About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2008)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 The Braselton News Page 5A , continue to monitor Barrow airport, growth other views Radio comments were mean-spirited Dear Editor: On Friday, March 7, Atlanta talk show host Neal Boortz committed an act so disgraceful and mean-spirited that it deserves the strongest condemnation. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. and lasting for over an hour, Boortz repeat edly played an audio tape of a nine-year-old from Lula, Georgia, and mocked and ridiculed the boy's speech pat terns. The child speaks with a country accent and shows clear signs of a significant learning and/or developmental disability. Boortz also ridiculed the accent of the boy’s father, Gordon Welch, demeaned the family business (a tire shop,) and accused Mr.Welch of child abuse based solely on the boy’s speech patterns. The unrepentant Boortz subsequently conducted a poll on his website asking, “Is Neal being too hard on that ten-year-old boy from North Georgia with the thick accent?” Mocking any child that young and that challenged goes well beyond being “too hard.” Why a grown man would sink so low is beyond me. Are ratings and dollars worth it? WSB Radio and Cox Communications, Boortz’s employers, should at the very least require an on-air apol ogy. I believe a suspension is also in order (Don Imus was fired for saying something mild in comparison.) The Welch family faces some serious challenges; maybe a trust fund should be set up to help with this boy's future. Sincerely, Dr. Preston Coleman Gainesville State College WRECK — continued from page 1A Dear Editor: The Concerned Citizens of Barrow County are pleased that the straw vote on the runway expansion was voted down unanimously by the BOC on March 11. Thank you, Barrow County for your support! Thank you, all commissioners, for your com ments. That was the first time that you willingly addressed the citizens and told us what we needed to hear, in plain English. How we wish this could had been addressed in such a forthright manner back in August when the controversy started. Nevertheless, now that this runway extension is a non-issue based on Chairman Doug Garrison's quotes, the CCBC will soon be announcing its new name. This name will reflect our new mission — to monitor growth and activity at the Northeast Georgia Regional Airport, for our generation and those that are to come. Should any future administra tion decide that this runway expan sion is needed under the fragile claim that “a longer runway equals a safer runway,” our group has much infor mation to offer, some of which fol lows: Mr. Glen Boyd, the Airport Director of Northeast Georgia Regional Airport (WDR), was quoted as saying that the $15 million in bonds “are about pur chasing land” for economic develop ment, not just a means to extend the airport’s runway. “That's going to be a side benefit,” he said. “The hope is the industrial development authority will attract industries that have cor porate aircraft that would need longer runways for operation.” Regardless of his quotes in the past, we do hope that the airport authority is now on the same sheet of music as the BOC. Additionally, Mr. Boyd said, “Lengthening the runway to 7000 feet would allow corporate jets to take off with a full tank of gas, allowing the planes to fly longer distances.” That is not safety, that is convenience. Convenience is not a sufficient reason to disrupt homes and the quality of life in Barrow County. The CCBC would like the pub lic to know that in this airport's 60 year history, there have been 14 inci dents (with three fatalities). All of them were classified as ‘pilot error’ or ‘mechanical failure'. There were no accidents attributed to “insufficient runway length.” The idea that a longer runway could prevent an accident is unfounded. Additionally, in every accident that occurred on WDR property (where a complete report is available), the aircraft left the runway at an angle. A pilot that has lost control no longer flies in a straight line. Ten miles of runway would not have lessened the severity of any of these incidents. History has shown that safety is not a factor in determining whether or not this runway needs an extension. We are glad that the BOC has decided to put this issue to rest for now. However, the BOC gambled when it voted to issue $15 million in bonds for this project without tak ing the input of the community seri ously. The CCBC suggest that the BOC “sell the property...and use the revenue to retire the bonds.” Sincerely, Gail Nero Public Relations Committee Concerned Citizens of Barrow County undergo surgery this week. Eric Godfrey was a sophomore at Jackson County Comprehensive High School. He was “very well liked, a very popular student” who was extremely involved in the school’s fine arts and band pro grams, according to principal Todd McGhee. “(He) was a very talented musi cian,” McGhee said. Eric Godfrey, a saxophone player, had recently performed with the Georgia All-State Band. “It's a devastating loss for our school community,” McGhee said. JCCHS offered additional coun selors on Monday to allow students to deal with the emotional loss, he said. Rodney Godfrey was also involved in the school, McGhee said. Mr. Godfrey was a leader of the JCCHS band booster club and remained “very involved,” he added. As of press time, funeral arrange ments had not been announced. DIGEST — continued from page 1A Sell land, focus on existing industrial areas Dear Editor: In my opinion, the most important result of our last board of commis sioners meeting is a piece of news in that all six of the Barrow County BOC members personally commented on the airport expansion. They all agreed that there are no longer any plans to contin ue with the airport runway / industrial park project. The citizens of Barrow County do not want a industrial park or runway expansion in the middle of some of the nicest subdivisions and farms in our county. We already have areas where industrial parks are established and that are accessible to highways for the large trucks that have to come and go 24 hours a day. The existing industrial parks could be expanded with little or no impact on the surrounding area. As suggested, the best resolution to this situation would be to declare the Seagar's farm surplus property and put it back on the market so to cut our losses and put our tax money to use on more needed projects, such as repairing roads, having water and sewer capable of serving the existing citizens, etc. The next few weeks will show us if the BOC are men of their word and what they say. Whatever happened to having pub lic hearings and letting the taxpayers decide how our tax money should be spent? Sincerely, Frank Nocera Winder have received $32.2 million by the end of the FY08 in June. Adding further uncertainty to budget preparations is a lack of information regarding state funding. Last year, state funding increased to $53.1 million from $50.8 million in 2007. While that represented a 4.6 percent increase in fund ing, the school system experienced a seven percent increase in enrollment. As a result, state funding fell from $4,460 per student in FY07 to $4,359 in FY08. COSTS GOING UP As school system enrollment continues to increase, so does the need for additional staff, which is projected to add an additional $3.8 million to the 2009 budget. Another large factor in the 2009 budget is a whopping 41 percent increase in transportation costs. The school system plans to budget nearly $1 million dollars to purchase eleven new buses to replace part of an aging fleet. Rising fuel prices have also caused budget planners to increase the 2009 fuel budget 88 percent to $1 million dollars. Though the 2008 fuel budget was set at $531,000, skyrocketing fuel costs in recent months has caused actual expenditures to exceed $790,000. Cato told the board that he expects the school system to have $7.4 million in reserves at the close of fiscal year 2008. That reserve may prove to be important as current projections show expenditures exceeding revenues by the end of FY09. Cato expects the school system to have total revenues of $95.9 million in FY while spending $99.9 million. Although the final numbers are subject to change before the final budget is set, Cato asked the board to begin con sidering budget priorities for the upcoming year. The board will meet again April 10 to work on preparing a final budget. NEW PLANS AT SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICING Save Up To $10,000* By Combining Our Spring Promo With These New Homes! Also Add Up to 250 S.F. Of Heated Space For Only $44/S.F. And Complete Your Own Floor Coverings & Save Thousands More! TRIN CUSTOM HOMES Quality Custom Homes Built on your land for less! The Magnolia 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths w/2 car garage cgg^L Guaranteed Build-Out Times! Si ; Rates have dropped again making our homes even more affordable. This is the best time in years to build your dream home! 2609 sq. ft. under roof The Piedmont 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths w/2 car garage 2335 sq. ft. under roof III Limited Time Only! Save Up To $10,000* on these new plans with promo *Cannot be combined with any other promo “Stick Built” Not Prefab or Modular Granite Kitchen Tops! The Macon 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths Includes 22’ x 20’ Garage 2271 sq. ft. under roof The Villa Rica 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths w/2 car garage 2170 sq. ft. under roof COMPARE OUR STANDARD SPECS - NOBODY OFFERS MORE VALUE! • 2X6 Exterior Walls • R-l 9 Insulated Walls • R-38 Insulated Ceilings • Custom Wood Cabinets • Granite Kitchen Tops • 5/8” Roof Decking • Architectural Shingles • Central Heat & Air • Kitchen Appliances SAVE THOUSANDS More By Using Our Owner Participation Program Dawsonville: 706-265-2131 Toll Free: 1-866-244-8944 Offices In: • Madison Hours of Operation: M-F 9a.m. - 6p.m., Sat 10a.m. - 4p.m. * Dawsonville Visit our Model Home on Hwy 400 1/4 mile N. of Outlet Mall Prices do not include land improvements.* Prices subject to change without notice.* Homes shown may include options not in base price. • Ellijay • Cartersville • Villa Rica • Forsyth Chez Femme Ladies Boutique 159Towne Center Pkwy. 706-654-1385 Tues.-Thurs. 11-6 / Fri.-Sat. 10-6
