Category Archives: LAKE

Nydia Tisdale should be emulated, not punished: LAKE to Judge 2017-12-17

You can also write a letter of support. Please send it today before the sentencing hearing 9AM December 18, 2017.

Nydia Tisdale

Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange
3338 Country Club Road #L336, Valdosta, GA 31605
www.l-a-k-e.org
lakesubmissions@gmail.com
229-242-0102

December 17, 2017

Hon. Senior Judge Martha Christian
Dawson County Judges Office
25 Justice Way, Suite 4202
Dawsonville, GA 30534
C/o Catherine Bernard
catherine@bernardlawoffices.com

Your Honor,

Nydia Tisdale is an inspiration for everyone who is in favor of the First Amendment, especially citizen journalists such as ourselves. Her years of educating local governments about Georgia’s open meetings laws by handing out materials, and of shining a light on local government activities by videoing their meetings, are exemplary and should be emulated, not punished.

With attorney Bruce Harvey inside AJC
Photo: John S. Quarterman for LAKE, 14 October 2016.

The misdemeanor conviction of Nydia Tisdale makes no sense, since Continue reading →

LAKE meeting Tuesday after County Commission 2016-02-09

County government and local issues: change orders, sole-source contracts, suing local companies, meetings with little notice, going back on their own resolutions, can’t see what they are voting on, and what are their ordinances? If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do. And two County Commission seats and the Chair are up for election this year, plus county school board, sheriff, and a bunch of other offices.

What: LAKE Meeting

When: 6:15PM Tuesday 9 February 2016
after the Lowndes County Commission meeting

Where: Michael’s Deli
1307 N Ashley St.
Valdosta, GA 31601

If you’re on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, Or just come as you are.

-jsq

More ideas on day 2 @ Courthouse 2014-06-10

When a local goverment-appointed committee actually asks the people what they want, sometimes the people speak up, this time mostly about education as a driver for the local economy, plus the Public Defender’s Office. For context, see Courthouse Preservation Committee Meetings.

Continue reading →

Videos: Dr. Grow, Devine, VLPRA @ LCC 2015-02-23

Dr. William R. Grow, District Health Director, presented about the state of the Health Department, and County Manager Joe Pritchard reported revisions to both the county’s Solid Waste Ordinance and the franchise agreement for solid waste were in progress. They ended by going into an executive session to discuss real estate.

For Parks and Rec Board, former Lowndes County Commissioner Richard Raines read a prepared statement, while Scott Willis, hearing specialist with Hearing Care Resources, gave an extemporaneous presentation, including that he was formerly on the VLPRA Advisory Board, and he’s been coaching children and working with the elderly. Commissioners had no questions for either applicant.

Tonight they’ll vote on a list of goals that is in their packet but they haven’t shown you the taxpayers.

Perhaps coincidentally, Continue reading →

Sunshine for local government

We’ve got a little list, a spreadsheet as a list,
please don’t take this as a diss, we think they have been missed….

Unlike Ko-Ko’s in the Mikado, this list is of things previously missed that are slowly being found (or created), so local governments can tell the citizens what fine things they’ve been up to, and so citizens can decide what they need to deal with and what topics they can provide input on. Here’s the LAKE sunshine list for local government.

The Lowndes County Commission just got some additions, with its new website, by posting videos of its own meetings, and by posting agendas and minutes for the Planning Commission.

The Valdosta City Council does pretty well, with its website, its agendas and minutes, and the agendas and summaries and minutes for ZBOA. Valdosta does not (yet) video and post its own meetings, but it does have what appears to be a complete list of its ordinances with links to their text. Dasher also has its ordinances online.

Meanwhile the Lowndes County Commission has only Continue reading →

Lowndes County’s own videos @ LCC 2014-12-09

Paige Dukes told us about this Monday, but why steal her thunder about the county’s new website and the videos on it?

Joe Adgie, VDT, 17 December 2014, Lowndes County website goes live,

County residents can pay bills, read county ordinances, search for real estate and read meeting agendas on the new site.

In addition, a first for the county government, videos of the Lowndes County Commission meetings are also available through the site and on YouTube.

“Due to schedules, Continue reading →

LAKE in the VDT @ LCC 2014-11-21

300x169 VDT videographer, Gretchen with the LAKE camera, Chairman Slaughter, County Clerk, in Open Government Symposium, by John S. Quarterman, 21 November 2014 First time ever the VDT mentioned LAKE, so far as I can recall. And we’ll see if the new VDT editor’s honeyed approach works this time with the Lowndes County Commission.

Joe Adgie, VDT, 23 November 2014, Watchdogs use open government laws to the fullest,

Not everyone at the Open Government Symposium on Friday were affiliated with a government.

Some of them, like John and Gretchen Quarterman, serve as watchdogs for the government. These watchdogs attend the open, public meetings held by governing bodies, acquire the documents and records of these meetings and other governmental affairs, and serve to make sure our local governments behave like they should.

The Quartermans run the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), a repository of Continue reading →

Another October LAKE meeting Tuesday 22 October 2013

Pipeline and local governance: Water (sinkholes, aquifer recharge, runoff, drinking water, and wastewater), trash (how about that Exclusive Franchise!), and money (no-bid contracts and plus SPLOST VII). If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do. Why another meeting in October? The first one was at a time when many of the regulars couldn’t come, so here’s one for them.

What: Another October LAKE Meeting
When: 6:15PM Tuesday
after the Lowndes County Commission meeting
7 October 2013
Where: Michael’s Deli
1307 N Ashley St.
Valdosta, GA 31601

If you're on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, Or just come as you are.

-jsq

October LAKE meeting Monday 7 October 2013

Different day (Monday) and time (4PM), and some new developments, also adding that natural gas pipeline to the usual agenda of local governance: Water (sinkholes, aquifer recharge, runoff, drinking water, and wastewater), trash (how about that Exclusive Franchise!), and money (no-bid contracts and plus SPLOST VII). If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do.

If you're on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, Or just come as you are.

Pipeline points with streets
What: Monthly LAKE Meeting
When: 4PM Monday
7 October 2013
Where: Michael’s Deli
1307 N Ashley St.
Valdosta, GA 31601

-jsq

September LAKE meeting Tuesday 10 September 2013

Same agenda as usual, local governance: Water (sinkholes, aquifer recharge, runoff, drinking water, and wastewater), trash (how about that Exclusive Franchise!), and money (no-bid contracts and plus SPLOST VII). If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do.

What: Monthly LAKE Meeting
When: about 6:30PM Tuesday
(after the County Commission meeting)
10 September 2013
Where: Michael’s Deli
1307 N Ashley St.
Valdosta, GA 31601

If you're on Facebook, please Like the LAKE facebook page. You can sign up for the meeting event there, Or just come as you are.

-jsq