Tom Knighton Archive

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Anonymous Sources

– December 7, 2011Posted in: Columns, Tom Knighton

 

 

Last week, the Journal ran a report about allegations of voter fraud.  Needless to say, that report ruffled a few feathers.  I received a phone call from Dougherty County Elections Board chairman Walter Blankenship.  Chairman Blankenship took issue with several points regarding our report, and I wanted to address them here. That is the reason there are two pieces written by me in this week’s Outlook, something I have no intention of making a habit doing.

First was our choice to use an anonymous source.  Mr. Blankenship went so far as to suggest the possibility that the source was anonymous even to myself. I assured him that I do indeed know the identity of the source.  It is this paper’s policy that anonymous sources’ identities must be known.  Prior to the election, I received a phone call from a person who told me that voter fraud was going to occur and even outlined the exact same scenario that my anonymous source claims happened.  Why didn’t I run that story then?  Simple.  I didn’t know the identity and had no other corroborating information.

In this case, not only did I know the person in question, but there was also other information to be taken into account.  Mr. Blankenship has apparently not followed the Journal’s reports about the irregularities in the Ward 2 election.  If he had, he is far more likely to understand that the source’s allegations went pretty far in explaining how such irregularities could occur.

Make no mistake, the decision to use an anonymous source was much deliberated upon.  It shouldn’t be an easy decision, because there are a host of potential problems with using them.  However, we felt that this story was of vital importance to the community and needed to be heard.

Another point that Mr. Blankenship took issue with was our decision to not give this information to the Election Board so they could look into it prior to our report. This is a fair question, and I will address it as well.

First, let’s take a look at internal investigations in general.  They are often perceived as being nothing more than a white wash. Rarely do we see real results from them that are unquestionable.  Take the CRCT internal investigation.  In no time at all, the Dougherty County School System said that they had investigated and found that no teacher or administrator had done anything wrong.  However, once the state’s investigators got here, it quickly became apparent that this was not the case.

Now, I’m not accusing the board of not wanting the truth.  I don’t personally know any of them well enough to make such an accusation.  What I am saying though is that should an internal investigation come back as there being nothing the board or elections office had done wrong, then the citizens of Albany would quite possibly doubt those results.

Instead, I turned my information – which I was under no obligation to do – over to the Secretary of State’s investigator. It is my belief that an investigation is essential, and I believe that the Secretary of State’s office is the best equipped to deal with these allegations.

Mr. Blankenship has invited me to attend the next Election Board meeting, and I have agreed.  It was originally slated to be Wednesday, December 7 at 4:00, which though that date has since changed as they would be unable to actually have that meeting.  He has expressed interest to me that I be available to assist them as they look into these allegations, and I assume to look at measures to ensure nothing like this will ever be alleged to have happened again.  Whenever the meeting actually takes place, it’s my intention to be there.

My obligation as a newspaper publisher is to publish the truth, which I have fulfilled to the best of my abilities.  However, it is my obligation as a citizen of Albany that dictates that I be there Wednesday so that I can help make our community better.  It’s easy to complain.  I’ve done it for years.  When someone asks you to help make it so that you have less to complain about, you need to step up or forever forfeit your right to complain without looking like part of the problem.

Tags: election, Tom Knighton, voter fraud
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OUTRAGE!

– November 30, 2011Posted in: Tom Knighton

 

Albanians lash out regarding Weaver’s reinstatement

 

Written by Tom Knighton

 

Willie Weaver is headed back to his bench in municipal court, but the controversy surrounding him is far from over. Despite a 5-2 vote by the city commission to return Weaver to duty, many in the community are less than pleased by the outcome.

Weaver was serving a suspension after allegations surfaced that he had hit his wife at a party.  His wife initially made the allegations, then later recanted.  Some citizens aren’t satisfied with the official version of things, much less the commission’s decision.

Albany resident Ross Evans is one such person. “I’ve been unfortunate enough to have to appear in front of Weaver for minor traffic offenses and I will say he’s a fair judge,” Evans said, though he does feel Weaver shows some bias against younger drivers.” I’m unhappy with the commission’s decision because I feel a judge should be held to high standards as far as the behavior in and out of the workplace. Although I understand the charges will be dropped against him once he completes anger management classes, that’s not to say the incident did not occur,” Evans said.  He went on to say, “Judges, politicians, and law enforcement should set the example for the rest of society. It seems that many of these same people that create, enforce, and interpret the laws are increasingly becoming poor examples of how to conduct oneself properly.”

Evans is also not convinced that Weaver is innocent of the charges, despite Mrs. Weaver now saying nothing happened. “I don’t buy for a second that Weaver did not commit some type of violence towards his wife. Like many domestic cases, the accuser will often retract their claim. My question is why would a judge’s wife make the claim in the first place had the incident not occurred? I doubt it’s a fun experience to have your spouse have criminal charges placed against them.”

Evans’ opinion isn’t without basis either.  According to the Liberty House’s website, women often still feel love for abusive spouses, “Promising that he will change, he may actually show remorse for his violence. Their relationship probably involves a cycle of good times, bad times, and in-between times. However, the longer the violent relationship continues, the less likely there will be any good times at all.”  Often times, this leads to women recanting earlier statements to protect their abusive partner.

None of this is to say that Weaver indeed hit his wife. What it does mean is that it will be difficult for many in the community, like Evans, to accept Weaver’s word that he never hit his wife. For better or worse, these allegations are now tied to Weaver for the rest of his career.

To make matters worse, some feel that Weaver was given a pass due to his connections, versus any real innocence. “Albany’s commission has demonstrated once again that if you have money or power in Albany, you can do as you please. It sickens and disheartens me that very little is done to rid our city of corruption. There are a lot of things I love about Albany, but those we have elected to make decisions for us continue to fail us in many aspects and is making it increasingly difficult to convince myself to continue living here,” said Evans.

Several other local citizens agreed with Evans comments, but refused to go on the record for fear of it impacting them should they appear in municipal court.

Tags: Tom Knighton, Willie Weaver
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Unemployment drops to 10.4 percent for October

– November 30, 2011Posted in: Columns, Tom Knighton

Local officials silent about long term improvement

 

Last week, the Georgia Department of Labor released the latest unemployment statistics for the Albany area, which was at 10.4 percent.  That was a drop of .4 percent over September, which the Department of Labor attributed to fewer layoffs than expected. The unemployment rate last October was also 10.8 percent.

However, it’s not just Albany that’s suffering.  The Department of Labor’s breakdown by county showed Dougherty was at 11.7 percent, Lee at 7.6 percent, Worth at 9.5 percent, Terrell at 11.9 percent and Baker at 9.8 percent.

By contrast, the Athens Metropolitan Statistical Area was at a mere 7.5 percent. The national unemployment rate was 9 percent.  That’s 1.7 percent below Albany’s rate for that same period.

The Albany Journal reached out to members of both the City and County Commissions on Friday when the numbers were released, asking what was being done to increase the number of jobs in Albany. Emails were forwarded from the city clerk, Sonja Tolbert, to all commissioners by Sunday afternoon.  There was no response by press time on Tuesday.

While many may point to the new Olive Garden that is slated to be brought to town, it’s important to note that not all jobs are created equal. Restaurant jobs, for example, are often minimum wage jobs or heavily tip oriented jobs like wait staff.  Meanwhile, the Albany area is still reeling from the loss of jobs from Cooper Tire and Merck Chemical, jobs that paid well above the median income level for the Albany area.

The unemployment numbers are expected to continue to drop as many retail stores begin to stock up on personnel for the all-important Christmas shopping season.  Again, however, these jobs do little to make up for the economic impact from large manufacturing concerns leaving town.  In addition, these jobs are temporary in nature, which will cause an increase in unemployment after the first of the year.

Many in the community argue that without new industry coming to town, the unemployment rate will likely never make it below 10 percent in the foreseeable future.

Tags: featured, georgia department of labor, jobs, Tom Knighton, unemployment, unemployment rate
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Election Board needs to do right

– November 22, 2011Posted in: Outlook, Tom Knighton

 

Mistakes happen.  Anyone who tries to claim otherwise is so full of it.  I wanted to remind everyone of that when it comes to the saga of the Ward II city commission election.  Mistakes happen, but when they happen, every measure needs to be taken to make things right.

What has transpired in Ward II is anything but right.  To start with, Cheryl Calhoun – who happens to be one of the most delightful human beings on the planet – sought to qualify to challenge John Howard for his Ward I seat.  It wasn’t any particular malice towards Howard, but simply a case of her wanting to make a difference.  She was told that she lived in Ward II.  After arguing the point and being told repeatedly by elections supervisor Ginger Nickerson that she lived in Ward II, Calhoun finally accepted it and qualified for Dorothy Hubbard’s seat.

When it was learned that there was a problem with the election’s office computer system’s accounting, Calhoun was disqualified.  While the term “disqualified” may be accurate, it conveys a sense that Calhoun did something wrong.  She didn’t.  City manager James Taylor returned Calhoun’s qualification fee – and yes, she did actually get it – despite it not being his place to do so.  If that was where the drama ended, then life would be great.

The reality was even uglier.

Calhoun remained on the ballot, allegedly due to the cost of changing the ballot.  How it can cost that much to change an electronic ballot is beyond me, but so be it.  However, it was because she was on the ballot that things get murky.

Reports have been made that at least two precincts didn’t have notification that Calhoun wasn’t a viable candidate posted prominently.  After all, a notice on the back of an exit door isn’t prominent.  Neither is a crowded bulletin board.  After all, “prominent” should be someplace people might actually see it.

Now, we have three people with upheaval in their lives, all because of one mistake that wasn’t made right.  Calhoun had received votes prior to her disqualification.  Due to improper placement of signs, she apparently received many more.  She, a disqualified candidate, pulled in almost 20 percent of the vote.

Ivey Hines argued via WALB that those votes were made in protest over how Calhoun was treated.  A tempting theory, but I seriously doubt it.  No effort to organize such a protest was made to the best of my knowledge, and a far more likely scenario is that people just didn’t know.

While the Journal did write about it, as did other media outlets in town, some people just missed the news.  As they probably had met Calhoun, they clearly wanted to vote for her, so they did.

Now, we have an election in turmoil.  What happened to the early votes for Calhoun, made when she was a legitimate candidate?  Those votes apparently outnumber the votes which has given Hines the victory.  So, who would those people have voted for?  Ivey Hines, or Melissa Strother?

Further, we have poor posting of signs, which added further confusion.  With all this going on, one initial solution seems to be the most practical at this point.  That solution is to throw out the election and call a special election for that seat.

I understand that Ward II has been without representation for some time now, but it also deserves the right representation.  That ward deserves the candidate most of them voted for, not one appointed on screwy technicalities amidst turmoil and uncertainty.

While I endorsed Strother via a post at Laws-n-Sausages, that actually plays no part in this.  If Ivey Hines is the legitimate choice of Ward II, then so be it.  It’s not my place to determine that.  It’s also not the place of the election board that started this whole mess either.

Tags: elections, Outlook, Tom Knighton
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This dog will hunt

– November 10, 2011Posted in: Outlook, Tom Knighton

 

As you can see, I’ve begun my tenure with a new masthead.  As someone who’s written about hunting in the past, it’s entirely possible that you might think the bird dog is about that.  Well, it’s not.  Not entirely, anyways.

To deny the outdoor heritage that is such a part of life here in the Deep South would be ridiculous.  That certainly plays a part in what we wanted to represent.  However, that’s only a minute portion of our reasoning.

The deeper reason is that since Kevin Hogencamp took over The Albany Journal, he began shifting the paper towards hunting down corruption in our local government.  Ideology never played a factor in his efforts, but a simple idea of right and wrong.

Kevin shifted the tone of The Albany Journal from the local scandal sheet into something more. He hunted down corruption, graft, malice, and whatever other shortcoming he could find in our city government.  He was a bird dog, constantly hunting down the corruption in the shadows.

It’s my most profound desire to continue with that new-found tradition.  That dog on the masthead serves as a reminder.  It’s a reminder to you, the reader, what our purpose is.  It’s also a reminder to me of the exact same thing.  It’s easy to become complacent, and that’s something I never want to be with this paper.

However, anyone who’s ever had a hunting dog of any kind can tell you that the hunting is only part of that picture.  There’s also the side that loves to play, or just lay next to you as you pet them.  On the same token, a newspaper has to remember the softer side.  No one wants to read about corruption all the time.  They also want to hear about local college sports, fundraisers different groups are having, what’s happening downtown, arts, entertainment, and a whole lot of other things as well.

We’ll birddog the stories.  Regardless of where it may lead us, we’ll follow the trail.  We’ll turn the stones and see what we see.  We will provide you with the same great coverage of local politics, government, crime, sports, and everything else that you’ve enjoyed over these last few years.

Shortly after I took over, I promised you that I wasn’t going to change a bunch of things.  I’m holding to that promise, despite the news masthead.  If you look in these pages, you’ll see that it’s not all that different from what you saw last week.  While change is inevitable, change for the sake of change is idiotic.  I promised I wouldn’t do that, and you can see that so far I haven’t.

I’m glad you all have recognized the changes in the Journal over the last few years.  I hope you will enjoy the rest of the ride with me.

 

Tom Knighton is the publisher of The Albany Journal.

Tags: Outlook, Publisher, The Albany Journal, Tom Knighton
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Trick or Treat?

– November 7, 2011Posted in: Headlines, Tom Knighton

With no sign and little hint of anyone living there, Dalewood Estates may just be the poster child for wasteful projects.  Mayoral candidate and former state representative John White is part of the group who developed this property, reportedly using taxpayer money.

 

Written by Tom Knighton

 

If you found yourself taking your children to the Dalewood Estates development off Willie Pitts Road, you were probably disappointed when no one answered the door.  It had nothing to do with rudeness however.  Instead, it had everything to do with obvious lack seniors living in the complex.

Dalewood Estates, which boasts 49 apartments in six buildings plus a clubhouse, was supposed to be completed in October, 2008.  Built as what’s called a HUD section 202 project, it was supposed to provide housing to disadvantaged seniors.  Instead, it just sits there, with little sign of habitation.

In and of itself, that’s bad enough.  However, when you look at the names involved, it reads like a who’s who of questionable development deals.  First, there is Greenbrier Holding, owner of the Heritage House.  Greenbrier Holding, in their proposal to partner with the City of Albany to the tune of $16 million in federal money to develop the Heritage House as low income housing, listed Dalewood Estates as a previous development.

Also involved was the late John I. Rivers, a principle in JIR Associates and JIRA Properties, just to name a couple.  Rivers most notably worked on the failed Grovetown project, now synonymous with the name Cutliff Grove, which is allegedly under investigation by the GBI for misuse of HUD money provided by the City of Albany.  Rivers, in addition to his involvement in Grovetown, is listed as the developer for Dalewood Estates.

One of the most interesting names, however is Albany mayoral candidate John White.  White served as the Chief Financial Officer and corporate secretary for Dalewood Estates Senior Housing, Inc., the non-profit formed to building and manage the complex.  White is also listed as a reference from Greenbrier Holding in their proposal regarding the Heritage House.

White, early in his campaign, touted his vision for the Heritage House.  In July, White kicked off his campaign by unveiling his plan to have the Heritage House renovated; despite many people classifying the building as an eyesore.  He told the audience, “It doesn’t look very good, we understand that, but if the city spends $1 million to tear it down, all you’ll ever have there is an empty lot.”

Curiously, White made no mention of any ties to Greenbrier Holding during that speech.  He did say that he had talked to the owner who referred to the Heritage House structure as “it’s a sound structure, all we have to do is put a new face on it,” but makes no specific mention of being listed as a reference.

White claims he knew nothing of Greenbrier’s listing of him as a reference.  “This is news to me; I would like to know how I got to be listed as a reference for Greenbrier?”  He went on to say, “I have no relationship with Greenbrier. I have spoken with the owner relative to his intentions regarding the property, but have never met him.”

White further denied wanting to use taxpayer funds for the renovation when asked.  “As I have said many times, the renovation of the property would be an economic generator because, I’m told by architects and some builders that it would create nearly 400 jobs for this community, 125 to 150 jobs during the construction stage and the balance would be permanent Jobs.  My platform says nothing about using tax money to renovate the property.”

Regardless of who White wants to foot the bill, it’s highly irregular to list a reference who has never met you or key members of your company, especially in light of the fact that White is a well known member of the community.  It seems bizarre that he would be listed when he knew nothing of the company.  This is compounded by the fact that Dalewood Estates is also listed on the proposal.

On Page 7 of the proposal, apparently written by the City of Albany to secure HUD funds for the Heritage House project, Greenbrier is listed as having “[c]onducted the development of Dalewood Estates, a 49-unit HUD 202 Senior Citizen Housing and Clubhouse Development being developed on 5 acres of a 38-acre tract.”  This is the same Dalewood Estates that lists John White on their board.

Greenbrier is also listed as being behind Cutliff Grove’s Grovetown development on page 20 of the same proposal, just under John White’s name being listed in association with Dalewood Estates.

If White has no ties to Greenbrier Holding, it is unclear as to how his name was listed as a reference, or how Dalewood Estates was listed as one of Greenbrier’s developments.

 

Bob Rehberg contributed to this report.

 

 

Tags: Dalewodd Estates, Greenbrier Holding, Housing, John White
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Former Cheerleader in new role

– November 7, 2011Posted in: Tom Knighton

 

Written by Tom Knighton

 

Liz Gray was always described as Albany’s biggest cheerleader. Her role at the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau was a natural fit for the Albany native. Now, however, she’s opted for greener pastures as the director of sales and marketing at Merry Acres Inn and Conference Center.

Gray’s departure comes amid a great deal of upheaval at the CVB after the termination of Lisa Riddle and the controversy surrounding that, as well as the public debate about Albany Chamber of Commerce Catherine Glover’s salary and its funding. The timing, which came a short time after former Welcome Center Manager Rashelle Beasley, the was promoted to interim manager for the CVB left many wondering why Gray opted for the private sector. “The time felt right for me to move on,” she said, citing more leadership opportunities and the ability to be more creative in her new position.

Called “The Turtle Lady”, Gray was worried that some in the community would be less than supportive of her move. However, that clearly hasn’t been the case. When news broke of Gray leaving, emails poured into her CVB account, all expressing their desire for Gray’s continued success.  Gray’s reputation for a friendly attitude and professional excellence definitely played a key role.

In an email announcing the move obtained by The Albany Journal, Glover said:

I’m writing to you today to let you know that Liz will be leaving us soon (Nov. 4 official last day), as she has been given an opportunity to take on a new leadership role as Director of Sales & Marketing with Merry Acres Inn. As you know, Merry Acres Inn is under new ownership, and was looking for just the right person to assist them with their transition.

Liz has the talent, experience and savvy to build a marketing and sales program from the ground up.

We’ll continue to work with her as she will serve as the community liaison to Merry Acres Inn.

Please join me in wishing her the very best.

So, will Gray still be a cheerleader for Albany? “Right now, I want to focus on the new job and on building my career. Albany’s my home town, and I love my home town,” she said.

What does the future have in store for Gray, and by extension Merry Acres? To start with, her goals included helping the convention center become more competitive, work on growing the catering side of the business, and work behind the scenes to market new programs for the center. Gray opted to not discuss the programs, citing concerns that Merry Acres management wasn’t ready to go public with them at this time.

Gray, an Albany native, will hit the ground running with working on branding Merry Acres as a family owned hotel here in Albany. “We want people to think of it as an upscale, boutique hotel with southern charm,” Gray said.

The general consensus seems to be that the CVB’s loss is Merry Acres’ gain.

 

 

Tags: cvb, Liz Gray, Tom Knighton
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Downtown not so boring anymore

– October 26, 2011Posted in: Tom Knighton

Downtown has a reputation for being violent, but otherwise boring. Albany has a reputation for there being “nothing to do.” This past Friday night, both of those were stood up on its head for me when I had an incredible time and never left the downtown area.

First, there was the Dinner & A Movie event. Two tickets cost my wife and I were a mere $25 and bought us a delicious dinner, followed by the theater show of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, a cult classic, at midnight. However, that left a couple of hours in desperate need to kill. Luckily, that was covered thanks to the “Deck of Arts” event.

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Tags: Aaron Blair, downtown, Tom Knighton
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Cruel Children Need Help

– October 21, 2011Posted in: Columns, Outlook, Tom Knighton

 

There are people in this world who seem to go out of their way to prove that evil exists. They are the people who seem to enjoy hurting small animals just for pleasure or amusement. I’m not talking about hunters who are harvesting game for their supper table. I’m talking about the people who hurt animals because they think the cruelty is fun.

We have a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood. A couple of them recently had kittens. One litter was all black and another litter was gray. This past Saturday, my mother – who lives next door – noticed that one of the black kittens wasn’t using her back legs. They were just dragging behind her as she scooted forward with her front.

At this same time, there was a cute gray kitten that had decided he wanted to be an inside cat. My wife and I were talking about it, but hadn’t reached a firm decision on what to do. Sunday evening, that changed.

I hadn’t seen the gray one all day, but cats being cats, I didn’t think anything about it. Later, when my son knocked on the door with the cat in its hand, I knew why.

According to some of the neighborhood children, an older child across the street had taken the cat, put it in a chip bag that he declared was its “shelter”, dumped ants on it, doused it with water, and then “threw” it into the bushes. My son brought it to me still soaking wet, and at least one ant bite on me verifies that part of the tale as well.

I have not been calm enough to speak to the parents about the incident just yet, though that will happen quite soon. Frankly, the idea infuriates me. Children who engage in this kind of cruelty as kids often grow up to prefer even worse activities as adults.

It’s understandable that not everyone likes cats like I do. I understand that completely. However, it takes a particularly sick individual, even at the eighth grade age level, to do these kinds of things to a cat.

The evidence of what happened to the gray cat instantly had us wonder what had happened to the black one. It wasn’t in good shape, so my wife took it to the vet. Unfortunately, there was no choice but to put that one to sleep. However, knowing that there’s a child in the neighborhood who would hurt a kitten has me wondering how that kitten’s back got messed up in the first place.

Parents, please make sure your children know that this kind of behavior isn’t acceptable. If you see or learn that your child is doing this kind of thing, please get him or her counseling immediately. It’s a sign that your child is very sick, but it’s not a terminal condition. It can be fixed. You just have to accept that help is needed.

Tags: Tom Knighton
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A New Era

– October 13, 2011Posted in: Outlook, Tom Knighton

By now, news may have reached you that I’ll be taking the helm of the Albany Journal on Nov. 1 of this year. To be honest, this is a somewhat terrifying experience. For six years, I’ve had the security of a terrific job with a contractor at MCLB Albany, and then been blessed with some great co-workers who I will miss a great deal.

There have been some concerns expressed, though. Some folks worry that I will make wholesale changes here at The Albany Journal. Well, I want to tell you that it’s not going to happen.

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