Lumberton Informer

Due to the fact that i have Lumberton Police Officers cyberstalking me, I had to return to my original blog format. When I originally started this blog, I was using an HP computer buy now I'm in the Apple orchard and this blog format is not very compatible with my iPhone, iPad, or Macbook but I'm going to give it the old college try I will probably have to spread these posts over several days while I learn the blogging codes and commands needed to add the screenshots to these posts. It's easier for me and my readers to access the posts on Facebook, but this format is necessary for legdl reasons Let's dive into this week's subject, Officer Clinton Craddock aka Mr. Tow [word redacted]. I've heard of his shennaigans but never met him. The night former Interim Chief Parker recommended him for hire he was a no show. I think he was one of the rejects Ducksworth advised us not to hire but I can't find the folder of rejected applicants. When we heard he was...

I guess we're at another cross road because after a special called meeting on Friday, May 31, 2019, Mayor Rogers vowed that he would not swear in Chief Adam Jones and that he would put him on the agenda to be terminated. We are almost at our 2 year mark as a board and Jones is the 6th person to serve a Lumberton's Chief of Police and will be the third Chief of Police sworn into office. Apparently, there was a personal matter that was brought to the attention of the Mayor and he feel that this personal matter should be used to prevent Jones from serving as Chief of Police. For transparency purposes, I was not originally in favor of Jones becoming the next Chief of Police but since the majority of the board wanted him to serve then, like many of the other times, I went along with the majority. We've had so many problems retaining a chief and I had checked out of the process because it seemed that my voice wasn't getting heard anyway. However, I r...

Tonight, Lumberton's Mayor and Board of Alderpersons held a special call meeting. I mentioned earlier this week that Chief Adams Jones was on a three day personal leave. Well, tonight, the Board was informed that Mayor Quincy Rogers suspended Chief Jones because a man sent Mayor Rogers a letters claiming that Chief Jones was having an affair with his wife. In the letter, the man said he's willing to attend the June 4, 2019 board meeting to read the letter and publicly accuse Jones of "coercing" his wife into having an affair but based on the text messages that were included in the letter, the "lunch dates" seemed consensual. Let me pause here for a moment. I wonder why everyone is always willing to submit letters to the Mayor. A few days ago, I submitted a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) letter to Mayor Rogers to get a copy of a letter he has in his possession that was submitted by a department head that accused me of sexual harassment. Since I...

I just got home from the board meeting. There was a chilly reception from my fellow board member but that generally happens when people are discussing you when you're not present. All I got to say is politics make strange bed fellows.

According to Facebook, the regularly scheduled monthly meeting for March was supposed to be one of the most anticipated meetings since getting elected as an Alderman but that was not the case. There were several news outlets there so the narrative they're establishing for the City of Lumberton will probably continue for the rest of the week or until the next scandal. Hopefully, they's no more scandals for a long time but time will tell. Every seat was filled sans two seats on the front row, but a lot was covered and discovered during the March meeting. Here's a recap of some of the matters discussed and voted on at last night's meeting: The Day in the Park at 5th Avenue was approved. Elaine Robinson spoke and invited everyone to participate and donate towards the event. She said there will be an Easter egg hunt, food and fun for everyone from every community. Alderwoman at Large, Tina Speights, asked the board members to rent port-a-potties for the event ...

One week ago, the City of Lumberton became the subject of the viral news because of a video that surfaced, featuring Chief Shane Flynt. WDAM sent their overzealous reporter to Lumberton after they received the video from a person they would only describe as a WDAM viewer. Surprisingly, when they arrived in Lumberton early Tuesday morning, Mayor Rogers was conveniently at City Hall. When I was out of town at the time, but I received calls saying WDAM was at City Hall and they were talking to the Mayor. Before they could go into any details, I quickly glanced at the time and said "the Mayor is at city hall this early?" At that point, I knew the reason WDAM was in Lumberton was not going to be good because it's very rare for Mayor Rogers to darken the doors of City Hall before noon. Before I could make it back to Lumberton, I received a call from an telephone number I didn't recognize and it was Mike McDaniel from WDAM. He wanted to know if I wanted to ...

Before going to work, I like to sit out on the patio but I couldn't enjoy my morning dose of sunshine because of all the tall grass and the fact that I had to wade through this field of neglect to get to my garbage can. As I sat there with fears of the Zeka virus and Lyme disease running through my mind, I recalled a time when managers of the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority 8 would evict residents that failed to pay their lawn care fees. Now the same corporation is slacking in their responsibilities and have failed to properly maintain the lawn all Summer but that's the nature of MRHA 8; they will adjust the rules to fit their purpose. They're in a position to help people but they seem to love employees that will lie, cheat and possibly steal in order to advance their agenda. What they failed to realize, if people no longer needed housing, they would be out of a job. As you know, I've had dealings with the manager of Pe...

Mayor Elect Quincy Rogers along with Tina Speights Holder, Audrey Young Davis and Jonathan Griffith will take the Oath of Office on Monday, July 3, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at the Church of the Way, 884 E. Main Street, Lumberton, MS 39455. Johnny Buckley and Susan Crittenden decided to take their oath at 11:00 a.m. at City Hall with Judge Bill Anderson presiding. I'm not certain why they opted to hold a separate ceremony but it shows that there's already some division with the new board. After every election, the Board of Alderpersons always had their ceremony with the Mayor elect. I remember when Mayor Miriam Holder took her Oath of Office at the 5th Avenue Community Center, EVERY board member was in attendance. When Ben Winston was elected as Mayor of Lumberton, EVERY board member attended the swearing in ceremony at the Ben Barrett Community Center. Now that we have a board that has pledged to Work Together to Move Lumberton Forward, the two incumbents opted to hold ...

Today is officially the last day of the current Mayor and Board of Alderpersons. I also heard that today is also Danny Davis' last day as Public Works Director. If the rumor is true then I can truly say that things are already getting better for the City of Lumberton. I'm sure Danny think he's crippling the City of Lumberton by resigning before the new board takes office but he's actually helping the City of Lumberton Move Forward. Since the inception of this blog, Davis "quit" his job several times because he knew at least one board member would beg him to return. It's amazing that he claimed month after month, year after year that he loved this city but words are meaningless if they're not supported by your actions. If he loved this city, there would be an employee at the Public Works Department that had the education, experience and expectation to carry on in his steed but Davis made sure that the ones ...

I remember when I decided to start the Lumberton Informer. I was sitting at the barber shop, now Tina's Salon, and I was talking about the election with Wade. During the discussion, he asked me what did I think about the election. At that time, we were weeks away from the election but I told him that I didn't trust Bobby Gibson and Timothy Johnson because I felt they were running to serve Ben Winston and Paul Ockmond. I also told him I was waiting to see who's the third partner and it was later revealed through their voting pattern that Kent Crider was their other partner in crime. So, their attempt to control the City of Lumberton has been in the works for years; it didn't just happen. I told Wade that I needed to establish a forum where we can hold elected officials accountable. Over the years, I've gotten many things wrong because my access to public information was often restricted. As a matter of fact, there's a current investigation...

Just received a call from a person that was informed that he was "BANNED" from Pecan Ridge. I asked him a few questions and from what he told me, the manger did not follow the proper procedures. I contacted the Lumberton Police Department and they told me that the manager gave them a copy of the ban list and I requested a copy. For some reason, tenants are told they could be evicted for allowing people on the ban list to visit but the tenants are not given a copy of the actual ban list. Recently, a tenant with health issues was about to get evicted because of the ban list but no one had a copy of the list saying the person that visited her unit was banned. I haven't received a copy of the ban list but once I receive a copy I will not post the names because I don't want them to get violated.....again. It's enough that their names is printed on a paper without due process but I will contact as many of them as I possibly can to see if I could get them to f...

People were worried about Ben Carson becoming the Director of HUD (Housing and Urban Development) but it's the snakes that are already working in the housing business that you should be concerned about. Over the past two weeks, I received calls from individuals that were able to give me very specific details about the issues I'm having with management at Pecan Ridge, a MRHA 8 property. They were able to give me details about letters that were faxed to the main office in Gulfport, MS, they knew what information I submitted was accepted and/or rejected, they knew about the exact amounts of the rent I was charged and the adjustments that were made. Now how did this information get out of the office and became water cooler talk at city hall and beyond? I know I didn't discuss the matter with anyone but somehow people know exact details that were sent via fax or mailed directly to the office in Gulfport. Maybe the information was left on the f...

Just one week ago, the citizens of Lumberton voted to #MoveLumbertonForward but the agents of MRHA 8 and others are trying to derail that change. I've been adjusting to my recent win while dealing with rumors on top of rumors. After getting calls from people outside the State of Mississippi and receiving screenshots from various conversations on social media, I decided to do a little investigation. I've barely had time to settle down and embrace the change that the citizens of Lumberton voted for on June 6, 2017 but it seems that I have yet another fight on my hands. LeaAnn Jones-Ulmer, a member of the LEDC and an employee of the MRHA 8, was allegedly going around telling people that I wasn't going to be able to represent Ward 3 because they're [MRHA 8] going to make sure I'm evicted. Keep in mind that a few months ago, I filed a report with the MRHA 8 regional manager about the fact that Ulmer was discussing my files with people o...

The meeting started out as usual. Noticeable absent was the members of the Lumberton Police Department but shortly after arriving, I received a call informing me why the police were not present at the meeting. However, there was an officer in the audience that was hired as a full-time/part-time officer at a rate of $12.50/hour. His name is Phillip Duckworth and he's replacing Officer Linda Marie McKibbin. The first item on the agenda was to allow Mr. David Hatt to address the board about brining a skydiving business to the City of Lumberton. Thankfully, he was not present because I don't trust this board to negotiate a contract that will benefit the City of Lumberton. They tabled a motion to repair the windshield of Martha Youngblood because Danny Davis said none of his workers were mowing grass at the time of the incident. There were some lackluster reports given by the Public Works Director and City Clerk. Danny Davis warned the board that we were going to fail the wa...

Due to inclement weather, I didn't not attend the board meeting last night but I'm sure they didn't accomplish much last night. However, about 40 minutes prior to the board meeting, I received an email from Vanessa Jones, the new attorney for the City of Lumberton. The letter did not have a subject line but I'm guessing it was in response to the request I submitted asking for verification of Paul Ockmond's certification as the building inspector and code enforcer. The letter I received is provided below. I take issue with the letter because it lacks specificity. One would think that a person that's paid $100/hour could write a better response; instead Jones seemingly struggled to string two sentences together in an effort to remain as vague as possible. Another issue I have with the response is the fact that the elected and appointed officials of Lumberton do not think the citizens of Lumberton have the right to know if thos...

I just mailed a letter to HUD about my suspicions about fraudulent activities taking place at Pecan Ridge Apartments, formerly Frank Lee Homes but eternally referred to as "Turn Key." As many of you know, I worked as a property manager for years and I know a little about tax credits for apartments. As a matter of fact, I went to several training sessions about LIHTC (Low Income Housing Tax Credit). One of the first things I learned as a property manager was to maintain a waiting list and to make sure you did not move tenants in the computer unless you had another tenant slated to move in. Tenants would move without notice but regional managers were adamant about leaving the tenant in the system because the property could lose money from that unit if it remained vacant too long. Generally, it would take a week to turn an apartment around for a new tenant; depending on the condition of the apartment. I recall an instance where one apartment was left in...

The qualifying deadline for the 2017 municipal election is quickly approaching. Everyone currently serving on the board are seeking re-election with the exception of Alderman Quincy Rogers who's looking to unseat Kent Crider as Mayor of Lumberton. The other day, I shared a post encouraging potential candidates to make sure they obtain signatures from the residents of their wards in order to ensure they're certified to participate in the 2017 Municipal Election. In previous years, all candidates were allowed to submit signature pages signed by registered voters. However, during the Special Election of 2016, the rules were somehow changed. When Kent Crider's seat was vacated after he was declared the winner of the Mayoral Election, there were two candidates that submitted paperwork to seek the seat as Alderman of Ward 1. Well, one candidate was disqualified because all of the signatures on their signature page were not residents of Ward 1. The Lumberton ...