Lumberton Informer

The Mississippi Regional Housing Authority recently changed the name of one of its apartment complexes in Lumberton. The property that was once named Frank Lee Homes but will always be refetred to as Turn-key (or the Key) is now Pecan Circle sans the pecan trees. The community is going through another change due to HUD regulations. Over the past few years, the property has undergone renovations to transition from low income housing to affordable housing. The renovations totatled $2.5 million dollars. There are more changes underway and it will include expansion of parking spaces and the installment of speed bumps to deter speeding.

This past week has been interesting to say the least. For the past seven days, I've had interactions and conversations about the Lumberton Police Department. Last Friday, there was an incident involving a part-time officer. The situation bothered me but I showed a little restraint and decided to report the matter to the Chief of Police, Elsie Cowart. The only problem at that point was waiting until Monday. As I explained to Cowart, it shouldn't have been necessary to call the police if the officer on duty was patrolling. The possibly dangerous matter went on for 3 hours and I know we have a skeleton crew of officers but I think 3 hours is more than an ample amount of time to patrol a city the size of Lumberton. It has been rumoured that this particular office spends the majority of his shift parked and conversing with friends so it's easy to see why this matter was never addressed. I would hate to think that an officer would witness something like this and refuse to addre...

You know the old idiom, "a rotten apple spoils the barrel?" Well, there's also a passage in 1 Cor. 15:33 that says "bad association spoils useful habits." We all know that anyone working alongside Merlene is subject to a rotten situation day after day but it seems that the barrel in the office of the clerk is filled with rotten apples. I just received a phone call from a citizen that was arrested for disturbing an public office or something of that nature. It seems that we're back to the point where the Lumberton Police Department is in place to protect clerks instead of citizens. I asked how did this happen? The citizen told me that she received a call from her husband saying their water was off. The customer called city hall and Merlene allegedly said they were working on water lines in the area. The customer said she hung up but a few hours later, the water was still off. Please keep in mind, the customer gave her name and address when she called. By...

The following is a poem written by Jabari Asmin after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. People think everyone should pick a side but it's not a choice easily made. I know there are good police officers but too many unarmed men and children are getting a death sentence instead of a day in court. The system needs to be changed and until people admit that racism is still a major issue in America, nothing will change. "It’s more than time we had that talk about what to say and where to walk, how to act and how to strive, how to be upright and stay alive. How to live and how to learn, how to dig and be dug in return. When to concede and when to risk, how to handle stop and frisk: Keep your hands where they can see and don’t reach for your ID until they request it quite clearly. Speak politely and answer sincerely. The law varies according to where you are, whether you’re traveling by foot or driving a car. It won’t help to be black and proud, nor will you be safer...

To honor the graduating Class of 2015, several parents are organizing a senior dinner for Saturday, May 23, 2015 at the Ben Barrett Community Center at 6:00 p.m. If there are any parents of the graduating class that would like to participate, please call Audrey Davis, Kimberly Chavis, Alicia Young or Andreas Arnold for more details. If you don’t have their telephone numbers, you can contact them via Facebook. Time is winding down and they're moving swiftly with preparations for this event. If you are interested in participating, please respond by April 10, 2015. Parents are asked to help cover the expenses ( this includes decorations, gift bags, ideas, etc.) and help with the preparation of the food. We would like to make this event special and memorable for our kids. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and participation.

Just a reminder that Michael Simeon will be hanging out at the His Place Church Fellowship Hall tonight at 6:30 p.m. Michael will be talking about his American Idol experience, preparations for a homecoming concert, taking pictures, signing items, singing a song or two and maybe a slow dance or two. So come on out and meet Michael Simeon. He can't wait to meet you.

Last night, there was a conversation started about the closing of the Wellstown Community Park. I commented, telling the person he should contact Warren Byrd, District 2 Supervisor, since the park is in his district. Throughout the conversation, some valid points were raised, including the fact that parks in predominantly black communities are locked. I refrained from instantly blogging on this matter because I wanted to get more details. As I've always said, there's three sides to every story; my side, your side and the truth. We all have differing views and with the advent of social media, we have the ability to share our viewpoints without condidering the other side of the coin. Earlier today, I called Warren Byrd to see if I could get some clarity. After speaking to Byrd, he informed me that the park was not locked, it was the small pavillion. Warren said there were two people that complained that the use of the facility wasn't fair; that certain people were allo...