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School District Pays Church Utility Bills: Community Reaction
August 7, 2008
The reaction around Century has not been positive following the news that the Escambia County School District has paid tens of thousands of dollars in utility bills for a building leased by New Life Baptist Church.
Click here for a story detailing the utility bill payments.
And one prominent member of the community is speaking out against Rev. Irvin Stallworth, pastor of the church.
“You’ve got a man that came in here and established a church and has not paid any upkeep including the utilties for the past four years,” said Benny Barnes, former Century mayor and president of the Century Chamber of Commerce. “He’s done a lot of things, but he has not done them for the good of Century.”
“He’s undermined the school board board. That’s just he way he does things,” the often outspoken Barnes told NorthEscambia.com. “He’s got the school board and the superintendent believing he’s done so much good, but all he’s done is flim flam them.”
Barnes said he first learned of the district paying the utility bills at the church a few weeks ago. He said he wrote District 5 School Board member Pete Gindl about the situation, but he never heard anything back. NorthEscambia.com was unable to contact Gindl for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Century Mayor Freddie McCall said he as unaware that the school district was paying the utility bills at 700 East Hecker Road, the old Century High School address leased to New Life Baptist Church.
“I didn’t know the school board was paying us because I don’t look at every utility bill that we send out, and I don’t know who is mailing the check for them,” McCall said.
Ann Brooks, president of the Century Town Council, has been hard at work this week requesting information from the school board and the town. She has gone so far as to take meter numbers on bills and attempt to physically verify that those numbers match the meters in front of the old Century High School and the current New Life Baptist Church.
“I don’t think it is right for them to have been paying the bills for the church,” she said.
Brooks, who is a certified accountant, is working to total the past four years of utility bills for the New Life Baptist address to determine just much the school board has paid.
“I’m not trying to attack the church or the pastor,” Brooks said,”but they should not cut our school when they are paying their utilties.” She was referring to plan by the school board to close Carver/Century K-8 School after the upcoming school year. The district has said that closure would save them about $680,000 per year.
For more coverage on this developing story:
Comments
9 Responses to “School District Pays Church Utility Bills: Community Reaction”
It is sad that this mistake or oversight or whatever New Life is calling this situation makes other Christians look bad. As a Christ-follower, I don’t want this situation to affect what other people in the community think of my church. How can we reach people who don’t know Jesus if they are under the impression that we are ALL a bunch of underhanded crooks? Christians need to realize the long-term affects of the choices they make. I certainly would like to see New Life make restitution. If they weren’t paying the utilities, then they should have money available to pay the bills they owe. I’m sure they receive tithes and I know they also have received money in rent in the past when they allowed others to use their facilities for different activates, such as baton lessons. New Life needs to follow the instructions of Romans 13:7-8, and pay the debt that they owe.
Remember the quote “it takes a village”? It is going to take more than a few people to help Century out of the slump that it is in. I know some people hate “outsiders” (they even consider you an outsider if you live in McDavid, get real, a few miles down the road does make you the enemy), but some outsiders have really good workable ideas. It is going to take a majority of the residents to get involved to help the community. And we all know that most people just watch from the side line ad let others do all the work while they do the complaining.
I really don’t think this is an attack on the church. But I was always brought up in church to always do things above board. Never put yourself in a position that would appear inappropriate. Because all it takes is one time to tear down all of the work that has bee done.
I would like to know why Bennie is not using the same amount of energy he is generating to supposedly “expose” this matter to help keep the only school in Century open. If he can garner this much negative attention, I wish he would use it in a positive manner. Also, I ask that he stop referring to people not “born” in Century as outsiders. It is clearly evident that Century needs the assistance of other in order to become the town it can be and we should welcome people who want to move to Century and are willing to help the town progress. Its time for Century to become self sufficient and Bennie if you are not going to help in a POSITIVE manner, please move out of the way.
It seems that the church has fallen through the cracks as well regarding the issue at hand. Your financial records don’t show where you have paid a single utility bill in the past several years and this doesn’t raise a question?
Well, No one thinks that the church owes for what other groups have used. However, They knew they were using electricity, water, gas, sewege, and garbage pickup. They knew the terms of the contract they signed. So, yes, they are to blame. They are accountable for the usage. At least after a few months someone from the church should have asked where do we pay for the bills? You sure don’t walk into Wal-mart and walk out with a buggy of groceries withour paying, and the same goes with utilities.
I am glad to see the new mayor and council going forward and making good progress. I hate that they will close the last school in Century. The closing of the high school is what killed Century to the point it is today. When they take the last part away, I am scared it will be like taking it off life support.
Keep the faith all. Remember to vote in all elections.Voting is so important.
I would love to see a donation site set up so we could help this church in their time of need just like they have helped others.
I recently moved back to Century in hopes that while being away for 6 years that our community had become a better place to raise my children. I was pleased to see that a New Mayor had been elected and it seems that Mayor McCall truely is working to make Century a better place to live, unlike our past mayor. I think the community has had enough of burnt-out politicians and is ready to come together to make our community a better place.
I know that the issue with the school board will be resolved as long as the incompetent stay out of it and the competent work together on the issues.
I attended many churches in the area before choosing to make New Life Baptist my church home. I know that Pastor Stallworth, along with all other members of New Life Baptist actually care about our community and want to make it a better place to live. I am proud to be a part of something so great in our community.
To Pastor Stallworth–please keep up the good work of the LORD
I had a professor once that said “Shakespeare is like the Christian Bible. People are more likely to quote other people’s opinion of it, than they are to read it for themselves.”
The half-cocked, un-informed attack of my church and pastor by a former, burned-out politician is the very reason Century has trouble moving forward into the 21st Century. How can we possibly move forward when a few selfish people want to shoot off their mouth and attack people personally before they know ANY of the facts?
Referring to my pastor a “FLIM-FLAM” artist is over the top. This very e-news site is carrying an article about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This nationally recognized program gives one book per month to any enrolled child from birth to five years of age (up to 60 free books). Pastor Stallworth and New Life Church, along with the Century Library, the Camp Fire Day Care, and Century Pharmacy have been responsible for enrolling over 150 kids in that program – at this time, which is half of all of the enrollees in the entire county. This does not sound like the work of a “FLIM-FLAMer” to me. On the “FLIM-FLAM” scale of 1 to 10, it certainly doesn’t make a mark when compared to trying to open a catfish gutting plant in a residential neighborhood in Century, or buying a building with taxpayer money that will not windload in Florida, or physically attacking a citizen (me) in a Town Hall meeting in a fit of temper.
Mayor McCall of Century is struggling to overcome the reputation the town has from its political “FLIM-FLAM” past, and he seemed to be making progress. Mayor McCall is even trying to find the City Limits of Century, regain control of a building in the industrial park, and seek new industry – all remnants of a former political administration.
God Help and Bless Century and Mayor McCall.
I am very disturbed by the apparent “shoot and ask questions later” attitude that has happened with this issue. Or rather should I say ask those who you want to get the kind of story that you want to portray. First of all, this issue arose from a “letter to the editor” in the Tri City Ledger last week by a former mayor of Century. Then the author has apparently pressed his own agenda to anyone he could get to listen. As a business owner and human being as well, we all make mistakes and in this situation I believed there is some problems that have been a result of an oversight by the school district. However, does this warrant such a sensationalizing and character assasination of a church and man of God? An oversight that needs to be addressed by the parties involved and the situation worked out.
I am a board member of Century Community Development Partnership and also a proud member of New Life Baptist Church. I know that there is alot more to whose responisibility what is and it is apparantly a very complicated issue because what is being reported as all being the responsibily of the church INCLUDES Carver-Century K-8, the gymnasium, the football field, the headstart program, and the former even-start program. I KNOW that if the church would have received a bill for those services that it would have been paid!
Having known Pastor Stallworth for many years, I know he is a consciensous, honorable, righteous man of God. I know by his dedication to the community and our church that he has nothing but the best of intentions for the people in Century. Pastor has worked tirelessly with the school and school board to save our school. New Life Baptist Church is involved in many different aspects of improving lifes and building relationships for our town. We have a food ministry that enables many people otherwise unable to eat to have food. We have a clothing ministry, and are developing our youth ministry.
Century Community Development Partnership will be building work-force, affordable homes that are energy-efficient to not only provide alternative housing for people that already live in our community but to attract new people to Century. Our partnership is in the process of setting up a computer lab to offer training programs for people in the area to learn skills and provide resources for them to get better jobs.
I am Proud to be part of making Century a better place to live. We have been through some very dark years in our town- when companies came and left, some literally, in the middle of the night … even losing a bank. Century has come a long way. We now have a mayor, Mayor McCall, and a council that is really working on making Century Better! Due to the intense-efforts of the Blue-ribbon Committee, chaired by Pastor Stallworth, our school has had a reprieve for another year and the community is coming together.
Let us NOT let one man’s vendeta pull down the entire efforts of our town!
God has opened doors of opportunity for our town that no man can shut and God’s favor will surround us like a shield.
“No good thing will You uphold from those who walk uprightly” Psalms 84
Julie Booth-Moran