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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher -
Chris Bridges, editor • Email: cbridges@barrowjournal.com
our views
What we
believe
T HE OPINION page holds
a special place in newspa
pers. It is here that ideas
are expressed, issues debated and
solutions sought for complex prob
lems.
This debate takes several forms.
Columnists express their personal
views about local, state, national or
international issues. Editorial car
toons also express their opinions
visually, often with humor and biting
sarcasm.
Readers also have their space on
this page with letters to the editor.
Here, readers can debate and dis
cuss issues they feel passionately
about. Sometimes those views are
about politics, sometimes they are
about local problems that need to
be resolved.
And then there’s this column,
the newspaper editorial. Here, the
newspaper expresses its institutional
views about the community and the
world.
These views are based on a vari
ety of sources. Newspapers are
unique in that they have represen
tatives — reporters — who attend
countless public meetings and sift
through piles of public documents.
Over time, this collection of data
builds a body of institutional knowl
edge allowing issues large and small
to be analyzed.
Some believe that newspaper
editorials are simply expressions of
political dogma. But good editorials
are not shrills for a political party or
other narrow interests. Good edi
torials synthesize information and
attempt to frame issues for a deeper,
more meaningful debate.
Still, everyone brings certain views
to the table when they debate pub
lic policy issues. This newspaper is
no different. There are certain core
principals we believe:
-We believe in fiscal responsibility
of our governments. While many
in government give lip service to
accountability, some governments
do not live up to that. We follow the
money and when spending or tax
abuses occur, we have no hesitation
writing about it.
-We believe in leadership for pub
lic service, not private gain. Most
people involved in community lead
ership or public positions do their
jobs for the community. But some
are mostly self-serving, using their
position to further themselves. Those
people need to be held account
able.
-We believe in open government
and transparency of pubic actions.
While there are some limited legal
reasons for closed-door meetings
of public officials, sometimes that
is abused. The public’s business
should be done in public.
-We believe in the freedom of
speech and the rights of citizens
to voice their opinions on public
issues.
This newspaper certainly doesn’t
have all the answers. But we will
attempt to explain issues and offer
ideas for debate.
By providing a wealth of informa
tion and a framework for discussion,
we believe citizens in Barrow County
will be better informed to make the
right decisions for our community.
The Barrow Journal
Winder, Barrow County, Ga.
www.BarrowJoumal.com
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher
Chris Bridges Editor
Susan Norman Reporter & Web Editor
Susan Treadwell Advertising Manager
Susan Mobley Office Manager
Jeremy Ginn Marketing Manager
Jessica Brown Photographer
The Barrow Journal
77 East May Street
Winder, Georgia 30680
Web Site: www.BarrowJournal.com
Email: news@barrowjournal.com
Phone: 770-867-NEWS (6397)
Fax: 678-425-1435
analysis
Three Constitutional Amendments on ballot
Next Tuesday, Georgia voters will face three
proposed state Constitutional Amendments.
All three involve creating special taxing pow
ers or districts.
Here is an analysis of the three proposals:
AMENDMENT 1: Would create a special
tax classification for some large tracts of for
est.
ANALYSIS: Similar to the current conser
vation use program, this amendment would
allow forest tracts of 200 acres or more to be
taxed at a lower rate in return for a non-devel
opment contract. Supporters say this would
help preserve large tracts of forest that cur
rently don’t qualify for the conservation use
tax program. Critics say it could harm some
school systems by taking tax dollars away.
Although the state would be authorized to fill
in some of that gap, in this time of austerity
that’s unlikely.
AMENDMENT 2: Would allow school tax
funds to be used for tax allocation districts
designed to finance redevelopment projects.
ANALYSIS: Earlier this year, the Georgia
Supreme Court ruled that school tax dollars
could not legally be used to help in redevelop
ment projects. Locally this affected the Town
of Braselton, which is proposing to create a
Tax Allocation District (TAD) to redevelop its
downtown area. The idea behind TAD proj
ects is essentially to “freeze” property taxes
on specific tracts destined for redevelopment
for a period of years. The idea is to encour
age redevelopment in distressed areas. Local
school systems have to agree to the deal for it
to become effective.
AMENDMENT 3: Would allow the creation
of special private infrastructure development
districts.
ANALYSIS: This proposal would, in effect,
create private governments for large develop
ment projects. These private groups would
have the power to incur debt, assess fees
(taxes) and to operate infrastructure projects.
Local governments would have to approve
these districts.
■SWl" HAL10CEN COSTUME IPEAS...
WITCH.
FRANKENSTEIN.
FINANCIAL
APWSER.
BOO!
Who wins, who loses on election day?
I DON’T NEED to remind you what next Tuesday
is and you’ve probably heard all you ever want to
hear about the national race
for president. But what about
Georgia?
The most suspenseful race
for Georgians on Nov. 4 is still
that Senate battle where Saxby
Chambliss is trying to hold off
Democrat Jim Martin.
This was once an election
that looked like an easy win for
Chambliss, but over the past
month the polling gap between
the two candidates has slowly
closed. Even with all the TV
spots he has been running,
Chambliss can’t seem to shake
off Martin.
The gap has also been closing between Barack
Obama and John McCain among Georgia’s voters in
the presidential race, although that one is not as close
as the Senate race.
More African-Americans are going to vote in Georgia
than ever before - but will it be enough to pull off a
upset in either race? I will predict, without a lot of
confidence, that McCain and Chambliss will hold on
and carry the state. But I won’t be terribly surprised
if I’m wrong.
In the congressional races, it’s almost guaranteed
that Georgia’s entire House delegation will be reelect
ed, just as it was two years ago.
The only two districts that were even considered
competitive this year are the ones represented by
Democrats Jim Marshall and John Barrow, who won
their races by razor-thin margins in 2006.
Barrow looks a lot safer now. The black vote in his
Savannah-to-Augusta district now exceeds 42 percent
and he has swamped his Republican opponent, John
Stone, in the fundraising arena.
Marshall must face a more impressive GOP oppo
nent in Rick Goddard, but he still had more than a
two-to-one money advantage going into the cam
paign’s final weeks. The only hope for Goddard is
that enough voters in this middle Georgia district are
angry at Marshall for voting in favor of the Wall Street
bailout bill.
At the legislative level, there will be no change in the
General Assembly’s balance of power. Republicans
will retain majority control of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, primarily because of a big
assist from the Democratic Party.
There is at least one Senate district and six or
more House districts that could have been trouble for
Republicans because of this year’s strong Democratic
trend. In each of these districts, however, the GOP is
assured of winning the seat because the Democratic
Party failed to persuade any candidates to qualify.
If you took those uncontested but competitive
House districts and added to them the four or five
Republican-held seats that the GOP leadership con
cedes they will probably lose on Nov. 4, that would
have put Democrats very close to regaining majority
control of the lower chamber.
Because of their poor candidate recruiting,
Democrats missed a golden opportunity to win legis
lative seats in a favorable election cycle they probably
won’t see again for 20 or 30 years. House Speaker
Glenn Richardson and his Republican colleagues
should send a big bouquet of roses to Democratic
Party Chair Jane Kidd as thanks for the big favor she
did for them.
There are a few House races worth watching as the
returns come in election night.
In Rome, Republican Rep. Katie Dempsey goes
against Democrat Bob Puckett in a rematch of race
that she won by less than 200 votes in 2006.
Rep. Mike Jacobs, who was elected twice as a
Democrat by DeKalb County voters before switching
parties, is trying to fend off independent candidate
Michelle Conlon. Rep. Jill Chambers, whose DeKalb
district voted for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential
race, has her hands full running against Democrat
Chris Huttman.
Further south, Rep. Allen Freeman of Macon is in
the fight of his life against James “Bubber” Epps, a
Democrat who was once the Twiggs County commis
sion chairman. Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton is going
up against Democrat John Tibbetts for the second
election in a row.
There are some endangered Democratic incumbents
also, such as Rep. Jeanette Jamieson of Toccoa. She
won a close race two years ago and the Republicans
are trying to knock her out this year with challenger
Michael Harden.
All of these legislative elections, along with the U.S.
Senate race, could swing either way. That’s all the
more reason for everyone to get out and vote next
week.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s
Georgia Report. He can be reached at tcrawford@
caDitolimDact.net.
Future bright
for good local
newspapers
WE’VE all heard in recent
months how the economy has
taken a nosedive and left many
businesses
struggling to
remain above
water.
Make no
mistake; these
are tough
times for
many people
and for many
businesses.
A variety of
factors have
played in
these overall rough times.
Some businesses have managed
to hold on despite all the political
bickering. If the cards fall right,
most will be able to keep their
doors open and employees work
ing in coming months and years.
I certainly hope so.
So it may seem strange for a
new newspaper to be arriving in
Winder and Barrow County at this
time. After all, there are already
other publications which attempt to
cover the area.
But there is something a good
“hometown” newspaper can offer
that other publications will never
be able to match. From school
events to weddings to covering the
local teams, community newspa
pers will always have a place in our
homes.
There are many good things
we believe the Barrow Journal
can offer readers in Winder and
Barrow County. With that in mind,
the Barrow Journal begins its
odyssey this week. You hold in
your hands something special,
something unique. You possess the
debut issue of a new publication
that we believe will fill a void in
local news and advertising cover
age. Personally, I hope one day this
edition will become a collector’s
issue.
There have been other papers
through the years that have attempt
ed to do what the Barrow Journal
is now working to accomplish. For
a variety of reasons, those publica
tions are no longer with us. Starting
a paper from scratch is not an easy
task. It can be daunting.
Mainstreet Newspapers, the
parent company of the Barrow
Journal, is focused on community
newspapers. It is not a large news
paper chain that purchases publica
tions to simply squeeze money out
of a community and invest nothing
to the community in return. Rather,
it is a company that invests in the
communities where it publishes
newspapers.
Most of the staff of the Barrow
Journal, including myself, live here.
That gives us extra motivation to
make this product the best possible
and represent us well.
We are not here to weasel every
cent from the community while not
caring about its overall condition.
We’re here for the long-haul.
We have already established long
term roots by purchasing property
for our office on East May Street.
Our goal today and in the future is
simple: To be your primary local
community voice.
This debut issue is only the start
in that direction. We have many
things planned for the future in our
coverage of Barrow County. We
will roll those out as we build this
newspaper into one of the state’s
finest.
We look forward to growing in
coming weeks, months and years.
We welcome feedback from you,
our readers. Let us know what you
think of this issue and what you
would like to see in future editions.
We hope to become a familiar
friend, one you look forward to
having in your home each week.
It’s a lot of work, but anything
worthwhile always is.
Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow
Journal. He can be contacted at: cbridg-
es@barrowjournal. com.
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chris
bridges