Message to Lithonia: Stop the silliness

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By Steve Rose | Friday, April 11, 2008, 05:11 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wow—This thing in Lithonia is getting very serious. Okay let’s recap:

At a recent city council meeting, Lithonia Mayor Joyce McKibben fired Police Chief Willie Rosser and had him escorted out of the building.
The Lithonia City Council then re-instated Chief Rosser although we’re not sure if anyone was escorted out of the building.
Council apparently asked the mayor and her transition team to leave, perhaps opposed to being escorted out of the building.
Acting on mature instincts, the transition team locked themselves in the City Hall holding their hands up to their ears, all the while making loud noises as not to hear anyone attempting to speak to them.
Police, those unfired, entered City Hall and made all of the transition team members go home and go to their rooms. The cops then escorted themselves out of the building.
A locksmith arrived and changed the locks—perhaps a deadbolt. Deadbolts safeguard your home and family with superior protection against attack by crowbar, hammer, disgruntled political adversaries, wrench, saw, lock pick and kick-in. With that kind of security, you can spend less time comparing brands and more time checking your schedule for booking dates on Jerry Springer.
On Wednesday, two aides to Mayor Joyce McKibben were arrested when the mayor arrived to pick up a new key. Press reports say a tussle developed and injuries were inflicted—evident by the lawyers, standing by just outside the spot where people are escorted to, holding bags of neck braces.
Thursday night the city council rejected, by a vote of 3-2 to reject Councilman Lloyd’s motion to defer all six items on the agenda. With that, the mayor got up and in spite of attempts to get her to return so someone could escort her out, she left. Security was tight. Officers announced there would be no foolishness tolerated including lock-ins and unauthorized escorting out of the building.
On Friday when we had to read all this, we were either really entertained by all its silly mindlessness and foolishness or simply wondering why Lithonia has a city charter in the first place. Ugh, stop all this silliness.

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Comments

By Hex

April 11, 2008 5:57 PM | Link to this

Steve Rose. First thanx 4 your service to der volks. Second, this piece is brilliantly conceived, and expertly executed. I can just imagine how much fun you had putting this one together. bravo sir.

By george I think he’s got it.

PS. I’m not going to suggest that you blew an olympic torch reference where the torch went into a building and then appeared some distance away in san francisco, because I’m not sure even I could have pulled THAT one off. A+

PPS. okay, you’ve milked jerry springer legitimately for the last time and succeeded in making it illegal to ever use jerry springer again. that in itself makes this a masterpiece. A+!

By Gregg

April 11, 2008 8:27 PM | Link to this

Well Steve, you’ve made some look the fool in this episode but if I was Police Chief, I wouldn’t want to p** off the clerk and boss who signs my checks until after delivery.

By Hex

April 11, 2008 9:35 PM | Link to this

Vanilla Ice beat up his wife. The Atlanta Braves immediately offered him the coaching job soon to be vacated by Bobby Cox.

Heather Mills admitted dousing her husband Paul McCartney’s lawyer, Fiona somebody (who cares), with a glass of water. Yoko Ono condemned the act, saying that if one more witch gets melted, she’ll be the only one left.

and your little dawg 2

By insomniac

April 12, 2008 2:02 AM | Link to this

Perhaps the Lithonia group has the lock on stupid?

By Wazzup

April 12, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this

It’s tough to be good public servant (ie- Lithonia mayor, Clayton school board) when you obviously cannot hold a real job in a market economy…those who can’t get elected!

It’s OUR fault, though, electing these dimwits time and time again to offices which give them a power-trip!

By Vex

April 12, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this

dimwit? U use that word alot, duhng, I dont think it means what you think it means.

By catlady

April 12, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

I used to think you got “stupid” from your mother, but now it is obvious that “stupid” can be caught. Look around the metro area at all the “stupid” that is going around!

By Sex is wrong

April 12, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this

There is lots of stupido in metro. Remember, we are still only one or two guys away from monkey on the evolutionary chart.

By Biff

April 12, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this

I guess when you only have 2300 people in your town and you subtract the kids, illegals and the 3 intelligent people, you are left with this group to run your city. Alot of smart, young people came out of Lithonia, the smarter they were the younger they came out.

By Loganville Lou

April 12, 2008 4:29 PM | Link to this

Lithonia Lou, your town sucks.

By BossLady

April 12, 2008 7:42 PM | Link to this

The Mayor of Lithonia is the worst embarassment to this state and to her community. She should try to be professional and have addressed the firing of the Chief through proper channels, then, have a leg to stand on. She just could not jump up at a meeting and holler, You’re Fired. All merit, government and municipal jobs have procedures that must be followed. Why did she not turn over whatever proof she had to the GBI or the FBI and let them investigate him. So, now all the evidence is probably gone and will never surface.

She is just pure GHETTO

By Cindy

April 12, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this

And Lithonia’s little grocery store sucks too…so there.

By ElBubba

April 12, 2008 11:45 PM | Link to this

Ya’ know, people with CDLs pay higher fines/stiffer penalties for traffic violations, because they are supposed to be professional drivers, held to a higher standard.

Shouldn’t those same ideals be applied to police who break the law?

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/04/12/garmon_0413.html

By History Speaks

April 13, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this

El Bubba, there you go again with the “I’m scared o’police” comments. Without the cops, we’d have total chaos. They’re human, so arming them does have a down side, but only to the extent that you cant screen out all the cowboys, like Paula Cole managed to do with her unshaved underarms. Where have all the cowboys gone? I dont know, Paula; I know where the tumbleweed went….I also have a good idea where the stinkweed went….and where the rear end of a mule went….and….i know, you get the bit.

Support your local sheriff!

By reader

April 13, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

HS-Did you read the article? These guys broke the law, and not just once. Law enforcement officers are supposed to uphold & enforce the law, not profit from illegal activity. Do they not swear an oath or something? There are bad apples in every bunch. These are the types you should be concerned about. If you read b/f you “speak”, you might wind up humming a different tune.

By The Love Hack

April 13, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this

Yeah, I’m with Reader! HS didn’t read the article. And I like Paula Cole, with or without her lady schick. He knows where the tumbleweed went, indeed…. who does he think he is? Jack Benny? Seinfeld? Sorry, but you’re so funny we all forgot to laugh, but we didn’t forget to not laugh. Oh, that was funny, somebody stop me.

moron.

By ElBubba

April 13, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this

H. Speaks,

I’m not on a scared-o-cops rampage. I’m more concerned, today, with cops breaking the law. How many of those stories have we seen in Georgia in the past year or so?

My idea is that they should be held to a higher standard, much like truck drivers. I believe this might have a deterent effect on police who are thinking of commiting crimes.

That ATL cop who recently got out of a DUI… He wouldn’t have been out drinking at the strip joint with his buddies if he thought that his punishment would be twice that of the average citizen. What DID he get? Not guilty because he refused all of the tests and they had no evidence. He was suspended for three days by his boss, after he admitted he had been drinking.

The father/son team, they were just idiots. One wonders how they were hired in the first place. Good old boy crap, I’ll bet the whole dept. is corrupt, brother-in-law is still on the force.

El Bubba

By Bush Twins

April 13, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

If you refuse a breath test, then your license is automatically suspended for six months. If this did not happen to this policeman, then I’m scared o’ cops2, man.

Somebody has 2do something. Why wont somebody do something?

We survived the Bush White house and all we got were these lousy wet t-shirts - the bush twins.

By Political Foreskin

April 13, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

I think I shut down the Wooten blog!

By ElBubba

April 13, 2008 4:29 PM | Link to this

Bush Twins,

Ya’ know, I think I heard that somewhere, about losing your license if you refuse the test. I wonder why it didn’t happen to this guy?

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/04/07/brandle_0408.html

…but I really can’t be bothered with all of this corruption right now, I’m watching the Masters…

El Bubba plays golf

By Political Foreskin

April 13, 2008 8:41 PM | Link to this

The masters was a bog down. The wind. Woods had it. The wind.

If you refuse a breath test, you surrender your license, unless they’ve changed that rule, but if not, then who would be dumb enough to take the breath test if there is no consequence?

Any cop out there want to weigh in? ANy prosecutor? Any golfer?

By Jim

April 14, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

Remember the show where they put the kids in the old west town, and let them run it?

I think they should take the Clayton school board, and the entire Lithonia city government, and toss them all together in a deserved military base, and let them try to form a government.

If the ratings sagged, they could always bring Victor Hill in as the “new sheriff in town” to prop the show up.

By Cassie

April 14, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

Oh ElBubba, you enjoy golf? Now I know we can never be….

By Nancey

April 18, 2008 7:22 PM | Link to this

You guys are all really cute with your oh, so very hip/cynical comments about my town. I USED to be a good place to live, and not so long ago. Yeah, we have some really low savvy people who will vote for any charismatic sociopath who slithers down the road, and if a candidate manages to gather all of these together and get them to the polls, she can win by simply having MORE votes than anyone else, not necessarily more than 50%! The rest of us want a sane, by the charter, government. The City Council did the right thing. If she has evidence against the Chief, where is it? We’ll look at it. Recall Joyce!

By aj

April 30, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this

Rev. Wright has not done anything wrong, everytime a blackman or woman reminds white america of their misdeeds that they have been doing since the beginning of time he or she is a racist. And that’s the problem you can’t stand being reminded how low down you and your ancestors have and still are to minorities. And the bible does state that whatsoever a man sows so shall he reap. Every black person (and whites who are true to themelves)that’s the first thing that probably entered their minds when they watched 9/11 on the news that morning. Rev Wright your sermons are true and good for the soul, don’t pay them anymind keep right on preaching and telling the truth.

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