Tag Archives: WWALS

Videos: Nichols House, Turner Brooks, Scintilla Charter School, sidewalk, street lights @ VCC 2014-10-23

If it’s old, it’s no good: tear it down! Despite Alfred Willis saying the Nichols House was not just historic like he presented in his October 1st lecture, but perhaps the most historic, a lawyer spoke against it, and the Valdosta City Council voted against preserving it and thus in favor of demolishing it for the Turner Brooks subdivision next to VSU. Only Council Robert Yost, in whose district the Nichols House remains for the moment, voted for preserving it. We’re told the water issues noted by WWALS for that subdivision are permitting issues, so we’ll see what happens with those. See also Alfred Willis’ comments to the Valdosta Historic Preservation Commission.

And the Council approved Scintilla Charter School’s conditional use, perhaps not coincidentally after local attorney Bill Langdale spoke for it. Plus a sidewalk, streetlights, and other matters.

See the agenda. Here are videos of events as they transpired at the 23 October 2014 Regular Session of the Valdosta City Council.

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Sabal Trail in GWC Dirty Dozen –VDT

Joe Adgie wrote for the VDT today 23 October 2014, Coalition: Sabal one of Dirty Dozen,

VALDOSTA — The Georgia Water Coalition has named the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline as one of its Dirty Dozen for 2014, which highlights “12 of the worst offenses to Georgia’s waters,” according to the organization.

The pipeline is proposed to run under the Withlacoochee river, near Valdosta.

Joe Adgie also took the first picture above, of Logan Hulsey and Blake Clark of Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) at yesterday’s protest in front of the Valdosta Sabal Trail office. The other illustrations here are from WWALS Watershed Coalition about that Dirty Dozen item #9, Sabal Trail pipeline threatens Withlacoochee River and Floridan Aquifer,

In a press release, the GWC cited the risk of contaminating southwest Georgia’s well water, rivers and streams, as well Continue reading →

Nichols House, Turner Brooks, Scintilla Charter School, sidewalk, street lights @ VCC 2014-10-23

The historic nature of the Nichols House in the proposed Turner Brooks subdivision next to VSU, which also has water issues noted by WWALS, will be considered at the Valdosta City Council tonight; the picture is of people at a previous Planning Commission meeting about this. See Alfred Willis’ comments to the Valdosta Historic Preservation Commission. Also Scintilla Charter School’s proposed rezoning, a sidewalk, streetlights, and other matters.

Here’s the agenda.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, October 23, 2014
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
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WCTV on Sabal Trail pipeline activism

300x151 Sabal Trail Right of Way, in One Year After Sabal Trail Announces Pipeline Plans, Activists Begin Monthly Protests, by WCTV, 21 October 2014 Going on a year after Sabal Trail opened an office in Valdosta, WCTV used the latest protests to do a retrospective.

Winnie Wright reported for WCTV today, 22 October 2014, One Year After Sabal Trail Announces Pipeline Plans, Activists Begin Monthly Protests,

Time may have passed, but opinions haven’t changed much here in Valdosta, where people..who are against the pipeline say there are countless reasons why it doesn’t belong in their backyards.

300x154 Gretchen Quarterman, in One Year After Sabal Trail Announces Pipeline Plans, Activists Begin Monthly Protests, by WCTV, 21 October 2014 “There’s a moral obligation to leave the world as beautiful and majestic as we found it, and the pipeline; it does not do that”, says Gretchen Quarterman, President of the Lowndes County Democratic Party.

LCDP statement against the pipeline.

WCTV video: Continue reading →

Videos: GP Investments, Hahira, Pipeline, Alapaha Water Trail @ LCC 2014-09-09

Five citizens spoke, on topics including the “horrible wretched smell” from ADS, the Sabal Trail pipeline, the proposed local charter school, and the board packet and the Alapaha River Water Trail. Chairman Bill Slaughter asserted there had been nineteen applicants for the Planning Commission appointment and seemed to think the public should be happy about that, having learned it presumably by telepathy. He didn’t divulge who those applicants were, and the only one in the board packet (charming young white guy Brad Folsom) 300x450 2014-09-09-uldc-map-001, in wndes County Zoning Map, by Lowndes County Planning and Zoning, 9 September 2014 was appointed after somebody reminded the Chairman to at least get a motion first. They also appointed Commissioner Joyce Evans to the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. On the GP Investments water rezoning, County Planner Jason Davenport didn’t know whether there had been a dump site there or where the well would go, but they approved it anyway. They also approved the bookkeeping ULDC updates for Special Events, Zoning Map, Fees and they have since put the new zoning map online!

They approved unanimously the annual prisoner work detail contract without even mentioning the cost. And unanimously with no discussion they approved the Hahira extratorial request.

Here’s the agenda with links to the videos and some notes. See also the board packet, obtained for you by LAKE through an open records request, and the LAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session, which have quite a bit more information, including applicants for appointment speaking.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
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Alapaha River Water Trail @ VLCIA 2014-08-19

I talked about the Water Trail that WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. is developing on the Alapaha River with a tiny grant from the Georgia River Network, and how that was a plus for local economic development that wouldn’t cost VLCDA a dime. They seemed to like that, at the 19 August 2014 Regular Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority.

Here’s the video, followed by some pictures, links, and notes:

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Water issues in rezoning near VSU, appointments to Hospital and Tree Authorities @ VCC 2014-09-11

WWALS adds some water issues about that Turner Brooks rezoning, and there are appointments to the Hospital and Authorities at tonight’s Valdosta City Council meeting.

Here’s the agenda.

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, September 11, 2014
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Continue reading →

Children, cancer clusters, citizen water tests @ GA EPD 2014-07-17

Citizens are not convinced EPA, GA-EPD, and GA Dept. of Health are doing enough to find what’s causing widespread sickness and death in Waycross, GA. They asked questions and provided data and anecdotes for more than an hour, demanding more testing and answers, at a meeting about the Seven Out Superfund and other air and water contamination, for example from CSX and AGL.

Georgia Department of Health did offer a new survey, with local help. She also offered to send a local health dept. rep. right out whenever they were alerted a certain site stunk after rains. EPA and GA-EPD admitted there was a problem and said they were trying to fix it, which is a step forward from their preliminary Waycross meeting last November. But not a big enough step or quick enough to satisfy Waycross people who are or who know many who are sick or dying.

They asked very insightful questions, about Continue reading →

Climate Rally and EPA Hearings next week in Atlanta

High noon rally Tuesday and 9AM to 8PM hearings Monday and Tuesday 29-30 July 2014 at the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, Main Tower Bridge Conference Area, Conference Room B, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA. Plus you can comment online, maybe about mercury from coal Plant Scherer in the Alapaha River and how shifting to “natural” gas just promotes more fracked methane pipelines like that Sabal Trail boondoggle. EPA could take a second step on methane, and we can get on with faster, cheaper, cleaner, and far more environmentally beneficial solar power in the sunny southeast. For details see the Sierra Club or WWALS or SpectraBusters postings.

-jsq

Seven Out Superfund Assessment Public Meeting 2014-07-17

6-8PM tomorrow, Thursday 17 July 2014
Memorial Stadium, 715 Dewey St., Waycross, GA 31501

The Environmental Protection Agency, GA Environmental Protection Division, and Georgia Department of Public Health will be present to discuss sample collection and results from the Seven Out Tank site in downtown Waycross.

EPD will also be available to address issues and answer questions regarding CSX.

From Satilla Riverkeeper’s facebook event. Here’s a map: Continue reading →