Newspaper Page Text
January 1, 2014
^Reporter
PAGE 5A
On the Outside Looking In
Secret recording of city council?
By DON DANIEL
A s you have heard
and read, the
Forsyth City
Council by a 4-3
rote, with King
Mayor Howard breaking
the 3-3 vote, is going to
“give” $25,000 in coopera
tion with the Monroe Coun
ty Development Authority
tossing in another $25,000
and the developer of the
Tractor Supply site chipping
in $25,000 to re-locate that
portion of East Main needed
for Tractor Supply
to invest in Forsyth.
What is puzzling
is why the vote
was a tie and had
to be broken by the
mayor and why
those three that
voted against the
money (which the
city has) obvi
ously felt the
city’s portion
was not an
investment in
Forsyth.
I received a taped
the sheriff’s department
and county employees tak
ing the parking spaces
downtown around the
square. With the sheriff’s
cars parked around the
square, it gives the impres
sion to those driving
through town we are a
well-protected town”.
Third council member:
“Surely the city manager
can come up with some
thing. We pay him enough
money to present us with
some preventative meas
ures that will stop
this harem-scarem
potential anticipated
growth mess we are
in”.
Fourth council
member: ‘You know
we could plead we
are broke”.
Fifth council
member: “Well,
you know we ain’t
really broke. We
have money that
allows us to go to
those city taxpayer
“recording” of a recent
Forsyth City Council plan
ning and work session.
Honest, I did not have to
eavesdrop with my ear to
the door since the meeting
was open, but I couldn’t
attend. Thank you to the
person who taped the ses
sion and gave me a copy
(no one will ever know who
you are):
First council member:
“We gotta do something
about the growth that is
going to take place in the
city. Also, we just have to
do something about the
anticipated growth. My
constituents want Forsyth
to stay like it was. I know I
am just one council mem
ber but I think we need to
do something to prevent
any possible growth. Don’t
you all agree”?
Second council mem
ber: “I totally agree we
cannot invest in growth
nor give any possible busi
ness any incentive to come
to town. We don’t need to
promote what we have and
I emphasize, it is necessary
we need to do something to
prevent business growth”.
Some council mem
bers responded: “Amen”.
Second council mem
ber again: “We have to
protect the businesses that
are here. They cannot sur
vive competition. In addi
tion, there’s not enough
parking downtown. I like
paid meetings in
Savannah, Atlanta and
wherever. I tie those meet
ings into my family vaca
tion plus I personally get
reimbursed when I tip the
bellman. All that is neces
sary for us to do the job we
are elected to do”.
Sixth council member:
“These potential and new
businesses just create traf
fic problems. Suits me if
those 4.75 million people
that come up and down I-
75 yearly don’t come down
town. They eat in
Chattanooga or Valdosta
and then use the bath
rooms at the fast food
restaurants here. We don’t
want to give any incentives
for them to come down
town”!
King Mayor Howard
(who came out of his tax
payer paid furniture office
to attend the meeting):
“Well, the city manager is
going to present us with
some ideas how we can
prevent this from happen
ing. I know ya’ll haven’t
seen the budget because he
has to present it to me
before I will share it with
you. That’s according to
the city code. By the way, I
have been taking those
approved payable vendor
checks home to sign and
keeping them a couple of
weeks so the vendors will
not want to do business
with us. Don’t y’all think
that is a good idea” receiv
ing several nods of
approval.
Unidentified council
member: “Maybe we
should take the attitude of
that county commissioner
who stated if you don’t like
the way we do business,
just move out of the coun
ty. Or better, don’t come!”
The Mayor: “Yall need
to remember we got to get
re-elected to keep this
going. I know some people
that can help us get re
elected when it comes time
to vote”.
Another council mem
ber: “Hey, I got an idea.
Maybe if we enforced citi
zens and businesses into
paying their light, sewer
and cable bills on time that
would discourage any busi
ness from coming to town.
Also we could drop all late
payment fees and they
could pay their city utility
bills any time they wanted
to, not when payment is
due. Nope, that won’t work
because we have too many
businesses and citizens
that already do that. We
should enforce immediate
payment”.
Finally, the city manag
er revealed his plan to the
council to keep businesses
from coming to town: “We
can raise commercial
sewer rates by 181-per
cent, raise electric rates by
20-percent and raise sewer
and electric rates by 10-
percent for residential citi
zens. If we do this y’all can
keep going to those taxpay
er conventions and y’all
can vote to give you all
another raise”.
Inaudible as to who the
council member was, but
here was his suggestion:
“We should tell the cham
ber of commerce,
Downtown Development
Authority and Monroe
County Development
Authority not to promote
Forsyth anymore and
when a business wants to
come to town, we tell the
chamber, DDA and MCDA
to recommend locating in
Bolingbroke, Culloden,
Smarr, Juliette, High
Falls, even Blount. Nah,
that’s where Don Daniel
lives. That would be evi
dence we are working with
the county commission and
they would appreciate us
working with and for
them.”
Another council mem
ber chimed in, “We
should remove all the signs
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
To the editor:
I 'm disturbed by the points raised in
the Dec. 25 On the Porch opinion
piece, “Happy, happy, happy despite
persecution” about Duck Dynasty.
By definition, persecution implies a
level of suffering. The Apostle Paul was
certainly persecuted. Jews have been per
secuted. African Americans have been
persecuted. Many groups and individuals
have laid down their lives for their beliefs
throughout history. Phil Robertson got
the equivalent of a slap on the wrist for
making homophobic and racist remarks
so let’s not make him a martyr just yet. I
agree he has a right to his religion. I
agree he has a right to say what he
thinks. I also believe an employer like
A&E has every right to terminate an em
ployee that insults large segments of
their viewership. But they didn’t do that,
did they? They just suspended him. Why?
Money.
Duck Dynasty is a scripted “reality”
show made to entertain for the ultimate
goal of making money. The author made
a gross sweeping statement about
media companies based in New York
and Hollywood. Apparently N.Y. and
Hollywood populations are pro-gay, anti-
family, anti-capitalism, and nihilistic all
at the same time which I don’t even
think is possible. By the way, A&E,
which the author claims to have added
to his viewing because of a show pro
moting family, is one of these dreaded
anti-family NY based media companies.
Also anti-capitalism is usually used to
refer to people or groups that want a
system besides capitalism such as
socialism or communism. Do you really
think any media company in the US is
anti-capitalism?
Also, don’t confuse nihilism with all
people who don’t believe in religion.
Nihilism rejects religion and moral prin
ciples because life ultimately is mean
ingless. Atheists don’t believe in deities.
Agnostics believe it is impossible to
know the truth about deities. Neither
believes life is meaningless. When you
believe this life is all you get then sud
denly it takes on an incredible amount
of meaning.
As far as the 1960s Supreme Court
ruling about prayer in public schools is
concerned, that was righting a wrong,
not furthering an anti-Christian view.
Someone who believes another religion
than you believes they are just as right
as you do. They think you are wrong
just as much as you think they are
wrong. However they are just as
American as you. Their tax dollars
count the same. Their vote counts the
same. Their child shouldn’t have to go
to a public school and be forced to claim
a different God. You can’t get more un-
American than forcing a belief on a per
son. What if you sent your kid to Mary
Persons and they made him praise
Allah in homeroom or denounce Christ
before lunch? Fortunately for all of us,
there is the First Amendment’s
Establishment Clause. I haven’t heard
of anyone trying to stop your right to
assemble, outlaw your religion, close
your church, or tell you that you can’t
legally marry, so I’m not sure where this
great anti-Christian bigotry is coming
from that you are worried about.
Glen Smith
Canton
Glen Smith grew up in Forsyth.
on 1-75 that denote
Forsyth exits and remove
the signs that designate
downtown Forsyth as a
historic district. That will
be my motion at the next
council meeting”.
Then another council
member suggested turn
ing off the lights on 1-75
and “maybe those on the I-
75 traveling through
Forsyth won’t see us” he
commented.
The rest of the tape is
garbled but you get the
“essence” of the “meeting”.
(Actually no one gave the
me the tape. I found it the
bottom of an Ingles’ plastic
shopping bag thown on the
right-of-way where I was
picking up trash in front of
my house. The bag also
had a pound of frozen
chit’lins, fresh collard
green, hog jowl, black-eyed
peas and an empty Bud
Light can).
CCJ2MM
PAINTS
Call to reserve your seat in the
"2014 CeCe Caldwell Chalk and Clay Paint Bring a Piece Class"
January 21^, 6-9 or January 23^, 11-2
Nancy McComb: 478-973-4551
89 East Adams Street • Forsyth GA
478-973-4551 • 478-993-7213
Ann Rose Bowcock & Nancy McComb
Re-Opening Tue, Jan. 7th • Tue-Sat: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Located in the Mill Market District in mill
house across from old Cotton Mill
SEfini <& ° SisEEsSbflazfl]
HERE’S the Question:
Who was the Monroe
County school superintend
ent before the present
superintendent, Anthony
Pack? First correct answer
after twelve noon on
Thursday gets a certificate
for a cookie from Jonah’s,
fried green tomato appetiz
er from the Whistle Stop,
Dairy Queen Blizzard and
a Forsyth Better
Hometown t-shirt.
Linda Sanders gets the
certificate after identifying
when winter began: 12:22
p.m. (our time) on
December 21. Pick it up at
The Reporter office
AMBR ■
EMKf Hi Si i W
HOPE each of you have
a New Year you deserve
and want!
Listen to The Reporter on
Majic 100 on Sunday
mornings at 7 a.m. or click
on the radio tab at
mymcr.net to listen any
time.
160 fierce Avenue • Macon, C?A 31204
(478) 743-0901
Coming to the Med/col Complex
120 N. Lee Street in Forsyth January 2014.
TAKING APPOINTMENTS NOW/
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Contact Don at tullay-
bear@bellsouth.net.
W here’s the persecution?
DERMATOLOGIC
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Please call (478) 742-2180 or (800) 755-3714
to schedule an appointment at one of our office locations convenient to you.
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