Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Page 4A The Braselton News Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Opinion “Difference of opinion leads to enquiry, and enquiry to truth ” -Thomas Jefferson Braseltoons by John Sheppard "He's my silent partner." letters Seniors need higher exemption for taxes our views Depot redux: Should city run it, or run away? THE FRACTIOUS debate over the future of the historic Hoschton Depot may soon come to a head. Only one group submitted a bid to man age the depot for the city by Monday’s dead line. That group, the Hoschton Historic Depot Pres ervation Foundation, is essentially made up of citizens who opposed efforts by some on the Hoschton City Council to lease the depot to a private firm in August. So now the council is faced with a choice some of its members didn’t want — the city will either have to remain as managers of the facility, or allow a group of citizens to control the facility. Council members who were behind the Au gust bid to dump the depot into private business hands said their effort was driven by the city’s poor financial condition. The city has renovated the depot and maintains it at a cost of $6,000- $8,000 per year. Rental income for the facility, however, does not completely cover that cost. But that argument is misleading. For one thing, dumping the depot won’t have much impact on Hoschton’s sorry financial condition. Poor plan ning and budgeting are responsible for the city’s financial woes; dumping the depot’s expenses won’t change that. But more fundamentally, the depot should not be viewed as a profit-center for the city. It’s an asset for its historic value and for its use as a community center for local citizens. That such an asset only costs the town around $6,000 per year is a bargain. The best outcome of this issue would be for the city’s elected leaders to become committed to that view and manage the facility as a city asset. That may be difficult, however, due to the ac rimony and distrust that has surrounded the de bate. Some council members acted in secret to dump the depot. When questioned about their efforts, they told the town’s strongest civic orga nization, the Hoschton Women’s Civic Club, to vacate the premises. In short, the debate has become a petty politi cal battle between egocentric council members and those who dared question their intentions. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the pro posal by this preservation foundation to man age the depot. But there’s also no guarantee that some council members won’t continue to harass those who view the depot as a commu nity center and not a city profit-center. Ultimately, the solution to this problem isn’t just a question of who manages the depot; it’s a question of what kind of elected leadership the citizens of Hoschton want for their community. Dear Editor: I want to follow up on my letter to the editor, “BOC needs to give tax relief,” published Septem ber 26. Hardly any senior citizen that has reached the age of 75 will argue that paying full property/ school taxes is blatantly unjust and if not unjust, unfair. Of course a few, for varied reasons, will always disagree, fine. But the law on the Jackson County books that is aimed at giving seniors a tax exemption starting at age 62, based on age and income, is totally inadeguate to help those in need. Cradle to coffin, taxes are a real life dilemma for seniors of this age group living in Jackson County, especially those above 75 years of age. Barrow, Gwinnett and Hall counties, our good neighbors, offer meaningful property/school tax exemptions to their senior citizens. Why do our neighbors offer a meaningful property/school tax relief law to their senior citizens and Jackson County does not? I cannot answer this guestion, but the answer does lie within the BOC/BOE and their agendas for Jackson County. Helping the most vulnerable of our society, children and the elderly, is a sign of compassion and understanding. Protecting these two groups should always be at the forefront of the agenda of our elected officials. It is not a matter of affordability by Jackson County to put into law a meaningful tax exemption for its senior citizens, but a matter of doing the right thing. Not one senior citizen wants to take away protection and education of our youth, but ask “only that our end of the life cycle be cared for in a meaningful way by lowering our property/ school tax burden.” If you agree with my assessment, that Jackson County does not have a meaningful property/ school tax exemption for its senior citizens, espe cially those in advanced age, please let the BOC and BOE know. Otherwise, they may never take a look at the feeble law currently on the books. Sincerely, Dave Oliver Hoschton, GA 30548 When Johnny comes marching home There had been a buzz building for guite some time that Sen. Johnny Isakson was thinking of leaving Washington behind in 2010, when his term in the Senate will be up, and come back home to run for governor. Isakson added fuel to the speculation with an announce ment from his Senate office last week: Heath Garrett, Isakson’s loyal chief of staff for more than 12 years, will be leaving the senator’s office to work with a high-powered political consult ing firm, the Stevens & Schriefer Group. Isakson’s carefully worded announcement said that Garrett will be based in Georgia for the consulting firm that just hired him and he “will move from the Senate office to become chair man of Isakson’s campaign, serving as Isakson’s chief political strategist.” Notice what the announcement did not say: it does not specify that Garrett will be working for Isakson’s “reelection campaign” or for an upcoming “Senate campaign.” It simply refers to a “campaign,” leaving the door wide open for any number of interpretations. The only interpretation that makes sense, at this point in time, is that Isakson is trying to clear the field for the governor’s race in 2010, when Sonny Perdue will be stepping down after his constitutional limit of two terms in office. The U.S. Senate is known as the world’s most exclusive club and it’s the type of elective office that politicians will spend a lifetime lusting for. Why would Isakson willingly give up a seat in the country’s highest legislative chamber? It all comes back to the question of whether you prefer being a small fish in a big pond, or a big fish in a small pond. Isakson is low on the seniority ladder in a Senate that went from Republican control during his first two years there to a 51-49 Democratic advantage after the 2006 election. The political environment is very threatening for the GOP as we head into next year and the realists inside the Beltway see little if any chance of Republicans breaking Democratic control of the Senate. Even GOP strategists are privately conceding that Democrats could grab at least four Senate seats currently occupied by Republicans next year. Democratic consultants say that if the breaks fall their way the total of captured seats could be seven or eight, or even enough to give Democrats a filibuster-proof majority of 60 Senate seats. Isakson thus faces the very real prospect of being the junior partner in a minor ity party that may not even be able to stop legislation through the filibuster after 2008. That can’t be much fun for someone who’ll be celebrating his 65th birthday in 2009. It would be much more fulfilling to run for an office where you could really accomplish things and where you would be the heavy favorite to win before the candidates even qualify. The question for any ambitious Georgia politician to be asking is not whether Isakson will run for governor, but how the Isakson campaign would affect the plans of everyone else. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson have spent the last year positioning themselves for the 2010 governor’s race. Do they continue along that road? Or does Cagle pull a Zell Miller and serve another term or two as lieutenant governor? Does Richardson switch his focus to Isakson’s vacated Senate seat? State Rep. DuBose Porter (D-Dublin), the House minority leader, is one of the few Democrats left who can mount a credible statewide campaign and he was seen as a possible candidate for the 2010 governor’s race. But with the rumors building that Isakson would come home to run, there have also been reports that Porter will now stay out of the governor’s race. Does Porter also switch to a race for the Senate, or does he go home to run his string of weekly newspapers? There has also been speculation that Roy Barnes might want to make another try for governor in 2010 and eradicate the bad memories of blowing the 2002 race to Sonny Perdue. Would Barnes really run against his Cobb County neighbor and old friend Johnny? Let’s not forget about Sonny Perdue, either. It doesn’t look like his campaign to run for vice president is going anywhere and he’ll need something to do when his second term expires - such as run for Isakson’s Senate seat. Obviously, there are lots of questions to be answered. Fortunately for the voters, we’ve got at least two years to start working out some of the answers. Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia Report, an Internet news site at www.gareport.com that covers government and politics in Georgia. Healthcare dilemma for working families Dear Mr. Bush: As a parent, I’m writing you to voice my opposition to your veto last week of the State Children’s Health Insur ance Program (SCHIP). I don’t understand, Mr. President, how you expect many working families to pro vide healthcare for their children. Yes, SCHIP was designed to help many “poor” fami lies with health care coverage, but the state of health insurance in this country has jeopardized children who are not considered “poor,” or “rich,” by the government’s standards. Healthcare coverage in this country is tied to one’s employment status — those who work full-time may receive healthcare benefits through their employer. But health insurance is often considered a “benefit” for many employees — a “benefit” that is being greatly reduced by employers. Some employers are resorting to hiring more “consultants” or “contractors” to avoid paying rising health insurance to full-time employees. While employees are paying higher healthcare premiums, their benefits are being slowly eroded; meanwhile, employers are either absorbing more costs for higher insurance or buying cheaper plans. It’s no wonder, Mr. President, that many families are dropping health insurance — it simply costs too much amid reduced coverage. Most families don’t require exten sive medical care, just routine visits to the doctor and lab work. But for families without health insurance, those costs add up quickly. Mr. President, you vetoed the SCHIP bill because you said it’s a step towards national healthcare cov erage. I don’t understand why politi cians in this country claim “social ized” medicine is something to fear. If politicians fear “socialism” in this country (or at least the costs), then close government-operated schools. Tell us to stop driving on govern ment-paved roads. Turn off the water coming from our government-pro vided water systems. Like it or not, the United States already has some elements of socialism. And while I don’t have a solution for the complex issue of healthcare in this country, I’m offended that you seem to believe that working families will have an easy solution, Mr. President. Even with a low-pay ing job, many parents in this country work simply to keep health insurance coverage. Mr. President, I urge you to begin a national dialogue about healthcare coverage in this country — one that will involve Republicans and Demo crats. I may not know whom I will cast my vote for the White House in 2008, but the Democrats are at least talking about the issue — and I’m listening. Kerri Testement is the news editor for The Braselton News. Her e-mail address is kerri@mainstreetnews. com. Keri Teste ment kerri@mainstreet- news.com The Braselton News A Publication of Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. Mike Buffington ..Editor & Co-Publisher mike@mainstreetnews. com Scott Buffington Co-Publisher & Advertising Manager scott@mainstreenews.com Angela Gary Managing Editor angie@mainstreetnews. com Kerri Testement News Editor kerri@mainstreetnews. com Web Site: braseltonnews.com Classified Advertising classifieds @ mainstreetnews.com PO Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549 General Phone: 706-367-5233