Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A
The Braselton News
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Opinion
“Difference of opinion leads
to enquiry, and enquiry to
truth ” -Thomas Jefferson
our views
Rec bond vote will
be important to
West Jackson’s future
ON FEB. 5, voters will go to the polls to decide
not only the Presidential Primary, but also an im
portant local issue.
On the ballot will be a $15 million bond refer
endum to build additional recreation facilities in
Jackson County.
This is an important vote for the West Jackson
Area, including Hoschton and Braselton. These
funds will, in part, be used to buy land for future
parks in the county.
As everyone knows, land prices in the West
Jackson Area have skyrocketed in recent years.
If recreation facilities are to be expanded here,
the land should be purchased now — in the fu
ture, the price may become too high and the
available land consumed by residential or com
mercial development.
In addition to other items, part of the $15 million
would be used to acquire 96 acres in the West
Jackson Area for future recreation facilities. The
plan also calls for additional soccer fields, foot
ball fields, tennis courts and other supporting
infrastructure at the West Jackson Park.
As Jackson County has grown, the demand for
recreation facilities has boomed. Young families
with school-age children have flooded into Jack-
son County over the last seven years, increas
ing the pressure on existing ballparks and other
recreation programs.
To meet the recreation demand for the future,
plans have to be made today.
On Feb. 5, Jackson County voters will have the
opportunity to do that by supporting the recre
ation bond vote.
The Braselton News
A Publication of The Jackson Herald &
Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc.
Mike Buffington Editor & Co-Publisher
mike @ mainstreetnews.com
706-367-5233
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher &
Advertising Manager
scott@mainstreenews.com
706-367-5233
Angela Gary Managing Editor
angie @ mainstreetnews.com
706-367-2490
Kerri Testement News Editor
kerri@mainstreetnews. com
706-367-5986
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jeremy@mainstreetnews. com
706-367-5990
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"We have roaming, wandering and
plain old meandering,"
letters
Responds to comments about JCCHS issues
Dear Editor:
I am compelled to clarify the transparent motiva
tions and subject matter that will be presented at
the January 14 Jackson County Board of Educa
tion meeting.
We have immediate needs at Jackson County
Comprehensive High School that require action
by the BOE and shouldn’t be framed as a West
versus East argument as some uninformed are
attempting. This takes the focus off of the impor
tant issues that benefit the students, parents and
faculty.
Jackson County Schools have provided my
children opportunities to have an outstanding
educational experience and to prepare for col
lege. Our county school system has assembled
a dedicated and talented group of educators and
we believe Jackson County as a whole is blessed
to have three good school systems in Commerce,
Jefferson and Jackson County. This is not a com
petition, but a source of community pride.
When the BOE sought support to pass an
aggressive bond referendum to build a needed
high school on our county’s East side, representa
tions were made that have not come to fruition.
Even though Center, Attica, Newtown and Red
stone collectively voted against the referendum to
finance Kings Bridge and EJHS, the bond passed
overwhelmingly by voters of Porter, Hoschton,
Randolph, Miller, Cunningham and Talmo on
unfulfilled promises.
For example, with half the students from a year
ago, we continue to bus hundreds of JCCHS
students, back and forth, four periods per day, to
the old Gordon Street facility to attend class. The
costs of a secondary lunchroom facility must be
maintained, along with custodial and administra
tive staff. Students must be transported to this
auxiliary campus to participate in many activities,
including football, JROTC and wrestling, during
and after school.
Meanwhile at the main campus, the roof still
leaks in the non air-conditioned gym. The exterior
stairway access on the east side of the auditorium
recently collapsed from neglect. Classroom trail
ers are still present and several teachers share
classrooms by carting their materials in and out
each class period. The school’s heat and air has
surpassed its anticipated lifespan and needs to
be replaced with a reliable and more energy effi
cient system. The list is long.
These inequities exist at current enrollment lev
els. What will it look like in three years?
We parents submit that eminent plans to fulfill
the promise of a self-contained and maintained
JCCHS main campus are deserved by our chil
dren. We will ask our administration to utilize their
educational management acumen to solve these
issues and responsibly plan for the future.
We anticipate and appreciate the support of the
parents, faculty and voters of not only JCCHS,
but also our friends at East Jackson. It’s not a
competition.
Sincerely,
Steve Crawford
Jefferson
Time for the fun to begin with presidential election dirty tricks
tom
crawford
Capitol
Impact Report
WITH THE counting of the votes in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire
primary, it’s official: The race for president in 2008 has begun.
They’ve been holding these elections for 220 years now and if there’s one thing
you can be sure of, it’s that you will see some dirty tricks and
negative campaign tactics being used before the final pre
cincts close on Nov. 4.
One of the most entertaining histories of this dark side of
American politics is available in “Anything for a Vote” by
Joseph Cummins, a book published just in time for this year’s
election. Cummins’ main point is that presidential campaigns
always have been and always will be defined by the dirty
tricks played by the candidates and their handlers.
“Much as we bemoan how contentious our elections have
become, dirty presidential contests are as American as apple
pie and television,” Cummins contends, and really, who could
argue with him? His book is a reminder that there is nothing
new under the sun - the mud-slinging tactics used by today’s
politicians have been in use for a long time.
Here are some of the highlights that Cummins recounts:
In the 1800 race between President John Adams and challenger Thomas Jeffer
son, a campaign leaflet described Jefferson as “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow,
the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.”
The Jefferson campaign also got in its shots, hiring a journalist to accuse Adams
of being “a hideous hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and
firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.” Jefferson
eventually was the winner of this sleazy election.
When Andrew Jackson took on President John Quincy Adams in 1828, some
of the most vicious attacks were leveled not against Jackson but against his wife
Rachel, who was called a “whore” and a “dirty black wench” who was guilty of
“open and notorious lewdness.” Not surprisingly, Mrs. Jackson died of a heart
attack shortly after her husband defeated Adams.
As America celebrated its centennial in 1876, the nation’s voters took part in an
election that most likely was stolen by the party of the second-place finisher.
Democrat Samuel J. Tilden piled up 250,000 more popular votes than Repub
lican Rutherford Hayes and had a lead of 184 to 165 in the electoral college with
four states (controlling 20 electoral votes) yet to report their final results.
Republicans tried to grab the electoral votes that were still outstanding and
the controversy over the counting of those votes went on for nearly five months.
Republican-controlled election boards threw out enough Democratic votes to
enable the GOP to win Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
A national Election Commission was appointed to try to sort out the mess.
The commission finally voted 8-7, with the deciding vote cast by a Republican
Supreme Court justice, to award the electoral votes to Hayes, giving him the vic
tory over Tilden by the margin of one electoral vote.
Another parallel to modern elections can be found in the struggle for the presi
dency waged by Democrat Grover Cleveland and Republican James G. Blaine
in 1884.
A Buffalo, N.Y. newspaper published a sensational article midway through the
campaign recounting how Cleveland, a bachelor, had been involved in an intimate
relationship 10 years earlier with a widow named Maria Halpin. The widow Hal-
pin subsequently gave birth to a boy, with Cleveland paying financial support for
the child. Republicans made much of the sensational disclosure and continually
chanted “Ma! Ma! Where’s my pa?” at campaign events.
Unlike Bill Clinton, Cleveland did not try to claim that he “never had sex with
that woman.” Instead, he confirmed that he was supporting the child, and the
truthful approach turned out to be the best strategy as Cleveland defeated Blaine.
Cleveland’s supporters then had their own chant: “Ma! Ma! Where’s my pa?
Gone to the White House! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
We will undoubtedly see some of these same tricks and stratagems this year
- possibly in the Georgia primary on Feb. 5, when our state’s voters express their
preference for a presidential nominee.
We’ve already seen Republican operatives make veiled digs at Mitt Romney
over Romney’s Mormon faith. If Barack Obama should become the Democratic
nominee, we could see some racially inspired attacks on the first African American
to have a serious chance to win the presidency.
None of this will be new - as Cummins’ book reminds us, we’ve seen it all
before.
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.
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of a government
agency unfold
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when new mem-
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bers take office.
And regardless
of the county, city
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or government
a.-
agency, a few
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key observations
remain the same:
•At some point,
Kerri
every politician is
Testement
a “rookie” at their
kerri@mainstreet-
i game (don’t let any
news.com
: politician tell you
New dynamics for
local governments
IT’S THE New Year — and for some
local governments, this time of year
can also bring new faces to their
elected and appointed boards.
I’ve been covering local govern
ments for more than six years with
this news organization. It’s always
interesting to see how the dynamics
they’re not a politi
cian — they’re all politicians). The
learning curve can be steep — even
the most experienced and success
ful businessmen can learn that what
works in the corporate world doesn’t
work (or is illegal) in the world of
government.
•Most candidates who run for office
do so because they want to change
the way their local government is op
erating. It’s also that kind of ambition
that can cause tension between the
rookies and the veterans, who may
be accused of following the status
quo.
•It’s also that kind of ambition that
can cause the local government’s
attorney to raise an eyebrow — of
ten the first lesson for the rookie in
government limitations. These les
sons are usually taught during zoning
issues — when the attorney explains
to the rookie that you can’t rezone
(or not rezone) property in the area
without a potential lawsuit stemming
from their actions.
•Other veterans may give “the look”
when a rookie opens their mouth and
says something stupid — like point
ing out the obvious flaws of the previ
ous board. Such statements provide
temptation for the press to quote in
news stories.
•The rookies will soon learn that
government red tape can slow even
the most determined politicians. It’s
those politicians who continue to
keep the innovative ideas flowing and
network well for their governments
that can continue to make positive
changes that benefit their citizens.
•There are some elected and ap
pointed government officials who
work very hard in their jobs — and
they often get very little or no com
pensation for it. Work outside of
board meetings can include carefully
reading the most mundane of legal
documents, speaking with devel
opers on their proposed projects,
talking to citizens about the issues
affecting their community, attending
countless committee meetings both
within their government and with
surrounding governments, attending
classes on government at local uni
versities and attending conferences.
These people are often consumed
with their roles in their local govern
ment.
•There are some elected and ap
pointed government officials who
do very little work in their jobs. They
don’t do their research on the issues,
they don’t volunteer more of their time
and they often avoid taking action to
help that community move forward.
These are the people who just show
up for the meetings and “rubber
stamp” the items on the agenda.
The dynamics of any government
board can change with each elec
tion. Dissent among public officials
isn’t necessarily a bad thing — those
debates can bring to light issues that
need to be addressed or differing
prospective on those issues.
It’s the government boards that
don’t face opposition that you have to
wonder about what’s happening out
of the public’s view.
Kerri Testement is the news editor
of The Braselton News. Her e-mail
address is kerri@mainstreetnews.
com.