Tag Archives: Georgia

Appointments to 3 boards @ LCC 2016-01-25

Did you know there were openings on three boards? Probably not, since the county didn’t post anything in public. Now the day before they’re appointed, we learn “Dr. Lynne Feldman resigned from the Hospital Authority, leaving a vacant seat on the board. Dr. Steven Brian Dawson, Dr. John W. Devine, and Dr. John D. Roan have all been recommended for the position.” County Manager Joe Pritchard did not say who recommended them, or how they knew to apply. Similarly, on the Lowndes County Division of Family and Children Services Board (DFCS), somebody unnamed didn’t want to be reappointed, and “Elsie C. Napier has been recommended for the position.” And on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority Board, David Motley wants to be reappointed. At least we know how he knew.

There’s more on the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Chancy R6M, Stallings Road Cemetery, 4 County cases, one to E-A @ GLPC 2016-01-25

The owner of a parcel on US 41 South wants to rezone from R-10 back to Estate Agriculture. That Lowndes County case is the opposite of the Hahira case that wants rezoning from single-family to multi-family, and there are many other cases in between, plus another cemetery case!

Here’s the agenda for Monday’s Regular Session, and also for last Monday’s Work Session, even though it doesn’t say that.

Greater Lowndes Planning Commission
Lowndes County City of Valdosta City of Dasher City of Hahira City of Lake Park
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
AGENDA
Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 West Savannah Avenue
Tuesday, January 25, 2016 * 5:30 P.M. * Public Hearing

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Seven levels of disagreement

Many people these days think name-calling is argument (thank you, Newt Gingrich*), so here’s a handy picture of seven levels of disagreement.


Image by abagond 26 July 2010, from How to Disagree, by Paul Graham, March 2008.

There’s nothing like a good discussion, with actual arguments on facts, theories, or context. But we really don’t have time for name-calling or ad hominem here on the LAKE blog. As noted in our submissions policy, you can submit anything you like, but “LAKE reserves complete discretion to select, edit, and annotate submissions, and to delete blog or facebook comments that are spam or personal attacks, or for any other reason whatever.” Name-calling and ad hominem are personal attacks.

The source of the above image includes some useful examples, and Continue reading →

CAUSES in VDT, and the mini-films show 7PM tonight at VSU 2016-01-23

90-second movie trailers of local issues, tonight at 7PM, Bailey Auditorium, VSU, Valdosta, Lowndes County, GA. We sent in some submissions, and I hope you did, too; once we thought of them as trailers, it was pretty easy (by “we” I mean Gretchen”).

Printable Flyer Desiree Carter, VDT, 22 Jan 2016, Valdosta State showcases ‘Causes’,

“Causes” is a mini-festival created by Dr. Matthew Richard in the anthropology department of Valdosta State University.

“I came up with this in 2008 when Facebook and YouTube were new,” said Richard. “It’s a neat way to challenge students and to show that things learned in class can be applied to real life.”

To Richard, this project embodies Continue reading →

Six board slots to be appointed by Valdosta

You have to live in Lowndes County, but not necessarily in Valdosta, to volunteer to serve on one of these appointed boards. City of Valdosta PR 14 January 2016, Six Opportunities to Serve in New Year,

Valdosta-Lowndes County residents who have made serving their community a New Year’s resolution have until Wednesday, Feb. 3, to apply for one of six city appointments to serve on a board, commission, authority or advisory committee.

The Valdosta City Council will vote on the new appointments at their Feb. 11 City Council meeting to fill the following vacancies:

Continue reading →

Public Hearing, 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update @ SGRC 2016-01-19

Received Friday 5 January 2016:

Subject: Lowndes Comprehensive Plan Kickoff Jan. 19th

The kick-off public hearing for the joint Lowndes County and Cities of Dasher, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton, and Valdosta 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update will be held on:

Tuesday, January 19, 2016, 5:30 p.m.

Lowndes County South Health District Administrative Office
325 W. Savannah Avenue
Valdosta, Georgia

The purpose of this public hearing will be Continue reading →

Video: Project Max rezoning public hearing @ LCC 2016-01-12

The secretive Project Max container company better not be like when the Industrial Authority bragged about a prospect that would bring in 300 clean jobs and it turned out to be a private prison, which fortunately (after much public opposition) never happened. At last Tuesday’s Lowndes County Commissioner Regular Session, nearby landowner Mike Paine said he is afraid of many things, because it’s a rush job and nobody has told him anything concrete. The Industrial Authority, now called the Development Authority, says we should trust them. It would help if they wouldn’t say things like no emissions but steam, when burning natural gas produces CO2, and if they would admit that methane often leaks, and then it’s a far worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

5.a. REZ-2016-01 Project Max, Rocky Ford Rd, E-A to M-2 123 acres

Video. About the public hearing for rezoning from Estate Agricultural (E-A) to heavy-duty manufacturing (M-2) for the hush-hush Project Max, the big-fish container manufacturing plant proposed for Rocky Ford Road, next to the protected watershed of Mud Swamp and near Valdosta Airport, see Continue reading →

5 cities & Lowndes County: Community Planning Meeting @ LCC Planning 2016-01-19

It’s a good idea. It would be an even better idea if there was time scheduled for citizen input and responses from the assembled elected officials.

On the Lowndes County Commission calendar:

On Tuesday, January 19, 2016, Lowndes County and the cities of Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Remerton and Dasher, will meet at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center for the purpose of identifying and discussing solutions related to community wide issues. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the public is encouraged to attend.

When: 9AM-10AM Tuesday 19 January 2016

Where: James H. Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place, Valdosta, GA 31601

Contact: County Clerk, Paige Dukes, 229-671-2400

County Chairman Bill Slaughter announced this meeting at the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session 12 January 2016: Continue reading →

Videos: Why Emergency bridge fixes? Appoint Tax Assessors? Rush Project Max? @ LCC 2016-01-12

Citizen Billy Rowland complained about poor road grading, his dogs being shot, and misuse of Knights Ferry Landing on the Withlacoochee River. Maybe the Commission will listen to what he said this time, at last Tuesday’s Lowndes County Commissioner Regular Session. Apparently G. Norman Bennett wants Hall Web Road paved for the mile to his house at the Little River, but Julia Bass, Ralph Niehenke, and Diane Guess spoke up saying they don’t want it paved. Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker tried to ask them questions, but Chairman Bill Slaughter cut him off. Slaugher did have time earlier fo an extra announcement of a joint governmental meeting Tuesday morning. It’s not clear citizens will even get to speak there, much less get questions answered. See separate post.

They passed the resolution to ask the legislature to start the proecess to appoint rather than elect Lowndes County Tax Assessors.

They already did emergency repairs to Clyattville Nankin Road Bridge (problem discovered by a local citizen) and Jumping Gully Road Bridge (found by GDOT), and the Commissione approved payment after the fact. So two more no-bid contracts were let, this time without even a Commission vote before the work was done.

They agreed to the North Lowndes Park Quitclaim and Custodial Agreement by which Valdosta-Lowndes Parks & Rec. Authority (VLPRA) takes charge of some land west of I-75 north of Hahira for a soccer field.

A few citizens spoke about rezoning for the mysterious Project Max, but of course they passed the rezoning anyway, even though apparently none of the Commissioners know who the prospective tenant is.

The Lowndes County Commission agenda contained quite a few other items as the Commission caught up after the holidays. See also the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session. Below are links to each LAKE video of the Tuesday evening 12 January 2016 Regular Session, followed by a video playlist. Continue reading →

Is Porter Ranch the natural gas industry’s Three Mile Island?

Thirty-six years ago, Three Mile Island turned public opinion against nuclear power. The worst in history, right now still spewing after three months and Los Angeles County and the state of California have declared emergencies at Porter Ranch, is the “natural” gas industry’s Three Mile Island.

Nuclear, too was touted as safe, clean, and infamously “too cheap to meter”. It turned out to be none of those things, and neither is fracked methane. Three Mile Island alone didn’t stop the thousands of nukes President Nixon promised, but it sure helped. The Porter Ranch disaster has already lasted far longer, had worse direct effects, and is in the nation’s second-largest metropolitan area.

Plus TMI was the first U.S. civilian nuclear accident. The “natural” gas industry has leaks, corrosion, fires, explosions, and now earthquakes monthly and sometimes daily. Sure, the shadow of nuclear war hung over the nuclear power industry, but the monthly fireballs from methane explosions hangs over the natural gas industry. The 2010 San Bruno, California explosion is back in the news because, says AP 13 January 2015: PROSECUTORS: PG&E RESISTED RECORD-KEEPING CHANGE AFTER SAN BRUNO BLAST.

It’s time for a complete moratorium on all new natural gas projects, like the moratorium on all new nuclear projects after Three Mile Island. Instead, let’s get on with what we didn’t have back then: solar and wind power already less expensive than any other sources of power, far cleaner and safer, much faster to deploy, using no water, and requiring no eminent domain.

In 1962 President John F. Kennedy famously said: Continue reading →