Lumberton Informer

The other day, there was an anonymous comment left on my blog. It reads as follows "...you are a liar and a sad little man. You live for free off the government, but complain about working people." Generally, I don't respond to anonymous comments because I feel that individuals that sit behind a computer and spew hate without revealing their identity are cowards. But it happens all the time. I stopped looking at comments on WDAM facebook page because of all the cowardly remarks that were being made anonymously. I really don't know why this comment stuck in my head. Maybe it was the culmination of events that are taking place outside of Lumberton. All the major news has been about Donald Sterling and his racist comments. As a blogger and an African-American male, I was not surprised by the statement he made. However, I was surprised by the quick response. We all know there are plenty of racists in this country and most would not commit the grevious error that landed...

There are several topics that have been sitting in my inbox for a while. Instead of posting several small posts, I would take this time to address them all at once. They range from the food pantry to issues with the park and the fact that elected officials love to overstep their bounds. First, let me address the food pantry gossip. There has been a lot of talk about the food pantry that had been established for Lamar County. The distribution site is located at Rogers Learning Center. The program is free and it offer food to individuals that qualify based on their household income. I went over to see the operation and it seems to be running efficiently; despite the low number of volunteers. The program rely on voluteerism and donations in order to remain viable. There was a rumor circulating that people were being charged for their food boxes and that is not true. There is a donation bottle in place at the facility and all monies collected are used for gas, packages and other essenti...

Over the Easter holiday, I decided to go to visit the Love's Addition cemetery. I knew Danny Davis had presented a public works employee to the board for termination and they granted him his request. I also knew that the person that was terminated was frequently seen mowing the grass. I generally go over to the cemetery to clean my great grandparent’s graves. They have been deceased for over thirty years and their gravestones need a good cleaning every now and then. Now this is not a tutorial in cleaning grave markers, but a few years ago, I discovered that a soft brush (preferably one with a handle) and ammonia were good for cleaning grave stones. Please refrain from using bleach, the elements in the bleach could damage the stone. Also, if you don't have ammonia, vodka could be used instead. Don't ask me how I know? But since this blog post was not about techniques in cleaning gravestones, I will get back to the original subject matter. I went to the cemetery to see if ...

Yesterday, I attended a meeting of the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee. The person that petitioned the committee had a very nasty disposition; especially since she continually claimed that she only had a few more years of living. The post is not about that meeting but to encounter someone that has a problem with an order of things is indicative of Lumberton. The problem she was having was not very difficult but she made it difficult because she did not want to take the proper steps for resolution. Instead, she wanted to rely on the word of Johnny Buckley and forget about the comprehensive plan that was in place. The situation is also proof that those that are in charge are not taking the time to read over the guidelines of the city. The matter was very minor. They, in essence, made a mountain out of a mole hill. But I have said time and time again, there’s a disconnect between reading and comprehension. There’s all this talk about the things I post in this blog but unlike oth...

I arrived at the meeting at 6:05 p.m. and they were already on page two of the agenda. After speaking with the deputy clerk, I was told that the matters involving the 2014 FAA-AIP Project were voted down because Gary Hickman had not concluded his work and was not prepared to present the information to the board for review and approval. Noticeably absent was Alderman Quincy Rogers. The board had already voted to proclaim the City of Lumberton a Purple Heart City. The board also voted, with trepidation, voted to allow Mr. Jimmy Holder to carry over 13 hours (not days) of vacation time to the next year. For some reason, that was a matter of great debate. There was an order to allow Elsie Cowart, Chief of Police, to attend the 2014 Association of Chiefs of Police Conference and to pay hotel, registration and per diem. The board also voted to allow Danny Davis, Public Works Director, to attend a short course for certification for Wastewater and to pay registration fee, test fee, hotel, p...

For some reason, I was not interested in blogging about the latest board meeting in the City of Lumberton. I guess I have grown weary of ringing the bell. However, after checking the metrics for the number of people logging onto the blog, I decided to post the review. The first order of business was to discuss and review approval of Mrs. Rachel Jefferson's proposal and presentation to the board a website for the City of Lumberton. The board will review the matter and thanks to Alderman Quincy Rogers, they will review any other presentations for a city website. At the start of his term, Mayor Ben Winston asked me to gather information for a city website but he never presented the idea to the board which is completely fine with me. I have a number of followers of this blog and I informed Mayor Winston that until I am on the payroll of the City of Lumberton, this blog will never cease. So, I will continue to inform via my format and I have no intentions of presenting a proposal ...