Church guide

Folks, this isn't the Nazi Germany of the 1940s. Here in America we have a Constitutional right not to have the Government break into our property. At least not without a valid warrant based on sworn testimony establishing probable cause. Canton City officials and a private Dallas company broke into our building using the sworn testimony of Fire Captain Brian Horton. He testified to facts he later admitted he had no personal knowledge. Click the link to listen: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qFyjaOou52ddyVbPQ4aG8-13pNhR5AeM/view?usp=sharing Or just read what he had to say: Partial Transcript of Recorded Hearing Canton City Council May 16, 2019 Parties: Joe Izen, Attorney on Behalf of Brian Horton, Captain New Beginnings Fellowship Church Canton Fire Department Joe Izen: You said you, uh, did your inspection separate from Veritas without reading reports without having inspected in any way the report they're making to this city council, correct? Brian Horton: Yes. Joe Izen: Is mold a fire hazard? Brian Horton: No, sir. Not that I'm aware of. Joe Izen: How could you give this council your opinion about the mold in the building if that wasn't your direction if you confined yourself solely to fire hazards when you inspected the building? Brian Horton: I don't know that I documented the mold. Joe Izen: Matter of fact, mold is not a fire hazard, is it? Brian Horton: (No response) Joe Izen: That mold is not going to spontaneously burst into flames, its not going to cause anything to more likely so than not so catch fire, is it? Brian Horton: No, sir. Joe Izen: Okay, now who is this confidential informant? Who said people were living there? Do you have his name and address? Brian Horton: I have no idea. Joe Izen: You have no idea? So you weren't the one that swore to any details on this administrative warrant is based developing all this evidence according to your pictures, veritas report... Brian Horton: I don't understand your question. Joe Izen: Well, do you have any kind of experience at law enforcement? Brian Horton: No, sir. Joe Izen: Do you have any kind of experience at dealing with administrative warrants? You ever sworn facts that somebody relied on to produce an administrative warrant. Brian Horton: For this warrant, yes. Joe Izen: So you did swear in support of this thing, correct? Brian Horton: Correct. Joe Izen: You not the, uh, your not the person that said people are occupying the building? Brian Horton: No Joe Izen: So, uh, you don't know the source whoever said the building was being occupied by the permission of New Beginnings? Brian Horton: I don't know who the source was. Joe Izen: You don't know who that was? Brian Horton: No. Joe Izen: And as far as the fire inspection that you did do though you were coming on the property without the permission of the owner with what you claim to be an administrative warrant. And you don't know who the person was, the informant that provided the information, so you could go and break locks on a private building and go into. Brian Horton: I do not know who it was.

Thank you Jami and Sue. The graffiti is now gone.

Although multiple people signed up to speak about New Beginnings, the mayor arbitrarily decided to only hear from one person. https://youtu.be/1K_SfxiGFVE

City council meets in about 1 hour. I talked to them for hours last Thursday, so I may or may not speak tonight. However, I will listen. If you support this, come sign up to tell your elected officials. If you don't want it, say it. I'll do what Henry Lewis suggested and, "Take it on back to Houston."

Folks, it has been brought to my attention there's another old nursing home in town. Its near the Canton police station. I went by to look at it. Windows broken. Holes in roof. Electrical panel wide open. Canton wants ours demolished, yet they ignore one that's in far worse condition. This rips to threads their pretextual claim they are concerned about safety. The only thing they are concerned about is preventing the facility at the specific location.

Wow. Unbelievable. Just when we begin to get discouraged God makes things happen. The link below is a new religious liberty law that just passed our Senate and is about to head to the Governor to be signed into law. It does away with immunity protections when Government officials take adverse action on account of one's religious beliefs. Here in Canton, they are opposed us sheltering the homeless in their rich neighborhood. So they are using the pretext of dangerous building to condemn it with threats of demolition. What about the other empty nursing home near the Canton police station? Old asbestos wiring. Holes in roof. Mold so bad it makes you gag. Why hasn't it been condemned and demolished? Its obvious what's going on here... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cWVzdbKm5huu0GFU0QvdypKalJ1aQpDp/view?usp=drivesdk

https://www.facebook.com/140471979488965/posts/1126848464184640/

Last month, as folks gathered outside city hall to speak in support of New Beginnings, city council decided to cancel the public forum. I have been assured that it will not be cancelled again, so I urge everyone (you don't have to live in Canton) to come to city hall on Tuesday, May 21st, at 5:45 p.m. The meeting doesn't start until 6, but you have to sign their list before 5:45 p.m. in order to be able to speak to your elected officials. Come tell them you want us to open and help the needy folks of Van Zandt County. Come tell them that its your tax dollars funding the operation of the city and their salaries. Tell them instead of wasting your tax dollars on lawyers and hearings that seek only to stop us, they should spend that money to help open this facility. Usually, when an abandoned nursing home is being repurposed into a shelter, city governments do everything they can to help the project, In the pic below is Fort Worth Manor, which was recently repurposed into a shelter by an affiliated organization. The city not only waived a lot of legal requirements, they also donated 100 brand new low flush toilets to help the facility reduce water usage. So everyone please come out and support New Beginnings Canton. http://cantontx.gov/city-council

On May 16th this Dodge Charger was photographed going behind our church building to the area where someone has repeatedly broken in. It has been discovered that this car belongs to a man from Lindale with a criminal record who is currently employed as an agent for Bankers Insurance in Tyler. Because Canton PD refuses to do anything at all, this morning I telephoned the man. Steven Clay Parker (903) 882-4404. He denied being there until I explained I had photographs of a car registered to him. After a long pause he explained he was in back of the building to take a lunch break. Really? I'm sorry, but I don't believe it. He went onto a property clearly posted no trespassing, going around orange cone barricades to the back of the building where breakins keep happening.

After all the breakins and thefts from our church, the property is closely watched. Yesterday an unknown party trespassed on the property. The police took a report, but did nothing else. Does anybody have the ability to run a license plate?

Folks, this is Captain Brian Horton of the Canton Fire Department. Back in March, this individual signed a sworn affidavit verifying under penalty of perjury that he had information from credible third parties of code violations in our church. Judge Chris Martin, relying on this sworn testimony, granted Horton a warrant to break into our church with a team of inspectors to photograph the violations. Well, at yesterday's hearing, on cross examination, Horton admitted he did not know who the third parties were, nor whether they were credible. He admitted he had no first hand knowledge when he signed the affidavit. It is our belief that he signed the affidavit at the direction of City Manager Lonnie Cluck, who we believe is a puppet for Henry Lewis, J.L. Heard, Bob Moore, and other residents who oppose our church opening a homeless facility in their neighborhood. We refer to them as NIMBYs (not in my back yard), In Texas, it is aggravated perjury for a person to make a false statement in connection to an official proceeding that could affect the course or outcome of a case. It is punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison. We thank Captain Horton for finally admitting the truth yesterday. The damage, however, has already been done...

Folks of Canton, on May 16th at 2 p.m. the Canton City Council will meet for the purpose of condemning our building and ordering it demolished. Understand that in the past, our Church encountered this type of resistance in Houston. We jokingly refer to it as the NIMBY syndrome. "Not In My Back Yard." Everyone acknowledges the need for homeless shelters, but they want it somewhere else. Here, officials keep suggesting we take our operation "out in the county." That's a nice idea, but we lack funding to purchase more property. Understand that we didn't have to purchase Heritage Manor; rather, it was given to us for simply paying off back taxes and fees. There were buyers wanting it, especially Henry Lewis. The owner rejected their offers because he didn't want to see it demolished and developed into more "rich folk" housing. He wanted something good done with the property. Its rather obvious we're dealing with a bunch of neighborhood Nimbys. The "real" reason for all the backlash from the city is because several of the city council members live in the neighborhood across the street. As some of you will recall, over a year ago we were preparing to relocate about 75 homeless victims of Hurricane Harvey to the nursing home. City officials said, "Uh uh." Our church board had a meeting where the question was debated: "Which is the lesser evil -- leaving homeless folks on streets sleeping in tents and cardboard boxes, or defying Canton officials by giving these folks a clean comfortable bed in a room away from the elements?" When we proceeded, city officials demanded entry to conduct an inspection. They didn't say anything was wrong with the building other than the electrical system, which they red tagged as unsafe because "it wasn't wired correctly when built in 1970, and therefore can't be grandfathered." Despite the electrical system having operated safely for over 47 years, city officials had the power company permanently disconnect the building from the power line. Months later, after Assistant City Manager Andy Wolfe advised no permits were needed for solar, we started installing solar panels, deep cycle batteries, and energy efficient LED lighting. When city officials saw lights, they couldn't believe it was run from sun-charged batteries. They contacted Oncor reporting the power illegally restored and "theft of service." Oncor came out to check. No theft of service. They confirmed the building was off the grid. The city recently retained a construction company from Dallas, and got a warrant to break into our building so this company could walk around and look for reasons to declare the building unsafe. The company found that our building does not meet current fire codes due to a lack of sprinkler system, an obsolete water heater system, even declaring a violation because the rooms don't have showers (the showers are located at the end of each hallway). The company also said a broken gas pipe presented a danger of explosion. Turns out it was a water pipe for flushing out the small fire sprinkler system over the laundry. Through official threats and intimidation, the last two groups that tried to open the facility -- housing for homeless veterans, and a drug rehab -- have walked away from their efforts to bring something good to Canton. Because we won't "go away," the city council is conducting a hearing at which they intend to declare our building unsafe and order it demolished. Their main ammunition is a new code adopted a few years ago: the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC). This code wasn't written by anyone in Canton. It wasn't even written in Texas. Its a boilerplate code that a group of so-called experts and insurance companies put together, over a thousand pages of how they think our property should be maintained. If your like most folks in Canton, you probably have no idea what's involved with the IPMC. If you knew, you might be shocked at how, by adopting this code, the City of Canton has deprived you of basic property rights. The biggest issue with our building is that the City of Canton refuses to "grandfather" existing systems. Grandfathering is standard policy in most cities. Although the electrical and plumbing systems don't meet current codes, they were legal when installed and have worked fine for the past 47 years. Should a city be allowed to pass laws that effectively "take" a working system, and make you pay them thousands in permit fees, and hundreds of thousands to replace a working system? No! Art. I Section 16 of the Texas Constitution prohibits retroactive laws that affect vested property rights. The issue here is not about the IPMC and property maintenance, but rather about private property rights. This is America right? So long as what happens on my property does not infringe upon my neighbors land (toxic dumping, etc) then it is none of the government's business what we do with our bought and paid for property. Look at it another way. Everybody knows about Mr. Henry Lewis' collection of classic Corvettes. None of these vehicles meet the current emission standards. They don't have airbags or modern seat belts. They legally exist because they are "grandfathered." Should we pass a law requiring these cars be destroyed? If you take the time to read the IPMC, you will find that it goes far beyond just how nice your lawn looks. Here are some of the more disturbing sections: 104.4 Right of entry. The code official is authorized to enter the structure or premises at reasonable times to inspect subject to constitutional restrictions on unreasonable searches and seizures. They can come in to look for roof leaks, outdated wiring, peeling paint, even check your backyard the see if you are mowing your grass. If entry is refused or not obtained, the code official is authorized to get a warrant. If your grass is too high, the code allows them to hire someone to trim it, then file a lien against my property for the cost of trimming the weeds. Now imagine you are on a long summer vacation and they visit your home every two weeks to trim your weeds at $1500 per visit (they can charge anything they wish) and you come back to find your house up for auction to satisfy a $9000 lien? It may seem an unlikely scenario, but under the code adopted as law in Canton it can legally be done. Section 302.8 relates to motor vehicles and states that you can not work on your vehicle in your driveway, only in an enclosed garage. Seeing how some people do not have garages, this section effectively prohibits folks from working on their own vehicles. Sure, they don't actively enforce that part of the law, but it's on the books and they can whenever they like against whomever they please. Now what can be more unAmerican than keeping folks from working on their own cars? What else can they fine you for under the IPMC? Have any peeling or chipped paint on your house? You are in violation of section 304.2 Do you have your house number stuck to your house and visible to the road with numbers that are at least 4 inches tall? If not you are in violation of section 304.3 Does your roof leak? Your in violation of section 304.7 Do you have screens on all your windows and doors? If not you are in violation of section 304.14 Do you have rodent shields on your basement windows? Do you even know what a rodent shield is? If not you are in violation of section 304.17 Are your windows clean? If not section 305.3, will try to set you right. I could go on and on quoting violations of your personal freedoms that are contained in this International Law that governs how you maintain your house, but it is all in there. Need I mention how Canton "selectively" enforces these laws only when they want to? Now I might be more biased against these Canton ordinances than most because I'm a transplant from Houston. Here, city officials encourage and help our volunteers transform abandoned dangerous buildings into church shelters where we help people. Surprisingly enough, our facilities aren't catching on fire or falling down due to a lack of a bureaucratic authority telling us what to do. The Bible says you building your house on sand, it will fall, and built upon a rock it will stand. If you build your house poorly and it collapses, then that's your own fault. It is all about personal responsibility, something that has been vanishing from American society at a rapid pace, and which will be needed if we are ever to restore this country to it's former glory. Please come to the special meeting of the Canton City Council at 2 p.m. on May 16th and let them know your feelings about their International Property Maintenance Code.

Hey, amidst all the bad news we finally got something good to announce. In Houston, our ministry operates a TV station. We wanted something for Canton, and now we have been offered a license for a radio station. The license is for Tyler, so we have to put it on the air in Tyler, then apply to move it to Canton. The new C103 FM KTYQ Canton/Tyler is coming!

Folks, the City of Canton has retained a very expensive Dallas law firm Cantey Hanger to represent them in the lawsuit about use of our church building. You can bet they paid a hefty retainer fee for it. That's your tax dollars being wasted. Guess what? A Plano law firm -- www.firstliberty.org -- called up saying they will represent us free of charge. This firm has litigated several cases like ours and won every time. We are meeting with them tomorrow. Praise God for answered prayers.

Fire Chief Bud Sanford and City Manager Lonnie Cluck have denied us permits to install security cameras. The city has now entered some sort of order prohibiting us from entering our building for any reason. They have scheduled a special meeting of City Council on May 16th to condemn our building and order it demolished.

Unknown Canton city official enters our property and refuses to identify himself...

Get'n er done. 😀

Covering up the demonic graffiti someone painted on the walls inside our building.