Tag Archives: Allan Ricketts

Brad Lofton’s Selective Memory

I see by yesterday’s VDT story about the Lowndes County Board of Education (LCBOE) meeting that Brad Lofton, executive directory of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA), is reported as saying:
The people … that are opposing the plant … have yet to agree to sit down and talk with the authority directly about the plant.
He said somehing similar at the 29 Sep 2010 meeting of the Valdosta Board of Education (VBOE). Except then he at least admitted that I had gotten the VLCIA presentation. Yet even then he forgot about the other people in this picture of that 10 June 2010 meeting at the VLCIA offices:


Pictured: Natasha Fast, Angela Manning, Allan Ricketts (Project Manager), Geraldine Fairell, Ken Klanicki, Brad Lofton (Executive Director)

Even earlier, Dr. Brad Bergstrom and Seth Gunning got a presentation from the VLCIA.

I pointed all this out a month ago, after the VBOE incident.

Why does Brad Lofton, a public employee, keep standing up before elected bodies and saying something that is not true?

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Phyllis Stallworth: “I am gravely concerned and disappointed”

I received this on 7 Oct for posting.

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Valdosta is an innovative city with expanding opportunities for our growing community. Valdosta has recently celebrated 150 years of progress. As a citizen, I have spent most of my adult life experiencing this progress. I’ve seen economic developments through recruitment, retention and expansions that benefit our city, with tremendous support from our communities. I’ve seen job opportunities that improve the livelihood of our citizens, through the recruitment of national companies who have established their businesses in our great city.

Our school systems are innovative, and they serve as models for other school systems in our state, with great parental involvement and encouragement toward improvements. Our University and College systems are some of the best in the state, with phenomenal enrollment and retention of traditional and non-traditional students in our city and abroad.

Our religious establishments are growing from leaps and bounds with more and more people becoming citizens of our great city, who are leaving larger unsafe, polluted, and unproductive cities, for a safer, less polluted and productive small town lifestyle, such as our wonderful city provides.

The development of small businesses, through our downtown projects, have been a great success story for our city. The innovative improvements make our city one of the most visited in our state. We pride ourselves as a Titletown community, through continuous progress over 150 years.

When I contemplate our shared 150 years of progress, I find it disturbing that our Industrial Authority would make such a bad decision as to bring a Biomass incinerator into our community. As an advocate for the welfare of children, women, and families I am gravely concerned and disappointed that such a project has been endorsed by leaders who were elected to carry out the wishes of the community for the betterment of all citizens.

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Excuse me? Nobody but me had gotten a biomass presentation from VLCIA?

An open letter to Brad Lofton and Allan Ricketts,

Watching a video of your speeches to the Valdosta Board of Education (VBOE), I was astonished to see Brad Lofton say nobody in the room but me had sat down and gotten a presentation from VLCIA!

Brad Bergstrom has already reminded you that Bergstrom and Seth Gunning sat down with VLCIA months ago. I hope you weren’t failing to count Dr. Bergstrom because he wasn’t physically in the same room at the time you made that astonishing assertion.

And what about these people?

More here.

Sitting directly in front of Lofton in those pictures of that June 10th meeting in the VLCIA offices is Pastor Angela Manning.

I see later in the same video Allan Ricketts contradicts Brad Lofton by referring to that very meeting that I organized on June 10th. Yet one of Ricketts or Lofton (I can’t see which) at the very end of the video claims VLCIA answered every one of Pastor Manning’s concerns.

As I already pointed out directly to Brad Lofton before the VBOE meeting, listening to the VLCIA persuaded Pastor Manning to oppose the biomass plant, organizing a town hall at which numerous people spoke about the biomass plant, mostly against. In case there is any doubt as to Pastor Manning’s position on the biomass plant, she has since spelled it out in a letter directly to Brad Lofton:

“I stand with the NAACP, the SCLC, the American Lung Association, and any other group fighting against the bio mass plant.”

In my above message to Lofton, (sent, once again before the VBOE meeting) I listed four unanswered concerns from the June 10 meeting at VLCIA. He responded by ignoring half of them and inadequately answering two of them. When I pointed this out to him, he failed to answer any of them and asked for assistance in recruiting jobs. When I offered such assistance his whole response was:

“We’re moving forward with permits in hand. Have a nice day.”

All the messages cited in the preceding paragraph were exchanged before the VBOE meeting. Yet Lofton and Ricketts stood up before the VBOE and asserted all concerns had been answered. Is that how someone acts who is seriously trying to answer concerns of the community?

I do not appreciate Brad Lofton and Allan Ricketts using my name to support the misinformation they conveyed in their speeches to the Valdosta Board of Education.

When I first heard about this proposed biomass plant, I thought it was green energy. Attempts to obtain objective information about plant emissions and fuel sources for all the similar nearby plants, together with repeated presentations such as this from Brad Lofton and Allan Ricketts, have persuaded me and others to oppose the proposed biomass incinerator.

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John S. Quarterman

Michael Noll: “enough is enough”

Here is a followup to the VDT story in the previous post.

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Dear Lowndes County Commissioners.

My sincere thanks for letting me present my concerns at yesterday’s meeting. It is very much appreciated.

Please understand that what I presented is based on facts. I have worked for ten years at VSU as an educator, and my students and colleagues know me as a straightforward person. I may ruffle some feathers at times, but I clearly was brought up in a no-nonsense household.

If Mr. Lofton would not continue to ignore our concerns (as he again did at the BOE meeting), to misrepresent organizations such as the Sierra Club (an organization I happen to support), or to keep bringing up names of those who endorse the biomass plant (yet conveniently overlooks a conflict of interest), I  probably would have never brought this up. However, during these past couple weeks, and particularly with his behavior at the BOE meeting, Mr. Lofton has added insult to injury, and enough is enough.

To substantiate the comments I made yesterday,

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Brad Lofton: “simply walk down the hall”

This message from Brad Lofton was sent to Dr. Brad Bergstrom and the Valdosta Board of Education and some other people.

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Dr. Bergstrom-

As opposed to spending hours online and pouring through publication databases, I would respectfully recommend that you simply walk down the hall to actually discuss Dr. Tom Manning’s experience with Dr. Tom Manning. He’s in the same building with you I assume. No doubt on the same campus. Seems odd that you would publicly discredit a colleague here prior to even talking with him. Dr. Manning’s credentials certainly do not need your validation.

Thank you for finally acknowledging the Sierra Club and all of the other environmental support we have. You are the first to acknowledge it publicly. Our support goes well beyond the Sierra Club, and we provided the Board of Ed with dozens of nationally known environmental leaders who support our project.

If you would be so kind, please meet with us again, and we will provide you actual numbers

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Brad Bergstrom: “unsubstantiated assertions are not facts”

This message from Brad Bergstrom to the Valdosta Board of Education is as he sent it, except instead of his blue font I’ve formatted quotations the same as usual for the blog, and as usual I’ve not included the entire list of email addresses copied. He’s responding to Brad Lofton’s message.

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To all:

I appreciate the opportunity Monday night to have briefly shared my perspective on the environmental impacts of biomass incineration with the BOE. It was at the urging of the "core group" (whom Mr. Lofton seems to disparage, below) that VBOE invited me and my coleague Dr. Bielmyer to speak. As an ecologist and VSU professor for more than 24 years, I’ve long been interested in issues of conservation, forest resources and sustainable development in south Georgia. About a year-and-a-half ago, I met with Mr. Ricketts, who kindly gave me and Mr. Seth Gunning a thorough presentation on the proposed biomass plant. Ever since then, I’ve been educating myself on the general issue of biomass power generation and specifically on the Wiregrass plant. I attended the April 2010 public hearing (as did Mr. Ricketts and Mr. Lofton) conducted by EPD, and I asked several questions. I also submitted several written questions and comments to EPD for the public record, as did many others. All of those questions, and EPD’s answers, and the complete application, and permit, can be seen here:

http://airpermit.dnr.state.ga.us/gaairpermits/

(After you open this link, type "Wiregrass" into the search box, then click on "Narrative"; the last 13 pages contain all the public comments and responses.)

I’m sure Mr. Lofton is a well-meaning and certainly a tireless advocate for new industry. That is his job. It is the rest of our jobs to determine what really is "fact" and "opinion." No matter how loudly one proclaims it, unsubstantiated assertions are not facts, and inconvenient facts are not misinformation. I will point out some of these facts, along with links to document them, in blue font, interspersed among Mr. Lofton’s comments, below.

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George Rhynes is not in favor of the biomass plant

A citizen responds:
TO: Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority, Local and State SCLC, NAACP, ICU, Churches, Editors, and beyond http://kvci.blogspot.com

On September 27, 2010 while attending the Valdosta City School Board Meeting held at J.L. Newbern Middle School at 7:00. When Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Executive Director Brad Lofton, and Mr. Allen Ricketts, did their presentation before the school board concerning the Biomass Plant projected to come into our community.

What concerns me was Mr. Ricketts using my name during his presentation that could have given the impression that I (George Boston Rhynes) was in support of the Biomass plant coming into the minority community that already have too many existing pollutants. School Board Chairman Love closed the meeting before I could respond to Mr. Ricketts before the meeting was adjourned.

Mr. Ricketts comments during his presentation: “…the practical matter is once you put the electricity on the grid we don’t know where it will flow but most likely it will stay in Georgia because it will be purchased by a Georgia utility. Ah, of that 40 mega watts about two will be used to run the plant because the plant will be self sustainable. Ah, it will be able to produce enough electricity to carry forth its own operation.” &ldquoGeorge, you and I talked about that. Ah a couple of months ago when you was in my office. We had a good conversation about that. Now let us talk about what that means….”

MY RESPONSE! I would like to say to the board. That I know you have adjourned the meeting. But because my name was used I need to respond because I value my credibility and my name means everything go me. So I want each board member to know that George Boston Rhynes does not sign off on any part of the Biomass Plant. This I want to make perfectly clear so there is no confusion; about where I stand concerning the Biomass Plant coming into the minority community. Because I do NOT approve of it!

I live closer to Cherry Creek, than I do Mud Creek. And I would rather see

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How about some real clean energy jobs, and a renewable energy strategy for Georgia?

This is a response from me to Brad Lofton’s letter of 22 September 2010. I also refer to Leigh Touchton’s response of the same date.
From: “John S. Quarterman”
To: blofton@industrialauthority.com, Leigh Touchton
Cc: [VDT, elected officials, and other people]
Subject: Re: Brad Lofton, Executive Director Industrial Authority
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:23:39 -0400

Brad,

I also appreciate you taking the time to meet with people, but I am disappointed in the information provided by VLCIA.

For example, you say:

You are absolutely correct in stating that we provided you peer reviewed scientific literature proving that biomass plants are indeed carbon neutral
Excuse me? What journal accepts a stack of powerpoint slides for peer review?

Maybe you mean it’s based on some journal article. Citation, please: journal, date, and page.

The only thing I can find in it that was peer-reviewed was a quote from an IPCC 2007 report, which asks for “a sustainable forest management strategy”. That’s what we don’t have; that stack of slides certainly isn’t it.

You mention:

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Let’s Think About This!

Michael Noll has offered this letter to anyone who wants to publish it:
This is an open letter with a few questions for the Industrial Authority on the proposed biomass incinerator. Simple answers will do, as we have heard enough confusing verbiage by now:

1. Isn’t it correct that annually the proposed biomass incinerator will emit 247 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), 247 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), 247 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), 135 tons of particulate matter (PM), 113 tons of PM10, 87 tons of PM2.5, 60 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 14 tons of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)?

2. Isn’t it true that the American Lung Association states that pollutants such as NOx, SO2, and PM can have “severe impacts on the health of children, older adults, and people with lung disease”?

3. Isn’t it correct that the “baghouse filtration technology” in connection with the proposed incinerator cannot capture PM10 (particulate matter smaller than 10 microns) much less PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns)?

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“Carbon is absolutely not an issue with our plant.”

Below is a response to my letter of 22 September 2010.

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Date: On Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 3:16 PM
From: Brad Lofton <blofton@industrialauthority.com>

John:

Thank you for your e-mail and the professional way in which you have come and met with our staff to discuss these issues. I certainly respect your concerns, especially since you felt it important enough to take the time to meet with us a number of times to pursue dialogue and exchange information.

You are absolutely correct in stating that we provided you peer reviewed scientific literature proving that biomass plants are indeed carbon neutral. Dr. Carl Manning, an environmental professor at VSU who has done significant research in biomass, agrees and completely supports our project. It is also important to note that we will be using inert landfill material that would otherwise produce methane if left to rot in a landfill. As you know, methane is considered a greenhouse gas. This is another very positive environmental benefit of our project (one of many). Carbon is absolutely not an issue with our plant.

Rest assured that no trees will be harvested for this plant. The plant’s EPD permit is very specific about this point, and federal tax credits require the use of “wood waste.” Any deviation will result in plant closure by the EPD. Our Authority would not have supported “whole log” production, because of the environmental impact and also because of the competition it would create for several of our large existing industries (PCA, Langdale) that count on whole logs for production. We made the use of “wood waste” a condition of moving forward.

A couple of other areas of misinformation that we would like to correct:

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