Category Archives: Law

The Comprehensive Plan updates Lowndes County refused to provide

LAKE has obtained the planning revision documents Lowndes County refused, in violation of the law, to return in response to an open records request. Here they are for all to see.

The Standards and Procedures for Local Comprehensive Planning, established by the Georgia Planning Act of 1989, require updates to the Short Term Work Projects (STWP) list and the Report of Accomplishments (ROA) every 5 years. Lowndes County and the cities in Lowndes County have submitted the documents to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA)

An open records request to Lowndes County for the documents was not satisfied. However other government agencies were willing to abide by the Georgia Open Records Law ocga 50-18-70.

The documents are available for review on the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange website for Valdosta, Lake Park, Remerton, Hahira and Lowndes County.

I encourage you to read carefully what our elected officials see as the future of our community.

-gretchen

The Real Truth About School Consolidation by Supt. Smith to Lowndes County Schools

Received today. -jsq

Sent: Tue, October 25, 2011 7:55:07 AM
Subject: Letter to the Staff
Friends,
Attached is a copy a document that was sent to all Lowndes County teachers and staff from Dr. Steve Smith.
Thanks,
Sam Allen
Samuel Allen, Superintendent Emeritus [Valdosta City Schools]

The letter is on the LAKE website. Here are a few excerpts:

REAL TRUTH: Continuing all of the current programs the Valdosta City School System and the Lowndes County School System have would require a millage rate of approximately 24 mills. Considering state law limits us to 21 mills, some programs will be eliminated. The decision to eliminate such programs will be recommended by the Lowndes County Superintendent, subject to final approval by the Lowndes County Board of Education. There will be winners and losers in consolidation and several current successful programs will likely have to go.

Continue reading →

Cameras at Lowndes County Commission 11 October 2011

What does a bill of attainder mean, anyway? Perhaps Lowndes County should ask their Attorney to look it up.

Here’s an interesting presentation by a group of 4-H people to the Lowndes County Commission in their Regular Sessino of 11 October 2011. Hm, first they said the pledge, and what’s that I see?

Why look, it’s a camera!

Here during the 4-H presentation, she’s moved up to the second row from the front, right side:

What seems familiar about that location? Continue reading →

Why a private prison would close: a majority of the American people favor legalizing marijuana use

For the first time ever, a majority of Americans favor legalizing marijuana use, which is one of the major dangers to CCA’s private prison business plan, according to CCA itself.

Emily Ekins wrote for Reason-RUPE 18 October 2011, New Gallup Survey: A Majority of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use

The latest Gallup poll shows a record high of 50 percent of Americans in favor of legalizing marijuana use. This follows a consistent upward trend, picking up speed in 2006 when 36 percent of Americans favored marijuana legalization.

CCA wrote in its 2010 Annual Report to the SEC: Continue reading →

Police encounter! @ Occupy Valdosta

Words do not describe this:

Here’s the video:

Police encounter! @ Occupy Valdosta
We are the 99%,
Marching to Occupy Valdosta, Occupy Valdosta,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

OK, these words might: Thanks to the Valdosta Police for being completely professional and courteous throughout!

Just as we were leaving the Chamber of Commerce, they even called back with the permit for today’s event, 11AM this morning at MLK Memorial Park.

-jsq

Valdosta State Students defend their right of free speech

Campus authorities tried getting students to move away from the University Center where Governor Nathan Deal was having a luncheon. The students stood their ground.

Here’s the video.

Protesting Gov. Nathan Deal at Valdosta State University (VSU), 16 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

The students had been standing on the sidewalk in front of the Continue reading →

Gary Black starts to see reason on HB 87

Jim Galloway quotes GA Ag. Commissioner Gary Black:

“One of the discussions we have to have is, do we want to have our food produced here or somewhere else? I don’t think Wal-Mart is going to cease to carry cucumbers. I think they’re going to get them somewhere,”

Also in Galloway’s AJC column yesterday, Gary Black and the shifting debate over illegal immigration, Black won’t back off HB 87, but admits it’s the source of the problem:

The state agriculture commissioner is walking a fine line. “Let me be clear. My position from a standpoint of amnesty and pathways to citizenship has not changed one iota,” he said.
Nor has Black renounced HB 87. Rather, state efforts to enforce federal immigration laws — blocked as a consequence of lawsuits — have contributed to “a sea change” in Washington’s attitude, he said.
“Without HB 87 and some of the other proposals, I don’t know that we’d be having this discussion about changing the guest-worker program,” Black said.

Black seems to have organized some interesting timing of a report release by his department: Continue reading →

You call Sheriff; Sheriff calls animal control —Susan Leavens

Received today on Stray dogs and the law @ LCC 27 Sep 2011. -jsq

If Mr. Paulk was a “normal citizen” he would know if you call the sheriff’s department for a animal problem he would know they call animal control! And it is up to the animal officer if they want to give the dog back to the owner… Officers have done it many times. It is under the discretion of the animal control officer. Poor Ashley should know what the ordinance says I mean he was the sheriff for many years as he has indicated many times and since he is the County Chairman now one would think he would know what the orinance says. This poor guy was given wrong information by the County Chairman on how to fix the problem… perhaps if the man caught the dog and brought it to the shelter he would be better off. The owner would have to show proof of rabies vaccination and pay impound fees. $25 impound fee, $12 for a voucher if the dog does not have proof of current rabies vaccination. The prices are not much but it is incontinent. If it is not sterilized (spay or neutered) it doubles on each impound… fees can rack up pretty fast $25, $50, $100 and so on. The sheriff’s office is not going to handle owner involved cases, if the dog was returned to the owner it was not a stray. Sorry Ashley Paulk you’re so wrong on this one!

Judge rules against Florida prison privatization

Judge Jackie Fulford ruled yesterday for the Second Circuit Court of Florida

that the prison privatization plan the Florida legislature added to the state budget is unconstitutional on a key point of all prison privatization schemes. Her ruling agreed with the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which is a union of correctional workers.

Judge rules prison privatization plan unconstitutional Dara Kam wrote for Post on Politics yesterday, Judge Rules Florida Prison Privatization Unconstitutional,

The privatization of 29 prisons in the southern portion of the state from Manatee County to Indian River County to the Florida Keys should have been mandated in a separate bill and not in proviso language in the budget, as lawmakers did in the must-pass budget approved in May and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, Fulford ruled.
“This Court concludes that if it is the will of the Legislature to itself initiate privatization of Florida prisons, as opposed to DOC, the Legislature must do so by general law, rather than ‘using the hidden recesses of the General Appropriations Act,’” Fulford wrote in her order issued Friday morning.

The order doesn’t say Florida can’t privatize prisons, rather that it can’t do it by hiding it in the budget process. But alleged budget savings are the only reason privatization backers are willing to admit to, so that’s no small matter.

And if prison privatization is such a money-saver, why did the prison companies’ cronies in the statehouse try to do it like this: Continue reading →

Stray dogs and the law @ LCC 27 Sep 2011

A citizen (didn’t get his name; sorry) stood up to remark on the stray dogs that kept getting loose in his neighborhood, and how when animal control came they just took the dogs back to their owners, who let them loose again. Chairman Ashley Paulk had no hesitation in saying the sheriff should be called on the owners.