Lumberton Informer

As we get closer to the November 3rd election, it’s time to get to know the “real” candidates. There’s a lot at stake in this election and voters need to truly know the candidates seeking the position as Lamar County, District 2 Supervisor. The candidates are Incumbent, Warren Byrd and former supervisor and current Mayor of Lumberton, Ben Winston. I received campaign materials from both and will break down the claims made by each candidate. Let’s start with Ben Winston. On Winston’s flyer, he makes the claim that he is dedicated, responsible, has fiscal responsibility, a unifier and a strong voice for our youth and seniors. Well, let’s see. I’m not sure Winston is able to say he’s dedicated since he actually left his position as a pastor to pursue political interests. Winston claim to be a unifier but he has failed to unify the Lumberton Board and before getting elected he actually went to court to have an elderly member put out of church. I guess that also dispute his ...

We celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. each January with a day in his honor. We remember his gifts, laud his accomplishments and pay homage to his legacy. But at no time since Martin Luther King Day was established in 1983 has his legacy been in greater jeopardy. This year we need more than a celebration of the past. We need to fight for our future. As I reflect on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I think of all the risks he took. In order to fight for the civil rights, he risked life and limb for justice for all. Dr. King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with 60 ministers during a time when taking a stand could lead to the loss of finances, as well as the bombing of the church where they served as pastor. Dr. King was a shepherd but today, there's very few pastors but an abundance of hirelings. The Bible lays out the definitions of both an overseer (under shepherd) and a hireling. John 10:11-13 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd ...

Former Lumberton Police Officer, Cassandra Fortenberry-Lumpkins, has been selected to serve as Chief of Police for the City of Prentiss, Mississippi. Some of you may not remember, but Fortenberry-Lumpkins was a dedicated officer in Lumberton but the Oreo Trio (Bobby Gibson, Kent Crider and Timothy Johnson) terminated her and several other good officers to implement their plan to turn control of the LPD to Dennis Hobson and his squad of goons. The city has lost and continue to loose good officers because of politics. I'm glad to see that Chief Cassandra has continued her successful career in law enforcement and has ascended to her rightful spot as Chief of Police. May you continue to grow and prosper.

I called Charles Bock of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and he received the letters of concern I submitted. Thank you to all that signed the letters I printed and thank you to those that mailed their own. The good news is the letters got their attention and the MDEQ will be sending two representatives to address any questions or concerns the citizens of Lumberton may have regarding Rolling Recycling, LLC. The board meeting will be held Tuesday, July 1,2014 and prior to the meeting, there will be a public hearing at 5:30 to discuss the increase in water and sewer rates. Tonight, there will be a budget hearing to make cuts in personnel. So far, the only department that's being cut is the police department. I guess Winston is going to get rid of the police department one way or another but in order to do so, he's going to need the board members approval. Tonight's meeting will be at 6:00. Margaret Meade once said. "Never underestimate the power of a...

Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself. I get a site traffic report every week. Keep lying to yourself.

I guess we can stop trying to convince everyone that no one is reading the blog. I was prepared to post a review of last night's meeting but I'm waiting for Charlie Bock to send me some paperwork regarding the amended solid waste plan the Lamar County Board of Supervisors submitted to the MDEQ to accommodate the recycling site on Yawn School Road. It seems that the County has been working on this move for quite some time. The looming question I have is "if this is a County project, why do they need the City of Lumberton to sign off on the project"? Wouldn't an agreement of that nature require an Interlocal Agreement or Resolution? Unless, of course, the County want Lumberton to be liable for any environmental hazards that may occur after this facility is opened. Keep in mind, the area is not accessible via the interstate. So the possibly abestos filled material will be transported through our city and there's no type of traffic flow planon file. But I said ...

So now they're saying “Jonathan got it wrong." Here we go again with the shoot the messenger mentality. At this juncture, it really doesn't matter if the proposed dump site is going to be located in the South Lamar Industrial Park or on Yawn School Road. What matters is the citizens of Lumberton were not properly notified of what was going on. This is the information age and they're still posting notifications on the back wall of the library and in a corner in the post office like it was 1954. Today people have tablets, smart phones and computers; they're no longer required to go to the library to get books. As a matter of fact, one can get postage online as well; so a trip to the post office is also a thing of the past. So for those that are trying to downplay what I'm saying because the address on the permit does not match the location mentioned on the site are comparing apples to oranges. The fact remains, the County has plans for a dump site in this area...

My inbox runneth over. For some reason, the message I was trying to convey was somehow lost in translation. My last blog post was almost ten days ago. I had planned on blogging about the city's plan to create a website and the low pay of city employees but, as you all know, other events transpired and I felt compelled t share my opinions on the matter. Now, I generally don't like blogging about events that involve people from my community. Based on past experiences, the posts are taken too literally and I have often times found that I had to seek legal actions because of other's inability to deal with certain things I post. Now don't get ne wrong, there's plenty of people within the white community that detest the things I say but they usually email their threats. Today I made a reference to one of the emails I received. I inserted the phrase because it has been used repeatedly in reference to my blog. Unbeknownst to me, one of my Facebook friends posted the s...

There has been a lot going on in and around the City of Lumberton this week. Again, we were on the news but not in a good way. If you have not heard the news, then I don't know where you've been. After the first arrest, there was a post about Lumberton thug arrested or something to that affect. When I first saw their post, I was bothered by the use of the word thug; especially since the term was not used when the gang of gun hoarding, meth making family was arrested in Lumberton. However, as more and more comments were being made about the incident, the author of the original statement was seen in a more favorable light. The comments kept rolling in and I actually felt compelled to respond. For me to agree with the author was totally out of character and for me to comment on the page was weird as well. I generally don't comment or follow the page because of the things that are said but in the end, we may grip about our differences but in reality, we're more alike th...

Can any good thing come out of Lumberton. Yes it can. After I came home from last night's board meeting, I stated watching the six o'clock news on my DVR. I was listening to the news and I heard the name Willie Heidleberg. I was thinking to myself, I only knew one Willie Heidelburg and as soon as his picture flashed across the screen, I turned up the volume to make sure I didn't miss a word of the story. It seems that some students at the Purvis Middle School were fascinated by the triumphs and barriers that were broken by a young man that attended school in their city. Willie Heidleberg is a native of Lumberton but during his formative years, schools in Mississippi were still segregated. As a result, Heidleberg attended John Jefferson in Purvis, Mississippi. As the news story played, you could see that the kids and their teacher, were fascinated by the feats accomplished by Willie Heidleberg. Willie used his athletic prowess to gain what he wanted most; not notoriety b...

Today there was a house fire in the City of Lumberton. I noticed the billowing clouds of smoke and after getting into my car, I saw the towering flames in the distance. One of my passengers encouraged me to drive closer but I did not want to add to the spectacle by crowding the scene with another car more spectators. As I continued in the opposite direction, it seemed that the firefighters were losing the battle but they seemingly fought a good fight. Aside from being a police officer, I think being a volunteer firefighter is at the top of the list as one of the most difficult jobs. There has been a lot of criticism of past and present volunteer fire departments. Some criticism was warranted but in the midst of attempting to save the home of another person, while putting your life on the line, none of that matters. Which brings me to the question, why is it so difficult to get individuals to volunteer for the Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department. There are those that have as...

There are several topics that have been sitting in my inbox for a while. Instead of posting several small posts, I would take this time to address them all at once. They range from the food pantry to issues with the park and the fact that elected officials love to overstep their bounds. First, let me address the food pantry gossip. There has been a lot of talk about the food pantry that had been established for Lamar County. The distribution site is located at Rogers Learning Center. The program is free and it offer food to individuals that qualify based on their household income. I went over to see the operation and it seems to be running efficiently; despite the low number of volunteers. The program rely on voluteerism and donations in order to remain viable. There was a rumor circulating that people were being charged for their food boxes and that is not true. There is a donation bottle in place at the facility and all monies collected are used for gas, packages and other essenti...

Yesterday, I attended a meeting of the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee. The person that petitioned the committee had a very nasty disposition; especially since she continually claimed that she only had a few more years of living. The post is not about that meeting but to encounter someone that has a problem with an order of things is indicative of Lumberton. The problem she was having was not very difficult but she made it difficult because she did not want to take the proper steps for resolution. Instead, she wanted to rely on the word of Johnny Buckley and forget about the comprehensive plan that was in place. The situation is also proof that those that are in charge are not taking the time to read over the guidelines of the city. The matter was very minor. They, in essence, made a mountain out of a mole hill. But I have said time and time again, there’s a disconnect between reading and comprehension. There’s all this talk about the things I post in this blog but unlike oth...

I arrived at the meeting at 6:05 p.m. and they were already on page two of the agenda. After speaking with the deputy clerk, I was told that the matters involving the 2014 FAA-AIP Project were voted down because Gary Hickman had not concluded his work and was not prepared to present the information to the board for review and approval. Noticeably absent was Alderman Quincy Rogers. The board had already voted to proclaim the City of Lumberton a Purple Heart City. The board also voted, with trepidation, voted to allow Mr. Jimmy Holder to carry over 13 hours (not days) of vacation time to the next year. For some reason, that was a matter of great debate. There was an order to allow Elsie Cowart, Chief of Police, to attend the 2014 Association of Chiefs of Police Conference and to pay hotel, registration and per diem. The board also voted to allow Danny Davis, Public Works Director, to attend a short course for certification for Wastewater and to pay registration fee, test fee, hotel, p...

Believe it or not, I'm at a loss for words. I don't know what we, as a city, are going to do about the things taking place at City Hall. I know we can submit a complaint to the Ethics Commission and the Mississippi Department of Public Integrity, but what else can the citzens of Lumberton do to make our elected officials realize that they were elected to serve the best intrest of the residents of Lumberton, not their own personal agendas? I am growing weary of sitting in meeting after meeting and having an alderman dismiss the comments from the audience like the voting public does not matter. I am also tired of the self-indulgent, self-absorbed non-professionals that are sitting on the board room and in the clerk's office. I don't have a copy of the law, but I am looking to find it, but I am still bothered by the comments made by Kent Crider at the Tuesday night meeting. When Mayor Miriam Holder decided that she would address the board, Kent Crider took his paperw...