Sunday, February 28, 2010

Major changes proposed for downtown Savannah.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-28/growing-oglethorpe-plan-downtown-savannah

Sunday Funnies; Volume 105

Have You Ever Danced?
An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio, Texas leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?" The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No, I never did dance...never really wanted to."

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, "Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.

When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have you ever kissed a mule's ass?"

The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No sir... But I've always wanted to."

There are two lessons for us all here:
Don't waste ammunition.
Don't mess with old people.

Glynn County police get 360 degree, 3-D, laser scanner.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-28/story/3d_laser_scanner_technology_gives_glynn_county_police_360_degree_view_

This is really slick technology. Some of you may have seen the cable television show based upon cases in which this has been used.

Camping in the Okefenokee

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-28/story/camping_at_the_okefenokee_a_bit_more_civilized

I did this in May in the early 1970s wiht a couple of fellow Viet-vets I had met at Armstrong. If you are physicaly fit enough to paddle a canoe at a relaxed pace for 4 to 6 hours, I highly recommend it.
You should be aware that if you want to go in May of 2011, you need to make reservations NOW.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Camden JDA report for 2/10

Click on images to enlarge

The kind of problems the St. Marys Downtown Merchants' Association would love to have but, thankfully, never will.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-25/city-seeks-input-st-patricks-festivities

Cathy Gentry makes Jay's Killer Black Bean Chili: lives and loves it!

I had lunch at Aunt B's today. Last week, when it was time to make up another batch of my chili mix, I brought Cathy a coffee jar full of it. Today, she told me that she had made it at home. She and her family loved it. However, knowing her family's tastes, she left out the jalapeno peppers and the tablespoon of olive oil you sautee the peppers and onions in. I'm glad y'all liked it, Cathy. By the way, I loved that garlic biscuit at lunch today.

If you would like the recipes for both the mix and preparing the chili, look down the right hand side of this blog under "links to blogs and websites." Let me know how you like it.

Old mill site to be featured prominently at National Brownfield Association convention in Atlanta.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-25/story/durango_site_featured_at_upcoming_brownfield_convention

Rhode Island school board does, indeed, fire ALL teachers at a failing high school!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587334,00.html?test=latestnews

Another case from the "Oh, but MY pit bull would never do that!" files.

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2010-02-24/ga-infant-bitten-dog-dies

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tonight's public hearing on the proposal to suspend county impact fees and refund all collected so far.

Surprize, surprize! Not a single county commissioner was there tonight. I expected that. However, I was surprised, as was the Planning and Development Board, when John Peterson, the county Directing of Planning and Development was a no show. Less than 20 citizens showed up. I spoke extemporaneously in opposition for maybe 6 or 7 minutes. Feller read his letter-to-the editor on the subject, with NO extemporaneous remarks. Royal Weaver read a rather lengthy article from the Internet then made a few extemporaneous remarks. St. Marys City Councilman John Morrissey spoke, reminding the commissioners that there is a "double taxation" bill pending in Atlanta which, if passed, would restrict the county's ability to tax the city residents, ergo, reducing any revenue stream at this point would be fool hardy indeed. Other speakers were Bob Nutter  (who did not exhibit the obnoxiousness or passive aggressiveness he apparently reserves for Mayor Deloughy only), Walt Natzic, and 2 or 3 others whose names I did not know all spoke out in opposition. Kingsland City Manager, Gwen Mungin was in the audience as well as Woodbine City Councilman, Scott Henning. Neither spoke. The instant that Brent Green, who had moderated the public hearing comments, gaveled the hearing to a close, one of the board members, a Mr. Toshach, instantly made a motion to forward the tape and transcript of all of the public comments on to the CCBOC with no coments (much less a vote or recommendation) by the board. Artie Jones instantly seconded. The vote to kick it back to the CCBOC was swift and unanimous. It was announced that the CCBOC will hold one more public hearing at their meeting of March 16th after which they will IMMEDIATELY VOTE ON THE ISSUE.

If you want to come out against it before that, you may do so during the public comments section of their regular meeting on March 2nd. Keep up the pressure folks. This incedibly audacious gift to builders and assault on our wallets is nowhere near dead yet.

Forty-year-old man steps into trap baited with 18 year old female at Cumberland Okas.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-24/story/2_suspects_arrested_another_sought_in_st_marys_armed_robbery_and_kidna

SECDEF moves one step closer to allowing women on subs.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/23/women.sub.duty/index.html?hpt=T2

St. Marys city workers find skeletal remains in downtown wooded area.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-24/story/st_marys_workers_find_body_in_woods

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Hot damn! I just earned a penny!

I just checked my screen that tracks my earnings from folks clicking on these Google ads. So far, I've made 1 cent since the ads first appeared this morning. I don't have any way of knowing if that is from one view or more. I'm in the money! Interestingly, I just noticed that there is an ad running for dried meal worms to feed to blue birds! No doubt, their software picked up om my blue bird story.

Fire every teacher?

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/02/23/ac.fire.teacher.cnn?hpt=T2

Savannah's Saint Marys Home to close after 135 years of service.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-23/st-marys-home-close-its-doors-june-30

Camden student achieves perfect scores in all three sections of SAT!

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-23/story/camden_county_student_with_perfect_sat_score_honored

Monday, February 22, 2010

Let's talk about the idea of abandoning the post system of electing St. Marys city councilmen in favor of by geographically defined districts of

roughly equal populations. What are y'all's thoughts?

Let's talk about plurality versus majority voting in St. Marys.

The next public hearing will be at 1:00 PM on March 8th. After that was voted on tonight, I strongly encouraged city council to schedule at least one more at 6:00 PM again. I told council that I would try to get folks engaged in a meaningful discussion of the issues here on my blog prior to the meeting so that they might follow it to get a better feel for what people are thinking. So, someone please start off with the first comment.

The Blue Bird of crappiness!

Last year, I put up a blue bird box on my back fence. A nesting pair of Eastern blue birds promptly moved in and subsequently reared two clutches of eggs, then moved out. Well, this year, as Spring approaches, a pair has once again started bringing nesting materials to the box. However, I think this is a different pair. Well, at least one of them,probably the male, has taken up the habit of perching atop the large, driver's side, side-view mirror on my van. He leans way over to confront the other blue bird in the mirror with what I'm sure are threat verbalizations. When that doesn't work, he turns back around and craps on his rival in the mirror. Sarah cleaned it off this morning, but I'm sure he'll be right back at it. It figures.

Looks like we've only seen the tip of the iceberg of CRCT cheating!

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-22/story/analysis_study_shows_suspicious_georgia_test_scores

More from "funny," the official attack dog of the Feller campaign.

From Topix, Kingsland. funny Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #88 19 min ago Mr. Moreno will make an excellent Commissioner, if he does not like what a citizen says he will call him(her) a moron. If he does not like what a fellow commissioner says he will call him an idiot. Truly this is what we need running County government. Camden will reach new heights during his tenure. Truly we are blessed to have such candidate. It would appear that Kingfish Feller does not have the cajones to launch his own attacks. I'm sure we can expect much more of the same plus attempts to link me to the old paranoiac's arch nemesis, Steve Berry.

St. Marys City Council meeting tonight at 6:00 PM.

N.B.: Amended agenda! http://www.ci.st-marys.ga.us/agendas/2010/2%2022%2010%20Amended%20City%20Council%20Agenda.pdf

Taxpayers must read this!!!

http://www.co.camden.ga.us/CurrentEvents.aspx?EID=506 This Wednesday night, at 6:00 PM, at the Planning and Development Board meeting in the county annex building (the small, red brick building next to the Camden County Public Library on Gross Rd at Hwy 40) there will be what the county commissioners (except Berry) are passing off as one of two required public hearings before they can go ahead and vote to not only set the county impacxt fees to ZERO, effectively suspending the fee collection, but actually REFUND ALL FUNDS COLLECTED FAR to the builders who have bought Charlene Sears. Please attend and let your voices be heard. The second public hearing will be held during the regualr county commission meeting of March 16th. http://www.co.camden.ga.us/CurrentEvents.aspx?EID=507 Unless enough of us have put the fear of the incensed majority of the electorate into the 4 by then, they can vote in the dastardly deed that very night.

Civil case backlog to be whittled down faster.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-22/story/brunswicks_civil_cases_soon_handled_by_administrator_speeding_up_proce

Sunday, February 21, 2010

New feature coming to Camden Commentary.

Coming soon - Google ads. Yes, every time someone clicks on one, I will receive some piddling compensation - no doubt some fraction of a cent. Here's where you can get a preview of what they will look like. http://www.woodbinegeorgia.blogspot.com/

Coulter on liberal idiocy vis-a-vis Iran.

http://www.anncoulter.com/

Two more small businesses closed / closing.

Yesterday, on my way to try the China King Restaurant in the Winn Dixie shopping center (the one that had their menu inserted into Friday's T&G), I noticed that the Merle Norman Studio is having a "closing sale." Moreover, the guy who used to sell storage sheds off the end of the strip that houses T&C Pawn has already closed up and gone. The latter was, of course, directly related to the downturn in home sales/construction. The former tells me that a lot of gals who formerly indulged themselves with the personal fawning and higher priced make-up at Merle Norman are now buying at Walmart. Now is not a good time to own a boutique type of retail outlet. Oh, by the way, I had the lunch-sized kung pao chicken with white rice and egg roll. It was all quite good, reasonably priced, and quick (< 10 minutes.) The amount was adequate for any two skinny folks. I can't imagine how many the higher priced dinner sized entrees would serve. China King is primarily a take-out restaurant: there are four, four-top tables in the small dining area.

Camden Commentary turns two years old!

As of this moment, there have been 260,601 hits. Thank you for your continued readership. Remember, if you ever want to tell someone esle how to get here, just tell them to Google "Camden Commentary."

Sunday Funnies; Volume 104

If you ever feel a little bit stupid, just dig this up and read it again; you'll begin to think you're a genius. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, (On September 17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995..) Question: If you could live forever, would you and why? Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever," --Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff." --Mariah Carey ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life," -- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign . ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body," --Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward... ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country," --Mayor Marion Barry, Washington , DC . ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it," --A congressional candidate in Texas ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Half this game is ninety percent mental." --Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." --Al Gore, Vice President ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "I love California . I practically grew up in Phoenix ......" -- Dan Quayle ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?" --Lee Iacocca ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "The word "genius" isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." --Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people." -- Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC Instructor. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances." --Department of Social Services, Greenville , South Carolina ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas." --Keppel Enderbery ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record." --Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Feeling smarter yet?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

KKK rally features hate speech clothed as populism but no violence.

http://jacksonville.com/news/2010-02-20/story/cheers_jeers_great_klan_rally_in_nahunta Would you believe some die-hard Thuggies are criticizing our sheriff for sending CCSO officers to back up the Brantley County sheriff. These are the same idiots who criticized him for not having a big presence at the Mardi Gras parade.

St. Marys City Council meeting Monday night.

http://www.ci.st-marys.ga.us/agendas/2010/2%2022%2010%20City%20Council%20Agenda.pdf

Another case of boards and committees gone wild.

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/TCNAOKH16LPPBRB4Q It was Barbara "Delta Dawn" Ryan who took it upon herself to call Cecily Hill and ask her to shut down the legislative initiative concerning CVB terms of office that had been voted upon, duly approved, and forwarded to her for action. Hill, quite correctly, informed her that she had overstepped her authority. It is way past time that some folks were read the riot act by the mayor. They are established in an advisory capacity. They have no legislative capabilities. They are creatures of the council. They are to act only within the narrow confines of their respective charters. That reminds me, at the last city council meeting I asked Mayor Deloughy if we could get get a report from the Citizens Beautification Board (or whatever) on their plans for "beautification" of St. Marys, particularly as relates the suggestions from the public which they solicited last Fall. He said he would have their chair report at he next meeting, this coming Monday night. As you will see on my next post, they are not on the agenda.

Who knew? There is also a Woodbine blog.

http://woodbinegeorgia.blogspot.com/

Has Camden already missed the wood pellet boat?

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-20/savannah-could-corner-pellet-market

Sound familiar?

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-20/story/glynn_county_will_get_design_concepts_for_new_jail

Friday, February 19, 2010

Does anyone who was there speak Marionese? What in the hell is he talking about?

From Topix Kingsland. RE: Last night's St.Marys public hearing on plurality vs. majority elections. Marion Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #8 15 min ago Was the time set to minimize attendance? Heard the new mayor got a nickname. What was the deputy's name on the Andy Griffith show? Any way Jay Moreno stole the show and drove the nail.

Obama's DOT shafts entire State of Georgia on transportation stimulus funds.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-18/chatham-county-georgia-denied-federal-stimulus-dollars-transportation

Feller finds shill who can actually type.

From Topix: funny Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #27 1 hr ago anon wrote: Impact Fees should remain in tact! Period end of discussion. The cost of infrastructure should NOT be spread out over the existing homeowners. No one has offered in help or reduction of taxes for the existing homeowner. Our taxes increase 92%! Charlene since you are so concerned about the welfare of the developers what are you going to give the remaining constituents of your district? I am most certain that the number of us outweigh that of the developers. I expect this type of behaviour out of Rainer, Zell and Sears. Keene is a big disappointment! He's a banker. Wonder if he is this generous with the banks money. (Funny writes:)The one thing you can rely on is Sandy Feller's support of Impact Fee's. He has been this way for 12 years or more.

Folks, just be aware that anything you read in future or have read in the last couple of weeks on Topix Kingsland written by one "funny" is actually coming directly from the Feller campaign.

Georgia Power to offer more solar generated electricity for sale.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-19/story/solar_power_will_count_for_more_in_state_program "Until now, 90 percent of the alternative fuel used to supply Green Power came from gas burned off at a DeKalb County landfill. Many environmentalists don't want to support landfill-gas power because they fear it would discourage recycling and remove an incentive to reduce the amount of garbage going to landfills in the first place." It figures!

Sea Island files for bankruptcy.

Apparently, Goldman-Sachs was able to evaluate Sea Island's options in very short order. A heretofore 100% reliable source informed me last night that Sea Island filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors yesterday. That's all I know for now. Stay tuned.

NAACP sucked in by KKK. Will hold counter rally in Nahunta.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-19/story/georgia_naacp_to_hold_unity_rally_to_counter_kkk_in_nahunta It strikes me that a better strategy would have been for absolutely no one but the police to show up.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The St. Marys voting hearing.

I was there. It was lightly attended and rather ho-hum. More tomorrow. It's "tomorrow." I would guess there were between 20 and 25 people in attendance. About a half dozen people spoke. Among them were Jim Stein, Herb Rowland, Tom Cyphers, and the president of the Camden County Republican Party, Adam Jacobson (Atlantic Auto Brokers - Jolene Haney's employer), and me. There, but not speaking, were Sandy Feller, Jolene Haney, and Charles Davis. Gordon Jackson and Jill Helton were the only press there. Stein said that he had received a huge number of calls about the issue - 100% of which were in favor of going to election by majority. Herb Rowland, who taught American Government for years, gave a sort of scholarly overview of the issue and the options without coming down squarely on either side. However, he did come out in favor of having city councilman actually represent well defined geographic segments of St. Marys - a position which I have long advocated. Some readers may remember my debate with Bryan Fewox on that subject some years ago. Herb also suggested that if we went to districts, 4 councilmen and a mayor (elected at-large) would be adequate. Tom Cyphers, consistent with his usual modis operandi, came armed with a sheaf of pages he had pulled off of the Internet from Wikipedia, etc. He spoke at some length in a rather disorganized way. I think I can safely say he was in favor of election by majority. Adam Jacobson, speaking on behalf of the Camden County Republicans ( who had met the night before and discussed the issue) said the the Republicans were strongly and unanimously in favor of having St.Marys go to majority elections. He then - in spite of Mayor Deloughy having prefaced public comments by saying they (mayor in council) were there to hear comments and not to answer questions - attempted to poll the council to ascertain each member's position. The mayor promptly cut him off and reminded him of the "no questions" rule. Jacobson then rather petulantly asked if the rules were written some where. In point of fact they were, and were taped to the very podium from which he was speaking. He then went on to inform the mayor and council that the Republicans would "remember" those who voted against changing to majority. This clearly pissed off the mayor. He red-facedly asked Jacobson why they (Republicans) were coming after St.Marys on this issue and not Kingsland and Woodbine. Jacobson responded that they were not "picking on St. Marys," but the problem was more urgent in St. Marys. He pointed out that in the last elections, not enough people ran to make it a problem. He and the mayor sparred back and forth for a few minutes on that. Oh, yeah, I simply pointed out that "it could be worse" and related how some small communities in Georgia actually have their entire city council - mayor and all - stand for re-election at the same time. Moreover, they have no posts. I cited the example of Pooler, GA (just west of Savannah) where last November, they had 20 candidates for five slots. The highest vote-getter becomes the mayor. The next four highest become the councilmen. Later, when the subject of how thew current system came to be, I recounted what actually happened. The whole thing lasted about 30 minutes. Interest does not seem to be nearly so high as it purportedly was immediately after the last election. Oh, and it turns out that no one on the council seems to know how long it would take to get this on a referendum or how long after that it would take to get it approved by the DOJ. However, they have the city attorney working on it. Now this crap from TOPIX> Nancy Kingsland, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #1 33 min ago If you go to a St. Marys council meeting you will understand why the plurality matter needs to be resolved. You have Deloughy who is rude and obnoxious and Hase who, as some said is in a "daze". A young man spoke about the republican party wanting the matter to be put to a vote and Deloughy came back at him in a rude uncalled for manner fussing because St. Marys was being addressed and not the other cities. Deloughy was mad because the concern is that he was a minority elected mayor and he was on the spot. Hase then came off as a fool. She said no one had contacted her about the matter and that it was a non-issue. Then Deloughy said they would bring it up on Monday but it was not an agenda item. It was pointed out that it was some thing that could not be acted on. It came across as a stalling action to avoid the issue. Out of sight out of mind. As a tax payer I am ashamed of the majority of the council. Certainly those elected by a minority. Now, the facts. It was the "young man," Adam Jacobson, who was rude, arrogant, and confrontational from the git-go. Deloughy did what any self-respecting, American male with functioning cajones would have done. I commend him for it.

Man, that was a tough one!

Y'all might recall my telling you that I was taking a college course at the moment under the free tuition for seniors, 62 and older, program. If you will recall, the deal is that you can not register until the morning of the first day of class so that you can see what classes have "space available." The only thing of any remote interest to me or that I had not already taken was a freshman level Intro to Business course. I figured that seeing as how I had already taken a number of upper division business courses on the way to my Bachelor of General Studies, I might as well knock out a BBA now that College of Coastal Georgia offers it. Well, we had our first test on the first six chapters of the text this afternoon. The class runs and hour and 15 minutes twice a week. Th professor gives all "open book" tests in this course. No - you heard me right. Now, today, seeing as how it was the first test, he decided to give only 33 multiple choice questions instead of his usual 4o. Moreover, he decided to allow us the whole class period instead of his usual hour. As he was passing out the tests, he said that some in his other class, which took the test earlier in the week, had finished as little as 30 minutes. He said that sort of incredulously. He went on to give test taking advice, i.e., answer the ones you know, then look up the rest in the text. Well, as you probably guessed, I was finished in 8 minutes, or 14.54 seconds per question, AND never took my book out. I aced it, of course. When I rolled up to his desk to turn it in, I think maybe he thought I had to go to the restroom or something. He was astonished when I said "See ya next week" and turned it in. Now, I understand that College of Coastal Georgia is (so far) an open enrollment college where a GED and record setting low SATs will get you in the door, but don't y'all think that the test conditions I've just described are just a tad on the overly easy side? P.S., Next semester, if I'm accepted, I'll being starting a graduate level program (also free) through Valdosta State University, leading to a Master of Public Adminsitration (MPA) degree. That would be the degree that folks like professional county and city managers have. Oh, yeah: in April, I will start the Camden County Citizens Academy course. I wanted to do the first one, but I was doing my student teaching at the time. I'll "graduate" from that about a week or so after the November general election.

Sea Island Co. retains Goldman-Sachs to "review strategic alternatives."

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-18/story/sea_island_retains_goldman_sachs_for_possible_sale http://www.forbes.com/feeds/businesswire/2010/02/18/businesswire135571380.html

Glynn County scales back jail expansion plans.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-18/story/glynn_county_to_push_for_a_smaller_jail_expansion

Rabies warning.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-18/story/rabies_warning_issued_in_camden_county

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Camden's health.

http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/georgia/camden

A very interesting jail construction proposal.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-17/story/developers_propose_building_new_jail_and_leasing_it_to_glynn_county

Techno dinosaur seeks techno geek.

Here's my problem. About a month ago, I bought a Dell, 20 inch HD monitor. When it was hooked up to my old computer, the images completely filled the screen. Now, hooked up to my brand new Dell, the picture is crystal clear and razor sharp, but I've got about 3 inches of blank screen on either side of the image. I popped the software in that came with the new monitor to double check that it is set to the recommended 9oo X 1600 DPI. It was. So, how do I get it to fill the whole screen?

The fat lady has not yet sung on the effort to suspend county impact fees.

The next act will occur a week from right now, at 6:00 PM next Wednesday night. The venue will be the next meeting of the county Planning & Zoning Dept. att eh county 0annex, next to the county library off of Gross Road. This will be one of the "public hearings" they talked about on 2/2 at the commission meeting. Here is what I suspect may be going on. The now fearful four are looking for a way to climb down off of the limb they got themselves out on. My guess is that the Planning and Zoning director, John Petersen, will have done a study which will show how many mills in additional taxes it will take over the next 10 or 20 years to build all of the infrastructure which will be needed, in the absence if impact fees, to support north-end growth. The now fearful four will feign shock at just how costly it will be to the taxpayers to drop impact fees and tell their would be benefactors, the builders, that they did what they could but the public would just not stand for it. I will be there. I would encourage you to be there as well.

Public hearing on St. Marys voting (plurality vs. majority).

The first public hearing on the possibility of changing from plurality to majority voting in St. Marys city elections will be held in city council chambers tomorrow night (2/18/10) at 6:00PM.

Cojack update.

Well, I got over to Integrity Animal Hospital at 1:00PM. Unbeknown st to me, Dr. Dunn takes every Wednesday afternoon off, but his staff is there. I brought a stool sample. His vet tech checked it and it was, as I knew it would be, positive for blood. She also ran an O&P for ova and parasites. That was negative. After I gave her the history of how I came home last night to find that he had not eaten any of his usual "breakfast" (dry dog food with three tablespoons of canned gravy mixed in, except on MWF when he gets two scrambled eggs with dog food mixed in) and that he had thrown up and had a fairly normal looking BM (in the house, which he never does unless sick), she asked if he had eaten anything "unusual" recently. Well, as it turns out, my housekeeper, Sarah, who dearly loves Cojack, buys him a new treat every couple of weeks or so. This past Monday, she brought him, for the first time, a bag of "Canadian Beggin" from the makers of Beggin Strips, which he loves and has eaten many times. Well, in his vomitus last night, there were bits of the one piece of the Canadian Beggin he had eaten yesterday morning. The vet tech said that that may have been contaminated or had some chemicals in it that disagreed with him, giving him diarrhea. I threw the rest out as soon as I got home. Sometimes, when dogs have diarrhea they can strian so hard it can rupture capillaries in their intestines and cause transient bleeding. They see this fairly often. She gave me some anti-diarrheal medication in a syringe to administer orally, which I did as soon as I got him home. Now, this morning, he had no interest in food whatsoever. By the time I got him home around 2:15, he was ravenous. I cooked a couple of eggs with his dog food in them. He wolfed those down and had a few of his old favorite snacks to boot. Strangely, he hasn't acted like he felt bad throughout. He was his usual frisky self except for the lack of appetite. He's taking his overdue nap on my bed as I type at 4:37. I'll keep an eye on him for a while. If he has any further symptoms, he'll go back first thing in the morning. Now, before the usual kooks write that I gave too much information, the idea was so that some other dog owner might realize that there are explanations for blood in the stool besides ulcers and cancer and not be quite so worried as I was earlier today. What did I tell you!? Wretching Saint Marys, GA Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#1 4 min ago OMG Morono is writing in great detail about his dog's bowel movements. What class.

I'm back -again!

Well, the old Dell finally crapped out on me after 8 years of service. I had to run down to Best Buy at the airport and pick up a new one yesterday. I'll get back and respond to your comments after I take Cojack to the vet this morning. I'm very concerned. I came home last night to find that he had thrown up a couple of times and passed black, tarry stool with obvious bleeding. This morning, he passed even fresher blood. Stay tuned.

Monday, February 15, 2010

The news behind the news.

This morning, I learned from an absolutely reliable source that the day after those two civilian sport parachutists landed inside the NSBKB perimeter fence, the CO of the base fired off a letter to the owner of the jump school at the St. Marys Airport. He infomred her that if it happened again, she would be subject to federal prosecution. Moreover, it turns out that the two parachutists were detained by security and thoroughly grilled by NIS agents. The Navy was definitely not amused.

The Lion roars.

This comment from the president of the Kingsland Lions: Sir, I would invite you to to provide any beneficial critique or commentary about making the Kingsland Lions Club Annual Oyster Roast more successful to us in person or in writing, privately. There is little to be gained in service of the community or this civic organization with the dialogue as it has unfolded to date except the cultivation of animus and damaging of reputation. It is always more productive to praise in public and criticize in private. We will take your comments under advisement for next year. We appreciate very much, your continuing support of this event and the community and charities for which it is held. Respectfully, Dennis Keith President, Kingsland Lions Club Dear Mr. Keith, Thank you for your comment. I have a pretty good idea which of my political enemies put you up to it. Were you a willing co-conspirator or an unknowing dupe? If you have actually read my original critique( http://camdencommentary.blogspot.com/2010/02/kingsland-lions-club-oyster-roast.html ), you will know that I said it was generally well done; that the oysters were nice clean singles, roasted to perfection; that the hush puppies were the best I've ever eaten, etc. I will be back, whether your organization has the inclination to respond to my request to make the grounds wheelchair accessible or not. While I too am a native Southerner, (from Savannah), I really don't go with the Southern obsession with being "nice" to a fault. The fact is that your organization served up some nasty Brunswick stew and some downright disgusting swill foisted off as "crab bisque." That needed to be communicated to your organization. Obviously, my efforts to do so have been successful. Now, if you would like to keep such failures a secret in the future from patrons who shell out $25.00 per ticket, please send me your e-mail address (jaymor@tds.net). I will be happy to list it permanently on my blog so that in future, satisfied and / or dissatisfied patrons(I, for instance, was both) may contact you directly. You might find this helpful. This morning, during a phone call on another matter entirely, another attendee told me that she liked the Brunswick stew. When I described what was in mine and she described what was in hers, it became readily apparent that we had eaten stew from two different batches made, no doubt, by two different people. Perhaps you need to find out which recipe was good and have all volunteers use it. Frankly, the attempted crab bisque was so utterly disgusting, it needs to be scrapped altogether. Again, if you have actually read all of my comments, I've already suggested a good alternative and where to get the recipe. Better luck next year. Let's hope that next year, there will be good reason for my report to be all positive. Sincerely, Jay Moreno

I'm glad you asked.

Recently, someone asked me, A, how in the world could I finance a campaign when I'm only on Social Security Disability Income, and B, wouldn't the income from being a commissioner knock out my SSDI? As to A, I don't believe that one should have to spend much to be elected to the CCBOC. I realize that the usual suspects will probably fund a barbecue or two for Charlene, but I don't believe in the Bill Smith model of buying votes with barbecue and booze. I've learned from previous experience that Thuggie scum will promptly destroy any campaign signs I would put out so why bother? My biggest expenditures, should I take the final decision to run, would be printing and postage - probably less than $1,000. As to B, that question will be a moot point if I am hired as a teacher but frankly, given the budget constraints for the near future, that does not look very promising for the next school year, even though I hold 4 state teaching certifications. Now, as luck would have it,the NET salary of a county commissioner is not sufficient to effect my SSDI. As an SSDI recipient(or a regular Social Security recipient, for that matter) you may earn up to $980.00 per month with no offset in benefits. By the time you deduct the before-tax health insurance premium and the allowable deduction for the cost of AT LEAST two trips to Woodbine every month, my income from the county would net out to less than $980.00. So now you know. P.S., Bear wth me if you already know this. If I am hired by the school system, there will be no conflict of interest. The school board is a taxing authority unto itself, totally independent of county government.

Three Georgia Senate candidates to appear at tonight's Camden County Watchdogs' meeting.

From Watchdog e-mail: The Camden Watchdogs are having a political forum Monday night Feb.15th 6 pm at Citizen's bank building in Kingsland. In attendance for questions and answers will be the 3 candidates running for Senate Seat 3 representing Camden County. Please try to make it and feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding Camden. Please pass the word and call if you have any questions - 912-322-2417. Camden Watchdog

Feller calls for tripling of impact fees.

http://www.camdenganews.com/blog/ Note: While it is true that Florida law allows the use of impact fees for construction of schools, Georgia law does not. Here, from the O.C.G.A., is what you can legally fund with impact fees in Georgia: (17) "Public facilities" means: (A) Water supply production, treatment, and distribution facilities; (B) Waste-water collection, treatment, and disposal facilities; (C) Roads, streets, and bridges, including rights of way, traffic signals, landscaping, and any local components of state or federal highways; (D) Storm-water collection, retention, detention, treatment, and disposal facilities, flood control facilities, and bank and shore protection and enhancement improvements; (E) Parks, open space, and recreation areas and related facilities; (F) Public safety facilities, including police, fire, emergency medical, and rescue facilities; and (G) Libraries and related facilities.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The reason, you silly ass, was to let them know that something had gone terribly wrong with the totally unpalatable Brunswick stew and disgusting ..

crab bisque so that they might fix it by next year. How else would they know, moron, unless someone told them (although the hundreds of uneaten servings thrown away into the garbage cans should have been a clue)? More idiocy from Topix: anon Kingsland, GA Reply » |Report Abuse |Judge it! |#73 5 min ago He managed to go on an all-out attack on the Kingsland Lions club in his critique of the very successful and popular Oyster Roast. Even if he thought the things that he did, there is absolutely no reason to put it in print. For all his self proclaimed brilliance, it's pretty idiotic to assault a civic club for no apparant reason.

A lesson in the economics of curbside recycling.

From Topix, Kingsland: anon Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #69 1 hr ago In that 60% of the people in St. Marys recycle each week (the curbside bins) and Woodbine, Kingsland, St. Marys and the County issued Earth Hour proclamations last year (and this year) Jay needs to realize that he's turning off a huge number of voters with his constant, kindergarten-level "eco-weenie" garbage.(My apologies to the average 5 year old kindergarten student...most of them are more mature than Jay). Now, here is a dose of the truth about recycling that is well known to all economists, but the typical gutless politician is afraid to tell the leftist Green eco-weenies. http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/thoughts-on-freedom-i-recycle/ http://www.lewrockwell.com/lilley/floy14.1.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/152138/real_facts_behind_recycling_economics.html?cat=4 It never ceases to amaze me how difficult it is to convince some folks that I very rarely open my mouth before knowing all of the facts. While recycling household waste makes the uninformed feel all warm and fuzzy, it makes no economic sense currently. It might make sense a hundred years from now when it might make economic sense to mine old, decayed landfills for then more scarce and more valuable materials. Moreover, it makes no ecological sense now, given the ready availability of landfill space for hundreds of years into the future and current, environmentally sound, landfill technology. Folks, if it takes lying to you to "earn" your vote, I guess I'll have to make do without it.

Sunday Funnies; Volume 103

The Black Bra (as told by a woman) I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends. One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have been married for 20+ years. We were chatting about our relationships and decided to amaze our men by greeting them at the door Wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes. We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes.. Here's how it all went. My engaged friend: The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams. I love you.' Then we made passionate love all nightlong. The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing a raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and Mask over my eyes. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but he started to tremble and we had wild sex all night. Then I had to share my story: When my husband came home I was wearing the black bra, Black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. When he came in the door and saw me he said, "What's for dinner, Zorro?"

City attorney moving forward with bond call to complete Cumberland Harbour infrastructure.

Green eco-weenies share blame for failure. http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-14/story/residents_optimistic_about_cumberland_harbours_future

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Excuse me?!

From Topix Kingsland, not me! Anon Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #344 24 min ago Well, Once again. I was at the Mardi Gra Parade in StMarys. We had PUBLIC SAFETY from all over the county showing their support to our community, even the coast guard was on hand handing out beads, and meeting and greeting the community. SMPD was on hand with their New K-9 UNIT. Where was our great Sheriff? No where to be seen. Not even a deputy was their to support our community. I sure hope the community remembers this in 2012, and shows him the same support. Watch in 2012 he will be at every function asking for your vote. You can not be a part time sheriff, sheriff. Get out in the community and at least act like you care, even though we all know you dont. Dont worry Camden in 2012 you will get the chance to vote for a Sheriff who will be out there talking to you and finding out what you need and what we can do to take care of crime. You will have a Sheriff who cares about you and your family. Hang in there. The sheriff did not take the Downtown Merchants' Association to raise! Unlike our mayor and council, he does not have to fear them at the polls. While they may be obliged to expend city funds on their behalf, he is not. Quite to the contrary, he is obliged, particularly now, NOT TO. I, for one, am so far satisfied with the job Sheriff Gregory is doing. If I NEVER see or hear from a sheriff between elections, so long as he is running his department well and efficiently, that suits me just fine. During his crooked tenure, I heard from and of his immediate predecessor way too much!

An interesting question.

Anon Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #61 40 min ago Anonymous wrote: You never know. He could be a very good commissioner. At least he keeps up with the issues in the county and attends the meetings and doing all in a wheelchair. So never put someone down until you see what they can accomplish. I disagree with his "attitude problems and mouth" too, but sometimes things can happen to make those problems go away. Spend a day in his life and then make your nasty remarks. I think Jay is not the only one on this board (for the zillionth time, I am not on Topix - Jay) with an attitude and mouth problem. I knew Jay casually and by reputation before he was confined to a wheelchair. His radical views and his tendency to react like a deranged pit bull when disagreed with have not changed. I, for one, would not advocate electing anyone to a responsible office to "see what they can accomplish". Jay has already convinced me that he should not be seriously considered for public office. So tell me this: is it not generally true at any level of office in this county that we routinely elect people to their first term in office to "see what they can accomplish?" Can you name a current or past local elected official of whom that would NOT be true? The voters of District 4 have recently tried a pretty and likable high school graduate only to end up with incompetence and questionable ethics. Why not give an old, fat, bald, ugly, disabled, disagreeable, opinionated, outspoken, honest, highly intelligent, well educated (college grad with 4 GA teacher certifications and working on a second degree), and highly competent candidate a shot? I would submit that I am a superior choice over not only the incumbent but either a paranoiac retread or a zany ghost buster as well.

Debunking a TOPIX lie about the county impact fees.

First, the falsehood: propertyowner Knoxville, TN Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #20 Yesterday I am glad that they are considering dropping the impact fee. I own property in the county that already has a well, an electric pole, and sewer system. I previously had an older home on the lot, that was torn down due to age. When I went to apply for a permit to build another residence, I was informed of the impact fee. I can't understand why I should have to pay for infrastructure on my property that already has upgrades, the property is not in a subdivision. I feel like I am being punished for wanting to improve my property. Right now I pay taxes on the property that the county has listed as vacant. I would think they would rather have the "house" value taxed vs "vacant lot" taxed. The county would receive more return year after year. As it stands now, with the impact fees, I will not build. Now, the actual facts: 4.01. Construction Not Subject to Impact Fees. The following projects and construction activities do not constitute “development” as defined in this Ordinance, and are therefore not subject to the imposition of impact fees: 1. Rebuilding no more than the same number of units of development as defined in this Ordinance that were removed by demolition, or destroyed by fire or other catastrophe, on the same lot or property. 2. Remodeling or repairing a structure that does not result in an increase in the number of units of development. 3. Replacing a residential housing unit with another housing unit on the same lot or property. 4. Placing or replacing a manufactured home in a manufactured home park on a prepared manufactured home pad in existence and operation prior to the effective date of this Ordinance. 5. Placing a temporary construction or sales office on a lot during the period of construction or build-out of a development project. 6. Constructing an addition to or expansion of a residential housing unit that does not increase the number of housing units. 7. Adding uses that are typically accessory to residential uses and intended for the personal use of the residents, such as a deck or patio, satellite antenna, pet enclosure, or private recreational facilities such as a swimming pool.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Camden County Development Impact Fee Ordinance

http://www.co.camden.ga.us/archives/49/Development%20Impact%20Fee%20Ordinance.pdf

First grade girl hauled out of school in handcuffs and committed to psychiatric facility.

http://www.wpbf.com/mostpopular/22526263/detail.html

Coming soon from a group of politically feared, Green eco-weenies near you?

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/12/cambridge-plans-taxes-veganism-climate-change/?test=latestnews

The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Idiocy.

Click on images to enlarge.
Note the mysterious absence of any mention of Commissioner Sears' hare-brained idea of two weeks ago of suspending the impact fees.
It may be dead but I'm keeping my powder dry. I would encourage anyone who had planned to speak out against the insanity to come on and do it anyway during the first public comments session.
I note also that Charlene will be using the meeting to secure the votes of
Barbara Ryan, Doug Vaught, and the entire St. Marys movie industry.
Camden County Unified Development Code:
http://www.co.camden.ga.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1487

Three now running for mayor of Woodbine.

According to today's T&G, in addition to former councilwoman Pat Kelley, there are now two more candidates: Stephen Parrott and Joseph Jackson.

Owner of BHosted.net jailed on charges of credit card fraud!

Details are in today's T&G.

U.S. successfully tests airborne laser on missile.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1111660620100212?type=marketsNews

Savannah braces for snow and sleet later today.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-12/sleet-and-snow-tap-today

Georgia House cuts $1 billion from state budget.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-12/story/georgia_house_oks_midyear_budget_restores_17_million_for_education_gra

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Interesting...

I see that as of now, voters (on my poll, anyway) prefer an un-named "qualifed challenger" to the incumbent in the CCBOC District 2 race by a 3 to 1 margin! Have you voted yet? In the race for District 4, for every 2 votes Sandy gets, Charlene gets 3. For every 1 vote that Charlene gets, Royal gets 5! It is beginning to look like Sandy's campaign will be an utter waste of time and money. Have you voted yet? In my poll, Rindy Howell is handily defeating the incumbent, Cecily Hill, in the State Representative race. Have you voted yet?

Just an observation - or two.

I just checked the Camden Watchdogs Group's site to see if they had yet expressed an opinion on the hare-brained scheme to suspend and refund county impact fees. They have not. I would note that some of the leadership of the organization are invovled in the real estate business, in one way or another. Hopefully, though,they will show up and voice opposition at the public hearing next Tuesday. Secondly, the acknowledged founding fathers of the organization include Rindy and Sidney Howell,Tom Cyphers,Roger Rillo, Winston Barlow, and Bert Guy. All but two have subsequently run for office or plan to run for office. Rumor has it that Guy may run in the future. Just an observation.

Well ain't she sweet?! See her snarling down the street! Well I ask you very tongue-in-cheekedly, ain't she sweet?!

Click on image to enlarge. And now, her first public statement as a newly minted citizen: Alex Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #15 2 hrs ago It's kind of amusing really. Yesterday I became and American citizen and my first vote in this country will be firmly for a member of Moreno's opposition in the campaign. Poetic justice or just fortunate timing? It's a bit of a shame that his fantasies lead him down so many weird and twisted paths - and that he cannot control either his behavior or his mouth. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Linda Cagle, the hostess with the leastest, weighs in in defense of nasty Brunswick stew. It figures.

http://camdencommentary.blogspot.com/2010/02/kingsland-lions-club-oyster-roast.html See the last three comments.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

College of Coastal Georgia can now offer an associates degree in hospitality management.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-10/story/coastal_georgia_gets_hospitality_program

Not looking good for Sears.

In a poll that just closed - a poll that asked if Charlene runs again, based upon her record of performance as a commissioner, would you vote for her again - yes or no, 70 % of 64 respondents voted "No." Four other local, political polls remain open at this time. Have you voted yet?

Why, yes, Rick, I do have Royal Weaver's e-mail address....

Click on image to enlarge. ....and I'm fairly certain that if he has enough sense not to dive with a hatch open, he knows that you cannot do away with executive sessions but you can ask him. And don't forget, Feller, the consummate vote whore, will tell you anything for your vote but he too knows you can't do away with executive sessions.

Life, liberty, and the right to sell pathogen-laden raw milk??

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-10/story/lawmaker_introduces_bill_to_legalize_raw_milk_in_georgia

New St. Marys Elementary to open Tuesday morning.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-10/story/opening_of_new_st_marys_elementary_will_be_like_first_day_of_school Hopefully, they will have the graffiti removed by then. That's right - the school has already been "tagged." My housekeeper, Sarah, who works at the school, told me about it a week or so ago. If you are headed south on Osborne, look to your left at the far end (i.e., closest to city hall) of the new building toward the back. You will see huge, stylized, overstuffed letters spray painted onto the bricks. Removing it will be tricky and costly.

Listen up, St. Marys Citizens' Beautification Advisory Board.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2010-02-10/plant-tree-go-disney-world-free That reminds me: at Monday night's city council meeting, I reminded the mayor and council that several months ago, via an ad in the T&G, said board requested beautification ideas from the citizenry at large. I sent several and Cookie Johnson tells me many others did as well. I asked that the board give a report at the next meeting on what plans they have formulated as a result of all of that public input. The mayor said that he would ask the chair of that board to give such a report at the next city council meeting. If a "St. Marys Tree Foundation" were to be established, would you support it financially? Would you be willing to volunteer to plant trees, shrubs, etc.?

Monday, February 8, 2010

What I learned at tonight's city council meeting.

Well, I learned that Rindy Howell is indeed planning to run for Cecily Hill's state representative seat. That from Sidney Howell. Regarding the crime at Walmart on Saturday night: from what I've heard previously and what I heard tonight from a believable source, here's what I think I know so far. It seems that a gang of 4 blacks (age & sex unknown), believed to be from North Jax, were in our Walmart running a scam where they take merchandise stolen from another Walmart and get refunds for it. While one or two are getting the refund, the others are actively stealing merchandise from the store they are in getting the refund. Now, I know that someone from Virginian, age, race, and sex unknown to me, was stabbed so badly that they had to be rushed down to Winn Dixie to be Life Flighted, presumably to Shands Jax. I haved no idea what their condition is. However, I believe the stabbing was done by one or more of the aforementioned four blacks. It is possible, it seems to me, that their criminal activity was detected by store security. When they were pursued, someone, either store security or a customer who attempted to help aprehend them, was stabbed. So far as I know, all four are still at large. I guess we will learn NLT Wednesday's T&G unless Gordon scoops them tomorrow. And Gordon has.... http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-09/story/man_stabbed_in_walmart_parking_lot_in_st_marys 10:58 AM, Tuesday. Now this from Topix: Rebel Dawg Jacksonville, FL Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #5 57 min ago Yes there was a stabbing in wal-mart. White male stabbed by 2 black males after he received money back from something he returned. They were together. This was not a random act of violence. If Rebel Dawg is who I think he is, you can take that info to the bank.

Dear idiot....

Have you ever actually attended a county commission or any meeting of any elected body, for that matter? Only the chairman may "muzzle" a member of the public addressing the council and then only under certain circumstances. Witness, you fool, how much Chairman Rainer would have loved to muzzle me at the last meeting but could not as there was no acceptable cause. Come to think of it, moron, are you even registered to vote? anon Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #51 1 hr ago Check his blog again, Marion. He is running.http://camdencommentary.blogspot.com/ He's also announced that he will no longer publish the comments of those who disagree with him (what he calls JDS). That is exactly the way that he would perform as a commissioner. Either agree or be muzzled

Big Announcement!

Today, I have printed and filled out State Ethics Commission Form DOI: "Declaration of Intention To Accept Campaign Contributions."
However, being fiscally conservative, I will wait until I have to drive to Woodbine on the 16th anyway for the next CCBOC meeting to turn it in.
By the way, when I do, I will ask that no one send in contributions until after I have actually declared and that they then limit contributions, in these austere times, to no more than $50.00 per individual contributor.
Moreover, in an effort to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest ( a novel concept for the District 4 seat, to be sure), I will not knowingly accept any contributions from builders, Realtors, or anyone currently holding a contract for materials or sevices with Camden County Government, to include the Camden County Sheriff's Office.

A rather strange "announcement" by Royal Weaver.

After a commenter (see prior post) asked what I thought of Royal Weaver announcing his candidacy on K-Bay this morning, I first had to verify that it was true. I just got off the phone with the K-Bay news director. Turns out Weaver is not running an add on K-Bay. He simply called them and told them that he had filled out the form the state requires before you can legally accept donations - the one Feller has yet to fill out. K-Bay ran it as a news item. You're welcome for that info, Royal. Good luck. Will you be running as a Republican or Democrat? Reminder: In the poll to the right, given that I might run and the fact that I can not prevent those with JDS syndrome from voting "yes" multiple times, you would be well advised to have more faith in the "no" votes than the "yes" votes. My rule of thumb is to discount the anti-Jay "yes" (in this instance) votes by about 50%.

A new day has dawned at Camden Commentary.

Hear ye, hear ye! Henceforward, no comments which indicate to me that the author of said comment is afflicted with incurable, irrational, JDS (Jay Derangement Syndrome) will even be published, much less responded to. I pity a rabid dog but would not pet it. That will be my approach to these individuals in future. Case closed.

Except for the last two lines, I agree wholeheartedly.

http://www.camdenganews.com/blog/

A jail that MAKES money. Interesting.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-08/story/nahunta_jail_turns_profit_as_beds_start_filling_up

Chunk Jones arrested.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-08/story/former_sheriff_chunk_jones_charged_with_felony_obstruction

Sunday, February 7, 2010

After Tuesday's action and Friday's T&G editorial, is Sears' re-electability now in the toilet?

According to the ongoing poll, it sure looks that way. Seven out of ten so far would not vote for her again. Have you voted yet?

Another Topix lie debunked.

The following lie appeared on Topix. Jerry Covington, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #241 Sunday Jan 31 Judged: 1 1 1 Jim Proctor told us at the Lion Club Friday that he has decided to run. He had been waiting to see what was going to happen with Tommy and said he is going to run. Thank God Jim, we love you and will support you. Here's the truth: it never happened. At Tuesday night's CCBOC meeting, Jim opened the door for me as usual. I told him that there was a rumor on Topix that he would run for sheriff. He said that he had heard about that and that it was what I will euphemistically call pure male, bovine, feces.

Sunday Funnies; Volume 102

A Muslim was sitting next to Paddy on a plane. Paddy odered a whiskey. The stewardess asked the Muslim if he'd like a drink. He replied in disgust 'I'd rather be raped by a dozen whores than let liquor touch my lips!' Paddy handed his drink back and said 'Me too, I didnt know we had a choice!' Paddy calls Easyjet to book a flight. The operator asks 'How many people are flying with you?' Paddy replies 'I dont know! Its your bloody plane!!! Irish couples decided to swap partners for the night.. After 3 hours of amazing sex Paddy says 'I wonder how the girls are getting on.' Paddy takes his new wife to bed on their wedding night. She undresses & lies on the bed spreadeagled & says 'You know what I want dont you?' 'Yeah,' says Paddy. 'The whole bloody bed by the looks of it!' Q. Whats a Catholic priest & a pint of Guiness got in common? A. black coat, white collar & you've got to watch your arse if you get a dodgy one! Paddy the electrician got sacked from the U.S. prison service for not servicing the electric chair. He said in his professional opinion it was a death trap! Paddy's chat up lines: 1. Did ya fart? 'Cos ya just blew me away! 2. Are your parents retarded? 'Cos your special! 3.. My love for you is like diarrhoea. I just cant hold it in! 4. Is there a mirror in your knickers? 'Cos I can see myself in them! 5. Your body reminds me of a spanner. Evertime I think of you my nuts tighten up! 6. You might not be the best looking girl in here, but beauty is only a light switch away! Paddy & his wife are lying in bed & the neighbour's dog is barking like mad in the garden. Paddy says 'To hell with this!' & storms off.. He comes back upstairs 5 mins later & his wife asks 'What did you do?' Paddy replies 'Ive put the dog in our garden, lets see how they like it!' Paddy is said to be shocked at finding out all his cows have Bluetongue. 'Be Jeysus!' he said, 'I didnt even know they had mobile phones!' Mick & Paddy are reading head stones at a nearby cemetery. Mick say 'Crikey! Theres a bloke here who was 152!' Paddy says 'Whats his name?' Mick replies 'Miles from London !' An Irishman is rowing his boat in a field of hay. Paddy drives past & stops. He looks at the Irishman in the boat & shouts 'Its thick twits like you that give us Irish a bad name! I'd come over there & kick the s..t out of you if I could swim!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Kingsland Lions' Club oyster roast.

The event was well done, for the most part. It was supposed to run from 6:00 to 8:00. I got there about 5:30 to get a good, wheelchair friendly spot. Jim and Ginna Stein and state senate candidate Terry Carter were arriving at the very same time. I was very disappointed to find that in spite of my request, the Lions had made no effort to make it possible to me to get my wheelchair over the curb. About three weeks ago, the day the add came out in the T&G, I called the number listed for info. It turns out that was the number for Hippo Storage. There, I spoke to Lion Jim somebody, who I presume owns Hippo. I told him of the very difficult time I had attending the first time and how he and his fellow Lions could solve the problem with about two sacks of Sakrete and thirty minutes of labor. He immediately asked if I had bought my ticket yet. I said no, that I had planned on paying cash when I arrived. He said that they would really prefer that I buy the ticket ahead of time. Okay, two days later, I dropped by the original Hippo location. I asked for Jim, but he was at the other location. I bought the ticket and asked the lady I bought it from - probably his wife - to tell him the guy in the wheelchair had indeed come in and bought his ticket. A week or so later, there was a piece in the T&G about the formation of a St. Marys Lions Club. It noted that the Lions look out for blind folks in particular and disabled folks in general. Well, you could have sure fooled me. Anyway, this year, unlike my first year, the ground was dry. I was able to go out into the street, ride way down to the railroad tracks, come across the grass , and avoid the curb. The first time, it was wet and I got stuck. The oysters were large, clean, succulent singles for the most part, and cooked just exactly the right amount of time. By the way, Alex, they are alive when they put them over the fire. I'll bet if you and your PETA pals listened very closely, you could hear them scream! They had the best hush puppies I've ever eaten - and that is saying something. The desserts were probably all good. My brownie was. However, the crab bisque and Brunswick stew were both gawd-awful. All seven of us at my table tried it and all seven of us threw it away. The bisque was water thin and tasted like it was made from dishwater and vinegar that a crab had swam through quickly. The Brunswick stew had enough vinegar to gag a maggot. Vinegar in Brunswick stew ??? Let someone else do those next year. It was well worth the $25.00, even if at least one Lion really doesn't give a damn whether it's wheel chair accessible or not. Oh, and by the way, I had very civil conversation with everyone at my table, including Deb Hase who stopped by just as I was leaving. Her husband Ken was up on stage playing a mean guitar and singing with a group. I had no idea. Epilogue: It's now Sunday morning. I was up at 0400 HRS this morning belching the distinctly nasty taste of that awful attempt at crab bisque and searching for the Pepto Bismol.

Another medevac flight out of the Winn Dixie parking lot.

As I was coming home from the Lion's oyster roast in Kingsland, I saw pretty much every emergency vehicle in Camden County and a Life Flight helicopter in the WD parking lot. I pulled in. Just as I was pulling in, the helo lifted off at 1856 HRS. I asked a fireman ( 4 fire trucks) if he could tell me what happened. He told me he was not allowed to - that I would have to ask a cop. Right then, a female cop (SMPD, I think) walked near my van. I asked her. She said she could not give me any information because it was under investigation. I said, "Oh, it's criminal, eh?" Her response: "I can't say." Oh give me a break. Would "A man / woman was clubbed/stabbed/shot/etc/" really have jeopardized the case? Maybe Channel 4 will have it tomorrow. Minutes later, when I pulled into Walmart for Super Bowl snacks, there were 4 SMPD cars, including an old auxiliary car, in front of the store with their lights flashing. Never did see the actual cops but there was a large (30-40) group of high school kids rapidly filtering away from the store out into the parking lot. ???

If you see a guy with his guts hanging out...

http://jacksonville.com/community/riverside/2010-02-06/story/police_briefs_wannabe_lottery_ticket_money_robber_looked_like_h

New blog feature.

I just recently stumbled across the fact that I can add stationary ( i.e., they never disappear into the realm of "older posts") pages onto this blog. See "Pages" in the upper right hand corner. For a trial run, I posted a college paper which details how I came to be in a wheelchair. Just click on the title. Should I take the decision to run, I will use this feature for my announcement and subsequent "position papers" rather than have a separate website.

Other than the three possible candidates listed below...

who else would you like to see run for the District 4 CCBOC seat and why?

If Royal Weaver runs for the District 4 CCBOC seat...

would you vote for him or not? Please explain your answer under comments.

If former commissioner Sandy Feller actually runs again for the District 4 CCBOC seat....

would you vote for him or not? Please explain your answer under comments.

If the incumbent, Charlene Sears, runs for the 4th District CCBOC seat....

would you vote for her or not? Please explain your decision under comments.

St. Marys City Council meeting Monday night.

Agenda: http://www.ci.st-marys.ga.us/agendas/2010/2%208%2010%20City%20Council%20Agenda.pdf

Rindy Howell running for state repesentative?

That's the latest rumor from TOPIX, Kingsland. I think that she is quite capable of acquitting herself well in that office. She would certainly be an improvement. How about it, Rindy?

U.S.S. Alaska "adopts" St. Marys Elemementary School

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-06/story/st_marys_elementary_school_adopted_by_uss_alaska_crew

Friday, February 5, 2010

16 year-old Kingsland girl charged with attempting to burn her father to death early this morning.

http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/22477409/detail.html http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-06/story/16_year_old_girl_charged_with_arson_attempted_murder

Calling all Camden County Watchdogs!

I found this in today's T&G. Camden County Watchdog meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Citizens State Bank in Kingsland. ■ Southeast Georgia That's on the 15th, the night before the next CCBOC meeting. That will give y'all an opportunity to decide how many of you will speak out against this impact fee suspension idiocy at the meeting the next night

Well said, T&G! Well said indeed!

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/edition/edition/?haspdf=1 When you get there, arrow over to page 4-A for the excellent editorial and my letter. Use arrows at top of page. Here's my favorite excerpt from the editorial. "The ordinance will have to be amended before the fees can be suspended or refunded, and that will require a public hearing. We certainly hope citizens will make their voices heard when that time comes. So, let’s also ponder for a moment the cozy relationship between commissioner Sears and the local construction industry that lobbied for the suspension of these impact fees. She worked at a local construction company until a couple of months ago — in fact, she quit that job just after talks of suspending the fees began. It’s the same pattern of behavior that voters witnessed when she insisted on voting matters regarding on the sheriff’s department while she worked there. One step forward and two steps back."

Feel free to use my poll (upper right hand corner) to send Commissioner Sears a message today! Then send all four a message by showing up at the next CCBOC meeting on 2/16!

Well, so much for relocating Coast Guard assets to the airport.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-05/story/coast_guard_considers_decommissioning_st_marys_station Thanks goodness we are rid of BTW. Can you imagine how large the CCSO Riverine Forces would have grown after the depature of the USCG?!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Ah, yes! Another ringing endorsement for nationalized health care!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584816,00.html?test=latestnews

I'm guessing that hurt worse than giving birth!

http://www.camdenganews.com/blog/?p=520

Camden Partnership to host a series of public meetings on base.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-04/story/kings_bay_reaching_out_to_camden

Ironically, Sandy Feller, who championed county impact fees, remains strangely silent on Tuesday's idiocy by the CCBOC.

http://www.camdenganews.com/blog/

Extent of damage to shrimp and trout populations from recent cold snap as yet unknown.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-04/story/georgia_biologists_try_to_determine_extent_of_cold_weather_shrimp_kill

St. Marys Masons to re-enact 1800 commemoration of Washington's funeral.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2010-02-04/story/st_marys_re_enactment_to_commemorate_washingtons_funeral

Anyone need a good pallet?

Yesterday, my houskeeper took a practically brand new wooden pallet from my garage out to the curb. It came from Lowes with a load of concrete border blocks. If you want it , it's yours. Come down Colerain to Mickler Dr. (where the original Krayons Academy is). Go south on Mickler, past the school, to the last subdivision on the left, Victoria Plantation. Turn in and follow Victoria Circle around until you see the first ( and only) deep blue house on your left. Help yourself.

Calling Camden Watchdogs!

Can we expect a position statement on the county's move to suspend impact fees to appear soon on your blog? http://www.camdenwatchdog.com/

Sears responds under her own name.

Click on image to enlarge.
This was received at 6:15 PM yesterday. I did not retrieve it until 5 minutes ago. Note the Clintonesque response. Okay, Charlene, you NO LONGER work for Parr Builders. How may days ago did you quit working for him? Your concern about "splattering" your reputation is comical in light of your own prodigious efforts to that end.
Folks, have you voted in my latest poll on Sears' electability? By the way, I would not put any stock in more than about half of the yes votes. The other half are the usual poor devils afflicted with Jay Derangement Syndrome, or JDS.

Don't mess with the IRS!

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8d3b076bd4de14bbda5aba699e80621d&tab=core&_cview=1&cck=1&au=&ck=

"Anonymous" Sears responds.

Anonymous said... I spoke Charlene and she said that she kept getting calls about the fees. So she told them to put their requests in a letter and she would send them in. She has nothing to gain either way so why are you trying to making her out to be doing otherwise. Oh wait, you are running for her seat. She also said she never spoke to Keene or Zell before the meeting to discuss any of this. Ask them... She did call some of the builders to see if they indeed needed this fee to be set aside to help them. Then she told them they needed to put it in writing if they wanted to bring it in front of the commission. End of Story. She doesn't deny calling any of them. Her goal she says is putting people back to work. February 3, 2010 9:22 PM Y'all are buying that, right folks? Charlene, anytime you want to come on here under your own name, I guarantee you that I'll publish whatever you have to say - unedited.