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♦ 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.