Category Archives: Government

The issue of the proposed biomass incinerator is far from over –Dr. Noll

LAKE has reviewed the allegedly “threatening” letter Chairman Paulk referred to in his interrogation of Dr. Noll, and we find nothing alarming about a wakeup call, so we have posted it on LAKE’s website. More on that later. -jsq
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:05:59 -0500
From: noll_family
To: apaulk@lowndescounty.com, jevans@lowndescounty.com, rraines@lowndescounty.com, cpowell@lowndescounty.com CC: noll_family@bellsouth.net, kay.harris@gaflnews.com, “John S. Quarterman” <jsq@quarterman.org>
Subject: Re: Tuesday’s Meeting

Dear Chairman Paulk and Commissioners.

I again would like to extend my invitation as President of WACE to the upcoming event this Thursday (see attachment).

The issue of the proposed biomass incinerator is far from over and concerned citizens of Lowndes County and Valdosta will use their constitutional rights to (respectfully) speak up at future meetings, as they have done in the past.

Continue reading →

Paulk interrogates Noll

Last night the County Commission Chairman turned a routine event invitation into front page news in the VDT this morning: http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x1162624684/Paulk-No-more-biomass:
Lowndes County Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk called a halt Tuesday evening to commissioners hearing biomass comments during public portions of regular board meetings.
LAKE has videos; here’s a playlist, and here it is embedded: Continue reading →

Glen Laurel (Old Pine Road) infrastructure at County Commission work session

That’s one thing on the 8:30 AM agenda for this morning. Work sessions are where most discussion among the commissioners usually occurs. The actual vote will be in tomorrow’s (11 Jan) 5:30 PM regular session.

Background on the contentious rezoning for the Glen Laurel subdivision is in the continuing series in this blog.

-jsq

VDT publishes biomass email exchange from December

David Rodock writes in The Valdosta Daily Times today, in “Debate over biomass heats up”, about the exchange of email from December that you’ve seen in full on this blog. Rodock also got some new quotes from Dr. Noll and Brad Lofton, but no answers to any substantive questions from Lofton. Is a public employee funded by 1 mil of tax money supposed to refuse to address substantive questions from the public that pays that 1 mil?

-jsq

Superdistricts on Lowndes County web pages

Update: the agenda for the 3 Jan 2011 special session is posted on the county webpages.
Lowndes County staff have an update about the recent vote for adding two new superdistricts:
COMMISSION EXPANSION

On Monday, January 3, 2011, the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting during which the adoption of a resolution expressing the county’s desire to move forward with the expansion of the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, as previously directed by the voters of Lowndes County, was unanimously approved.

This is on the county’s front page, with links to I suppose this explains why I didn’t hear back about this same information in response to my open records request: they put it on the county web pages. That’s fine with me.

What is not included Continue reading →

Georgia Open Records Act

Sometimes the easiest way to find out something from your local government is by filing an open records request. Some local governments provide forms for that online: The basic request is one sheet of paper on which you spell out what you want (be specific), your name and address, and where they can send it.

Valdosta’s web page sums up the situation: Continue reading →

Brad Lofton wants you to see this (again and again)

You can hear him say he hopes I record it. This is what VLCIA considers “proof”: reciting a list of “authorities” without addressing the specific criticisms or directly debating critics. He still hasn’t produced the citations to scientific literature he’s been repeatedly asked for regarding health care, nor has he produced the wood sourcing study.

You can hear Lofton recite much the same laundry list in Continue reading →

In refusing debate, VLCIA staff are following orders from their board

We’ve seen Brad Lofton write I will not debate you over e-mail and We will not, however, debate you over e-mail meanwhile refusing to put tax-funded presentations and videos up for public view through the VLCIA website, and offering personal meetings instead. Having experienced one of those personal meetings down at VLCIA HQ, and having heard from others who have attended them, I know of no substantive debate that happened at those indoctrination sessions, either. Any attempt at debate or even to get Lofton to produce the scientific evidence he claims he has ends with a proclamation like this one from September:
We’re moving forward with permits in hand.
or this one from December:
We’re moving forward now, and we are looking forward to the ground breaking which will be Spring of 2011.

But let’s not be too hard on VLCIA staff. At the 21 Dec 2010 board meeting, it became clear Continue reading →

Who just voted for the new Districts for Lowndes County?

Citizens, your new Lowndes County Commission:

County Commission Chairman - Ashley Paulk
Ashley Paulk, Chairman 		District 1 Commissioner - Joyce Evans
Joyce Evans, District 1 		District 2 Commissioner - Richard Raines
Richard Raines, District 2 		District 3 Commissioner - Crawford Powell
Crawford Powell, District 3

This is the Commission that as its first act held a special session to propose adding two new superdistricts.

The pictures for the two new Commissioners, Richard Raines and Crawford Powell, are from Valdosta Daily Times writeups while they were running, since the Commission’s own web pages do not yet have pictures for them.

-jsq

Stonewalling costs Erie County, NY

Matthew Spina writes in the Buffalo News, Fighting jail suit was costly to county: Bill for protecting records tops $27,000
The Chris Collins team last summer tried to block the New York Civil Liberties Union’s attempt to find out how much Erie County spends fending off jail-related lawsuits.

Collins’ county attorney at the time, Cheryl A. Green, refused to turn over a trove of county records that would answer the Civil Liberties Union’s questions. She was then brought into court and thumped so soundly Erie County was ordered to both turn over the documents and pay the opposition’s legal fees.

But Erie County also was paying $250 an hour to an outside law firm in its effort to keep those public records from public view. With that bill recently paid, the cost of the failed Collins-Green stonewall can now be tallied: $27,523.

Continue reading →