Tag Archives: J. Stephen Gupton

Re: Videos from First Presbyterian Church, 6 Jan 2011

Mary Gooding, VLCIA board member, acknowledges receipt of my heads-up (included below) to VLCIA about the recent videos of Brad Lofton. (More of those to come, by the way.) -jsq
From: “Mary B. Gooding”
To: “John S. Quarterman”
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:28:59 +0000
Subject: RE: Videos from First Presbyterian Church, 6 Jan 2011

John – Thanks!

Mary B. Gooding
Director of Marketing and Community Relations
Valdosta State University
229-333-7444
FAX 229-245-3891

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE A BLAZER!

—–Original Message—–

Continue reading →

Tom Call: New VLCIA Board Member

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) has a new board member, Tom Call, local realtor and pesticider:
Roy Copeland
Roy Copeland 		Tom Call
Tom Call 		Mary B. Gooding
Mary Gooding 		Norman Bennett
Norman Bennett 		Jerry Jennett
Jerry Jennett,
Chairman
Since VLCIA’s website has no picture for Tom Call, LAKE has used the one from his Plaxo page.

He’s on the board of Homeland Defense Corp., which does “Custom Automated Mosquito and Insect Misting Systems” and says this:

Thomas B. Call graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. After a career in the agricultural chemicals industry, Tom branched out into real estate. Today, he is the owner of Coldwell Banker Premier Real Estate, and owns a number of successful businesses specializing in residential and commercial real estate development. www.Valdostarealtors.com
(Also on that board are Continue reading →

An Expensive Hobby: Gary Minchew’s VLCIA parting speech

What Gary Minchew said at the end of his last Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) meeting as a board member:

He said he’s brought over 200 jobs a year to the area. He also said he organized getting the 1 mil of dedicated tax money for VLCIA. Continue reading →

In refusing debate, VLCIA staff are following orders from their board

We’ve seen Brad Lofton write I will not debate you over e-mail and We will not, however, debate you over e-mail meanwhile refusing to put tax-funded presentations and videos up for public view through the VLCIA website, and offering personal meetings instead. Having experienced one of those personal meetings down at VLCIA HQ, and having heard from others who have attended them, I know of no substantive debate that happened at those indoctrination sessions, either. Any attempt at debate or even to get Lofton to produce the scientific evidence he claims he has ends with a proclamation like this one from September:
We’re moving forward with permits in hand.
or this one from December:
We’re moving forward now, and we are looking forward to the ground breaking which will be Spring of 2011.

But let’s not be too hard on VLCIA staff. At the 21 Dec 2010 board meeting, it became clear Continue reading →

Unity or Participation? Norman Bennett v. Meredith Ellis

First Norman Bennett explained that the problem was that the community needed to unite behind the VLCIA so investors wouldn’t be scared away (no video of that; sorry). Then Meredith Ellis, who wasn’t even signed up to speak, begged to differ: Continue reading →

‘Mr. Lofton has no proof whatsoever that biomass is “safe”.’ –Dr. Noll

Since Brad Lofton has once again wrapped himself in a self-imposed cloak of silence, Dr. Noll gets the last word, including two attachments, which you can find here. -jsq
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2010 03:10:58 +0000

Good evening everyone.

It is obvious by now that Mr. Lofton has no proof whatsoever that biomass is “safe”. He does not have one statement by a medical organization, not one scholarly publication he can share with us that backs up his claim. (Coincidentally, the same is true for other claims, as the event on January 13 will show.)

Members of WACE (and others in the community) have tried to receive proof

Continue reading →

Brad Lofton’s memory fails him again

On 28 Dec 2010 Brad Lofton wrote:
No one but WACE has made any claims about our efforts to substantiate this project.
Who are all these people, then, asking questions at the VLCIA’s 6 Dec 2010 event?

For example, this one, following up about the Environmental Impact Study he requested back at the EPD air quality hearing (see video of that event). He didn’t get an answer then, and at VLCIA’s 6 Dec event he still only got allusions to studies and standards that were not produced.

You can see Brad Lofton in that video, listening. Did he forget so quickly?

What about SAVE’s event at VSU at which Dr. Sammons spoke? What about the well-attended Biomass Town Hall that Pastor Angela Manning organized? And other events.

What about my question at the 6 Dec 2010 VLCIA board meeting? Continue reading →

“In other words, you do not have any proof!” –Noll to Lofton

Continuing the Noll-Lofton email exchange: eight messages in this post. -jsq
From: Michael G. Noll
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:42:44 +0000

Mr. Lofton.

Let’s remain focused on the health risks associated with your biomass project, the most important issue for our community. (WACE will deal with other claims you make, yet can’t back up with scientific studies, on January 13.)

The only thing the public has received in regard to your claim that biomass is safe are your “assurances” and the testimony by a hired gun, who is not even a medical professional, and who also could not back up his claim. No scientific studies. No statements by medical organizations. No links to scholarly publications. Nothing.

At the same time,

Continue reading →

“folks come into the community.” –Col. Ricketts responding to WACE in VLCIA board meeting

Previously I promised to post the rest of what Col. Ricketts and Brad Lofton said about biomass in the 21 Dec 2010 VLCIA board meeting.

In these two videos, Col. Ricketts responds to materials sent to VLCIA by WACE. He dismisses certain material as being from Massachusetts or being from “folks come into the community.” That’s rather rich, since as near as I can tell, all of VLCIA’s “expert” panelists at their 6 Dec 2010 event were from not from around here. Some were from states a thousand miles from here. Maybe somebody can transcribe Brad Lofton’s enumeration of those “experts” from the board meeting, since as near as I can tell VLCIA has provided no written list of them. And of course Sterling Planet is located in Atlanta, not Lowndes County.

In the first video, Col. Ricketts says he’s responding to WACE materials: Continue reading →

“We will not, however, debate you over e-mail.” –Brad Lofton to Dr. Noll

Breaking his self-imposed nonresponse policy, Brad Lofton responds to Dr. Noll’s summary. -jsq
To: “Michael G. Noll”, “Mary B. Gooding”, “Ricketts, Allan” <aricketts@industrialauthority.com>, “Copeland, Roy”, “‘John S. Quarterman'”, “Susan R. Wehling”, Kay Harris
From: “blofton@industrialauthority.com” <blofton@industrialauthority.com>,
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:56:14 -0500
Subject: RE: Wiregrass Power, LLC

Good morning Dr.Noll-

We have provided ample evidence supporting our project over a very lengthy period of time, and I am sorry that you simply can’t come to terms with that. No one but WACE has made any claims about our efforts to substantiate this project. If we had done no additional due diligence at all (and we have done plenty), the seven month environmental study and approval by the state Environmental Protection Division was completed, and they found this project safe for Georgia. The Feds not only support it, but they are providing tax credits and have publicly called biomass a great tool to reduce GHGs.

We’ll be happy to review all of the additional studies and vast amount of environmental and other support with you for the tenth time if you would choose to finally meet with us in person as we’ve been asking for over two years. We will not, however, debate you over e-mail. As I promised, we will add your e-mail today to our file, but with all approvals and permits in hand, we are indeed moving forward now and are excited about a Spring groundbreaking.

Thanks,
BL
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone