the blog of LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange
Roy Copeland had a question about Project Excel,
the
private prison that Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) wants
to build in Lowndes County,
at the
15 March 2011 VLCIA board meeting.
Q: He wanted to know if there are other communities competing for the project, and whether they had also paid a second extension.
A: Col. Ricketts answered that there is another community competing, but he did not know whether they had made that payment:
There is another community that is competing for this project. When I say competing, they have been selected as the runner-up or the alternate position. I do not know that they have made that payment yet. However, I am meeting with their project manager and their senior real estate developer tomorrow for lunch, and a site tour here, and I'll raise that question."Brad Lofton added that the other location was in Decatur County, and that VLCIA's contract stipulated that the Lowndes County site was the primary site so they had to come here first.
Q: Roy Copeland wanted to know whether they had washed out.
A: Col. Ricketts said no, they were still there.
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Brad Lofton Executive Director, Allan Ricketts Program Manager,
15 March 2011
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
The story continues in later posts.
-jsq
I would expect a trial attorney like Roy Copeland to have a better-than-average understanding of the human rights abuses associated with private prisons, but all he's worried about is whether some other community is going to out-compete Valdosta for this atrocity? Shame shame shame.
This man needs to go, all of them (with exception of newcomer Tom Call) need to go. They are either the most unChristian group ever assembled or the most ill-informed. If they aren't going to research a project adequately then they don't need to be sitting on this board. Valdosta deserves better.
Posted by: Leigh Touchton | Monday, 21 March 2011 at 09:43 PM
Dear Mr. Quarterman, I apologize for the double post. I invite you to post "Resolution Calling for the Abolition of For-Profit Private Prisons". I found this after ten minutes of internet research, actually took me less time to find this than all the dirt on Dr. Christopher Teaf, the "star expert witness for biomass". Here's just a few excerpts from the Presbyterian elders: "Private prison companies sometimes lie about the security level..to convince a community to buy into their project. Then when escapes and violence inside a prison get bad, it's too late for the community." I wonder if Mr. Ricketts will continue in Mr. Lofton's footsteps and use the tactic of smear campaign and character attacks to convince Valdosta that the Presbyterian elders are a fringe group who don't know anything? You know, the way he did with me. Oh and in case anyone hasn't heard yet, Mr. Lofton offered to partner with a local man who refers to me as the KKK. Mr. Lofton sent that email to dozens of local public officials. I wonder what they'll call the Presbyterian church?
Posted by: Leigh Touchton | Monday, 21 March 2011 at 09:51 PM