Tag Archives: Agriculture

On the behalf of the Commission and Citizens of Lowndes County –Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter to FERC about the Sabal Trail methane pipeline

These are the fourteen items he promised two weeks ago at the SpectraBusters panel at VSU: Sabal Trail will be expected to adhere and honor all Lowndes County Ordinances –Bill E Slaughter, JR to FERC, 10 April 2014. I thank Chairman Slaughter for making that statement to FERC.

Despite his apparent refusal to speak on behalf of all the citizens of the county after the 24 February 2014 Commission meeting, he did actually say his ecomment to FERC was “on the behalf of the Commission and Citizens of Lowndes County”, and that he expects Sabal Trail to follow all Lowndes County ordinances, plus Continue reading

Lake Park Rodeo, tonight and tomorrow

Bull riding, barrel racing, calf roping, for the first-ever Lake Park Rodeo, at Raisin Cane, 3350 Newsome Road, gates open 5PM, events start 5:30PM, tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday). Fun, community, and lots of business and political leaders.

Kay Harris wrote for the VDT 23 March 2014, Rodeo Lake Park a big event this week,

A small community can do great things when everyone comes together, and Lake Park folks are definitely coming together for this event.

Support the rodeo this week in Lake Park!

-jsq

South Georgia Farmers Workshop on Solar Power

Bryan Zulko gave me this information about a workshop Thursday in Nashville, Georgia. I don’t know if there’s a fee; none is mentioned on the flyer. Presumably the contact listed can tell you. -jsq

Learn How To:
  • Eliminate Your Electric Bill
  • Create an Additional income stream
  • Use Government Grants and Tax Credits
  • Access Grants Support & Financing
Guest Speakers: Continue reading

Deep divisions between U.S. and Asian nations in TPP –Wikileaks

Do you want foreign corporations to be able to sue the U.S. because your county has implemented restrictions of pipelines feeding liquid natural gas exports? Or because your country hasn’t locked up enough people for unintentional infringement of copyright? Or because your state has implemented a GMO-labeling law? Then you oppose the TPP.

After the November release of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter, in December Wikileaks released two documents from the secret closed Salt Lake City TPP chief negotiators’ meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, showing deep divisions between the negotiating countries that have already caused a U.S.-imposed TPP deadline to be missed. These documents add potential international treaty enforcement of “mandates” against restrictions on trade to protect national products or environment or labor to all the reasons EFF gives for opposing this corporate-power-grab treaty and the LNG export pressures for TPP that would drive up the price of fracked “natural” gas and push pipelines through numerous states for the profit of a few fossil fuel and utility executives and investors.

The deep divisions among the negotiating countries exposed Continue reading

Sandy Hill Solar, Elm City, NC

Can’t miss this driving north on I-95: acres of solar panels next to the highway, paying a local farmer for decades.

MacDonald wrote for enerG September/October 2012, Solar picking upsteam in the U.S. South,

The Sandy Cross solar farm is the most recent project completed by O2energies, a mid-sized Charlotte-based solar development firm that has built a reputation for combining sustainable agriculture and sustainable energy production on farms in the southeastern U.S. The company owns and operates several solar farms in North Carolina.

The company’s president, Joel Olsen, notes that agriculture and energy production can complement each other. Solar farms have a low profile, are noiseless, produce no pollution, and consume no water.

Olsen points out an interesting fact: solar farms can often be Continue reading

South Georgia Growing Local 2014: Local food, economy, and community

You can have fun and support the local economy at South Georgia Growing Local 2014.

Farm Tour (citrus, sheep, olives, and row crops) Friday 24 January 2014, plus also dinner and a movie.

Learn a lot and eat well with the local community at the talks Saturday 25 January 2014, about animals, orchards, gardens, health, farmer experiences, and policy.

You can register using this form.

And you can join events on facebook for the farm tour and the talks so everybody can see you’re going; don’t forget to register, too!

Here’s the conference flyer for more information: Continue reading

Larry Rodgers and Mindy Bland on Chris Beckham radio show right now

Lowndes County landowners Larry Rodgers and Mindy Bland on the Chris Beckham radio show right now. “Veiled threats” –Mindy Bland. Larry Rodgers said:

These people do not have a customer in Georgia, so eminent domain does not apply in Georgia.

His attorney (Bill Langdale) responded to a Sabal Trail lawyer letter saying that, and as yet there is no response.

You continue paying taxes on that property forever. They continue making profits on that property forever.

Chris Beckham remarked that there’s no other 36 inch pipeline in Georgia, and Mindy is explaining Continue reading

More sinkholes in Florida.

Just a few cracks a couple of years ago turned into a 90 foot wide and 60 foot deep sinkhole Thursday. At least six houses affected in north Florida, above the same Floridan Aquifer that produces sinkholes here in south Georgia. Here in Lowndes County Michael McCormick has more than a few cracks: he has a sinkhole in his garage. Will Lowndes County do something before we wake up to news of man’s house fell into a sinkhole overnight?

ABC News Blogs 14 November 2013, Florida Sinkhole Swallows Home

Six other homes have been evacuated as a precaution and Duke Energy has shut down power to the area.

A growing sinkhole in Florida has swallowed Continue reading

Videos: VLMPO Policy Committee @ VLMPO 2013-10-29

I commend VLMPO for addressing real issues and getting a broad variety of organizations to show up. However, map after map on the consultant’s slides showed a straight-line highway going from Moody’s front gate to Hahira:

Highway straight line from Moody AFB to Hahira?

There is no such road. There better not be, since it would go straight through my property and would drive development right through agricultural and forestry areas that the Comprehensive Plan says aren’t supposed to be developed,. not to mention the Moody MAZ. I’m told the consultant is going to fix this.

I have my doubts, because Continue reading

Open House at Mildred Hunter on Common Community Vision @ VLMPO 2013-10-23

“We have broadband”, said Bill Slaughter, while other people had different opinions on that and other topics Wednesday night at the Mildred Hunter Community Center.

Corey Hull introduced the session and a small but vocal group of citizens discussed all the main topic headings. He noted that there are more than twelve plans already in place in the various cities and counties in the Valdosta Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Area. Yet there were many common themes in those plans, and VLMPO was looking for other common areas in these meetings and online, and more specifically strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. If you have a community group of any size, VLMPO can come talk to it. They’ve been to the Chamber, to Rotary, to churches, etc. They expect to wrap this process up in December, with common vision and goals for the next ten or twenty years.

Matt Martin Local officials present included Matt Martin, Planning and Zoning Administrator for the City of Valdosta, and Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter. Martin didn’t say much, but Bill Slaughter was quite vocal. I thanked him for speaking up, even though I didn’t agree with everything he said. He helped clarify current county codes for stormwater retention, and Martin helped clarify the city’s codes.

As a long-time participant in local development (he’s CEO of Waller Heating and Air) Slaughter said when people are buying houses all they look at is Continue reading