Tag Archives: Jerry Jennett

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 →

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 →

Competition for CCA’s private prison? –Roy Copeland



Roy Copeland had a question about Project Excel,
the
private prison that Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) wants
to build in Lowndes County,
at the

15 March 2011 VLCIA board meeting.

Q: He wanted to know if there are other communities competing for the project,
and whether they had also paid a second extension.

A: Col. Ricketts answered that there is another community competing,
but he did not know whether they had made that payment:

Continue reading →

CCA has made second payment towards private prison –Col. Ricketts



Regarding the
private prison that Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) wants
to build in Lowndes County,
at the 15 March 2011 VLCIA board meeting,
Col. Ricketts gave an update,

saying CCA had made a second payment as stipulated in the purchase
and development agreement:





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.

The story continues in later posts.

-jsq

Private prison “a major impact on the community” –Brad Lofton



Previously we asked if
public objections caused VLCIA to change its tune about
letting CCA build a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia.
OK, that was a rhetorical question: of course not!

Speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
28 January 2011,
Brad Lofton

praised the private prison project:

“…we hope will be under construction in the next 18 months.
It will be about $150 million dollar project;
anywhere from 4 to 600 new jobs.
A lot of communities in Georgia are built around state prisons.
A hundred of those 400 will be post-secondary, nutritionalists,
physicians, nurses, vocational rehab, so we’re proud of that project.
You’ll start to hear a little bit more about that.
There will be about 300 construction jobs over about a 24 month period,
which will have a major impact on the community.”





Brad Lofton, Executive Director,

Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),

speaking at the
Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,

Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.

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

That was part of Lofton’s famous

“jobs, jobs, jobs” speech.
Lofton is

gone now, but apparently VLCIA still plans the prison.

The story continues in later posts.

-jsq

CCA private prison in Lowndes County?

What’s Project Excel?
A private prison for Lowndes County, proposed by
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

Back in August 2010 when the VDT first brought this story to light,

I pointed out that CCA is the same company that lobbied heavily
for Arizona’s new immigration law so CCA could get more customers.
And I wondered what VLCIA thought about this?
Silly question: of course they’re all for it!
It’s “jobs, jobs, jobs” with them.



As of 21 December 2010,

apparently things were still pretty tentative
when Brad Lofton gave an update to the VLCIA board,
claiming the CCA private prison would bring 600 jobs to Lowndes County, Georgia:





Regular monthly meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, VLCIA,

Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Gary Minchew, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,

J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,

21 December 2010

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

Some public objection had surfaced by 20 January 2010,
when

Dr. Mark George remarked to the Valdosta City Council:



“I think we can do better than a generator that burns human waste. I
think we can do better than a private prison and those are two things
that we seem to be excited about as a community.”

Next, we’ll see if objections had any effect on the Industrial Authority.

-jsq

Goodbye –Brad Lofton @ VLCIA 15 Mar 2011



And now the moment

that’s been discussed
since

Thursday,
Brad Lofton’s

goodbye:

Like Mr. Minchew I’m not good at goodbyes either.
I wanted to say I’ll be brief…
I’m not articulate enough to begin to thank y’all
for the unbelievable privilege I’ve had for the last five years.
…unbelievable board of directors,
the most talented staff I’ve ever worked with.
…
My wife was going to be here but she would have been too emotional.
Thank you all for your trust and confidence in me.
It really has been the best five years of my life.
I just want you to know your leadership….
Wish you the best of luck.
That’s all Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.





Brad Lofton saying goodbye at the

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.

Video by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

He didn’t mention the community.

-jsq

Beliefs are good, but facts are better –John S. Quarterman @ VLCIA, 15 March 2011



First I praised the

completion of the Wiregrass Solar LLC plant in Valdosta.
Then I complimented

Brad Lofton on finding his new job and hoped he’d be happy in Myrtle Beach.
Then I praised the VDT for

its editorial recommending using this opportunity to consult
the councils of the various municipalities and the County Commission,
and in particular that one way to produce

unity in the community
as G. Norman Bennett had previously advocated,
would be to find out what the community wants VLCIA to do.

I understand the point about beliefs.
But it’s not all about just the beliefs of just the people on the board.
It’s also about things like
is there enough water, and do we want businesses that soak up
a lot of water, like

Ben Copeland said at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce.
Beliefs are good, but facts are better.
Thank you.





John S. Quarterman at the

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.

Video by David Rodock for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Praise for Brad Lofton –Crawford Powell @ VLCIA 15 March 2011



Former VLCIA board member Crawford Powell

remarked in Citizens Wishing to be Heard:

I was on the board as most of you know when we hired Brad
and I just want to publicly say Brad
I think you’ve done an exceptionally great job for this community.
I’m very proud of the accomplishments you and the authority have done
over the last five years since you’ve been here
and I wish you continued great success wherever you go,
and prosperity.





Former VLCIA board member Crawford Powell at the

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.

He did mention community.

-jsq

Farewell second take –Gary Minchew @ VLCIA 15 Mar 2011



Former VLCIA board member Gary Minchew

said he wanted to have a Take 2 on his goodbye speech.

I have great admiration for what y’all are doing,
sticking to your guns.
I learned a lot.
One thing I didn’t learn was to keep my mouth shut.
I run into a guy the other day who remembered me from
a college course from the University of Georgia.
The only thing he remembered was me and the professor,
and I always argued with him.
And you pay the price for saying what you believe.
I paid the price in that course.
I think in that course I got the only A I ever made in college.
I mean, really,
anybody in politics that can sit there and take whatever
is dished out and you stick to your beliefs, I have the greatest
admiration in the world for you.
We did not always agree, but I have the greatest admiration for you,
and that’s great.
It’s a lot more fun sitting out here than it is up there.
I didn’t break down this time, so give me a break.





Former board member Gary Minchew at the

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.

It’s interesting that he accurately characterizes what VLCIA does as politics.
Also that he refers to beliefs, but says nothing about evidence or facts
or the community.

For reference, here is

Gary Minchew’s parting speech Take 1.

-jsq