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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher -
Chris Bridges, editor • Email: cbridges@barrowjournal.com
our views
Political
“change” is
in the air
T HE ELECTION Tuesday
of Barack Obama as
president marks a
historic turn tor America. His
theme of “change” resonated
with many voters. Exactly what
this “change” will mean at the
national level, however, remains
to be seen.
In Barrow County Republican
John McCain was the over
whelming choice of local voters.
Indeed, Republicans won across
the board in Barrow, mostly by
large margins.
But that movement for
“change” was no less a force in
Barrow even though the party
was not Obama’s.
Over this year’s long political
season, Barrow residents, many
of them Republicans, have been
clamoring for changes in their
local governments. During the
July Primary a number of chang
es were made; on Tuesday voters
cast their final ballots of this elec
tion season, confirming a call for
change and a new direction in
Barrow County.
As the dust settles from this
campaign season, Barrow finds
itself with a slate of new lead
ers ready to take office January
1. There will be a new sheriff; a
new county commission chair
man and three new BOC mem
bers; a new district attorney; and
one new Superior Court Judge.
Some of those changes were due
to retirements while others were
the result of some very difficult
political contests.
But amid this clamoring for a
new direction, these incoming
leaders will have to be cautious
to not overreach. Change just for
change sake could create a num
ber of additional problems.
High on the list of issues facing
these new leaders will be the
difficult economic conditions,
problems that are forcing local
governments to cut spending.
That will have a direct impact on
those elected to office in Barrow
County.
Tight budgets will mean a need
for fundamental “change.” These
new leaders will have to change
how governments operate and
how the established bureaucracy
thinks. The days of easy money
from double-digit growth in the
tax digest are over.
It will also mean change for citi
zens, many of whom have come
to expect local governments to
do things which they may not
now be able to accomplish. That
may prove to be the most difficult
challenge of all.
Yes, change is in the air. But
a word of caution: Some of this
change will be painful and con
troversial for all involved.
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
Leaving the porch light on for better times
MY HUSBAND handed out the Halloween candy
last week for the first time in years. It’s not that he’s
some kind of Halloween Grinch. It’s just that up until
this year, he’s been away on business for Halloween.
He missed all the years
when I took our little witch and
mummy, or bride and devil, or
cheerleader and football player
Trick-or-Treating.
He missed the later years
when our kids and their friends
would gather at our big, old,
scary (yes, it is actually haunt
ed...) house to bob for apples,
watch scary movies and play
hide-and-seek with all the lights
off.
Most recently he missed sit
ting with me on the front porch to hand out candy
to all the little witches and mummies and brides and
devils that still come by. For a few of those years Holly,
our old but still very spry Cocker Spaniel, would sit
next to me, wearing a Halloween headband or collar,
enthusiastically wagging her little bump of a tail as
the kids petted her head and told her how cute she
looked.
When Holly died, Grade, our old but still very
friendly, black Mutt mix, would sit with me, also wear
ing some goofy headband or collar. She, too, would
thump her long fluffy tail enthusiastically while all
the little ghosts and goblins made their choices from
the candy bowl, then thanked us, and yelled “Happy
Halloween!” as they ran down the walk into the scary,
wonderful, treat-filled night.
The past few years, I’ve handed out the candy alone.
The new dogs are too rambunctious to join me on the
porch — and besides, these evenings belong to Holly
and Grade, who sometimes, I sense, make their way
back, however briefly, to sit next to me on the porch
and greet the kids as they present their pillow cases
and pumpkin buckets, yelling “Trick-or-Treat!” — those
wild, expectant, excited smiles on their bright little
made-up faces.
Yes, this year, Mr. Clark was with me to hand out
the Halloween candy. You see, he was laid off in early
July, after years of successful work in homebuilding
software. Although it was a step down from his past
“jet set,” or at least airport-filled life, he seemed to
enjoy asking the kids what they were and helping
them pick which “just one” candy they could take
from the bowl. He complimented almost each and
every one of them on how wonderful their costumes
were. He (and the thumping-tailed ghosts of Holly and
Grade) had a pretty good time.
In years past, I’ve left the porch lights on as long as
trick-or-treaters have continued to come to the door,
giving out bags and bags of candy, long into the night.
This year, we had to turn the lights out around 8 p.m.
because the two bags of candy Mr. Clark bought were
gone. Initially, we weren’t going to buy any Halloween
candy this year, unemployed times being what they
are. But Mr. Clark lobbied heavily to “celebrate
this holiday “just a little bit with a couple of bags of
candy.”
“You can’t give out no candy on Halloween,” he
said. “What kind of a deal is that?” And, he’s right.
What have times come to when you can’t find it in
your heart (and budget) to greet the little things that
go bump on a Halloween night with a treat of some
type?
After all, in the words of good ole’ Abe Lincoln,
who did actually make one appearance at our door
last night, “...let us confidently hope that all will yet
be well.”
Lorin Sinn-Clark is a Barrow County columnist. She
can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com.
Time for lawmakers
THE ELECTIONS have finally been held and it feels
like the end of a party that has been going on for a
long, long time.
Now that the party is over, it’s
time for our governor and leg
islative leadership to get back
to work on the state’s budget
crisis. They have been putting
this off for much too long and
the longer they delay, the worse
it is going to be for all of us
taxpayers.
It’s been obvious since last
July, when Gov. Sonny Perdue
was forced to pull $600 million
out of the reserve fund to keep
the state from ending the fiscal
year in the red, that Georgia’s
finances were getting shaky. Most of the monthly
reports from the revenue department since then
show that tax collections are tanking because of the
economic recession.
As a result, Perdue and the lawmakers are facing a
budget deficit that will range somewhere between $2
billion and $3 billion. That kind of money amounts to
more than 10 percent of the state budget.
A budget deficit that large is going to require our
political leaders to confront some difficult choices,
such as a tax increase to raise additional revenues or
harsh spending cuts that put people out on the streets.
The latter is already happening in the department of
veterans services, which has shut down an assisted
living facility for war veterans in Milledgeville and
has told the 80 or so residents they will have to find
another place to live.
When the situation is getting this dire, this quickly,
you can’t wait until the middle of January, when the
next General Assembly session convenes, to address
it. It’s time for Perdue, along with the people running
the House and Senate, to call a special session and get
to work on the problems now.
It’s understandable why there was a reluctance to
call a special session prior to election day. Incumbent
legislators were running for reelection and did not
want to upset the folks back in their districts. Self-
preservation will always be the first instinct of a politi
cal officeholder.
to get back to work
Now that the election is over, however, there’s no
good reason not to go ahead and convene a session
that could start the week after Thanksgiving.
In fact, there’s a very good strategic reason for hold
ing a special session at this time. The newly elected
legislators won’t take office until January. You have a
group of incumbents who decided not to seek another
term or were defeated for reelection but are still in
office until January and would be able to participate
in this special session.
These are lawmakers like Ron Forster of Ringgold,
Jeff Lewis of Bartow County, Ben Bridges of Cleveland,
Bob Holmes of Atlanta, Stan Watson of Decatur, Bob
Mumford of Conyers, Barry Fleming of Harlem, Jimmy
Lord of Sandersville, Mike Meyer von Bremen of
Albany and Regina Thomas of Savannah.
Because they won’t be running again for the General
Assembly, they don’t have to worry about making a
decision or taking a position on a sensitive issue that
might offend their constituents. They have the kind
of freedom politicians rarely have to do the right thing
for the right reason without it being against them in a
future attack ad.
Hard decisions have to be made that could involve
the adoption of new taxes or the elimination of pro
grams that are important to the interest groups they
affect. It will be easier for the legislative leadership
to assemble the votes necessary for these tough deci
sions if they have a group of lawmakers who aren’t
going to be bothered by possible voter retribution.
There are other pressing issues directly affected by
the budget crisis that could also be handled during a
special session. Legislators are still under the gun to
find a permanent funding source so that our disgrace
fully bad network of trauma care hospitals can be
upgraded. The Department of Transportation has a
$450 million shortfall that will require the cancellation
of dozens of road projects or the layoffs of hundreds
of DOT employees.
Our political leadership could make a real start on
addressing these problems before it gets too late to do
anything about them, but they need to do it now. It’s
time to get down to work.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s
Georgia Report. He can be reached at tcrawford@
caDitolimDact.net.
Many changes
span last
decade in W-B
W HENEVER I drive
through Winder and
Barrow County, I am
amazed at
the constant
change that
is occurring.
It seems
something is
always being
constructed —
especially in
Winder — on
every available
lot. From a
new fast-food
restaurant to a
new mini-strip mall, Winder seems
to be the headquarters for construc
tion.
(As a note, I’m not sure building
on every available amount of space
in Winder is always good. We are
certainly not set up to handle it traf
fic wise and many new businesses
are gone within months of opening.
Some strip malls sit half or three
quarters empty while new ones
are being constructed across the
street.)
I wish I had taken the time to keep
a record of how many new things
have popped up since I moved to
Winder in the late summer of 1997.
I would probably be amazed at the
number now.
Many of the businesses that were
here when I arrived are gone, hav
ing closed their doors long before
this current economic crisis arrived.
Some places do remain open and
thriving and I make a mental note
of them when I drive past.
The ongoing plans to save the old
Winder hotel is something I hope
can be done. It’s a tragedy what has
happened to that building. Why it
was allowed to reach the state of
decay it is in now is beyond me.
I think the same thing when I see
the old Peskins’ building a block
away. The building has been empty
for years and why city officials have
allowed the owners to ignore their
responsibilities concerning this his
toric structure baffles me.
Growth and change will always
happen. I am not against either.
However, perhaps we need to do a
little better job of remembering our
past in Winder and not be so quick
to throw up new structures while
ignoring the old ones which have
been left crippled by neglect and
the passage of time.
The old hotel and Peskins’ build
ing are just two examples of this.
The response to our debut issue
of the Barrow Journal has been
overwhelming. It’s natural for
people to take notice of a new
product (newspapers included),
but our phone lines at our office on
East May Street began ringing last
Thursday when our premier edition
was distributed and office manager
Susan Mobley has been doing all
she can to keep up since.
People have also stopped by the
office to get a subscription or clas
sified ad deal and also to talk about
the new paper in Barrow County.
I was approached by several peo
ple at the Apalachee High School
football game last Friday night
about our new venture and our
sports section. Thanks for those
compliments as well.
As I stopped by our office late last
Wednesday night, a man was buy
ing a copy of the first edition from
our newsrack out front. As I sat in
my car and watched him, it made
me very proud to be a part of this.
We had officially arrived.
We realize response is going to
be strong to start with. Our job is to
keep you interested once the nov
elty of the newness wears off.
Rest assured, we are working hard
to produce a product you can look
to each week for quality news cov
erage for Winder and all of Barrow
County.
Chris Bridges is editor of the
Barrow Journal. E-mail Chris at
cbridges@barrowjournal. com.