Newspaper Page Text
July 9, 2008
PAGE 5A
"Reporter
On the outside looking in
It’s only
just begun
T his headline for this column doesn’t refer
to the song of the 70’s. What it refers to is
that you are going to have read further to
find out.
With the primary election coming up next week,
the rumors, innuendos and nastiness is being repli
cated from the presidential cam
paign to the local races. It has
only just begun. I am refusing to
print any of them but one would
have to be living in a state of
ignorance to have not heard them
and even read a couple. I am
referring to the following local
races: district attorney, com
mission chairman, magistrate
judge and tax commissioner.
Here’s a way to avoid taking
the nastiness into the voting
booth: vote simply for the per
son you think will do the best
job. Don’t believe what candidates say about each
other. Look at his or her compatibility with you and
your opinion of how they should represent you. Make
them tell you. Yes, let personality compatibility be a
factor and vote for the candidate that is going to do~
-in your opinion—the best job representing you.
Remember, if candidates are nasty towards each
other now, they could be nasty toward you once their
egos kick in after being elected and particularly if
you didn’t vote for them.
HAVEN’T heard if the City of Forsyth is still in a
financial bind. Even if they are not, here’s an idea to
put some money in the city coffers. Surely you have
noticed the pick-up trucks with campaign signs in
truck beds. Some of them have been parked on the
square for a couple of weeks. That’s advertising on
public property and surely there is a city ordinance
that prevents such.
So, here’s the simple solution: the city should
charge for the parking space, just like this newspa
per charges for advertising space. The way some of
the pick-ups look, a couple of the candidates could
use the job to get a newer model. Doesn’t Forsyth
have an ordinance against abandoned vehicles? They
look abandoned to me and clutter up the square.
Tow ’em off.
HAVE YOU noticed how many local arrests are
made for vehicle windows being tinted too dark?
There is a Georgia law that specifies just how dark
vehicle windows can be tinted. I think I am correct
that the law states you have to be able to see the
people in the front seat from the side of the vehicle.
Now, after that explanation, here’s the question to
our sheriff and police chief: Why isn’t the law appli
cable to sheriff and police vehicles?
THIS E-MAIL in regards to the board of education
member and wife of a county commissioner after her
publicly lambasting the county commission chair
man: “She should resign from the BOE because her
comments were not only embarrassing to the BOE
but she does NOT represent those who elected her.”
COMMENTS made by visitors at the last commis
sion meeting: “Seems like I’m getting the run
around. I swear this is not a commission meeting
but a meeting of the Klu Klux Klan.”
“Who gets water is dependent upon who you are
and who you know. We keep getting carrots and no
water”;
“We have vacant lots with water but homes that
don’t”;
“We are not here to argue, we are here to beg”;
“We understand south Monroe County is not as
important as the rest of the county”;
“Not to beat you down again...”;
“Ours is a big statue”;
AND NOW, these comments made by commission
ers:
“I’m not related to you. Thank the Lord”;
“You’re talking a little too fast for me Mr.
Chairman”;
“I’m not trying to get in an argument.”;
“I got caught outside by one of the angry people”;
“I’m into historical preservation.”
“I’m still looking into it but I have hit a snag”;
“I know we got a motion and a second and that’s
why we are discussing it.”
“We all fight for our districts” was a comment made
by a commissioner that proves the district form of
our county government is not good for all the county.
OBVIOUSLY some developers know something
some of us don’t know because real estate developers
had commission-approved plats for three new subdi
visions! How many homes are on the market in
Monroe County?
UP IN IOWA, after the flooding, residents are hav
ing a problem with mosquito bites and scientists
have offered this advice which is apropos here in
Monroe County: People who drink a lot of alcohol
may be prone to mosquito bites. That’s because alco
hol, lotions and perfumes make your skin smell more
attractive to them.
Mosquitoes just might like Bloody Marys.
Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and former
publisher of The Reporter. He can be contacted at tul-
laybear@bellsouth.net.
Around the Bend
Do you have this in a bigger size?
A m I the only one who has
noticed the demise of the fit
ting room attendant? Oh,
there are still a few out there.
But, what do they do
exactly?
Remember when they used
to actually help you? They
would fetch you another size
or color and you wouldn’t
have to get completely
dressed again to do so.
But, based on my obser
vance, fitting room atten
dants don’t tend to any
thing much. The modern-
day fitting room atten
dant’s primary duty is to count your
clothes. They then hand you a little
plastic hanger with a number print
ed on it, based on how many items
you have draped over your arm. But
do they ever count the items to make
sure you’re not sneaking in an extra
pair of shorts? Most of them do not.
Without even looking up, most of
the modern day fitting room atten-
dants-slash-guards mundanely ask,
“How many?”
How many what? I’d like
to ask them back.
How many days has it
been since you’ve bathed?
How many times a day do
you ask that question?
How many hours have I
wasted telling fitting room
attendants that I will be
trying on four garments
today?
But, I usually keep my
smart remarks to
myself and just say “three” and take
my little plastic hanger and proceed
to my cubicle with the warped mir
ror. (How else can you explain why
everything I try on makes me look so
fat?)
For fun, sometimes I tell the lady I
have three garments when I really
have four just to see if she’s paying
attention. Usually she’s not.
Sometimes I wonder if they are
keeping up with the number some
how. Do they go home to their spous
es and say, “Whew I’m tired. I hand
ed out 219 number twos and 475
number threes today!”?
Did you know that even though
Wal Mart Super Centers stay open
24 hours, their dressing rooms close
at 10 p.m.? I’m not joking. I attempt
ed to try on a pair of shorts Saturday
night at a Super Center and was
promptly told by the attendant that
the dressing rooms were closed.
“I’ll only be one minute,” I pleaded.
“I can’t let you go in there,” she
said flatly. “If I let you in, I’ll have to
let everyone else in.”
Now I know how my kids feel.
Gina Herring may be reached at
ginaherring@bellsouth.net.
9$ TTiAy
DA candidates respond
A story in the July 2 Reporter,
“Hartwig says Milam sabotaging his
campaign,” reported on district attor
ney Richard Milam’s criticisms of his
opponent George Hartwig for a five-
month stint as a drug unit captain
with the Charlotte County Sheriff s
Office in Port Charlotte, Fla. The
article elicited lots of feedback, so this
week we are giving both candidates
the opportunity to expound on their
views of the controversy.
Just
compare
my record
to his
I t is not my desire to
belittle the service
my opponent has
given to the people
of Florida and
Houston County.
However, it is important
to know the history of a
man who wants to be
elected as your District
Attorney. What I showed
to a few of my friends and
to the Reporter were pho
tocopies of two authentic
newspaper articles, one
from the Charlotte Sun
and one from the
Sarasota Herald Tribune.
They contained the find
ings of the reporters who
wrote them and the edi
tors who printed them.
They were just two of
many such articles about
the failure of the nar
cotics unit commanded by
my opponent. Your read
ers should read all of the
articles and make their
own evaluations. The
articles are available on
the internet. The article
that appeared in the
Reporter contained no
excerpts from these news
paper articles and no
quotes from the reporters
that wrote them. Instead
of speaking to the people
who actually did the
research and read the
internal investigation
reports, the Reporter
relied upon the word of a
television reporter who
wrote none of the articles
about the issue.
My history can be
learned from the thou
sands of people in this
area who know me and
have observed my efforts
on a first hand basis. I
have worked steadily in
the courts in this area for
34 years, the last nine as
District Attorney. My
opponent worked as an
attorney and assistant
district attorney for a few
years then applied for
various jobs in law
enforcement in Florida.
He took the Charlotte
County job and stayed at
it 4-5 months then
returned to his old job in
Houston County. It is
rumored that earlier this
year he applied for the job
of chief of police in
Centerville. Now he is on
leave from the Houston
County D.A.’s office and
running for District
Attorney in Monroe
By Richard
Milam
County, where he has
lived for three years and
has never handled a sin
gle case. He has never
appeared before any of
our judges or jurors and
has never worked with
any of our court officials.
My opponent advertises
that he has tried 30
felony cases, including 3
murder cases, as if that is
a high number. I have
tried over a hundred
felony criminal cases,
over a dozen murder
cases and two death
penalty trials. Three of
my assistants have more
trial experience than my
opponent.
If anyone is misrepre
senting the facts, it is my
opponent. He infers that
I have no support in the
law enforcement commu
nity. I invite your readers
to ask Sheriff Bittick or
Captain Benson about my
performance. If you want
to know about my oppo
nent, ask a narcotics
investigator or a deputy
in Houston County, the
only county where he has
ever prosecuted. Ask the
Sheriff of Houston
County. My opponent’s
style and demeanor are
not universally appreciat
ed by law enforcement
officers in the county
where he works.
Your readers should
draw their own conclu
sions from the history of
my opponent’s tenure at
the Charlotte County
Sheriff’s Department. It
appears that my opponent
cannot decide whether he
wants to be a law enforce
ment officer or an attor
ney prosecuting criminal
cases. The last position of
leadership held by my
opponent was captain of
the narcotics unit at the
Charlotte County
Sheriff’s Department in
Florida. He resigned
abruptly and returned to
the Houston County
D.A.’s office after a very
short time. I humbly
request that the people of
Monroe County compare
his record and mine and
make their decision.
Integrity
matters
most, know
the truth
By George
Hartwig
W hat is the
most impor
tant quality
to look for
in a district
attorney? Integrity.
Integrity comes from faith
and belief in a higher
power, a sense of right and
wrong, and knowing that
truth and righteousness
will prevail. Integrity-you
either have it or you do
not.
Some people will do and
say anything, whether true
or not, to retain power. I
am referring to the recent,
coordinated attempts to
attack my integrity and
character (see July 2
Monroe County Reporter).
Someone has (anonymous
ly, of course) set up a web
site to attack me personal
ly and perpetuate lies.
They have also circulated
certain “documents” they
claim raise questions about
my character. Please let
me explain.
In May 2002, after work
ing as an Assistant DA in
Houston County for about
nine months, I was recruit
ed by the Charlotte County
Sheriff’s Office (FL) to
clean up a “troubled” nar
cotics unit. They recruited
me because of my distin
guished law enforcement
experience in Florida, drug
prosecution experience and
my objectivity. I headed to
Florida, and my wife and
two daughters remained
here. I never expected this
to be a long-term position.
In Charlotte County, I
took command of a drug
unit being supervised by
Cpl. Wyatt Henderson.
Before I arrived, three
individuals had been
removed for misconduct.
Over the next few months,
I routinely dealt with mis
conduct (some illegal)
within the unit. I initiated
several internal affairs
investigations into the
activities of rogue deputies.
Henderson was eventually
indicted, tried and convict
ed. He went to federal
prison for an incident that
occurred one week prior to
my arrival.
By October 2002, several
members of the drug unit
were under investigation
or suspended. I had
worked hard to investigate
and remove the bad cops.
In doing so, several false
accusations were directed
at me by their allies.
Internal affairs determined
these accusations were
unfounded. Once the inves
tigations were completed, I
returned to my family in
Georgia. I rejoined the
Houston DA’s office where
I continue to serve as
Senior Assistant District
Attorney in charge of nar
cotics prosecutions.
Why would the elected
DA participate in a smear
campaign against me?
According to the Reporter,
Richard Milam personally
delivered these “docu
ments” to the newspaper. I
don’t know whether Milam
is behind the attack web
site, but it went up about
the same time he began
passing out documents.
Shamelessly, Milam knew
the truth about me but
still chose to attack me.
Last year, Milam wanted
me to come to work for
him as an Assistant DA in
Forsyth. He had my
resume—including
Charlotte County 2002. I
informed Milam back then
why I was in Charlotte for
five months and told him
about the IA investigations
and bad cops. Soon after,
Milam offered me a prose
cutor’s position. Needless
to say, upon hearing how
Milam ran his office, I
declined the offer. In fact,
it was this interview with
Milam that prompted me
to run for District
Attorney.
If, as Milam now claims,
my character is in ques
tion, why did he try to hire
me last year? Fact: I was
endorsed last week by the
Police Benevolent
Association (PBA) of
Georgia. Fact: I have never
been reprimanded or disci
plined as an officer. Fact:
There has never been dis
ciplinary action taken
against my licenses to
practice law (GA & FL).
Why, Mr. Milam, do you
ignore the truth? It really
is a question of integrity!
This District Attorney
election is about integrity
and character. Do you
want a DA who ignores the
truth, twists the facts, and
deals in falsehoods? I trust
not. If you have questions
for me, please call 478-285-
6559 or visit my website at
www.hartwigforda.com.
Please vote for me in the
Republican Primary on
July 15 to restore integrity
and truth to the DA’s
office.