Tag Archives: Norman Bennett

Small emerging businesses —Mr. Robinson @ VLCIA 19 July 2011

John Robinson congratulated Roy Copeland for accepting the position as chair of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) and said:
We’re looking forward to working along with you guys, because we truly need the help now on the other side of the railroad track over there.
…
And we do believe that if everyone try to work together we can get something done.

Update: What the VDT said:

Received a thank you from John Robinson of the Black Businessmen’s Association during the Citizens to be Heard portion of the meeting for agreeing to work with small and emerging businesses, with the goal of removing the “social divide” in the city;

Here’s the video:


Small emerging businesses —Mr. Robinson @ VLCIA 19 July 2011
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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Thanks to all who helped —Jerry Jennett @ VLCIA 19 July 2011

Outgoing Industrial Authority Chairman Jerry Jennett thanked all who helped him, and offered to help incoming chairman Roy Copeland.

Here’s the video:


Thanks to all who helped —Jerry Jennett @ VLCIA 19 July 2011
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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Because of my mother —Dr. Noll @ VLCIA 19 July 2011

Dr. Noll, president of WACE, welcomed VLCIA’s new executive director Andrea Schruijer, and then reminded the board that the honking cars outside indicated an ongoing community assessment of biomass, and he encouraged them to consider previously presented materials and to prevent the biomass plant from finding a back door to come back in.

He remarked that he had visited his mother in Germany:

One and half years ago she was in the intensive care unit for about three weeks because she had severe lung issues. She moved away after that to an area where there isn’t the kind of air pollution she was exposed to before hand, and every single day she wakes up she feels like she’s on vacation.

Here’s the video:


Because of my mother —Dr. Noll @ VLCIA 19 July 2011
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Tom Call, Roy Copeland chairman, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett,
Andrea Schruijer Executive Director, J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Project Manager,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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Videos of VLCIA 14 June 2011 meeting

These videos are not all labeled, which is unfortunate, since some of them reflect quite well on some things the Industrial Authority is doing. But after all, they have paid staff who could be taking, labelling, and posting their own videos, and their new executive director says she wants transparency, so who knows? Maybe VLCIA will do this kind of thing themselves. They meet again tonight. You could go ask them.

A few of these videos have already been posted. Here’s a playlist of all the videos of that meeting.


Irregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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The health of the community is way more important than the job —Leigh Touchton

Leigh Touchton, president of the Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP, says the local and state NAACP are opposed to the biomass plant because the community that is most affected is the minority community. She referred to her previous presentation of a letter from Dr. Robert D. Bullard.

She also brought up an incident with Brad Lofton and recommended that VLCIA hire an executive director who wouldn’t act like that.

And she said she deals with VSEB all the time:

I’ve taken men through there, I’ve signed them up.
She referred to me when she said that, so what I said before is appended after the video.

Here’s the video:


The health of the community is way more important than the job —Leigh Touchton
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 17 May 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

What I actually recommended regarding VSEB, in response to a specific request from Leigh Touchton for recommendations, was maybe schedule a meeting with Roy Copeland to talk about VSEB and solar job opportunities: Continue reading →

“I’m obviously here on one issue.” —Karen Noll @ VLCIA 14 June 2011

Karen Noll asked the VLCIA board to put a no-biomass clause in any purchase agreement regarding the proposed biomass site.

She began with these words:

I’m Karen Noll. I hope some of you already have seen my writing and have read my letters to you in the past. I’m obviously here on one issue. I hope that in the future I can be talking to you about other issues. But right now I’m talking to you about biomass. And we celebrated that it was dead and it was gone and now it’s not. Because we really don’t know … what the plan is.
By “we” I’m guessing she meant WACE. Some of us who are not members of WACE warned that it ain’t over until it’s over, and it only took a week to discover that VLCIA already knew Sterling Planet wanted to buy the proposed biomass site.

Karen Noll made a pitch based partly on saving taxpayer money. In addressing health concerns, she handed the board a letter from local doctor Craig Bishop. She handed the board a petition with “at least 700 signatures” and she said for each signature there was probably at least one more that didn’t sign. Some of what she said appeared to be drawn from a letter that is appended in this post after the video.

Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

How does the hierarchy work? —Mario Bartoletti

Mario Bartoletti, the first to carry a protest sign into a VLCIA board meeting, said that as a member of WACE he wants to know the hierarchy and to whom does VLCIA report.

Sticking to their current policy of never answering directly anything said in Citizens to be Heard, the board did not answer. (My opinion follows in a separate post.)

More about Dr. Bartoletti in this writeup in the VDT by David Rodock of 25 April 2011.

Here’s the video:


How does the hierarchy work? —Mario Bartoletti
Irregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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For the children —Matt Flumerfelt @ VLCIA 14 June 2011

Matt Flumerfelt put down his trumpet to speak for the biomass protesters. He recommended responsibility on behalf of the children and grandchildren. He also said he looks forward to the new VLCIA executive director, since her background in hotel marketing fits with his vision of the area as a retirement community.

Here’s the video:


For the children —Matt Flumerfelt
Irregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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Nominated VLCIA Officers for FYE 2012

Chairman Jerry Jennett asked Tom Call for a report from the officer nominating committee, which was that the nominated officers for FYE 2012 are: Roy Copeland Chairman, Mary Gooding Vice-Chairman, and Norman Bennett Secretary/Treasurer.

Roy Copeland pulled a very sour face at the news. Mary Gooding asked Roy Copeland if he was willing to do it, and he said,

I’ll let you know next meeting.

They clarified that they elect officers next meeting. I don’t know when the next meeting is, but since their fiscal year ends 30 June 2011, presumably some time before then. Given that nobody else seems to want especially the hot potato of the Chairman’s job, it seems a safe bet that Roy Copeland is it. Continue reading →

Musical protesters @ VLCIA 14 June 2011

When I got there at 5:30 the biomass protesters were breaking up so some of them could go inside and speak. Matt Flumerfelt is visible heading in the door with his trumpet. Videos of his and other remarks to the board will follow.

Here’s the video:


Musical protesters @ VLCIA 14 June 2011
Irregular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 June 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

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