSV), and he distinguished those who would
receive a blessing at the last judgment by saying, “I was in prison and
you visited me.” (Matthew 25:36b NRSV) Jesus also declared that one
cannot serve two masters and condemned the idolatry of mammon, or wealth.
(Luke 16:13).
Christians, therefore, must have a special concern for those who
are captive in any way, especially for those who are imprisoned,
and for the human conditions under which persons are incarcerated.
Individual Christians and churches must also oppose those policies and
practices which reflect greater allegiance to the profit motive than to
public safety and to restorative justice for offenders, crime victims,
and local communities.
Therefore, The United Methodist Church declares its opposition to
the privatization of prisons and jails and to profit making from the
punishment of human beings.
ADOPTED 2000
The statement has further practical explanation of why this opposition:
Continue reading →
Mr. Quarterman, what can we do, do we have to go to the state legislature
to get a law passed to force these so-called public officials to answer
questions and respond to the citizens?
First of all, my compliments to anyone such as Leigh Touchton
who has been doing politics around here longer than me for asking
my opinion, because that indicates they are pretty good at it
and are probably asking many people their opinions.
My answer: carrots along with sticks, and shine some light!
That all builds political capital, which will be needed for elections.
We need many people building a community doing many things.
If I knew a simple answer that would change things magically overnight,
I’d recommend it, but I don’t.
I don’t even know if I know a long answer, but I’m pretty sure that
any answer will require a community, because
Continue reading →
This comment from Leigh Touchton came in last night on
It’s not over until it’s over. I have added links and pictures. -jsq
I asked VLCIA Board member Roy Copeland afterwards whether this means
the biomass incinerator is STILL going to be built? He shrugged and
walked away.
Karen Noll asked Allan Ricketts what does this mean, since we all
heard Lowndes County Commission Chairman Paulk give us a very different
scenario at the last LCC meeting, and his remarks were covered in the
Valdosta Daily Times. Mr. Ricketts said he was not aware of Chairman
Paulk’s remarks.
It is a little known fact of the attack on Libya that some of the
components of the cruise missiles being launched into the country
mayl have been made by prisoners in the United States. According to
its website, UNICOR, which is the organization that represents Federal
Prison Industries, “supplies numerous electronic components and service
for guided missiles, including the Patriot Advanced Capability Missile
(PAC-3)”.
In addition to constructing electronic components for missiles, prison
labor in the United States is used to make electronic cables for defense
items like “the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing (BA) F-15, the General
Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16, Bell/Textron’s (TXT) Cobra helicopter,
as well as electro-optical equipment for the BAE Systems”.
Traditionally these types of defense jobs would have gone to highly paid,
unionized workers. However the prison workers building parts for these
missiles earn a starting wage of 23 cents an hour and can only make a
maximum of $1.15 an hour.
Maybe you’re out of a job.
Can you compete with 23 cents an hour?
The Quitman 10 were arrested in Brooks County for alleged irregularities
with absentee ballots, the day after two of them were elected to the
Brooks County Board of Education.
Saturday (tomorrow) a statewide rally for them will be held in Macon:
When:
Saturday at 11:00pm – Sunday at 2:00am
Where:
Stewart Chapel AME Church, 887 Forsyth Street
Who:
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Robert Brown, Rep. Tyrone Brooks, Sen. Vincent Fort, Rep. David Lucas, Ms. Helen Butler
I had
heard that some Board members were elected with intention to support
consolidation but that I hadn’t heard anything about that from any of
them when they were running.
They didn’t say much about it when they were running, either.
Back in 2009, the only one who got elected who was asked about this issue, Jeana Bealand, pretty
much dodged the question at AAUW’s
Lowndes County Political Forum on 15 September 2009.
This was the forum that was the day after the VBOE meeting that drew 400 people
because of Superintendent Cason’s decision about President Obama’s speech.
Very few of those 400 people showed up at the forum to ask questions of their
likely school board members.
Maybe more people should take an interest in who is going to represent them on their school board.
Jeana Beeland answers a question about school system consolidation
Lowndes County Political Forum, AAUW, 15 Sep 2009
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Tonight I went to the VBOE meeting and delivered the offical NAACP letter
stating our branch’s opposition to consolidation. I asked Chairman Warren
Lee if he would discuss with VBOE attorney Gary Moser and let me know
whether they are “allowed” to take a position on this. The reason I
asked this is because one of my friends says that Dr. Cason told her
that “they are not allowed” to take a position on this. To my mind,
employees might not be able to take a position, but elected officials
representing voters ought to clearly state their position on an issue
as important as school consolidation.
The new case decided yesterday (REZ-2011-05 – Laurel Brooke),
was also represented by Bill Nijem, who got up and started
speaking for it, and after a bit said:
First let me introduce myself, there are new faces up here.
Bill Nijem. I represent the applicant.
Assuming that Commissioners
should just know who he is may not sound like a good start,
But, as he already said, nobody was speaking against this rezoning.
Why is that?
I would like to note when the applicant first submitted this application,
it was submitted as planned development,
and worked with Mr. Davenport,
we did tweak the site plan somewhat, made larger lots, and now it’s R-10.
And that’s what the opponents of the Glen Laurel rezoning asked for.
At least a couple of them were present this time.
Gretchen talked to them later, and they told her that since
this subdivision had what they asked for last time,
they had no objections this time.
Bill Nijem even discussed traffic and accidents, which you may recall
Continue reading →
Yes, let’s celebrate Hannah Solar and this solar array!
But why do people have to keep gilding the lily and
claiming it’s the largest in the state when
it wasn’t even back at groundbreaking?
So if Valdosta Mayor John Fretti and County Commissioner Crawford Powell have agreed to expand this solar array
if somebody leapfrogs it, time to get cracking!
It was already leapfrogged before it was built.
