Lumberton Informer

The end of the year is rapidly approaching and there were a few stories that had the town talking. From the arrest of a Bishop who was given a Key to the City to the rantings of another Bishop who thought he was to high on the horse to be questioned. Last year, the talk of the town was about the arrest of Mayor Holder. This year, the board that put Hobson up to filing the trupmed up charges, did not come to his defense and he was terminated from the not-so-coveted position of Chief of Police. At the beginning of the year, the city was at a fever pitch. There was a lot of tension in the streets because most citizens felt like they were being targeted by the Lumberton Police Department. There were fights all over and every one, except the offenders, were being taken to jail. Team Stephanie/Hoboson, had the city by the cohones because they knew they had the backing of Gibson, Johnson, Crider and Hale. They even went as far as hiring Hobson's girlfriend as the new court clerk. (I th...

I recently recently received a subpoena to appear in court for a traffic violation that happened over a year ago. I don't know what's going on but I had to reschedule because I couldn't make it for that date. There are some of you that may not remember the date, but September 26, 2011 was the date Dennis Hobson, working in conjunction with Stephanie C. Mullings, had me arrested for failure to pay a parking ticket. They planned the event to the letter. Somehow, they got the judge to sign a warrant. (Please note: There's over $500,000 in traffic fines owed to the City of Lumberton, but they got Stewart to sign off on the fact that I didn't pay my parking ticket.) In my opinion, they were planning to have my car towed, AGAIN, because Hobson and Yates pulled me over on Myrick going 30 in a 25 mph zone. They spent a lot of time running my license, but I guess the warrant wasn't signed yet. I was issued the ticket (the one I have to go to court about, AGAIN) and a...

The world is mourning the tragic loss of life that took place in Sandy Hook, CT. Soon after the tragedy, there was this rush to put prayer back in schools and the renewed call for gun control. In my opinion, neither will resolve the issue that led to this type of tragedy. This was not a school shooting, this was a shooting that took place at a school. I am a firm believer in prayer but there are those that will say “God bless the families affected by this senseless crime and with the same breath, make an statement that the President is to blame for this happening” (check out the posts on WLOX and WDAM facebook pages). Sad. It’s those seeds of hate that has germinated into the manifestation of what happened in Sandy Hook. We think nothing about posting hateful comments or spewing hate around other like minded individuals without taking into account of those left in our care are privy to those unfiltered, hateful thoughts actions. We can post anonymous hateful comments and think no on...

"20 Children wont' have their first kiss. 20 children will not be trying to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus this Christmas. 20 children won't know what it feels like to graduate. 20 children won't know how it feels to have their heart broken and become better after it. 20 children won't go to the prom. 20 children will never get married one day. 20 children will not be able to sneak out of bed to stay up late. 20 children won't know what it feels like to be accepted to college. 20 children won't know how it feels to turn 21 with their friends. 20 children will never be able to know the joy of parenthood. 20 children will never know how they made us all realize that we take life for granted." #repost from Twitter. . author unknown

I spend so much time focusing on what's wrong with the City of Lumberton that I forget to offer some balance by highlighting some of the things that are right with the City of Lumberton. The return of the Informer was sparked by the fact that our city clerk and newly hired Public Works Director decided to rob me at pencil point by hiking my water bill without any legitmate reason. I guess I will have to do like most of the other citizens that are being pencil screwed; pay the bill or have your water turned off. Unfortunately, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen have left us without any recourse when dealing with the random water bill hikes because they are trying to use the water bill money as a floation device to keep the city from sinking. But this post was not supposed to be about the water bill department or the city clerk. About a year ago, I was at a meeting and Jack McMullan said he tipped the garbage crew at Christmas and at first I just thought he was flapping his lips and ...

Since the lackluster, Lumberton Police Department is not doing their job, maybe a reader of this blog will have some additional information. Last Monday, a student aged white male, driving either a silver or gray truck hit a pedestrian on Myrick Avenue. Mind you, it was a foggy day, but the fact that this person didn't stop is troubling and that's a hit and run. According to Black's Law, (a legal reference book)a hit-and-run is the act of causing (or contributing to) a traffic accident (such as colliding with a person or a fixture), and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards. Well, this is what happened on Monday. An officer was called when this person made it home but the fact that there was not follow up and/or investigation is also troubling. I know Ward's has a two for one butter biscuit special and this officer was probably eager to eat but one would think that any offense, big or small, deserves investigation. I know the LPD is beating their chest beca...

I just recently heard about the last board meeting and contrary to what many believe, I didn't get any insight about the meeting from Mayor Holder. As a matter of fact, I haven't spoken to the mayor in months. Anywho. In a casual conversation with a friend, the matters of the most recent board meeting took over the conversation. As we were talking, I was informed that there was less than 10 people in attendance. According to what I was told, Alderman Bobby Gibson had to be coaxed into entering the board meeting in order to have a quorum. Apparently, Gibson didn't get the text not to attend the meeting because his co-horts, Johnson and Crider, were not in attendance. I'm not certain what was on the agenda that had Johnson and Crider delaing with another bout of anal glaucoma (they couldn't see their behinds coming to the meeting). However, as the conversation progressed, I was told that Alderman Jay McGrew ripped into the city clerk, Stephanie Mullings. Jay alleg...

Over the last few months, I lost interest in blogging. There are those that asked me if I was going to retun to blogging and I felt like what's the point. Well, the events of this past week has re-ignited my desire to start back blogging on a regular. The other week, several city employees were working to fix a major leak on Myrick Avenue. At one point, I said I was going to blog to let the residents in that area know they should watch their water bills because this city was going to look for someway to recover the funds that were lost during this process. Unfortunately, I failed to follow through with the blog post. So, to my surprise and wonder, the December water bill was delivered late and guess what, I realize my water bill had a 30% increase. There were no leaks, I reported the matter to city hall and was told that someone will go out for a re-read. I was also told I would receive a call but I have, to date, not received a call. I find it intersting that we have a new Publ...

I had spoken with several people and I told them I would restart the blog last week but I didn't keep my word. As I contemplated on how to launch my return, I realized how much I loathed going to the library and the fact that my internet was not working added to the delay. Well, for those that enjoyed reading the blog, I decided to deal with the library staff; at least until my internet services is back up and running. (WTBS: I need to find out how to use my cell phone as a mobile hotspot.) The other reason for the delay was what should I blog about? Should I blog about the rumors that Mayor Holder has/had a problem with the things I was posting on MY facebook page? Should I blog about the board finally promoting Elsie-Cowart to the position of Chief of Police? Should I blog about the new public works director, Ryan Easley (and trust, I have a lot to say about him but I will save it for after the Thanksgiving Holiday)? There's a lot of things I could blog about but I will ju...

I know it's been a while since I've blogged. I wanted to take a moment and share an email I received from Dr. Maya Angelou. . . Dear Jonathan, I am not writing to you as a black voter, or a woman voter, or as a voter who is over 70 years old and six feet tall. I am writing to you as a representative of this great country -- as an American. It is your job to vote. It is your responsibility, your right, and your privilege. You may be pretty or plain, heavy or thin, gay or straight, poor or rich. But remember this: In an election, every voice is equally powerful -- don't underestimate your vote. Voting is the great equalizer.As a country, we can scarcely perceive the magnitude of our progress. My grandmother and my uncle experienced circumstances that would break your heart. When they went to vote, they were asked impossible questions like, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" When they couldn't answer, they couldn't vote. So don't si...

Last night was another it could only happen in Lumberton moment. I haven't been to court in a while and I wanted to see the new judge in action. Well, when I entered the court room, there was a collective eye-rolling from Team Sweet Beulah. I thought to myself, I picked a good night to attend. At first, I didn't know if I was in court or at a tent revival. They had their passah, the first lady (uggggh. . these black churches get me with calling the pastor's wife the first lady; especially when most of them need to learn how to be a lady first), the sick and shut in were there (despite missing church most Sundays), the piano player was even there and if we had one more deacon in attendance, they might ould have taken up a love offering for Peggy Winston's lawyer. First of all, what innocent person hires a lie-a-yer to to defend a disturbing the peace charge? I don't know what all went on that night, but based on the testimony from both parties, a lot of informatio...

I know you have missed your daily dose of the Informer. I have not faded into the sunset, I have opted to do smaller post using the Face Book app. So, if you missed some of the stories, they are now being posted to Face Book. Now, to the issue at hand, there has been a lot of news about the corruption that is taking place in the Hattiesburg Municipal Court system. Apparently, an independent investigation by the Hattiesburg Police Department has uncovered a system of corruption that is being abused by clerks as well as judges. If you're like me, you were wondering when would there be an investigation into the corruption that is taking place in the City of Lumberton's court system. Well, it will be a long wait. Unlike the City of Lumberton, the Hattiesburg Police Department is autonomous and they have the ability to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, the City of Lumberton does not have a system of checks and balances. Therefore, the Lumberton Police Department will never ...

It amazes me that so many people say they do not read this blog but their reaction tells another story. All of a sudden, certain people are not speaking like they use to. They are leaving these cryptic messages on their facebook walls, and this is by people who claim they never even heard of the Lumberton Informer. I don't apologize because you were hurt by something that was said. I don't know what they're saying I've done but I know I'm not the only that have seen these things. It just make me wonder, how in the porch monkey can you see one of the skinniest dudes in the area, that is allegedly hanging out at his niece's apartment, but you can't see a whole group of people that hang out, night at day, at other units? Selective vision or is there really something to my Friends and Family theory. Obviously, they couldn't see a red and black blazer that was parked on the property for months but they could spot craw-fish heads in the grass at a unit just...

MRHA 8 has Frank Lee Homes set up like a plantation. The only difference is the real plantation boss, JP Lawrence, is black but that's nothing new. Throughout history, our people have teamed with other races to oppress our own. Some may think I'm harsh on LeaAnn but what would you call a person that is put in charge of housing and the main residents are black. Now add to the equation the fact that the person in charge does not like black people. I think that sounds like a plantation boss. Now, the plantation could not be complete without the house ninjas and you know who you are. The ones that have unauthorized people living in their units, selling things from their unit or have children that are doing all sorts of things but in order to keep the focus off themselves, they run to the office every chance they get and tells massah what's goings on whilst she's wassn away. Everybody sees you and everybody knows who you are. I didn't have a problem with LeaAnn, but i...

People would always says, "They don't do anything but sit around all day, why won't they get a job.?" This was most of the conversation used to speak about people that either lived in New Jack or Turn-key (Frank Lee Homes). Well, recently, I found out why they choose to sit back and hustle instead of clocking in. They do it because of the way the system works at Mississippi Regional Housing Authority 8. They discourage individuals from working so they could get more funds from HUD (Housing and Urban Development). For example, there is a family that lives at Frank Lee Homes and they were living on one income. After a long job search, another member of the household obtained a job. Since this job was secured after the signing of the lease, the rent from this family has almost tripled and now they are expected to pay $700/month. Now, there are guidelines in place that are supposed to gradually increase the rent after a person has been out of work for an extended perio...

Are you tired of trying to run somebody down just to get a hair cut? Do you want a barber that has a set schedule? Well, the wait is over. It's Back 2 School time and you know what that means. . .It's time to go from jaded to faded. If you're looking for a barber with some serious clipper skills, I suggest you check out Brandon Gill of Southern Stylez Barbershop. Brandon has stepped up his clipper game and has a seat waiting for you. His shop is located at 516 S. Main Street, Poplarville, MS. So pay him a visit or give him a call (601-590-7187) to schedule your next appointment. Walk-in are always welcomed. Southern Stylez is open from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Last night, I heard the rumor that Dirt Cheap had closed. I was thinking, I was just there Saturday evening that couldn't be true. Then I woke up this morning and more people were saying Dirt Cheap had closed, so I took a drive to out to see for myself. Well, it's no longer a rumor. It's true. Dirt Cheap has closed the Lumberton location. The signage on the door stated " Lumberton Dirt Cheap Now Closed. . .Thank you for shopping Dirt Cheap." Apparently, none of the employees knew the store was closing but it's obvious the management knew because they had official signs printed with the Dirt Cheap logo. I didn't shop at Dirt Cheap but I would go in every now and then to see if they had any odd finds; especially around the holidays. I don't know what they're planning to do and I surely don't think it's cost effective for the citizens of Lumberton to travel to the Hattiesburg Dirt Cheap location; especially with the rising gas prices. All o...

I know I do a lot of talking about the youth that love to hang out around Myrick Avenue, but it seems that some of them are decided to use their talents for more productive endeavors. Someone asked me if I saw the Man Round Here video featuring Bae-Bay, 5'5' Superfly and Coot. My first reaction was "Who?' and then they said, I'll send you a link. I clicked on the link and I immediately recognized the area. I watched as the video played and I must say, I was truly impressed. I didn't know the nick names, but I recognized the faces. Some people may not like the verbiage used in the video, but it's a clear, concise, well put together video. Regardless of what some may say, it takes some talent to know how to spit rhymes. They may not know they're using a combination of cretic, anapest and dactly meters, but they're making it do what it do. The cinematography was rather good and I say job well done.(Artists are paying big money for those types of vide...

Last night, around 10: 30, I was traveling down Myrick Avenue. I had to slow down because there were a bunch of guys walking in the middle of the street. Good thing they were in the street because I didn't see the police cars. Before I could gripe about these bone-heads walking in the middle of the street, the blue lights came on. I was like, I know I wasn't speeding, but they didn't stop me so I kept on rolling. Before I could get my cellphone, someone just took off running and a police officer was right behind him. I don't know what happened or what was going on. I went in the house, closed the blinds and fixed me a cup of Camomile tea with a touch of honey. The other day, I reported about the lack of patrol but last night, the blue light special was handling their business. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered why do people run from the police. There's this culture of young boys that are always saying their "real" this or that (I won't use the t...

Last night, there was a budget workshop scheduled. I don't know if anyone attended. I didn't bother attending because what's the point. Over half of the aldermen are going to beat their chest and do everything they can to make sure they stick to their no new taxes plan because they, and their business partners, are land hoarders and they don't care if the city has no revenue as long as they can protect their personal investments. I don't understand why they take so much time discussing the budget because when push comes to shove, they're going to amend the budget every other month. In government, when they run out of money, they just amend the budget. In real life, when you run out of money, you either make adjustments in your spending or do without certain things. Wow. .what a novel idea. Most people already know that. Unfortunately, the ones that don't know this are serving as aldermen. So, here we go with another round of budget talks. Like I stated, I...

That song is usually played during Christmas, but I think it's the perfect song for the Back to School Season. Summer is winding down, and soon the big yellow limos will be patrolling the streets. Personally, I wish school was held all year round, but I don't think teachers would be happy with that proposal. I haven't seen the list, but I'm sure the back to school supply list have enough items on it to fill a Sam's shopping cart. While preparing for the upcoming school year, please remember that the State of Mississippi is having it's tax free weekend this week. So, you can go stock up on school uniforms and other school related supplies. Please, don't go to Dillard's and think they're going to let you purchase cologne and purses and call them school essentials. I tried it last year and it got ugly. Also, Victoria A. Page will be hosting "The Difference" Back II School Drive on July 28, 2012 from 3:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. There will be food, g...

So, what was going on this weekend? School is about to start and students and dropouts are taking it to the streets to celebrate. The streets were filled Friday and Saturday night and I couldn't tell if they were going to a party or coming from a party. However, the mere fact they held down the entrance of Frank Lee Homes for over three hours let me know they weren't going to a party. Apparently, that was the party. It was around the second hour when I realized, where the hell is the LPD and who is on duty? I know they can't patrol the area all night, but I thought they would have at least shown up at sometime during the three hour span. We keep hearing talk about a curfew, but we have teens, cougar lovers, etc. hanging out when the curfew starts and it seems there's no one patrolling. The other night, I was in Hattiesburg (it was after 10:00 p.m.)and there were some teenage boys in the parking lot. Next thing I know, two HPD police officers pulled up, flashed their ...

Sunday, July 22, 2012, the members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (next to Bass Academy)will be handing out food boxes to assist families dealing with the rising food prices. According to a volunteer, they have been handing out these food boxes since Hurricane Katrina. He said there were given a great opportunity to be a distribution center after the Hurricane and they wanted to keep a food pantry as a part of their m inistry. The food boxes will be handed out on between the hours of 1-3 p.m. Just come in, provide them with the number of people in your household and they will give you a box of grocery items. Also, they have volunteers that will assit women and the elderly by carrying their boxes out for them. It seems to be a well received program and it's definatley good to see a church giving back for a change.

I was torn on how to name this post. I went with my first thought and used Preston's Produce, but like me, many know this local farmer as Coach Fairley; not Preston. At one point, I was thinking of using the title, Coach's Crops or Coach's Corner. As you can see, I struggled a little on this title, but you won't have a struggle finding fresh fruit and vegetables on Myrick Avenue. I love fresh vegetables and because of this garden fresh jewel, I've been eating more vegetables than ever. Coach Fairley has fresh okra, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, watermelon and cantelope; and they're all locally grown. So, if you're out and about, stop by and pick up a few items. Next week, I will blog about the Tic Toc Cafe. If you have a business that you would like to have featured, please let me know and I'll stop by and blog about the services you offer. There was a food truck that used to be parked by Olen's but I never got the opportunity to stop by. I don...

There's a fascination with televison shows like Punked and What Would You Do? These shows put people in real-life situations to see how they would react. Often times, when a person gives a cheating spouse another chance, we sit back and say I would never take him/her back. But in reality, we don't know how we're going to react until we're in that situation. The other day, I was speaking with a woman, whose name would imply that she's descended from royalty. I told her that this blog was a study in creative writng; a social experiment of sorts. After I thought about it, I realized that this blog could have been viewed as a social experiement. Now, I'm sure this woman has been privy to some very detailed conversations about me, but she has never treated me any differenlty; she has never had a bad thing to say and everytime I see her, she greets me with a hug and a smile. If you ever wanted to witness the embodiment of true Christianity, you need to meet this wo...

When someone says "Oh, Jonathan, I forgot to thank you for something" you know it's time to gird you loins because that's not something you hear often and my response was correct. It was one of those nice-nasty moments. You know the kind. . where they're saying something in a polite voice, but there's really an underlying meaning. Now, let me give you the back story. Some time ago, I blogged about how Rebecca was upset that Sue had to work in the office by herself and she went on and on about how this was so unfair to Sue. I posted that blog after watching an episode of GCB, so I called it the GCB's of Lumberton. Well, today, someone thanked me for calling her a GCB (not Rebecca) in my blog. I went back to see what was going on. .so I had to pull up the post and low and behold, it was the post about Rebecca. Now, I don't know if a comment was made that referred to her as a GCB or not. Contrary to what most people think, I don't monitor this blog ...

Now something strange is going on at Frank Lee Homes. Frank Lee Homes is listed on some documentation as affordable housing but they receive a lot of financial support from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) in the form of LIHTC (Low Income Housing Tax Credit). Well, when I was a property manger, we were told that units could not remain vacant because we would lose the funding for that unit. So, whenever a person moved, we tried out best to make sure someone was in that unit before the next month. But for some reason, that's not the case at Frank Lee Homes. Units have been vacant for months at a time. There are all sorts of people that say they're on the waiting list, but they're never called when a unit becomes available. I used to keep a waiting list and as soon as a person moved or was evicted, I was calling the next person on the list to see if they were still interested in moving onto the property. Afterwards, I would send in the clean up crew and hav...

Now, I heard of people hitting you over the head with the word, but hitting the passah with the bible. .Really? What's going on with these small churches? I wasn't a fan of megachurches, but you don't hear of things like this happening at World Changers, New Birth or Potter's House because security won't let you get that close to the pastor. But, like one of my friends said, "I always thought Pastors duty was to get people in the Church not to kick them out." Pray for these people coming from the book of His-ology instead of the books of the bible.

At what point would you turn on a person? Often time, we look at shows and say. "Oh, I would never do that!" or when there's a celebrity that takes back a cheating spouse, the first thing some women say is "I wouldn't take him back!" But the truth of the matter is, we don't know how we're going to react until we're in that situation. I don't like people that are not honest. You know the kind that will lie and pretend something is alright just so they can continue to take from you, but after they feel they have taken all they can, then they want to show you how they feel. That's one reason why I like to make people angry, because people never tell you how they really feel about you until they're angry. Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Again, what's your price? You may not have lied to a person for a piece of silver but you probably lied to a person for a piece of . . .well. So, let's say you didn't lie for sil...

Before I start this post let me put on the whole armor of God because I know there are some that are going to say I shouldn't say the things I'm about to say. Jeremiah, in chapter 23, verses 1 and 2 rails against the “shepherds that destroy and scatter his flock”. 1 Timothy 6, verses 3 though 5 calls them depraved men. Jesus calls them ravenous wolves (Matt 7:15). In Acts 20:29-30 Paul refers to them as savage wolves. I know one of the first questions that's going to be asked is "Should I make my complaints against these men and women public? Or is that some how against the teachings of scripture? You know, the usual knee-jerk reaction of “Touch not God’s anointed” or “Don’t put your mouth on the man of God.” Am I being judgmental to rail against them? Am I being disobedient if I post information about them? I don't think so, but if you can show me in the scriptures something different, then I will repent. Yesterday was another, it could only happen in Lumb...