Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

The VDT was kind in their reporting —Jessica Bryan Hughes

This speaker talked about when her mother took her to volunteer at the old shelter, and how bad it was, then about how the current shelter started.
When I moved back to Valdosta five years ago, I couldn’t believe the change. A real shelter and animal control officers that had compassion. I personally know some current and former animal control officers. They are caring compassionate people with a deep love of their jobs.

When I read about the cruelty and neglect allegations in the paper, I couldn’t believe we had reverted back 25 years.

So she looked into it, requesting the files from the Dept. of Agriculture.
What I received was a slap in the face. The Valdosta Daily Times was kind in their reporting….
You can listen to her yourself. Continue reading →

If we can’t take care of animals and children…. —Cheryl Hatcher

If taxpayer money isn’t being used to defend the defenseless, what should it be used for?

Cheryl Hatcher said she has been involved with Humane Society for a long time (which the Chairman vouched for) and was among those who actually helped build the shelter.

There have been many discussions and conversations about things not being done properly at the shelter. And I really urge that you investigate what’s going on in the shelter. I applaud you for putting cameras in the tack room, although I think it’s been way too long to do that, but I applaud you for doing that.

I really think that it is not a waste of taxpayers’ money when you’re investigating to make sure that animals will be taken care of properly. If we can’t take care of animals and children, then the world is going to suffer.

I think that if it’s necessary to put cameras in the tack room there are bigger problems that need to be taken care of at higher levels.

Here’s the video:


If we can’t take care of animals and children…. — Cheryl Hatcher
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 24 May 2011.
Videos by Johh S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Neglect, abuse, suffering, falsifying documents — Susan Leavins @ LCC 24 May 2011

The animal shelter story isn’t just about animals. It’s also about mismanagement. It’s even about prison labor competing with local labor.

After Susan Leavins read from her statement to the Department of Agriculture about a starving horse, pigs castrated without pain relievers or antibiotics, and maggots in wounds, Chairman Paulk advised her she had one minute left. Then she got to her main point: Continue reading →

Boy Scouts and Board Appointments: @ LCC 24 May 2011

Those board appointments will affect all of us for some time to come. Here are videos of all of the 24 May 2011 Lowndes County Commission meeting except the citizens talking about the animal shelter; those will follow.

Remember, much of the discussion already happened the previous morning in the work session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 23, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Laws relevant to Foxborough McDonald’s —Vince Schneider

He’s back from Afghanistan and has a new plan to fight McDonald’s. Vince Schneider asked the County Commission for an ordinance about hours.

After quoting from the U.S. Tenth and Fourth Amendments and talking about privacy rights, he read similar passages from the Georgia Constitution, and this one, from Section II. Origin and Structure of Government:

All government, of right, originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole. Public officers are the trustees and servants of the people and are at all times amenable to them.
He then read a definition of ordinance, and noted that many ordinances deal with issues of safety, health, morals, etc.

His recommendation: for the Commission to pass an ordinance limiting hours of operation for such type of enterprises.

That’s the county attorney visible directly past Schneider (under the microphone). Of course it’s the commissioners who must propose and pass any ordinance. That will require Continue reading →

Why are these reports not on the desk of the sheriff? —Jane Osborn

This comment from Jane Osborn came in last night on County Animal Shelter Issues. A good place to ask such questions of public officials might be at this evening’s County Commission meeting, 5:30 PM, 327 N. Ashley Street. Sheriff Chris Prine is often in attendance. -jsq
Abuse of an animal is a criminal offense. The GA Dept. of Agriculture is a regulatory agency able only to issue fines, not pursue criminal investigations. Why are these reports not on the desk of the sheriff of Lowndes County for criminal investigation? Dismissing the allegations because the people whose testimony was taken might be biased does no service to the current or future animals that will pass through the shelter.

County Animal Shelter Issues —Joe Pritchard @ LCC Work Session 23 May 2011

In his County Manager’s report at the work session this morning, Joe Pritchard reported on:
Issues that I think you’ve heard about… animal shelter.
Presumably the issues reported by David Rodock in the 15 May 2011 Valdosta Daily Times Animal shelter probed Use of drugs investigated; employees speak out and by Gabrielle Sarann for WCTV on 19 May 2011 Lowndes County Animal Shelter Probed: The Georgia Department of Agriculture is keeping an eye on an area animal shelter and has cited it for several violations
“I’ve seen a lot of the animals come in the shelter and not got vet care and sometimes that comes in the form of euthanasia,” says Susan Leavens, an animal control officer for Lowndes County.

This led several Lowndes County Animal Shelter employees to file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

It launched an investigation citing the facility for not providing humane care.

Joe Pritchard continued in his report:

August of 2010 the Department of Agriculture called me and asked for a meeting about issues of concern. They expressed those issues centered around maintenance of records … what was classified as humane treatment.
Mr. Pritchard referred to “specific castration of a pot-bellied pig”. He didn’t say whether he considered that inhumane treatment; he merely discussed it after referring to things “classified as humane treatment”.

He continued: Continue reading →

Appointments, Alcohol, and Animals @ LCC Work Session 23 May 2011

Here is the entire Lowndes County Commission Work Session from this morning, the same day it happened. VDT or WCTV or WALB could do this. Or the Commission itself could. But since they don’t, LAKE did, and now you can see them dealing with appointmments, alcohol, and animals.

If you have concerns about anything that happened, or anything else related to the county government, there’s a regular meeting Tuesday evening.

Videos are interspersed among the agenda items:

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 23, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Expanding Wiregrass Solar —Alden Hathaway of Sterling Planet

Alden Hathaway of Sterling Planet said he hopes to expand the Wiregrass Solar array in Valdosta to an additional megawatt, taking it from being one of the largest in Georgia to one of the largest in the southeast. This is the man Sterling Planet Chairman Sonny Murphy singled out for praise. This is the expansion project Sonny Murphy promoted in the Sterling Planet press release. Alden Hathaway knows what needs to be done, and Pete Marte and Hannah Solar stand ready to do it.

Alden Hathaway also talked about how solar helps load distribution on the electric grid, lowering electric rates for everybody. He remarked that once power companies realized that, they’d be for solar. More on that later.

But meanwhile, let’s ask Mayor Fretti and Commissioner Crawford Powell when they’re going to do this: Continue reading →

Putting power on the grid at Wiregrass Solar Commissioning

Congratulations on the commissioning ceremony for Wiregrass Solar!


Allan Ricketts (Acting Executive Director, VLCIA), Georgia Power rep., Roy Copeland (VLCIA Board member), Crawford Powell (Lowndes County Commissioner), John J. Fretti (Mayor of Valdosta), Therrell “Sonny” Murphy (Chairman of Sterling Planet), Tim Golden (Georgia State Senator), Pete Marte (CEO of Hannah Solar).

Continue reading →