Lumberton Informer

Jerry Walters, LVFD Chief wanted to know why I said the Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department needed revamping. Well, I'm glad you asked. Maybe revamping was not the correct word to use. The LVFD needs to be restructured. If this is truly a volunteer fire department, then the LVFD needs to be operated in the same manner as other fire departments in the surrounding counties. I know there are some that say $1,000/per month is not a lot of money to pay for the professional services of the LVFD. Looking at it on a monthly basis, it may not be a lot of money, but over the course of four years, $1,000/per month becomes $48,000. That's a lot of money; especially when the City of Lumberton has no indication of how this money is being spent. Walters is quick to quote what is acceptable and permitted in the guidelines of the fire support group, but I feel if the city if paying this money, in addition to maintenance of the equipment, payment of electric bills, water bills, telephone bills...

I was speaking with pee-wee football coach, Stanley "Roper" McGowan, and he told me that the sign up season and practice sessions will begin Saturday, June 22,2013. Any parents interested in signing up their children for the 2013 Pee-Wee Football Season should come out to the Carl Hancock Sports Complex on Saturday morning for more details.

This Saturday (6/15/2013), a lot of you were privy to the following message posted by LVFD Chief Jerry Walters: Well, I just got off the phone with County Fire Coordinator and he told me to shut the department down, not to respond to issue of any call, fire or medical, because of liability issues. The issue at hand is not something that just happened, so i'm not going to call anybody out without proof. This non-profit organization started 1999 by then Chief Johnnie Grant. When I took over 4 years ago, a lot of paperwork and equipment went missing. So, with that being said, I think the ball was dropped back then. I just found out about it Friday. I know some of you think this is funny, but I don't! I've got to find some way to protect the citizens. This bars me from going on any medical call and we aren't allowed to respond to any house fire. All I have heard is bad mouthing the fire department every since I got here. This fire department is shown disrespect at every s...

I wasn't going to blog today but after posting a note on the Lumberton Informer Facebook page this morning, the natives became restless. So, here I am again, having to put out a false alarm. Yes, I used the word saltine and almost every white person came out the woodwork yelling RACIST!!! Are you loosing the debate? Shout racist in an attempt to silence the opposition. Generally, that works, but not for me. I won't be silenced. Not by the one sided views of others? It was said that I love to attack and re-attack. Well, that could be true. But if you say that 80% of my posts are false, then I'm going to continue to harp on that misinformation until you prove that you are correct. Just because you reached out to me in an effort to quell the disagreement, does not mean I'm going to stop speaking on the accusation you made. People can't just say things and don't expect to back up their remarks. You say 8 out of every 10 posts are completely false. Well, the ball ...

Mayor Miriam R. Holder officiated her final board meeting as an elected official. City clerk, Merlene Wall went over the budget and expenditures report; outlining the triumphs made as she tries to dig the city out of the fiscal ditch we were in. It seems that there were bank statements that were never opened, accounts that were left unreconciled and numerous accounts, including insurance coverage, that was several months delinquent (due to non-payment). Essentially, the board has been voting in the dark; not know where the city stands in regards to their finances. Thankfully, we now have a clerk that is working wonders in getting us from under the fiscal cliff levied upon the citizens of Lumberton. The reports show a remarkable amount of accountability and Merlene has done an outstanding job in the clerk’s office with collection and Betty Speights has also done an excellent job in collecting and logging fine payments as the Court Clerk. Kudos to those now working at city hall. Th...

Did I see a comment that asked why does everything come back to race? Is this person blind? Race is still an issue in America and race is definitely an issue in the City of Lumberton. Our city is a microcosm of the things taking place in America. After the election of President Obama, there was the hope that our country has moved to post-racism. Unfortunately, the election of America's first black President has forced people back into their racial corners; waiting for the opportunity to put up their dukes and fight for their "cause." The truth of the matter is, racism still exist. There's a lot of division in the City of Lumberton and if you're not on board with their school of thinking, you're labeled as a trouble maker or as someone that's stirring the pot. One person in boxed me and asked why am I still blogging with the low number of votes I received. Really? Am I supposed to hang my head down low because others don't value the blood that was s...

Again someone in boxed me about something they felt was directed towards me on another Lumberton site. So, I will share with you what was said, and I will give you my views of this so-called prayer. Gloria Townsend said the following: I am sending pleas to all the praying people that love Lumberton. Please pray with me that the Lord will close the mouth of those that are speaking things that will cause division and not bring unity in our city. I believe that the Lord told me that this is a New Beginning. He is about to pour His Spirit out on this place. God wants people to come together. It is time to tear those barriers down that divide. This choice is ours; we can be part of the problem or the solution. It is up to each one of us, and God will hold us accountable. PRAY! Now, I'm always looking for a conspiracy in something but let me point out to you the fact that she said "close the mouth of those that are speaking things that will cause division". Is it just m...

Last night I attended municipal court for the first time since the City of Lumberton hired the new judge. Judge Pittman is a refreshing difference from the previous municipal judge. He came into the court room and went into his chambers (also the executive meeting room for the board of aldermen) and he came out with a robe on. The judge was announced by a police officer. While waiting for the judge to take his seat on the bench, I thought to myself, this feels like a real court. The level of professionalism that is on display is remarkable. Everyone from the court clerk, Betty Speights to the judge was on point. All the police officers were there and they were in their uniforms and waiting to testify in their court cases. I'm not one that's easily impressed, but this was a moment I was impressed by those representing the City of Lumberton. Also, I got an opportunity to see another side of our police department. The officers are as different as the community they serve and p...

I just heard that there are some, but it's probably more like one or two, that are upset about the actions of the Lumberton Police Department. According to what I heard, there were some adults that were asked to leave from a particular location (Myrick and North 10th Street). There are some that brought up this an a violation of the Curfew Ordinance. Well, when Hobson was serving as Chief of Police, I had to learn the laws. There was an incident on Myrick a couple of years ago, and serveral individuals were taken to jail. Why? Because they disobeyed a lawful order. The police said to leave and they refused to do so. This resulted in them going to jail. If you are loitering on a corner, in a residential area, the police have the right to tell you to leave. If you fail to comply, you are in violation of a lawful order. The City of Lumberton does have a curfew ordinance and it does not apply to anyone over the age of 18. Howver, a police officer can tell you to leave a particular...

I don't know if it was due to the tenant meeting that was held Friday or if the Lumberton Police Department has beefed up their security, but it was a very peaceful weekend. Unlike other weekends, there were no stragglers hanging on the corners of Myrick and North 1oth Street. Well, there were a few, but for the most part, they were absent. However, there was a rally of window shaking music. Hopefully, the new board will go ahead and pass the noise ordinance. I'm eager to see how many "ballers" are going to keep blasting their music after getting hit with a $500 fine. One of the clear indicators that the police department was on patrol is the lack of debris in the street. Generally, people on the move don't leave their droppings (trash) behind. However, those that loiter, have a tendency to go to the local eating establishments, bring their bags of food or whatever, stand on the corner and eat. First of all, I never understood the concept of eating outdoors;...

One more post before I step off this soap box. The other day, there were some people on the Connection that thought the low voter turnout was humorous. Due to my knowledge of historical relevance of what it took for African-Americans to obtain the right to vote, I fail to see any humor in the fact that able bodied individuals don't exercise their right to vote. And please, let's be clear on this matter. I'm not talking about those that did not vote for me, I'm talking about those that did not vote at all. There are 252 registered voters in Ward 3 but only 98 cast votes on Election Day. So, there were 154 votes that were never cast. As we saw in the recent Hattiesburg election, every vote counts. I am thankful that I knew of the struggle it took to get the right to vote. My great grandmother, Brookie Ceasar, shared with me the ordeal her and my grandfather, Henry Ceasar, endured in their effort to obtain the right to vote. She told me they were once asked to recit...

This election has thrown me for a loop. I am more upset that Mayor Holder did not get re-elected than I am about not getting elected. I'm sorry to disappoint the readers of the blog, but regardless of who was elected in Ward 3, they have a good representation on the board. However, there's no voice for the younger generation on the board, but since the younger generation did not get out to vote, I guess they didn't want their voices heard. Now. On to the issues at hand. It's no secret that I did not support Ben Winston. Personally, I can't support anyone that will have an elderly woman charged with trespassing for going to her home church and I cannot support a man that will pay thousands, in order to make sure his city does not get any revenue from the sale of the formaldehyde trailers that led to the demise of the Planning and Zoning Committee. Also, the antics that took place at City Hall the day after election, further let me know that Ben Winston is not the...

Yesterday, the Lumberton Informer face book page was blowing up. I'm thinking of transitioning the entire blog to the face book page, but I keep the traditional blog open because some people don't like using face book. I found out some things about what happened at City Hall earlier that day and I posted a brief summary of the events and things went haywire from that post. One of the readers of the blog said "Saltines are coming out of the woodworks" and the heated conversations ensued from there. One person took the liberties of posting about the post in a closed group. She claimed that she could not post her response on the Informer page, but the fact that she could see the comment, meant she could post a response. She posted the response on another page because she wanted a reaction from the Confederate sympathizers. That page is filled with so much hate and bias that it makes me look like a church boy. But again, it's only hateful when I post the information...

Tuesday, June 4, 2013 was the day of reckoning for the City of Lumberton. The citizens of Lumberton went to the polls to vote on the new administration. Well, a few of the citizens of Lumberton went to the polls to vote on the new administration because based on the numbers, there were about 650 of the 1574 registered voters showed up at the polls. As a result, we have a new mayor, Ben Winston. But we also have a new Alderwoman at Large, Cora Rogers. The other new member of the board is Tommy Dukes, Alderman of Ward 4; he was unopposed in the election. Jay McGrew was also unopposed and Quincy Rogers won the right to serve another four years as Alderman of Ward 3. Now, as it was reported in Hattiesburg American, the monthly salary for these positions is $1/month, but I have a feeling that will quickly change after the new board is sworn in on July 1, 2013. I will get back to the election, but yesterday, there was also a regular scheduled meeting of the mayor and board of aldermen....

One more day and the residents of Lumberton will head to the polls to choose the candidates that will represent their city for the next four years. As I have said time and time again, we're either gonna stay chained to the past or we're going to move boldly into the future. Several candidates were featured in the Hattiesburg American. For some reason, Alderman Kent Crider (Ward 1) and Alderman at Large Bobby Gibson did not respond to the questionnaires. Mayor Miriam Holder said you should vote for her because: Projects are forthcoming and do not need to be altered. With my experience, I know how to get the projects completed. Current projects include a 2013 CDBG Public Facilities Grant, a $400,000 water/sewer grant for the Love Addition, a 2013 FAA-AIP Project, a camera study of the sewer mains at Lumberton schools, a 2013 Small Municipalities and Limited Population grant and to implement the reinstated Planning and Zoning Committee to help accommodate the growth that is g...