One of my biggest flaws is that I do not often take what it said to me as carrying much weight. I like to go behind the source, ask questions, do research and get the facts before I stand firm on a belief.
Based on what my beloved grandfather always taught me from a young age, he said “do not go to bat for a cause unless you are 100 percent certain that you have your facts straight. Don’t look like a fool for a cause you are not knowledgeable about.”
Perhaps that is why I pursued a career in journalism. I like to ask questions, research issues, find answers, and present the facts. However, I have come to find that facts don’t always change perspectives or opinions, even if they are presented clearly. Facts don't always change our minds. Often friendship does.
And more often than not, it is human nature to believe what our acquaintances or close friends tell us, even if the facts show otherwise.
That position came to my mind during the last city council meeting when two issues surrounding the former Housing Authority board were revisited during the open meeting.
There is a story in the making surrounding certain living conditions at Lindsey Lawn Apartments; there is no doubt about that. And one alderman said two of the main reasons those concerns are even an issue is because the former housing board was dissolved before the multi-million dollar renovation project came to fruition. That same alderman said the project manager was kicked off the project by the newly established housing board, leaving a multitude of unfinished goals, all while failing to secure another proper manager. He seemed to be suggesting that this newspaper distorted the facts.
Alderman Sir Johnathan Rucker…here are the facts.
Rucker said three members of the former housing authority board were removed in the midst of the local multi-million dollar renovation project. He said the city council removed those members following the transfer of $550,000 from the housing authority funds into its non-profit affiliate, the Gateway Development Corporation. He added that the removal was “political,” citing that there was nothing illegal or wrong about the transfer.
You’re right, Alderman Rucker. There was nothing illegal about transferring half of a million dollars into the Gateway piggy bank.
But it is wrong, and potentially illegal, to alter board minutes. It is wrong and immoral to record inaccurate votes to speed along the process.
Two other members of the housing board said they were unaware that over $550,000 was transferred, and that the board’s official minutes were altered to make it appear as if they approved that transfer. The official minutes were not correct. The minutes were different from what was sent to the board’s government-issued iPads, and the vote to transfer the money never happened.
After a public record request, The Yazoo Herald was provided the minutes emailed to the Housing Authority Board. After investigating the official minutes, held in a bound volume of the HA office, the minutes did not match. The Herald also confirmed, with my own eyes, that the minutes in question were photocopied.
When I asked why minutes were not numbered correctly and were a photocopy, I was told, “I don’t know” and that the minutes had been approved by the state auditor’s office with no issues.
However, the state auditor’s office said that comment was not true.
Once again, it wasn’t the transferring of the funds that was a problem. Recording false votes and altering board minutes is very much wrong. Why the secrecy?
Rucker also said Donald Martin, the project manager, was pulled from the project without just cause, leaving the hefty project in unqualified hands.
Alderman Rucker…here are those facts.
Martin resigned from his position, following a request to provide documentation that showed and outlined his work performance and work log. Also, he admitted to not doing anything for seven months and getting paid $5,000 a month for doing nothing.
Martin received a monthly check of $5,000 for 23 months for “predevelopment” work. In total, he was paid over $100,000 in public funds for a job with no documentation that shows exactly what he did for nearly two years.
When questioned, Martin quit and returned to his home in Jackson.
I do applaud Rucker for sticking firm in his beliefs. I believe his recent statements came from his heart. But some fact-checking was in order, considering this paper covered those issues heavily.
I agree with Rucker, however, that there are issues that need to be brought to light. I intend to dedicate the same amount of time and research to those issues as I did with my previous coverage surrounding altered minutes and shady business practices. Hopefully, I can find and present those facts in this paper.
I think my record speaks for itself.
