Circular thinking and fraudulent postings

Well well, so much AGAIN has happened since my last post. I really want to focus on the Informer blog posts concerning the city clerk and her supposed comments posted there. The July 15th post, It Takes Two to Tango...the Informer talks about how he has tried so hard to get this audit report and that it is intentionally being withheld and he should have received a bound copy yada yada yada. Come on, really? If you look it up in the free, online version of the Mississippi Code, you can easily type in Public Records and you will find that Title 25-61-5 states that if a public body does not have a policy outlining the time limit on producing that copy, it must be provided within one day. However, no public body may approve a policy that denies the production of the copy no longer than 7 days later. I am willing to bet the City of Lumberton has a policy giving them 7 days to produce the documents. You will also see that Title 25-61-7 discusses how the public body has the right to establish fees for these copies.

I have to say that I have NEVER worked with a public entity or requested documents from a public entity where a bound copy of anything was just handed over. All that I have worked for or in conjunction with charged research and copy fees and required a wait. I think it is ridiculous to think that you should, as a member of the public, be handed over bound copies of audits, budgets, minutes, etc. Go whine to someone else about that.

But the most egregious error is the posting of the comment posted on July 18 at 3:41pm. It is incredibly obvious to me that this post was not posted by the city clerk. All this time the Informer has tried to convince us that this clerk has masterminded everything that has happened at city hall. She has managed to lie, cheat, steal, and politically maneuver things on the chessboard of the city. YET, get this, we are now supposed to believe that she would post a gloating, self-incriminating comment on the Informer's blog? WOW, it dawned on me that the Lumberton Informer truly believes that most of his readers are idiots. Then, to go on further about making some calls and finding out the clerk's movements in the office, which he refers to in the July 20 Idiots post to "prove" that the clerk indeed must have made that post? What kind of circular thinking is that? The Informer simply proved in that statement that one of the people he called, or, more likely, he himself, submitted that post fraudulently in the city clerk's name. It doesn't make sense, but unfortunately the Informer is counting on his readers not being smart enough to put two and two together. I even tried on two occasions to post a comment basically stating what I have said here, and he chose not to make those posts public. What does that say about his open forum? It says he doesn't want people to question that whole bunch of bull or to even think critically about how ridiculous the whole things sounds. Maybe if we give it more time he will post them for everyone to see.

I grew up here, went to school with the Informer, know people who churched with him, sat on the planning and zoning committee, etc. I have done some research of my own and it seems that most people don't have a whole lot of nice things to say about his "research" and his "ethics." Why do people feel they know for a fact that the Informer has falsified documents before, written letters on business letterheads he had no ties with and signed the names of groups without authorization to do so. It seems to me that, if he doesn't get the rise he is looking for, he is willing to go to great lengths to create documentation to support his claims.

Audits are a complicated thing, and even if he decides to pay the copy fees to actually get it, it will only be confusing enough for him to make claims in which those readers he thinks are stupid will blindly assume are correct. Get a copy of any audit yourself and tell me if you could take it and make false claims easily? Believe me, you could.

Things you can use to become more informed

There are several free tools out there that you can use if you are interested in looking up Mississippi Codes or Attorney General Opinions. I learned about these years ago at the University. http://www.michie.com/mississippi/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=mscode will allow you to search all of the codes to find those that use the terms you are seeking. The trick here, as well as at any site, is to figure out the right search terms for what you are seeking. We all know the law uses terms that we don't often use in everyday life, so you may want to have a look at http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/ to browse terms to find the words you need to plug into a search.

Attorney General opinions are often referred to when the law is not clear on a subject, or the law is even silent on a subject. People from many levels of government and the legal system ask the Attorney General specific questions and the AG's office responds to these. These questions cover protocols for Boards at many levels, including school boards, boards of Supervisors, boards of Alderman, etc. This free site allows you to search those opinions http://government.westlaw.com/msag/. Again, you have to use the terms that would be used in the legal system. You may also search by name, if you are looking for AG opinions sought by your political leaders or the workers involved with the political machine of your area. It is interesting when you type in a mayor's name and you find that they have requested many AG opinions and you can read them all.

Interestingly enough, after the recent Informer post about the volunteer fire department, I just typed in "volunteer fire departments" and found this:

http://weblinks.westlaw.com/result/default.aspx?action=Search&cfid=1&cnt=DOC&db=MS%2DAG&eq=search&fmqv=c&fn=%5Ftop&method=WIN&n=2&origin=Search&query=volunteer+fire+departments&rlt=CLID%5FQRYRLT39481531813276&rltdb=CLID%5FDB6929531813276&rlti=1&rp=%2Fsearch%2Fdefault%2Ewl&rs=WEBL2%2E92&service=Search&sp=msag%2D1000&srch=TRUE&ss=CNT&sskey=CLID%5FSSSA6829531813276&vr=2%2E0

This is a link to a question posed by Mayor Miriam Holder to the AG office about just this subject. Apparently, a volunteer fire department is not subject to the authority of the municipality, though the municipality may enter into a contract to provide the facility, equipment and benefits to the private, not-for-profit fire department provided that the municipality continues to exercise control over its equipment (some of which has apparently disappeared and this was not followed up on).

So it seems a complicated prospect for a city to work with a volunteer fire department rather than operating a fire department that operates as a city department. If citizens and city officials feel that there are issues with the volunteer fire department, there may actually be little that can be done, other than creating a munincipal fire department staffed with city employees. Of course, we know money is tight for most cities and counties right now. But you have to weigh the pros and cons and do cost-benefit analyses to find which system may work best for your situation. I am sure that many homeowners throughout the city of Lumberton worry about fire ratings, homeowner's insurance and losing everything. If they can't get there in time to stop the fire in its infancy, it is already too late to save the structure and its contents. At a certain point, it probably really becomes more about making sure everyone is out of the structure and that it does not spread to surrounding structures or areas. Having lived through a home fire, it would have saved our family so much time, money and grief if the structure would have been allowed to burn rather than having to come back and tear down the remaining structure.

I seem to remember, probably back in the late 80s or early 90s, several homes burned right there on the street and those adjacent to the fire department and they were not responded to in a manner that everyone was happy with. At that time, there was no pattern to who lost homes as far as color either. These things happen and have happened.

However, I think it serves ANY organization that accepts volunteers to be very careful about who they allow to volunteer. You have to make sure these people are dependable, drug-free, well-meaning and have some degree of intelligence. Not all people who want to volunteer SHOULD be allowed to volunteer. Anyone wishing to volunteer could have sinister ulterior motives for wanting to do so.  I know many volunteer firefighters from other cities and counties and they are also pillars of their communities and are active in other organizations. They often hold important jobs in the area too. I am not sure that all of the volunteers in this area are like this. I know some of them are intelligent, dedicated and care about the city and its inhabitants. But not all of them.

Looking Back

As most Lumberton citizens probably do, I look back on a time when things weren't so bad. And for the most part, the day to day living here is not bad. But the loss of most of the employers and businesses is disheartening. But that isn't all the fault of City Hall. The economy had more to do with Cooper scaling back for sure. The housing market can't collapse and not affect the industries that provide the products of new construction. As for the other industries over there, I'm sure the economy wasn't nice to them either.

The state of main street...well what can you say about it? There is hope that it will get better, that that space will really be cleaned up. It seems to me that the city needs some very smart business people who are familiar with state laws, federal laws, and employment law (to name a few things) in charge to prioritize goals here. Going about things in a scatter gun manner generally leads to nothing getting completed, but many things started. The Industrial Parks need to be put high on the priority list to bring jobs. Chasing dreams of having a hospital here...it just doesn't sound feasible. Especially with the old hospital and the old Movie Star buildings sitting vacant. But I'm not sure who out there would want to take a leap of faith on Lumberton by starting a major business venture here...not yet anyway. I think the infrastructure and services need to also be high on that priority list. Get water and sewage in order and work towards a well-trained police force AND let them do their jobs. But, don't harass the visitors that do come to town and attempt to spend money. Well, don't harass locals either for nothing when they are trying to do business in town. The skydivers would spend alot more money in town if there were more options for them to spend and if their presence was welcomed.

I wonder what positives and negatives would come out of legalizing the sale of beer in the city limits? I wonder if it is even possible and what it would take. I haven't taken the time to find out. But imagine the sales taxes that would stay in town rather than lining the pockets of Forrest County, City of Hattiesburg, Bogalusa and Marion County. Imagine if all the people who drive through Lumberton or out of Lumberton could get their beer here. It would probably be safer too if they didn't have to drive so far. But that is just one way to make money for the city, but for many people it just isn't an option. But we seem to be running out of options.

I've talked with sky divers and campers out at Black Creek Water Park. They want to be able to get the things they want in Lumberton, but often they can't. And goodness if you get a possession of alcohol ticket here, get ready to lay down some big money. But there could also be negative consequences, though I am not sure what they would be. It isn't like people who didn't drink before would suddenly start. Driving five miles out of town isn't deterring those who live in town who drink. Heck, driving 25 or 30 miles doesn't deter most.

Well those are just some ideas that I hear alot of folks mention. Actually, these were some ideas presented years ago when that planner came in to a city board meeting and talked about making this into a tourist attraction by facing buildings to look like an old frontier-like logging town. Now I don't see that as particularly doable, but selling beer and lightening up on visitors to town did sound pretty good, even to someone who doesn't care about being close to alcohol, but would not be bothered by it either.

Well quite alot has happened

It seems that in just a short period of time, all Hell has broke loose at City Hall. I don't really know if this will lead to any positive change in the police department. There was a time in Lumberton where you couldn't ride through town without being harassed. Even elderly ladies, mothers with carloads of kids seemed to be getting pulled over without cause. Then that subsided and it became endless road blocks, some in very dangerous places like near the underpass that is currently being worked on. Even early on Sunday mornings, when folks were trying to go to church, there would be road blocks up. But crime still abounded, burglaries were increasing, murders occurred on crowded street corners. So I don't know whether to say this change in force will lead to positive or negative change. We shall see. Of course, we are all hoping for positive change in this city, and that MUST begin at City Hall and the Police Department.

Because personnel issues are supposed to be handled in executive session and not discussed outside of that session, how is it that there is so much conjecture as to the how and why of the firings and suspensions? Speaking outside of an executive session is akin to a juror discussing a case or a witness discussing something when a gag order has been placed upon them. Did someone really get suspended for asking why their health insurance was cancelled? I can't imagine that could be true. There must be more to it. And how would the Lumberton Informer know EXACTLY how that situation transpired? Did he hear all the sides to that story? I suspect not. Does anyone other than the officers and those in the executive sessions really know what happened? Did any of those people speak to Lumberton Informer? Maybe the persons who feel wronged in that situation did to air dirty laundry. Most likely no one will ever really know what prompted all of this, but we can hope that things will get better. If they don't, the Informer is indeed correct, we will have to cast our votes accordingly.

I also saw a comment that someone made about the Informer putting his life or the lives of those around him in danger. Unfortunately I am afraid that when you take up the pen, or keyboard, or phone for that matter, to speak out against people in charge, you may in fact become a target. Even if you are legitimately discussing the facts and your opinions about those, you could be targeted. It happens to editors and authors all the time. But in this case, it goes so far beyond discussing Board meetings and opinions about them. The Informer's blog has now passed into a realm of being, shall I say, incendiary? He's allowing commentors to post horrible things about people that have no relevance to his points. Allowing comments about the City Clerk sleeping with the police officer? Really? That adds credibility to the blog? That is some highschool level rumor mongering that has no place in the adult world. Ridiculous things like that completely undermine some of the really good arguments and discussions that have occurred there. Attacking someone for wanting to secure their office when it contains personnel records and water customer information? That building is a public building where anyone can walk into it! I pay a water bill here in town. My information better not be available to any Joe who wants to jimmy a lock! Why did everyone want to say she was accusing city officials or workers of breaking in? Any person off the street can walk in there and get up to no good when the doors are open or if someone forgets to lock an outer door at night.

Finally, the discussions of workers sleeping on the job, hanging around the office and such. When I am at work, I see workers here all the time taking lunch breaks and smoke breaks. If I were someone just riding by in my car, how would I know whether you are on the clock or not? How would anyone reporting these things know for certain that those people aren't taking legitimate breaks, or have asked for some vacation time to take a little longer break? I know lots of people that, when feeling ill, rather than go home, they will run down and take a nap in their car during their lunch hour. They aren't on the clock. And if I didn't know they weren't...yes it would look like they are just burning up time.

As I said, there are some really good arguments sprinkled throughout the Informer's blog. There are problems in this town, and everyone knows it, even the people that work in City Hall, even the elected officials. Civil discourse is a must if you want to make things better. And CIVIL is the last thing that the Lumberton Informer has turned out to be, partly due to the fact that ridiculous comments are being allowed to post. No matter how many times you say that you are not responsible for other people's comments, ultimately the vast majority of those looking at it are going to hold you responsible. Why not screen out those horrible, rumor-mongering comments? Just come back and sum them up in your own words if they do have some merit? Not willing to put your stamp on them that way? Might as well if you are going to get blamed for them anyway. Talk is so cheap, especially in a small town. And it is often completely WRONG! Word on the street is just that.

Well, that is it for now. It will be a long time until we will have a chance to vote for change in Lumberton. I truly hope that we can make it to those elections with clear ideas of what we want and how we want to accomplish the goals we set.

Can't Fix Idiocy

I thought it might be about time to spend some time blogging about Lumberton myself since it seems that anyone can write anything they want to about anyone on the Internet with no serious repercussions. Well, except for maybe loss of credibility, alienation of friends and neighbors, and general ill will all around. I have chosen to remain anonymous because who says what around this place doesn't seem to matter anyway. In fact, what is said seems not to matter much either when it comes to truth, morality or legality. So by all means, let me join in. You will gather from my grammar, punctuation and thought processes that I am educated and intelligent. You will also gather that I am a citizen of Lumberton. I grew up here, I have seen the town implode over the last 30 years and it saddens me.

But, in reality, Lumberton is really just a microcosm of the whole world right now, and the United States in particular. No one in power seems to have a hold on reality, nor do they seem to care about more than their own short-sighted, self-serving goals. Communities are falling apart everywhere, some just seem to be flowing down that drain alot faster than others.

So, I guess a year or more ago, on the scene steps the Lumberton Informer. WOW. What straight-shooting, intelligent discourse there! All under the guise of reforming our floundering little town. But really all it has become is a back-biting, mud-slinging forum where the words and works of people who care are drowned out by people who can barely get a thought out with any real cognizance.

While I do have a job and real life goals, I will attempt to post here often with my thoughts on the Lumberton Informer. Why? Because I hope that some real, meaningful social discourse will come out of it. And I hope that at some point it really aggravates the living hell out of the Lumberton Informer. I chose my name wisely, because any Internet search on the Lumberton Informer will eventually pull up this blog as well.

Granted, I won't have time to spend all day, every day on this blog, or at this meeting or that meeting because, like I said, I do have a job and a life and I actually own an home. I won't have time to sit around listening to idle talk, but I am connected enough to comment on the Lumberton Informer's information and ramblings.

For the record, the Aldermen in this town do seem to be self-serving and at times even clueless. They pay a great deal of lip service and accomplish very little. The mayor comes off as just stark raving looney. But somehow, no one has been arrested, no one has been indicted, and it continues to be business as usual. And unfortunately, I am afraid that will never change. But the Lumberton Informer, now there is someone who is accomplishing something! He has something to be proud of! Idle hands are the Devil's playground? I believe he is the epitomy of that little phrase. Who really believes that being mentioned on his blog has any bearing on real life? So what if he tears you down on there, it isn't like anyone who matters or who can touch your life is reading it. Hee hee hee I think this is going to be an interesting journey.