Lumberton Informer

Monica Sibley was a very special and deeply loved 39 year old daughter, grand daughter, sister, mother, grand mother, aunt, cousin, and friend that was taken from her family and friends far too soon. Her family has a lot to deal with right now along with financial worries that are assoicated with Monica's untimely death. The family needs assistance in preparing for the funeral services for Monica Sibley. Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated. An account has been set up at Bancorp South for anyone interested in making a donation to help with these final expenses. Please note, any contribution, big or small, would be greatly appreciated. All monies collected will be used to assist the family as they prepare to bury their loved one. Also, please remember to keep the Sibley Family in your prayers as they travel down the difficult road that lies ahead of them. Thanking you in advance for your contribution.

JACKSON, Miss. – Belhaven University and the Department of Athletics are mourning the loss of Assistant Football Coach Willie Heidelburg. Coach Heidelburg, who was in his 15th season at Belhaven as an assistant coach, was found deceased at home Monday morning of an apparent heart attack. The funeral service will be held Monday October 21 at 11:00 AM at Christ United Methodist Church. The church is located at 6000 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS. "I had the privilege of being coached by Coach Heidelburg as well as having him as a close colleague over the past five years," Belhaven Head Coach Joe Thrasher said. "He is a man who lived out his faith. His passion for football was only second to his love for Christ. He is a man who leaves an incredible legacy behind and who will continue to have an impact on lives long after his time on earth." Heidelburg began his career with the Blazers in 1999, coaching the running backs and wide receivers and served as Running Back...

Well, I finally got the opportunity to read the article that was in this week's Lamar Times (front page). In the header, Winston is quoted as saying "This is one of the most serious times this city has ever faced." The city has been in dire straits for a long time and people were running for office without a minute clue as to what was going on with the city; fiscally. There was a lot of about missing money and certain people not paying water bills but there has yet to be any charges filed regarding this alleged misappropriation of municipal funds. It seem that Lumberton is in a continual downward spiral. It has always been known that the police department take up a large portion of the budget for every city; not just the City of Lumberton. Winston said that "the city budget is about $1.1 million dollars" and from that budget, $520,000 is used to keep the Lumberton Police Department operational. Winston said that "the city's financial situation may be...

I heard earlier that the press was interviewing Mayor Winston. So, I was online looking at Hattieburg American. I decided to check the Lamar Times and low and behold, I saw the following headline: "Lumberton mayor eyeing big cuts to police budget." Seriously? I have had a litny of issues with the Hobson ran police department, but despite those issues, I know that the City of Lumberton is in dire need of EVERYONE of the officers that are on duty. Leaving the City of Lumberton without adequate police services is, pardon the terminology, like removing the cages at the zoo. I already posted that the police department need more cars so they could adequately serve and protect the citizens of Lumberton. I don't want to imagine the chaos that will ensure without coverage on certain shifts. I don't think people that make budget cuts take into consideration that the budgets they're cutting directly affects the lives of others. I find it in very poor taste that you are loo...

This year, there's a variety of shirt colors offered for the 3rd Annual Dianne Bennett Memorial Breast Cancer Walk. Please don't forget to help support this event on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. at the Wood-Hinton Park. This year, the day of the event is actually on the birthday of Dianne Bennett. So, it will be a dual celebration with plenty of food, fun and entertainment. Heeling Hearts and Celebrating Hope.

The Third Annual Dianne Bennett's Memorial Breast Cancer Foundation will be hosting its "Heeling Hearts" celebration Saturday, October 19,2013 at the Wood-Hinton Park. The Breast Cancer Walk will begin at 9:00 am and the other activities will begin at 10:00 am. There will be food, fun and fellowship. The event is free and family friendly. Bring everyone out to help celebrate a worthy cause.

e Months before Lumberton’s municipal election, I was on the trail to discovering what led to the closure of Dirt Cheap. After making several calls, I was informed that the reason Dirt Cheap closed its Lumberton location was because the owners of the building raised the leasing fee. Now, how many of you are just as shocked as I am? All this time, I thought they owned the building. I had no idea that they were leasing the building. I discovered this information a long time ago but I didn’t want to be accused of trying to sway the voter with this information. Also, I never imagined that Lumberton would elect Winston to serve a mayor. I have always been committed to exposing the “truths “ of Lumberton, regardless of what was said about me or my methodology. I am not one that viewed the events of Lumberton unfold from the forest nor am I an individual that has been blinded by the Miriam Holder hate trees. There are those that hated our previous may so much that it did not matter what I p...

In case you haven’t heard, there was yet another case of gun violence in the City of Lumberton. This seems to be a recurring issue in Lumberton and apparently, they’re not going to stop until someone is either seriously hurt or killed. Thankfully, neither has happened. I guess we can thank God for cheap guns and bad aim. For one, I am not certain why “so called thugs” are using guns as their weapons of choice. Aren’t you “bad”? Then why are you pulling guns on people? But I don’t think Einstein could decipher the mindset of these individuals. Immediately after the latest display of gun violence, there were those who quickly took to social media and blamed the violence on the lack of activities as well as the closure of the game room and the “Hut.” Really??? There are those that say the game room and the Hut were closed because they were spots frequented by (okay, I’m not about to be politically correct) Black people. While others say the spots were closed because the gathering usua...

I generally don’t blog on the weekend but while working on one subject; another subject matter was brought to my attention. I was researching some information about having individuals put out of board meetings. At the last board meeting, a resident had some questions and after Kent Crider whispered in his ear, Mayor Ben Winston threatened to have the person removed, forcibly, by the Chief of Police. I have searched high and low and could not find a legal justification for having a person put out of a public board meeting for expressing their freedom of speech. I was so concerned about this matter that I actually contacted the ACLU and gave them an overview of what happened. After speaking with a representative, I was told that a person cannot be put out of a board meeting for talking. I was informed that a person can be removed from a meeting for threats and acts of violence; not freedom of speech. It would behoove Mayor Winston to ask that residents attending the board meeting follo...

Today is a continuation of the items that were not included in the review of the board meeting. Before delving into today's post, I would like to say that I am glad that others are taking the initiative and reporting about incidents at the school. I don't know what happened and I didn't report it because I was out of town. However, I am certain that there are a lot of concerned parents that are appreciative of the notification. I don't have any children at the school but I am glad that everyone is well and whatever crisis may have occurred has been averted. Now, on to today's post. There were some other agenda items that were discussed. One of the WTF or OMG moments was the fact that the following appointees were asked to submit a contract to the Mayor and Board of Alderpersons: Lindsay Carter, City Attorney, Edwin Pittman, Judge, Douglass Miller, Prosecuting Attorney and Thomas Schwartz, Defense Attorney. I don't know why this request was submitted. Is there...

Well, the board and the sides they are choosing have started to emerge. There were so many amendments to this agenda that they needed a sewing kit. The first agenda item was to allow Chad Hocut of C-Spire to speak to the board regarding telephone, cell phone, long distance and internet services. The board voted to replace the landline phones with an internet based phone system. Please note: if the internet goes down; the phone systems goes down. The board amended the agenda to accept the copier upgrade from OCE (Canon). Afterwards, there was the drawn out process of getting the reports from department heads. Chief Cowart briefed the board on the $766,617.70 in uncollected fines. Chief Cowart also presented the board with information regarding the need to purchase more police cars. There are board members that want the city to pay for their cell phone services but they seemingly swept the need for cars under the rug. I will blog more about that later this week. The LPD cars are l...

We’re in the midst of a Republican orchestrated governmental shut down. For some reason, they think this move would halt the Affordable Health Care Plan (aka Obama-Care) but it did not. Well, while millions in the nation are dealing with how this will affect them and their families, I find myself putting out another Lumberton Informer flame that has apparently been smoldering for quite some time. Some anonymous person sent me the following email: “You love to talk about having checks and balances in place but there’s system of checks and balances in place for the things you say on your blog.” The person posted this email on a blog post that was published in 2012; therefore, it would be highly unlikely for others to see this post. Now, let me get out my envelope so I can address the haters. In my Sheeree from RHOA (Real Housewives of Atlanta) voice……Who gone check me boo? For the record, I don’t need a system of checks and balances in place for this blog. If the information I post i...