About The wiregrass farmer. (Ashburn, Ga.) 1984-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2005)
Page 4 - The Wiregrass Farmer, December 28, 2005 Editorial & Opinion The WIREGRASS FARMER - Established 1902 Official Legal Organ of Turner County 109 Gordon Street • P.O. Box 309 • Ashburn, GA 31714 Telephone 229-567-3655 email wiregrassfarmer@yahoo.com THE WIREGRASS FARMER (USPS 687-460) is published every Wednesday by Ashburn Newspapers, Inc., 109 N. Gordon St, Ashburn, Georgia. Periodicals Postage Paid at Ashburn, Georgia. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wiregrass Farmer, 109 N. Gordon St., Ashburn, GA 31714 STAFF Bob Tribble, President • Ann Knight, General Manager Ben Baker, Editor • Linda Sellars, Sales Director Robin Nelson, Office Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES Senior Citizen discount in county only $19.08 Inside Turner County, $21.40 • Elsewhere in Georgia, $26.75 Outside Georgia, $35. Overseas rates on request. OUR POLICIES Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 500 words and include a name, an address and phone number where the writer may be reached during the day. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. All letters become prop erty of the newspaper. Liability for an error will not exceed the cost of the space occupied by the error. We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or materials unless a self-addressed stamped envelope is included.The deadline for LEGAL NOTICES is Monday NOON before Wednesday's publication. Holiday deadlines will be announced at least one week in advance. America ... the greatest nation on earth Letters To the citizens of Sycamore; Dear Citizens, Thank you so very much for allowing me to serve you in the office of Mayor for the past 8 years. I am so humbled that you showed so very much faith in me to intrust me with this position. I have enjoyed my time serving and being able to do for you the citizens. That has been the most important thing for me was to make sure that you had done what you needed. I have enjoyed talking and meeting with every one of you and most importantly the phone calls when you needed a hand. Once again I cannot express to you the gratitude I have or the emptiness that I feel knowing that I have come to the end of my term. I will miss you all very much, but I want you to know that I will still be glad to help you in any way possible. I wish all the success in the world to incoming Mayor Alan Coker and I pledge to help him in any way that I can. I was hoping that the new probation holding center would be open by now but because of budget cuts by the Purdue Administration it was put on hold. Let me tell you about some thing though, Up in Barnesville, Georgia they broke ground on one of these facilities after ours was completed. As soon as it was completed it was opened. Check Bamesville’s unemployment rate compared to Turner County’s and you will know that someone had some pull in the Governor’s office. Turner County has needed those 65 jobs but yet we weren’t as important. I have made count less calls to the Governor’s office and every one has went unan swered. I did have a call from Lt. Governor Mark Taylor himself when I called his office. Folks guess who seems to care about our city? I know that I will voice my opinion come the Governor’s race next year when I vote because I want someone who cares that all of the small towns in Georgia are able to operate and pro vide jobs for their citizens not just the metropolitan areas. I hope that you will join me in looking out for our future next year also. Well Christmas is upon us and I myself have no problem wishing you a Merry Christmas. I wanted to write this letter and let you know that from me and Margaret wish you the very best Christmas and Happy New Year ever. Please be safe and know that you are in our thoughts and prayers always. Once again Thanks so very much for the time you have allowed me to serve you. It is a time I will always remember and cherish in my heart, you do not know just how special all of you are to me. Please feel free to call on me if I can be of any help to you in the future. Thanks also to all the council at the cities of Ashburn and Rebecca and to Mayors Bob Hunnicutt and Mayor Collins I have so enjoyed working with you. Thanks to the Turner County Commission and the Chamber of Commerce and to Ben Baker for all you do. I also want to say a thanks to two people who have been there when I needed them they have not only been great col leagues but also the best of friends. I am talking about Ray and John Holland. Thanks my friends you will never be forgotten. I love each and every one of you. Also thanks to the employees at the City you do a great job and keep it up. But most of all I Love You Sycamore. Thanks For Your Support Wayne Woodruff, Mayor City of Sycamore As the last few days of 2005 slip away and we prepare to welcome 2006, we wonder what will happen in our coun try and world over the next twelve months. We wonder what will happen over the next ten, twenty or fifty years. Most of us never thought that man would walk on the moon. We never dreamed that flying across the ocean in a jet air plane could take so little time. Some even wonder what has happened to the America they once knew. A columnist for a newspaper in Highland, N.C. recently asked that ques tion. His opinions of some things that have happened over the years in our nation differ from mine, but he has every right to express them. Alex Redmountain writes that his fantasy of America is of democratic institutions at home, generosity, friendships and non aggression abroad. However, he doesn’t see that today. He writes that our coun try is taking two steps forward and one step backward as far as justice and equality is con cerned. Alex continues by saying that we have an overbearing federal government that bullies and intimidates ordinary citi zens through its governmental agencies. Corruption is rife throughout our government, he writes. Opponents of the separation of church and state have infil trated the political system, and are trying to impose right wing Christianity. This has distorted non-Christian values on Americans through court deci sions, constitutional amend ments and Congress, he writes. With few exceptions our QJ 3 -C fS -C o PQ From Where I Sit public school system fails minority students and is only slightly better for the rest, Alex says, adding that neither the most talented nor the least able receive an adequate education. The columnist writes that only the well off and well insured receive adequate health care, while the rest wait in emergency rooms, renege on their medical bills and depend on charity. He says our poverty rate is a disgrace and that being poor and black are still conjoined despite many efforts to solve the problem. Unquestionably, this is connected to the educa tion issue. Redmountain writes that internationally our country is a bully advocating war, torture of captives, assassination of for eign leaders, unwilling to admit our mistakes, and listen to our critics. The war in Iraq is a prime example, he says. Reading Redmountain’s article made me wonder if we live in the same America, or maybe if he should be living in this great nation considering the way he feels about things. Yes, over the years our leaders have made mistakes and they will continue to do so. Everything is not exactly per fect and it never will be. But that doesn’t discard the fact that our country is the leader of the free world and will contin ue to be for years into the future. And might I add that freedom is what gave Mr. Redmountain the right to express his opinions in print. Years ago life did seem so simple compared to today. Some things in our world are in turmoil. We still have crime, sorrow, and new inventions seem to swirl around us. There is fighting around the world and our military men and women continue to pay the supreme sacrifice with the loss of their lives. We don’t like that, but the vast number of Americans understands it is a part of preserving freedom. As we face a New Year let us face it with confidence in our leaders and in ourselves. Pray for them daily, and always remember that our country is the leader of the free world. Take a look back in history, if our nation had not fought wars on foreign soil many countries today would not have the free doms they do. May I encourage you to lay aside bitterness, hate, jealousy and ill will as we move into the New Year. Let us fill our future days with faith, hope and love. Let us not waste a day of life because we cannot call it back. Let us live life each day to its fullest. And let us always remember that America is the greatest country in this world, and thank God daily for allow ing us to live here. Bob Mitchell, owner of Barnes Electric appliance store, finds time to enjoy his home town newspaper no matter where he happens to be. The pink toilet, which has appeared in yards all over town, may soon appear in your neighborhood or yard. A new year for the County Starting next month a new county commission year will begin. In the past the first order of business was to elect a chairman and then discuss and renew the contracts for depart ment heads. This year we will do the former but not the latter. Our County Manager is now responsible for the retention of department heads and that is as it should be. The commission now is free to do what you really pay us for, that is to think in the long term and actu ally anticipate and solve prob lems before they can cause harm. It is some of these upcoming problems I’d like to discuss. I’ve often used the example of our airport being built between two roads as a prime example of lack of foresight. We have a large Federal grant that can be used to enhance our airport at very little cost to the county. We need to spend this money wisely and add those items that will attract business interests and general aviation enthusiasts. Our airport has long been a stepchild with respect to usage and planning. This year we must reverse that process and build a first class facility while the money is available. I know the airport is low on most of our citizen’s priority list but a good airport tends to attract businesses. We need all the attraction we can muster for this county. We actually had a good 10- year plan for our county fire department but we managed to accelerate the process dramati cally with the purchase of 6 good fire engines. While this is great news it leaves us with a whole new set of priorities. We are on the edge of reducing our insurance rating by at least 3 points. This will mean a sav ings of about 20% on all coun ty resident’s insurance bill. We are working on updating our plans but one thing stands out. All the equipment in the world is useless without people to use it. We need volunteers more than ever. We have 6 months to pre pare and pass a good budget. Last year we failed as I have written before because we had to both raise taxes and use reserves. We simply must have a balanced budget this year. After 5 plus years of spending our reserve it is time for the commission to do what it is supposed to do. My personal goal would be to balance the budget and lower taxes by at least 1 mill. Our County Manager is committed to creat ing a budget without using reserves. This will be painful for all departments and to a certain extent our citizens. To Voyage of Discovery get a lean budget some services will have to be curtailed. Raising taxes is not an option. Garbage will continue to be an issue. Property owners con tinue to be concerned about their rental property and we still haven’t figured out how we are going to ensure each resident is enrolled and is pay ing their bill. We have a new billing system in place but time will tell if that is effective. At least we began the process with continued oversight and emphasis we will solve this particular problem. As I have written before the commission and the county manager are open to suggestions on how best to proceed. It took 10 plus years to get this way. I hope we can solve it in only one or two years. I leave you with a good res olution for the coming year. The first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. should be set aside to attend the county commission meeting. Good government comes from com munity involvement bad gov ernment comes from no involvement. Letters to the editor welcome! Your opinion is important! Write: Editor, P.O. Box 309, Ashburn GA 31714 or email <wiregrassfarmer@yahoo.com> We do not charge to publish letters to the editor. But, your letter must meet our publication requirements. Call 567-3655 Baker’s Dozen Be it resolved Lots of people tell me “I don’t believe in New Years res olutions.” What they really mean to say is they don’t believe in making resolutions. Me, I believe in making a New Year’s resolution. I’ve made, and kept, the same one for years now. My unbroken streak on this one had a few close calls in past, but I hung tough. I resolve to not overthrow the government of any third world country unless I get paid a lot of money. And, by a lot of money, I mean the kind of money that gets you a seat at the front table at one of them Reboobican or Damnocrat megabucks plate fundraiser dinners. Not that I have any interest in attending one of these over priced Blue (or Red) Plate Specials. I have to associate with politicians enough as it is right now. It’s kinda like the guy who said he wished he had enough money to buy an elephant. His friend asked “Why do you want an elephant?” The guy replied, “I don’t. I just want the money.” • •• How was your Christmas? Mine was excellent. I got a paper shredder! Instead of sitting over the garbage can every night with scissors shredding a stack of ‘YOU’RE PRE-APPROVED” credit card applications, I hand all of ‘em to the kids and they make confetti. Now my only worry is going home one day to find every piece of the paper in the house shredded and the house covered in a blizzard of paper. • •• I’ll give up my guns - one bullet at the time and the bullet will be accelerating when it leaves my hand. There’s room for all God’s creatures. Right next to the mashed potatoes. There’s always at least one bolt on anything that’s adjustable. It fits whatever size wrench you don’t have. I didn’t climb my way to the top of the food chain to become a vegetarian. It ain’t a tax cut, tax roll back or a tax rebate unless the amount of money I pay in taxes is less this year than it was last year. Wisdom is to understanding as intelligence is knowledge. It’s not a food chain, it’s a food circle. If it wasn’t dogs wouldn’t have fleas and crabs wouldn’t eat sharks. Put cheese on your ham burger. No point in using only part of the cow. Sleep, eat and go to the bathroom whenever you can. The next opportunity may be a long way off. If you never try an anchovy-jalopena pizza, you don’t really know you won’t like it. I’m right all the time. It’s not my fault if the facts are in error. A good cook will always have a job. Just because someone else thinks it’s worth doing doesn’t make it worth doing. A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. The only people who got fired for making backups wound up running the show when the dust settled. Don’t interpret what I say. Just quote me precisely and completely. Vanity is for the vain. Fish often. Support the use of low- yield nuclear devices by your local law enforcement agen cies.
