Newspaper Page Text
♦ SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2007
4A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don’t waste water
Georgia is currently going through the worst
drought of its history, with 85 counties consid
ered to be in a state of emergency, and the
state’s rivers, streams and reservoirs at their
lowest levels ever.
The State of Georgia is seeking a court order this
week requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to
restrict water flows
from Lake Lanier
and Georgia’s fed
eral reservoirs,
and has called for
state agencies to
reduce water con
sumption by 10 to
15 percent at state
owned facilities, as
well as directing
the Department of
Natural Resources to develop a water conserva
tion plan.
Houston County is blessed with exception
ally good groundwater resources, but even with
aquifers and wetlands, the drought takes its
toll, and we can all expect to hear more about
water conservation, and to see restrictions on
water use as a statewide plan is developed. We
should be vigilant in avoiding waste of
See WATER, page yA
Kids will be kids
Halloween is an exciting time for children, and
a time that all drivers should take extra care. •
On Wednesday night, there will be children
out after dark. Some of them will be under the
careful supervision of adults, but some won’t be.
Some will remember to look both ways before
crossing streets, but some won’t. Some will be
wearing clothing that reflects light to be more
visible. Some won’t.
Kids will be kids, so do your part and drive
with extra caution, keeping your eye out for little
ghosts, witches and superheroes.
Letters to the editor
GREAT proposal not so great
That which is known of the current “tax reform pro
posal” or GREAT plan seems to be lacking in fairness
and there appears to be little that is “great” about it.
The GREAT plan is touted to simplify the state’s tax code,
produce greater commercial investment, be revenue neu
tral and introduce more “fairness” into the tax code. Let’s
examine those goals based upon what little we know of the
proposals to date.
Increasing the sales tax while keeping the income tax
will generally increase tax burdens on lower and retired
citizens. It makes far more sense to eliminate the income
tax and increase the sales tax if sales taxes are not broad
ened to cover more expenses such as professional ser
vices. Let us consider one sample case of a married retired
worker whose after deduction or net income for the year is
$30,000. Under the GREAT plan’s proposal, that income
would be taxed at the rate of 5.75 percent and would gen
erate a tax expenditure of $1,725.
See LETTERi, page jA
Officials fail productively on drought
Go v. Sonny Perdue and his Republican legislature have
failed to do anything constructive to deal with or prevent
the current serious drought in the northern part of Georgia.
When he was first elected he promised solutions to
prevent the current crisis but did little. Now he declares
a state of emergency and blames the Army Corps of
Engineers for saving mussels in Florida, et cetera.
The horrendous growth of Atlanta and its suburbs has
See LETTERi, page jA
HOW TO SUBMIT:
There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E-mail it to
hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to Houston Home Journal at
1210 Washington St., Perry, GA 31069, or drop it off at the same
location between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Letters
should not exceed 350 words and must include the writer’s name,
address and telephone number (the last two not printed). The
newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for reasons of
grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity.
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
"We should be vigilant
in avoiding waste of
this resources that is
so vital to
agrictulture, industry;
quality of Hie, and life
itself."
BELIEF
EDITORIAL
Thanks to Carlton Green, Willie Allen
I’m still thinking about the Georgia
National Fair and what an out
standing success it has proven
to be. I realize that it doesn’t happen
by accident. So many do so much, and
most for so little attention or apprecia
tion. Let me mention a couple who do
a great job (there are many others) and
then move on to other subjects.
Carlton Green and Willie Allen.
I don’t know Mr. Allen, but I do know
Carlton. Do you know Carlton? If not,
you’ve missed a treat. Carlton, who
incidentally grew up on what is now
the Ag Center site, is funny and fun.
I like to listen to him. But don’t take
my word about Carlton’s being clever,
quick and fun. Ask two of his friends,
Ed Beckham and Jerry Horton, about
him.
But, back to my point. One of the
main, positive things you consistently
hear from the public about the fair
is how clean it is. Want to know who
have the crews that keep the grounds,
restrooms, etc. clean during the fair?
It’s Willie Allen and Carlton Green.
Carlton has “day-crew” of 75 to 90 peo
ple, and Mr. Allen has a “night-crew”
of 30 to 40. According to Jerry Horton,
Buildings and Grounds Superintendent
at the Georgia National Fair, these two
and their crews “do an outstanding
job”.
The public agrees. I do, too. So, the
next time you see Carlton and Willie,
thank them. And, take time to visit
with Carlton. He will “tickle you good,”
and you’ll be glad you did.
Legal Ads. I took a good, close look at
the legal advertisements in the Oct. 10
edition of the Houston Home Journal.
f Checking A
I for rain? J / No, waiting \
Rough time ahead lor Morshall; schools get bad rap
Rep. Jim Marshall will find him
self in dangerous waters when
he goes after another term rep
resenting the Bth congressional district
next year.
Marshall is a Democrat who has suc
cessfully pleased voters in what nor
mally would be considered a “safe”
Republican district. He has accom
plished this by voting the way his con
stituents want him to vote, instead of
being a doctrinaire left wing Democrat.
Marshall has allied himself with the
military and has pleased voters in this
area with his strong support of Robins
AFB. He fought off a challenge last year
from an old line Republican and next
year he will find a new challenger wait
ing to take him on.
Much of the Bth District is pre
dominately Democratic, but populous
Houston County leans Republican. In
order to retain his seat in Congress he
will have to persuade Houston County
Republicans, who have their own candi
date, that they should stick with him. It
will not be an easy task.
Members of his own party were critical
of him last week when he voted to sus
tain President Bush’s veto of the odorous
SCHIPP education bill. They undoubt
edly will get over it when Marshall is
pitted against a Republican.
Local Republicans, who have been
chomping at the bit for some time to
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com |
As a lawyer, I probably pay more atten
tion to this part of the paper than do
most people. I actually studied the ads
in this edition. It was very interesting
and a bit disturbing. In addition to sev
eral other types of notices, there were
83 foreclosure notices.
I was very surprised by this large
number. In my opinion, this is indica
tive of the shaky state of our economy.
This has to do with people being unable
to pay for their real estate, and with the
creditor (most often a financial institu
tion) putting the property up for public
sale.
Interestingly, the original principal
amounts of notes (as secured by deeds
to secure debt being foreclosed) var
ied from a low of $35,000 to a high
of $6,952 million. There was one for
$480,000, and most of the remainder
were under $200,000, with the majority
being in the SIOO,OOO range.
Can you imagine 83 foreclosures in
prosperous Houston County? It’s a sign
of the times. Interesting what you can
learn from “the legals”.
Wayne Shackleford Interchange.
I was in Gwinnett County last week
for the dedication of the Wayne
Shackleford Interchange, which is at
1-85 and Highway 316. As I rode up
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
take control of the Bth District believe
they have the man who can carry their
banner to victor in retired general Rick
Goddard.
No doubt about it, this will be Jim
Marshall’s most difficult campaign.
Newcomer Goddard will be a formi
dable opponent.
There already are signs that some
of Marshall’s most ardent Houston
County supporters in the past are peel
ing off and getting on the Goddard
bandwagon. Marshall failed to carry
Hduston County in the last election, but
he got enough votes here to combine
with some heavily Democratic counties
to score a victory. Some political observ
ers that I know already are counting
heads in the various counties to see how
big Marshall’s share of Houston County
must be for him to hold on to his seat in
congress. This race should bring both
Democratic and Republican big guns to
the district next year because it clearly
One vo tee ea/f make a
difference”
Ip %
.*nj|
■ m
hh -
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
to the ceremonies from Atlanta, my
thought was: “As outstanding as Mr.
Shackleford is, it looks to me that they
would name something for him more
significant than an interchange”.
Boy, I was wrong! This interchange,
at its widest point, is 22 lanes wide.
It has five acres of concrete barriers,
has 13 bridges and cost $147 million
to build! I’d say, pretty significant.
While I was in Gwinnett County, I was
told about their Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax collections being S4O
million - a month! Amazing, if true, and
I assume it is. I’d say, like the Wayne
Shackleford Interchange, “pretty sig
nificant”.
Water and Traffic. Last week, I
was asked, “What are the two biggest
problems facing the State of Georgia”?
My answer: Water and traffic. Both
problems are critical and complicated.
Quickly, as to traffic, I believe that pub
lic-private initiatives will be used much
more in the future to provide partial
answers. Incidentally, the early roads in
this county were private.
As to water, I believe we have to
build new reservoirs and need to do it
quickly. I am glad that our own Senator
Ross Tolleson is deeply involved with
trying to help solve our “water prob
lems”. I am very impressed with Ross’
knowledge about this subject and his
commitment to solving our problems.
Thanks, Ross.
This is it for this week. Hope you
found it interesting. I enjoy writing
every week and appreciate your con
tacts and comments concerning my col
umn - even the occasional critical ones.
Thanks, Larry.
will be in play.
■■■
When the general public becomes
familiar with the details of House
Speaker Glenn Richardson’s proposal to
replace property taxes with a sales tax it
is possible that support will fade.
Admittedly, the proposed reform of
Georgia’s tax code would be a bonanza
for large land owners. This isn’t sit
ting well with small homeowners who
wonder who, other than themselves,
will make up the difference by paying
higher sales taxes.
So far about all we have been hear
ing is a barrage of sales pitches. When
the legislature convenes next January
opponents of the bill, which will include
most local elected officials and their
statewide organizations, will come out
swinging. It will be a political battle
worthy of watching.
■■■
In my opinion, schools are getting a
bad rap because they provide very little -
or no - physical education programs. No
doubt about it, more children are obese
and overweight than ever before. I don’t
blame the schools, which are there to
provide children with a good education.
Parents should assume responsibility
for seeing their children get exercise
and not pass this onto schools. Too
much parental responsibility already is
being handed off to someone else.