Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Slow down, realize: We’re in too big a hurry
Just as I tore past them,
hurrying - always hur
rying - into the small
general store, I heard the old
man speak to the younger
one sitting
beside
him. Both
were
relaxing
in folding
alumi
num lawn
chairs.
“You
might be
older than
Ronda Rich
Dixie Divas
I thinks you is,” the older
one ventured, uttering his
words lazily and letting them
hang for a moment in the
Mississippi afternoon.
“I’m 43,” replied the
younger one, a big brawny
The GREAT plan;
u I \on’t let the
■ smooth taste
you” was
the advertising slogan of Colt
45 malt liquor once upon a
! . , time.
B this up for
|| ' ill J two rea
-*■ * i I’m rather
/fv ' Jjff ! and 2. I
! *S**\i. i ! think the
Len Robbins folks that
Columnist came up
airpub@planttel.net with this
GREAT
tax plan didn’t heed that
alluring warning when they
concocted this scheme.
The GREAT plan calls for
the elimination of ad valorum
taxes such as land, build
ing, and vehicle taxes. In its
stead, a four-percent sales
tax will be introduced on
items currently exempt from
taxation - such as grocer
ies and services like haircuts,
landscaping, exterminating,
and, egads, newspaper adver
tising!
The resolution proposing
this massive change in state
taxation (House Resolution
900) is set to go before the
Foot problems can be serious
Neuropathy is a condition that makes it
hard for individuals to feel injuries or sore
spots.
Diabetes can damage nerves in your feet
and also cause neuropathy. Diabetes chang
es the blood flow making the process of foot
healing a slow one.
Due to the slow healing process, minor
problems of infection can quickly* turn into
major problems of infection leading to the
hospital.
Listed are the signs that foot problems can
include:
CITY OF CENTERVILLE
OFFICIAL ABSENTEE/PROVISIONAL/CHALLENGED BALLOT
OFFICIAL MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT
OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA
NOVEMBER 6, 2007
CENTERVILLE
To vote, blacken the Oval (•) new id die candidate of your choice. To vote fa a person not on the ballot, manually WRITE IN his a her name in Hie
space provided then blacken the cotrespoodntj Oval (<•). If you desae to vote YES a NO fa a PROPOSED QUESTION, blacken Ihe cotrespondaig Oval
MB). Use only pen or pencil. If you spoß your ballot, do not erase, but ask to a rtew bafiot
‘l undentxul rear the alter or acceptance ot money or any otter obfect of vabie lo vote tar any partrarttr tondidate. totctcanrtittites, issue orfcr of astmrndJdeilrnUtlselßamconstkMes
an act at voter tread and he Mony under Georgia term’ fOCGA 21 -7.285(h) and? I -2 333/9)1
For City Council
Post!
(Vote for One)
O JOHUIR. HARLEY
O EDWARD R. TUCKER
o
Write*
For City Council
Post 4
(Vote for One)
O ROBERT (BOB) SMTTH
fnountei^
i
i o
Write*
man who smothered the
chair with his girth.
“Well, well, you shore ‘nuff
is older. Shore ‘nuff.”
I heard no more as I flew
into the store, intent on
finding a hair clip to replace
the one I had just broken.
But I smiled as I paid for
the clip and thought about
the two men, sitting outside
with no place to hurry off to.
They were simply visiting.
Remember when people used
to do that?
I was storming through
Mississippi, as fast as the
law allows, on my way to
Memphis but I took a
moment to stop when I came
out of the store.
“Y’all brought a smile to
my face,” I said to the two,
who looked a bit surprised
state legislature during its
next session. If approved by
the legislature and governor,
state voters would have to
approve it via referendum
before it is enacted.
So, you wouldn’t have to
pay property tax anymore.
Sounds too good to be true?
That’s because it is.
All these new sales taxes
would go directly into state
coffers in Atlanta and then
the state legislature would
decide how much money goes
back to your community to
operate your schools, your
law enforcement, your fire
department, your hospital,
and your county road depart
ment, and so on.
The touters of this plan
- specifically House Speaker
Glenn Richardson - contend
that Georgians will be taxed
less with the GREAT plan,
and that local governments
“simply want to keep their
power to raise your taxes
regardless of whether you
can pay them.”
While Richardson and his
underlings are selling this
GREAT plan across the
state, they admit the details
haven’t been ironed out yet,
and the legislature will “fine
Dr. Jokhai
Columnist
TfeMitor
| Red streaks or changes in skin color
REFERENDUM QUESTION 1
SUNDAY ALCOHOL SALES
(Vote for One)
Shall the governing authority of Centerville, Georgia be
authorized to permit and regulate Sunday sales of distilled
spirits or alcoholic beverages for beverage purposes by the
drink?
OVES
O»0
REFERENDUM QUESTION 2
AMENDMENT OF AD VALOREM TAX
EXEMPTION FOR PERSONS AGED
SEVENTY OR OVER
(Vote for One)
Should the homestead exemption from city ad valorem taxes
* within the City of Centerville be amended so that the amount of
the homestead exemption from city ad valorem taxes within the
City of Centerville is limited to $25,000.00 of she assassed
value of the homestead (as defined in O C.G.A §49-5-40) of
each resident of the city, aged 70 years or older?
0«s
O*o
I
1 tK>3sn>»oiNaajt
by the confession. “Do you
just sit around and visit like
this often?”
“Well now, I tries to but
I works too much,” the old
man said, shaking his head.
“Seems like the older I gets,
the more I works. I works
a lot over in McGee.” He
laughed heartily, revealing
a set of brilliantly white,
straight teeth that flashed
against his ebony skin.
I joined his laughter. “Now,
that’s not the way it’s sup
posed to be.” Then, against
my natural instinct of rush
ing from hither to yon, I
took another lawn chair and
plopped down between them.
Just like I had nothing else
in the whole world to do.
“There you go!” chuckled
the younger one. “Just pull
'Don't let the smooth taste fool you'
tune” it during the upcoming
session. Urgh. Here are just
some of the problems I have
with this GREAT plan.
The first clue that not
much research went into the
plan is found in the acro
nym itself. Taking the first
letter of every word, Get
Rid Of Every Ad Valorum
Tax spells GROEAVT, not
GREAT. Somebody should
have caught that.
Secondly, the notion that
folks in Atlanta realize our
financial needs better than
our local elected represen
tatives is simply ridiculous.
These same folks in Atlanta
are the ones that are sending
$1.4 million less to our small,
rural school system than they
were five years ago. Have our
educational needs decreased
by $1.4 million during that
period? Heck no! The state
has merely passed the buck
to local governments to pro
vide a larger share of essen
tial services, which would
happen even more if we left
them in charge of ALL tax
money.
Additionally, who are we
going to complain to? It’s
much easier, and more effec
tive, to register a gripe with
| Red spots, blisters,
corns, or Calluses
Drainage on your
sock
H Dry, cracked, or scaly
skin
| Thick, yellow, or
ingrown toenails
| Slow-healing sores
A tingling, cold, or
burning sensation
| Numbness
OPINION
up a chair and join us.”
So there for the next little
bit, we visited, sharing our
stories of who we are and
from where we come. The
old man said he had recent
ly returned from a visit to
Chicago and found the folks
up there to be a lot differ
ent than us in the South. He
shook his head.
“I likes it better here.
Where you headed?” He
asked, shifting in his chair.
“Memphis.”
“Well, you got a ways to
“Your old man ain’t with
ya?” asked the younger one.
I laughed and shook my
head. “I ain’t got an old man.
Ain’t got a young man, ain’t
got a no man.” I held my
hands out, palms up and
a city council member, or a
county commissioner, or a
school board member, when
they live in our neighbor
hood, than with an elected
official in Atlanta.
The larger government
gets, the less responsive it is
to its constituents.
Of course, this proposal
holds a lot of appeal with
folks who will benefit from it.
The losers will be those who
don’t. A quart of milk will
cost more, but not a yacht.
That said, expect some
deep pockets to get involved
in the ensuing debate.
To quote George Bernard
Shaw, “A government which
robs Peter to pay Paul can
always depend on the sup-
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2007 ♦
shrugged. The whites of his
eyes popped big and bright
against his dark brown
pupils then, laughing, he cov
ered his mouth with a big,
fleshy hand and said, “Whoa.
I guess I better hush my
mouth!” A few feet away, sat
a woman, looking tired, who
was selling boiled peanuts.
“That’s my old lady,” he said,
gesturing toward her. She
smiled wearily.
“How’s the peanut busi
ness today?” I asked.
“Ain’t none too good today.”
She shrugged and joined in
the conversation.
Even good things like lei
surely conversations with
good people can’t last, so soon,
too soon, I pulled myself out
of the chair and said, “I sure
hate it but I’ve got to leave
port of Paul.”
Here’s hoping Peter
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y’all. Memphis calls.”
“Wanna buy some peanuts
‘fore you go?” she asked.
I paid her but when she
reached for the bag, I stopped
her. “Give it to someone else
who needs their day bright
ened.”
“You a nice lady,” com
mented her old man, smiling
with approval. I shook my
head. “Y’all made me smile
today. I just want to pass
along.”
So, still smiling, I saun
tered to the car and, at a
more leisurely pace, headed
on to Memphis.
Ronda Rich is the best
selling author of What
Southern Women Know
(That Every Woman Should)
and The Town That Came
A-Courtin’.
doesn’t let the smooth taste
fool him.
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