Laurel Councilman arrested, charged with DUI

[wilebill]

Story (http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS/71112046)
LAUREL, MISS. — Laurel City Council member Tony Wheat is facing DUI charges after his arrest Saturday night.

Officers at the Laurel Police Department said Wheat was stopped by a Laurel police officer near Rogers and Mason streets around midnight and booked into jail.What is it with Laurel and their councilmen?

[mi_nombre_es]

Story (http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS/71112046)
What is it with baptists and their liquor problems?


Corrected for you.

[TheKing]

as someone who works in laurel...let me say that laurel is easily one of the most screwed up places on earth

[dollfus46]

Surprise, surprise, surprise!!-Gomer

[Maggie-Doodle]

And I thought the councilmen in the Burg was screwed up...at least they havn't gone to jail.......YET! :)

I think over the last few years just about all of the Laurel councilmen have been in the hoosegow! It sure seems that way!

[nthemedia]

Joseph Jones did provide some good TV..

[Kitty]

Wheat's response (http://www.leadercall.com/local/local_story_317095720.html)

[masturbater]

Someone Decided To Do A Little Drankin And Cruzin Eh

[MMA]

Maybe if they fire him, Lumberton will take him, they got three who won't come to the meetings.

[Guru]

Laurel set out in the late 1990s to crush the night life in town and they are just reaping what they have sown.

[TheStereoGuy]

He had to have a few drinks cause he was starting realize that all the good people of Laurel, are moving out to the county. All thats left in the city are those who don't pay taxes, on welfare, or mexican. This means that he won't have any of the cities tax money to help buy him and his family a new car. It was just all too much for him to handle.

[Guru]

I second that emotion. When the woman mayor and her gestapo police force decided to "cleanse" the town the immediate result was the alienation of all the possible just out of city limits locals who might even consider moving into town.
Just as soon as the old downtown district was beginning to see new money filter in and the facelift started in swooped the nazis and presto, the main new business to really have some impact on people going downtown again promptly cut their losses and took their out of town money right back out of town.
This wasn't a dive, this was Central Avenue Cafe, maybe one of the nicest restaurants with a bar, multi-floored refurbishment of all the rooms made most suitable for any manor of business or family gathering complete with an open bank account for the old style wood and marble for the bar and all areas in the building for dinners, etc. Even an outside enclosed patio with year-round temp control.
What's left? A few little dive bars scattered around, not many, none above a certain interest and even the main hotel downtown closing it's bar which normally entertained up to 200 people at a time.
Now there is Applebee's, that is about it and it ain't that much. My last visit there was highlighted by two tables of diners getting up and leaving the food on their tables due to the on and on cursing from some fat chick beyond drunk at the bar giving everyone within the building a rendition of mostly "Fk" this and "Fk" that with the manager of the place standing 15' away.
With the revenues lost in Laurel in the last few years they are glad for anyone that will drive into town and buy bubblegum.
You can't fix Stupid but you can really wreck Okay.
I have no sympathy for Laurel in this sense and especially for any person on the the board of any administrative office for the town.
As I said earlier, they are only reaping what they have sown. I guess this city planner, or enabler, will think twice next time if he wants to sic the dogs on someone maybe he should stay out of the yard.
Pity, I really used to like going to Laurel, especially to socialize with old friends but most of us turned our backs on the city in that respect years ago.

[birthdaybunnie]

Hello Guru!! Hubby and I had friends travel from near Mobile Alabama to meet us for appetizers and drinks tonight. We met at Applebees. I was embarrased becasue that was all we had to offer...(a variety of food and an adult beverage ) We would have driven to the burg but we just did'nt have the time)

I think Laurel is owned by so much old money that for some reason change will never happen. My husband is in manufacturing there and due to the fact the business is located there has no impact on their business..(NOT howards of S. farms)

It depesses me, but I continue to live and work here. I wonder if it will ever change?? I do know that the woman mayor made an impact of gang related shootings in the 90's...I worked the blood bank for many of them...Hell, she may have esculated the problem.

Needless to say, I have learned to make my meals at home, go to Corner Market in E'ville for Sakura occasionally and just enjoy the country life...I guess Laurel aint got much too offer and that is sad. I think Ellisville will over run Laurel just as Destin had done to Fort Walton. It is just a matter of time.

[Guru]

I love that old downtown section of Ellisville. Classy revitalization. I think they need one little bitty town bar there just to stop and do a quick hello if needed.
Poor Laurel, still reeling in the aftermath of the woman mayor. And don't get me wrong, has nothing with her being a woman, just the fact that when you say it everyone remembers ...
Lowes is still good! They need a Books-a-Million or Barnes & Nobles.
Y'all going riding tomorrow?

[birthdaybunnie]

You know I have always thought a quaint little newspaper/book store located on the main strip in Laurel would do well. Even a waffle house more North of 59.

I'm not sure. I have been wanting to ride since the last time. (it has been that LONG)........How about you?

[Guru]

Well I had a project going that had to be finished today. Were it not imperative I would have cranked up and gotten out especially when the forecasted noon rain did not make it. I had someone stop by and told me they had left from somewhere between Collins and Hattiesburg and there were all kinds of bikes out.
My plan had I not had to work was to do a little wagon-wheel run which I really like. Just leave home and ride through all the little towns in a circle around me. About a 55 mile little reboot-the-brain ride looking at leaves changing and falling.

[TheStereoGuy]

Living just north of Laurel, and having friends who have worked for the city in some capacity, and a couple others who used to be council members and what not, I will let you in on a few things.

The old regime ( Vincent ) only cared about making Laurel pretty. See all those " Flower Town USA " awards that Laurel won. Most of the houses on the avenues had nice yards and the houses were always washed. Really neat flowerbeds and such. At least once a week I saw a city truck with 4 ladys working on the flowers in the median there between McAllisters and the Ramada Inn. Yet there were potholes that went unfilled, bad intersections in need of lights that went without. Friend of mine who worked for the city would talk about how they had a crew for filling in pot holes and street upkeep, a crew for cleaning and maintaining ditches and sewer drains, and a crew that just rode around to find problems to let people now where they were to fix them. They had a budget each year to fix this stuff. What money they didn't spend of the budget, they got a percentage of bonus, but a certain percentage of the budget had to be spent on repairs. The ditch and drain crew filled in potholes, the road work crew worked on the flowerbeds ( rumored even helped the rich people that lived on the avenues houses looking good ) and the problem finding crew just rode around in brand new Ford Crown Victorias every year.

Laurel's population is about 30% old rich white people who lived there all their lives, and don't want ANYTHING in town to change. Nothing in the way of night life or entertainment. Another 40% is the poverty ridden that live in south and east Laurel that live on welfare and wont work a decent job. I would say that 10% are Mexican and they don't pay taxes ( and their numbers are growing ), and the remaining 20% are middle aged, and that percentage is dropping yearly. The middle class people saw the writing on the wall about 8 years ago and began leaving the town for the county, they were the ones working and paying taxes for others in the city government to squander. The city saw this as well and that is why they tried so hard to annex the Sharon and Shady Grove communities ( 2 of the 3 fastest growing area's of the county ). Laurel didn't want to put in ground sewer or utilities in these areas, or supply police and fire coverage, they wanted the volunteer departments already in place and county police to do it. They didn't want to spend money, they wanted to get the tax money from the people. Thats why the court ruled against Laurel getting the annex. The City has to supply those things.

Now the new mayor in town, he just talks alot. I don't see any more flowerbed workers, and the homes on the avenues are being overan by Mexicans. Seems the older rich people are moving out as well now. The town is quickly turning into a cesspool. They aren't getting any tax money from the people, as most of them no longer work a job or don't have to pay taxes. Businesses don't want to come here because of what the city charges them in taxes.

It will take a complete cleansing of every city official in Laurel and about 10 years for the city to recooperate from the damage caused by the corruption that goes on around here, if it can.

[birthdaybunnie]

Stereo guy I think you hit it on the head...Both of us work in Jones county and have done so for20 + years. We both have good jobs with thriving companies and we enjoy that aspect of Jones county. Luckily, (for us in MHO) we commute from Jasper county. The hispanic population is very large. The shopping here is non existant, unless u want the usual stuff....I don't know Wheat, the topic of this title, but I think he would give the current mayor a run for his money in the next election. If and if things change??

[TheStereoGuy]

Nope, I think this mayor will stay in power for a while. I am not a racist and don't want to offend anyone, but what I am about to say is gona sound like it.

The current mayor is black. The only whites in Laurel that will vote, are the rich upity crowd. And there aren't enough of them left to overcome the black population that will show up to vote to keep a black man in power. It is that simple. That is why Susan Vincent finally lost. All the voting age white people left the city some few years ago, and as soon as she went up against a black person for mayor, the blacks who normally didn't vote showed up to support him, and there were not enough whites to overcome it. I hate that it is that way, but it is the truth.

All it takes to see what I am talking about is to walk through the Sawmill Square mall after 6pm on Friday, or Saturday nights.

[birthdaybunnie]

Nope, I think this mayor will stay in power for a while. I am not a racist and don't want to offend anyone, but what I am about to say is gona sound like it.

The current mayor is black. The only whites in Laurel that will vote, are the rich upity crowd. And there aren't enough of them left to overcome the black population that will show up to vote to keep a black man in power. It is that simple. That is why Susan Vincent finally lost. All the voting age white people left the city some few years ago, and as soon as she went up against a black person for mayor, the blacks who normally didn't vote showed up to support him, and there were not enough whites to overcome it. I hate that it is that way, but it is the truth.

All it takes to see what I am talking about is to walk through the Sawmill Square mall after 6pm on Friday, or Saturday nights.

yep I know what you mean!!! Sawmill is floating on a loan and a promise...Cant believe the popcorn place and corndog place is still open...We actually bought some stuff from your company when it was there.

We went there today to buy groceries and if it were not for Kroger I don't know what I would do!! LOL

Hate walmart with a passion..

[TheKing]

We went there today to buy groceries and if it were not for Kroger I don't know what I would do!! LOL


you can buy crack in front of the piggly wiggly

[TheStereoGuy]

JC Penny and McRae's keep that mall open. If either one of them leave Laurel, that mall goes under. Then again, it may go under anyway. It is sinking into the ground you know? The former head of mall security told me one day that it drops about 1/2 to 1 full inch a year, and one year it went down 3. I remember hearing a loud boom in there one day and a brick at the roof near the end where RadioShack and Chik-Fil-A are had busted as that end of the mall is sinking faster. The brick couldn't handle the stress the two on each side of it were putting on it and exploded. It was as if someone shot a shotgun off about 6 foot from behind me, and I was up in the arcade.

[birthdaybunnie]

you can buy crack in front of the piggly wiggly

I am sure you can especially with Georges being next door... I hate that damn shopping center (except for Pasquales) it is too hard to get in and out due to all the crack business!!! LOL

[birthdaybunnie]

JC Penny and McRae's keep that mall open. If either one of them leave Laurel, that mall goes under. Then again, it may go under anyway. It is sinking into the ground you know? The former head of mall security told me one day that it drops about 1/2 to 1 full inch a year, and one year it went down 3. I remember hearing a loud boom in there one day and a brick at the roof near the end where RadioShack and Chik-Fil-A are had busted as that end of the mall is sinking faster. The brick couldn't handle the stress the two on each side of it were putting on it and exploded. It was as if someone shot a shotgun off about 6 foot from behind me, and I was up in the arcade.


Wow that is crazy and I know we are totally off topic.. Where I work sits on top of an water system...underneath us,,,pipes and everything...I go to work breathing fine at 7 am get there and 15 minutes later I am coughing, harking and not at all acting like a lady!! LOL all that feaking mold underneath me...