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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 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
JCSS in the
black, but
future income
uncertain
A lthough it came a
little late in the game,
the Jackson County
School System did what it need
ed to do over the last 12 months
and cut spending.
The result is that the school
system ended its fiscal year in
the black by $3.3 million. That
contrasts to a deficit the system
had last year of $900,000.
The main reason for the turn
around is that the school system
began to make real cuts in its
spending. Amazingly the school
buildings didn’t fall down and
children weren’t left destitute.
But the cuts weren’t without
pain. People lost their jobs in
the process and school leaders
had to make decisions about
the system’s real priorities. For
many school officials, it was the
first time in their professional
lives they actually had to make
such choices; historically school
funds have flowed in at double
digit rates and school officials
only knew how to spend more,
not make cuts.
So JCSS leaders did make
those choices and pulled the
school system off a financial ice
berg.
But the battle isn’t over. County
leaders say the local tax digest
will decline this year, costing
the school system over $1 mil
lion and state leaders are talk
ing about further state funds cut
backs.
That means this small surplus
may not go far, but it does buy
the system some time. Still, if the
economy doesn’t turn around in
the first half of 2011, further cuts
in spending may become neces
sary to avoid red ink in 2011.
The underlying problem here
is that too many school system
salaries have gotten too high
over the years, especially at the
administrative level. That’s true
at the JCSS and at many other
school systems in the state.
In addition to the cuts it’s
already had, the JCSS should
seriously review its administra
tive head count and salary struc
ture to look for further savings.
In the long run, making the
school system leaner and more
efficient will pay dividends not
only to taxpayers, but also to the
students the system serves.
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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BUDGET
Oh, I can promise you this new round of
The ox is gored
WHEN they fall, they fall fast.
That will have to serve as the final word on the
surprising end of the political career of Insurance
Commissioner John “The Ox” Oxendine.
Ask people who have been watching Georgia
politics for a while, as 1 did after last Tuesday’s
results, and they’ll tell you the same thing:
they’ve never seen a cam
paign collapse as quickly
as Oxendine’s did in the
last two weeks before the
primary election.
Oxendine was the
leader in every survey of
likely Republican voters
for more than year. He
raised more money than
any of his primary oppo
nents. Karen Handel,
Nathan Deal and Eric
Johnson for months tried
to get traction in the polls
and catch Oxendine but
did not seem to be getting anywhere.
Oxendine knew how to run a statewide cam
paign, having won four of them since 1994. In
two of those elections, he received more total
votes than any other candidate running for
statewide office. More people voted for the Ox
in 2002 and 2006 than for statewide winners like
Sonny Perdue, Saxby Chambliss, Tommy Irvin,
and Cathy Cox.
He was the kind of candidate you’d call a Teflon
politician. In the years since Oxendine was first
elected insurance commissioner in 1994, the
state’s newspaper and TV outlets had produced
dozens - maybe hundreds - of articles about the
various allegations of misconduct lodged against
him. None of it ever seemed to stick.
The Oxendine files included two crashes of
state-owned vehicles, improper use of an emer
gency “blue light” flasher on his car, question
able contributions from people in the industry he
regulated, free trips to Hollywood from persons
who wanted a favorable decision from him as
insurance commissioner.
None of these media reports appeared to hurt
his standing among Georgia’s voters. Oxendine
kept getting reelected without major opposition
and was the clear frontrunner during much of
this year’s GOP primary.
After 16 years, however, it all seemed to catch
with him at the end. During the final two weeks
of the primary campaign, the period when voters
actually start paying attention and make up their
minds about races, many Republicans clearly
decided they’d had enough of the Ox.
Maybe it was the cumulative effect of all those
media reports about Oxendine’s alleged mis
deeds. Maybe it was the fact that some people
who watched his TV commercials were turned
off by his squeaky voice.
Whatever the reason, about half of those who
had been indicating in early polls that they would
vote for Oxendine deserted him when the race
was on the line. He ended up a weak fourth-
place finisher with 17 percent of the vote. It was
an amazing crash and burn.
Republicans are left with a choice in the runoff
between Handel, the former secretary of state,
and Deal, a 17-year member of Congress from
Gainesville.
Handel ran first in the primary. She has the
backing of much of the Republican Party estab
lishment and benefited greatly in the primary
by securing the celebrity endorsement of Sarah
Palin.
Handel also has deep connections to the
outgoing governor, Sonny Perdue. She was an
aide to Perdue at one time and her campaign for
the Fulton County Commission in 2003 was run
by Perdue protege Nick Ayers. Perdue’s media
spokesman, Dan McLagan, is the mouthpiece for
the Handel campaign. Dick Anderson, who was
appointed by Perdue as director of the Georgia
Regional Transportation Authority, is also work
ing in Handel’s campaign.
Deal has a strong base of support in North
Georgia from the years he represented Hall
County in the state Senate and the U.S. House,
and he carried a swatch of counties along
Georgia’s northern border in the primary.
To catch Handel in the runoff, Deal would
have to expand that base and somehow break
down her support in the urban areas where she
ran strongest: Metro Atlanta, Augusta, Macon,
Columbus and Valdosta. He will also have to
hope that Georgia Right to Life, the anti-abortion
group that opposes Handel, has enough clout
among Republican voters to bring Deal home
to victory.
It will be a closely watched runoff campaign,
one that is all the more remarkable because
of the man who will not be part of it: John
Oxendine.
Tom Crawford is the editor of The Georgia
Report. He can be reached at tcrawford@sare-
port.com.
Don’t sit too close to me
I T’S NOT always popular to be a newspaper
editor. I was reminded of that tmism a few
weeks ago when I read that a tow-tmck opera
tor was suing Pendergrass officials over his being
dismissed from the city’s towing list because he
had “associated” with the editor of The Jackson
Herald.
That would be me.
Of course, only in
Pendergrass could a
lawsuit like this be car
ried out with a straight
face.
It was one year ago
that a group of whistle
blowers came forward
to accuse several
Pendergrass officials
of wrongdoing. They
have since filed a civil
lawsuit; a recall hearing
has failed; and the GBI
is apparently continuing
its criminal investigation,
although nobody will talk much about that.
Still, Pendergrass is a city where public officials
talk like B-movie mobsters about those “in the fam
ily” and those being shunned “by the family.” In
Pendergrass, loyalty to “the family” is paramount.
Be disloyal and you might find a horse head in your
bed... or maybe in Pendergrass, a chicken head.
And apparently, being disloyal means sitting too
close to the editor of this newspaper.
Here’s the story: Pendergrass tow truck operator
Darrell Moore was part of “the family” for a long
time. His daughter worked at Pendergrass City
Hall. He towed hundreds of cars taken from the
Pendergrass Police Department’s aggressive traffic
trap. City administrator Rob Russell was his BFF.
But that all changed last fall at a court hearing
where a group of citizens tried to recall Pendergrass
city officials.
I went to the hearing for part of one day. Sitting a
couple of court pews behind me was Moore.
That was too much for Pendergrass leaders. They
immediately had the Jackson County E911 center
remove his towing business from Pendergrass’
police call list.
The reason?
“Sitting too close to Buffington.”
Bummer. Was my Old Spice not working?
Here’s a part of what was said to Moore:
City policewoman Becky Davis: “You want to
know why you were taken off the (towing) list?”
Moore: “Um-hm. ”
Davis: “You know why that is. ”
Moore: “No, that’s what I wanted to come ask
you. ”
Davis: “Because you were so far up Mike
Buffington’s and Bill’s (Garner) ass at that meet
ing (court hearing.) I mean, do you think it’s not
a conflict of interest?
Moore: “The only reason I was there was for
Felicia (his daughter.) ”
Davis: “Right. But you sat over there with
(whistleblower) Bill and Mike Buffington? I mean
after everything Rob (Russell) has done for you?
Do you know how that made him feel?”
Moore: “So that’s the reason I got taken off the
list?”
Davis: “Yeah!”
Yikes.
Aside from the rather salacious imagery that con
versation paints, I wasn’t aware that sitting close to
me was a firing offense.
Did I wave too hard?
The funny thing about this is that I don’t remem
ber talking to Moore at that hearing, but I did have
a nice conversation with Pendergrass Mayor Monk
Tolbert’s wife.
Hope Mrs. Glenda didn’t get in too much trouble.
Also odd is that the Davis-Moore conversation
is a real “twilight zone” moment. A few years
ago, Davis herself sued Russell and the City of
Pendergrass, claiming that Russell and other city
employees had sexually harassed her. Among the
many sexual harassment claims in her suit, Davis
said Russell told her if she got a boob job, he’d give
her a raise.
Davis’ lawsuit was settled last year after the mayor
got an unsigned check from city hall and paid her
lawyers. She then went back to work for Russell
(presumably without boob enhancements) and
now defends his honor from the likes of me.
Only in Pendergrass...
For his part, Moore filed a lawsuit in June against
Pendergrass over having been taken off the towing
list and that issue is now winding its way through
the courts. I’ll be interested to see if a judge rules
“sitting close to Buffington” is legal firing offense.
In the meantime, be forewarned that being seen
with me in public could be harmful to your job. If
you see me in church (rare, I know), find a pew on
the other side of the room. If you see me in a res
taurant, you may want to find a table remote from
where I’m sitting.
And if you’re really worried, email me and I’ll put
you on my “do not wave list.”
Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald.
He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
mike
buffington