Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Roy Taylor at VCC 7 April 2011

Roy Taylor spoke first at Citizens to be Heard, Valdosta City Council, 7 April 2011. He didn’t stay to hear the rest of the meeting, though. Could he be one of the people Scott Orenstein was referring to? Here’s the video.


Regular Meeting, Valdosta City Council, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 April 2011
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

PS: Sorry for not transcribing, Roy, but we have so many videos lately that we’re going to have to rush a bunch of them out without that.

-jsq

Randall Jones employee recognition VCC 7 April 2011

Mayor Fretti presented a check for $200 to Randall Jones, who gets his name inscribed on a plaque inside the front door of City Hall. Jones is a maintenance supervisor at the water plant. The mayor said he identified that the January water outage involved damage to switch gear and dealt with the problem. Here’s the video.


Regular Meeting, Lowndes County Commission, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 April 2011
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Valdosta Downtown Farm Days —Mara Register

Mara Register came to the Lowndes County Commission regular meeting to talk about Downtown Valdosta Farm Days, following up from the Farm Days organizational meeting Monday.

I think her main points were:

  1. Provide additional information about healthy eating with food from local farmers, thus helping solve the epidemic of childhood obesity in Georgia.
  2. Economic development opportunity for small farmers.
  3. Promote downtown district.
When? The Saturday after First Friday and the Saturday after Art After Dark.

Where? The parking spaces around the historic courthouse.

No livestock. Local produce. Here’s video of the first part of what she said.


Regular Meeting, Lowndes County Commission, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 April 2011
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Logistics, such as no cooking, because Continue reading →

Master Gardeners Graduate

Grand Bay Master Gardeners (GBMG) has been holding a class to become master gardeners, and they just graduated yesterday!

I’m not going to attempt to name all of them, because the ones I missed would be miffed. I will say that’s Gretchen Quarterman on the right. And that these are people from all over the area, city and country, Democrat and Republican. Growing food is the universal community builder.

GBMG is “organized as a cohesive working group in Lowndes, Brooks, Echols, and Lanier Counties”. They’ll be holding more classes, so you, too, can become a master gardener.

-jsq

Farm Days: Connecting Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta

Yesterday I wrote that interactions about Valdosta Farm Days between the Lowndes Commmission and the City of Valdosta “could have been smoother if one or both of the parties had been proactive.” The VDT reported that the County Commission wants to know about Valdosta Farm Days, and apparently there was a disconnect between the staff and the Commissioners. Here’s how the Commission came to be informed, through interactions of citizens and staff.

First, an excerpt from the paper paper story by David Rodock, “Farmers market proposal discussed by commission”, Tuesday, April 12, 2011, page 3A (it’s not online): Continue reading →

Being proactive —Gretchen Quarterman

At the Lowndes County Commission work session on Monday morning, County Manager Joe Pritchard distributed a map to the Commissioners from the Valdosta Main Street Manager, Amanda Peacock, detailing a proposal for a Farmer’s Market on the sidewalk of the old County Courthouse.
proactive: serving to prepare for, intervene in, or control an expected occurrence or situation; anticipatory


Lowndes County Commission work session, 12 April 2011, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

While apparently supportive of the initiative, the process could have Continue reading →

15.a) VA-2011-09 rezoning for 100 Black Men @ VCC 7 April 2011

Rezoning some land for 100 Black Men of Valdosta was the first order of business on the agenda for Valdosta City Council for 7 April 2011:
5.a. Consideration of an Ordinance to rezone 0.24 acres from Single-Family Residential (R6) to Office-Professional (O-P) as requested by 100 Black Men of Valdosta (File No. VA-2011-09). The property is located at the southeast corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Drive and South Troup Street. The Planning Commission reviewed this request at their March Regular Meeting and recommended approval (7-0-1 vote).

Planning Director Matt Martin, presented the case. Continue reading →

T-SPLOST Executive Committee —Ashley Paulk of LCC at LCDP (Part 2)

He says there’s a lot more to learn, T-SPLOST has got a good regional executive committee, etc., but:
Right now, I do not have a good or warm fuzzy feeling about this. That could change.
And previously he said if it did change, he would come back and tell us about it.

That was Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC), talking at the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP) monthly meeting about T-SPLOST.

Here’s the video:


Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
explains T-SPLOST (HB 277) and the Transportation Investment Act of 2010
at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Gretchen Quarterman (Chair), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Next: Questions.

-jsq

T-SPLOST has a stick —Ashley Paulk of LCC at LCDP (Part 1)

Gretchen Quarterman, Chair of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), thanks Corey Hull of VLMPO and says the next speaker will give us some inside knowledge about T-SPLOST. Ashley Paulk, Chairman of the Lowndes County Commission (LCC) is not a fan of T-SPLOST. He says:
Y’all know I’m on the executive committee, so I guess I should be a salesman. But I’m sorry. Y’all know me pretty well, I’ve got to really be not just a little bit correct, but it’s got to be good for the people. I think what disturbs me, is when you’ve got to put something in the law that’s a stick, carrot and stick, you don’t do what I’ve said you’re going to get punished.
He made that point at least three times.

He also doesn’t like Continue reading →

Biomass protesters @ VCC 7 April 2011

You’ve seen them before and here they are again: biomass protesters, this time outside Valdosta City Hall, 7 April 2011.

Old and young, Continue reading →