Newspaper Page Text
November 9, 2022
Page 5A
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN by Don Daniel
What ails America
seen on ‘Judge Judy
H ere it is the day after the election but the
election is far from over. Challenges, fraud,
disgruntled voters-
pick a reason-coming
out of the woodworks because
candidate(s) didn’t get enough
votes. The deniers will be mak
ing headlines for the next couple
of months. I have to admit that
instead of watching the news, I
find myself using the TV blipper
to escape to more entertaining
programs. Just about anything
on PBS keeps me away from
the advertising of Camp Lejune
lawyers seeking to get in on the
payouts for drinking contami
nated water on the military base in North Carolina.
If you want to discover what is wrong with the USA,
watch Judge Judy (if you can take it). Usually after the first
case I just can’t take it and grab the blipper and switch to a
classic music channel to calm myself and prevent me from
yelling at Tull and Rose. I recently watched Tull and Rose
leave the room when I blipped over to Judge Judy.
DID YOU fall back? I assume you all have changed
your clocks. Daylight savings time ended Sunday night
at midnight and now we are on standard time. TTiere has
been some talk and rumor about leaving clocks alone and
keep standard time nationwide. I am disappointed that
the issue did not become a political campaign promise if
elected. I would have voted for any candidate that would
have proposed making standard time universal.
OUR COUNTY commissioners are attempting to juggle
the county budget to make up for the $2.6 million we are
losing due to the reassessment of Plant Scherer. Obviously
the “they think they are the fantastic five” are waiting on
the county manager to wave his “magic wand” to make the
anticipated deficit disappear.
At the same time, looking for ways to trim their spend
ing, they unanimously voted to give all county employees
a 5 percent raise. No privately owned business would
make such a decision to spend money with an anticipated
loss looming. That’s the reason it is called “politics.”
According to the county finance department check regis
ter, as of November, $1,056,271.29 was spent for a myriad
of items. Here are a few checks that our tax money was
spent: Butts County Water, $29,260.05; Central Geor
gia EMC got paid $9,174.07; we bought Coca-Colas for
$252; watching television from Forsyth Cablenet costs
us $4,035.89; Edmunds & Associates was paid $7,500 for
hosting cloud; $24,256.70 was paid to GPSTC for inmate
meals at the county jail; for lawn maintenance Great Out
doors Turf Care got $1,525; bullets cost us $1,525; a check
in the amount of $375 was paid to the middle Georgia Re
gional Commission for the county commission chairman
to attend “education and training” the GRC was hosting;
one of the biggest checks, $90,603.53, was paid to Macon
Water Authority, for flushing and washing; another large
check, $54,918,33, was paid to Proform Construction for
“building and building improvements” at the Bolingbroke
fire station; Towaliga Accountability Courts (whatever
that is I have no idea) got $28,706 of our taxes; the largest
taxpayer check for Phase 1&2 of whatever not listed other
than infrastructure, $714,548.95 was paid to United Grad
ing and Excavating; and, finally, Turtlemashers got paid
their balance, $350.
A suggestion for you: you can access how our county
commission spends our taxpayer money by accessing the
finance department on the commission website. I assure
you will find it most interesting.
THE INTEREST in Monroe County continues to amaze
me. Fifty years ago I showed up in Monroe County to start
a new era in my life and started from the ground up this
newspaper. Hope you will come to the birthday party on
Thursday at The Reporter office beginning at 5:30. Will
and his staff will be hosting the birthday celebration and
yes, of course, I will be there.
Going back to my amazement, every month building
permits issued by the county are published. In Septem
ber the county building department issued 36 building
permits. Building permits are not the only indicators of
growth; just as important are “Property Transfers” that
reveal who is buying property and who sold the property.
AS ALWAYS I do not purchase any items that do not
reflect the Christmas Season but advertise the holiday
season. We wouldn’t have a holiday season if it were not
for Christmas. Even if you are a non-believer, you wouldn’t
have a holiday season if it were not for Christmas.
THE FIRST correct answer to last week’s The Question
came from Teresa Hobbs with 20 applicants apply for the
Forsyth Police Department chiefs job. She gets a certificate
for a dozen Dunkins donuts, Whistle Stop fried green
tomato appetizer, single dip at Scoops, slice of Shoney’s
strawberry pie, Big Peach car wash and a Dairy Queen
Blizzard.
Here’s The Question for this week: Monroe County com
missioners funded what size raise for all county employees
in their new budget? First correct answer after 12 noon on
Thursday gets the goodie certificate.
THE BEST reason for voting: “I just heard former Dem
ocratic presidents Obama and Clinton out campaigning
for Democratic candidates. Those two are the reasons I
voted Republican”.
FROM The Devil’s Dictionary Ambrose Bierce, not John
Ambrose: “Politician (n): An eel in the fundamental mud
upon which the superstructure of organized society is
reared. When he wiggles he mistakes the agitation of his
tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared with the
statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive.”
One more: “Presidency (n): The greased pig in the field
game of American politics.” Don’t know why, but when I
read that definition President Biden came to mind.
CONTACT Donald Jackson Daniel at mediadr@bellsouth.
net, if you have a publishable comment or want to answer
The Question to get the goodie certificate.
Reporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Front page story had too many details
To the Editor:
A s it
relates
to last
week’s
edition of the Mon
roe Reporter, I’d
like to express my
displeasure with
the detail and total
HARVEY
disregard for the
victim you showed
in the Jeffries’ arti
cle. I’ve never seen
a report as reckless
with a victim’s pri
vacy as this article.
It is important that
battered women
come forward
without fear of their
personal business will be
plastered all over the front
page of the paper. To say
this was in “poor taste”
would be putting it lightly.
Publishing specific details
of that magnitude implies
access to sensitive infor
mation gathered through
police reports. If I were
the family, someone at
the Sheriff’s Office would
have questions to answer.
An apology would never
correct this injustice, but it
would be a good start!
Jeffrey A. Harvey
Monroe County
Hey, Mr. Editor, go easy on Jacksonville
To the Editor:
think you are a decent
guy. You
teach Sunday
School, you
are active in your
community and
you have a wife
and family who
are credits to your
chosen home
town.
I am still a
subscriber to The Reporter
even though I live in a
different state, and still a
strong supporter
of community
newspapers:
whether they are
Daily, Weekly or
even Monthly.
But, I got really
frustrated with
you when you
castigated
Jacksonville for
spoiling your worka-
tion-covering the Florida
Georgia game, when you
had a few uncomfortable
moments.
In spite of your sugges
tions about how poorly
organized we are here in
Florida’s North Coast... we
let all you road campers
stay under our bridge
without claiming you were
illegal immigrants. We
could have made you stay
in St. Mary’s or Bruns-
wick...where you would
have really Stewed.
Come back next year.
We will not be closed to
Georgia fans...we like
your money...and, besides,
that Blue Hotel in Athens
is anything but the Taj
Mahal.
H. Dennis Smith
Jacksonville, Fla.
DENNIS SMITH
MOVE
Continued from Front
informed that no
charges for rent, electric
ity, water or internet ser
vice would be collected
by the property owner
during this time to make
it easier to relocate. St.
Laurent told the Report
er he felt he did the best
he could for the renters.
For the tenants, it
was the perfect storm.
Literally. Hurricane Ian
hit Florida on Sept. 28,
the same day they had
received their notices.
It didn’t take long for
every campground in
three neighboring states
to fill up with Floridians
fleeing destroyed homes.
Attached to the notice
was a resource list with
the numbers of seven
other nearby RV parks.
The phone numbers were
useless. Not one park or
campground had available
lots. As reconstruction
continues in storm-dam-
aged areas, parks and
campgrounds stay filled.
The soon-to-be-displaced
tenants also learned few
RV parks are currently
renting long-term. And
wait lists are RV parks are
long. Some of them up to
two years.
Some tenants have tried
to find affordable housing
in the Monroe County
area which has also proved
to be a waste of time. Ron
Burdette, a retiree who has
lived at the park for four
years, said he doesn’t know
where he’s going to go.
He said he has a so-called
girlfriend up in Blue Ridge
who may let him stay in
her driveway until he can
figure something out. He
would prefer to stay in this
area due to his part-time
job renovating houses.
Ron estimated between 50
to 75 percent of his neigh
bors will be homeless on
Christmas Day and that
the situation has caught
everyone off guard.
Sandra Wood, 73, was
^Tl.3g:*at
j ■ •,
The new owner of the High Falls RV Park is telling resi
dents to leave so he can do renovations.
told she was laid off as the
part-time manager of the
park in her notice to va
cate. In addition to receiv
ing free rent and services,
St. Laurent also gave her 2
months of severance pay.
Wood, who is recuper
ating from having skin
cancer removed from her
forehead, lives in a cozy
little camper across the
road from Ron. She has a
cat that sleeps on a chair
under the awning where
her neighbors constantly
come and go. She has bur
ied three cats in her flower
bed during the seven years
she has lived in High Falls,
and she hates to leave
them. She said when she
mentioned that to the new
general manager of the
park, Frank Thomas, the
man that holds the job she
used to have, she was told
she could dig them up and
take them with her if she
liked.
Sandra is at her wit’s end
and has no idea what she
is going to do. She has
a doctor’s appointment
in Griffin for her can
cer coming up soon but
doesn’t know where she
will be on her appoint
ment date. She said her
only option was to live
with her sister with whom
she doesn’t get along with
at all. The last time they
spoke, they got into an
argument, and her sister
told her that she would
have to work it out on
her own.
Deputies were at the
RV park on Sunday
evening after short
term tenant Mike
Babb had overstayed
his Nov. 1 deadline.
Babb insisted he had a
right to stay, even after
receiving three notices
to move his RV as well
as a lot of back-and-
forth texting. Babb told
the Reporter the deputy
had a folder in his hand
which he said contained a
court order for him to get
out ASAP or he would be
locked up. He is still look
ing for a place, but for now
he and his wife are having
to stay somewhere with no
power or water.
Another elderly tenant is
currently in a Macon hos
pital. The rumor among
his neighbors is that he is
going to have his legs re
moved and his pickup and
camper are expected to be
towed away before he is
released. No one has a clue
what will happen to him.
About a dozen of the
tenants of the RV park
spoke before county
commissioners on August
3,2021, when St. Laurent
made a request to rezone
the property from a com
mercial zone to a manu
factured home district to
bring it into compliance.
Disgruntled former RV park
tenant Mike Babb
The tenants were there
asking permission to live
there permanently. No
decision was ever made
on that request. County
commissioner John Am
brose said he has received
calls regarding the tenants’
plight but says the county
has nothing to do with St.
Laurent’s decision.
According to St. Laurent,
his RV park falls under
Georgia’s Innkeeper Law
which states a camp
ground owner does not
always need to comply
with the rigid, time-con
suming, and costly evic
tion process. He said he
wants to clean up the area
which has been a drain on
county resources for years.
He wants to turn what
used to be a drug-infested
area into a family-friendly
RV park. St. Laurent said
he feels bad it had to be
done this way but there’s
no other option.