Tag Archives: Valdosta

Listening and asking questions to make sure I understand —Tim Carroll

This came in as a comment Tuesday evening on Walk out into the audience. -jsq
Over the past four years, I have had a significant number of citizens contact me. Some with complaints, some with questions and yes…even some with compliments. I have never refused to meet with anyone. Some want to know what my position is on an issue. As a rule, especially on items that may come before council for a vote – I do not state a position. I choose to wait for the public hearing at which time all final arguements both for and against an item are stated and on the record.

Mrs. Noll contacted me directly this past week and we met and discussed

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Walk out into the audience —Leigh Touchton

This came in Sunday as a blog post on To Speak or Not to Speak. As a contrast, Lowndes County Commissioners do usually talk to people before and after their meetings, and sometimes they use that time to answer questions citizens asked during the meeting. -jsq
Yost engaged Dr. Noll (and was unpleasant about it) at one meeting that I attended, Mayor Fretti engages people sometimes, Attorney Talley engaged J. Smith last Thursday, and sometimes others at other meetings, myself included, and Vickers talks pretty much to whomever he wants whenever he wants. The whole CTBH policy is a smokescreen. The Council Comments period ought to be followed by adjournment and then the Councilmembers making their remarks from the dais during Council Comments ought to have to walk out into the audience and deal with the voters’ concerns directly.

When Jimmy Rainwater was Mayor, I may not always have agreed with him, or he with me, but he always came out into the audience and talked to us.

This Council is not responsive to the concerns of its citizens,

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Executive Director wanted —VLCIA

Get your applications for VLCIA Executive Director in no later than today!

Found on IEDC for 18 April 2011 and also on SEDC with no date, this job posting:

Executive Director, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (Valdosta, GA)
A very exciting opportunity with a successful industrial authority with numerous assets.

Greater Valdosta is the business, cultural, educational, medical, leisure, and retail hub for thirteen South Georgia and North Florida counties and more than 1.2 million citizens. Valdosta and Lowndes County are quickly becoming the fastest growing area in Georgia and are home to Moody Air Force Base; two Regional Medical Centers; and Valdosta State University, a regional university with over 13,000 students.

Starting salary $100,000 to $125,000, DOQ.

See cb-asso.com for a complete Position Profile.

The Authority’s website is www.industrialauthority.com

Digging around on cb-asso.com finds this detailed job description. It’s four GIF images (copies here) of a VLCIA logo and three pages of a four-page flyer.

Brief excerpts: Continue reading →

Other owls around town —Paige Dukes

Gretchen Quarterman continued interviewing County Clerk Paige Dukes about the owl on the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.

Q: “Are there other owls around town?”

A: “There may be!”

Paige suggests owl spotters. She says the owls cost about $20 each, and this one works for the county without any further expenditure.

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

To Speak or Not To Speak @ VCC 21 April 2011

Can Council members answer in Citizens to Be Heard, or can’t they? One did; another says she can’t.

In Council Comments at the end of the 21 April 2011 Valdosta City Council meeting, Sonny Vickers talked about bids.

Then Deidra White said she would attend any meeting where she could hear and reply to citizens’ concerns, but she can can’t say anything about Citizens to be Heard because there’s a Council policy.

That’s interesting, considering that in the previous Valdosta City Council meeting, in Citizens to be Heard, Council Sonny Vickers responded to Dr. Mark George saying that he had already told everyone that he was for the biomass plant. Does this mean that Council supporters of the biomass plant can speak Continue reading →

Special Called Meeting 27 April 2010 —VLMPO

When VLMPO has a special called meeting, it announces it well in advance on its facebook page and sends out messages to interested parties, which is how LAKE got the appended agenda for that meeting. Note the item “TIA Update”, where TIA is for the Transportation Investment Act of 2010 which implements T-SPLOST. There is a “Public Comment” item, as well. -jsq
Valdosta-Lowndes MPO

Policy Committee
Special Called Meeting Agenda
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
1:30 PM
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Origin of owl on Historic Lowndes County Court House —Paige Dukes

That owl on the top of the Lowndes County Courthouse: where did it come from? As the owl watched, Gretchen Quarterman asked County Clerk Paige Dukes.

Q: “So Paige, why is the owl up there?”

A: “The owl is up there to deter any of the pigeons in the area from flying into the courthouse.”

The owl has been on the courthouse since 2007. More details in the video: Continue reading →

Touchton v. City of Valdosta, Georgia, et al.

Mayor Fretti mentioned a lawsuit against him and the city of Valdosta that was dismissed. Court records on that are available.

According to Justia.com Dockets & Filings, Catherine Leigh Touchton filed a federal civil rights lawsuit 30 May 2007 against John Fretti and the City of Valdosta Georgia Middle District Court, On 17 April 2009:

Court Opinion or Order ORDER directing judgment for defendants on federal law claims. State law claims are dismissed without prejudice. Ordered by Judge Hugh Lawson on 4/17/2009.
A dozen similar lawsuits were filed the same day by Karen Camion, Faye Chachere, Jesse Clark, Callie Fielden, Reggie Griffin, Kathryn Harris, Willie Head, Joann Mosley, George Rhynes, Willie Roberson, Floyd Rose, and Mary Sherman. All appear to have had the same result.

Access to related documents is available by registering with PACER. They don’t charge until a user runs up a minimum amount of usage.

-jsq

Quality time —Mayor John Fretti

More from the person posting as Mayor John Fretti, this time responding to Dr. Noll’s recent post. -jsq
Update 12:40 AM 23 April 2011: Mayor Fretti confirms that the post was by him. -jsq
Perhaps this is my last post: It is in regards to Michael Noll’s most recent post. I will attempt to cut and paste the section that I would like to respond.
“What I found most disturbing are actually the following things that happened at last night’s meeting:

1) A Mayor in absentia because he is celebrating his birthday and decided not to attend because of a lack of agenda items for the meeting.”

Michael – I hope that I have always been polite and respectful
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2005 arrests in Valdosta City Council meeting unconstitutional —Georgia Supreme Court

Some of the events the person posting as John J. Fretti described are elaborated on in this newspaper report. -jsq

Kelli Hernandez wrote 1 May 2006 in the VDT, Court rules arrests unconstitutional: Case involves 15 citizens arrested and charged with disrupting a lawful meeting

The case originally surfaced after 15 Valdosta citizens were arrested and charged with violating statute 16-11-34 (a), which provides “a person who recklessly or knowingly commits any act which may reasonably be expected to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, gathering or procession is guilty of a misdemeanor.” Charges came after the group allegedly disrupted a Valdosta city council meeting in May 2005. Calle Fielden and Leigh Touchton, two of those arrested, appealed to the courts on the grounds that the statute under which the citizens were charged was unconstitutionally vague and broad.

On April 21, 2005, Rev. Floyd Rose addressed the council

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