Negligence: His Fault Her Fault Their Fault

I've been getting questions about the National Day of Prayer and why Paul Ockmond decided not to sponsor the event this year. Some believe there's a rift between him and Ben (I doubt it, they're BFF's), some say he's losing the faith (I wouldn't know) and then there's a faction that think he's embarrassed by the way he responded to a blog post ( That's possible. All I know is he felt he was losing the argument/debate with me and resorted to using insults to make a po7nt while I was responding with scriptures since he's a minister). Truthfully, I don't know why he stepped away from one of his pet projects and he's not talking about it so I'm not interested in speculation. If Paul wants us to know, he'll let us know. As of now, it's just a minor issue when we consider all the other problems plaguing Lumberton.

Today, starting at 4:30, there will be a special called meeting to discuss a water project and a budget workshop. I could delve into the details but let's take a look at the lackluster performance of this board thus far. There has been talk about the poor performance of this board and various staff members. Some say they're corrupt, others say they're self-serving with hidden agendas but one thing is for certain, they're negligent. When I say negligent, I'm referring to tne definition that describes negligence (noun) as failure to take proper care in doing something. This board has been in office for 2 years and they're still behind on tne learning curve. Month after month, they continue to make one poor decision after another. One of their major problems is their lack of knowledge concerning their positions in a code charter municipality. At least two board members don't grasp the concept that the mayor does not direct the board, the board directs the mayor. At least two more board members don't seem to care leaving us with one knowledgeable board member that often chided for knowing and adhering to the duties they were sworn to uphold.

When Winston ran for the office of mayor, he promised there were shovel ready business waiting for him to get elected so they can bring jobs to Lumberton; two years later the shovel ready businesses have yet to break ground. The board has repeatedly voted for expenditures that were not budgeted while claiming there's not enough money for police protection. Leaving citizens unprotected is negligence. Every month fines go uncollected because the board does not want a full time court clerk shows a lack of fudicary responsibility as well as negligence. The failure of the board to raise taces in order to support a fully staffed police department is negligent. Not knowing the laws governing access to public records is negligence. Having a mayor that throws out a citizen for making a comment is negligent. Let's face it, the board does not care what the citizens have to say; that's why comments are limited and relegated to the end of the meetings. Since the mayor and most board members don't want citizen input, why not eliminate that portion of the meeting? Oh, then they would need to explain that move when begging for votes at the next election. This board is full of lip service. They disbanded the planning and zoning committee so they could spot zone a tract of land next to Lumberton Farm and Garden. The mayor claimed the business was eager to get started and put some people to work but here we are, months later, and the business have yet to open. There's chaos on the board as well as lack of confidence in one department. There's time when Danny Davis goes off the deep end but most of the time, if you alert him of an issue, like the current lack of care in the maintenance of the grounds at the cemeteries, he usually addresses them. Sadly, Chief Cowart's hands are tied. She has the plans in place but not the support to implement them. Hopefully this budget workshop will be more productive than in the past because we've certainly invested a lot of money into getting an accurate report.

Thinking about the tragic deaths of Hattiesburg's Police Officers Deen and Tate, and then seeing the interview of the mother of the accused assailants, was like a deja vu moment. It was nothing but the Grace of God that this tragedy didn't happen in Lumberton but sadly, we're not immune. Just last week a concerned mother was asked to leave the board meeting because she was trying to explain the dangers of Spice and the need for more police protection. Needless to say, her plea fell on deaf ears. Then to hear a mother say the same things after her son allegedly killed two police officers while battling an addiction to Spice was an eye opener. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people at our city hall that are lower than a pregnant maggot but those are their issues. However, when their issues hinder access to public records, accountability and police protection, then it concerns the entire city. It's time out for foolishness. Either do your job or step aside so it can be done properly. They spend so much time trying to shut out the voting public when they should be using that time and energy to look for solutions. If anyone at city hall is bothered by the fact that I'm going to reveal what takes place at city hall that's an indication they're devoting too much time watching me when they could use that time for professional development. It is my hope that after today's meeting, we'll finally have a fully staffed police department and full time court clerk. We shall see.