Lumberton Informer

You've been enriched in countless ways. There's no better way to make your mark on the world and to share that abundance with others. My constant prayer for myself is to be used in service for the greater good. Dr. King said, "Not everybody can be famous. But everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service." Those of you who are history scholars may know the rest of that passage. He said, "You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love." In a few moments, you all will be Lumberton High School Graduates of 2014. You have the heart and the smarts to go with it. And it's up to you to ...

My inbox runneth over. For some reason, the message I was trying to convey was somehow lost in translation. My last blog post was almost ten days ago. I had planned on blogging about the city's plan to create a website and the low pay of city employees but, as you all know, other events transpired and I felt compelled t share my opinions on the matter. Now, I generally don't like blogging about events that involve people from my community. Based on past experiences, the posts are taken too literally and I have often times found that I had to seek legal actions because of other's inability to deal with certain things I post. Now don't get ne wrong, there's plenty of people within the white community that detest the things I say but they usually email their threats. Today I made a reference to one of the emails I received. I inserted the phrase because it has been used repeatedly in reference to my blog. Unbeknownst to me, one of my Facebook friends posted the s...

There has been a lot going on in and around the City of Lumberton this week. Again, we were on the news but not in a good way. If you have not heard the news, then I don't know where you've been. After the first arrest, there was a post about Lumberton thug arrested or something to that affect. When I first saw their post, I was bothered by the use of the word thug; especially since the term was not used when the gang of gun hoarding, meth making family was arrested in Lumberton. However, as more and more comments were being made about the incident, the author of the original statement was seen in a more favorable light. The comments kept rolling in and I actually felt compelled to respond. For me to agree with the author was totally out of character and for me to comment on the page was weird as well. I generally don't comment or follow the page because of the things that are said but in the end, we may grip about our differences but in reality, we're more alike th...

Can any good thing come out of Lumberton. Yes it can. After I came home from last night's board meeting, I stated watching the six o'clock news on my DVR. I was listening to the news and I heard the name Willie Heidleberg. I was thinking to myself, I only knew one Willie Heidelburg and as soon as his picture flashed across the screen, I turned up the volume to make sure I didn't miss a word of the story. It seems that some students at the Purvis Middle School were fascinated by the triumphs and barriers that were broken by a young man that attended school in their city. Willie Heidleberg is a native of Lumberton but during his formative years, schools in Mississippi were still segregated. As a result, Heidleberg attended John Jefferson in Purvis, Mississippi. As the news story played, you could see that the kids and their teacher, were fascinated by the feats accomplished by Willie Heidleberg. Willie used his athletic prowess to gain what he wanted most; not notoriety b...

This post is a review of the regularly scheduled board meeting. This post is for those that are not able to attend the meeting due to their job schedules, health issues or any other reason that may prevent you from attending the meeting. This blog post is written by Jonathan F. Griffith and will include his perspectives. So, for those of you that have a problem with the way I blog, you may log off now. Now that I am speaking to those that are actually concerned about the City of Lumberton, the board meeting was as follows: The first person on the agenda was Mr. Russell Heidelberg, member of the Prichard, Alabama water board. Heidleberg addressed the board on issues that he felt could help the City of Lumberton regarding economic development. Heidleberg will meet with board members again to give more details about his plan of action. The board voted to discuss and receive quotes for appraisal services for the 2014 FAA-AIP project. The board accepted the quote from Lightsey &...

This week there's a revival being held at Morning Star Baptist Church. Revival is a gift from heaven. We don't work it up. God sends it down. The lineup for the event is as follows: Monday: Bro. Curtis Merritt, Church of the Way Tuesday: Rev. Jerry Rogers, Silver Creek Baptist Church Wednesday: Rev. Leonard Paige, Mt.Nebo Baptist Church Thursday: Rev. Perry Holder, Tabernacle Baptist Church Friday: Rev. Dennis Holder, Zion Hill Baptist Church Since revival is of God,we should pray for it. Isaiah 63:15-64:12.

Today there was a house fire in the City of Lumberton. I noticed the billowing clouds of smoke and after getting into my car, I saw the towering flames in the distance. One of my passengers encouraged me to drive closer but I did not want to add to the spectacle by crowding the scene with another car more spectators. As I continued in the opposite direction, it seemed that the firefighters were losing the battle but they seemingly fought a good fight. Aside from being a police officer, I think being a volunteer firefighter is at the top of the list as one of the most difficult jobs. There has been a lot of criticism of past and present volunteer fire departments. Some criticism was warranted but in the midst of attempting to save the home of another person, while putting your life on the line, none of that matters. Which brings me to the question, why is it so difficult to get individuals to volunteer for the Lumberton Volunteer Fire Department. There are those that have as...

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Across the country, people will gather for prayer breakfast and other events. The Minister Coalition of Lumberton, directed by Minister Paul Ockmond, will host an "Evening of Prayer" at the Ben Barrett Voting Precint/Community Center, Thrusday, May 1, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. President Obama issued the following proclamation for National Day of Prayer. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION One of our Nation's great strengths is the freedom we hold dear, including the freedom to exercise our faiths freely. For many Americans, prayer is an essential act of worship and a daily discipline. Today and every day, prayers will be said for comfort for those who mourn, healing for those who are sick, protection for those who are in harm's way, and strength for those who lead. Today and every day, forgiveness and reconciliation will be sought through prayer. Across our country, Americans give thanks for our many bles...