On the LAKE Front

Members of the press or citizens are not welcome at library board? —George Boston Rhynes

Received today. To quote a VDT editorial of 3 March 2012:

When officials act like they have something to hide, they often do....

Here's George's Open Records Request. -jsq

February 7, 2013

George Boston Rhynes (229-251-8645)
5004 Oak Drive
Valdosta, Georgia 31605

TO: Valdosta-Lowndes County; South Georgia Regional Library Director/Chair person along with Board Members Respectively, Georgia News Media Outlets concerned about open government and the sunshine brightness...

SUBJECT: An open records request on behalf of the general public right to know...

SPLOST, media, southside library: videos @ SGLB 2012-11-20

Here's a video playlist of the 20 November 2012 South Georgia Regional Library Board meeting. And here's George Rhynes' editorial on what he saw, heard, and was asked at that meeting. He'd prefer SPLOST being spent first on sidewalks than on moving the library where people would have to go farther to get to it. Also, like many of us, he's tired of a few people controlling the purse-strings without input from the rest of us. He gave an example:

SPLOST VII @ SGLB 2012-11-20

At Tuesday's South Georgia Library Board meeting. a board member (his nameplate said Willis Miller) wanted to know about SPLOST:

How we know it's going to come up next November or at another time?

Good question.

Here's video of the discussion as it resumed later in the meeting:

SPLOST VII discussion at Monthly Meeting, South Georgia Library Board (SGLB),
Video by George Boston Rhynes for K.V.C.I. and bostongbr on YouTube,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 20 November 2012.

Kay Harris said there had to be a minimum of twelve months, so November 2013 would be the next possible time. She said County Commissioner Richard Raines had expressed full support for the new library, and she was talking to the other commissioners. She was asked whether the SPLOST lists would be the same, and said there might be some changes, but she hadn't heard anyone suggest that the Five Points property might be deleted. That's curious, because she quoted Valdosta Mayor Gayle in the VDT 7 November 2012 as saying:

Quitman 10+2 trial set for December

George Boston Rhynes notes a trial date of 10 December 2012 has finally been set for the Quitman 10+2. They were arrested back in 2010 for alleged voter fraud. Their "speedy trial" has taken so long that one of them has died.

The governor did convene a committee that ejected them from the school board in January. After repeatedly going to Atlanta, after Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) held its general meeting in Quitman, after Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp came to Quitman to hear complaints about the handling of the Quitman 10+2 case and recent irregularities involving the Brooks County Board of Elections, members of the Quitman 10+2 were finally reinstated on the school board 9 October 2012. Yet their "speedy trial" has been delayed for two full years, all the way until after this year's election.

Here's the video:

Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

-jsq

Videos Meet the Candidates (Part 2 of 2) @ VLCoC 2012-10-02

Here are videos of all the presentations from the Meet the Candidates event at VSU Monday. This adds to the previous LAKE videos, and also includes a different perspective from George Boston Rhynes.

Update 4:40 PM 5 October 2012: Toma Hawk has supplied a third viewpoint.

Introduction

Ron Borders, Introduction

Solicitor General:

Our honest responses to HUD —George Rhynes and John Robinson

Received today. -jsq

September 26, 2012 George Boston Rhynes 5004 Oak Street Valdosta, Georgia 31605

TO:

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Valdosta City Government Valdosta Housing Authority Valdosta Industrial Authority

The following is our honest responses to HUD and in response to the City of Valdosta's 8th Year of responding to HUD CPMP Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. This includes Narrative Responses to CAPER questions in relations to and with the Consolidated Planning Regulations and questions from the general public as highlighted on page 5, paragraph 1.

---

CITIZENS VIEW POINT AND RESPONSES: {GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES AND JOHN ROBNISON} after reviewing all previous CAPTER'S and the city's responses to them, I commend the City of Valdosta for responding to HUD in an extremely professional manner on paper. One can see and feel the professional prowess involved in providing these answers the City of Valdosta has placed on paper over the city's (long) historic past. However, when one looks deeper into the problems facing our beloved community, one will find the following to be as Paul Harvey would say the rest of——-the story!

GENERAL QUESTIONS: The City of Valdosta's response on the issues remains the same as reported in many other CAPERS such as:

• City attained the goal of:
• # of homes was brought up to code.
• Worked in conjunction with——
• to train, resident information sessions were held that yielded nearly 30 attendees etc.
• Staff continues to...., Overall, the city is pleased with the second Consolidated Plan Submission.
• (3.a) The city hosted several Section 3 Information Sessions and will continue to provide more information to.... Work with local community and faith-based organizations to identify and address.
• I could go on and on with these highly professional lines of what some see as solutions to the real problems in the City of Valdosta, Georgia. However there is another side and forgive me for not going through the complete CAPER in the above manner. I am sure your time is valuable; therefore I will cut through the chase and provide the following in response to the City of Valdosta RESPONSES. Not only to this CAPER but others we have read and taken into consideration:

A recent meeting held in the Valdosta City Annex about Community Housing etc. perhaps exemplifies

JC Cunningham against the charter school amendment and for HD 175

JC Cunningham, running for Georgia House District 175 against incumbent Amy Carter, spells out his opposition to the charter school amendment. -jsq

Video by George Boston Rhynes for bostongbr on YouTube.

Actually, it's even worse than JC indicates, because because HB 797 specifies more money per pupil for charter than for public schools, and the difference has to be made up out of local sales or property taxes.

-jsq

LAKE videoing George videoing Gretchen canvassing @ GretchenForLowndes.com 2012-08-25

Gretchen Quarterman canvassed on Summerlin Street in Valdosta Saturday:

The number one thing we need to do is to make the government accessible and transparent, so that the business of the people goes on in public.

Here's a video playlist:

LAKE videoing George videoing Gretchen canvassing on Summerlin Street in Valdosta,
Canvassing, Lowndes County Commission (GretchenForLowndes.com),
Videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
and by George Boston Rhynes for bostongbr on YouTube,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 August 2012.

Gretchen mentioned she'd been going to County Commission meetings for about four years now, and thought it was her turn to serve. George asked why she was canvassing on the west side of Valdosta, and she answered:

The thing that is important for people to know is that every single citizen in the county gets to vote, Whether you live in Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Dasher, Remerton, or the unincorporated areas. Every single person who lives in Lowndes County who is a registered voter gets to vote.

You have until October 8^th to register to vote for the November 6^th election. You can register at the Board of Elections at 2808 North Oak Street, or there are people going around with forms you can fill in and mail in or they will hand carry down there.

Participatory media! Doing what traditional media could do, George Boston Rhynes interviewed Gretchen Quarterman as she canvassed on Summerlin Street in Valdosta Saturday. Doing what traditional media can't do, I videoed George videoing Gretchen, and he later videoed me helping Gretchen canvass.

-jsq

Distributing information to citizens —George Boston Rhynes

Received yesterday on Valdosta LMIG resurfacing and transparency. -jsq

Thanks you so much for keeping us informed and it is still a disgrace that our elected officials cannot publish their meetings to all citizens. When will our Mayor; Council and County Commissioners start informing all the citizens and not just a select few of conservatives?

When will it all end? The time has come for change to take place in Valdosta for the good of all citizens and visitors. We need and should demand television, radio, internet and other means of distributing information to citizens.

How sad in 2012?

George included a video of his thoughts on elections hereabouts and elsewhere: Words from our YOUTHS....and where are you? Indeed George Rhynes is out there reporting the truth as he sees it, this time along with two VSU students.

-jsq

Video of stealth education panel at Lowndes High last night

Here's George Boston Rhynes' first video from last night's stealth education panel. The VDT covered it, but, presumably due to its bizarre policy of not covering candidates for office, the VDT didn't even mention that J.C. Cunningham, Democrat running for Georgia House District 175, was present, even though the VDT posted pictures and quotes from the incumbent, Republican Amy Carter, who apparently organized the panel. Charter schools were discussed; see below after the video.

Video of stealth education panel at Lowndes High last night
Video by George Boston Rhynes for K.V.C.I and bostongbr on YouTube,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 August 2012.

On the panel, left to right: