Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
February 11, 2009
dteporter
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
OUR VIEW
Police department
needs its own surge
W fti'd reached this office Monday that Greg
Phillips, the chief drug enforcer with the
Forsyth Police Department, is resigning. He’ll
be missed. By all accounts, Phillips was a good
officer who was putting a dent in the local
drug trade. His departure is the latest in a series of rumblings
about officer discontent and a leadership vacuum at the
Forsyth PD. We urge Mayor Tye Howard and council mem
bers to address the problem quickly.
The council named long-time Forsyth officer Art Phillips the
chief a year ago when former chief John Clifton resigned.
Chief Phillips seems to be a gentleman and has been a loyal
officer here for decades. But under his tenure, the police
department’s visibility and aggressiveness seem to be waning.
The Dairy Queen shooting happened in the city, but Forsyth
PD seemed to take a back seat to the sheriffs office on the
probe. Later, when a joint enforcement effort helped shut down
a crack house in Forsyth last fall, Phillips didn’t appear to cele
brate removing drug dealers from town. Instead, he used a
teen’s accusation to launch a probe of his own officers.
Faced with an internal probe and burnout, the department’s
No. 2 man Matt Perry took an extended medical leave last
year, reportedly on doctor’s orders. Meanwhile, the department
has apparently ordered officers to quit including narratives of
their work on incident reports. Instead, the narratives are usu
ally relegated to a supplemental report that is not offered vol
untarily to the public each week.
We don’t pretend to understand all the inner-workings of the
Forsyth Police Department. That’s largely because officers are
afraid to talk for fear of losing future employment. But when
judges, council members and police officers all tell us there’s a
problem in the Forsyth PD, we tend to believe there’s some
thing to it. It’s the council’s job to do something about it.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR
Name: Penny Pitts Davis
Age: 48
Education: MP
graduate, B.S. in phys
ical education from
the University of West
GA
Family: Husband—
Jeff Davis, children—
Kip (23) and Dan
Burdette (21)
Where you wor
ship: Forsyth United
Methodist Church
Your Job: Phys. ed teacher
at Hubbard Elementary, cheer
leading coach at MP
What was your first job:
Lifeguard at Forsyth city pool
Your passion: Fitness
Your favorite possession:
My dog, T-Bone
Favorite movie: “Rudy”
Favorite book: Anything by
James Patterson
What kind of car do you
drive and what was your
first car: Ford Sportrac, VW
rabbit
Your hometown: Forsyth
Something you are con
sidering doing: Training for
a half marathon with my son
Words you live by: “Try not
to judge others”
Something you can’t live
without: Morning coffee
The thing you are most
proud of: My sons and my
teams
What keeps you awake at
night: Unfinished business
Name something
you will never do
again: Go on a seven
day cruise
What’s your
favorite web site?
No time to surf
If your life had a
theme song, what
would it be? “She
works hard for the
money”
If you could start your
life over, what would you
change? I would erase a few
mistakes I have made along
the way.
What food could you eat
every day? Chocolate
Something people don’t
know about you: I moved
away from Forsyth for 12
years.
What’s the worst idea
you’ve ever had: Not to let
go of the retractable leash
when T-Bone saw a squirrel.
What’s the best thing
about living in Monroe
County? Dan Pitts stadium
on Friday night and knowing
the history behind that.
If you could change one
thing about Monroe
County, what would it be?
Better sportsmanship at all
athletic events for the fans.
DAVIS
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, president
Robert M. Williams Jr., vice president
Cheryl S. Williams, secretary-treasurer
OUR STAFF
Will Davis
Publisher/E ditor
publisher@mymcr.net
Gina Herring
Reporter
news@mymcr. net
Adam Ham
Webmaster
webmaster@mymcr.net
Wendell Ramage
Contributing
Writer
wendellram4@
bellsouth.net
Trellis Grant
Business Manager
business@mymcr.net
Carolyn Martel
Advertising
Manager
ads@mjHncr.net
Denzil Hansford
Graphics Artist
gr aphics@m joncr. net
Laura Thackston
Editorial Assistant
forsyth@mymcr. net
50 N. Jackspn St., Forsyth, GA 31029
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Official Organ of Monroe County and
the City of Forsyth
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The comments featured on the opinion pages
are the sole creations of the writers, they do
not necessarily reflect the opinions oi The Re
porter management.
Publication No. USPS 997-840)
On the Porch
Can you spare a shoehorn?
A t 32 pages, this
week’s
Reporter is
the biggest
ene we’ve
had in 2009.
Hallelujah! For this
we thank our adver
tisers. But it’s not big
enough.
My Macintosh
computer tells
me we still have
32 stories sit-
be published 4,600 times
(we’re growing) and
distributed to you,
our dear readers.
They range in topic.
One’s about changes
in this fall’s city
council election.
Another is about a
High Falls
homeowner
S-. who’s man
aged to
escape that
ting on our server waiting to onerous new flood insurance.
There are property transfers
stacked all the way back to
September waiting to find
room at the inn. See, I could
n’t even find enough space for
my column!
People forget, but a newspa
per is also a (God willing) for-
profit business. Our employ
ees have this annoying expec
tation of being paid every so
often. And I hope to send my
kids to college one day.
As with all newspapers, the
amount of advertising we sell
determines how many pages
we can print. Thankfully,
while things have been slow
for all of us, they appear to be
picking back up slowly.
Nothing makes me happier
than to hear another advertis
er tell me their business bene
fits by being in the Reporter. I
like to tell them their adver
tising dollars not only help
themselves, but also provide a
valuable service to the com
munity. It’s a win-win for you,
and for Monroe County.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
All hail Father-Daughter dance
To the editor:
he Forsyth Woman’s Club
Father-Daughter Dance
was a fabulous success
and a grand time was
had by all. It was wonder
ful to see so many of our area’s
fathers escorting their daughters.
What wonderful role models they
are.
Members of the Club would like to
thank the Monroe County Reporter,
Will Davis and staff, for continuing
support of our community projects
and also thank others who con
tributed to the success of the dance.
Much time and effort was given, as
well as exciting door prizes.
Thank You: Beta Club volunteers;
T.G. Scott Elementary School,
including Dr. Bazemore, the teach
ers and maintenance personnel;
Monroe County Bank; Piedmont
Community Bank: Middle Georgia
Realty, Lawson & Cromer
Pharmacy; Girlfriendz Boutique;
Dairy Queen; Avon; Ann’s Deli;
Grits Cafe; Sharon Michelle
Photography; Rubi Nails; Jonah’s;
and Wal-Mart, which contributed
the grand door prize (a bicycle).
We’ll also take the opportunity to
say thank you to all of our members
and to invite all Monroe County
women who may be interested in
joining, to come visit and enjoy the
warmth and fellowship of our club.
Contact Debbie Thomas 994-1709.
Anne Jones
High Falls
Anne Jones is a member of the
Forsyth Woman’s Club.
Clete and Summer Sanders at the Fa
ther-Daughter Dance.
Rip on Herring shows zero class
MARTIN
To the editor:
roy Hencely's remarks in his letter
in last week’s Reporter, "Cow tax:
Just a bunch of bull" sound just like
the title. His personal attack on
Gina is just uncalled for. I don't
know this "tree hugging" fellow, but if the
opportunity presents itself I would clearly like
to meet him in a parking lot, deer camp or
any private, secluded area so we can "discuss"
the finer points of being a gentleman.
Look, if you have a point to make, then
make it, just do it without all the name call
ing. Gina is one of the nicest, most consien-
tious people I know. I look forward to meeting
you, my "environmentally caring" friend. Ask
around-I'm the easiest man to find in the
county.
Robert “Bubba” Martin
Forsyth
Water
continued from the front
for doing something to
change that. She offered
two proposals for outsourc
ing the meter reading
duties. But customers will
likely have to pay higher
water bills to cover
whichever one the county
chooses.
Allen said the erratic billing
cycles are a result of having
only two full-time and one
part-time worker to read
meters across a large coun
ty. Allen said they could
read the county's 2,100
water meters in six days if
their work wasn't often
interrupted for installation
or repair projects.
The two options for out
sourcing the meter reading
include David Ellis of M&E
Construction in Juliette,
who’s offered to handle the
meter reading for $1.25 per
meter, or about $3,150 per
month.
Or, the county could
install new meters that are
readable by a radio at a cost
of $411,000. HD Water
Works of Locust Grove pro
posed that option. Allen
said a worker can drive
down the street and read
water meters via his laptop
computer, without getting
out of the truck.
Allen said the city of
Forsyth is already getting
the radio meters.
Commissioners voted 3-2
to take the proposals under
advisement as they com
plete their 2009 budget.
Commissioners Jim Peters
and Mike Bilderback voted
against the idea. Peters said
they've been talking about
it for two years and he’s
ready to fix the billing prob
lem. He said he'd prefer hir
ing Ellis. But new commis
sion chairman James
Vaughn said he hadn't even
heard about the proposals
until Tuesday and would
like to talk to Allen about it
before making a decision.
For his part, commissioner
Jim Ham said he'd like to
see a little more hustle out
of the water department.
"We hired another guy
and we're still not reading
the meters," said Ham. "If
they don't want to work, let
them go home. I have peo
ple call me every day want
ing a job."
Homeowner Keith Rollins
told commissioners he'd be
willing to pay an extra $1
per month to get an accu
rate reading on his water
bill.
Commissioners will likely
discuss the proposals at a
budget hearing set for 9
a.m. on Friday, Feb. 13 at
commissioners office on
Main Street. The meeting is
open to the public.
Camp
fishing, swimming and
canoeing to kids. But all
that could be in jeopardy
for this spring and maybe
the summer.
Crews were set to begin
work on Monday morning
but were stopped suddenly.
Commissioner Jim Ham,
whose district includes the
camp, said the draining
will begin soon.
“The Baptists have got to
have something to talk
about,” joked Ham, a
Methodist. Ham said the
county owns the easement
on the dam and is there
fore responsible for fixing
it quickly.
Commissioners voted last
fall to hire Willow
Construction in Powder
Springs to replace a rusted
floodgate on the dam.
Willow submitted the only
bid for the project at
$31,960. Willow will have
to drain the lake to replace
the gate.
The county acted after
Carmen Westerfield of the
USDA office in Barnesville
reported that the floodgate
wasn't working properly. A
non-working gate could
cause the dam to break in
a flood as happened in the
flood of 1994, destroying
property in its wake.
Flowers said the gate's
been broken for years and
that in previous conversa
tions the camp had asked
the county to replace it in
the fall if possible. That
way, said Flowers, the
creek that feeds the lake
would have plenty of time
to re-fill it before the camp
ing season starts in March.
Nothing in the contract
prevents the county from
postponing the project
until after the camp sea
son, according to county
purchasing agent Kathy
Pritchett.
But Willow president A1
Gravel said he's been told
continued from the front
to move forward with the
work. And Gravel said any
one who delays the project
may be liable if there's a
flood before the three-foot
wide floodgate is replaced.
Flowers said one engineer
estimated it would take the
lake three months to re-fill.
Gravel and Ham both said
they doubt it would take
that long. Regardless,
Flowers said they’ll man
age.
“We'll keep pressing
onward and I know God is
going to do a great work
this summer no matter
what,” said Flowers.