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Letters
Please stop the
Buckhorn landfill
As a lifelong resident of the
Chestatee community, I oppose
the proposal to place the
Buckhorn landfill in our commu
nity. My people, the Hammonds,
were early settlers in the area, as
were my husband Charles’ peo
ple.
We are just common working
people here who don’t have the
political clout of some areas, but
we are united in opposing the
Buckhorn landfill. More than
1,500 of us have signed a petition
opposing this landfill.
We have enough truck con
gestion on our roads from the
local rendering plant, we don’t
want 50 more trucks a day to clog
our roads and cause accidents.
With a very large landfill in
our community we cannot hang
our wash outdoors, and dust will
cover our furniture if we open our
windows. Those of us with aller
gies will become prisoners in our
hdmes. Property values in
Chestatee will be depressed due
to the landfill. I wonder if there
are any landfills next to county
commissioners’ homes?
I am especially upset at
Commissioner Kreager’s actions
last Monday during the commis
sion meeting. She criticized the
Citizens Advisory Committee
because it had not reported back
to the Board of Commissioners
by Aug. 13. But Mrs. Kreager had
repeatedly promised the Advisory
Committee that they could have
another 30 days and would not
have to report until mid-
September. What kind of behav
ior is that from an elected com
missioner? Gray Smith, who led
the committee, deserves praise for
his work, not criticism.
I urge the Board of
Commissioners to stop the
Buckhorn landfill. The next elec
tion is just around the comer.
Dianne Cantrell
Cumming
Commission not
keeping promises
Three county commissioners
proved that although they can talk
the moratorium talk, they are
unwilling to walk the walk. A
high-density PUD, zoning appli
cation 2532, was approved at the
Aug. 13 board meeting. The
Planning Commission, to main
tain the spirit of the moratorium,
courageously recommending a
maximum of 303 units or three
units per acre for the application.
Instead of accepting Chairman
Kieffer negated the Planning
Commission recommendation by
increasing the number of units
back to 370. Commissioner
Pritchett attempted to maintain
the 3 unit per acre maximum in
the form of an amendment, but it
was defeated 3-2. Only
Rewards are great for
every effort we make
The small room off of the
den had been converted to a toy
room for two young boys. When
the house grew quiet, I immedi
ately checked to see what was
happening that should not be
happening. Usually, it was just a
matter of drawing on walls,
using my new lipstick on a mir
ror, or dressing up in our
Sunday clothes that looked like
old clothes to them.
The toy room was more
often distributed throughout the
house and never confined to the
same room. On many occasions
an apology had to be made to
unexpected company because
they could not walk through a
room without stepping over and
around toys. 1 thought I was a
bad housekeeper until a friend
remarked, “This is their house,
too!” My problem seemed to be
they didn’t clean up their house,
too.
Back again to the toy room;
it became an array of drawings
and designs in ball point pen,
crayons, markers, and dirty
hand prints. It became quite evi
dent that we had given birth to
two creative, and talented boys.
They had been blessed with an
eye for color and style and artis
tic abilities had been lavished
Commissioners Kreager and
Pritchett supported the amend
ment. The original application for
370 units was then approved 4-1.
The explanations given by
Commissioners Kieffer, Taylor
and Bennett for denying the
amendment were based on three
points: (1) the developer should
not be “penalized” by the morato
rium, (2) it will improve that area
along highway 9 and (3) it is the
best use of the land. The point
that appears to be missing is that
the existence of a moratorium
does not change the negative
impact of a residential develop
ment on Forsyth County’s already
overburdened infrastructure, nor
does the Pritchett amendment
negate any of their points for
opposing it. If Bennett says more
than three units per acre is not
good for the county, would that
not apply here? If Kieffer says
that we need to balance the resi
dential and commercial tax base,
does this approval not place us
further out of balance? If it is true
that residential development is a
financially negative proposition to
the county, are we not expediting
the inevitable tax increase that
Taylor vowed never to support?
By choosing to vote contrary
to the moratorium, Kieffer, Taylor
and Bennett makes one question
their true commitment to manag
ing growth. It’s like a smoker
deciding to quit to protect his
health, but opting to finish his last
pack. After all, it isn’t fair to
penalize the cigarettes. These
commissioners appear ready to
feed their development addiction
to the very last PUD.
Dave Inbody
Cumming
Local volunteers
deserve spotlight
I really appreciate the Forsyth
County News consistently report
ing on the charitable organiza
tions in the county and highlight
ing the activities of citizen volun
teers in these organizations. I
believe this reporting is an excel
lent service to our community.
One of the programs you have
focused on in the past is CASA
(Court Appointed Special
Advocate) for children who have
been abused.
About a year and a half ago I
finally decided to make time in
my schedule, which was already
busy with family, church and
working more than 40 hours a
week, to volunteer as a CASA.
What a difference this has made
in my life! Although each of my
days had been very full, it wasn’t
until I became a CASA that my
life became balanced and com
plete.
There is nothing more reward
ing than being instrumental in
effecting a deep positive change
in the lives of others particu
larly children in need.
The community contacts and
on one. After a day of priming
and painting the toy room the
house became too quiet. I dis
covered two boys working dili
gently to replace the drawings
mother had covered up with
paint.
There are three years
between our boys and what one
couldn’t do the other managed
to do. They were good children
who knew how to find the
biggest mud hole, slide down
the red dirt hills around the
house, and distribute toys,
clothes, and kitchen utensils
around the house. They could
build dams in the creek, ride the
big wheels down the long drive
way at “break neck speed” and
scare onlookers as they slid
sideways in the road.
I often watch young mothers
try to keep up with their young
children’s activities and teach
them discipline and self control.
I enjoy watching young children
try to get away with a few little
actions they know are unaccept
able and I continue to be
amazed that some parents are in
control while others are con
trolled by two and three year
old children.
I remember the times when I
would tum my head so a smile
(
friendships I’ve made as a volun
teer have fostered growth in new
directions for me. The freedom
and flexibility I have within the
program allows me to manage my
time as necessary. The nature of
advocacy empowers me to deter
mine for myself (although sup
port/assistance from the program
manager is always available) what
are the critical focus areas to help
insure that the best interests of the
children are being met.
Os course the personal impact
on “my” children’s lives is what
means the most to me. On my
second case assignment, I helped
facilitate the placement of siblings
together in foster care. The joy in
the eyes and voices of all four sis
ters when they were reunited
erased any doubt that I had that I
could make a difference.
I encourage anyone thinking
about volunteering in a charitable
organization to investigate the
CASA program, (770) 886-4082.
If you are wondering if you have
the time or ability to be a CASA,
think about the difference it will
make in your life and the life of a
child.
Melissa Mitchell
Cumming
Story not right
for front page
Back in the mid-80s,
Forsyth County became the butt
of national jokes because of its
seeming ability to nourish racist
groups. Now I see that the
Forsyth County News sees fit to
put on its front page an article
about a neo-Nazi’s plan to have
a rally in our county.
How is this news? How does
this justify front page coverage?
They have not even received
permits for the rally. There is no
story. This “supremist” (your
word, incorrectly used) group
does not deserve front page cov
erage for what it plans to do.
When the rally occurs, it might
warrant a passing mention, but
giving them this kind of publici
ty further reinforces the suppo
sition that Forsyth County is a
bunch of redneck hicks.
Please save the front page
for news that is important to our
community, not to announce the
unconfirmed plans of fringe ele
ments of our society.
Ed Selby
Cumming
Mary Alice Park
being sold out
Too often these days we find
the hands of governmental
agencies in our pockets and the
freedoms and benefits we have
paid so much for in taxes inten
tionally eliminated.
This time, it’s the Corps of
Engineers, the supposed-to-be
guardian of our public lands,
Julianne
Wjr Boling
could not be seen as I admon
ished our boys for some mis
deed or another. But, the disci
pline and expectations for their
behavior and good manners was
and still is important. As a par
ent the early years seemed hard
and there was never enough
energy to last until bedtime, but
the rewards have been great for
the efforts we made.
I am often reminded how
important it is to be a good par
ent as I observe young parents
and see the changes in society
and what behavior is acceptable
to them.
At times I find it hard to
believe these young parents do
not understand that discipline
and self control are important
character traits for their child to
master. This I do know! When
the children become adults
these traits are essential to their
happiness.
Julianne Boling is a
Cumming resident who writes a
weekly column.
quietly planning the turnover of
our federal public recreational
property, known as Mary Alice
Park, to the city of Cumming
and its commercial developers.
What money-oriented devel
opers and politicians wouldn’t
love to get their hands on prime
public recreational property
through a sweet heart deal with
a powerful agency willing to
sell out both public land and
public trust.
Mary Alice Park property
was bought and paid for by we
taxpayers as a public recreation
al part of the Lanier Dam and
lake project. Selling or leasing it
back into the commercial public
sector is a shameful bureaucrat
ic scheme and an insult to tax
payers.
Cumming and its big money
partners don’t need to gobble up
Mary Alice Park to pursue their
profit oriented enterprises. They
very well can and should pur
chase all the nonpublic property
they want on the open market,
build whatever and charge
whatever, but keep their greedy
hands off our established public
park.
Mary Alice used to be a
delightful place, not closed most
of the years as it is now, but
open all year for walking, jog
ging, picnicking and enjoyment.
People were not plagued with
fees and restricted entry.
Around 1993, as I under
stand it, greedy politicians and
bureaucrats of the time devised
a scheme to extract even more
money from taxpayers. This
scheme, and source of new
additional money, was to shake
down the public users of lake
recreational facilities for fees as
required to support the facilities
and divert all 100 percent of the
many, many millions collect
allegedly from lake resources
such as electrical power sales,
marina lease payments, dock
fees, etc., off to the government.
I feel with great confidence
that this political moneymaker
is at least partly responsible for
diminished and frustrating park
operations, and may be a factor
to the apparent willingness, if
W-1
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, August 19,2001 I
not eagerness, of the Corps to
sell off the park and sell out the
public.
There’s a disgusting smell to
the money aspect, the park oper
ation and availability aspect,
and especially the Mary Alice
sell out.
We as citizen taxpayers are
being exploited jerked
around and shorted with irre
sponsible, illogical, unaccept
able bureaucratic manipulations.
John M. Hagood Jr.
Cumming
Columnist’s
views welcome
I just want to say thank you
for having Linda Bowles as a
guest columnist in your paper. It
is so refreshing to find someone
from the media who is actually
a conservative and isn’t afraid to
give her views.
We have been lied to for so
long it is wonderful reading
something you can agree with
and so far I have agreed with
everything she writes. She is
straightforward and honest and
really tells it like it is. I wish
you would print her address so
those of us who enjoy her col
umn can drop her a note and tell
her how much we appreciate
her.
Barbara Howard
Cumming
Story misstated
group’s position
I am writing this letter to
inform the readers of the
Forsyth County News that the
Council of Conservative Cit
izens has been falsely identified
as a hate group. The article
titled “Supremacist”; appearing
in the Forsyth County News on
Sunday Aug. 13 incorrectly stat
ed that the C of CC was
opposed to the hiring of His
panics. The statement should
have read we are opposed to
the hiring of illegal aliens. In the
Forsyth County area the vast
majority of illegal aliens comq
from northern Mexico. Thel
political left in this
delights in labeling anyone on
any group that rejects multicuP
turalism as a “hate” group.
Recent polls show that 7Q
percent of Americans are,
opposed to further immigration.'
Why do politicians defy the will'
of the American people?
Historians tell us that multi
culturalism was the prime factor
in the destruction of the Roman
Empire. The Romans absorbed
the Germanic hordes that even
tually made Rome un-Roman
like.
Multiculturalism means that
all cultures have equal merit.
How can we mix millions of
people from vastly different eth
nic groups and expect anything
but chaos and confusion? Whar
are the social, economic, and
environmental costs? '
Presently we accept approxi
mately one million new legal"
immigrants per year in addition
to the estimated 300,000 illegal
aliens that deluge our country.;
Ethnic conflicts and wars are r
constantly in progress across the
globe. In the Los Angles basin,
there are over 600 hundred
street gangs all divided alonj*,
racial or ethnic lines. Certainly
we don’t want to increase the'
level of violence in the United'
States! Political scientists define;
the concept of a nation by the,.?
following criteria: people bound,
by race, culture, language, and’
religion. If we do not stop thes
massive flow of immigrants, the*.
America we know today will
cease to exist. The more illegal r
Mexican aliens we absorb in - .
Forsyth County the more like
Mexico Forsyth County be> ,
comes.
The C of CC is a grass roots’ *
organization primarily com-/>
prised of middle class citizens
who are devoted to restoring tra- s
ditional American values that
once made this great nation '
indomitable. Visit our Web site
at www.atlantacofcc.org.
Joe Webb.
Cumming
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