In Aug 2009, the Transparency Committee became aware that the house located at 1370 Beatline Road was not occupied. This is the address used by Beat 2 Supervisor Cedric Burnett on his Statement of Intent to run for public office in 2007.
Also, during the month of Aug 2009, the Tunica Humane Society ran an article in the Tunica Times asking Tunicans to call their Supervisor and ask for financial support for THS from the county. There was a phone number listed next to the name of each Supervisor except for Cedric Burnett. Next to Burnett’s name the article stated that Burnett’s contact information was not available.
With these 2 pieces of information, the Transparency Committee started looking into this situation.
Again, in Aug 2009 at the Public Hearing for the 2009 – 2010 Tunica County Budget, I asked Burnett if he lived at 1370 Beatline Road. Burnett stated he did not live at this address. I asked Burnett where he lived. Burnett stated: “Keep looking, you’ll find it.”
Present at the 2009 – 2010 Tunica County Budget Public Hearing were some members of the Transparency Committee; citizens interested in funding for the Tunica Humane Society and the publisher of the Tunica Times. Also, in attendance were all 5 Supervisors, County Administrator Clifton Johnson, Sheriff K. C. Hamp, Chancery Clerk Susie White and Board Attorney Andy Dulaney. There were probably other interested parties present.
After the “Keep looking, you’ll find it” statement from Burnett, I asked the Board of Supervisors to vacate the Beat 2 seat and hold a Special Election for this position. The BOS took no action.
The next thing we did was to contact the Tunica County Election Commission. I contacted Election Commission Chairman Elijah Williams and asked him if he knew where Burnett was living. Williams stated Burnett lives at 1370 Beatline Road. I informed Williams that Burnett said he did not live at this location and that Burnett said this at a Board of Supervisors’ Meeting in front of many witnesses. I then asked Williams if the Election Commission had verified all residency requirements for candidates. Williams stated the Election Commission takes them at their word.
The Transparency Committee has continued to make ourselves aware of activity at 1370 Beatline Road. In Jan 2010, a temporary storage unit was placed on this property. During the next several months, debris from the interior of this house was moved outside and what appeared to be construction or remodeling of some type was beginning to take place. Periodically, the Transparency Committee has taken pictures of the activity at this location.
On 15 Apr 2010, I happened to notice there was no building permit showing outside of the house. I went to the Planning Commission and asked if a building permit had been issued for this address. The answer was no and a stop work order was issued that day. Once the stop work order was issued, Burnett came to the Planning Commission and paid $65 for the Building Permit. In Burnett’s handwriting, the permit indicates Burnett to be the owner of this property. On 24 Feb 2011, tax records indicate Clara Burnett was still the owner of this property.
The 1370 Beatline Road property is still unoccupied today, 27 Feb 2011.
On 4 Jan 2011, Cedric Burnett filed another Statement of Intent using the 1370 Beatline Road address. On 21 Jan 2011, I filed a Statement of Intent to run for Supervisor of Beat 2. During the week of 21 Feb 2011, I asked my husband to take some pictures of the 1370 Beatline Road location. On 23 Feb 2011, Cedric Burnett had Judge Rodney Hibbler issue a warrant for the arrest of Robert B. Tuchel on the grounds of trespassing. There is no sign posted on this property and the house is unoccupied. Notice also on the warrant: Cedric Burnett is using his mailing address: PO Box 961 while using Bob’s physical address.
The warrant states that Bob: “did willfully and knowingly enter upon the lands of Cedric Burnett without the permission of said Cedric Burnett or his lessee or the agent of either and unaccompanied by said Cedric Burnett or his lessee or agent of either taking pictures of resident in Tunica County, MS.”
Note: The improper use of the word “resident” is as stated on the warrant.
In my opinion, Cedric Burnett has used his position as a Tunica County Supervisor to influence a judge to issue this warrant.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
"Give Us the Ballot"
On May 17, 1957, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C., Dr. King delivered what we now refer to as his “Give Us the Ballot” speech. May 17, 1957 was 53 years and 7 months ago. Let’s put this date in perspective. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. Jan 15, 2011 would have been his 82nd birthday. Imagine, May 17, 1957, was before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. May 17, 1957, was before the war in Vietnam. On May 17, 1957, General Dwight David Eisenhower was President of these United States. On May 17, 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. was just 28 years old.
The ballot. What a treasure of our democracy. And yet, there are those among us who are bent on reducing the value of the “one person, one vote” concept that is the cornerstone of our freedom as a nation and as a people. There are those among us who are not even registered to vote. There are those among us who are voting as if they were legal residents of the State of MS, the county of Tunica and a resident of one of our five Beats.
With the ballot come some powerful rights and responsibilities. When we stand in line to vote, Tunicans have a right to believe that the person standing in front of them and the person standing behind them are both residents of their Beat and residents of Tunica County. Tunicans have a right to believe that if you are occupying an elected position in Tunica County, you live in Tunica County.
So, what can we do to honor the man whose life we celebrated on 17 Jan 2011? We can take responsibility for our own voter registration. We can all honor Dr. King’s “Give Us the Ballot” speech by making sure our own voter registration address matches the address where we reside. We can honor our fellow Tunicans by making sure our own voter registration is in compliance with the law. We can honor Dr. King’s memory by making sure every vote counts.
The ballot. What a treasure of our democracy. And yet, there are those among us who are bent on reducing the value of the “one person, one vote” concept that is the cornerstone of our freedom as a nation and as a people. There are those among us who are not even registered to vote. There are those among us who are voting as if they were legal residents of the State of MS, the county of Tunica and a resident of one of our five Beats.
With the ballot come some powerful rights and responsibilities. When we stand in line to vote, Tunicans have a right to believe that the person standing in front of them and the person standing behind them are both residents of their Beat and residents of Tunica County. Tunicans have a right to believe that if you are occupying an elected position in Tunica County, you live in Tunica County.
So, what can we do to honor the man whose life we celebrated on 17 Jan 2011? We can take responsibility for our own voter registration. We can all honor Dr. King’s “Give Us the Ballot” speech by making sure our own voter registration address matches the address where we reside. We can honor our fellow Tunicans by making sure our own voter registration is in compliance with the law. We can honor Dr. King’s memory by making sure every vote counts.
It's safe to go back in the water...
18 Oct 2010
Finally, the drains required by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act have been purchased and installed in both pools at the Aquatic Center. We’ve seen the certificates for the drains and have a copy of the claim paying for the installation. So, this should be a done deal. Maybe.
This is what has happened: In Jan 2009, members of the Transparency Committee became aware of the above Federal Law. The deadline for compliance with this 2007 law was 31 Dec 2008. This meant that if Safe Drains were not installed as of 31 Dec 2008, the pools were to be closed until the drains were installed. There was no wiggle room. When we found out about this law, we were already out of compliance.
The very morning we found out about this law, the Board of Supervisors’ were having a meeting and we placed a copy of this law at the place of each Supervisor.
In Feb 2009, the Transparency Committee provided grant information to the Board that would have helped offset the expenses of purchasing and installing these drains. This information was placed at the President of the Board of Supervisors place in the Board Room. After the meeting, I personally asked the President of the Board if he had seen what was at his place when he arrived. The response was yes but he hadn’t had a chance to read it yet. There was acknowledgement that he would read the information as soon as he had a chance.
And then the nagging and complaining from our Committee continued for the next year and eight months. During this time, we held two Summer Camps; don’t know how many swim practices and meets and can’t even imagine how many people just enjoying our beautiful pools.
What were we to do? We got tired of talking about this month after month at our meeting. We got tired of asking our Supervisors. The State of MS couldn’t help us because this was a Federal Law. So, in the spring of 2010, we filed a complaint with a Federal Agency to make our County Government comply with this mandate. Let’s hope this is a done deal and we won’t be looking at a federal fine for a year and eight months of being out of compliance with a Federal Law.
Finally, the drains required by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act have been purchased and installed in both pools at the Aquatic Center. We’ve seen the certificates for the drains and have a copy of the claim paying for the installation. So, this should be a done deal. Maybe.
This is what has happened: In Jan 2009, members of the Transparency Committee became aware of the above Federal Law. The deadline for compliance with this 2007 law was 31 Dec 2008. This meant that if Safe Drains were not installed as of 31 Dec 2008, the pools were to be closed until the drains were installed. There was no wiggle room. When we found out about this law, we were already out of compliance.
The very morning we found out about this law, the Board of Supervisors’ were having a meeting and we placed a copy of this law at the place of each Supervisor.
In Feb 2009, the Transparency Committee provided grant information to the Board that would have helped offset the expenses of purchasing and installing these drains. This information was placed at the President of the Board of Supervisors place in the Board Room. After the meeting, I personally asked the President of the Board if he had seen what was at his place when he arrived. The response was yes but he hadn’t had a chance to read it yet. There was acknowledgement that he would read the information as soon as he had a chance.
And then the nagging and complaining from our Committee continued for the next year and eight months. During this time, we held two Summer Camps; don’t know how many swim practices and meets and can’t even imagine how many people just enjoying our beautiful pools.
What were we to do? We got tired of talking about this month after month at our meeting. We got tired of asking our Supervisors. The State of MS couldn’t help us because this was a Federal Law. So, in the spring of 2010, we filed a complaint with a Federal Agency to make our County Government comply with this mandate. Let’s hope this is a done deal and we won’t be looking at a federal fine for a year and eight months of being out of compliance with a Federal Law.
Our 1st Amendment Rights
17 Nov 2010
Each week this newspaper uses a quote made by the 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
So why does it seem that our local government officials don’t want to hear from the people they represent? We have a right and a responsibility to speak up. This is Tunica County not Tunica Plantation. Enough said.
Each week this newspaper uses a quote made by the 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
So why does it seem that our local government officials don’t want to hear from the people they represent? We have a right and a responsibility to speak up. This is Tunica County not Tunica Plantation. Enough said.
Is it Political or Is it Representational?
1 Nov 2010
Recently the Transparency Committee asked for and received a list of all of the Boards of Directors that are appointed by our Board of Supervisors along with the members thereof.
What we found was not what we expected. What we wanted to know was who represented each Beat on the various Boards. What we found was these appointments appear to be political and not representational. This is to say there are too many appointees from one Beat (Beat 5) and we didn’t see any representation from Beat 3. Isn’t this interesting?
When we asked about this at this morning’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting, the Supervisor from Beat 3 said they didn’t have to appoint from their own Beat. What? Do you mean to say there isn’t anyone within your Beat you would appoint to each of these Boards? Hello…the residents of Beat 3 put you in office to represent them.
Recently the Transparency Committee asked for and received a list of all of the Boards of Directors that are appointed by our Board of Supervisors along with the members thereof.
What we found was not what we expected. What we wanted to know was who represented each Beat on the various Boards. What we found was these appointments appear to be political and not representational. This is to say there are too many appointees from one Beat (Beat 5) and we didn’t see any representation from Beat 3. Isn’t this interesting?
When we asked about this at this morning’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting, the Supervisor from Beat 3 said they didn’t have to appoint from their own Beat. What? Do you mean to say there isn’t anyone within your Beat you would appoint to each of these Boards? Hello…the residents of Beat 3 put you in office to represent them.
Update on "Car 54" Post
And so, it continues. We finally got a list of county owned vehicles. The Meals-on-Wheels bus is now listed under the Board of Supervisors. All of the 25 seat passenger vans are owned and operated by North Delta Planning. Well, they may have been purchased by North Delta Planning but the drivers are assigned to the Recreation Department and are paid from the Recreation Department's Budget. Wonder who is maintaining these vans and putting gas in their tanks? Besides, the word used in the meeting was that these vans are "totally" owned and operated by North Delta Planning.
On the list of vehicles from the Chancery Clerk there is one School Bus listed under the Recreation Department. Item #16 on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda for 1 Nov 2010 is to "ratify acceptance of donation of school bus from the Tunica County School District." (Notice the use of the singular of the word "bus" on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda.) I called the Chancery Clerk and asked if we now had 2 buses and I was told we had 3 and one was not working. Gee, this wasn't mentioned at the 1 Nov 2010 Board Meeting and no one asked how much it was going to cost to repair this bus after the Board accepted it.
At the 1 Dec 2010 Board of Supervisors' Meeting, the Chancery Clerk requested the Board of Supervisors vote to remove a bus from inventory because it was not working. (This item was not listed on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda for this date.)
Now, let's see what the Public Records for Nov 2010 reveal about these buses. In Book #139 on page 336, there is a letter from the Parks and Recreation Director requesting the Board of Supervisors to accept 3 buses from the Board of Education. This letter is dated 21 Apr 2008. That's right, 21 Apr 2008.
In Book #139 on page 336 is the Resolution dated 1 Nov 2010 accepting the buses. Notice the plural use of the word "bus".
There is a time lapse of 2 years and 7 months between the request and the acceptance. There are questions that remain on this subject:
1. Were the buses insured during this time?
2. What budget was charged with the expense of fueling and maintaining these buses?
3. What was Tunica County's exposure?
What a mess!!!!
On the list of vehicles from the Chancery Clerk there is one School Bus listed under the Recreation Department. Item #16 on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda for 1 Nov 2010 is to "ratify acceptance of donation of school bus from the Tunica County School District." (Notice the use of the singular of the word "bus" on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda.) I called the Chancery Clerk and asked if we now had 2 buses and I was told we had 3 and one was not working. Gee, this wasn't mentioned at the 1 Nov 2010 Board Meeting and no one asked how much it was going to cost to repair this bus after the Board accepted it.
At the 1 Dec 2010 Board of Supervisors' Meeting, the Chancery Clerk requested the Board of Supervisors vote to remove a bus from inventory because it was not working. (This item was not listed on the Board of Supervisors' Agenda for this date.)
Now, let's see what the Public Records for Nov 2010 reveal about these buses. In Book #139 on page 336, there is a letter from the Parks and Recreation Director requesting the Board of Supervisors to accept 3 buses from the Board of Education. This letter is dated 21 Apr 2008. That's right, 21 Apr 2008.
In Book #139 on page 336 is the Resolution dated 1 Nov 2010 accepting the buses. Notice the plural use of the word "bus".
There is a time lapse of 2 years and 7 months between the request and the acceptance. There are questions that remain on this subject:
1. Were the buses insured during this time?
2. What budget was charged with the expense of fueling and maintaining these buses?
3. What was Tunica County's exposure?
What a mess!!!!
"Car 54 Where Are You?
Are you too young to remember this TV sitcom? It was about a police car...number 54...to be exact. Dispatch was always trying to find it. On to Tunica County Government.
This past summer, one of our members called the County Administrator’s office to get a list of the vehicles owned by Tunica County. We were very specific about what we were asking to see. We did not want to see a list of the Sheriff’s Department vehicles. We just wanted a listing of all other vehicles.
Now wouldn’t you think this information would be readily available? Yeah, we did too.
It took awhile but finally the list was ready. Right away we noticed discrepancies in the listings for the Recreation Department. You know the big black bus sitting in the Recreation Center parking lot? Not listed. The 25 Passenger Vans? We think there are three and only one was listed. Listed were two Crown Victorias. We think this number is correct but we are questioning who is driving them and why? There is a Ford Pickup Truck listed. Who is driving this vehicle? The Ford Expedition is listed and we are supposing this is used to transport children for various athletic events. Next, is a 1994 Chevrolet Pickup Truck. Don’t have any other information on this vehicle. Recently, we’ve seen a white van around town. This van is not on the list and is sporting the Recreation Department logo and E & D Transportation. (“E & D” stands for elderly and disabled.) Here again, this vehicle is not on the list. There is a new Meals-on-Wheels van that was donated by Harrah’s and this vehicle does not appear on any department list.
After receiving and reviewing this first list, the Transparency Committee immediately sent a list back to the County Administrator asking for corrections. We even provided a list of what we thought was closer to correct. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.
On 15 Sep 2010, we sent a Freedom of Information letter and we waited some more. We had a face-to-face with the County Administrator on 4 Oct 2010 and then sent a follow-up email. Finally, a response!!! We could pick-up a corrected list on the afternoon of 8 Oct 2010. Yea!!!
Went to pick-up the list and we were told the Chancery Clerk is working on it. The Chancery Clerk? Okay, so we’re not totally unreasonable. We’ll play this game for a bit longer. Starting Tue, 12 Oct 2010, we will give the County Administrator/Chancery Clerk 14 more business days to come-up with the list. At 2 p.m. on Fri, 29 Oct 2010, we went to the Chancery Clerks 0ffice to receive this corrected report. The report wasn't ready.
This past summer, one of our members called the County Administrator’s office to get a list of the vehicles owned by Tunica County. We were very specific about what we were asking to see. We did not want to see a list of the Sheriff’s Department vehicles. We just wanted a listing of all other vehicles.
Now wouldn’t you think this information would be readily available? Yeah, we did too.
It took awhile but finally the list was ready. Right away we noticed discrepancies in the listings for the Recreation Department. You know the big black bus sitting in the Recreation Center parking lot? Not listed. The 25 Passenger Vans? We think there are three and only one was listed. Listed were two Crown Victorias. We think this number is correct but we are questioning who is driving them and why? There is a Ford Pickup Truck listed. Who is driving this vehicle? The Ford Expedition is listed and we are supposing this is used to transport children for various athletic events. Next, is a 1994 Chevrolet Pickup Truck. Don’t have any other information on this vehicle. Recently, we’ve seen a white van around town. This van is not on the list and is sporting the Recreation Department logo and E & D Transportation. (“E & D” stands for elderly and disabled.) Here again, this vehicle is not on the list. There is a new Meals-on-Wheels van that was donated by Harrah’s and this vehicle does not appear on any department list.
After receiving and reviewing this first list, the Transparency Committee immediately sent a list back to the County Administrator asking for corrections. We even provided a list of what we thought was closer to correct. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.
On 15 Sep 2010, we sent a Freedom of Information letter and we waited some more. We had a face-to-face with the County Administrator on 4 Oct 2010 and then sent a follow-up email. Finally, a response!!! We could pick-up a corrected list on the afternoon of 8 Oct 2010. Yea!!!
Went to pick-up the list and we were told the Chancery Clerk is working on it. The Chancery Clerk? Okay, so we’re not totally unreasonable. We’ll play this game for a bit longer. Starting Tue, 12 Oct 2010, we will give the County Administrator/Chancery Clerk 14 more business days to come-up with the list. At 2 p.m. on Fri, 29 Oct 2010, we went to the Chancery Clerks 0ffice to receive this corrected report. The report wasn't ready.
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