Category Archives: Law

5.a. petition for school referendum —Tim Carroll @ VCC 25 August 2011



Council Tim Carroll noted citizens have a right to petition their government
according to the Georgia Constitution,
and wondered if it would be “against the Constitution”
for the council to deny such a petition.
City Attorney Talley noted that the language of a legal precedent
says the council shall.
The mayor noted there could be frivolous petitions
such as to change the name of Friday to Thursday,
that wouldn’t require affirmation, but the state
has certain guidelines, and school systems especially fall
under those guidelines.

Here’s

the video:




5.a. petition for school referendum —Tim Carroll @ VCC 25 August 2011

Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (LCC),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 August 2011.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

CALEA presentation —Chief Frank Simons @ VCC 25 August 2011



The Valdosta Police Department got not only CALEA accreditation but
an award, again for several years running.

First the council voted on the award.

Here’s

Part 1 of 6:




CALEA presentation —Chief Frank Simons @ VCC 25 August 2011 Part 1 of 6:

Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (LCC),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 August 2011.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.



Then Police Chief Frank Simons introduced the subject.

Here’s

Part 2 of 6:

Continue reading →

Coal-planning Cobb EMC board to meet

Cobb EMC to hold first member meeting since spate of legal problems.
Its current directors still want to build a coal plant in Ben Hill County.

Kim Isaza wrote for MDJonline.com today,

Sides set for first EMC meeting: Date set for Sept. 17, but Cobb Superior court judge must first grant approval



Pending approval from Judge Stephen Schuster, the first meeting of Cobb
EMC members in nearly three years will convene at 10:15 a.m. Sept. 17.

At that meeting, members will decide two issues: whether to allow voting
by mail-in ballots at future elections, and whether to amend the electric
cooperative’s bylaws to limit director compensation to a daily rate
while also prohibiting future directors from being paid retirement
benefits. Previously vested benefits would not be affected.

And look which one the directors really don’t like:

Continue reading →

30 jail deaths since 1994 to 2009 —George Boston Rhynes

Received today on Alabama
bishops criticize ALEC’s immigration law -jsq

Churches and pastors need to view this video and see about these
animals. That is since we read so much

information about the Animal
Shelter in our area about abused animals. What about these animals
and the thirty deaths that no elected official, church, human being or
orgnzations seem to care about.



Did you know that Valdosta-Lowndes County Jail is leading the State
of Georgia in Jail Deaths for whatever reason. Yet, no one is talking
about these people many of whom are military veterans that served their
nation. So where is the humanity to man?

Yes, we have had

30 jail deaths since 1994 to 2009
and not the
Lowndes County Attorney has put it in a letter in so many words

Continue reading →

CUEE filed enough petitions for a referendum


Less than one percent of the registered voters in Valdosta have made
the difference between CUEE’s school consolidation petition getting on
the ballot and not.

According to the City of Valdosta’s website 19 August 2011:

Continue reading →

Animal issues on facebook



For those who miss their regular daily diet of animal shelter issues,
Susan Leavens has started a facebook group called

Georgia’s Regulatory Animal Protection Division the truth behind them.

And who knows? Maybe soon we’ll hear results of

that investigation down at the sheriff’s office.
Or maybe Gary Black
will live up to his campaign promises.
Or maybe Lowndes County will let the Humane Society train animal control officers.
The more people ask for these things to happen, the more likely they will happen.

-jsq

“about as fruitful as trying to squeeze information out of the Kremlin”

Which organization was this judge referring to?



Schuster told the directors that he thought [that organization] was
supplying “vague” information and he directed that henceforth
the sides meet monthly in his office for updates on the liquidation
process. In short, Schuster is learning first hand — just like members,
the media and the public at large have learned — that prying information
out of [that organization] is usually about as fruitful as trying to
squeeze information out of the Kremlin.

No, not that city council!
No, not that county commission!
Not even the state board of corrections.
(Although some of them might want to try that bureaucratic shoe on to see
if it fits.) Here’s who:

Continue reading →

Hitting the cartels where it hurts

Former border state governor advocates ending drug prohibition.

Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, wrote in the Washington Times 5 August 2011,

JOHNSON: Hitting the cartels where it hurts:
Legalization of marijuana would end drug profiteering and violence



Imagine you are a drug lord in Mexico, making unfathomable profits
sending your illegal product to the United States. What is the headline
you fear the most? “U.S. to build bigger fence”? “U.S. to send
troops to the border”? “U.S. to deploy tanks in El Paso”? No. None
of those would give you much pause. They would simply raise the level of
difficulty and perhaps cause you to escalate the violence that already
has turned the border region into a war zone. But would they stop you
or ultimately hurt your bottom line? Probably not.

But what if that drug lord opened his newspaper and read this: “U.S. to
legalize and regulate marijuana”? That would ruin his day, and ruin
it in a way that could not be fixed with more and bigger guns, higher
prices or more murder.

As a Republican, he manages to say legalize and regulate but forget
to mention tax, and he didn’t mention
Jimmy Carter
or Javier Sicilia
calling for an end to the drug war,
but he did mention (I added the links):

Continue reading →

Judge privatizes justice, eventually gets caught

Reported even in the VDT, 12 August 2011, AP,

Pa. judge gets 28 years in ‘kids for cash’ case



A northeastern Pennsylvania judge was ordered Thursday to spend nearly
three decades in prison for his role in a massive bribery scandal
that prompted the state’s high court to toss thousands of juvenile
convictions and left lasting scars on the children who appeared in his
courtroom and their hapless families.

Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced to 28
years in federal prison for taking a $1 million bribe from the builder
of a pair of juvenile detention centers in a case that became known as
“kids for cash.”

Now that’s privatization of justice!
Looks a lot like no justice at all.
Makes you wonder how many other people are in prison who shouldn’t be.

We don’t need a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia.
Spend that tax money on rehabilitation and education.

-jsq

PS: Had to go to the Guardian for the picture, though.

All authority to law enforcement and/or an Animal Services Officer?

More interesting discussion in the comments on

Let the Humane Society train animal control officers
including this one this morning. -jsq

In reading over the Lowndes Co. Animal Ordinance, it appears to give
all authority to law enforcement and/or an Animal Services Officer –
for enforcing the provisions of the Animal article. The only thing I can
see that the Animal Services Officer isn’t legally authorized to do is
to arrest an individual. – IF I’m reading/interpreting correctly.

-An Outsider Looking In

This is one of the few ordinances actually linked from the Lowndes County
web pages, so you can read it for yourself.

-jsq