Wiregrass Technical College @ VLCIA 15 March 2011

Wiregrass Technical College wants to expand onto some land owned by the Industrial Authority, using SPLOST funds.

Chairman Jerry Jennett:

The point is they’re landlocked.

And so what you want to do is you want to take what your tract is now and have the ability to expand your building in the future. You want to move your training facility now and….

More transcription after the video:


Regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, VLCIA,
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director,
Allan Ricketts Program Manager, 15 March 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Roy Copeland: Continue reading →

What’s the value of inmates?

Cheap labor. And not just unskilled labor. Brennan Leathers wrote in The Post-Searchlight on 18 February 2011, Inmate housing a hot topic about how overcrowded nearby prisons are and about haggling over what the local jail wants to charge to house prisoners, and ended with this:
“Working our inmates the way we do has greatly benefited the county,” [Warden Elijah] McCoy [of the Decatur County Jail] said. “We can construct buildings from the ground up and wire them. We perform all of the county’s maintenance and operate some of the equipment at the county’s landfill.”
One of the comments from Decatur County way back in July 2010 was:
Not only prison jobs, but it would also be a boost for many small businesses in the area. The construction part would also be a good shot in the arm.
Local construction people who think it will be a good deal to build a private prison maybe should think they may be putting themselves out of a lot of jobs after it’s built.

-jsq

The plummeting cost of solar electricity

Computers are so small and cheap these days that the phone in your pocket has more computing power than the biggest corporate computers of a few decades ago. A similar phenomenon is driving down the cost of solar electricity. Ramez Naam writes in ScientificAmerican, Smaller, cheaper, faster: Does Moore’s law apply to solar cells? Here’s a summary in one diagram:

Solar may not be the most affordable power source today, but wait a few years and it will be. Or get on with organizing the political and corporate structures to be ready. In sunny south Georgia, solar is our best bet.

-jsq

What Are Our Priorities? –Dr. Noll @ LCC 22 March 2011

Dr. Noll raised a number of issues about community priorities at the Lowndes County Commission meeting of 22 March 2011 and asked what are our priorities?

The Sierra Club letter he mentions was posted last week. For NOAA Weather Radios see previous posts. Here is the video:


Regular meeting of the Lowndes County Commission, 22 March 2011.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Appended is the script Dr. Noll says he was reading. I’ve added a few links to relevant posts. -jsq Continue reading →

How can both Lowndes and Decatur Counties think they’re getting a private prison?

Because it’s not the same prison.

As we’ve seen, the Bainbridge-Decatur County Development Authority thinks it’s getting a private prison from CCA, and the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) thinks it’s got the primary site by contract.

Carol Heard explained in The Post-Searchlight on 20 August 2010 how that could be, in Building of prison is good bet:

Jay Hollis, project manager of site acquisition for Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), said the company goes to great lengths to be pre-emptive and be more competitive.

“We don’t go enter into agreements with a lot of different communities just on the outside chance that something will pop up,” Hollis said in an interview with The Post-Searchlight Wednesday. “When we go in sort of pre-emptively to get to this point, it’s because we really believe that we’re going to use that site.”

OK, that doesn’t quite explain it. But this does: Continue reading →

School consolidation: CUUE kick-off event tomorrow night

Do you think the Valdosta and Lowndes County School Systems should be consolidated? I don’t, but CUEE does, and they’re having an “official kick-off” 6PM tomorrow, 24 March 2011, at the Gazebo Room, James H. Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place, Valdosta.

Note at the top of the invitation:

It’s Your Decision. It’s Your Choice.
Well, not if you live in the county outside Valdosta, it’s not. CUEE is promoting a referendum for Valdosta voters in November 2011 for Valdosta to give up its school system: Continue reading →

VDT on LCC last night

LAKE is thrilled when the VDT covers things so we don’t have to. David S. Rodock in his writeup in VDT this morning on yesterday’s Lowndes County Commission meeting includes this list that was not displayed in the public meeting, yet was approved by the commissioners. Car 41 No where are you?

Here’s the list: Continue reading →

VDT on water woes and SIFE

The VDT editorial for yesterday, What We Think: Will water woes define our future? includes this:
Water scarcity is a reality for many American states, particularly in the Southwest, and over-development in desert areas is compounding the issues between Colorado, Nevada and California. Georgia’s problems pale in comparison, but if the drought continues, consumption limits and conservation are going to have to be implemented again.
That would be the drought that was already in progress in south Georgia in January.

The VDT mentions a student group trying to do something about it:

Saturday, the VSU Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is hosting a community Walk for Water to raise awareness and money for people worldwide who don’t have access to clean water.
Here’s their web page and their facebook page.

Free enterprise? Who knows? Maybe the Industrial Authority will get around to doing something about industry and water.

-jsq

CCA for Lowndes County in GeorgiaTrend

Ed Lightsey writes in GeorgiaTrend for March 2011, Valdosta/Lowndes County: Taking Off about many good developments in Lowndes County. But among them is this:
About two years ago, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) began looking for sites on which to build a prison, and after an 18-month search chose Lowndes County, a decision that promises 400 to 600 new jobs. “It’s a $150-million investment,” Lofton says. “That’s the second largest investment in the history of the county. And of those promised jobs, about 120 will require post secondary education; they are nurses, physician assistants, dieticians and vocational rehab folks.”

CCA is the fifth largest penal system in the country, behind Florida, Califor-nia, Texas and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to Lofton. “They have about 20,000 employees across the country,” he says.

So why do we need them here? Continue reading →

MAGE SOLAR at Lowndes High, 29 March 2011

MAGE SOLAR, the German company which in September opened its North American headquarters in Dublin, Georgia, will be giving a 30 minute presentation at Lowndes High School next Tuesday, 29 March 2011 on
“the immense possibilities of solar power and its economic benefits for Georgia”
Hey, here’s an idea:
Concluding the program will be a highly anticipated Q&A-session which will provide direct access to industry experts and company officials; refreshments will be served.
Maybe with real answers, unlike an expensive dog and pony show with a hand-picked moderator going “we’re not going to get into debate.”

Kudos to MAGE SOLAR for locating in Georgia and then forging ahead into the sunshine of south Georgia! PDF and image of the flyer, and PDF and text of the detailed invitation, are available on LAKE’s website.

-jsq

PS: This post owed to Jerome Tucker.