I'm Confused! No Wait...Maybe I'm Not. Nope, I'm Confused!
This really wasn't the blog post planned for today. I had 2 posts that I wanted to post before court on Monday, June 1, 2015 but I was side tracked by the special called meeting, the growing amount of a loan and Mayor Winston's interview with WHLT 22. I'm not going to go into too many details of the interview but would someone explain the meaning of infastretcha. Is is anything like infrastructure? I'm just wondering since Winston said it several times during his interview. Before getting to the meat of this post, I have some good news. Those of you that provided me with your email addresses, you will be able to access the 2 new posts that will follow this one. The rest of you will be able to access the posts at 9:00 am on Monday, June 1, 2015. Please note, you will be able to access the other blog post, the 2 new posts will be accessible through your email address and the password protected link you will receive.
Now on to today's post. After the special called meeting, Winston reluctantly gave an interview. He didn't want to talk about the police department cuts and claimed that the County would have to take over if we could no longer afford police protection. Not true. Lamar County is not budgeted to take over Lumberton's police department. In order for Lamar County to take over, this mayor and board would have to go through the process of unincorporating the City of Lumberton. I have a strong feeling that's not going to happen because it would require the elected officials to give up their salaries and free insurance coverage; which is probably the main reason many of them ran for office. Let me be clear, when I say free insurance, it's free to the elected official but the citizens are footing the thousands of dollars in coverage for a group that's not considerate of the citizens they're supppsed to represent.
During the WHLT interview, Winston said he felt safe. He also said he didn't like the fact that the news wanted to broadcast that the police protection is weak. WTF? Is the city safe or weak? We can't be both. Winston said there were some volunteers that wanted to ride along with the lone officers. Again, WTF? Wasn't there just a national case of an auxiliary police officer killing someone because he thought he was using a taser instead of a gun. Winston also said that there were no citizens complaining about the lack of police protection. Either he wasn't listening or I imagined several citizens complaining about their safety concerns. At the last board meeting, Winston asked a citizen to leave the board room after pleading for more police. One citizen had this to say after seeing Winston's interview.
"What a liar. I called him personally when a child got stabbed right outside my home and told him we didn't feel safe!! We moved from Lumberton, like many others have bevause we didn't feel safe! He is in terrible denial!! Ben Winston, Cora Rogers, and Jay McGraw all heard from us that we felt unsage!! They are all three pathetic!!!
There's a lot of questions and we're not getting answers. Until the citizens fill the board room and demand answers, they're going to continue to bury their heads in the sand or sweep our problems under the rug. The next board meeting is Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 6:00 pm. Before logging off, here's something to think about, maybe you can give me the answer. Somehow, without knowing what's in the budget, Winston and McGraw has managed to secure a $600,000 loan. Keep in mind, there hasn't been an audit performed in two years. The board said they needed $250,000 to pay the matching funds to secure a $2.5 million dollar Army Corp of Engineers grant. At the special called meeting, the board also started the process to get a $150,000 Community Improvement grant. So, would someone explain how a city secure a $150,000 grant, a $600,000 loan and another $2,500,000 grant but don't have enough money to fully fund the police department?
I think you may be about to expose the iceberg of corruption. No wonder they want you banned from city hall. This blog is The Pelican Brief. The fact that Ben is being so secretive about where this money come from is very suspect. It seems like they're cooking the books. If you could get a copy of the line item budget that was printed on 5/14/2015, look at the general sales tax. They were budgeted to collect $155,000 but collected $339,000. Where did this money come from and there's hardly any business in Lumberton? They're either hiding money so they can continue to cut the police department or they're making up budgets to secure loans. Keep digging and stop spoon feeding the citizens of Lumberton. If they don't attend the meetings and demand answers then stop posting videos of the meetings. I'm sure you're not blogging to obtain spectators but to encourage participation. Cut them off if they're not willing to stand up for themselves. People love to sit back and watch while you're on the front lines. Don't think everyone has your best interest. How many have come to your support knowing that miserable bitch is trying to sue you for exposing the truth. In all honesty I think Ben is behind all of this but if she's willing to do his dirty work then she deserves to share rbe same cell. I'll be at the next meeting because I know they won't change until we demand it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you're making the next two posts private. If Merlene want to see them then make her work for it. If people don't want to take an extra step to access your blog then they're not invested. This should be a good move since Merlene said you hurt her feelings in your blog she should be relieved that she can't access certain posts. Problem solved but I know she's going to be calling all over trying to get the link. Release the posts after 5 so she won't have time to print out copies on city paper.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I want to, I can't make this blog completely private or stop posting videos because it's my belief that the powers in Jackson are watching. I can't focus on who's not attending meetings or I will lose sight of my purpose. One thing I've learned is that people don't think it's their problem until it directly affect them. When you see thousands of views on your videos and only a few hundred people voting, it shows a lack of concern and that's why Lumberton is in the shape it's in...lack of concern. I hear people say they get frustrated at the meetings. Well, so do I. But they're going to have to look me in my face everytime they show up. I will stand on the frontlines and go on weather I'm supported or not but thank you for your concern.
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