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I St FIT A {1
FORSYTH OPINION
Friday, March 2,2018
ELECTED OFFICIALS
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Troy Brumbalow, 100
Main St., Cumming, GA 30040; -
{770) 781-2010
| Christopher Light, 100 Main St.,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 480-
1396
Jason Evans, 100 Main St.,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
2010
Lewis Ledbetter, 100 Main St.,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
2010 :
Linda Ledbetter, 100 Main St.,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
2010 :
Chad Crane, 100 Main St.,,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
2010
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
R.J. (Pete) Amos, Post 1, 110 E.
“Main St., Cumming, GA 30040;
*(678) 513-5881; rjamos @forsyth
cocom ;
Secretary Dennis Brown, Post
2, 110 E. Main Street , Cumming,
GA 30040; (678) 513-5882;
dtbrown@forsythco.com
Chairman Todd Levent, Post 3,
110 E. Main St., Cumming, GA
30040; (678) 513-5883; tlevent@
forsythco.com
Cindy Mills, Post 4, 110 E. Main
St., Cumming, GA 30040; (678)
513-5884; cjmills@forsythco.com
Vice Chairwoman Laura
Semanson, Post 5, 110 E. Main
St., Cumming, GA 30040; (678)
513-56885; losemanson @forsyth
co.com
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Chairwoman Ann Crow, District
1, 320 Dahlonega St., Cumming,
GA 30040; (770) 490-6316;
acrow@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Kristin Morrissey, District 2,
3310 Cany Creek Lane, Cumming,
GA 30041; (678) 250-4047; kmor
rissey @forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Tom Cleveland, District 3, 5225.
Millsford Court, Cumming, GA
30040; (770) 844-9901; tcleve
land@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Darla Sexton Light, District 4,
50080 Hopewell Road,
Cumming, GA 30028; (770) 887-
0678; dlight@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Vice Chairwoman Nancy -
Roche, District 5, 7840 Chestnut
Hill Road, Cumming, GA 30041;
(770) 889-0229; nroche @forsyth.
Ki2gats - S
NATIONAL LEGISLATORS
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, 120
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-3643 or (770) 661-0999
U.S. Sen. David Perdue, B4OD
Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-3521
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, 9th ‘
District; 513 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington, D.C., |
20515; (202) 225-9893; fax, (770)
297-3390 . ;
U.S. Rep. RobWoodall, 7th
District; 1725 Longworth House
Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515; (770) 232-3005; (202) 225-
4272; fax, (202) 225-4696
STATE LEGISLATORS
Sen. Steve Gooch, 51st District,
Suite 421-C, State Capitol, Atlanta,
GA 30334; (404) 656-9221
Sen. Michael Williams, 27th
District, Coverdell Legislative
Office Building, Room 323-B, 18
Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA
30334; (404) 656-7127
Rep. Kevin Tanner, Sth District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 401-E, Atlanta, GA
30334??404) 656-0152
Rep. Wes Cantrell, 22nd District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 507-E, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
Sheri S. Gilligan, 24th
Dm Coverdell wms
wfl’.m"f'";'"""' %E , Atlanda, GA
4; (404) S£9
Building, Room 608-C, 18 Capitol
Bidg., Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
An open letter to Cobb legislators
I have a feeling that my
columns rank somewhere
between Cicero’s “Tusculan
Disputations™ and Jane
Fonda’s latest self-help book
on your must-read list. That’s
okay. I just hope I haven’t
said anything that has upset
you. I couldn’t live with
myself if I did.
I keep up with what’s
going on in your world by
reading the editorial musings
of your pals at the Daily
Paper in Dunwoody. But, you
may not know what I’ve been
up to. Let me bring you up
to-date.
I recently wrote an open
letter to Cobb County public
schoolteachers, trying to see
if they could-tell me why you
guys are so hell-bent on
increasing the cap for income
tax credits for donations to
student scholarship organiza-.
tions which then provide for
private school scholarships.
They didn’t seem to know,
either. It seems you commu
nicate with them about as
well as you communicate .
with me. Zero.
The Cobb County School
System is a good one, but
you wouldn’t know it by the
way you guys are acting.
Unless I missed it some
where, I haven’t heard any of
you utter a kind word about
our local school system or
the teachers who labor on in
spite of your perceived lack
of support and appreciation
for their hard job.
If you care — and I am
going out on a limb here —
you have hurt a group of
people who deserve better
Veteran, father, takes his last journey
This week, no poli
tics. This week I want to give
a public shout out to our area
law enforcement personnel,
and everyone who made a
difference for the grieving
family and loved ones of a
recently departed veteran,
my father-in-law, Jim
Campbell.
Allow me to tell you a lit
tle about Jim. He was born
in 1928, the son of a World
War I Army officer. The
attack on Pearl Harbor
occurred one month after
Jim turned 13. And for the
next four years, Jim yearned
for news from the front
lines. He wanted to be there,
but was too young.
Afterturning 17, having
recently graduated high
school, and with his dad’s
blessing and signature, Jim
enlisted in the Army. Hitler
was defeated, The bombs had
already fallen on Japan. So
Jim ended up shipping to °
Korea, where he would be
assigned the job of general’s
aid, essentially shuffling
papers. But Jim wanted to be
in the action, should there be
any, and requested a transfer
to the 38th parallel, where he
became stationed. Eventually
Jim’s hitch was up and he
took advantage of the GI bill,
attending college at -
Georgetown. °
As events happen, whil at
college, in June of 195
North Korean forces overran
the 38th parallel and the
- ensued. Once again,
Jim found himself on the
outside looking in. So when
he graduated he took a com
mission as a 2nd Lieutenant,
volunteering to return to
Korea, a member of the 65th
Infantry. As before, Jim
Letter policy
The Forsyth County News welcomes your opinions on issues of public concern. Letters must be signed and
include full address and a daytime and evening phone number for verification. Names and hometowns of letter writ
ers will be included for publication without exception. Telephone numbers will not be published.
Letters should be limited to 350 words and may be edited or condensed.The same writer or group may only sub
mit one letter per month for consideration. ;
Letters must be submitted by noon Wednesday for Sunday publication. We do not publish poetry or blanket letters
andwmw& not publish letters concerning consumer complaints. Unsigned or incorrectly identified letters will
be o ; . ;
Mail letters to the Forsyth County News, P.O. Box 210, Cumming, GA 30028, hand deliver to 302 Veterans
Memorial Bivd., fax to (770) 889-8017 or e-mail to editor@forsythnews.com.
DICK YARBROUGH
Columnist
than the back of your ideo
logical hand. According to
one long-time public school
teacher in Cobb County, you
have managed to sow an
environment of “fear, anger
and dejection” with your
actions. Nice going, fellows.
This teacher says she and
her colleagues are counting
the days until they can retire.
*I love my kids but I am
tired of being criticized,” she
says, “and told that we are
not doing a good job.” And
she adds, “Why don’t these
people” — meaning you —
“try to help us instead of
hurting us? Why don’t they
have our backs?”? Why,
indeed?
I told her that I think you
feel public schoolteachers
can’t hurt you politically.
Teachers don’t make enough
money to contribute to your
political campaigns unlike
the deep-pocketed, special
interest groups who share
your dim view of public edu
cation. Plus, teachers can’t
speak out publicly for fear of
retribution.
They are overwhelmed
with creating lesson plans,
trying to figure out what is
the latest mandated test they
must now teach to in order to
keep their job, strangling in
bureaucratic red tape at
HANK SULLIVAN
Columnist
requested a front-line assign
ment. He became a platoon
leader. Night after night he
would lead his troops on
'scouting missions in the val
ley between U.S. and
Communist Chinese forc
es. Jim once volunteered to
take night duty from another
patrol leader whose hitch was
up the following day, elimi
nating the possibility that his
friend might be killed mere
hours before-leaving for
home.
In 1954, Jim’s commitment
was complete and he decided
to return to civilian life. He
shipped back stateside where
he began a career and family.
Jim was pure American ...
God, family and coun
try. Justifiably proud of his
military service, each time
grace would be said before a
meal, Jim would post an
addendum, asking God’s pro
tection over the American
men and women in harm’s
way around the world.
Later in life, Jim felt hon
ored to serve in various mili
tary honor guards, participat
ing in the funerals of
Georgia veterans too many to
recall. And it always both
ered Jim when the rifle vol
ley would not be perfect. 1
expect he felt that the shots
being fired in perfect unison
represented a united nation
thanking those who served.
And so last week it was
Jim’s turn to receive the mili
tary honors as he took his
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not refiect our views.
every level of government
while trying to change young
lives for the better in spite of
all the roadblocks thrown in
their way. They just don’t
have the time or energy to
fight back.
You don’t like the way
public schools operate, so
your solution is to take mil
lions of dollars out of the
state budget in tax credits
and give it to student school
organizations which then
provide private school schol
arships. Why don’t you fix
the problems that impact our
public schools instead? Or —
here is a novel idea — why
don’t you make the private
schools play by the same™"
rules as public schools?
Make private schools keep
kids who don'’t show up for
class, whose parents ignore
parent-teacher conferences,
who dress however the hell
they please and if the school
complains, they can claim
their right of free expression
is being violated, and above
all, no matter how the kids
misbehave, the private school
cannot send them back to
public schools. It is their
problem to handle. Then the
rest of us can cluck in righ
teous indignation and
demand that you give tax
credits to parents who want
to get their urchins out of
private schools and into pub
lic schools. (1 get-paid big
bucks for think?vg of stuff
like this.)
If that is too hard maybe
you can find it in your hearts
to see that public school
teachers get a tax credit for
last ride on this earth. The
service would be held at a
wonderful place just West of
Canton, the Georgia National
Cemetery. Family and
friends gathered at the funer
al home here in Cumming
and awaited the procession to
begin for the 25-mile trek
across two counties, and
through two cities to Jim’s
final destination. On either
side of the hearse, the funeral
director placed American
flags to signify that the pas
senger was a veteran. To lead
the procession awaited a pair
of Forsyth County Sheriff’s
finest, one on motorcycle and
one in a patrol car. Then
began a 25-mile journey no
one in the funeral procession
will ever forget.
The sheriff’s deputies car
ried out their responsibilities
flawlessly. They knew exact
ly what to do, halting traffic
ahead of the procession such
that we never had to slow
down. At the county line,
Cherokee County deputies in
three patrol cars met us, blue
lights flashing, and seam
lessly took the lead. As we
crossed the city limits of
Canton, two datk blog
Canton police SUVs took us
to the other side of ;
town. And as the procession
approached the western city
limit, more Cherokee County
deputies waited to usher the
final leg of Jim’s last journey.
The police escort was
remarkable in and of
itself. But equally astounding
were the civilians in traffic
along the way — cars,
trucks, dump trucks,
18-wheelers, workers on the
side of the road, and even
school bus drivers. Virtually
everyone driving or standing
the purchase of 7.62x39 mm
ammo for their AK-47’s, if
we are going to add being
armed guards to their
already overloaded agenda.
Speaking of tax credits,
evidently no one except me
seems inclined to raise an
eyebrow at the fact that one
of your number, Rep. John
Carson, the most vociferous
supporter of increasing tax
credits into the political
stratosphere, is the director
of public policy for Monarch
Private Capital, a leading
syndicator and investor of
tax credits.
His company bio makes it
clear that Georgia is exclud
ed in his responsibilities for
the firm’s legislative initia
tives. But it gives me pause
nonetheless. Having a guy
who makes his living in the
world of tax credits being the
leading proponent of income
tax credits for private school
scholarships in the
Legislature should set off
alarm bells. Then again this
is the Legislature, isn’t it? I
keep forgetting that.
Anyway, I’'m glad we could
have this little conversation
today. I hope you guys feel
the same way. Let’s do this
again. And don’t worry one
whit about how Cobb
County’s public schoolteach
ers feel. I think we both
already know that one.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough
at dick@dickyarbrough.com;
at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
Georgia 31139 or on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/dick
yarb.
on the side of the road, for
the entire 25-mile trip,
stopped what they were
doing for the couple of min
utes it took for us to
pass. Even a guy and his
friend who were changing a
tire stopped what they were
doing, stood and placed their
hands over their hearts ... all
for Jim, an unknown soldier
to them, and for the countless
American veterans who at
one time put it all on the line,
many making the supreme
sacrifice so that we can live
free.
As we were about to turn
in at Georgia National, I will
never forget the lead
Cherokee County deputy
aligning his vehicle across
both lanes of traffic, blue
lights blazing, and stepping
out to walk around his vehi
cle, where he stood at atten
tion, removed his cover and
placed it over his heart as we
turned in. That one did us all
in.
And so today I want to
thank the Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Department, City of
Cumming police, Cherc!.ce
County Sheriff’s
Department;and-the-Canton—
Police for such an expert and
dutiful procession. And I
want to thank all the people
along the route who were so
kind, so respectful, to stop
their day long enough to rec
ognize a worthy veteran tak
ing his last journey. It was a
kindness his family and
friends in the procession will
never, ever forget.
Hank Sullivan is a Forsyth
County resident, business
man, author and speaker on
American history, economics
and geopolitics.
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