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PAGE 4A 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.