THE SEVENTH, FIRST ANNUAL THATHLOTHLAGUPHKA AWARD ANNOUNCED BY THE CLARION ISSUE

By CLARION ISSUE STAFF MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE CLARION ISSUE

Each year the Clarion Issue presents the Annual Thathlothlaguphka Award. The Thathlothlaguphka Award is a local award for abject stupidity, general idiocy, or total incompetence, given to a local official, body politic, or politically connected contractor or company whose actions have negatively affected the people in the area. The name Thathlothlaguphka comes from the Native American name for the St. Marys River and means “smells like rotten fish.” The Jefferson Muzzle Awards, presented by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, and the Ig Nobel Prizes, presented by the Harvard Computer Society, the Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics Students, and the Darwin Awards have served as the models for the Clarion Issue’s Thathlothlaguphka Award.

The winner receives a Thathlothlaguphka Award certificate, a Clarion Issue bar stick, an I HATE THE CLARION ISSUE tee shirt, a $25 bar tab from The Island Bar and Grill on Hwy 40, and a $25 lunch from Lucky Dawgs, Love At First Bite, on Point Peter Rd. We thank our sponsors for their support in the presentation of this prestigious award.

This year’s winner is the Mayor and City Council of St. Marys, Georgia for a host of reasons, but mainly for making major decisions behind closed doors and for being rude and obnoxious to citizens of the city during meetings. The Mayor and at least four of the City Council personnel, usually referred to as ‘the five in the middle,’ made at least two major decisions in executive session and never voted on these actions in open session. These votes appear to be a violation of the Georgia Open Meetings law and these actions taken by the Mayor and the ‘five in the middle,’ the decision to fire tourism director Janet Brinko and to buy the Gilman Boat House property proved very unpopular with St. Marys residents.

The cost of the 2.5-acre waterfront Gilman property was $1.3 million, a large sum to be taken off the city and county tax role. Now that the city has the property, what is the city going to do with the property? There is already a boat ramp, restaurant, and a park downtown at the waterfront and somehow a late afternoon stroll along a boardwalk to the old mill site with sand gnats and mosquitoes gnawing at your ankles and ears is not as romantic as some City Council members may remember. The hoopla over firing of Janet Brinko by the City Manager was also a fiasco the City Council could have easily avoided had the council had a few facts in hand. In America, there are certain steps necessary to fire any public employee, and now that we are in the post Shirley Sherrod era maybe the City Council and City Manager will, in the words of P. I. Mike Hammer, make a few notes.

In early summer, the City Council raised water bills 35% to cover the $42 million expansion of water and sewer capacity in the city. This 35% raise included the water bills of the city residents annexed against their will a decade ago who are still waiting for sewer service. While these citizens have seen sewer service given to new residential developments, the sewer service they were promised ten years ago has not materialized. Many residents in the Gaine Davis Development, to the west of Spur-40 from Hwy 40 to New Hope Baptist Church, are having problems with their septic tanks as are some of the residents of Point Peter. The residents of the Davis Development met on August 7, 2010, to discuss available options and these did include several legal options.

The decorum at the City Council meetings has gotten to a point where St. Marys citizens feel city leaders demean and do not listen to them. In an email sent by one of the ‘five in the middle’ to the new City Attorney dated June 13, 2010, the councilperson described critics attending the meetings as a group of ‘nay sayers’ found in the back of the council room and referred to them as an ‘Amen Corner.’ For all of the aforementioned and a few more unmentioned infractions (such as for continuing to discuss the relocation of the St. Marys Airport, which many residents feel does not need to be relocated, to an environmentally fragile area known as Site 1 near Billyville Rd., not to mention one of the unmentioned) the Clarion Issue feels this award is very richly deserved.

The first member of the St. Marys City Council, especially one of the ‘five in the middle,’ to contact the Clarion Issue at www.clarionish.com will become eligible for the valuable prizes which accompany the award; however, a photo-op is required at the time the award and prizes are presented.

At least Honorable Mention for the Award must go to the County Commission for its slap in the face to representative democracy by appointing a successor to the seat vacated by former Commissioner Steve Berry, rather than holding an election to determine the People’s choice. The decision was promoted as one to save the cost of a special election, a noble goal. However, the cost would be small, involving a few precincts. The Commission knew, many months in advance of the effective date of Steve Berry’s retirement, that a replacement would be needed, with a General Election already scheduled. It could easily have held qualifying and included the District 3 election in the General Election, but chose not to do so. This opens the gate to charges they sought to replace the often fractious Steve Berry with a replacement more amenable to the 3-2 majority which runs the County.


At this time the Clarion Issue usually runs a quick check on a few past winners and runners up of the Thathlothlaguphka Award. Last year’s winner, the Camden County Board of Assessors is still under fire from local citizens concerning what many consider unfair and unequal tax assessments. Last year’s runner up, the St. Marys Ethics Commission is still almost completely dysfunctional and in no way able to help the city leaders play well with others, especially the citizens they represent.

There also seems to be no progress in the real environmental cleanup at the old Gilman Paper Co. mill site, and several real estate developers around the county have left the county flat with partially developed properties and with our citizens holding the bag worth millions of dollars for water and sewer services delivered that will take years to recuperate while the citizens themselves wait for the same service. Both of these entities were former winners of sorts of the Thathlothlaguphka Award.

FARTS AND FLORALS

Florals to the used book sale at Cedar Oak Café and Coffee House in downtown St. Marys, for Clifton Golby, a former Camden County resident who was badly burned on November 15, 2009, at Virginia Beach. The price is two paperback books for a dollar and a dollar for hardbacks so drop by and buy a couple and even unload a few you have sitting around the house for a good cause. While you are there, try their coffee; you’ll be glad you did.

Florals to the St. Marys Earthkeepers who help lead the ecological effort in the St. Marys area. In May the Earthkeepers planted five 6ft. oak trees along the Bartlett and Weed Street walls of Oak Grove Cemetery in memory of Mrs. Susan (Oaks) Lenz. In March the group gathered 138 people who collected 3,910 pounds of trash, including 53 bags of recyclables in the Annual St. Marys River Cleanup. Other actives of the Earthkeeprs, plus their meeting place and times can be found on their web site at www.stmarysearthkeepers.com .

Farts to the City of Kingsland for refusing to implement a curbside recycling program. While much was made about the city ‘going green’ in the recent past, the city did it with Federal stimulus dollars, or other people’s money. Kingsland used OPM (other people’s money) to retrofit its buildings with energy-efficient equipment and lights. However, one of the best ways to help the Earth is by recycling. Every plastic water bottle, soda bottle, cardboard box, newspaper, and other recyclable item thrown into the trash in Kingsland spends decades or eternity in a landfill. Teaching children to recycle is like teaching then to take a can of soup to church for the food closet for the hungry; it is part of doing your part to teach your child how to care about others and to help save the planet. Come on Kingsland, you could do better.

Florals to the Riverview Hotel in St. Marys, Georgia, for installing solar-assisted air-conditioning in their business. This is a step in saving electricity and the environment.

Farts to the Board of Registrars of Camden County for not opening the polls for early voting during the runoff primary elections held in August. Some voters were away on vacation or out of town for other reasons and unable to vote due to this oversight. Early voting is now part of the expectations of the voter so it needs to be available during all elections.

Florals to Habitat for Humanity of Camden County for building three houses for the less fortunate in Camden County over the last year. Congratulations to immediate past president Leonie Pinnell, new president Steven Hooks, and all the HFH staff and volunteers for a job well done. To volunteer or donate to this worthy cause visit their office at 302 S. Lee in Kingsland or their website at www.hfhcamden.org . For more information call 912-673-1266 or contact them by e-mail at info@hfhcamden.org . You may also visit the Re-store for items from new to recycled appliances, furniture, or building materials. The group works on houses on Saturdays from 8:00-3:00, except during inclement weather. Lunch is provided.

Farts to the president and board of directors of the failed Satilla Community Bank of St. Marys who went into default and was issued an order appointing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as Receiver of the Bank on May 14, 2010. Banking regulators indicated the bank was using ‘unsafe and unsound’ banking practices and the board of directors ‘failed to provide adequate supervision’ over bank management. In August 2009, the bank had $4.6 million in problem loans and was unable to overcome this and other problems. A special thanks to Ameris Bank of Moultrie, Georgia, for bailing out the depositors of the mismanaged bank. This action helped make Georgia one of the top states to have banks in failure and receivership.

Florals to the City of St. Marys on finally getting right the traffic lights at Osborne and Dilworth, and Charlie Smith and St. Marys Rds; but farts at the excessive cost incurred. A simple cost of reprogramming the controllers would have sufficed, rather than completely replacing the entire system.

Farts to the City of Kingsland and the Georgia DOT on the Colerain/Gross Rd intersection improvements. With over three years to plan the signalization, they could not manage to get the lights installed by the time the asphalt and concrete was completed.

ONCE AGAIN A SPECIAL THANKS AND A CLARION ISSUE TIP OF THE HAT- to all the local law enforcement agents, emergency medical personnel, firefighters, and all the other first responders who keep our roads, recreation areas, and homes safe. Due recognition goes out to teachers and other educators who returned to work this year in spite of a shortened school year, extended school days, and budget cuts. The Clarion Issue would also like to express our appreciation to all volunteers who work with our local youth in scouts, athletics, and other programs that give them a safe place to grow and learn. Another special thanks and tip of the hat to those who are serving in our armed forces and to those who have served; we appreciate your service and sacrifice. Thank you for all you do and have done for our community and nation.