Newspaper Page Text
March 30, 2022
Page 5A
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN by Don Daniel
Is city finally
fighting blight?
A ccording to the Forsyth city managers report
at last weeks council meeting, the number of
blighted properties in the city has been reduced
to now 16 that “are truly abandoned that appear
to be needed to be demolished”. The number of derelict/
abandoned property is now
down to “only 15”. The city
manager has requested “per
mission to hire an appraiser,
and inspector to provide docu
mentation on structures for
court proceedings”. Just maybe
if the city keeps nibbling away
at the properties they may beat
the termites, rats, raccoons and
before the homeless move in.
THIS PARTIAL from the
report to the Council by the
Forsyth Convention and Bureau
Executive Director: “Everybody
is hurting” obviously referring to the hotel/motels in the
city and this: “The hotel/motel tax saves Forsyth taxpayers
$381 in city taxes”.
Here are a few unattributed council members comments:
“Not going over to much of anything”; “I totally agree with
you”; “I asked him if he would do that”; “And I know we
talked about .”; “Well talk about that later”:; and the
Mayors comment: “My report will be very short as usual.”
Wow, I got a surprise the other day, driving up Harold G.
Clarke Parkway and Patrol Road seeing the traffic signal
being erected right there at the Quik Trip and at the Ford
dealership.
Here are a couple of other traffic projects the city is work
ing on: parking and one way streets on Harris and Kimball
which I have to agree something needs to be done and this
seems the best solution.
Also, being considered are four-way stops at all four
intersections of Kimball and Harris with Johnston and
Adams with raised crosswalks at each crossing.
I RECEIVED a reply to my Open Records request to
Forsyth Police Chief and City Manager Janice Hall request
ing how many tickets/citations were issued for talking on a
cell phone while driving a vehicle in the city. Here are the
replies: there were 199 citations issued in 2021 for talking
on the cell phone while driving while so far in 2022 three
have been issued.
The second part of the open records request was how
many tickets/citations were issued to individuals for park
ing closer than 12 inches to lines dividing parking spaces
and the answer was seven issued in 2021 and none so far
in 2022.
WANT TO hear/read a joke? First some background:
Jody Hice, a former pastor and Republican Congressman,
is going to challenge present Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger his gold dome office.
Now that you have that background, Hice is making the
same campaign promise that he will “if elected” resolve
the Monroe-Bibb county line issue. Now when I count to
three, everybody laugh out loud.. .one, two, three laugh!
Remember, preachers don’t lie.
A RECORD was set last week with the number of cor
rect answers to The Question which was name the new
MP softball coach. Answers came from Marci Finton, Fisa
Jenkins, Ronal Hoenes, and Fori Andrews, just to name
a few. Well J. Steven Moore was the first with the correct
name. He receives a certificate for a single scoop at Scoops,
a Dairy Queen Blizzard, Whistle Stop fried green tomato
appetizer, slice of Shoney s strawberry pie, Big Peach car
wash, slice of pizza at Jonas, dozen Dunkin Donuts, Re
porter and Main Street t-shirts.
Here’s The Question for this week: Opening statewide
is turkey season. What is the date it opens? First correct
answer after 12 noon Thursday gets the goodie certificate.
I’M GONNA regress for a couple of paragraphs and
make this comment: you cannot open a business in
Forsyth if, as predetermined by the Forsyth City Coun
cil, in their opinion there are not enough parking places.
Again, the mayor and several council members have
bragged about the number of parking spaces downtown
and ignore all recommendations to build/erect a parking
deck or parking lot. Often “bragging” that there are park
ing spaces available down at the public safety building, on
the lot behind the library where the old jail was and when
court is not in session. Why don’t they ask the owners of
the drug store formerly on the corner why they moved off
the square? Surely a business wanting to locate in Forsyth
knows more of their parking needs than the Forsyth “God
fathers,” which they often think they are.
VERY INTERESTING reading about the City of Forsyth
guidelines for off-duty and extra-duty employment: Of
ficers cannot work at a business where topless, bottomless
or nude performers entertain or otherwise appear on the
premises. Here’s another part of the order by the chief of
police: if the sale of intoxicating beverages is the primary
function of the business, an officer cannot work on such
premises.
DON’T FORGET The Tams this Saturday night On The
Square Downtown 7 p.m.
sReporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Yes, Biden did cause gas price surge
OSBORNE
To the Editor:
T fiere are many factors at play
when it comes to the price of
oil and gas. The liberal media is
trying to convince you that the
American President, the most
powerful man in the world,
has nothing to do with it. I will
show you they are lying.
First they say the Keystone
XL pipeline wasn’t even
operational so halting the
construction of it doesn’t affect
oil prices. The stock market
is volatile and stock traders are jittery.
Even though the Keystone XL pipeline
isn’t operational, even though Joe Biden
canceled 9000 oil and gas leases on fed
eral land that weren’t currently in use,
the stock market didn’t like it when he
intervened. When the President shuts
down a pipeline, it makes the news and
that drove prices higher.
Next they say US oil production is
up yet prices are still rising. It is true
that US oil production is up after the
big drop from COVID. But we are
still producing 14% less oil than our
pre-COVID highs. If COVID is over,
why are US oil companies produc
ing less oil? First they are uncertain of
what a Democrat President will do. He
promised to drive oil prices higher to
prematurely persuade Americans
to buy electric vehicles. While
oil companies are happy about
higher prices (it fattens the wallets
of stockholders), they are scared
about an uncertain future. The
more electric cars are on the road
means fewer cars at the gas pump
and that’s bad for business. So they
are holding back on production in order
to protect their assets.
Another reason gas prices are up is
because the dollar is worth less. Biden
and his Democrat Congressional bud
dies passed a stimulus plan. Here’s a tip,
you don’t need to stimulate an economy
already recovering. The pandemic
created an artificial depression. We all
knew that when the virus cases dropped
the economy would recover quickly.
Joe knew this too but pretended that he
didn’t in order to pass a stimulus bill.
Why would he play make believe with
the American people? For two rea
sons: One, he wanted it to look like he
was doing something to help people.
A newly elected Democrat President
can’t just sit back and let things happen,
he has to make people think that he’s
their savior. And the second reason was
to fund Democrat pet projects. Rahm
Emanuel, a buddy of Obama, famously
said “You never want a serious crisis to
go to waste.” While he wasn’t the origi
nator of that phrase, it has since become
a Democrat mantra. So, the congress
used the COVID crisis to spend more of
your tax dollars. Why does this matter?
Because creating money out of thin air
makes the dollar worth less and makes
prices rise, including gas prices.
Finally the media is still trying to
blame Trump. They are telling half-
truths to make Crazy Uncle Joe look
better. Putin wouldn’t have gone to war
with Ukraine if Trump was still Presi
dent. This Russian war has also made
gas prices rise. Joe did that.
Kerry Osborne
Forsyth
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
A Report from The General Assembly
By Rep. Robert Dickey
robert.dickey@house.ga.gov
As you read this, The Georgia General
Assembly will only have three business days
left for the 2022 session. We completed
Crossover Day on March 1 5th, and with this
legislative milestone behind us, the
House went back to work in our
House committees to examine
Senate bills. As a result, the House
Rules Committee scheduled several
Senate bills for a vote on the House
floor this week. Meanwhile, our
Senate counterparts gave final
passage to some House bills that
are now eligible to be signed into
law by Governor Brian Kemp.
The House passed Senate Bill 358 to
encourage those who serve in the U.S. military
to live and work in our state as they transition
to civilian life. This legislation would allow the
Georgia Public Safety Training Center to
reimburse the specific training costs incurred
when active duty, retired or honorably
discharged members of the U.S. military partic
ipate in basic law enforcement training. By
making it easier for interested veterans to
participate in basic law enforcement training,
we can provide a pathway to good paying
jobs for these veterans and help fill vacancies
within our law enforcement agencies across
the state.
The House also passed Senate Bill 396 to
help food banks purchase fresh, affordable
produce from Georgia farmers. This bipartisan
legislation would allow the Georgia Depart
ment of Agriculture to implement a program
for regional food banks to purchase surplus
food products from Georgia farmers at
discounted prices. Our food banks state that
they are offered approximately 1 4 million
pounds of food products each year, but they
are forced to turn away fresh fruit and vege
tables due to a lack of funding to purchase
these fresh foods. Consequently, the House
and Senate are working together to ensure
that state funding is included in the Fiscal Year
2023 budget to match federal funds for F2FB
to address unused agricultural products and
fresh produce shortages in regional food
banks. With SB 396 our state could provide
fresh food to those struggling with food insecu
rity, while also helping local farmers across the
state find a new customer base for their
surplus products so they don’t go to waste.
Many Georgians living with chronic illness
es, along with their doctors, typically have to
jump through hoops to get certain medications
covered by insurance, and this week, the House
passed Senate Bill 341 to help lessen this
burden for doctors and their patients and
provide a better pathway for obtaining treat
ment. Oftentimes, patients with chronic illnesses
have to submit prior authorization forms to
their insurance provider every few months for
medications used to treat chronic conditions,
but SB 341 would allow these patients to go
through a single authorization process that
would last for a minimum of one year. The prior
authorization approval process can be lengthy,
leaving these patients without access to their
crucial medications. SB 341 would allow
Georgians living with chronic illnesses to get
these necessary medications with minimal
disruption to their daily lives, as well as allow
doctors to focus on treating patients instead of
navigating government red tape.
The Georgia House also passed the follow
ing Senate bills this week:
• Senate Bill 346, which would require a
company that submits a bid or a contract
proposal with the state to certify that the
company is not owned, operated or affiliated
with the Chinese government; a
company's false certification would
result in civil liability, termination of
contract and ineligibility for future
state contracts; this prohibition
would not affect state contracts
with Taiwan;
• Senate Bill 51 4, the Unmask
Georgia Students Act, which would
prohibit local public and charter
schools from making or enforcing any rules
that require students to wear face masks or
face coverings at school, unless the rule would
allow parents to exempt their child without
disclosing their reason for opting out;
The Senate gave final passage to House Bill
385, which would allow retired educators to
return to teaching in the classroom while still
receiving their state retirement benefits; this
teacher workforce initiative will head to the
governor s desk for his consideration. House
Bill 1064 also received final passage and will
create tax exemptions for military retirement
income for both working and fully retired
service members once it is signed into law.
In other news, the governor signed House
Bill 304 to immediately suspend the state s
motor fuel excise tax through the end of May
2022. Gas prices have continued to increase
as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but
this measure seeks to offer some financial
relief and save Georgians a few more dollars
when they visit the pump. The governor also
signed House Bill 1 302 into law this week to
create a one-time tax credit for Georgians
using $1.6 billion in undesignated surplus funds
from the Amended Fiscal Year 2022 budget.
Eligible Georgia taxpayers can expect to
receive a tax credit based on their 2020 tax
filer status. Single tax filers will receive a $250
refund, head-of-household filers will receive
$375, and those who file jointly will receive a
$500 refund. The two measures reflect the
Houses goal to keep Georgia an affordable
place to call home.
The House will be busier than ever during
these final days to ensure that we pass sound
policies for Georgia and all of its residents. As
we continue to work with the Senate to secure
the final passage of legislation this year,
please do not hesitate to contact me with any
thoughts you may have about bills being
considered at your State Capitol during these
finals days of the session. Your input will help
guide my decisions during this crucial time, and
I always appreciate your feedback. My
Capitol office phone number is (404)
656-5099 and my email address is
robert.dickey@house.ga.gov.
As always, thank you for allowing me to
serve as your representative along with
Senator John Kennedy, Rep. Dale Washburn
and Rep. Susan Holmes.
Rep. Robert Dickey
404-656-5099
228-B State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
robert.dickey@house.ga.gov
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
Contact Don Daniel, the founder of this newspaper, at tul-
laybear@bellsouth. net.