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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
Named the best weekly editorial page in the nation for 2007, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher ~
Mike Buffington, editor • Email: Mike@mainstreetnews.com
our views
Jefferson
issues
simmering
T HERE are signs that chang
es may be afoot in the City
of Jefferson. A new city
council member, Kathy Dubois,
takes her seat for the first time next
week.
Normally, the change of one coun
cil position wouldn’t be a big deal.
But Dubois takes office at a time
when the council appears more
divided than normal. Her one vote
has the potential to shift the balance
of power on the council.
That observation comes in the
wake of a recent council vote in
which two council members voted
to not renew two department leader
positions — the position of public
works director Jeff Killip and the
position of Main Street manager
Beth Laughinghouse.
The two-vote move by council-
men C.D. Kidd and Bosie Griffeth
fell short of a majority, but it created
a firestorm. City hall has received
a number of emails from people
defending Laughinghouse, who is
popular among many who volunteer
for various city projects overseen by
the Main Street program.
In addition to that controversy,
city manager John Ward has asked
the council to change the terms
of his employment contract so he
could move outside the city limits.
That matter has not been discussed
in public by the council, but was
reportedly the main point discussed
behind closed doors at a recent
council meeting.
At this point, there appears to
be little support on the council to
accede to Ward’s request. One of
the main conditions of his employ
ment contract was that he would
live in the city and be a part of the
community over which he would
be CEO.
But Ward’s problems may be larg
er than that. With the addition of
Dubois to the council in the place
of David Varnadoe, it’s possible that
Ward could be ousted altogether. At
the minimum, Dubois joining the
council disrupts a fairly solid major
ity coalition of council members —
Roy Plott, Steve Kinney and Varadoe
— over which Mayor Jim Joiner has
held a lot of sway.
For his part, the mayor was stung
in last fall’s elections when he barely
returned to office in a race that was
much closer than expected. The
outcome of that race indicates the
town has become politically polar
ized to an extent that hasn’t been
seen in many years. It appears that
a high level of political discontent is
simmering just below the surface in
Jefferson.
The real question now is: Will
there be some kind of major issue
that brings all of these events to a
head in 2010?
The Jackson Herald
Founded 1875 • The Official Legal
Organ of Jackson County, Ga.
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher & Editor
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher &
Advertising Manager
News Department
Angela Gary Associate Editor
Jana Adams Mitcham Features Editor
Brandon Reed Sports Editor
Kerri Testement Reporter
Sharon Hogan Reporter
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PO Box 908
Jefferson, Georgia 30549-0908
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Email: mike@mainstreetnews.com
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letters
Saying goodbye to Owen Webb
Dear Editor:
On December 29, our community lost one of its true
icons and business pioneers. Owen Webb, the pleas
ant smiley-faced owner of Owen Webb’s Snack Shack
to most and one of the most precious examples of
dignity and perseverance to others, in our community
passed away.
Owen Webb was my friend, but if you were his
friend, and almost everyone was as he literally had no
enemies, you would be standing in a large crowd.
I did, however, for the last several years of his life get
to be, as Mr. Rodgers would have put it, his neighbor! I
was his next door neighbor in fact and let me tell you
what a wonderful experience that truly was.
Being Owen’s next door neighbor meant I could
walk over to his house at 9:00 p.m. at night during the
summer, open his unlocked door and just walk in and
sit down like I lived there. On 10 occasions out of 10,
he would be happy to see me, as he was his many
visitors in his later years. Most times, he would holler
out to me before I got to the door, his eyesight was
quite keen even in older age, and direct me to open
that door and “Get on in here and watch these Braves
with me.”
Whether your memory of Owen was only to have
gobbled up one of his yummy Chili Dogs, or perhaps
those awesome Onion Rings at the Snack Shack, or
you were privileged enough to be his personal friend,
he left an impression on you that was just a tiny bit dif
ferent than anyone else ever could have.
Owen Webb, my friend, rest in peace sir.
Sincerely,
Emmett Delaney
Offers support for Laughinghouse
Dear Editor:
As a volunteer of what has become Main Street
Jefferson since its inception years ago, I know what
a fantastic job Beth Laughinghouse has done since
she was hired as director. Her efforts got the Jefferson
Better Home Town designation from the state elevated
to Main Street Jefferson. I have personally worked with
her on numerous events in Jefferson and Jackson
County. They are the Marlow Park project and main
tenance, the Curry Creek project, decorating the
Jefferson Civic Center as well as the City of Jefferson
at Christmas every year, Jefferson Tour of Homes,
Jefferson Christmas Parade, Jefferson Holiday Market,
Jefferson Freedom Festival, Jefferson Movie Night,
Community Theatre, Art in the Park, Crawford W.
Long Museum, the Jefferson Public Library Book
Sale, Jefferson clean up campaign, twice a year and
Arbor Day. She has worked tirelessly with the Jefferson
Heritage Tree Council and the preservation project of
the Historic Jackson County Courthouse, as well as the
Jefferson Streetscape Project. Beth was also a commit
tee member on the Jefferson Bicentennial Celebration,
which was a huge success.
I suggest that anyone who does not know how much
she does for our city and what a great job she does
become a volunteer and see what goes on or at least
attend some of these events. There is a big group of
volunteers who help out, most of us because of Beth’s
dedication and love of this city.
Sincerely,
Ruth Joiner
Jefferson
Sorry...I thought he knew the General Assembly is coming
The boys are back in town
THE GENERAL Assembly is back in session as of
Jan. 11, but it’s going to be very different this year when
our lawmakers gather under the Gold Dome.
The change will be most
evident in the House of
Representatives, where Glenn
Richardson will no longer be
picking a fight every time he
picks up the speaker’s gavel.
It just won’t be the same with
out Richardson losing his tem
per as he accuses Gov. Sonny
Perdue of “baring his backside”
or dares Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle to
“stand up and be a man.”
The new speaker, most likely
Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue
Ridge), tends to be quieter and
calmer in dealing with his col
leagues. He’s a conciliator, not a fighter.
It’s not as if there is going to be much to fight over.
The recession has forced the governor to cut and cut
and cut again from state spending, and lawmakers will
probably have to whack another $400 million or more
from the budget just to keep it in balance.
Ralston has already said there won’t be any tax
increases adopted this session to pay for new pro
grams or government services, a stance the Republican
majority will surely uphold.
That means no new money for local schools, after a
period when Perdue and the legislature have already
cut state formula funding to public systems by a com
bined total of nearly $2 billion.
That also means no money to start building all those
reservoirs that will be needed to supply Atlanta and
North Georgia if a federal judge’s order to cut off access
to Lake Lanier by 2012 remains in effect.
After fighting for the past two sessions over a special
sales tax for highway construction, the House and
Senate may finally be able to agree on legislation
authorizing counties in urban areas to call a joint refer
endum on a one-penny sales tax for road projects.
If that special tax should pass, it won’t generate
nearly enough revenue to pay for all the improvements
that are needed in the state’s transportation systems.
The money from that new tax also would not start roll
ing in for two or three years - and those transportation
improvements are needed now.
If there’s no money in the budget and most tax
increases are a forbidden topic of discussion, how will
our lawmakers occupy their time during the 40 days
they are in Atlanta? Even with the big issues off the
table, they’ll always find little things to fuss over.
Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) and Rep. Calvin Hill
(R-Canton) have filed legislation that would declare
the healthcare reform bill making its way through
Congress to be “unconstitutional” and would prohibit
the federal government from enforcing its mandates
on Georgians.
I’m sure those measures will inspire some eloquent
speeches on states’ rights when they come up for a
floor vote, but the sponsors are in for a deep disap
pointment. The issue of which side prevails in this type
of dispute - the federal government or the states - was
decided about 150 years ago during the unpleasantness
called the Civil War.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville) will continue his
efforts to repeal the law allowing cities to use cameras
that automatically take pictures of vehicles running red
lights and mail tickets to the owners. Loudermilk and
other lawmakers contend that these red light cameras
should be prohibited because local governments only
use them to raise revenues.
Of course, that concern about raising revenues didn’t
stop legislators from passing the “super speeder” law
that just went into effect this month - a law intended to
raise money for trauma care by adding $200 to the fine
for a speeding ticket.
There are some diehard legislators who want to
eliminate any remaining restrictions on firearms in
public places and make it legal to take guns anywhere,
even into schools and mental institutions.
Now that’s a great idea: put firearms within reach
of adolescents and mental patients. I’m surprised the
General Assembly didn’t pass that one years ago.
The bottom line is, you shouldn’t expect much from
your legislators this year. There’s no money to spend
on the problems that are really holding the state back,
which means they will spend most of their time arguing
about the silly stuff. In other words, it will be a typical
legislative session.
Tom Crawford is the editor of The Georgia Report.
He can be reached at tcrawford@capitolimpact.net.
Year ahead will
be difficult
I T’S 2010, a new decade, a time
of renewal and hope for the
future.
Bah, humbug. The realist in me
has a difficult time chewing on such
a smiley-faced world-view. While we
all want
the next
decade to
be better
than the
last, the
reality may
prove to be
very differ
ent. Times
are tough,
changing
the date
doesn’t
change the
fundamen
tal reality.
And it’s the reality not the dream
ing, that we should all prepare for.
Looking into my crystal ball, here
are some of the challenges we face in
2010 and beyond:
• Here in Jackson County, we are
going to have to face the fact that
the boom years of hyper growth that
defined the community in the mid-
2000s is not coming back anytime
soon. That’s a big problem because
the constmction industry had become
Jackson’s main economic engine and
now that’s gone. In the wake of the
housing bust, problems also linger for
government. County officials are right
in their need to stay away from trying
to bail out defunct subdivisions that
now dot the county. It’s a shame that
a lot of people bought lots in develop
ments where the developer jumped
ship in the crash, but it’s not local
taxpayers responsibility to bail out
those bad investments. In any event,
housing as a growth engine is prob
ably gone for the next 10 years. The
one caveat to that may be if Gwinnett
County continues to raise taxes and
have a high crime rate. A mass fleeing
from Gwinnett could boost Jackson
County’s weak housing market.
• The possibility of tax hikes looms
heavy for 2010. Taxpayers, be alert.
• Adding to local governments’
problems will be a large backlash
from property taxpayers who believe
their assessments are too high.
Jackson County’s overall tax digest
didn’t shrink in 2009 as some expect
ed, but if an organized effort is suc
cessful in getting assessments lowered
in the West Jackson Area, it could
shrink in 2010. Assessments could be
THE big issue of 2010.
• The banking crisis isn’t over yet
and 2010 is likely to see more local
banks be taken over by the FDIC,
merged, sold or shutdown. At least
three banks with offices in Jackson
County are in a very shaky condition
and may not live to see 2011.
• At the state level, there is no new
money. Cutbacks will continue in 2010;
even the bloated, but politically con
nected, University system may face
more cuts.
• If you travel in 2010, get ready to
get naked. Since the federal govern
ment refuses to use a reasonable
level of profiling in its airport security
systems, we’re all going to be virtually
stripped searched when we travel. It’s
a stupid system being run by extreme
“political correctness.” We’re all
going to have our dignity and privacy
invaded simply because the federal
government doesn’t want to hurt the
feelings of men between the ages of
20-30 from the Middle East.
• In the coming decade, health
care will become a bigger mess than
it is today. Because I’ve got a family
member with a chronic illness, I’ve
spent a lot of time in hospitals and
doctor offices across the nation and
in Canada. There are problems, to
be sure, but for the most part the
U.S. offers the best health care in the
world. Under ObamaCare, that will be
degraded in the name of “fairness.”
And it will cost more for less service
and lower quality.
Welcome to 2010 and a new
decade. Somehow, it already feels a
lot like the last decade.
Mike Buffington is editor of The
Jackson Herald. He can be reached
at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
mike
buffington