Why Would The Shepherd Center Agree To Pay $60,000 For Something They Can Only Use For 2 Years?

What is the Shepherd Center Up To?


Feds stop Cumberland project for disabled,
Permission to build on island disputed

By Ken Foskett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/03/07
Wading into a thicket of local intrigue and controversy, the National Park Service on Thursday halted work on an apartment building for paraplegics on Cumberland Island, a federally protected national seashore off Georgia's coast.The Shepherd Center of Atlanta, one of the nation's premier hospitals for catastrophic spinal cord injuries and other conditions, is building the two-bedroom structure on federal parkland occupied by Dr. Ben Jenkins, 85, and governed by an agreement negotiated when Cumberland became a national seashore in 1972.The Park Service concluded that Jenkins, who enlisted Shepherd's backing more than a year ago, had "no legal authority" to initiate construction, said Patricia Hooks, the southeast regional director in Atlanta.As the Park Service investigates whether officials followed proper procedures, it has temporarily reassigned Cumberland's superintendent, Jerre Brumbelow, to Atlanta.Hooks said the stop-work order will remain in effect until the park service can decide the fate of the 2,110-square-foot building, which sits next to Jenkins' existing house and is already more than halfway complete."As stewards of this property for the American public, we have a responsibility to make sure that the activities and construction are in accordance with the bargain that was struck on behalf of the American people," Hooks said.Shepherd officials said they envisioned a place where patients with disabilities might enjoy Cumberland's legendary natural beauty. But they now find themselves embroiled in a controversy that has become a major embarrassment to the Park Service.All parties agree that neither Jenkins nor Shepherd officials obtained Park Service permission before they began work, and the island superintendent wound up approving the project months after it had begun.Reached on the island, Jenkins said he was surprised to receive the Park Service's letter ordering the work stoppage because Brumbelow had given him permission to proceed on May 23."That's the kind of stupidity one runs up against with the U.S. government," said Jenkins. "I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but I'm going to do something."Details of the construction project, first reported by the Georgia Times-Union in June, have ignited a storm of controversy in Camden County and among conservationists who monitor the island.Separate from the Park Service probe, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the Camden County Sheriff's Office and allegations that Sheriff William E. Smith improperly detailed jail inmates to help with the construction.Smith, whose adult son was treated at the Shepherd Center for a paralyzing injury after a horrific car accident four years ago, said he believes Shepherd's project was an appropriate use of inmate labor.Camden County officials were also upset to learn that Jenkins and Shepherd did not seek a county building permit before they started work six months ago.The county issued its own stop-work order two weeks ago.County officials have since learned that the Shepherd apartment building was built over the existing drain field serving Jenkins' septic system —- and that the new drain field does not meet code.Conservationists, meanwhile, are angry with park officials for allowing new construction on parkland that soon will come under park service control.The park service is scheduled to take control of Jenkins' house and any buildings on the land on Oct. 8, 2010, the termination date of the 40-year agreement that the original property owner, Andrew Carnegie III, entered into with the National Park Foundation in 1970.Jenkins, a former member of the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, acquired Carnegie's interest in the property in 1978 under a sublease agreement and began living on the island full-time about 18 years ago. Several years ago, he began contributing money to the Shepherd Center Foundation and began talking to Shepherd officials about building a handicap accessible apartment next to his home.James Shepherd Jr., son of Shepherd's founders and a Shepherd trustee, said the Shepherd Center embraced the idea as a way to provide rehabilitative therapy to Shepherd patients who use wheelchairs.As part of the deal, Shepherd not only agreed to pay for the building, estimated to cost $75,000, but took over the sublease Jenkins acquired in 1978.Terms of the agreement permit Jenkins to remain in his home until his death.Shepherd said the hospital was fully aware that the new building and all others on the property would revert to the Park Service under the terms of the 1970 agreement.But Shepherd said he hoped the Park Service would consider keeping the building and maintaining it for handicapped visitors.That goal may now in doubt. In issuing the stop work order, Hooks said continued construction of the apartments may "further endanger resources and adversely affect the property's fitness to become part of the Seashore."


The Real School Police question the actions of the Shepherd Center and yes I do wonder if they are planning to engage in illegal activity on the island.

It would be a great place for a meth lab, Wouldn't it Sheriff. And as luck would have it we have a professional meth maker in Camden County.

Well if the Sheriff is not going to explain his actions I will.

I Was The First To Tell You, Now The T-U Will Tell You

From:
The Florida Times-Union
August 2, 2007A prosecutor claims the jailed doctor is using a county-owned computer to chat.

By Paul Pinkham, The Times-Union

WOODBINE - A St. Marys physician jailed on murder and drug charges has access to a Camden County Sheriff's Office computer and could be using it to post Internet messages about his case, court documents show. -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------
On one online forum, participants have hotly debated in recent days whether one particular poster is Noel Chua, the doctor charged in the drug overdose death of his roommate.
On another, a poster identifying himself as Chua, discusses evidence in his case and accuses the prosecutor of misleading the grand jury that indicted him.
"Thanks for fighting for my cause," he wrote the forum host. "I am tempted to fax to you what I consider as one of my strongest pieces of evidence."
Chua's use of a county-owned computer is mentioned in a petition filed by Assistant District Attorney Jackie Johnson asking that a California Internet company that hosts a Chua forum be required to provide evidence in his criminal case. In addition to Chua's potential postings, Johnson's petition says the TOPIX site contains information about the crime that hasn't been provided to law enforcement. That information came from witnesses whose identities have been concealed, the petition says.
The doctor was arrested on murder and drug charges in September, nine months after he found James B. Carter III dead inside his Osprey Cove home. A grand jury charged that Carter, 20, died from drugs prescribed by Chua and that none of the drugs were for a legitimate medical purpose.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams filed a declaration that TOPIX is a material witness and asked a California judge to compel the company to provide evidence in Chua's case.
A TOPIX lawyer said Wednesday the company normally responds to such legal requests, which he said aren't unusual. TOPIX maintains about 400,000 forums related to local news stories around the country, said attorney Charles Daugherty. He said the company won't be able to identify forum participants but could provide Internet protocol addresses.
Chua's lawyer didn't respond to interview requests, but his secretary said he is aware of Williams' ruling. The district attorney's office declined comment, citing a gag order.
A Sheriff's Office spokesman requested a faxed copy of Johnson's petition before commenting, then didn't return phone calls after it was sent.
The allegation about Chua's computer use comes on the heels of a motion last week to remove Chua from the Camden County Jail and remove Sheriff Bill Smith. That motion cites special treatment Smith has given Chua, including advocating for bail and allowing him to leave the jail confines.
Longtime St. Marys defense attorney Jim Stein said Chua's computer use is further evidence of privileges he has received based on his friendship with the sheriff.
"I've been here 33 years ... and I have not had a client that has been given the run of the jail," Stein said. "My clients aren't even given access to a phone except for rare occasions."
But Chua and his online supporters see it differently. With screen names like Free Dr Chua and DA Errors, they say he is the victim of everything from overzealous prosecution to Southern racism.
On a Filipino-American forum, a writer identifying himself as Chua complains about prosecutors seizing his bank accounts and having him jailed initially in neighboring Glynn County "to be mistreated there." He compares the district attorney to former North Carolina prosecutor Mike Nifong, disbarred for prosecutor misconduct in a rape case against Duke University lacrosse players.
"I don't know if it would be legal for us to get a statement from any of the grand jury members to find out how they were misled and what sort of evidences were withheld from them, similar to what Nifong did," he wrote.
Tuesday, a participant on the TOPIX forum responded to one enthusiastic pro-Chua posting with a cryptic: "Nice to see the Sheriff allowed you back on the computer."
That drew a rebuke from "Dr Chua Supporter."
"Let's not go there ... again," the poster wrote. "Dr. Chua is not on this forum. When I visited him last week I asked him if he even knew about this site, and he didn't."

paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com,

(904) 359-4107 Go online To see the TOPIX Chua forum, visit Jacksonville.com, keyword: Chua forum.
This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/080207/geo_188478425.shtml.

TRSP Review: I broke this story weeks ago. That is my statement in RED. To see the post go to: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/TL88A49I2AJO80J7K/p27

Former Deputy Says Berry Has No Clue

From the T&G:

Commissioner Berry is without a clue

Dear Editor,
I find it appalling that a group of highly educated adults that were voted into office by the taxpayers of this county use their egos and personal agendas in an attempt to overthrow the highest elected official in the county. Yes, that is the sheriff. One would think that having attorney Steve Berry on the board of commissioners would be an asset to our county government. However, his knowledge of the law must be diminishing from all the books he has written, time spent in the Camden County Jail (oh yes), and the sunshine someone is pumping to him. Because Mr. Berry and County Attorney Brent Green both know you cannot withhold a sheriff's budget, or cut it beyond operational needs. But for Mr. Berry to vocalize his personal reasons for doing so, without getting the county in a ton of legal trouble, maybe even a lawsuit that the taxpayer will have to foot the bill for in the end is a travesty.As county commissioners, I'm sure you would like to have the say in what the sheriff does or does not do to suit you. Well you do, as a voter, and that is all. The sheriff answers to the voters of Camden, and the governor of the state of Georgia. If the sheriff or any employees have done something wrong ethically or criminally, it's not the Camden County Board of Commissioners job to investigate or draw a conclusion, it is the state's job.
In closing, I ask that you re-evaluate yourselves, and while doing so, ask how much has Sheriff W.E. "Bill" Smith has done for Camden County. Sheriff Smith and his employees have provided their own cars, uniforms, radars, in-car cameras, pistols, rifles, shotguns, radios, computers, scholarships, criminal justice educations for employees, a 911 center, and substation which two cities and our fire/rescue utilize.These items are to only name a portion that has been provided by seized assets (drug funds), at no cost to the taxpayer. That means no cost to you or I, and I'm grateful to them, because my taxes would have been through the roof decades ago. The sheriff is not bound to purchase these items with those funds; it is the county that is to provide them. But for several years of my employment, the county contributed minimal, if any, general fund monies for any of these named items, and still makes minimal or none of these purchases of today, while the sheriff has spent millions so we would have a modernized sheriff's office. So when you feel the sheriff's budget needs cutting, for explaining to you Mr. Berry, investigate and find how much the Sheriff has saved us taxpayers by his aggressive drug interdiction and trusty programs. Then ask yourself what can you as county commissioners do to help our sheriff.Please think with your minds what you're doing to our community; you're tearing it apart and leaving us without adequate law enforcement coverage for the citizens. Be the leaders that I feel you have the ability to be, and make our community a place people want to move to and live in.

Judy A. Godley

Former Sergeant/Deputy SheriffWoodbine

TRSP Review: Ms. Godley, The Sheriff did spend money and it did cost the tax payers whether it is bought through the budget or with the seized drug money does not matter, It is all Camden County's money not the Sheriff's. Now the taxpayers must pay the bill for drug court, because the Sheriff refuses to use the drug money for that purpose.

So you too think that it is OK for the Sheriff to give OUR money to drug dealers. Boy I am glad you are not on the streets now. Those employee are NOT providing their own cars those cars still belong to the taxpayer.

You make it sound like the Sheriff is reaching into his own pocket to pay for guns, cars and radars. Thank you for insulting every taxpayer in Camden, but don't worry the Sheriff does it everyday.

Steve Berry is only backing up what has been said for many years. And I have proven many times that Bill Smith is a lair.

Proctor Should Be In Jail With Sheriff

From the T&G:

Sheriff's office answers jail food allegations

Dear Editor,
I am writing to address the one-sided media coverage about the feeding of inmates in the Camden County Jail and to quell the red-hot half-truths and innuendoes before they become accepted as cold hard facts. I also want to say on the record that the recent assault on Sheriff Bill Smith and the sheriff's office is politically motivated, with Steve Berry leading the charge. Has everyone forgotten that Tommy Gregory's wife is Steve Berry's secretary? This is no longer responsible journalism. This is a political witch hunt.Before Mr. Berry casts aspersions on the sheriff, perhaps he should look at the example set by himself and his fellow commissioners. Was there ever a less organized board? Between the egos, the personal vendettas and the pork barreling, it's a wonder anything ever gets done. It's not the sheriff's office that has made Camden County the laughingstock of South Georgia.
And while we're on the subject, what treatment did Steve Berry get when he was an inmate in the Camden County Jail? Did he enjoy the food? We also need to remember that Mr. Berry is an expert in crafting fiction.We feed the inmates at the Camden County Jail for about $3.60 per day. We did try to outsource the feeding of inmates to a private company and quickly discovered that the quality of the food decreased while the cost increased to more than $5.50 per day per inmate. We pride ourselves on furnishing the inmates with three solid meals a day. All the preparation, serving and cleanup is done by the inmates themselves. We also rely on many contributions of bread, foodstuffs and produce to keep the quality of the meals high and the costs low. Regardless of what we serve, it is the cheapest food that our vendor has to offer at that time.The ice cream (which was paid for by the profits from the inmate commissary, not our tax dollars) was a reward for a job well done of painting and cleaning the facility. Twenty gallons of ice cream was cheaper than hiring a painting contractor. We do not have the luxury of putting the inmates away and pretending they don't exist. We have to deal with them as people. Who does it harm to be kind? Most of them have already had enough maltreatment in their lives.The board relies on the same old trick time and again. During budget discussions, we forecast what we will need for any particular line item. What they do then is not fund the line item at the level we requested and then blame us for going over budget when the actual cost comes in at the amount we originally requested. Like so many things at the board, it's a shell game.

I believe it's time for the truth, not political grandstanding. Don't believe everything you hear.

Maj. James K. Proctor
Jail Administrator

TRSP Review: Proctor has known all this time about all the illegal things that have gone on, yet he only comments on the food for inmate, which we already know that the inmates did not eat that food. What about the BBQ?

Why does our Sheriff's Office point out the citizens that have been in jail for small crimes and not comment on the ones the Sheriff brings back to our county convicted of manufacturing drugs.

Yes Proctor, I do believe it is time for the truth as well. Why don't we start with you? As chief jailer you are responsible to know were the inmates are at all times, so you know they have worked on Bill's House, and probably yours too. Not to mention all the other employees. I would guess you know about the payments to drug dealers? Yet you did not speak out against it. Why? It's time for the truth, come on.


So what you are saying is that it is a crime for a candidate's wife to work for Steve Berry, yet it's OK to pay drug dealers.

You Sir are just as guilty as Bill and I hope you both share a cell together.

Mr. Proctor once you get out of jail I can assure you your job will not be waiting for you.

First Day Of School Horror Stories

OK folks,
Here we day one of the new school year. Any of you have any horror stories you would like to share. I can tell you my experience with Camden Middle was same as always. They were very unorganized. As I walked in the front door at open house I saw a row of tables with the guidance personnel behind the table and a bunch of people in front blocking the hall way. They were there to enroll new students and for information purposes. Well, this would have been better if they would have moved this to the cafeteria which is right around the corner. It was nearly empty all night while people pushed and shoved to get through the crowded hallway.

But if that is the worst thing that happens we should be OK. I did talk to the new principal Mark Durham, and he seemed like he wanted to take this school in a new direction and I hope he does.

So don't take this the wrong way, use it to improve on next years open house.

As always the teachers were on top of their game and they all seemed ready to get this year started. Out of all the teachers I saw Monday, Mr. Green was the most impressive.

If you see an area to improve on in these schools post it. The board of ed does look at this blog.