News so good, there's a law against it!

I'd like to thank the Commission for the award!

Louis XIV handing down an award at Versailles

I and LAKE will wear it proudly. The VDT doesn't have one of these. WCTV doesn't have one; WALB doesn't have one. Only LAKE posts news so good, there's a law against it!

It's now been a week since the Lowndes County Commission passed an ordinance for no stated reason, not on the agenda, and not read to the public. It's still not on the county's online list of ordinances. Gretchen was covering an event Friday at which she saw Commissioner Crawford Powell; she asked him to send her a copy of the ordinance. Five days later, nothing has arrived.

So, our only clues are Commissioner Raines' remarks that it had something to do with videoing and photographing. And his remarks that he believed that the Chairman could do it on his own, but he'd like to make a motion for the Commission to approve it.

So we have to guess it had something to do with Ashley Paulk's outburst of the previous morning, in which he flattered me by addressing me and only me by name, even though there were at least two video cameras recording the meeting. This is what he was going on about:

The County Commission wishes from this day forward that any filming be done from the media area in the back corner of the room.

He didn't say anything about still photography, or for that matter about digital videoing, so I don't know whether what he said had anything to do with whatever it was that Commissioner Raines moved Tuesday and the Commission approved. Nor does anybody else know.

Now a cynic might say,

Can they even pass a law like what the Chairman suggested?

Well, that is a good question, and one could guess that Raines wasn't really confident that the Chairman could do it alone, or he wouldn't have made the motion. They didn't provide any precedents about any other local government doing this anywhere else, either. But if they're the first to do it, that makes it an even more special award!

People ask me,

Is it even legal to pass a law against a specific named individual?

Well, maybe not, but who am I to turn down flattery like that?

Others ask me,

Why don't you hire a lawyer and challenge it?

Challenge what, exactly? Nobody knows what it is. Besides, who am I to turn down an award as special as this?

Now the real cynics say,

Well, it's just a county ordinance anyway, not a real law.

Maybe so, but the VDT doesn't have one of these. WCTV doesn't have one; WALB doesn't have one. I bet even the AJC doesn't have one of these. Only LAKE posts news so good, there's a law against it!

-jsq

Comments

[Barbara Stratton]

John, I appreciate you & Gretchen for the videoing & reporting you do. We don't agree on many issues, but open records & sunshine laws are non partisan. All Lowndes citizens should appreciate your efforts to bring the government meetings to them since they don't seem to have any get up & go to get there themselves. Sorry you're having to take the heat for trying to facilitate the citizen laziness. Keep the faith & maybe we can revive the obviously forgotten Constitutional mandate that our government is of the people & for the people & elected/appointed officials work for us. Respect is always a two way street. Anyone who wants respect needs to give it because in this country "all men are created equal" & power surges are counter productive for all.

[Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange]

Thanks for the compliments, Barbara. As one of the LAKE owls, you deserve part of the award, too! Please keep up your efforts to find out what's going on around here. -jsq