Lumberton Informer

The year known as 2013 is coming to a rapid end. So, where on the year in review shall I begin? This year has not been without its ups and downs, but there's still a reason to smile, while others choose to frown. This year there was an election to elect a new set of leaders. The fact that some chose not to participate, made me a believer. A believer that despite the fact that so many fought long and hard for the right to vote; others see the election process as just a joke. So many did not care who would serve as Mayor, as long as Mayor Miriam R. Holder was no longer sitting in that chair. They showed up to the polls, without any true direction. Other than their zeal to elect Ben Winston win the election. Winston was elected by abundance of votes in two wards and won the race of mayor. But I think after his four years, those that didn't vote, will eventually begin to care. Jay McGraw was re-elected and so was Kent Crider. Bobby Gibson was defeated and retreated like a spider...

Last night there was a special called meeting of the Mayor and Board of Alderpersons. It seems that Mr. Winston is determined to give our city worker’s a lump of coal for the Holiday season. The first item on the agenda was to discuss and vote to hire outside garbage collection. Apparently, he is looking to transfer garbage collections over to Lamar County. He said it would be a cost effective move that would save the citizens money. He also said an outside contractor will be in a position to pay the workers more than the City of Lumberton. Seriously? If anyone noticed the individuals collecting garbage for the county know they usually have one worker and the others assisting with the collection of garbage are usually inmates. First of all, I seriously doubt any outside contractor will keep those currently in those positions on the payroll. If they keep anyone on the payroll, it will probably be for a short period of time; just long enough for them to learn the area and then they wi...

So what’s going on in the Lumberton Police Department and why am I getting drawn into a non-issue. Recently, I have been getting information and tips suggesting I should investigate certain police officers. I am not certain where this desire to “expose” certain officers is coming from, but I just wanted to let you know, that I am not the o, the n or the e. In other words, I am not the ONE. You people need to make up your minds. Either my blog is imaginary and full of incorrect information or you actually want me to look into the matter. Which is it? This blog is not Burger King and you definitely cannot have it your way. Either you want to truth of what’s happening in Lumberton or you want a sugar coated version of what you want Lumberton to be like. Personally, I don’t have any problems with this police department or any of its officers. However, that was the case before I exposed Hobson for the lying, low down, lint licking, son of a biscuit eating bulldog he is. But that’s neith...

I went to the board meeting last night and while sitting there, I was thinking to myself, I can’t believe I’m still attending these circus shows. There was person after person giving these lengthy reports and I thought Mayor Winston created the weekly workshops to eliminate the need to have these lengthy discussions on the actual night of the meeting. So, it seems that Alderman Rogers suggestion to return to the format of having a workshop on the Monday before the board meeting is actually a better idea. At least that would eliminate the need to have a senseless meeting every week; especially since all those Winston said needed the weekly meetings are apparently not attending. Ben Franklin once said, “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” With that being said, I can assure you that there are some on our board and within the offices of city hall that are working overtime in the latter. At last night’s board meeting, I sat and listened as rumors circula...

The Friends of the Lumberton Public Library are hosting a breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Clauses on Saturday, December 7, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. This is not a fund raiser; its an event planned to give the parents of Lumberton the opportunity to create a memorable experience for their children within the City of Lumberton. Tickets for the event are $5 per person. This is an opportunity to build a memory for children for something they can remember about their hometown. Ifyou know of anyone that would like to attend this event, please send them to the library to purchase their tickets. In order to host the event, they need to sell at least 15 tickets by December 3, 2013. Also, the Friends of the Library is selling raffle tickets for a Christmas stocking worth $500. The tickets are $5 each or $10 for three tickets. This event will help sponsor events that will be provided throughout the year. So, come by the library or contact a Friend of the Library to purchase a ticket. It's for a very ...

Well, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen had their weekly “work-it-out” meetings. I know many of you have forgotten about this meeting because I also forgot. So, this post is based on the accounting of others since I was not actually at the meeting. It seems that the spouse of a city employee has a problem with the Public Works Director having a truck provided by the City of Lumberton. For some reason, this has become a problem. This is something that has always been provided for the Public Works Director but now, I guess due to the rising fuel cost (or something else; who knows) it is now a problem that the Public Works Director and the Chief of Police have access to a truck. It wasn’t a problem with the other public works directors or the other chief of police. The board didn’t have a problem even when a former chief had paid for fuel in a city that was not on his route. From what I was told, the conversation became very heated and there was the use of some foul language. I don’t ha...

I had no idea that the board was having a special called meeting last night. I went to city hall with the hopes to attend the meeting of the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee, but I realized that a board meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. When I arrived, they were in the midst of discussing payment of $500 to Dan Shelton, Chief of the Lumberton Fireproof Panthers for the work he performed on the fire truck. There matter was being discussed but when I entered the building, Mayor Winston tried to hurry the process and take a vote on the matter. I am not certain why he was in such a rush and no longer wanted to discuss the matter. What I do know is, at the last regularly scheduled board meeting, everyone was gushing and handing out kudos to Dean for the great job he preformed and how he saved the city money. Well, he sat there and took in all the atta boys but at no point during the meeting did he say the City of Lumberton was going to have to pay for the parts and the ...