Newspaper Page Text
August 27, 2008
^Reporter
PAGE 9A
onroe
C^OULYliy
Community Calendar
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Aug. 27-Sep. 2, 2008
-“-A- W*
Wednesday, Aug. 27
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^Thursday^ug^8\
E
Dave Ramsey’s “Financial
Peace University”
E
Financial workshop
7 p.m.
K
1
Philadelphia Baptist Church
Maj. Matt Perry speaks at
High Falls Civic Club
meeting
7 pm • Pinky’s Parlor,
Indian Springs
Friday, Aug. 29
Forsyth Lodge #425
Golf Tournament
8 a.m. registration
9 a.m. tee time
$75 per golfer
Forsyth Golf Club
Call 992-8417 or 957-6718
Saturday, Aug. 30
MP class of ‘76 meeting
6 pm* Ebbyz
Aug. 28
Matt Pery to address
High Falls Civic Club
Matthew Perry, Emergency
Management director for Monroe
County and a major in the
Forsyth Police Department, will
address the High Falls Civic
Club at its monthly meeting
Thursday, Aug. 28. This month
the club meeting will be held at 7
p.m. at Pinky’s Parlor in Indian
Springs instead of at the fire
department. Pinky’s Parlor is
located at 1834 Highway 42
South, Flovilla, (Indian Springs).
Refreshments will be served at
the conclusion of the meeting.
Philadelphia Baptist
offers financial workshop
Philadelphia Baptist Chinch will be
offering Dave Ramsey's "Financial
Peace University" beginning at 7
p.m. Aug. 28. The course will go 13
weeks. For more information call
478-992-9350 or
emailpastor@philadelphiabc.com
Aug. 29
Forsyth Lodge #425
to host golf tournament
Forsyth Lodge #425 will hold
its fourth annual scholarship
fund golf tournament Friday,
Aug. 29 at the Forsyth Golf Club.
Registration is at 8 a.m. Tee time
is 9 a.m. The entry fee is $75 per
golfer. For more information con
tact Atoy Buckner at 992-8417,
Robert Moore at 957-6718 or
Kevin Fields at 972-3252.
Aug. 30
MP class of‘76 to meet
The Mary Persons class of 1976
will meet Saturday at Ebbyz at 6
p.m. This is the deadline for pay
ments to participate in the 50th
birthday party for the class. For
more information call Barbara at
994-2227 or Alfred at 214-1167.
Sept. 4
Forsyth Frame Shop
to hold ribbon cutting
Forsyth Frame Shop will hold
a ribbon cutting at 267 Tift
College Drive (previous home of
the Chamber of Commerce).
Community blood drive
The Kiwanis Club is sponsoring
a community blood drive for the
American Red Cross from 2 to 8
p.m. at the Forsyth City Hall
Annex Thursday, Sept. 4.
MP to hold open house
Mary Prsons High School will
have an open house Thursday,
Sept. 4 from 6 - 8 p.m.
Sent. 5
i:
Buckner’s welcomes
Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly and the Country
Dreamers with Paul Brown and
band will be appearing at
Buckner's Music Hall in Jackson
from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5.
Free admission. Good clean fami
ly entertainment.
Sept. 6
Pet Parade fundraiser
for Save a Pet
The Taylor House is sponsoring
a pet parade as a fundraiser for
Save A Pet on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Judges will select winners from
categories including best
dressed, largest, smallest, longest
ears, youngest, oldest, most obe
dient, most vocal, prettiest eyes,
traveled the greatest distance,
best in show, etc.
Pets will need to be current on
shots and provide proof of rabies
shot. There will be a $5 entry fee.
Registration begins at 8:45 am.
Chan Johnson, Canine Good
Citizen Licensed Evaluator, will
be there with dogs performing
agility and obedience demonstra-
tion.There will be prizes that will
be raffled and a silent auction as
well. The Taylor House is located
at 261 Brooklyn Ave. For more
information call 478-994-5223.
Hubbard High School
class of1968 to meet
The Hubbard High School class
of 1968 will meet at Ebbyz at 5
p.m. on Sept. 6 to finalize plans
for the upcoming 40th year
reunion. All members are urged
to attend. For more information
call Brenda Banks at 994-2180
or Herbret
Gantt at
994-9895.
Sept. 8
Historical Society
meeting changed to
second Monday for Sept.
Due to the Labor Day holiday
on Sept. 1, the Monroe County
Historical Society will meet on
Monday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. in the
Bittick-Fletcher Building located
in the Depot Museum/Genealogy
Complex. Visitors are always
welcome and membership is
open to everyone.
Sept. 9
Library book club meets
The Monroe County Library’s
book club meets at 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept 9. The selection for
this month is “Water for
Elephants” by Sara Gruen.
Jacob Jankowski joins the cir
cus after his parents are killed in
a car crash, leaving him in the
middle of the Great Depression
with no home, no family and no
career. There he falls in love with
the beautiful, but married, per
former Marlena and also meets
the other love of his life, Rosie
the elephant. This lushly roman
tic novel is partially based on
real circus stories and illustrated
with historical circus photo
graphs.
About those state cuts...
I am sure that most of
you have either read
or heard about the
impending budget
cuts that are coming
from the governor and
state legislature. In case
you missed it, Gov. Perdue
after consulting with the
legislature, is
requesting a 6 per
cent spending
reduction by all
state agencies. In
addition, Medicaid
will take a 5 per
cent cut while the
QBE formula for
education will
receive a 2 per
cent reduction.
My purpose in
this article is not to miti
gate the severity of these
cuts. They will be deep and
will hurt. There is no way
to positively spin this
issue. Deep down I wish
that we could supply
ample money for all agen
cies and programs every
day for every year.
However, in the following
paragraphs I want to
explain how the state gov
ernment and the budget
work in comparison to the
federal government's budg
et. How the state must
have a balanced budget
while our cousins in
Washington can borrow to
pay their bills (i.e. our
record deficit).
First, let me explain how
the state collects revenue.
This revenue is then is
used to execute the budget
which is set by the legisla
ture. We have two means
Monroe
County’s
No. 1 Source
of News and
Advertising
for 36
years.
^Reporter
n
for raising revenue: State
income tax and sales tax.
About 51 percent of state
revenues come from per
sonal or corporate income
tax with the remaining
balance made up from
sales and the motor fuel
tax. Recently Georgia has
begun to slide into
the same economic
troubles that many
parts of the union
have been feeling
for quite some time.
Higher energy
prices coupled with
a faltering hous
ing market has
created a tough
situation for
most of Georgia.
Most perishable items
(groceries, etc) in Georgia
are tax exempt. As a mat
ter of fact, Georgia has
over 150 sales tax exemp
tions on the books. This
has resulted in a situation
where most of our revenue
is collected from big ticket
items (cars, lumber, etc.).
The recent downturn in
the economy has drastical
ly slowed the purchase of
these particular items.
Accordingly, the state’s rev
enues have begun to fall.
The second problem that
we face is the uncertainty
of predicting the upcoming
budget cycle. We convene
on the 2nd Monday of
January every year. We
then take up the task of
crafting a budget that
begins on July 1st of that
year and ends one year
later on June 30th.
Basically we are trying to
predict economic conditions
and revenue collections
anywhere from 6-18
months in the future. This
is a daunting task even
with the best economists
advising you. Last year we
made budget decisions
based on a modest growth
projection. That modest
growth projection has
turned into a spiraling
decline in the past two
months.
Let me put this scenario
for the state into terms
that are relative to all the
families across Middle
Georgia. Suppose you had
to predict or make out a
budget for your family 18
months into the future. You
would take your projected
income from your job and
factor in a modest raise
and subtract your bills and
obligations. You might fac
tor in a home improvement
(e.g. new prisons or college
buildings for the state) or a
new car (e.g. state patrol
cars). However, what if you
lost you job or didn’t
receive that raise you were
expecting? You would have
to make adjustments to
that predicted budget. You
might have to cut out the
new car or put that home
improvement on hold.
We at the state level are
no different. The constitu
tion mandates that we
have a balanced budget.
We cannot spend more
than we collect in revenue.
Our cousins in Washington
have a different approach
to this problem. They just
put the excess spending on
their credit card and we all
end up paying for the
interest in the long run.
There is no way to sugar
coat the situation we find
ourselves. The months
ahead will be difficult.
However, it is not a time
for politicians or leaders to
put their head in the sand
and hope the next few
months get better.
Governor Perdue believes
in preparing for the worst
and hoping for the best. I,
you and all other citizens
are cutting back during
this tough time. You should
expect your state leaders
to do the same.
It is easy to make deci
sions when there is excess
money and the times are
good. However, your repre
sentatives are elected to
make tough decisions all
the time, not just some of
the time. Right now we are
standing and making those
tough decisions. We make
those decisions based on
what is the long term goal
of this state and your fami
ly. That goal is to make
tomorrow a better place for
those that come after us.
Right now, the short term
looks a little bumpy, but, as
always those bumps seem
to smooth out the further
you look down the road.
Rep. Jim Cole of Forsyth
represents Monroe County
in the Georgia House of
Representatives and is one
of the governor’s floor lead
ers. Email him at jmal-
colmcole@hotmail. com.
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The Monroe County Board of Education has tentatively adopted
a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes
by 15.9%. All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearings
on this tax increase, as required by O.C.G.A. 48-5-32.1, to be
held at the Board of Education Office at 25 Brooklyn Avenue on
the following dates: Thursday, Aug. 28, at 12 noon; Thursday,
Aug. 28, at 6 p.m.; and Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. A
called meeting to consider a final millage levy will follow the
Sept. 4 hearing.
Caldwell Veterinary Hospital, LLC
951 Hwy 41 South • Forsyth • 478-994-8228
Now Accepting New Patients.
Please call for an appointment or stop by.
1 Routine and emergency house calls are available day or night.
1 Preventative medicine, including vaccinations and flea, tick
and heartworm medications.
1 Comprehensive medical management, including diseases such
as diabetes and heart disease.
1 Surgery
1 House calls always available.
Also Boarding and Grooming
www.caldwellvet.com
478-994-8228 • butlercaldwell@bellsouth.net
You’ll have the cleanest carpet in Monroe County
You'll love this exclusive
deep cleaning process.
The system is designed to go
WAY beyond what most clean
ers think of doing.
Your carpet and rugs will be
cleaned by experienced, honest
technicians who excel at pleas
ing you.
GUARANTEED
No Returning Spots
If you have any spots return
within 30 days of cleaning,
we’ll come back at NO
CHARGE. We even have a
way of removing pet stains
from your carpet padding.
I've built my business on
reputation. Several of the finest
carpet retailers in middle
Georgia recommend our serv
ice. Call us for references.
Step 1... We groom your
carpet to loosen embedded dirt
and prepare the carpet for vac
uuming.
Step 2... Dry soil is
removed with a commercial
vacuum.
Step 3... Pre Condition
fibers to break down oils and
dirt in traffic lanes and areas of
concern.
Step 4... FREE spot clean
ing to remove stubborn stains
like gum, wax, spills, pet
stains, ink, food, mud, mystery
spots, etc.
Step 5... Groom your carpet
again to work in cleaning solu
tion.
Step 6...Your carpet is fully
rinsed and ph balanced with
my $22,000 truck mounted sys
tem with 180 degree water.
Step 7... Any remaining
spots get extra treatment with
specialty spotters
and air movers are
used to help your
carpet dry in a
few hours.
This system
removes up to five
times more soil Cory McCook
than a standard Owner
cleaning that most
carpet cleaners perform.
To see what we can do for
your carpet and rugs, visit
www.mycarpetcure.com
BONUS GIFT: Call today
and get the first 50 square feet
cleaned FREE! If you’re not
happy, we’ll leave at NO
COST TO YOU!
Call 478-405-9138 for an
honest, friendly phone estimate
with no bait-and-
switch. You'll be
glad you did.
Forsyth's ONLY
radio station
MAJICIOOFM
Classic Soul Hits at 100.1 FM
Serving Forsyth, Macon
and All of Middle Georgia!
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Georgia Tech Sports
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