Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

4A ♦ THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2007 Jiimsttm ißatijj djmmtal OPINION Daniel F. Evans President Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Foy S. Evans Vice President Editor Emeritus Group Marketing Don Moncrief Managing Editor Letters to the Editor County has more options Mr. Foy Evans’ thought that the only way to secure more money needed for infrastructure to sup port the county’s growth is either to approve yet another SPLOST or “roll up the welcome rug and become a second rate county” is absolutely ridiculous. Here are a few other options. The County Commission can approve yet another property tax rate increase as they have approved two in the past two years. (Don’t forget the additional revenue that already comes in as a result of development as it expands the tax base). The county could instill a moratorium on new growth until we have infrastructure needed to support our current needs. There is one more thing to consider. The County could approve Impact Fees to pay for the infrastructure needs required to support contin ued development. There is no reason to not implement those fees. Instead the County continues to use the most regressive tax available, a SPLOST, to inflict the greatest pain upon lower and middle-income families while granting the wealthiest citizens another tax hedge. Those opposed to Impact Fees argue that they would only raise the price of new homes to consumers. That is true. It is also true that those are the people who should pay for the infrastructure needs caused by their desire to re-locate here. If they did not locate here we wouldn’t need more ribbons of noxious asphalt. By the way, the increase in the cost of new housing would only make existing housing even more attrac tive as Impact Fees are charged only to new construc tion. In essence, Impact Fees would have the collateral effect of increasing the value of existing construction. Those opposed to Impact Fees also argue that they would slow or perhaps end growth. That is also not true. One only needs to look to counties surround ing Atlanta that have implemented Impact Fees to see that they are still experiencing rapid growth. Two nights ago, I met a lady, who along with her husband is building their second fast food restaurant in Laurens County. Laurens County uses Impact Fees to provide recreational facilities for its citizens. (By the way, where are the recreational facilities for our youths? How many more times must we read of children milling about in shopping center parking lots because there is nothing to do and no place for them to gather?). In any case, her evaluation of the Laurens County recreation program is that it is outstanding. How much is the Impact Fee she will pay to open her restaurant? $35,000. That’s right, $35,000. Now according to opponents of Impact Fees that would be sufficient deterrent to keep busi ness for locating in the county. That is not true. She is about to open her second restaurant in Laurens County. The real reason we don’t consider Impact Fees must be because of those considered to bene fit most by not implementing the Fees. Those peo ple certainly have friends on the County Commission. As we know one local community is forging ahead in its studies to implement Impact Fees. The City of Perry is wisely choosing to generate a revenue source that will provide needed additional recreational facilities and fire stations while not encumbering their current residents with additional tax burden to provide those facilities. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Perry is the most progressive and compassionate community in the county. As to Mr. Evans’ contention that we might be in danger of becoming a “second rate county”, I contend that with the county’s current policies of permitting uncontrolled growth causing deforestation of much of the county, a declining quality of life for residents and increas ingly burdensome taxation upon the poorest residents we are well on our way to fulfilling his prediction. County residents must awaken from the slumber and force policy change upon the County or suffer the conse quences of their sweet dreams. David E. Wittenberg, Kathleen Saving Lucky After reading Angela Lineberger’s recent column it seems as though the entire family needs to be evaluated. First the parents for allowing Lucky, “the family pet”, to die lying on the rug on the kitchen floor without trying to contact one of the excellent veterinarians we have in Perry - Dr. Burnham, Dr. Westmoreland and Drs. Felix and Ben Smith and others. Most of the vets have some one on call that would have shown more compassion than they did. Then the parents allowed the boys to poke the “family pet” after he had died and then dig it back up later after it had been buried. We just wonder how the two new kittens will be treated in life after the way Lucky was treated in death. If the Lineberger boys come to our house they will have to dig through four inches of concrete slab to get our deceased “family pets”. The whole thing is disgusting. Wendy/Tom/Alex Thornton, Kathleen HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS We encourage readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. All letters printed in The Daily Journal will appear with the writer’s name and hometown - we do not publish anonymous letters. The news paper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity. Letter writers are asked to submit no more than one letter per person per week. We cannot guarantee that a letter will be printed on a specific date. The Daily Journal prefers that letters be typed. Letters to the editor are published in the order they are received as space permits. There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor. E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to The Houston Daily Journal at P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069, or drop it off at 1210 Washington St. in Perry - between 8 a m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Coach 'lays' proper foundation Ido not know Mickey Lay. I hope to meet him. In my opinion, he is someone very special. Twelve boys are Little League World Champions. They deserve the glory being heaped on them. I believe every one of them would say in unison that they would not wear that crown if it were not for the remarkable coaching job done by Mickey Lay. His rapport with his players was evident throughout the run for the championship. He let them be frivolous boys, yet he had their respect enough to get them to buckle down to business when the time came. He demonstrated a remarkable talent to get the best out of them. I watched him in admiration as he calmly, yet firmly guided his team from victory to victory while they were being called underdogs. His demeanor inspired the young players to achieve a goal they will remember all their lives. He .switched his players around with consummate skill. He got the most out of each of them. The players were great as they became world champions. And so was their coach, who has modestly stayed in the background so his players can bask in the glory of their achievement. CsSSfi] /COAREIOW^ Colorful urine is worth a week off There used to be a guy who would come to my office once a week, asking me for money. I don’t usually tolerate such solic itations, but this guy’s consistently appealing pitch was impressive. “Listen, I gotta sit-e-ation, Mr. Len,” he would begin. It’s a good idea to address someone as “Mr.” when beg ging for money, unless it’s a woman (a mistake I made with my banker). “I need $4.75. Our dog chewed up my sister’s shoes. Her favorite shoes she was wanting to wear to the ballgame tomorrow night. My mama gave me S2O to buy the same kind of shoes, but they cost $24.75 down at the dollar store. I wouldn’t ask you normally, but her cousin is playing a solo in the band and she really wants to see it. She’s seven years old, and if she can’t go the ballgame because she don’t have no shoes, she’s gonna cry herself to sleep for a week.” Perhaps he was telling the truth. If so, my philanthropy was certainly needed to stop a 7-year-old girl from crying for a week. Of course, he may also have been lying. If so, his lie was OPINION The picture of Mickey Lay consoling the Japanese pitcher, who threw the game-winning home run, will stick in my memory for a long, long time. What compassion and sensitivity and sportsmanship. How can we forget the way the Warner Robins players responded to victory? They did not strut around giving high fives to each other and taunting their victims. They saw the Japanese players crying and they went to them and put their arms around them and consoled them. What a scene. How proud their parents must have been of them at that moment. These young men have been in a pres sure cooker since they won the world championship. They have conducted themselves like real major leaguers (not the overpaid, pompous kind that we see today). They have responded to adulation so creative, it deserved $4.75. And every week, he would come up with an equally compelling, inventive reason why he needed a pittance from me. He needed $6.50 to make the last payment on a gold tooth or his girl friend was going to break up with him and join the Army. He wouldn’t ask normally, but he needed $5.20 to buy baby formula and food for his cousin’s baby, who he was babysitting while his cousin was at “driver education school.” Each week, his stories became more and more engrossing and absurd. Then, he just stopped coming around. I’ve never witnessed any co-workers or employees use such inspired device to get out of working, but I’ve heard iiii Foy Evans Columnist toyevansl9@cox.net * I [. i Len Robbins i Columnist airpub@planttel.net HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL and praise with a maturity far beyond their years. They have memories to last a life time. Their conduct on and off the Field set a standard that will be hard to match in future World Series. They didn’t just happen to be that way. Their conduct reflects parents who must be special, too. The parents brought their sons up right. They turned them over to Mickey Lay to coach them and demand the best of them in a loving way. The payoff speaks for itself. These players won the hearts of all of America. They did it through their baseball skills and also for the way they conducted themselves throughout the tournament and, especially, during those emotional moments after Dalton Carriker hit the home run seen and heard around the world. Mickey Lay, his assistant coaches and the World Series champions came home to adulation and attention like they never have seen before. Will it spoil them? Not this group of Little Leaguers. They have their heads on straight. All of us will have a chance to show how much we appreciate them when they are given a parade down Watson Boulevard Saturday morning. some whoppers. One comes from my brother-in-law, who runs a small manufacturing oper ation in middle Georgia. A female worker came into his office recently, sat down and said, “Mr. Gary, I’m gonna need a week off,” obviously privy to the unwritten rule about the use of “Mr.” in such negotiations. “What for?” “I’ve got a serious medical problem,” she said. Concerned, my brother-in-law asked, “What kind of medical problem?” “Well, something’s wrong with my kidneys,” she said. “What exactly?” “Well, it’s real bad,” she said. “I’m urinating blue.” Gary was perplexed for a moment, then remembered that he had recently put those blue tablets in the company toilets. “Why do you think you need a week off?” He said, hiding a smirk. “Well, Mr. Gary, I’ve had something like this before, and I know it’s gonna take at least a week to clear it up,” she responded.