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The Forsyth County News
Opinion
This is a page of opinions ours, yours and others.
Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the
writers and artists and may not reflect our views.
Dean wears one suit,
mows his own lawn
DES MOINES. lowa lf
Howard Dean looks like he has
been taking some lumps recent
ly, it may not be politics, it may
be his suit.
Dean wears the same suit
day after day on the road,
because he travels only with one
suit. If he brought along a sec
ond suit, he says, he would have
to carry a suit bag, and he will
not carry a suit bag.
Since the suits are not that
great looking to begin with
Dean says his clothes "ferment"
in his closet at home his staff
has one imperative: Protect the
fabric.
After a tarmac event in Little
Rock, barbecue was served, a
wind came up and half-filled
paper plates of food began fly
ing through the air. Dean's staff
immediately surrounded him,
holding up file folders, papers,
posters, anything to keep the
food from landing on him. "On
the Dean campaign, saving the
suit is Job One," a staffer said.
But what happens if his suit
does get stained and he still has
six days to go before he returns
home? "In that case, I will be
wearing a suit with a stain,"
Dean says.
Even clean, however, the
suits often look a little lumpy.
The pockets bulge and not with
notes or policy papers. The can
didate likes to hide cookies in
there. He has a formidable
sweet tooth (his personal pledge
to lose 12 pounds over the holi
days appears to have had all the
success of an unfunded man
date), and though he claims that
his favorite food is strawberry
milkshakes, his secret vice is
gumdrops.
When he was governor of
Vermont, the reception desk
outside his ceremonial office
in the capitol had a small
drawer in which Dean hid is
private gumdrop stash. He
would go out to greet visiting
dignitaries, slide open the
drawer and pop a few in his
mouth. One day, to his horror,
he found the drawer empty. To
the amazement of everyone,
the governor stood there dip
ping his finger in the leftover
sugar crystals and then licking
them off.
His other obsession these
days is quarters. Some suggest
his entire campaign for presi
dent is a ruse to collect the new
"State Quarters" from each of
the 50 states. To date, he has
every one that has been released
except Arkansas. (The last quar
ter won't be released until 2008,
On your payroll
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt
RO. Box 3177, Cumming, GA 30028; (770) 887-4342
Mayor Pro-Tem, Lewis Ledbetter
205 Mountain Brook Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-3019
Ralph Perry
1420 Pilgrim Rd., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-7474
Quincy Holton
103 Hickory Ridge Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-5279
Rupert Sexton
705 Pine Lake Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-4332
John Pugh
10813th St., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-3342
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Charles Laughinghouse, Post 1
3550 Rosewicke Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-7937; office, (770) 886-2810
David “A.J.” Pritchett, Post 2
4840 Chesterfield Court, Suwanee, GA 30024
(404) 392-6983; office, (770) 886-2809
John A. “Jack” Conway, Post 3
6130 Polo Club Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-9226; (770) 886-2807
Marcie Kreager, Post 4
9810 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506
office, (770) 886-2806
EddieTaylor,Posts
o 4195 Morningside Dr., Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 886-2802
■ ZTT Roger
Simon
when Dean will be either run
ning for re-election or licking
sugar off his fingers in obscuri
ty.) He never collected coins as
a child and says he is doing this
"just for fun."
A mint condition 2003
Arkansas quarter is available on
the Internet for 57 cents, but
anyone who thinks Howard
Dean would pay 57 cents for a
25-cent piece, does not know
Howard Dean.
"I am the cheapest 5.0.8.
you ever met," he says proudly.
How cheap is he? He will
not buy cable or satellite TV,
even though this means his wife,
Judy, must traipse down to his
campaign headquarters in
Burlington to watch him debate.
(Sometimes she, like most of
the rest of America, just skips
them.)
He paints his own house.
No big deal, you say?
Consider that the very first
union that endorsed him was
the International Union of
Painters and Allied Trades. So
in the future might he actually
go out and hire a painter? "I
doubt it," his campaign
spokesperson, Tricia Enright,
told me.
He fixes his own toilet and
mows his own lawn (Judy tells
people how she awoke one
morning at 6:30 a.m. to see
him out there mowing because
he had promised to do so
before getting back on the
campaign trail.)
He does not believe in fancy
hotels. (His press corps, which is
on expense account, does. This is
yet another point of contention
between them.) He doesn't order
from room service. If you want to
catch a glimpse of him, go down
to the lobby of his hotel early in
the morning. You will see him get
off the elevator in a sweatshirt and
sweatpants, and go over to the
newsstand as soon as it opens
so he can get his morning
papers.
He does have his fun side,
however. "I usually wake up at
4 in the morning," he said
recently, "and think about pol
itics for three hours."
Roger Simon is a national
ly syndicated columnist. He
can he e-mailed at
Writeßoger@aol.com.
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Keep HOPE alive for state’s best, brightest
By Dr. Holly Robinson
For the Forsyth County News
Georgians will argue over
just how to resolve the finan
cial woes of the HOPE schol
arship, but no one can dispute
that the HOPE has had a
tremendous positive impact on
Georgia's research universi
ties.
Our best and brightest stu
dents are staying in-state and
attending the University of
Georgia, Georgia State
University and Georgia Tech.
A bonus is that many of them
are also remaining in-state
after they graduate. A 1999
Georgia Tech study found that
of the 183 first HOPE gradu
ates, nearly 80 percent
remained in the state to pursue
their careers.
The admissions standards
have risen dramatically as our
best and brightest have select
ed these local universities.
Between 1994 and 2003, the
average composite SAT scores
for entering freshmen rose
from 1300 to 1325 at Georgia
Tech, from 1001 to 1080 at
Georgia State University and
from 1158 to 1209 at the
University of Georgia. During
that period, the average SAT
score for Georgia also
increased, from 948 to 984.
(Overall, Georgia’s 984 SAT
average score trails the nation
al average of 1026.)
Clearly, the message to
HOPE recipients from then-
Gov. Zell Miller, who founded
the scholarship, has been
heard. The governor said,
"HOPE is not an entitlement.
HOPE is about academic
achievement. HOPE is a
reward for good work, no mat
ter who you are, no matter
your family income."
Georgia House Speaker
Pro Tern Dußose Porter (D-
Dublin), who introduced the
NATIONAL LEGISLATORS
<U.S. Sen. Zell Miller
Russell Senate Office Building, Room C-3
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3643; Fax: (202) 228-2090
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss >
1019 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)224-3521
[*3
< U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 10th District
2437 Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20515
Gainesville: RO. Box 1015, Gainesville, GA 30503
Gainesville, (770) 535-2592; Washington: (202) 225-
5211; Fax: (202) 225-8272
I «
U.S. Rep. John Linder, 7th District >
1727 Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20515-1011
Washington: (202) 225-4272; Fax: (202) 225-4696
STATE LEGISLATORS
< Sen. David Shafer, 48th District
109 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404)651-7738
Sen. Casey Cagle, 49th District >
421 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334
Telephone: (404) 656-6578; Fax: (404)
651-6768
< Sen. Dan Moody, 27th District
(770) 495-3127;
Office (404) 463-8055
I ? 1
r •■!
IM ’ «i
HOPE legislation on behalf of
Gov. Miller, has reiterated
Miller's point, telling the
Associated Press, "The goal
has always been to reward stu
dent achievement and keep the
brain power in Georgia. We've
stopped the brain drain."
To that end, the bar was
raised for the incoming class
of 2001. Tougher admissions
standards meant only core
academic subjects counted
toward the grade point average
for HOPE applicants, which
continued to challenge stu
dents to excel.
"The interesting thing
about increasing standards, is
every time you raise the bar,
you get more applications,"
noted Carl V. Patton, president
of Georgia State University.
Recently, the HOPE
Scholarship Joint Study
Commission, a 20-member
group of legislators, educators,
parents and students, investi
gated how to cut costs in the
hugely popular but expensive
program. The rising cost of
tuition and mandatory fees
and the growing demand for
HOPE could put the program
more than $220 million in the
red by 2007. Among the
Commission's 13 recommen
dations the General Assembly
will consider are to tighten
HOPE requirements, includ
ing that students obtain a 3.0
GPA rather than a B average
and that college students'
GPAs are checked more often
to ensure they continue to
qualify for HOPE. The rec
ommendations also include
eliminating the allowance for
books and fees.
The most controversial
issue, however, is the possibil
ity of linking the full scholar
ship to an unspecified SAT
score. SATs are highly corre-
I J
A.
in •*? gn
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thursday, January 22,2004
lated with college perform
ance. Georgia Gov. Sonny
Perdue is a key player in this
discussion. He recognizes the
fact that ranking 50th out of
50 states on the SAT "has real
world consequences for our
children and our economy."
"Businesses are reluctant
to relocate or expand in
Georgia because their employ
ees want a world-class educa
tion for their kids," the gover
nor says. "Our schools, teach
ers and students are too bright
and work too hard to be forced
to carry the heavy burden of
last place."
But even as we recognize
our "best and brightest" and
recognize how they rise to the
challenges, we need to recog
nize that higher expectations
work for all students. There
are schools and students
across the state refuting the
analysts who claim that stu
dents in poverty cannot
achieve academic excellence.
When we raise the stan
dard of expectations and
ensure that all schools are aca
demically strong, even more
of the state's "best and bright
est" will attend our universi
ties, graduate and remain in
state. When there are no
excuses; when we address the
needs of our students so they
can achieve; when we have
clear accountability systems in
place, people pay more atten
tion to what expectations are.
As one educator said,
"Economically deprived does
n't mean brain deprived."
The more students are
challenged, the better they will
do. Educators and schools can
encourage advanced place
ment courses; talk honestly
about problems and rally stu
dents to tackle them. They can
get involved in the Governor's
Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th District >
(770) 466-1507;
Office (404) 463-1368
< Rep. Tom Knox, 14th District
Legislative Office Building, Room 504
18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-0188, or (770) 887-0400, law office
Rep. Jan Jones, 38th District >
412 Legislative Office Building,
Atlanta GA 30334
(404) 656-0137
< Rep. Jack Murphy, 14th District
Legislative office Building,
A
Room 612, Atlanta GA 30334
(404) 656-0325; (770) 781-9319, home
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ann Crow
96 Barker Rd., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 887-9640; acrow@forsyth.kl2.ga.us <
Paul Kreager
9810 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506
(770) 889-9971; pkreager@fbrsyth.kl2.ga.us
Chairman Nancy Roche ~
7840 Chestnut Hill Rd., Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 889-0229; nroche@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Rebecca K. Dowell
2030 Commonwealth Place, Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 844-0830; rdowell@forsyth.kl2.gaus
Jeffrey Stephens
RO. Box 169, Cumming, GA 30028
(770) 889-1470; jstephens@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
PAGE 7A
Cup SAT challenge, review
sample SAT questions and
solicit advice about preparing
for the tests.
The revised Quality Core
Curriculum, to be known as
the Georgia Performance
Standards, is another positive
step Georgia has taken to
improve academic achieve
ment in public schools and
better prepare our students for
college.
Education expert E.D.
Hirsc*! has said that "good
curriculum-based tests, based
on good content standards, ate
the surest and most democrat
ic means of raising.scores on
competency-based tests [such
as the SAT] and achieving
real-world competencies."
Georgia has been ranked
first in the nation for provid
ing merit-based financial aid
since the establishment of the
HOPE scholarship. We have
become a student magnet;
admissions have increased, as
have SAT and GPA averages
of incoming freshmen.
HOPE is an acronym (or
Helping Outstanding Pupils
Educationally. HOPE is about
scholarship, academic excel
lence. Georgia's universities
are fertile ground for our best
and brightest; our ever
improving academic standards
will make those universities an
achievable goal for more stu
dents.
Dr. Holly Robinson is senior
vice president of the Georgia
Public Policy Foundation, an inde -
pendent think tank that proposes
practical, market-oriented
approaches to public policy to
improve the lives of Georgians.
Nothing written here is to be con
strued as necessarily reflecting the
views of the Georgia Public Policy
Foundation or as an attempt to aid
or hinder the passage of any bill
before the Congress or
Legislature.
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