I had no idea that the board was having a special called meeting last night. I went to city hall with the hopes to attend the meeting of the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee, but I realized that a board meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. When I arrived, they were in the midst of discussing payment of $500 to Dan Shelton, Chief of the Lumberton Fireproof Panthers for the work he performed on the fire truck. There matter was being discussed but when I entered the building, Mayor Winston tried to hurry the process and take a vote on the matter. I am not certain why he was in such a rush and no longer wanted to discuss the matter. What I do know is, at the last regularly scheduled board meeting, everyone was gushing and handing out kudos to Dean for the great job he preformed and how he saved the city money. Well, he sat there and took in all the atta boys but at no point during the meeting did he say the City of Lumberton was going to have to pay for the parts and the labor. Before going into more details about this matter, let me address this tidbit. Who is the fire chief? Everytime something is being said about the fire department, this Olive Oyle-esqe woman is the only person talking. She is the one giving reports and whenver there's a question about the fire department, she is the only one talking. So, is she the spokesperson for the fire department or is she the unofficial chief of the fire department. Also, what happened to Darren, the one that was selected to head the fire department when the city was making a decision about which fire support group was going to be selected for the City of Lumberton. Also, Lumberton is not that big and I am certian that we don't have that many individuals with the training to lead the department, but why are we eliminating all qualifed/experienced individuls everytime we get a new fire chief. Regardless of what people may think of Jerry Walters, former fire chief, there's no doubt that he loves the City of Lumberton and as a fire chief, he was more than capable of addressing the board about the matters concerning the fire department. The fact that the current fired chief does not seem to have the ability to vocalize the concerns of the fire department makes me wonder what other areas of need are not being properly addressed.
Also, it seems that we are having a deju vu moment with the City of Lumberton. Whenever there was problem with the billing or anything of that nature, the former clerk would say it was a computer glitch or a problem with the BBI programmming. I noticed there was an agenda item to pay a Public Works employee $837 in vacation pay. I am not certain how the board voted on this matter, but after the meeting, I discovered that Otis Washington is not receiving pay and he is not working because he is under a doctor's care. With raised eyebrows, I am wonding what is going on with that case. I know there are members of his family that need to go with him to city hall to get some resolution to this matter and find out why he's not getting paid. I had to assist another employee with a matter of this nature because he was not understanding what was going on and it seems that another employee may be experiencing the same thing. Hopefully, one of his family members will step in and offer their assistance. I'm just concerned that he's treated equitabily since his name was on last months agenda for termination.
Another matter that was discussed before my arrival was the agenda item to reimburse Cora Rogers for her attendance to the CSD Compliance Workshop in Tupelo, MS on September 20, 2013 in the amount of $513.07. After the meeting, I was told that the matter died for a lack of a second. So, I am assuming that Jay McGraw offered the motion and Cridukes (I just combined Crider and Dukes names because they usually vote the same on every issue so it's just easier to give them a moniker that identifes them both) did not second the motion. I would like to commend Alderwoman Rogers for attempting to set aside personal issues and work with Mayor Winston. I am certain it's not an easy task; especailly given their history. But as Mayor Winston stated in the last board meeting when this item was on the agenda, she's going to have to take them to court to get her money.
There were a few other items on the agenda but they were minor. The board concluded the meeting by going into a workshop. They were looking for ways to save the City of Lumberton money. It seems we are still having trouble with meter readings. I heard about the fact that a vacant unit at Frank Lee Homes received a water bill for over $100. At first I said there could have been people using the water, but when I was told that there was a lock/seal on the meter and it was covered in dirt, I didn't have any response. Well, it seems that the promises that were made about getting the $2,600 hand held meter reader was not true. It seems that multiple individuls are still used to read the meters. Therefore, it seems that we were giving some mis-information about the expensive work tool that was considered a necessity, but again, we are still having the same troubles as before. So, not much has changed. I don't know about anyone else, but it seems that we, as a city, were hoodwinked and lead astray and made another unnecessary purchase. Now I will step off the soapbox and give some more details about what else was discussed in the workshop. They are checking on the viability of a recycling program. The benefit is supposed to be able to save a job. That's all good and well, but at some point in the discussion, one would think that someone would want to know, where is the cost saving benefit that's going to be passed on to the customer. They kept talking about saving the City of Lumberton money, but nothing about saving the taxpayers money. The citizens did not create this mess. Well, not directly. They did elect the individuals that created this mess and did not demand accountability; so I guess they inadvertently created this mess, but that's neither here nor there; moving on. The board is also wanted to check into the feasibility of sending out water bills via email. Again, where is the benefit to the citizen for this process. There was also a discussion to use prison help for cutting the grass, meter reading and garbage collection.
Crider then interjected saying we that all the Public Works Employees are standing at Big K or the Shell Station every moring 30 mintues after the start of their shift. Crider also said that every day, 30 minutes prior to the end of their shift, they are sitting at the barn waiting to clock out. Crider said we are losing an hour a day with the working avoiding work and the start and end of their shifts. Another eyebrow raising moment was the fact that they want to put an ad in the newspaper to have citizens volunteer to work as police officers. Really? The citizens are already complaining about the police department. Now you want to put volunteers into police positions to help partol the City of Lumberton. There was an request to review the gas expense for the police dpeartment and the public works department. At first I was thinking it was about the total departments but they specifically stated for Columbia an Petal. Apparently, someone is having a problem with the Chief of Police and the Public Works Director using the trucks provided to them for transportation. Also, there was an comment about having the Chief of Police pull a shift. I thought that was something she was already doing and then some. So, what is she doing 8-10 hours a day if she's not pulling a shift. The other thing that caught my attention, admist all this talk of saving money and living better was the proposal to get tablets (iPad or something similar) for the mayor and alderman. On that note, I will exit this post and if something else happens, I will surely let you know. They haven't set a date to discuss these matters, but they are asking for more cost saving suggestions. I guess they need to save money so they can get the new toys for the board.
I had no idea that the board was having a special called meeting last night. I went to city hall with the hopes to attend the meeting of the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee, but I realized that a board meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. When I arrived, they were in the midst of discussing payment of $500 to Dan Shelton, Chief of the Lumberton Fireproof Panthers for the work he performed on the fire truck. There matter was being discussed but when I entered the building, Mayor Winston tried to hurry the process and take a vote on the matter. I am not certain why he was in such a rush and no longer wanted to discuss the matter. What I do know is, at the last regularly scheduled board meeting, everyone was gushing and handing out kudos to Dean for the great job he preformed and how he saved the city money. Well, he sat there and took in all the atta boys but at no point during the meeting did he say the City of Lumberton was going to have to pay for the parts and the labor. Before going into more details about this matter, let me address this tidbit. Who is the fire chief? Everytime something is being said about the fire department, this Olive Oyle-esqe woman is the only person talking. She is the one giving reports and whenver there's a question about the fire department, she is the only one talking. So, is she the spokesperson for the fire department or is she the unofficial chief of the fire department. Also, what happened to Darren, the one that was selected to head the fire department when the city was making a decision about which fire support group was going to be selected for the City of Lumberton. Also, Lumberton is not that big and I am certian that we don't have that many individuals with the training to lead the department, but why are we eliminating all qualifed/experienced individuls everytime we get a new fire chief. Regardless of what people may think of Jerry Walters, former fire chief, there's no doubt that he loves the City of Lumberton and as a fire chief, he was more than capable of addressing the board about the matters concerning the fire department. The fact that the current fired chief does not seem to have the ability to vocalize the concerns of the fire department makes me wonder what other areas of need are not being properly addressed.
Also, it seems that we are having a deju vu moment with the City of Lumberton. Whenever there was problem with the billing or anything of that nature, the former clerk would say it was a computer glitch or a problem with the BBI programmming. I noticed there was an agenda item to pay a Public Works employee $837 in vacation pay. I am not certain how the board voted on this matter, but after the meeting, I discovered that Otis Washington is not receiving pay and he is not working because he is under a doctor's care. With raised eyebrows, I am wonding what is going on with that case. I know there are members of his family that need to go with him to city hall to get some resolution to this matter and find out why he's not getting paid. I had to assist another employee with a matter of this nature because he was not understanding what was going on and it seems that another employee may be experiencing the same thing. Hopefully, one of his family members will step in and offer their assistance. I'm just concerned that he's treated equitabily since his name was on last months agenda for termination.
Another matter that was discussed before my arrival was the agenda item to reimburse Cora Rogers for her attendance to the CSD Compliance Workshop in Tupelo, MS on September 20, 2013 in the amount of $513.07. After the meeting, I was told that the matter died for a lack of a second. So, I am assuming that Jay McGraw offered the motion and Cridukes (I just combined Crider and Dukes names because they usually vote the same on every issue so it's just easier to give them a moniker that identifes them both) did not second the motion. I would like to commend Alderwoman Rogers for attempting to set aside personal issues and work with Mayor Winston. I am certain it's not an easy task; especailly given their history. But as Mayor Winston stated in the last board meeting when this item was on the agenda, she's going to have to take them to court to get her money.
There were a few other items on the agenda but they were minor. The board concluded the meeting by going into a workshop. They were looking for ways to save the City of Lumberton money. It seems we are still having trouble with meter readings. I heard about the fact that a vacant unit at Frank Lee Homes received a water bill for over $100. At first I said there could have been people using the water, but when I was told that there was a lock/seal on the meter and it was covered in dirt, I didn't have any response. Well, it seems that the promises that were made about getting the $2,600 hand held meter reader was not true. It seems that multiple individuls are still used to read the meters. Therefore, it seems that we were giving some mis-information about the expensive work tool that was considered a necessity, but again, we are still having the same troubles as before. So, not much has changed. I don't know about anyone else, but it seems that we, as a city, were hoodwinked and lead astray and made another unnecessary purchase. Now I will step off the soapbox and give some more details about what else was discussed in the workshop. They are checking on the viability of a recycling program. The benefit is supposed to be able to save a job. That's all good and well, but at some point in the discussion, one would think that someone would want to know, where is the cost saving benefit that's going to be passed on to the customer. They kept talking about saving the City of Lumberton money, but nothing about saving the taxpayers money. The citizens did not create this mess. Well, not directly. They did elect the individuals that created this mess and did not demand accountability; so I guess they inadvertently created this mess, but that's neither here nor there; moving on. The board is also wanted to check into the feasibility of sending out water bills via email. Again, where is the benefit to the citizen for this process. There was also a discussion to use prison help for cutting the grass, meter reading and garbage collection.
Crider then interjected saying we that all the Public Works Employees are standing at Big K or the Shell Station every moring 30 mintues after the start of their shift. Crider also said that every day, 30 minutes prior to the end of their shift, they are sitting at the barn waiting to clock out. Crider said we are losing an hour a day with the working avoiding work and the start and end of their shifts. Another eyebrow raising moment was the fact that they want to put an ad in the newspaper to have citizens volunteer to work as police officers. Really? The citizens are already complaining about the police department. Now you want to put volunteers into police positions to help partol the City of Lumberton. There was an request to review the gas expense for the police dpeartment and the public works department. At first I was thinking it was about the total departments but they specifically stated for Columbia an Petal. Apparently, someone is having a problem with the Chief of Police and the Public Works Director using the trucks provided to them for transportation. Also, there was an comment about having the Chief of Police pull a shift. I thought that was something she was already doing and then some. So, what is she doing 8-10 hours a day if she's not pulling a shift. The other thing that caught my attention, admist all this talk of saving money and living better was the proposal to get tablets (iPad or something similar) for the mayor and alderman. On that note, I will exit this post and if something else happens, I will surely let you know. They haven't set a date to discuss these matters, but they are asking for more cost saving suggestions. I guess they need to save money so they can get the new toys for the board.
When i was Chief, We didn't charge the city labor for automotive work. We replaced the radiator in the suburban and did a copmplete tune up and the city didn't have to pay anything. We had mechanics that volunteered their time. I ran the Fire Department to the best of my ability and always accounted to city hall for all P.O.'s requested. We also hardly ever missed a medical call. Thanks for your compliment. I always did those things that i felt were in the best interest of the Citizens of Lumberton. Given the chance, I would do it again.
ReplyDeleteIf i'm not mistaken, they are meeting every Tuesday night
ReplyDeleteMr. Informer,
ReplyDeleteWhile you are talking about the Fireproof Panthers saving the city money, the Lumberton Fire Department did it's part. While Mr. Winston was on the board of Supervisors, under the recommendation of Fire Coordinator George Stevens, the Board of Supervisors voted UNAMOUSILY not to renew it's contract with the City of Lumberton. The next day when they came and took their tanker out of the station, we didn't hang our heads and cry. We went to Mt. Olive and bought the big Army truck from the Forestry Commission, It didn't cost the city anything. We worked for 2 week on getting a tank put on it, at no cost to the city. Then, when the pump went out an the tank busted again on the brush truck, we got a new pump & tank for it, all at no cost to the city. Three of our Firefighters worked for about 12 hours and i was there about 8 of those hours when the city was trying to clean out all of those sewer pipes because of the grease coming from Bad to the bone. None of any of those things were mentioned at a board meeting. We kept the fire station open for 72 hrs during hurricaine Isaac. Hardly anything was said about that. Yet, when the Fireproof Panthers go sit at the tracks for part of the day because of a gas leak, they were praised to the high heavens. I've got news for everybody, we did a darn good job for the citizens of his city, and NOONE died without a first responder on scene. I'm sorry if i upset anybody, that is not my intent. But those are the facts. And since it was told to Alderwoman Rogers that i would never be back on that fire department, i thought i would speak my mind, since my 2 applications i turned in with the fire department were swept under the rug.
why is u always be talking bout our fire department. its up to codes and is run by the best. Darren couldn't handle the pressure but deans wife she know whats up. plus, our masonic brothers help us when we have medical calls.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have been told by a lot of citizens, no medical calls are being made. If your masonic brothers are helping you on medical calls, they better have insurance. I'm not talking down on the department, I'm speaking facts. People didn't like me, but I got the job done. I wasn't Chief because I wanted to be liked. I was Chief because I had the experience and could handle the job. You can't tell me much about Dean's wife. I have known her for many years. She may be able to run a business but she knows nothing about firefighting. Now Dean, he's a firefighter, and a darn good one. I have nothing but good to say about him and his abilities. I'm just not understanding why they say that I will never be allowed on the fire department. Usually experience is asked for and in the fire service it is preferred. I not only have experience, but I'm also a Nationally Registered EMT. So, you explain to me why I have turned in 2 applications and am not allowed to be on the department. The only reasonable explanation is that your hate for me is stronger than your love for the citizens of this city. Prove me wrong. Let me help.
DeleteU IS STUPID
DeleteTrash talk is cheap so like the new department the crispy panthers
ReplyDeleteThe best most them are rejects from the other department who couldn't hack it. Deans wife don't know shit from shinola she to burnt out from popping pills. So yeah talk is cheap just like the new department the lumberton rejects
ReplyDeleteGuys, the general populace is avoiding driving through Lumberton because the city is broke and
ReplyDeletecops sitting at 4 way writing tickets for failure to stop, they are making the wrong call on that way to often.
I look forward to the day when Lumberton is patrolled by LC Sherrifs like Oak Grove. And its coming...
How about we leave the fire department alone and worry about the wife beating sob at the Lumberton Police Department. I heard he been abusing women on the job too. Just look up the names of a few Lumberton police officers on lamar county mugshots and see if you recognize anyone. Look at the losers the city is paying to have sex behind strahans old building on Industrial. Jonathan, you do a great job, watch your back with these wannabes.
ReplyDeletePeople trip me out...They have all these negative things to say But they are afraid to say who they really are...lmao MAN UP.... WTG Mr. Griffith at least you don't hide behind the word ANONYMOUS.
ReplyDelete@ anonymous you might want to do your homework a little better as for as for as rejects on the LPD most of the guys on the force are young and been rejected from no department. As for as the wife beating sob would never and has never happened. You see anyone can be charged with a crime including yourself that's why we have court systems to determine guilt or innocence. Furthermore police officers have to meet very high standards in the state of Mississippi at all times and if they do not strict discipline is enforced as well as termination of employment. Not only from the officers current department but from being unable to work in any other department as well. You see my friend while your sitting somewhere thinking that your very educated on all walks of life you may want to study a little harder and know the facts before you continue to make yourself look like a jealous fool. So while LPD patrols the streets at all hours of the day and night rain, sleet, or snow. Remember who you going to call when your life or your families life could be at stake. LPD will keep you and yours safe at all costs.. Happy holidays !!
ReplyDeleteI don't know who all any of these people are but, I do know that on November 5 at about 5 am. When two guy with guns attaced my brother and and I no first responders, responed when calling 911. Two officers and AAA responded quit quickly. The chief from what I can see is working well on the case. I also have always thought very highly of Mr. Winston until to my unstanding he would like to limit LPD.
ReplyDelete