Lumberton Informer

Over the weekend, there was an induction ceremony (not sure if that's the proper name) for the Lumberton Masonic Lodge 696 at the Lumberton Family Life Center. Normally, I would have attended the event but I was out of town for the Parker Family Reunion. Thanks to technology, I was able to get some information about the ceremony. Based on the comments, it seems that this group was newly reorganized and several new members were inducted. Unfortunately, I don't know all their names. As a part of the ceremony, the members of the Lumberton Masonic Lodge 696 gave a $500 donation to Mrs. Vivian Lundy to help with the daily expenses of The Kingdom Kids Foundation. In Lumberton, political issues and a crumbling infrastructure are usually the main topics of discussion but there are some caring people doing wonderful things in Lumberton; we just have to look a little harder to find them. Kudos to tne Lumberton Masonic Lodge 696!

Lumberton's Mayor and Board of Aldermen held another special call meeting last night to discuss issues of zoning, the 2012 FAA-AIP Grant Project Pre-Application, the water policy and water rates. There will be a public hearing on December 6, 2011 for the rezoning of land owed by Ben Winston and Paul Ockmond. There was discussion about the FAA-AIP Grant Project Pre-Application. Gary Hickman stated that the City of Lumberton should enter into a long term contract with the Gold Coast Skydivers before proceeding with the grant application. Hopefully, the City of Lumberton will manage to get a better contract than the one they currently have with the Gold Cost Skydivers. Recently, the skydiving group raised over $9,000 in one weekend for their wounded warrior program. The Gold Coast Skydivers are averaging about $10,000/week in revenue, and I think their contractually obligated to pay the City of Lumberton $100/month in rental fees. Like I stated, hopefully, they will get a better contr...

I guess that title is misleading because after the latest census report, Lumberton may no longer be categorized as a city. There's the old adage that "it takes a village," but that phrase does not seem to apply to Lumberton. We sit around and talk about things that need to be changed, but are not willing to do anything to help bring about any changes. Most of the residents of Lumberton don't even bother to attend board meetings. We can sit back and wait for someone else to do something, but that's not how change occurs. The signs of decline are everywhere; Cooper Industry is no longer here, Farmland Services is gone, and now Custom Pre-Cast can be added to the list of closures. Gas stations are now beginning to close.And on top of that, the Shell Gas Station is the Command Center for Hobson and Gibson. If you stop there to buy gas and a Snickers, you might get charged with stalking. Just take a drive through Lumberton and you will see that empty storefronts and v...

The other day someone said, "I hope our tax dollars aren't being wasted on personal agendas." Well, everyone in Lumberton knows why I my car was illegally towed and more than likely, it was at the behest of Bobby Gibson and Dennis Hobson. Prior to this event, the board had instructed Lindsey Carter to file an injunction against me, but I don't know how that's working out since Lindsey spent most of the last board meeting dodging Rebecca Hale and her eye rolling. Since they ran into a dead end, they decided to call on Dennis Hobson and see which of his officers had the least amount of integrity. Apparently, Ryan Byrd decided to respond to the call of duty. Ryan Byrd is the latest addition to Hobson's team of Henchmen; he's been out of the academy for six months and he's determined to treat the life-long citizens of Lumberton like they're criminals. But from what I heard, my encounter with the Angry Byrd was nothing more than a light afflictio...

There has got to be a better way. We can no longer allow this city to hold us hostage. Over the last few days, some people have voiced their concerns about how the City of Lumberton's water department is the epicenter of non-professionalism. Clerks are always on their cell phones and for some reason; citizens are not getting their water bills in a timely fashion and are still expected to pay late fees. Whenever I pay my bill, I usually interact with Sue and I have never seen her on a cell phone, but one time, Stephanie took my water bill payment; she wasn't on her cell phone, but I noticed that my receipt stated that the bill was received by Sue. Why did the board of aldermen purchase two cash drawers if the clerks are still using money from just one register? Another issue I have with the water department is the deposit of the checks. Generally, I pay the water bill on either the first or third of the month, but for some reason, it takes anywhere from 15-21 days for the check ...

If you've been watching the news, you noticed that all of the cities in this area have made some drastic cuts to their budgets. The cities of Hattiesburg, Laurel, Petal, Poplarville, Purvis, Columbia and Wiggins announced that they will not have any pay raises during FY (fiscal year) 2012 and they will be limiting all overtime pay, but the City of Lumberton has a different approach to budget planning. Clearly, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Petal, Poplarville, Purvis and Columbia has several revenue generating businesses within their city limits, but they still found it necessary to stop pay raises and overtime pay. But the City of Lumberton is including an $8,000 pay raise for Stephanie Mullings and Dennis Hobson in the 2012 budget. How are they planning on paying for these two increases in salary? At the last meeting, Kent Crider suggested that the City of Lumberton look into raising the fee for services like background checks, fingerprinting and notary. Currently, the City of Lumberton ch...