Tag Archives: 28 January 2011

G. Robert Carter (1924-2011)

Update 13 Feb 2011: A very nice biography and tribute in the VDT today. His birth year is corrected in the title of this post.
According to the VDT today [12 Feb 2011]:

At approximately 11 a.m. Saturday morning, emergency personnel responded to the residence of G. Robert Carter, former Lowndes County Commissioner and Sheriff. Carter, who was recently hospitalized for an unnkown illness, has reportedly passed today.

Two weeks ago he spoke as he was being honored at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner:

G. Robert Carter, former Lowndes County Commissioner District 3, former Sheriff,
speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

I’ve lived long enough to appreciate the Greatest Generation, but also to appreciate the younger ones coming along to take our place.
…
I’m not totally out of business; I might be able to help you somewhere down the line. As I told Crawford, don’t wait until you get in trouble. Come to see me before you get in trouble.

Here are videos of all the tributes to Sheriff Carter that evening. Continue reading →

What was missing from Brad Lofton’s speech?

Seems like there’s something from Brad Lofton’s speech at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce on 28 January 2011. Right at the end he mentioned:

a project we’ve been working on

Brad Lofton, Executive Director, Valdosta-Lowndes COunty Industrial Authority,
speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

What could that project be?

Right at the beginning Lofton said:

Ben Copeland beat me slap silly

Maybe that’s a clue. What did Ben Copeland say about Brad Lofton?

Brad Lofton was going to talk after me, and he’d talk about biomass. [laughter]

Continue reading →

Brad Lofton’s memory fails him again, and again….

Speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce 28 January 2011, Industrial Authority Executive Director Brad Lofton remarked about:

The largest solar panel array that we are aware of today in the state of Georgia. That’s 350 kW solar panel array that you’ll be seeing coming out of the ground February first.

Brad Lofton, Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

That’s funny, because as readers of this blog may recall, on 18 January 2011 I pointed out to Lofton that: Continue reading →

Brad Lofton asks for your ideas

In a generally congenial and well-received speech to the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce (LPCoC), Industrial Authority (VLCIA) executive director Brad Lofton gave an update on various projects and concluded by asking for input. “Economic development is a team sport,” he said, and “Give us ideas” and “There’s one of us and hundreds of you.”

Lofton was introduced by LPCoC chairman Dan Bremer who said that Lofton and VLCIA brought a plant to Lake Park with 400 workers.

In his speech, Lofton lauded the LPCoC as a great incubator of local businesses.

It’s going to come from all of you.

He talked about expanding local industries, especially PCA at length, asking David Carmon of PCA to stand up, saying PCA made a $230 million expansion in 2010, and noting “We had to compete for the PCA project.” Continue reading →

Biomass water usage as a problem. –Ben Copeland

Ben Copeland, who is on the Suwannee-Satilla regional water council, has learned something about rivers:

“One of the things that keeps some of these rivers going is the treated effluent that goes into them.
Now Brad Lofton wants to use some of that up in a biomass plant. We have a problem there.”

It’s at the end of this video:

Video of Ben Copeland, Past Chairman of the Board, Wiregrass Technical College,
speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner,
Lake Park, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 January 2011.
by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Matthew Richard brought up a similar point in his LTE in the VDT of yesterday: Continue reading →

Ben Copeland on water and growth in south Georgia

Ben Copeland asked the big question: “How much growth do we want?” He related it to regional water in the aquifer, rivers, growth, and planning, speaking at the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, 28 January 2011.

Copeland is Past Chairman of the Board, Wiregrass Technical College. He serves on the regional water planning council. He said those councils were started due to worries about Atlanta not having a reliable water supply. He said the councils were planning for water and wastewater to 2050. The local regional council is the Suwannee-Satilla regional water council. He described the extent of the water planning region (see map). He expects finalization of the water plan by May. He talked about the Floridian aquifer, and how he’s worried not so much about Atlanta taking our water as about Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee. “Because they all have their straws in that same aquifer.”

Finally, Ben Copeland asked the big question: “How much growth do we want?”

“Do we want to be Jacksonville? Do we want to be Tallahassee? Do we want to be a large metropolitan region?
Folks are going to move to south Georgia, I can tell you that, because of all the resources that we have. I’m a great believer in the free enterprise system. How much do we try to limit that?