Lumberton Informer

Just a reminder, this Sunday, May 29, 2011, the KeKe B Foundation will be holding it's 3rd Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence. Those participating in the walk should be at Lumberton's City Hall by 5:00 p.m. The walk will begin at City Hall and end at the Ben Barrett Community Center. The official KeKe B Foundation Walk Against Domestic Violence t-shirts are in and they are beautiful. If you have any questions, or would like to make a donation to the KeKe B Foundation, call Kim or Walter Rogers at 601-325-5915 or 601-796-8609.

Monday, May 23, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. the ADP (Area Development Partnership) will certify that the South Lamar Industrial Park is a Project Ready Site. The event is being sponsored by Mississippi Power Company, the McCallum Sweeney Consulting Firm and the ADP (Area Development Partnership).

The board of aldermen held a special called meeting yesterday. Bobby Gibson served as moderator for the meeting since Mayor Holder did not make it to the meeting. (I wonder how will I be able to blog about this meeting that I didn't attend and Mayor Holder was not there; especially since everyone says that she controls what is said on this blog.) Anyway. . the board was addressed by Kathy Taylor regarding insurance for the employees of the City of Lumberton. I know the board is choosing insurance carriers based on what plan best suits the aldermen, but what about the other city workers that actually put in work to obtain this insurance. Has anyone taken a survey of the employees to see which insurance carrier they would like to have or is this another board based decision that says to hell with what others may think? The board attempted to override the mayor's veto of the hiring of Stacy Lawler, and after an exhaustive round of explanations, Hale was able to convince Gibson tha...

When I heard about the Lumberton Panthers getting their 2010 Championship rings, I sent out requests asking for photos of football players wearing their rings and Stephanie Martin, mother of Derell McLemore was the only one to respond to the request. So, today's feature story is about Derell McLemore. He's sporting the new championship ring that was presented to the Lumberton Panthers on Friday, May 13, 2011. The team has been given accolades for their accomplishments. The Lamar County Board of Supervisors also issued a proclamation to commemorate the 2010 winning season of the Lumberton Panthers. Derell plays corner back and was selected as MVP. Derell stated that he "appreciates the recognition, but the Lumberton Panthers are a team and everyone played their best to bring home another championship for the City of Lumberton." The game that led to a championship ring for the Lumberton Panthers was probably a deja vu moment for Rodney McLemore, Derell McLemore's fa...

I was beginning to have some doubts about the people that are on the roster at the Lumberton Fire Department and then I had the opportunity to have a face to face conversation with embattled training coordinator, William "Roy" King. Roy told me that he wanted to let everyone know his side of the story and put an end to all the speculations and exaggeration that has surround this story. Griffith: What is your position with the Lumberton Fire Department? King: I am the fire chief for the Rock Hill Fire Department and I am the fire training coordinator for the Lumberton Fire Department. Griffith: Were you actually arrested or were you just charged with impersonating a police officer? King: I was arrested by Officer Franklin and transported to the Purvis jail by Officer Cassandra Fortenberry. I was charged and sat in jail for six hours waiting to post bail. I have an issue with my back and I sat on that hard, cold floor for hours waiting to be released. . and I still had t...

If you log onto hattiesburgamerican.com you will notice that 4 of the top stories are about the events that recently happened here in Lumberton. You will see "Sheriff: Undercover officer stopped man in Lumberton", "Charges set to be dropped", and "Charges dropped against man." All of this makes for good news, but it reflects poorly on the City of Lumberton. I think the whirl wind is beginning to settle, but once the waters are calm, one can sit back and reflect on what happened. I've been thinking about the recent events and something about how this made the headlines is not sitting well with me. For instance, when Danny Rigel confirmed that it was one of his officers that an undercover narcotics agent stopped the man on Myrick Avenue, I had a red flag moment. I guess since Danny is the sheriff of Lamar County we should take him at his word. I'm not saying he was lying but I feel that he had an ulterior motive for revealing the identity of an under...

While out and about today, I ran into Denethia Clark and I noticed the lovely necklace she was wearing and then I remembered the article I saw in the Hattiesburg American. Kelana Clark had won an essay contest when she wrote "Why I Love My Mom" and she won the necklace I saw her mother wearing. Her mother is proudly wearing a necklace that her daughter won with words based on the love she has for the person she calls Mom. I was so moved by the story that I decided to blog about it. I know DD is proud of her children, and her joy goes beyond the diamond necklace. I'm certain that this is just a sign of things to come. . Kelana is apparently a very gifted and talented individual. Winning an essay contest is no easy feat. I can imagine that DD saw the necklace as an affirmation--an acknowledgement that she's steering her children in the right direction, that those sleepless nights were worth it, those days wiping their noses, preparing their meals, providing a roof over ...

I know that so much focus is placed on the "bad" things that take place in this area, but there were some "good" news that didn't get published. Recently, some devoted men with ties to this community were recognized by MEMTA (Mississippi Emergency Medical Technicians Association) for their service. Mitchell Bridges was honored as Paramedic of the Year and William Clark was honored as Dispatcher of the Year. The following was taken from the nomination form for Mitchell Bridges, Paramedic of the Year: "Mitchell is presently with ASAP Ambulance Service in Mississippi. Mitchell graduated from Pearl River Community College as a Paramedic. He obtained his National Registry as a Paramedic and started work in 1990 in EMS. Mitchell has served as a preceptor for numerous medics in the state as they completed their EMS training and has been viewed by many as the best in preparing medics for their job. He is active not only as a preceptor but serves as an instructor fo...

In an effort to show some good will on behalf of the residents of Lumberton, Melinda Carli, Branch Manager of the Lumberton Library, took a trailer loaded with supplies to Smithville, MS, an area that was devastated by the recent tornado. While Melinda, Chief Fortenberry and other citizens and city officials were on their way to Smithville, they were not aware of the storm that was brewing in the City of Lumberton. The citizens of Lumberton as well as other areas, donated supplies, time and money to help in the effort; Chief Fortenberry and a Lamar County deputy escorted the group to Smithville. One would think that this would have been a story featured on either News 7 or the Hattiesburg American. Instead, we were awakened to the news story of a person being arrested for impersonating a police officer and it was later followed up with a story on News 7. When the rumors first started circulating about someone impersonating a police officer, it was said that the story was a total fab...

On Monday, May 16, 2011, the Lumberton Board of Aldermen will hold a meeting to discuss personnel issues as well as open the bids for the completion of the demolition on Main Street. Today, I will address the latter. There is a lot of money being spent by the City of Lumberton, but it's most being spent outside the City of Lumberton. For instance, whenever the computers crash, they call BBI and spend over $300 to have them repaired. If you're paying over $300 for repairs, wouldn't it be wise to just invest in another computer. I don't know if they are required to use BBI because of the sensitive nature of the information that's on the city's computers or because they are contractually obligated to to use BBI, but there is a perfectly good computer repair store, Wi-Fyze, located on Main Street right here in Lumberton and the last time I had a computer repaired it cost about $75 and I was able to support a local business. The contracts that will be opened Monday w...

Here we go again. . .Since I've started blogging about Lumberton Politics, I have had several people threaten to take legal actions against me. I can't remember who was the first person to threaten me with a law suit, but they think I cower easily. I remember Jack "The Ass" McMullen said he was going to sue me, Jerry "Free Water for Renters" Brown said he was going to sue me, and Dennis "Domestic Assault Charge" Hobson threatened me and said he was going to sue. There were others that also said they were going to call their lawyer, but I have not received any paperwork regarding the lawsuit. I think the last time I heard about any law suits being filed against me was when Rebecca Hale was getting print outs of my blog and researching a way to have me charged with stalking. I don't know how that one panned out, but it was a stretch of the imagination to file stalking charges against me for blogging. Anyway. The latest buzz is that Kent Crider is...

Melida Carli, Branch Manger of the Lumberton Public Library, is spearheading a donation drive to help the families of the tornado ravaged town of Smithville, MS. Donations are being accepted at the Lumberton Public Library that will be dispersed in Smithville, MS on May 13, 2011. They are accepting donations of paper products, non-persihable food items, cleaning supplies, etc. and these items can be left at the library. Donations will be accepted until May 12, 2011. On May 13, 2011, a delegation of Lumberton citizens and officials will travel to Smithville, MS to give out the donations that were collected. If you would like to help or would like to join in on the drive to Smithville, please feel free to call Melinda Carli at 601-796-4227 for more information. Any support you can lend to this effort will be greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance for your participation.

On May 29, 2011 at Lumberton City Hall, Kim Rogers will host the 3rd Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence. All persons participating in the walk should meet at Lumberton City Hall parking lot between 4:00 -4:30 p.m. The walk will begin at City Hall and end at the Ben Barrett Community Center. T-shirst are available for purchae and will display this year's theme: "Step Up, Speak Out--Break the Silence, End the Violence." If you would like to purchase a t-shirt, contact Kim Rogers at 601-325-5915. Donations are also being accepted. The proceeds will go directly to the KeKe B Foundation. You may make donations to: Walter and Kim Rogers, c/o The KeKe B Foundation--P.O. Box 371-Lumberton, MS 39455.

The board meeting was rather lengthy, but they managed to accomplish some work. Terry Cannaday addressed the board wanting to re-start the already defective Parks and Recreations Committee. District 2 Supervisor, Ben Winston stated that he would donate some bases for the 5th Avenue ball park and wanted to help with the removal of the fence and pole that's located on the baseball field. The board granted Kim Rogers permission to use City Hall as a gathering spot for the domestic awareness walk that will take place on May 29, 2011. The board scheduled a meeting to hold a workshop to amend personnel policies on May 16, 2011. The motion to appoint a Planning and Zoning Commission in accordance to Ordinance 147 failed for lack of votes. (Hale and Rogers were in favor of adhering to the State Law that required cities to have a planning and zoning committee while Gibson, Crider and Johnson were not.) Vic Dubose, attorney for Ben Winston addressed the board to ask for a variance for his cl...

Board meeting is tonight at Lumberton's city hall board room. Who knows what the night will bring? Will they hire additional workers for the public works department since we are in the midst of grass cutting season? Will they attempt to hire another deputy court clerk, despite the fact that they fired the previous deputy clerk due to budget constraints? Will the matter regarding Ben Winston and the trailer citation finally be settled? Will they address the fact that a certain police officer is always standing around on his cell phone with the police car running? (Especially since there are several members of the board that go through an in-depth investigation of the fuel man accounts for the police department.) Will someone call out the aldermen that had a family member refer to a police officer as a. . . . . . .well, let's just say that it rhymes with Trigger? (That could explain his response, maybe he thought the officer was a horse and got confused or maybe it's just the...