Tag Archives: Safety

Videos: Mostly Paving and Bridges @ LCC 2014-03-24


Yesterday morning they discussed a

turnkey government website service.
And an

annexation request by the City of Hahira.
And they may actually be serious about coming into the 21st century with

online county services.

Turns out the

road resurfacing of four roads
is actually mostly from a GDOT LMIG grant,
but the other three,
shoulder paving on

Val Del Road
and

Boring Pond Road
and a

bridge replacement on Cat Creek Road
are all from SPLOST VII funds.
Plus

some trucks for Animal Control and

tablets for the Fire Department,
an

alcohol license, and some alphabet-soup agreements,
one of which turned out to be for

a grant for a victim advocate position in the Solicitor General’s office.

Here’s

the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Animals, Alcohol, Alphabet Soup, Paving, Bridges, and Fire @ LCC 2014-03-24



Got to spend those SPLOST dollars widening roads and bridges
to promote development farther out in the country!
Plus some trucks for Animal Control and tablets for the Fire Department,
an alcohol license, and some alphabet-soup agreements.
It may be healthy as food, but I wonder if opaque acronyms
unexplained in the agenda is good for local government.

Here’s

the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Can we get pipeline update and citizen input? –Carolyn Singletary @ LCC 2014-03-11



A directly affected landowner wanted to know what happened
with the talks

among several local county attorneys about the
proposed Sabal Trail pipeline, and was there any way citizens
could provide input,
at the

11 March 2014 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Here’s

the video:



Can we get pipeline update and citizen input? –Carolyn Singletary

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 March 2014.

Also she wondered if she could hear Continue reading →

Speeding on Academy Drive and Parkwood –Warren Scoby @ LCC 2014-03-11



A local citizen said he was concerned about speeding by
people cutting through his road to get to Bemiss Road.
The Chairman promised they would look into it,
at the

11 March 2014 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.
That would be a refreshing change from the Commission’s previous refusals to
do anything about that problem on other roads.

Here’s

the video:



Speeding on Academy Drive and Parkwood –Warren Scoby

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 March 2014.

Continue reading →

There are things you can do about the Sabal Trail Pipeline –Mario Bartoletti @ LCC 2014-03-11



Apparently the community believes the Commission thinks

there’s nothing they can do,
but Mario Bartoletti, speaking for himself and for

WACE,
said he thought there were things the Commission could do
about that 36-inch methane pipeline, and he listed some things,
at the

11 March 2014 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Here’s

the video:



There are things you can do about the Sabal Trail Pipeline –Mario Bartoletti

Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),

Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 March 2014.

His list included:

Continue reading →

Water issues under Moody Family Housing –Dr. Michael Noll @ LCC 2014-03-11

Water issues still need to be investigated and resolved under
the proposed Moody Family Housing,
said Dr. Michael Noll,
presenting a public comment by him and two other VSU professors about the recent

evironmental assessment
to the

11 March 2014 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Here’s

the video:



Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC)

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 March 2014.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

Appended is the text of the VSU professors’ letter,
and here it is in
PDF.

Continue reading →

Lowndes County Democratic Party opposes the Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline –Gretchen Quarterman @ FERC 2014-03-04



Gretchen Quarterman stood up for local landowners, the economy,
and the environment,
by reading the statement against the pipeline recently
approved by the Lowndes County Democratic Party, of which she is the chair,
at the

Valdosta FERC Scoping Meeting 4 March 2014.

Here’s

the video:



Lowndes County Democratic Party opposes the Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline –Gretchen Quarterman

Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline,

Scoping Meeting, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),

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

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 March 2014.

Here’s the text she was reading:

Lowndes County Democratic Committee Opposes Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline Continue reading →

Corporate power comes home –Jim Parker

Letter to the Editor in the Valdosta Daily Times yesterday.
-jsq



How is it that one foreign corporation,
that has just come into existence to do this project,
can have greater power than all of the thousands of citizens affected,
and their elected governments?

No, I’m not talking about the Keystone XL pipeline, but he issues are the same.
This one wants to run a 36-inch gas pipeline through a number of states and counties,
including Lowndes, affecting thousands of landowners.
It’s known as Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC, and is the
unholy offspring of Spectra Energy Corp. and NextEra Energy.



How can one foreign corporation (they’re from out of state),
have so much power vis-avis the thousands of landowners and
citizens of Lowndes County, that the citizens must give up a hundred-foot-wide
swath of their land, along with the depreciation of their
property values, not to mention their personal safety, and allow
this pipeline to come through?
The gas is not even for use in Lowndes County, or even the State
of Georgia.

However, the general feeling is we have to give in to the
corporation’s demands.
County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter is quoted as saying,

“There’s nothing we can do.”



Does anyone else see the problem here? Continue reading →

There’s nothing we can do about the pipeline –Bill Slaughter @ LCC 2014-02-24



“There’s nothing we can do,”
said Lowndes County Commissioners
about the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline,
after the Chairman refused to let a citizen speak during
the

25 February 2014 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session.
But there are things local governments can do, as other local
governments and elected officials have already demonstrated.

Citizen Carol Singletary drove 100 miles to get there.
As Chairman Bill Slaughter asked for a motion
to adjourn the meeting,

she said she called in to say she wanted to speak.
Slaughter responded,

You have to fill out the paperwork and everything in order.

Phillip Singletary said he did, and it was in the Commission Chamber
entranceway.

The Chairman did not relent; “just do it next week; next time”.
Nevermind that he has let people speak who hadn’t turned in the paperwork
before the meeting started (we have videos).
He even

let pipeline reps speak from the audience without coming up to the podium
and didn’t let any citizens speak at the Spectra sales pitch
back in December.

Commissioner John Page moved to adjourn, and added that he would
like to see Ms. Singletary after the meeting.
Chairman agreed, somebody seconded, and they voted to adjourn.

Do elected Commissioners now have to get a vote of the Commission
to talk to citizens?

Here’s

the video of that part.

After the meeting, Continue reading →

Fire engine sinkhole in Atlanta



I wonder if their insurance covered this?
TV reporter wonders if sewer lines were affected.
What if a methane pipeline had been there, like when

Florida Gas Transmission called the 25-acre sinkhole in Louisiana “Force Majeure”,
or an act of God, or not their fault?
Will your insurance cover sinkholes or broken pipelines?

AP in the AJC 3 March 2014,

Atlanta fire engine stuck in sinkhole,

Department spokeswoman Janet Ward told local outlets that the
sinkhole on Ashby Grove opened as the truck was driving along the
street Monday afternoon. Ward estimates that the hole was about 8
feet long, 6 feet wide and 5 feet deep.



Marcus K. Garner wrote for the AJC yesterday

Atlanta firetruck gets stuck in sinkhole,

The cause of the sinkhole is unknown at this time.

Leaking sewer or water line, overpumping, other?

Julie Wolfe reported for 11alive yesterday, Continue reading →