A resident of Glenwood Acres is circulating the petition, aimed at removing Jason Lundy, president of the landowner's association board.
The simmering feud between the board of the Glenwood Acres Landowner's Association and Russell McFadin, a resident of the development since 1995, has bubbled over into an effort to unseat board president Jason Lundy.
In a 3 page letter he delivered to the board Monday, McFadin asks for the immediate resignation of Lundy.
In the letter, as well as in an interview with the Advocate, McFadin alleges harassment of himself by the board, unequal and unfair application of rules and restrictions, and says that the board has not followed it's own protocols and procedures. Lundy is accuses of recklessness and poor leadership.
The dispute stems from what McFadin says are efforts to single him out, and force him out of the community.
In November, McFadin, along with several other residents, received notices from the association threatening court action unless efforts were made to clean up their lots. Part of that demand by the board might have involved a structure that McFadin built on his lot, that might not comply with deed restrictions.
McFadin says he has been working on complying with the clean up demand, hauling off scrap from his lot over the last month.
He also has run afoul of the board in the past because of delinquent association dues. In September, the board filed a lien with Upshur county to force payment of those.
That issue, however, has been resolved. McFadin produced a lien release and other documents proving he had negotiated a settlement with the board, and was current on his dues.
That could be important to his impeachment effort, since a resident of the development is required to be current on their dues in order to vote on association business.
Yesterday, Mcfadin set up camp at the entrance to the development, asking residents to sign the petition.
According to bylaws of the association shown to the Advocate, McFadin needs one fifth of the estimated 1000 members of the association to sign the petition in order to force an impeachment vote.
When contacted late Friday, Mr. Lundy, through his secretary, declined immediate comment, saying the board's attorney would contact us with a statement.
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Citing the poor condition of copiers and file time-stamp equipment, County Commissioners voted Wednesday to spend $6000 on replacements.
After brief discussion, in which Commissioners heard that the existing machines were out of warranty and not repairable, Court voting was unanimous to replace one county copy machine, and two time stamp machines, used to record the date and time that the county receives documents.
The copier, a Sharp machine, will cost the county $5426.00 to purchase, and 1 cent per copy for upkeep and maintenance. TLC Office Systems will supply the new machine.
The Court approved another $1600.00 expenditures for the two file stamp machines. The exact cost was not known, but the approved amount was decided based on prices found online.
In other business, the Commissioners considered the following items:
* Accept for recording all payroll changes. Motion by Ferguson, second by Crittenden, ayes unanimous.
* Approval of county payroll. Motion by Ferguson, second by Crabtree, ayes unanimous.
* Approval of Budget Amendments. No action taken.
* Approval of Accounts Payable. Commissioner Crittenden asked for and received clarification on the bond forfeitures, line item 202. After the disbursement of funds coming into the county from bail bondsmen was explained, he seemed satisfied. Motion to approve was made by Commissioner Ferguson, and seconded by Campbell. The ayes were unanimous.
* Approval to accept various Court documents including audit reports, bonds, oaths, deputations and certificates. Motion to approve by Crittenden, seconded by Crabtree, ayes unanimous.
* Approval to accept for recording the monthly report of State and County taxes. Motion to approve was made by Crabtree, seconded by Crittenden, ayes unanimous.
The floor was opened at the beginning of the meeting for public comment, and one county resident rose to speak.
Russell Mcfadin, a resident of Glenwood Acres, addressed what he called character assassination at last month's Commissioners Court meeting.
He refrained from going into details or naming names, choosing instead to thank the Court for the opportunity of presenting his side of what has been a long running dispute between certain residents of the subdivision and the Glenwood Acres Landowners Association.
The subdivision is in Upshur Precinct #1, Commissioner Crittenden's precinct.
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Sheriff, Deputies, Tax Assessor and County Commissioners sworn in Wednesday.
GILMER, Dec. 31, 2008 -- County Judge Dean Fowler swore in a room full of Upshur County elected officials, deputies and staff workers Wednesday.
In a ceremony attended by approximately 70 people, Fowler administered the oath of office for the county officials elected in November.
Standing in the jury box of the 115th District courtroom, they all raised their right hands and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and to uphold the duties of their office faithfully.
Officials sworn in were:
* Sheriff Anthony Betterton and Deputies of the Upshur County Sheriff's Department.
* Tax Assessor Mike Smith and his staff.
* Constable Russel Harris, Pct. 1.
* Constable Jason Weeks, Pct. 2.
* Constable Jerry Kuhn, Pct. 3.
* Constable Phillip Hill, Pct. 4.
* County Commissioner James Crittenden, Pct. 1.
* County Commissioner Lloyd Crabtree, Pct. 3.
The Advocate congratulates all of our fine public servants, and wishes them well in the discharge of their duties
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Texas Forest Service to send checks to fire departments that helped fight 2005-2006 wildfires.
According to a press release from the TFS, several Upshur county fire departments will receive checks for expenses they incurred assisting the service battle the wildfires of 2005-06.
Excerpt of the release:
Dec. 23, 2008 --COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Texas Forest Service is delivering a little holiday cheer to more than 900 Texas fire departments. Through a legislative grant, TFS is distributing $5.7 million to departments that helped fight wildfires during the 2005-06 wildfire season.
House Bill 15 of the 80th Texas Legislature provided funds to help pay for the cost of fighting wildfires statewide between Dec. 1, 2005, and Sept. 18, 2006. A portion of these funds were designated to help local fire departments recover some of the expenses incurred during that time period.
Upshur county fire departments receiving money include:
* Bettie VFD
* City of Big Sandy VFD
* Gilmer Fire Department
* Harmony VFD
* Ore City VFD
* Pleasant Grove VFD
* East Mountain VFD
* Ewell VFD
A listing of all departments receiving payments can be found at http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/main/article.aspx?id=6366
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ISD's will receive grants to install equipment that will reduce emissions from school bus diesel engines.
Students riding New Diana or Ore City buses will soon get a bit of fresh(er) air. Both ISD's have asked for, and will receive money to retrofit school buses from the Texas Clean School Bus Program.
The program, offered by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, is aimed at improving student and bus driver health by reducing the amount of pollutants they breath in while boarding and riding the bus.
According to information provided by the TCEQ, diesel exhaust contains small particles, known as fine particulate matter (PM). PM can easily pass through the nose and throat, penetrate deep into the lungs and pose serious health risks, including aggravated asthma and allergies. Some studies suggest that long-term exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer.
The information also says that children may be more susceptible to this pollution because they breathe more air per pound of body weight when compared to adults. In addition, as children’s respiratory systems are still developing, they are more susceptible than adults to environmental pollution.
To counter the risks, the grant money is to be used for the installation of any combination of the following devices:
* Diesel Particulate Filters - devices that collect particulate matter in the exhaust stream. Used with the correct fuel, these filters can reduce organic compounds, and carbon monoxide in the exhaust gases by 60 to 90 percent.
* Closed Crankcase Filtration Systems - devices that allow a diesel engine’s crankcase to be closed and use an air filter to trap oil droplets, carbon, traces of wear debris, and particles that are smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter. Blow-by gas emissions can be as much as 25 percent of the total emissions from a diesel engine. These systems may be more effective at reducing children’s in-cabin exposures to pollutants than control systems fitted into the exhaust systems alone.
* Diesel Oxidation Catalysts - devices that use a chemical process to break down pollutants in the exhaust stream into less harmful components. Diesel oxidation catalysts can reduce emissions of particulates by 20 to 40 percent, hydrocarbons by 50 percent and carbon monoxide by 40 percent.
* Partial Flow-Through Filters - tailpipe filters that can lower diesel particulate matter emissions by 70 to 75 percent. These can also reduce total vehicle emissions by up to 80 percent when paired with a closed crankcase filtration system.
The program does place limits on funding, based on the devices the ISD elects to install, and how many buses will be retrofitted. Closed crankcase filtration systems may receive up to $800, diesel oxidation catalysts up to $1,500, partial flow-through filters up to $6,000, and diesel particulate filters up to $8,250. These caps are per device and include installation costs.
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Agency seeks recall of products that pose serious health risks
PRESS RELEASE, Dec. 22, 2008 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers nationwide not to purchase or consume more than 25 different products marketed for weight loss because they contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients that may put consumers’ health at risk.
The tainted weight loss products are:
Fatloss Slimming
2 Day Diet
3x Slimming Power
Japan Lingzhi 24 Hours Diet
5x Imelda Perfect Slimming
3 Day Diet
7 Day Herbal Slim
8 Factor Diet
7 Diet Day/Night Formula
999 Fitness Essence
Extrim Plus
GMP
Imelda Perfect Slim
Lida DaiDaihua
Miaozi Slim Capsules
Perfect Slim
Perfect Slim 5x
Phyto Shape
ProSlim Plus
Royal Slimming Formula
Slim 3 in 1
Slim Express 360
Slimtech
Somotrim
Superslim
TripleSlim
Zhen de Shou
Venom Hyperdrive 3.0
An FDA analysis found that the undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients in some of these products include sibutramine (a controlled substance), rimonabant (a drug not approved for marketing in the United States), phenytoin (an anti-seizure medication), and phenolphthalein (a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer causing agent). Some of the amounts of active pharmaceutical ingredients far exceeded the FDA-recommended levels, putting consumers' health at risk.
These weight loss products, some of which are marketed as “dietary supplements,” are promoted and sold on various Web sites and in some retail stores. Some of the products claim to be “natural” or to contain only “herbal” ingredients, but actually contain potentially harmful ingredients not listed on the product labels or in promotional advertisements. These products have not been approved by the FDA, are illegal and may be potentially harmful to unsuspecting consumers.
The FDA advises consumers who have used any of these products to stop taking them and consult their healthcare professional immediately. The FDA encourages consumers to seek guidance from a healthcare professional before purchasing weight loss products.
“These tainted weight loss products pose a great risk to public health because they contain undeclared ingredients and, in some cases, contain prescription drugs in amounts that greatly exceed their maximum recommended dosages,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA. “Consumers have no way of knowing that these products contain powerful drugs that could cause serious health consequences. Therefore FDA is taking this action to protect the health of the American public.”
The FDA has inspected a number of companies associated with the sale of these illegal products, and is currently seeking product recalls. Based on the FDA’s inspections and the companies’ inadequate responses to recall requests, the FDA may take additional enforcement steps, such as issuing warning letters or initiating seizures, injunctions, or criminal charges.
The health risks posed by these products can be serious; for example, sibutramine, which was found in many of the products, can cause high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations, heart attack or stroke. This drug can also interact with other medications that patients may be taking and increase their risk of adverse drug events. The safety of sibutramine has also not been established in pregnant and lactating women, or in children younger than 16 years of age.
Rimonabant, another ingredient found in these products, was evaluated, but not approved by the FDA for marketing in the United States. The drug, which is approved in Europe, has been associated with increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts and has been linked to five deaths and 720 adverse reactions in Europe over the last two years.
Health care professionals and consumers should report serious adverse events (side effects) or product quality problems to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail, fax or phone.
* Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm
* Regular Mail: use postage-paid FDA form 3500 available at: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
* Fax: (800) FDA-0178
* Phone: (800) FDA-1088
Information for consumers can be found at:
http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/weight_loss_products.htm
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