Category Archives: Code Enforcement

HB 87 getting press in Mexico

Famous not just in France, but also in Mexico! Georgia’s HB 87 gets press south of the border.
El Universal of Mexico City reported from Atlanta 27 June 2011, Juez bloquea partes de ley migratoria de Georgia
Un juez federal concedió este lunes la solicitud de impedir que partes de la ley de Georgia contra la inmigración ilegal entren en vigor hasta que se resuelva una demanda.

El juez Thomas Thrash bloqueó partes de la legislación que penaliza a la gente que transporte o albergue a indocumentados, y también detuvo las cláusulas que le autorizan a los agentes verificar el estatus migratorio de alguien que no pueda proporcionar una identificación adecuada.

Además, el magistrado sobreseyó partes de la demanda a solicitud del estado.

La mayoría de las cláusulas que forman la ley iban a entrar en vigor el 1 de julio.

Grupos activistas por las libertades civiles habían interpuesto una demanda en la que le pedían al juez que declarara inconstitucional la legislación e impidiera que entrara en vigor.

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In case you have not emulated Mayor Paul Bridges of Uvalde and learned Spanish, here’s google translate’s version in English:
A federal judge on Monday granted the request to prevent parts of the Georgia law against illegal immigration to take effect pending resolution of a lawsuit.

Judge Thomas Thrash blocked parts of the legislation that penalizes people who transport or shelter illegal immigrants, and also stopped the clauses that authorize agents to verify the immigration status of someone who can not provide proper identification.

In addition, the judge dismissed portions of the demand at the request of the state.

Most of the clauses that make up the law to go into effect on July 1.

Groups civil liberties activists had filed a lawsuit in which he asked the judge to declare unconstitutional legislation and prevent the entry into force.

eca

Pithy but factual.

We don’t need to feed the incarceration machine with a private prison in Lowndes County Georgia that will profit private prison executives and investors at the expense of Georgia taxpayers and Georgia farmers. Spend that tax money on rehabilitation and education instead.

-jsq

All employees were drug tested and interviewed —Joe Pritchard

Susan Leavens sent this Tuesday:
John, this is the first open records reguest I did with GDA. The rest will be in order of date of the request.
The document Shirley King attached for Item #2 was this PDF of a letter from Joe Pritchard of 27 August 2010 telling USDA GDA all employees (presumably of the animal shelter) had been drug-tested and were being interviewed.

Documents about the animal shelter are appearing here on the LAKE web pages. Here are the messages Susan Leavens forwarded along with this particular letter.

-jsq Continue reading →

I tried following the chian of command —Susan Leavens

Many comments are on Animal shelter open records and Return cameras. Susan Leavens provides specific information in this one. -jsq
Concerned Citizen,

Please understand that there are state laws that people get arrested for each day also; the county ordiance mirrors the state law(s) however if you have not read the statements no one was arrested either. And do you think the bulldog was the first incident? Keep reading!! Below are some other things which have occured in the shelter.

Page 3 #15 Cruelty,
Page 5 #23 hoplesly disable animal,
page 5 #26 humane care,
page 7 #36 records,
Section 5 page 10 Emergencies involving animals,

to name a few of the Lowndes County Ordinance.

So when you say why didn’t I(Officer Leavens)end

Continue reading →

Return cameras or I’m going to pursue it through the Sheriff’s office —Ashley Paulk @ LCC 28 June 2011

Chairman Paulk threatened the Humane Society with legal action last night:
…the Humane Society provided two county employees with undercover cameras as a gratuity.
…
I want those two undercover cameras returned by my two employees, or there will be some administrative action.
…
I’m making this a public record.
…
If I don’t get those cameras back and the gratuity I’m going to pursue it through the Sheriff’s office.
…
Needs to be public record in the VDT.
The picture shows Ashley Paulk (center) motioning to VDT reporter David Rodock (foreground) as he directs the VDT to publish what he just said. Mechelle Sullivan is on the right, and County Manager Joe Pritchard looks on from left. Voting Commissioners Evans, Raines, and Powell are just visible between Paulk and Sullivan.

The VDT did take dictation and publish that this morning, adding this quote from Chairman Paulk:

“It’s a gratuity. You can’t give a government employee something in order to get something in return. It’s not legal.”
Other things are also not legal, yet never seem to be pursued.

Speaking of pursued, Chairman Paulk encountered a group of Continue reading →

Enforcement is still an issue —Mechelle Sullivan @ LCC 28 June 2011

Michelle Sullivan said she volunteered for the Humane Society for about 20 years, and she was speaking for herself. She worked with Linda Patelski and observed “many things that bothered me over the years.” She said:
However, the most frustrating to me was the lack of enforcement of animal…. You know, this went on for a long time time and we were all very frustrated. And so we finally decided that the only way to improve enforcement was to strengthen animal control laws…. So the Human Society was very interested in strenghtening those laws. And I think the animal control ordinances now are [better]. However, enforcement is still an issue.
She gave some examples.

Here’s the video:



Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 June 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Continued in next post.

-jsq

How to bring a case to the Sheriff’s attention

Sheriff Prine was at last night’s budget hearing (his office accounts for more of the county budget than anything else). Afterwards I asked him how matters such as the complaints about the animal shelter could be brought to the attention of his office. He said that was a code enforcement matter, and if code enforcement thought it rose to a criminal matter, they would take it to Magistrate Court, which would issue a warrant, which would go to the Sheriff’s office, where it would be pursued.

Remember who code enforcement is in Lowndes County. Continue reading →

Uvalde “mayor for everybody” works against HB 87

Sometimes somebody does the right thing not for fear or favor, just because it’s the right thing.

Catherine E. Shoichet wrote for CNN 28 June 2011 about Paul Bridges, mayor of Uvalde, Republican mayor in the South becomes unlikely advocate for immigrants:

Bridges is waging a deeply personal battle.

Enforcement of the Georgia law could put him in prison and tear apart the families of some of his closest friends.

He thinks Governor Nathan Deal got it wrong when he signed HB 87: Continue reading →

Budget meeting and Lowndes County Commission meeting tonight

Remember there’s a second budget hearing today, 28 June 2011 at 5PM. The county didn’t publish the proposed budbget, but LAKE did. Maybe you’d like to come ask some questions, like these by Jessica Bryan Hughes.

Then there’s the regular session of the County Commission; agenda appended. They plan to vote tonight to approve the budget they never published.

-jsq

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Animal shelter open records from Susan Leavens

Received yesterday from Susan Leavens:
These are the open records that me and another animal control officer sent to GDA and I also have Amanda Jordans Statement if you would like that. Please excuse some of the language in my statement she (pat smith GDA inspector) told me to write it like it was said….
Here they are on the LAKE web pages.

These records include much more detail than what we’ve heard before.

After reading them, do you think installing a few cameras is adequate to deal with this situation?

-jsq

Residential home owners of Lowndes County take notice —Vince Schneider @ LCC 14 June 2011

Vince Schneider warned county homeowners that it could happen to them, too:
To permit the establishment of the Foxborough Avenue McDonalds, the county has irreversibly established a most terrible precedence. You too can wake up one morning to find a Fast food store being built in your front yard.
Like many of us, he wondered what the county government is thinking:
I cannot comprehend how the county can possibly benefit from allowing such an establishment to be built in a quite county residential neighborhood. Is it because it provides unskilled low paying jobs? Will this McDonalds look good on a resume? It was my understanding that Valdosta and Lowndes County wanted to attract a more skilled, professional work force. The real estate on Foxborough Avenue the county permitted McDonalds to build on would have been, and is prime real estate for just such a professional enterprise….
Good questions.

Here’s the video:


Residential home owners of Lowndes County take notice —Vince Schneider @ LCC 14 June 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

After Vince Schneider finished reading his letter, Chairman Ashley Paulk handed him a paper, which was apparently a communication from County Engineer Mike Fletcher.

Appended is the text of the letter Vince Schneider read to the Commission. Continue reading →