Category Archives: Government

Cat Creek Road closed

Found on the Lowndes County website. -gretchen

Update 9:30 PM 6 June 2011: it’s slipped a week. -gretchen

Date: June 2, 2011 Regarding: Bridge Repairs
PRESS RELEASE County Engineering Division
327 North Ashley Street P. O. Box 1349 Valdosta, GA 31603 Telephone: (229) 671-2424 Fax: (229) 245-5299
On Monday June 6, 2011, Cat Creek Road (CR 777) will be closed at Beatty Mill Creek for bridge repairs. The construction site is located north of Old Radar Site Road, between the address points of 4916 Cat Creek Road and 4989 Cat Creek Road. These repairs should take approximately three (3) days, and a detour route will be established. Travelling south, the detour route utilizes New Bethel Road to State Route 125 (Bemiss Road). Travelling north, the detour route utilizes Radar Site Road to State Route 125 (Bemiss Road).
Motorists are urged to use caution and to pay attention to road closed signs and all other traffic control devices while traveling on Cat Creek Road. If there are any questions or concerns please call the Lowndes County Engineering Department at 229-671-2424.

Private Prisons don’t save much money —NYTimes

Richard A. Oppel Jr. wrote on the front page of the New York Times, 19 May 2011, Private Prisons Found to Offer Little in Savings

The conviction that private prisons save money helped drive more than 30 states to turn to them for housing inmates. But Arizona shows that popular wisdom might be wrong: Data there suggest that privately operated prisons can cost more to operate than state-run prisons — even though they often steer clear of the sickest, costliest inmates.

That’s right, they leave we the taxpayers to pay more in public prisons to house the most expensive prisoners:

The research, by the Arizona Department of Corrections, also reveals a murky aspect of private prisons that helps them appear less expensive: They often house only relatively healthy inmates.
“It’s cherry-picking,” said State Representative Chad Campbell, leader of the House Democrats. “They leave the most expensive prisoners with taxpayers and take the easy prisoners.”

And yet private prisons still cost more.

Could it have something to do with their executive salaries?

Anyway, we don’t need a private prison in Lowndes County. Spend that tax money on education instead.

-jsq

Electing Local Councils

Recently, there has been more interest and observation of some parts of local government by active citizens, on topics ranging from the animal shelter to biomass to education to farmers markets to fast food vs. neighborhoods to private prisons to the Quitman 10 to solar power to T-SPLOST, all in aid of transparency. Engaging elected and appointed officials in dialog about the concerns and best interests

of the community has been challenging. Yet we can see the sun a little clearer through the smoke.

Ensuring that people who will engage in dialog and seek the benefit of the entire community are appointed to boards lies in the hands of the elected officials. Electing people who engage in dialog and seek the benefit of the Continue reading →

I am disappointed these matters are being swept under the rug —Susan Leavens

These comments came in yesterday and today on Find out the truth about allegations of animal cruelty and abuse. -jsq

Yesterday:

Tomorrow will be a week and I have had no response! Very disappointing.
-Jane Osborn

Today:

Mrs. Osborn,
Thank you so much for your support. The County manager and several county employees interviewed all the workers after a drug screen was conducted on all employees back in late august of 2010. Several (4) employees advised the people conducting the investigation (Joe Prichard, Mickey Tillman, Page Dukes and Suzanne Pittman) of the charges brought to the Department of Agriculture. From the

Continue reading →

Drug war fail: devastating consequences —Global Commission on Drug Policy

Stop locking up drug users who harm no others, legalize drugs starting with marijuana, switch to health and treatment, stop harrassing farmers, abandon zero tolerance and invest instead in youth activities, focus on reducing harm, and do it now, so says a commission of business moguls, former heads of state, financial professionals, writers, and activists.

Writes Douglas Stanglin today in USA TODAY,

“The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world,” says the Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy in its opening statement. “Fifty years after the initiation of the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and 40 years after President Nixon launched the U.S. government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed.”

According to whom?

The 19-member commission, a private venture chaired by ex-Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, includes George Schultz, President Reagan’s Secretary of State; Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group; former U.N. Secretary General Koffi Anna; George Papandreou, prime minister of Greece; Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Javier Solana,former EU foreign minister.

Here’s their full report.

What do they recommend? Continue reading →

Biomass down for now: next?

Congratulations to all who worked against the biomass plant: today was the deadline on its most recent extension, so it’s gone for now. Congratulations to WACE and SAVE and NAACP and New Life Ministries and everyone else who was involved, especially Natasha Fast, Seth Gunning, and Brad Bergstrom, who were working against it before almost anyone else.

Congratulations to those who were instrumental even though they were not exactly or originally biomass opponents, especially Ashley Paulk, who came out and said what needed to be said, and George Bennett, who was willing to admit in public that he was one of the earliest proponents of the biomass plant but new knowledge caused him to think differently.

A big shoutout to the VSU Faculty Senate, the only traditional non-activist body that went on record as opposing the biomass plant with an actual vote before the extension deadline. The VSU Faculty Senate did what the Valdosta City Council, the Lowndes County Commission and the Industrial Authority Board would not. Go Blazers!

A special strategic mention to Kay Harris and David Rodock of the Valdosta Daily Times, who came to realize they were not being told the whole truth by the Industrial Authority. The VDT even gave a civics lesson on how to stop the biomass plant.

And a very special mention to the people who did the most to make the name of biomass mud in the public’s eye: Brad Lofton, Col. Ricketts, and the VLCIA board. Without their indoctrination sessions and paid “forum” and stonewalling, people wouldn’t have been turned against that thing nearly as fast!

Yet it ain’t over until it’s over.

According to David Rodock in the VDT today: Continue reading →

Gov. Deal asks state to look into farm labor shortages

GA Gov. Nathan Deal doesn’t know what caused the sudden Georgia agricultural labor shortage; asks Ag. Dept. to look into it. Could it be… HB 87?

Jeremy Redmon wrote in the AJC 27 May 2011, Governor asks state to probe farm labor shortages

State officials confirmed Friday that they have started investigating the scope of Georgia’s agricultural labor shortages following complaints that the state’s new immigration enforcement law is scaring away migrant farmworkers.
Gov. Nathan Deal asked for the investigation Thursday in a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. Deal wants Black’s department to survey farmers about the impact Georgia’s immigration law, House Bill 87, is having on their industry and report findings by June 10.
The labor shortages have sent farmers scrambling to find other workers for their fall harvests. Others are making hard choices about leaving some fruits and vegetables to wilt on their fields.
Proponents of HB 87 say people who are in the country legally have nothing to worry about concerning the new law. They hope the law that takes effect July 1 will deter illegal immigrants from coming here and burdening the state’s taxpayer-funded public schools, hospitals and jails.

However, I have seen suggestions that the state send taxpayer-funded prisoners to do the agricultural labor. Should we go back to slave labor on plantations?

Better: we don’t need a private prison in Lowndes County. Spend that money on education instead.

-jsq

VDT incorporates video into animal shelter tour report

Guess they thought a good time to start in-line YouTube video was when they could show kitties and puppies. Hey, if that gets the VDT doing video, I’m for it!

David Rodock wrote 26 May 2011, Tour of the Lowndes County Animal Shelter

As promised at Tuesday’s Lowndes County Board of Commissioners meeting, the Lowndes County Animal Shelter (LCAS) allowed the public the opportunity Wednesday afternoon to get a behind-the-scenes look at the facility that has recently come under fire.
Employees, both past and present, have accused several shelter employees of inhumane treatment of animals, the mishandling of tranquilizers and illegal operating procedures.

At least two of the speakers at the commission earlier in the day took the tour: Jessica Bryan Hughes and Judy Havercamp.

One of the visitors summed it up: Continue reading →

Mr. Fletcher’s misrepresentation of the ingress and egress —Vince Schneider

Continuing the Foxborough McDonald’s story, Vince Schneider sent the appended to Commissioner Richard Raines Thursday. I have added some related material, including pictures of the 12 July 2010 Commission meeting to which he refers. -jsq

From: “Schneider, Vincent H”
Date: Thu, 26 May 2011 12:15:18
To: Schneider, Vincent H,rraines@lowndescounty.com
Subject: Schneider: County Engineer: Foxborough Subdivision Streets
Commissioner Raines,
Sir,
I hope your day is going well. I’m spending half this afternoon with the dentist getting a permanent crown installed and the other half with my wife’s kidney doctor. Life must truck on regardless of the Foxborough McDonalds issue.
Sir, twice I made statements to you in regards to County Engineer, Mr. Mike Fletcher. I now wish to present my position in writing. My first statement was during our first phone conversation on 18 May 2011. During that conversation I rather colorfully stated