5.b. Consideration of a request to approve the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fiscal Year 2012 Annual Action Plan.Plus of course, Citizens to be Heard.
They heard some citizens Tuesday, as Drive Away CCA honked at City Hall.
Here’s the agenda.
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Continue readingAGENDA REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, March 8, 2012
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Yes, we drove about that slow the whole way: that was in the plan.
We honked at Valdosta City Hall: the City Council could hear us inside.
They have Citizens to be Heard at their regular meeting tonight.
Here’s the video:
Heading out Drive Away CCA 2012 03 06
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Motorcade against Corrections Corporation of America, Drive Away CCA,
CCA, VLCIA, Corrections Corporation of America, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority,
Valdosta City Council, Lowndes County Commission, incarceration, prison, private prison,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
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Great interview John. The comment about employees not wanting to work at a facility in the same county they live in was an interesting thought relative to the proposed local employment benefits. When I worked for CCA in the inmate Mental Health unit at the Valdosta Correctional Institute we were always warned thatContinue readingkeeping pictures of our families or anything personal on our desks was possibly dangerous and therefore not recommended. I loved my job there because being inside the prison meant we had to form close working relationships with each other and I love teamwork on the job and it was never boring. We had almost constant training hours warning us about the dangers of being in close contact with inmates and all the rules about interacting. Forheight=”1 instance we had one inmate who was a brilliant artist. He like to gift us with his artwork, which we were allowed to accept as a non-personal gift to be placed on the office walls. He was a very well behaved prisoner especially to females, but his beautiful artwork always consisted of some form of predator watching prey such as a cat watching a bird. We loved the artwork, but took note of the inuendos.
Prisoners were always given strict instructions that
Staff Writer editorialized yesterday, A ray of hope for VSU project,
Amid the lost homes of this past weekend’s tornado and severe storms, South Georgia could use an infusion of hope.Later that day it was back in the proposed 2013 Georgia budget. David Rodock wrote today for the VDT, Funding for new VSU building approved, Continue reading
Good news came Monday with word that the Valdosta State University Health Sciences and Business Administration building has a renewed shot at becoming reality.
Earlier this year, the $23.5 million project was assumed dead. Though its inclusion had been expected, the building was not part of the 2012 state budget.
Winn Roberson told us how he had the idea for the
motorcade against CCA,
from the private prison site past Valdosta City Hall to the Industrial Authority.
Here’s Part 1 of 2:
Starting up Drive Away CCA —Winn Roberson 2012 03 06 Part 1 of 2:
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Motorcade against Corrections Corporation of America, Drive Away CCA,
CCA, VLCIA, Corrections Corporation of America, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority,
Valdosta City Council, Lowndes County Commission, incarceration, prison, private prison,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
And how he wasn’t opposed to it just because it was down the street from him;
also because:
“Every step so far has dollar signs behind it.”A private prison would give everybody from justices to jailers incentive to keep more people in prison instead of rehabilitating anybody.
Here’s Part 2 of 2: Continue reading
The motorcade went well and
you can still help
Drive Away CCA!
Turning radio into TV, here’s LAKE video of Tuesday morning’s interview
with Chris Beckham about
Drive Away CCA, the motorcade against the private prison.
Listen for the mentions of
Sheriff Chris Prine (he is
opposed to the private prison “I want him in my jail, not a private jail”)
Winn Roberson (the
motorcade was his idea),
Matt Flumerfelt (he filed the open records request that revealed
the contracts with the March 13th),
Bobbi Anne Hancock (she
dug up a history of CCA that reveals problems for many years
and she had a
very funny interview with VLCIA executive director Andrea Schruijer),
George Boston Rhynes (he’s been following incarceration and especially
jail issues for many years),
and former sheriff and current Lowndes County Commission Chairman
Ashley Paulk (he listed a number of hurdles the prison project
would have to leap before it could happen), and also the VDT.
Too many other people are involved to name here.
Here’s the video:
Video: Drive Away CCA radio (John S. Quarterman interviewed by Chris Beckham)
No private prison in Lowndes County,
Radio WVGA 105.9 FM with Chris Beckham, Drive Away CCA (DAC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 March 2012.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Audio from WVGA 105.9 Also, audio from WVGA 105.9 is available.
There are plently of things you can still do to help Drive Away CCA:
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5PM today,
Drive Away CCA, from the prison site at East US 84 and Inner Perimeter Road,
honk at Valdosta City Hall, and march at the Industrial Authority office.
Chris Beckham’s show has put audio on the web of his
interview with me this morning.
Update: Here’s LAKE video of the interview.
John Quarterman, who is with a group informally called “Drive Away CCA” visited The Morning Drive to discuss the group’s displeasure with a possible private prison that is being discussed in Lowndes County. A possible extension for the company to continue its plans here is up for renewal and the group feels its location here would be bad for area businesses and citizens alike.Follow the link for the audio. Video up shortly.
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Citizens entitled to open government,
All governmental entities supported by tax dollars are subject to the laws. Private companies are not.As the VDT knows better than anybody else around here, getting informaiton out of Valdosta State Prison or the Georgia Department of Correcions (GDOC) is very hard. The VDT has been trying to find out what’s going on at Valdosta State Prison for years now, and getting the runaround and hitting stone walls.
Florida has a law that says private prison operators have to comply with Continue reading
drive away CCA.
Near Ft. Lauderdale, CCA wants to put a detention center
in Southwest Ranches, Florida, and
CCA Go Away (facebook)
is organizing against that.
Lots of clever signs, from the unmistakable:
to the symbolic orange jailbirds holding oversize $20 and $100 bills.
CCA Go Away
Plenty more in their flickr set:
No Prison Here in This Town
Put Residents Before Profit
The Prison is No Longer A Secret
Did You Know?
A Prison is coming to your neighborhood!
Say No to
Corrections Corporation of America
No CCA
If they can do it, we can, too.
Come to the prison site Tuesday 5PM to help
Drive Away CCA!
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| “Our organizations advocate for a criminal justice system that brings healing for victims of crime, restoration for those who commit crimes, and to maintain public safety.” |
You can help
drive away CCA, 5PM this Tuesday, March 6th.
Or sign the
petition to the Industrial Authority
to reject the private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia.
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March 1, 2012Continue readingDear Governor:
We the undersigned faith organizations represent different
traditions from across the religious and political spectrum. Our organizations advocate for a criminal justice system that brings healing for victims of crime, restoration for those who commit crimes, and to maintain public safety.
We write in reference to a letter you recently received from Harley Lappin, Chief Corrections Officer at Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), announcing the Corrections Investment Initiative – the corporation’s plan to spend up to $250 million buying prisons from state, local, and federal government entities, and then managing the facilities. The letter from Mr. Lappin states that CCA is only interested in buying prisons if the state selling the prison agrees to pay CCA to operate the prison for 20 years — at minimum. Mr. Lappin further notes that any prison to be sold must have at least 1,000 beds, and that the state must agree to keep the prison at least 90% full during the length of the contract.
The undersigned faith organizations urge you to decline this dangerous and costly invitation. CCA’s initiative would be costly