Lumberton Informer

This is a wrap for the blog posts of 2010; I will return January 3, 2011 with a new perspective on the things that are taking place in Lumberton. The blog will undergo some changes; it will be listed under lumbertoninformer.blogspot.com instead of lumbertonpolitics.blogspot.com. I am certain that there is so much more to talk about in the upcoming year. For me, 2010 has been quite eventful: I've had my car egged, I was threatened with expulsion from a church, people stop talking when I enter the room, I have several aldermen that no longer speak, I have been threatened with lawsuits four of five times and I have a file full of hate mail from many of the concerned citizens of Lumberton. Overall, it has been an eventful year and it happened in such a short period of time. But it's going to be even better in 2011. I know that there was a recent conversation about IP addresses and tracing comments, etc. but I am not concerned with those that are trying to use fear tactics to silenc

Lord, I pray for all government officials and especially for the leaders of my own country. I pray for President Obama, that he may conduct the affairs of national government with wisdom, bravery, and true justice. I pray for the members of Congress that they may truly represent the needs of the people, and work in harmony for the advancement of all men, women, and children. I pray for the judges that rule the courts of our land, that they may balance justice with mercy, and civil law with divine mandate. Grant all of our national, state, and local leaders (Mayor Holder, Aldermen Gibson, Crider, Hale, Rogers and Johnson) the gifts of wisdom, justice, counsel, and fortitude, that they may conduct the affairs of Lumberton in accord with the will of God. Grant to all elected officials the gift of respect for lawful authority, justly exercised, that we may live as a united people, one nation under God. May all the governments of the world seek to reconcile power with the needs of society.

I received this e-mail, and I immediately thought of our board of aldermen. Here we go: All the organs of the body were having a meeting, (Like the Lumberton Board of Aldermen)trying to decide who was the one in charge. "I should be in charge," said the brain, "Because I run all the body's systems, so without me nothing would happen." "I should be in charge," said the blood, "Because I circulate oxygen all over so without me you'd all waste away." "I should be in charge," said the stomach," Because I process food and give all of you energy." "I should be in charge," said the legs, "because I carry the body wherever it needs to go." "I should be in charge," said the eyes, "Because I allow the body to see where it goes." "I should be in charge," said the rectum, "Because I'm responsible for waste removal."All the other body parts laughed at the rectum and in

The Lumberton Library will be having hosting an Open House event, Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. The event will feature a food tasting. The recipes used are found in the Friends of the Lumberton Library Cookbooks, which are available for purchase for $12.00 each.

Cora Rogers, Executive Director of the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition of Lamar and Marion Counties, will host a Smoke Free Air Mississippi Event on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at the Ben Barrett Community Center/Voting Precinct in Lumberton. The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m with booth exhibits, health screenings and drawings for door prizes. Lunch will be served at 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m there will be a Smoke Free Air Mississippi Presentation. At 1:30 p.m. there will be a drawing for the grand door prize and the event will close out at 2:00 p.m.

This weekend, the will be a Christmas Parade held on Saturday, December 11, 2010 on Main Street. The parade is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. Also, this weekend, Kim Rogers and Vanessa Underwood will be hosting the First Annual The Compassionate Friends Candle Lighting on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at the Fifth Avenue Head Start Center. This event is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. and you are asked to bring white candles to the event. Refreshments will be served. Enjoy your weekend.

Last night's meeting was quite lengthy and still there were some questions left unanswered. On a good note, the Lumberton Fire Department have free smoke detectors available for any home owners. Anyone needed one installed should contact the Jerry Walters, Fire Chief. The deadline for installation is December 31, 2010. There were several citizens listed on the agenda to address the board of aldermen, including Cora Rogers, executive director of the Mississippi Tobacco Coalition. (I will post the info she shared in another post.) The meeting began to take a turn for the worse when it came to the issue of the minutes and the fact that the minute book has not been updated since July of this year. Mayor Holder made several corrections on the copies of the minutes she received for review and the corrections have not been entered into the official minutes. Mayor Holder stated that she would not sign minutes that are not correct because elected officials can only speak "through the m

Kim Rogers and Vanessa Underwood request the honor of your presence for the 1st Annual TCF’S (The Compassionate Friends) Worldwide Candle Lighting on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at the Fifth Avenue Head Start Center at 6:00 p.m. All around the world, this day has been set aside to mark the day when families light candles in remembrance of all children who have died; regardless of age, cause of death or ethnic origin. So please bundle up, bring your candles and join us as we commemorate this annual day in remembrance of our children. This day was set aside so their light may always shine. The families are requesting that you bring white candles to this event. Please join in on this day of remembrance Sunday, December 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Fifth Avenue Head Start Center. All candles will be lit at 7:00 p.m. and will remain lit for the duration of 1 hour. Refreshments will be served. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Kim Rogers and Vanessa Underwood

Last week, people that didn’t know about all the strife and turmoil that takes place within these city limits were surprised by the amount of unity that was exhibited when our city came together as one to cheer on the Lumberton Panthers as they battled for the title of State Champions. Now, that façade of unity will be cast aside as we prepare for our next regularly scheduled board meeting. We got a glimpse of what will take place last night, when Gibson, Crider and Johnson failed to attend the Monday workshop. I guess they already discussed the way they will vote on the upcoming agenda so it wasn’t necessary for them to attend. But if they don’t want to have the Monday workshops why don’t they man up and submit an agenda item to end the Monday workshops. I guess it’s the same reason they’ve decided to remove the citizens comment section from the agenda; because their vote would be recorded as a part of the official minutes. It’s not illegal to stop citizens from making comments; it wa

The Lumberton Panthers will head to Jackson this Friday to battle for the Class 2A State Title. The Panthers will face Calhoun City Wildcats who is seeking to clinch the state champs title. The Wildcats have participated in eight games at the state level and they have only won one state championship game, but the Lumberton Panthers have won every state championship game they played. For those sports historians, you may remember that Lumberton Panthers defeated Calhoun City 27-14 back in 1983 which was the first championship game for both teams. The state championship game for the 2A division will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised on PBS. Tickets for the game can be purchased in advance at Lumberton High School for $12. Tickets at the stadium will be $13. All Lumberton Panther supporters should purchase their tickets in advance because the school gets to keep half of the money from its ticket sales.

On November 23, 2010, someone left me a comment regarding the planning and zoning committee. Part of the comment was as follows: Jonathan, As you already know the planning and zoning committee only follow what law the city's zoning ordinances were. Therefore, the laws are still in place...It's someone has to enforce them. Zoning laws are still governed by ordinance. You cannot place a mobile home that is not zoned for mobile homes or you cannot place a business that is not zoned for commercial business. It has nothing to do with the planning commission! They are there to do the research and make sure that the request follows the laws/ordinances of the city and to make a recommendation to the board. The ordinances for zoning stand. The board has ultimate control over them. They are what they are unless the board changes them by ordinance. I was told to check with the city attorney for verification, but I sought a more reliable source. After researching the information, I found t