Lumberton Informer

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 ...

I was blogging the other day and stumbled upon some important information. It seems that Lumberton Code Enforcer/Building Inspector, Paul Ockmond, is allegedly working under the previous inspector's certification and milking the city and citizens in the process. Stealing Southern Baptist Preachers??? Tell me it ain't so. Now I know why Paul Ockmond was slithering through my community, offering to pay someone to run against me. I discovered this Ponzi scheme accidentally. Imagine what I would find once I have access as an elected official? That thought has many scared and they're actually willing to pay to keep that from happening. What are they hiding? Are the ones currently serving on the board in on the scam? The bible carrying ministers seem very comfortable with the crew that's already in place; for some reason. We all know there's a plethora of individuals on Lumberton's payroll that's about as effective as set of old butter kni...

At the February board meeting, our elected officials went into executive session to discuss what they deemed "the sale of property" but they were actually discussing a trade with Lamar County. According to Crider, they needed to make a decision because it was a done deal but according to an article in the Hatteisburg American "there still remains some details to work out." Based on the article, it was hard to tell who initiated this deal that will result in the City of Lumberton losing a building that would cost $1,000,000 to build today in exchange for a vacant building and 5 acres of land. It looks like another win win for Lamar County and another bad business deal for the City of Lumberton. If you're a sports fan, you're familiar with lop-sided trades. For instance, the time the Vikings gave Dallas a dynasty for Herschel Walker. How about the time when the Baltimore Colts traded John Elway to the Denver Broncos or when the Atla...

I didn't plan on blogging today but when I logged onto the Hattiesburg American I saw an article entitled "A trade in the future for Lumberton armory?" Before I discuss the article, I would like to discuss the inflated water bills we received. Prior to the meeting, there were several stories regarding the late water bills; stories ranged from blaming the post office to blaming the customers. At the meeting, nothing was said about the late water bills and there was not mention of any adjustments regarding the due date. One of the reasons why they don't hold Merlene accountable for her lack of professionalism is because they know the water bills do not contain a post mark. We know we received the water bills late but we can't prove it because they can say they were delivered to the post office on time but we don't actually see when they were received by the post office. When Merlene tried to explain why the water bills were higher than...

As you know, this is an election year for the City of Lumberton and other surrounding municipalities. For years, self-serving agendas have ruled Lumberton. We complain about the people ruining our city but we're not willing to give others an opportunity to show leadership through service; something that's lacking from this and previous administrations. Lumberton is on life support and a mortician has the authority to pull the plug. Do you really think a person that specializes in death is capable or willing to support life. Death is his bread and butter and Lumberton's corpse is just another opportunity to put more money in his pockets. Over the weekend, those currently serving on the board were at various events gathering signatures in order to have their names placed on the ballot. Each candidate is looking to get re-elected. All of the candidates have made their intentions known except for Tommy Dukes, Jr. He's collecting signatures but...