Newspaper Page Text
Page 5A
January 25, 2023
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN by Don Daniel
County explains end
to hospital funding
W ell, here’s the response from the coun
ty via the county’s public information
officer in response to my Open Re
cords request asking why the 1 mill
tax county voters approved
by referendum several
years ago to go to the Mon
roe County Hospital is no
longer collected.
The response, which
was likely approved and
obviously “vetted” by the
county attorney, commis
sion chairman and county
manager, was: “In response
to your question about
the mill of tax dedicated
to the hospital. Follow
ing the 2017 hospital
referendum, the Board of
Commissioners raised its millage rate from 11.831
mills in 2016 to 13.310 mills in 2017 of which one
mill was associated with Monroe County Hospital.
Since then, as allocations from the county to Mon
roe County Hospital have slowly decreased from a
high of $1.2 million in 2017 to a low of $0 in 2022,
the county’s millage rate has also decreased begin
ning in 2019 when it dropped from 13.331 mills
to 13.291 mills to 2020 when it was lowered from
13.291 mills to 13.187 mills to 2021 when it dropped
further from 13.187 mills to 12.8 mills to 2022 when
it decreased from 12.8 mills to 12.05 mills.
“Therefore, the one mill of tax associated with
Monroe County Hospital is no longer being col
lected as the county’s millage rate has been reduced
by more than one mill from a peak of 13.310 mills
in 2017 to 12.05 mills in 2022 when no county
allocation was provided for Monroe County Hos
pital” Wonder what that has to do with assisting the
hospital.
In my opinion, The Monroe County Commis
sioners found a way to be vindictive by denying
what we citizens approved and but more so very ob
viously they wanted their own controllable hospital
board at the expense of us citizens.
I have read the response many, many times and
had several people read it also. So, now here’s your
chance to read you this gobbledygook response.
Full of transparency, covered with opaque and with
a sheet of “Okay, the request has been obligated.” I
have written many press releases and responses to
Open Records requests with the total objective of
being simple and simply to inform.
Here are some unattributed commissioner
comments: “I can still be mad”; “We got something
good”; You see what I am saying”; “ A border wall
to keep us rural”; “I’m one of the implants”; “I can’t
think of the word I want to use”; “You are welcome
to chime in”; “I’m hyper focused”; “That’s just me”;
“I see what you are saying.”
There was discussion between the commissioners
and county manager about raising county water
rates since furnishing county water has been a tax
payer subsidized amount since it began which the
county had to pay $644,907 back in 2021.
NOW LET’S go over to the Forsyth City council
where they approved an agreement to build/run a
city sewer extension to the recently city annexed
1,600 acres belonging to H&H Timberlands.
According to the legal document H&H Timber-
lands “desires to prepare the property for others to
develop into various residential, institutional and
commercial uses.” That’s called investing.
Of course, the city is girding their loins in probable
and likey anticipation of the potential legal battle in
regards to the city dumping their copper-infused
water into the Ocmulgee, polluting down river.
That’s gonnna be a court case that will drag out over
years with the lawyers making fee money.
THE CORRECT answer to last week’s The
Question was $68,000 paid to the consultant for
informing the commissioners how to implement
impact fees. Marcia and Smitty Linton were the first
with the correct answer. They receive a certificate
for single tip at Scoops, Big peach car wash, Whistle
stop fried green tomato appetizer, slice of Shoney’s
strawberry pie, a slice of Jonas Pizza, a Dairy Queen
Blizzard, a dozen Dunkin donuts and a Dairy
Queen Blizzard.
Here’s The Question for this week: How many
residents eligible for county water in Juliette have
chosen not to sign up for it so far? First correct an
swer after 12 noon on Thursday gets the certificate.
Guess they had to find out but the county com
missioners spent $68,000 paying the consultant to
explain the impact of impact fees. Obviously the
ears and minds of the commissioners were attuned
to us citizens who were opposed to the fees.
Beware! Although shelved for the time being,
there is the possibility that impact fees could come
up from the grave and arise again. Gone but not
forgotten.
AND THIS from Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s
Dictionary: “EXCESS, n: In morals, an indulgence
that enforces by appropriate penalties the law of
moderation”. I have to add this definition of Excess:
an application used by governments to convince
citizens and populist they are exceeding for our
benefit.
One more: MONUMENT, n. “A structure intend
ed to commemorate something which either needs
no commemoration or cannot be commemorated.’
IF YOU have the desire to make a printable com
ment about anything in this newspaper or about this
column, email Donald Jackson Daniel at mediadr@
bellsouth.net.
^Reporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Why did county back off impact fees?
realized that it would IMPACT their
business; cost of doing business; and
profit. Monroe County is in desperate
need of strict controlled growth and
zoning to keep the community rural,
and maintain the quality standard of
living that we enjoy. Most importantly,
to keep taxes from becoming out of
control due to out of control Monroe
County management and spending.
The Commissioners did not have to
pay Bill Ross 68K to know the simple
fact - “If You Don’t Build It - They
Won’t Come!
Edd Hart
Forsyth
To the Editor:
I n reference to the article con
cerning impact fees in the Jan. 18
Reporter, we are fortunate to
have County Commission
ers who are Business People. Un
fortunately, they are all involved
in Real Estate development;
contracting; building; real estate
management; and sales. It ap
pears that they speak with forked
tongue. How do they explain
and justify Jim Hedges? I came
from areas where impact fees and
even building moratoriums have been
enacted to slow growth. Impact fees
HART
slow growth, but other benefits are
increased tax revenue, which if man
aged correctly by the County should
be beneficial to help offset
tax revenue loss. Impact fees
are also beneficial to attract
better quality industry and
better quality housing devel
opment. If managed prop
erly, impact fees and strict
zoning will keep marginal
industry and marginal
housing development out
of Monroe County. The
County Commissioners seemed to be
in favor of impact fees - UNTIL- They
Forsyth parent wants school choice
To the Editor:
chool choice has become not
just a “want” but an essential for
families. Every parent deserves
the opportunity to find the best
school for their child. It can change a
family’s future.
My family will be celebrating Na
tional School Choice Week from Jan.
22-28, along with millions of others
across the country. The point of the
week is to recognize that every child is
different with unique values, challeng
es, motivations, and needs. Offering
school options is an opportunity to
support our students.
Children spend so much of their
lives at school, and as parents, we trust
their learning environment to make
them feel safe, respected, and inspired.
With the barriers and setbacks, we’ve
all been through over the last two
years, there’s absolutely no time to wait
if the school your child currently at
tends doesn’t make them feel that way.
A school can be a great school and
still not be the right fit for an individu
al child. My family moved from anoth
er county to Monroe County for the
school system. I wanted the traditional
in-person public school setting to
work for my children and my family,
but it did not. I’m grateful that we have
been able to have the opportunity to
choose Georgia Cyber Academy as
our preferred School Choice.
I want every parent to have the pow
er to choose a quality school for their
kids. That’s why my family is celebrat
ing this National School Choice Week.
As parents, we need to stand up for the
rights
Deanna White
Forsyth
Hey Forsyth, don't dump into Ocmulgee River
To the Editor:
lease, Forsyth, don’t dump
your sewer on Juliette and
the river. We already have
a heaping helping of other
people’s environmental consequences
to consume.
Juliette has always been special and
the Ocmulgee is a valuable asset to the
whole area.
This stretch of river from Lake Jack-
son to Macon is the last, most intact
stretch there is. It is a treasure, not a
sewer.
Mack Faircloth
Juliette
JUST THE WAY IT IS by Sloan Oliver
Fifty years after Roe v. Wade ruling
L ast Sunday
marked the 50th
anniversary of
the uber-radical,
extreme Supreme Court’s
(SC) Roe v. Wade ruling
that legalized all abortions.
Last summer, that Roe
decision was overturned by
a common sense, conser
vative SC. Because Roe
was overturned, the Leftist
Cabal (LC) is screaming
the narrative that women’s
right to choose and right
to reproductive health are
being stolen, that wom
en’s “right to privacy” are
being denied, that women
are not allowed to control
their own bodies, and that
women will be killed be
cause back-alley abortions
will become the norm. The
LC demand we believe
and adhere to their
narrative. Our thoughts
must not deviate; we
must have consensus
across all society; and
we must obey our
thoughtlords. Sorry
to disappoint you
libs, leftists, Dems,
and other authori
tarians. I will not conform
to your vile groupthink.
You’ve proven that you’re
unable to think logically or
objectively.
Quick civics lesson for
you uninformed leftists:
(We know who you are.
You’re the Briben [sorry
Biden], Hillary, Obama,
and Stacey Abrams voters.)
Since the Constitution was
ratified in 1789, it has been
amended 27 times. The first
10 amendments are called
the Bill of Rights and were
collectively passed/certified
in 1791. So, in the ensuing
232 years (1791 to 2023),
after those first 10, only
17 times has the Constitu
tion been amended. The
Founders made it difficult
to amend so that capricious
whims don’t become the
law of the land. It requires
support from two-thirds of
Congress (both the House
and the Senate) and 75% of
the states.
Exactly because it’s dif
ficult to amend, the Leftist
Cabal seeks and demands
another means, an easier
means - one that they can
control. You see, our LC
regards the Constitution as
a “living,” constantly evolv
ing document that should
“change with the times” or
change as they see fit. They
demand that activist judges
be put on the bench so they
can amend (change) the
Constitution by judicial
activism and disregard the
constitutional process. The
1973 Roe decision was a
7-2 ruling, meaning seven
activist justices discovered
a new constitu
tional right; a
right that was
unknown in the
first 184 years
of the Republic.
Those judges
f-s p unconsti
tutionally
passed
(discovered)
an amendment granting
a “right to privacy” (RTP)
to women. That newly dis
covered RTP meant that a
woman could do whatever
she wants with her body to
include having an abortion
at any time during her
pregnancy, age of the fetus
be damned.
To be clear, I agree that
we should have a RTP. The
broader question, and more
difficult to answer, is what
does that mean? Does it
mean the State/Intel agen
cies cannot listen in on our
phone calls or read your
emails? Too late, the Patriot
Act (passed after 9/11
attacks) allows that. Do we
have agency (privacy and
ownership) over our body
or does the state? Do I have
the privacy to inject illegal
drugs into my body or can
the state tell me no? And if
not me, then who controls
my body? If I have agency
of my body, shouldn’t I be
allowed to tell the state that
I don’t want their vaccine?
What about children? At
what age do they have a
RTP? Age 12, 14, 16, 18 or
21? If you say a 14-year old
has a RTP, does that mean
she should be allowed to
have unfettered sex with
anybody of any age? What
about alcohol? What about
hormone suppression
drugs used to halt puberty;
should a 14-year old have
the right to those drugs?
Or do parents have a say in
their child’s development,
alcohol use, drug consump
tion, and sexual activity?
Returning to Roe v.
Wade, the SC “found” that
women have a RTP. With
that RTP, comes the right to
do whatever they want with
their body. Nobody can
tell them otherwise; their
body, their choice or so
we’re told. There are several
huge issues with that newly
discovered right. First, that
new “right” was not ratified
by 2/3rds of Congress and
75% of the states. Instead
it was discovered by seven
extremist justices, thus it
violated every aspect of the
ratification process. Sec
ond, and more importantly,
that new privacy right
disregards the LIFE of the
fetus developing within her
womb. Talk about a right,
what about the baby’s right
to life? The evil LC claims a
fetus doesn’t have a right to
life because they’re not yet
a person? So when does a
fetus become a person? At
3-months, 5-months, when
it becomes viable outside
the womb or never?
The question, “when
does a fetus become a
person” and thus gain
civil rights is the crux of
the issue. Pro-lifers argue
the moment an egg is
fertilized it’s a fetus and
becomes a person. Biblical
passages such as Jeremiah
1:5 - “Before I formed you
in the womb, I knew you;
before you were born, I
set you apart” are used to
make the argument that an
embryo is a person with all
rights granted accordingly.
Therefore, abortion is mur
der. State homicide laws,
where killing a pregnant
woman is a double homi
cide, is another argument
to prove a fetus is a person.
California is one such state
that declared the killing of
a pregnant woman counts
as two homicides.
What about a woman’s
right to her body? Just like
a man, a woman has the
right to do whatever she
wants with her body. How
ever, that changes once she
becomes pregnant. Then,
the life growing within
her womb has a right to
life. The LC argue that a
1-month, 2-month, etc. fe
tus, while it’s life, it’s not yet
a person. That’s true in the
sense that it’s not yet viable
but it becomes viable in the
5th or 6th month.
If you pro-abortion
zealots had recognized that
abortions should be limited
and NOT be permitted af
ter the first trimester, many
(perhaps most) pro-lifers
could have lived with that.
But you wicked abortion
ists demand you be allowed
to kill a baby during all
nine months of the preg
nancy, even while the baby
is being delivered. That’s
infant sacrifice. NO, a baby,
in or out of the womb, is a
human, formed in God’s
image. Civil society will not
allow you evil abortionists
to have your way. Thank
God Roe was overturned.
Sloan Oliver of Boling-
broke is a retired Army
office who writes each week
in the Reporter. Email him
at sloanoliver@earthlink.