Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, December 30, 2009, TheTrue Citizen
inions
★ ★★ * ★ ★ *■
The Pledge Of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which
jit stands, one Nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
★ -A'’*’*- ★ ★ ★ ★
RFD
Looking ahead
By Sen. Earl “Buddy” Carter
(R) Pooler, Ga.
In less than two weeks, the 2010 Georgia State Legislature will
be in session.
As called for in the state constitution, the session begins on the
second Monday of January and runs for 40 days. Because of
committee meetings, breaks, negotiations, etc, the typical ses
sion lasts until the end of March and sometimes into April. Or,
as they say at the Capitol, the session lasts for 40 days and 80
nights.
According to the state constitution. Legislators are charged with
only one responsibility during the session- create and adopt a
balanced budget for the state. While this may be the only re
quirement, much more business needs to and will be conducted.
So what lies ahead for the state Legislature for 2010? What
will be the major topics discussed and debated starting January
11 th ?
1) The Budget- Last year the state of Georgia experienced the
worst budget shortfall in our history. With revenues continuing
to plummet and no apparent appetite in the legislature for raising
or creating new taxes, it appears that more cuts will be necessary
to balance our budget. After making over $3 billion in cuts that
were difficult at best, further cuts will have to be made at the
very core of basic services and will be even more unpopular.
With education accounting for over 56% of our total budget, it’s
the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
2) Job Creation- Georgia’s unemployment rate has exceeded
the national average for 23 out of the last 24 months and remains
well over 10%. While many believe that the economy has been
dragging along the bottom for some time now, everyone agrees
that no economic recovery will be complete without an increase
in jobs. Look for the legislature to attempt to create an environ
ment in Georgia conducive to job growth.
3) Transportation- Long overdue, it appears that the urgency
of Georgia’s rapidly deteriorating transportation system is finally
being recognized. During the past few years leadership in the
House and Senate have been divided on statewide verses regional
solutions. It appears that the regional approach has the best chance
of being passed by local referendums and will likely be the solu
tion offered by the Legislature.
4) Water- With the clock ticking on the Atlanta regions use of
Lake Lanier as a source of drinking water, look for legislation
addressing stricter conservation laws, building more reservoirs
and requiring antiquated water systems to be updated. More than
any single budget item, any transportation project or any health
care initiative, the availability of water will have more impact on
the long term economic viability of our state than any other is
sue.
5) Ethics- With the well documented changes in leadership in
the House as a result of alleged ethical violations over the past
years, look for Georgia’s ethics laws to be reviewed and strength
ened. As is usually the case in such situations, knee jerk reac
tions and grandstanding are to be expected, but hopefully we
will see useful reform that is both affordable and applicable.
6) Healthcare Rights- As healthcare reform makes it way down
from Washington, look for Georgia and other states to take a cau
tious, perhaps even adversarial, approach to any mandated
changes. With budget constraints already crippling our state’s
economy, any additional costs will only make matters worse.
7) Trauma- The longer we ignore it, the worse it gets and the
more people who die. This may be the only area where a tax
increase or creation stands a chance.
While all of these issues may not be resolved this year, all are
important and all will get some attention. After all, this is an
election year and with all members of the legislature up for re-
election later in the year, look for plenty of news coming out of
Atlanta.
Sen. Carter can be reached at Coverdell Legislative Office
Building (CLOB) Room 302-B, Atlanta, GA, 30334. His
Capitol office number is 404-656-5109.
Looking Back, see page 13
nt (Ktiismt
P.O. Box 948 • 601 E. 6th Street
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Telephone: (706) 554-2111 • Fax: (706) 554-2437
Published every Wednesday by TheTrue Citizen, Inc. Pe
riodical Postage Paid at Waynesboro, Georgia (USPS
642-300)
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The True
Citizen, P.O. Box 948, Waynesboro, GA 30830.
Roy F. Chalker
1915-1994
Roy F. Chalker Jr. Bonnie K. Taylor
Editor & Publisher General Manager
Elizabeth Billips
Associate Editor
Jill DuMars, advertising composition and computer pho
tography; Susie Barefield, classifieds and circulation;
Betty Belk, accounting and bookkeeping; Lavonna
Drawdy, advertising composition and design and adver
tising sales; Lisa J. Chance, page designer; Anne Marie
Kyzer, staff writer; and Tres Bragg, staff writer and ad
vertising composition..
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
$1 per single copy at locations all over Burke County. By
mail: In Burke County, 6 months, $17.90,1 year, $28.10,
2 years, $48.20; In area (contiguous counties), 6 months,
$21.80,1 year, $35; out of the area, 1 year, $44.30; out
side of Georgia, 6 months, $30.00,1 year, $55. Student
rate: 9 months in state: $25., outside of Georgia, $30;
One-year online subscription, $20. All prices include state
and local tax.
By Bonnie K. Taylor
General Manager The True Citizen
It’s that time of year we when we make new year’s resolutions.
Probably topping the list for many of us is to lose weight, get in
shape and eat healthier. For some us making these resolutions,
we start big but end up in our same old rut and
the pounds inch up, exercise less and less and
we give into the junk food again.
I am not much of an exerciser, you can tell
this by looking at me. I love to eat! I read cook
books and look for recipes in publications. I
have a great cook at home who enjoys plan
ning and preparing meals. Of course, I would
not want to hurt my husband’s feelings by not
eating his delicious meals. All of our social
life is centered around food and lots of it!
We began a “Biggest Loser” contest at work
about a month ago. It began with a bang! Tres Bragg lost the
most in the beginning. He had plenty of help.
He had some dental work done which curbed his appetite to
Wow!
I can’t believe it’s happened!
I think I’ve hit the big time yall!
I’ve been taken out of context!
You know what I mean. We see it all the
time. Some politician makes a perfectly clear
statement that has only one interpretation.
Then, somebody takes offense to that state
ment and the politician’s knees go weak, his
kidneys nearly betray him, his liver becomes
a brighter shade of yellow and suddenly he’s
back on the front page or before the TV cam
eras yelling.
“I was taken out of context!”
It happens all the time, but for me, this was a first.
I wrote recently about how much I enjoy telling the stories of
the eccentric folks I meet along life’s way. I referred to an televi
sion host who claimed to interview “ the world’s most interesting
people”. I doubted that the folks he spoke to were nearly as en
tertaining as some lesser known ones I’ve run across.
I wrote:
The spot named some supposedly remarkable folks most of
whom I can’t recall but I do remember that Barbra Streisand was
mentioned. Barbra Streisand? Really?
When my quote somehow, for reasons known only to God,
found it’s way onto a website for fans of the Hollywood diva of
old, it simply read:
The spot named some remarkable folks most of whom I can’t
recall but I do remember that Barbra Streisand was mentioned.
My original sarcasm had vanished.
That’s just one of the highlights, or lowlights, depending on
your point of view, from my 2009 in review.
There were plenty of others.
Like my little accident overseas.
I’ve never told anybody about this till now, but I think I’m safe
nearly a year later.
Technically it was a “hit and run" but let me explain.
Last March, when I was in Great Britain, I rented a car to tour
the country. It was tiny and, of course, had the steering wheel on
the wrong side, the right. It really wasn’t that hard to learn how
to drive it, I picked that part up quickly.
The streets were another matter.
The traffic lanes were approximately the same width as the
cars with about a half inch to spare on either side.
I was driving through Salisbury, England, not lost but a mite
bewildered. I was traveling twenty miles over the speed limit in
the left lane with cars to my right, cars ahead of me and a lorry,
British for truck, right on my bumper.
I felt like a bumblebee caught among a swarm or hornets, just
hanging on for dear life!
I got a little too close to a car parked on the curb to my left,
another hazard of city driving “over there”, jam-packed streets.
The left side mirror on my car smacked the right side mirror on a
almost nothing! Us girls lost 2-5 pounds each, but then the Christ
mas holidays arrived.
When we weighed in Monday morning, we were all about where
we were in the beginning. I guess you could say this is good ...
this means we did not gain any weight over the holidays. Can
you say this for yourself?
Now the real contest begins for the “Biggest Loser!”
Catch a glimpse of us in about a six weeks. You will be able to
see if we remained true to our New Year’s resolutions!
Some other resolutions you may want to consider are:
• Get Out of Debt
• Quit Smoking
• Spend More Time with Family
• Get a Raise or Promotion at Work
• Find a New Job
• Take a Vacation
• Help Others
• Learn Something New
• Go Back to School
• Grow More Spiritually
parked car knocking the unattended one completely off of it’s
door. I glanced back just in time to see the glass and plastic orb
spinning down a sidewalk, scattering Brit pedestrians in it’s swath.
I wanted to stop, I really did. But nobody else would slow down
enough.
I was trapped.
By the time I found a place to pull over I was way out in the
countryside miles from my crime scene and couldn’t have found
my way back there if Winston Churchill himself had arisen and
shown me the way.
It wasn’t my finest hour.
Also this year, for the first time, I was threatened with bodily
harm about something I wrote. That was a real surprise. My stuff
is supposed to be light. Humorous. Mostly uplifting. Not offen
sive.
“ I’ll come up there and kick your ( posterior ), “ he shouted
into the phone.
I just laughed and hung up. Fact is, folks from his neck of the
woods have threatened me several times in my life. I emphasize
threatened. None of them have ever actually tried it.
He won’t either.
It was a great year, mostly good times, a few not so, but, I
suspect, pretty much what God intended for me.
I read 43 novels and enjoyed 41 of them.
In spite of the above described little accident I did my first real
foreign travel.
I was called Granddaddy for the first time, though, admittedly,
nobody heard the Princess utter that sweetest name except me.
I lost 39 pounds. I gained 35 pounds. The 35 were more enjoy
able but the net result is loss, so, technically, I did follow the
doc’s orders.
I didn’t get rich but I didn’t get the swine flu either.
I watched my dream house start to materialize. This year sticks,
stones and nails. Next year home.
So, there goes 2009.
Bring on 2010.
Happy New Year.
Don Lively is a retired police officer and freelance writer. He
lives in Shell Bluff. .Email Don at Livelycolo@aol.com.
We welcome your letters
Letters to the editor of The True Citizen are welcomed and en
couraged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours.
Letters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s read
ers. The True Citizen reserves the right to edit any and all por
tions of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters
must include the signature, address and phone number of the
writer to allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters should
be limited to 400 words and should be typewritten and double
spaced or neatly printed by hand. Deadline for letters to the edi
tor is Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Email Letters to the Editor to: lisaj@thetruecitizen.com.
Don Lively
ONE MORE SOLAR ORBIT