Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
-FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS-SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1989
■Opinion"
Fund raising policies
need some revisions
It is indeed a joke to sit at a
school board meeting when the
subject of fund raisers arises.
Many times in recent years
board members have been
asked to approve a variety of
fund raisers. The catch is
though, when the request is
made, the fund raiser is either
already underway or has been
completed.
As such, a mockery is made of
the process, because the board
is left virtually powerless to do
anything.
Then there have been recent
problems of what constitutes a
fund raiser and exactly what is
allowed and what is not allowed
under existing policies.
School groups such as PTO’s,
TPO’s and PTA’s are justifiably
concerned that any new restric
tions will put a clamp on their
ability to help the schools. They
argue, with some merit, that
schools strapped for money
need the efforts of the outside
groups to help provide items
such as computers or other
necessities.
School Board Chairman John
ny Stone has said the intent of
the be _rd is not to eliminate the
fund raisers but to ensure there
are rules that need to be fol
lowed and some coordination is
also needed.
Parent advisory group
could be a useful tool
If the school system wanted to
get the collective view of par
ents or teachers in the school
system who would they turn to
for that help?
Right now the only alterna
tive is to talk to various parent/
teacher groups at the individual
schools.
Because of that, now is the
time we believe to form some
type of advisory council which
represents all the groups at the
schools.
It could serve as an outlet for
the groups to approach the
school board with one voice on
such matters as fund raisers or
other subjects of concern.
And it will help bring the
county together, because the
advisory council would be com
What do YOU think?
Do you feel your
property taxes are fair?
Your response:
Your name:
Your phone number:
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Forsyth County News
P .O. Box 210
Gumming, Ga. 30130
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It seems to us that the fund
raiser whether it be a school
carnival or a book sale is an im
portant part of the functioning
of the school not only for the
money it raises but for the par
ticipation it encourages.
There are however some im
portant restrictions which need
to be followed.
For instance, we like the idea
of setting a time for all groups to
submit their fund raisers so
they can all be approved before
the fact. This would also help
any overlapping of efforts.
Also, there seems to be some
confusion over whether it is con
sidered a fund raiser for a PTO
or similar group to hold a fund
raiser at an elementary school.
As long as the parents are in
charge and students are not re
quired or asked to do any solicit
ing we see no reason why this
should not be allowed.
There are undoubtedly other
issues that need to be resolved
in the policy which is being
spearheaded by board member
Hilda Thomas.
In developing a sound policy it
is important, we feel, to encour
age not discourage the work of
school groups but the school
board need some control over
the projects as well.
prised of school representatives
from throughout the county. It
would help parents and/or
teachers at any one school get
an understanding of the prob
lems at other schools and work
on joint solutions.
But someone has to take the
first step.
It could be the school board or
its staff by asking school par
ent/teacher groups to consider
forming such a group.
Or the groups can take the
lead. It would show initiative
and interest for one or two pres
idents to meet and then spear
head an effort to get this
formed.
Whoever makes the first step,
the end result can only serve to
enhance the school system.
PUBLISHER-SCOTTM. BROWN
MANAGING EDITOR-LEONARD KRANSDORF ,
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR-HARRIET H. VINCENI
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR - A. JEFF BEAMS
Tough decisions moving the county forward
In our daily lives we are always faced
with decisions or choices of how to behave.
We hopefully make those decisions con
sciously and with the thought of what would
be best for either the business we operate or
whatever the affected situation may be.
In government, elected and appointed of
ficials are faced with such decisions almost
on a daily basis. Many times because of
their position what they decide, for better or
worse, comes under the spotlight of public
scrutiny.
Many officials will say they voted one way
or the other because they were doing what
they thought was best for their constituents.
The skeptics among us would counter by
saying that politicians are influenced by
those other than the average citizen and
that many politicians only vote with an eye
toward the next election.
But in the course of being an elected offi
cial there are various issues which are
faced and tough decisions made. Of course
the official does have a choice and that is
where the difficulty arises.
Lets look at some issues that have faced
or are bound to face officials here at some
time...and what choices they can make.
Taxes. The dreaded T word is one that
most officials shy away from and do every
thing in their power to avoid. But what hap
pens when they do avoid it...especially in a
growing area.
Well, first of all, you end up having a de
mand for services and no money to pay for
them.
People are now clamoring for stricter
sentences for drug dealers and users but at
the same time the prison system here is
overcrowded. Money to build the prisons or
jails has to come from somewhere.
And what about education. You have
hopefully read recently about the concern of
parents at Cumming Elementary about the
use of trailers. The situation is not uncom-
We can believe what we see and hear.. .sometimes
By Horance Davis
New York Times Regional Newspapers
Summing up the accomplishments of the
mighty engines of the press is annually un
dertaken by Quill, the magazine published
by the Chicago-based Society of Profession
al Journalists.
Commemorated in the June edition are
156 winners of 14 major national contests.
They range from the cherished Pulitzer, es
tablished in 1917 by the will of publisher
Joseph Pulitzer, to the George Polk Awards
created in 1948 to honor a CBS news corre
spondent slain during the civil war in
Greece.
Represented are news media in some the
nation’s recognized nerve centers like
Washington, New York, Chicago and Phila
delphia. But good things were going on in
the boondocks, too.
Consider the Anchorage Daily News with
a news staff of 75. It turned loose a quarter
of them for six months to probe the cultural
dilemma of native Alaskans, who ease their
misery with alcoholism and early death. As
it described one suicide, “He felt himself
crushed between two worlds the dying
village world he was old enough to remem
ber and the white world that had no place
for him.”
Judges in assorted contests liked that one
a lot. It won the Pulitzer, the Sigma Delta
Chi, and the Scripps Howard.
As a Southerner and an alumnus of the
Constitution, the usual excellent perfor
mance of Atlanta journalists puffs me up a
bit. This year, the Constitution-Journal real
ly scored with newsman Bill Dedman. De
spite stiff resistence from the banking folks,
he proved a distinct pattern of racial bias
with blacks five times less likely to get a
loan than whites of equal economic
standing.
The judges liked that one also. Dedman
drew the Pulitzer, the Robert F. Kennedy,
I Leonard V^
Kransdorf f
mon here or in other areas, as school sys
tems strapped for money to build class
rooms, instead opt to place trailers on the
site.
Also, the school board has set a millage
rate that is a reduction of last year but
leaves it precariously close to beginning the
next school year with very little money.
That could mean getting another loan from
the bank. And who pays the interest on that
loan? You have three guesses.
In the school system’s case there has also
been some criticism on the size of the staff,
especially at the administrative level when
teachers are not being paid enough, etc.
This is particularly true with the recent hir
ing of a personnel director
However, to be honest this paper has long
been a supporter of such a position. Yes,
there was a cost involved for the salary of
the individual and his office, but the benefits
of such a position outweigh the cost.
landfills. In coming years, if not months
you will probably be hearing more about the
attempt to open a regional landfill that will
include Forsyth County. Right now there is
no location but there is no doubt that no
matter where it is, someone will get upset.
The problem is, with the cost of land being
what it is, and the dependency we are on
being a throw away society, a regional solu
tion to the problem is probably the best
route to go, along with using such methods
as recycling.
and the Investigative Reporters-Editors
awards.
Such backwater standouts are made more
startling by author Walter Karp writing in
Harper’s magazine, who condemns journal
ists as pussycats. He writes primarily of the
Washington variety, contending they are
addicted to the politicans’ catnip. Indeed, he
declares “the most esteemed journalists
are precisely the most servile.”
The problem is that the Washington types
don’t do much investigation. They depend
on a passive “source journalism.”
Karp quotes N.Y. Timesman Tom Wick
er, “I regret. . .to say I have on too many
occasions responded like one of Pavlov’s
dogs when summoned to the august pres
ence of a White House official; whatever
information he had for me, I usually
grabbed and ran.”
To get multiple confessions like that,
Karp delved into a dozen books by new
shawks or their critics. He found that not
only the White House, but also powerful
members of the U.S. Congress set the agen
da for news media and, hence, for public
discussion. Governmental figures not only
dictate the news on any particular day, but
also establish public debate on trends in for
eign and domestic policy.
The politicians do it by stroking and
threatening and otherwise manipulating ac
cess. In the words of managing editor Leon
ard Downie Jr. of the Washington Post, “To
examine critically the institutions and mo
res of government might mean breaking
friendships with trusted government con
tacts, missing the consensus front-page sto
ries everyone else is after, or failing to be
followed down a new path of inquiry.”
Example: During the Red-baiting era and
the racial equality upheaval and the Viet
nam War, politicians found it convenient to
ignore the FBl’s entrapment ploys and
“black bag” burglaries as well as the ClA’s
illegal spying on American citizens. Instead
Housing. Affordable housing is always a
problem in a growing county and Forsyth is
no different. They key is to also have hous
ing for all types and classes of people.
Unfortunately the recent attempt to open
an elderly housing complex here met a fed
eral roadblock after being approved at the
local level. The fact of the matter is, in or
der for a community to indeed be a commu
nity it has to meet the needs of all its people
and it is many a time the elected officials
who have to make that choice.
Panning We have in the paper many a
time stressed the need for planning, but in
forging ahead with that idea, officials have
to make some difficult but necessary
choices.
For instance, the county commission has
appointed a sign committee but rejected
most of its recommendations. The verdict is
still out on what will happen with the animal
ordinance committee but hopefully the
planning it has some will see the light of
day.
On the up side, the school board and coun
ty commission have begun quarterly meet
ings. Some ideas will maybe never ever get
off the ground, but just the idea that two
governments are getting together and plan
ning helps set the groundwork for future
choices which will have to be made.
Vision Many times it is an overused word,
but in a growing county being pulled from
different directions vision is needed. It is
needed in order for our elected officials to
present a vision of what they want for the
county. Where they want it to be and most
important how will it get to that destination.
It is not easy to outline goals and ideals
just like it is not easy to make some difficult
choices.
But being lethargic is not the answer be
cause that results in stagnation and indiffer
ence. Choosing those only crippple an area
not move it forward.
of obeying any good reporter’s instincts,
Washington journalists refused to rile the
establishment by exposing its wrongdoing.
Example: Pentagon waste, with its $7,622
coffeepots and $660 ashtrays, was put on the
public agenda by U.S. congressmen. But,
fearful an angered public would reject the
gigantic military buildup, they cooled it.
Washington journalists, rather than alien
ate their “sources,” went along.
The untold story with the most national
impact has to do with ex-President Ronald
Reagan’s scrofulous scuttling of social ser
vices. By slashing taxes and inflating the
military, he arranged a fiscal crisis suffi
cient to cripple the New Deal, Fair Deal, the
Great Society, and all other efforts to re
lieve domestic misery.
Only one congressman, N.Y. Sen. Patrick
Moynihan, campaigned to expose how gov
ernmental debt was designed to paralyze
social services only to be largely ignored.
Even when former budget director David
Stockman vividly exposed Reagan’s under
handed strategy in a book, the press at
tacked Stockman as a tattle-tale.
Concludes author Karp in Harper’s, “For
eight years the Democratic opposition had
shielded from the public a feckless, lawless
president with an appalling appetite for pri
vate power. That was the story of the Rea
gan years, and the Washington journalists
evidently knew it.. .Slavishly in thrall to the
powerful. . .the working press, the star re
porters, the pundits, the sages, the colum
nists passed on to us, instead, the Demo
crat’s drivel about the President’s ’Teflon
shield.’”
Between those 156 awards for fine jour
nalism and the Washington corp’s supine
performance is a gap which suggests Amer
icans can believe what they see and hear
sometimes.
Horance G. “Buddy” Davis writes for the
New York Times Regional Newspaper
Group. . *