Lumberton Informer

While the loss of a loved one is never easy, even when anticipated, it is most certainly one of the hardest burdens to bear when they are taken from us too soon. Jayla was a beloved daughter, grand daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend. She represented a beacon of hope for a better future and now that light has dimmed. The death of a child is so painful because there are so many reminders of what might have been. As other parents prepare to send their children to school, you are starting the arduous process of bidding an earthly farewell to a child you birthed and I cannot begin to imagine the heartach you're experiencing. It is said that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. It may not be this morning but someday, I hope the love that was spread by Jayla's mere presence will carry you through those difficult moments. We, the Community of Lumberton, offer our sincere condolences and deepest sympathy on your loss. May the outpouring of sympathy...

While I was on air this morning, I missed several texts but one caught my attention. After stopping at a produce stand to get some green tomatoes and raw honey, I called to see what was going on. It seems there's more allegations about inconsistencies in the water department. It seems that a young lady was in the process of selling her home. She moved in March and allegedly called city hall to have her water services disconnected. Well, four months later, the person buying the home went to the house and discovered a flooded house and mold everywhere. The homeowner was notified by the buyer that the house was flooded and the water was still on. The homeowner went to city hall to find out why the water services were never disconnected and she was allegedly informed that a form needed to be filled out in order to disconnect water services. I told her that was my first time hearing that. Based on my experience, I've been at city hall when a customer would call to have their wate...

I don't know how I missed the second email attachment. There were two (2) letters submitted to the Army Corp of Engineers from the City of Lumberton; one dated June 15, 2015 and the second letter dated June 29, 2015. In the letter dated June 15, 2015, there's a outline explaining how the City of Lumberton plans on obtaining the $641,375.00 needed for the non-federal share (25%) required to secure the grant. According to the letter the money will be obtained from the following sources: ● Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) CAP Loan, ● Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH) Revolving Loan Fund, ● South Mississippi Planning & Development District, ● MDA Small Municipalities and Limited Population Counties Grant Program, ● MDA Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Facilities Grant Program and ● Local funds as needed. The second letter, dated July 29, 2015 is probably the letter Mayor Ben Winston, Alderwoman at Large Cora Rogers, Alderman Jay McGraw...

Guess what I received today? The copy of the letter Mayor Ben Winston presented to the Army Corp of Engineers that claims the $641,375.00 needed to pay the matching portion of the water and sewer grant is in the City of Lumberton's general fund. Is this general fund part of the budget you claimed you didn't know how much it contained for almost a year? Or is this a secret general fund account? Board meeting after board meeting after board meeting you, Ben Winston, said we didn't have any money and that's why we can't have the legally required number of police officers on duty. We don't have enough , oney in the budget to have a full time court clerk. We don't have enough money in the budget to pay for repairs or replacement of the police cars. But somehow, in a letter to the Army Corp of Engineers dated June 29, 2015, you make the claim that there's $641,375.00 in the general fund account. So Ben, if you have any capacity for telling the truth, which l...

This past weekend, I met this engaging young couple that were out campaigning for Martin Hankins. They were going foor to door and I happened to be home. We talked for a few minutes and they knew a lot about the candidate they were supporting. I know it's impossible for the candidates to personally greet every voter in the County but if you have people working the campaign trail, you may want to take a cue from Hankins and make sure your volunteers are friendly and knowledgeable; they represented him well. In case you didn't know, Martin Hankins is looking to become the next Lamar County Circuit Clerk. Hankins is currently serving as Alderman at Large for the City of Purvis, Mississippi. Hankins primary goal is to "Insure the integrity of the voter registration and election process of Lamar County are upheld." To hear more about why Martin Hankins is seeking the position of Lamar County Circuit Clerk, visit his Facebook page, Martin Hankins for Lamar County Circui...

There's a regular scheduled meeting one week from today. Everything on today's agenda could have waited until next week; unless they were trying to sneak this one under the radar. On a positive note, there were more people at this meeting than the regular monthly meeting. The downside was they were there to support LeAnne Igo and her claim that Lumberton breached their contract with the Gold Coast Skydivers. I'll talk more about that later. The first agenda item was to allow Loius Simoneaux, Jr. (another Louisiana retiree that managed to wash up on the shores of Lumberton) to serve as Emergency Manager for the City of Lumberton at no charge. Simoneaux presented his resume to the board and stressed his desire to use his "talents" to help Lumberton with their LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Committee). While Simoneaux was speaking, I heard the same speech given by Johnny Buckley, the code inspector. Simoneaux said he was retired, his income was set and he just want...

The blog and the blogger so many love to hate will be hitting the radio circuit. For quite some time, the Lumberton Informer was called "the blog no one reads" but that was something said mostly by elected officials and department heads. Since I have access to the metrics, I knew that wasn't true. The fact that printouts of my blog posts are routinely discussed during executive session, a violation of the Mississippi Open Meetings Act, also prove that statement is false. The mere fact that a department head, who was probably lurking, liked a post by the Lumberton Informer on Facebook also disproves the notion that no one reads the blog. The fact that I'm being sued because of the opinions I share with my readers is more evidence that the blog is being read and some are actually bothered. The other week, when I posted photos of a loaner car from the Lamar County Sheriff's Department, Mayor Ben Winston was allegedly upset that I posted the photos. In Winston's...