Lumberton Informer

I'm kinda confused about this "holiday". I'm certain that it's not proper to say Happy Confederate memorial day since memorial days are days set aside to commemorate the lives of those who fought for something they believed in; and for the Southern States, the confederate soilders were fighting for the right to keep slaves. Now, this event was a celebration started by some Southern women and somehow, it has become a paid holiday in all Southern states. So, you mean to tell me that state offices, such as the library, driver's license offices, etc. don't get a paid day off, in Southern states for Good Friday ( a day set aside as the prelude to the celebration of the resurrection of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ) but these Southern states have a paid day off to commemorate the lives of indivuals like Nathan Forrest. Interesting. So, across the Great State of Mississippi, state offices are closed for to commemorate the lives of those that vailiantly fough...

I guess the blog reached a milestone this week. There were several posts on facebook and it seem like we were actually able to have a civil discourse while stating our views/opinions. Generally, there's a lot of name calling/finger pointing and I wouldn't even have the post completed. But this week there was a paradigm shift and it was a welcomed change. A lot happened this week. I'm not certain if the upcoming election renewed the interest in city politics or the big kerfuffle that occured with the oversized tanker getting stuck someone along Main and 7th Street. The timing of this incident could not have come at a better time. The day after three aldermen refused to attend a special called meeting to implement a plan in case an incident (hazardous and otherwise) happened within the city limits of Lumberton. There were three special called meetings scheduled and Bobby Gibson, Kent Crider and Timothy Johnson all failed to attend. Now in their defense, they allegedly re...

Yesterday, I posted on the Lumberton Informer facebook page about the fact that our aldermen failed to attend a third called meeting. I discussed how Kent Crider and Bobby Gibson did not attend the meeting. Since there was no quorum, the board could not vote on the Hazard Waste Plan; without approval, if there is any sort of hazardous accident/emergency with Lumberton's city limits, we would not have approval for the funding to bring in emergency personnel. I just don't understand how individuals that are seeking re-election, would fail to attend a special called board meeting, three times in a row. They have served four years. Correction, they have sat as members of the board for four years because they have not served anyone other than their own self-interest. They are fully aware that without a quorum, the meeting could not be held. I was looking over the agenda and I was trying to determine what issue or issues they're trying to avoid. Are they avoiding the audit, are...

The public hearing to discuss the need for ordinances regarding the implentation of a noise ordidance and other matters is rapidly approaching. I have been thinking about the hearing and I'm trying to wrap my brain around the need for such ordinances. But since I'm from a different school of thinking, I sort of understand the need for such an ordinance. I am a true believer in self-expression, but when your method of expession impedes on others, then it becomes a problem. I have always said that the wearing of saggy pants is a parental issue, but if the matter is not addressed while the child is under the age of 18, then it's obvious that the parental influence was not enough to deter the behavior. I think a lot of this "wilding" out is due to the lack of male figures within some of these families. When you're in a society where it's normal to see a mother fighting along side their children, you know there's something wrong. Now, all of this behavio...

Sorry there is not a graphic for this post but for some reason, Google is not allowing me to upload a photo. One thing I've learned to day is that politics is a dirty game that magically seems to get dirtier. For those of you that do not subscribe to the Lumberton Informer Facebook page, I updated the status after I received an anonymous email that contained documents about the LVFD (Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department). As I was printing out the documents, I was updating my page. I was saying I was going to post the results after I read over the documents, but that one statment has seemed to cause a ripple effect I had never intended. When I received the documents, I had a deja vu moment. I was immediately taken back to the time when I literally stumbled upon information about former chief, Dennis Hobson. I was leaving home and I stepped on a packet and it contained paperwork about Hobson's arrest records and pending cases regarding civil lawsuit brought against Hobson and oth...

In case you didn't know, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen will be holding a hearing to discuss some ordinances they are getting ready to vote on. The hearing will be held Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. at Lumberton City Hall. This is a public hearing and the board would like to hear from the citizens before voting on an ordinace about the number of dogs a person could own, a noise ordinance and a saggy jeans/pants/shorts ordinance. I'm not directly affected by these ordinances but I am interested to see if the saggy pants generation will come out in opposition to this ordinance. If there's a fight, they show up in drove but they consider those moments entertaining. Little do they know, they're about to get KO'ed by the City of Lumberton. I'm not sure of the fine for the sagging pants, but I was told that those that violate the noise ordiance, will be fined $500.00. (Now that's a lick!) These ordiances are errily similar to ones passed in Marion Count...

There are those that have questioned my motive for blogging. Just to be clear, I blog to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable; and for the most part, I have been successful in my attempts. A few weeks ago, I was in dialogue with some friends and we were talking about terms that people use that are racist, but they may not be aware of the racist connotation. In essence, we were having a discussion about "accidental racists". Well, before I could blog about the conversation, there was the release of the Brad Paisley and LL Cool J song, entitled "Accidental Racist." Now this song is wrong in so many ways and both parties are at fault for the errors lamented in this song. First and foremost, I don't think the wearing of a Conferderate flag is a sign of Southern Heritage. If you want to show your Southern heritage, there are many other ways that the waving of the Southern swastika. Let's not try to confuse hertiage with hate. The confederate flag...

Time for a shift. So many negatives things are said about Lumberton but there are some positive things taking place. Keep in mind, there are some that will have I'll views on the construction of Azelea Gardens. The construction phase of this senior living facility has began. They have constructed a beautiful retaining wall. I took pictures but wasn't able to capture the exquisite details with my camera phone. Maybe I'll go back with my professional grade camera and take some pictures. The facility is on Camp Avenue. The streets in that area has taken a beating from the heavy trucks and machinery but the roads will be repaved once the landscaping phase of the project begins. The contractors have hired a few local workers and that's always a plus. There are several more phases before completion.TThe complex will be gated and it will have age specific amenities including but not limited to elevators,ttransportation for doctor visits and other services. Again, the facilit...

I hope those that managed to escape eviction enjoyed their weekend, but after speaking with the manager of Frank Lee Homes, there's going to be some major changes taking place. So, for those of you that like to hang out on the corner of Myrick and North 10th Street, you might want to find somewhere else to roost because if you are on the property, and you are on the banned list, you are going to jail. The ban list will be updated and thanks to social media, the police department will be able to put a face to those on the list. Also, those of you living on the property may want to take the time to go by the office to get a peek at the ban list because you will be responsible for the company you keep and if they are at your apartment day in and day out, they are your guest and your responsibility. After the events that happened this weekend, I think my views on the various ordinances that are being reviewed by the Board of Aldermen is beginning to change. I still think saggy pants ...

Now, what's the difference between these two pictures. Well, they both were taken in the same neighborhood and they both were, more than likely, about some foolishness. The one on the left was among Lumberton residents and was taken a year ago. The one on the right involved indivuals from Lumberton and Purvis and my posting the picuture led to me getting threatened on facebook. I think that's a crime, but when you have people that think fighting in the streets like a rabid dog is entertaining, I guess it gives you street creed to threaten a person over a picture, but in my Lil Wayne voice, No worries but I am dealing with it. While I was on facebook responding to this foolishness and trying to defend my right to post pictures of the foolishness that is considered normal in certain areas, I missed a firestorm that was brewing on another area of facebook. It seems that an innocent question about the possible change of the Lumberton Panthers name was turned into another race...

Undoubtedly, almost everyone in the City of Lumberton knows about the meelee that took place on Myrick Avenue yesterday. I was not part of the fight, but once again, the simpletons of Lumberton has manged to try to ascribe blame to me because I choose to post the picture you are seeing on my Instagram page. Now, I was told that I was trying to stir up the Lumberton/Purvis beef again. For those of you that are not aware of this conflict, it's the black folks version of the Hatfields and McCoys. It seems that no one knows how it started and it just seems to go on for generation after generation. I never got involved in the Lumberton vs. Purvis conflict because a lot of my friends and family are from Purvis. As a matter of fact, before my parents separated, I lived in Purvis. Therefore, it was quite diffucult for me to have beef, imagined or otherwise, with people I grew up with. Now, how I was blamed for the Annual Kick Off of the Lumberton Hoodie Fight Season, I don't know bu...

This was a low new week. The regular scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen was held. There were several new ordinances that are being considered by this board, including but not limited to establishing fines for those who wear their pants too low (exposing their underwear), an ordinance on the number of dogs a person can own within the city limits and a noise ordinance and fine system for excessive and/or unnecessary noise. I'm not certain how the latter would be determined. Would it be limited to music from passing cars or will it also include conversations because when some of these indivuduals travel on foot, they can generate a lot of noise and at times, I consider it both excessive and unnecessary. There will be a public hearing on this matter and I will keep you posted on when it will take place. It seems that this board is eager to have these ordinances established before the end of this term. Seems like someone has made some end of term promises but it...

The agenda for the board meeting was not long, but the board meeting was quite lengthy. The department heads gave their reports. One report of interest was the one presented by Public Works Director, Ryan Easley. During the report, he stated that there was a problem with the lift station at Frank Lee Homes. There was something said about a contact needing to be changed. I wonder if the board gave any consideration that the problem with the lift station could be what's attributing to the sporadic spikes in certain water bills. Also, it was noted that the City of Lumberton is behind in their water bill payments. The federally mandated payments for the water tower is over $14,000 in arrears. Now ain't that a kick in the head. The city is having all this trouble with water bills and water bill payments and it has been discovered that the water tower payments haven't been paid since December of 2012. Interesting. In addition to the water bill issues, it was also discovered th...