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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 12, 2009 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Concerned about Madison County’s stray animal population
Dear Editor:
We are writing to you with
very serious concerns about our
dangerously uncontrolled stray
animal population right here in
Madison County.
As Madison County business
owners and residents, we are
embarrassed by the poor, out
dated animal care and control
standards that are compromis
ing child and family safety, ani
mal safety, and animal welfare
daily in our community.
It was recently brought to our
attention that Madison County’s
Animal Control is in danger of
being shut down as a result of
proposed govermental budget
cuts. Animal Control is grossly
underfunded and understaffed
(many are unaware that there
is only one full-time, swom-in
officer for our entire county,
encompassing Hull, Colbert,
Comer, Danielsville, Ila, etc.).
Eliminating the Madison
County Animal Control pro
gram would leave even more
animals (particularly stray, fer-
ile, diseased, injured, and even
healthy, adoptable dogs, cats.
puppies, and kittens) openly
wandering the intersections
and family yards of Madison
County. Further, who will
address local incidents involv
ing animals? Our police officers
are also spread very thin and
cannot be expected to pick up
the duties already assigned to
animal control. Animal control
must continue combating these
problems if Madison County
is to be considered a humane,
responsible community, active
ly addressing our own safety
and overpopulation issues.
We find ourselves as unof
ficial advocates of public safe
ty, regularly needing to stop
dangerous "too close" vehicle
wrecks involving strays from
injuring passengers and dogs
in front of our stores. We also
see too many pets wandering
with and without collars on.
We have personally picked up
injured and dead dogs in the
road.
Even more disturbing is the
horrific awareness that felony
dog fighting is rampant in
residential areas, with little or
no consequence to the people
engaging in this violent illegal
activity. Cats and dogs (both
healthy pet quality, and ferile,
rabid, sick) wander often into
private backyards, attacking
livestock and family pets who
are properly cared for and are
simply playing in their own
yards.
Child safety is dangerously
compromised each time an
unfamiliar animal — whether
someone else’s pet, or a wild
animal — runs onto public or
private property. Because of
the unique position we are in
to witness these problems rou
tinely, we are writing to appeal
to the entire Madison County
community to help us create
positive changes to keep our
animals, adults, and children
safe.
We invite Madison County
residents to exercise renewed
vigilance in keeping pets safely
contained on owner property,
properly vaccinated, and legal
ly tagged on the collar to show
rabies compliance and owner
contact information, should
the pet accidentally get loose.
We also invite judicial and law
enforcement personnel to vig
orously support pet leash and
rabies tag enforcement. Please
join us in signing the animal
action petition, advocating for
greater enforcement power
for animal control to imple
ment laws and consequences
for those unabiding citizens
who continue to put their own
animals, our animals, and our
children at great risk. We invite
every Madison County resi
dent who cares about animal
and child safety to stop by our
storefronts during regular busi
ness hours to sign the peti
tion in favor of positive change.
After all, these laws are already
in place ...we are simply urging
our community to uphold them,
both on the private citizen and
public servant levels.
Sincerely,
Samantha Willard, owner of
The Dog House, Too Grooming,
19 North Main Street, Ila; and
Jennifer Abeles, Faeryland
Emporium Gifts & Jewelry,
5300 Commerce Street, Ila
Hats off to volunteer fire depts
Dear Editor:
It can be so devastating to
come home and find your
house burned. How would we
respond to our family, friends,
neighbors?
Think on this for just a
moment. I would say as a friend
of Howard and Cody Goss,
this was so horrible, yet there
were volunteer firemen from
Danielsville, Colbert, Comer,
40 or more firemen working
hard to keep the fire contained.
They were so glad to see
Howard; they thought he might
have been in the house. Their
concern and hugs were worth
more than words could ever
say. They were continually
watching where it flamed up.
They kept one after another
checking on Howard.
Family and friends had gath
ered to let Howard know about
their love and concern for he
and Cody and the family. These
firemen worked so hard, with
out a thought about themselves;
they had a job to do. These
volunteer firemen could have
been watching the Super Bowl,
but their dedication for the job
they do lead them to the sight to
do this job.
The volunteer firemen work
with no pay. Just to get the sat
isfaction of doing the best they
can do. To help their friends,
neighbors, people they don't
even know. They are called
out all hours of the day and
night. They don’t complain;
they just jump out of bed and
go. As I see cut backs in fire
EMTS
departments in Atlanta, I feel
truly blessed to be in Madison
County where our volunteer
firemen work hard to save lives
as well as trying to put the fire
out to save as much as they can
because they cate about the
communities and sun'ounding
towns.
Hats off to volunteer fire
departments and EMTs. God
bless you all and continue the
wonderful work you do.
Sincerely,
Linda Collier
Support the president’s stimulus plan
Dear Editor:
I don’t believe you can sim
ply spend your way out of a
recession, but we do have to
spend money to create jobs and
reinvigorate the economy. This
letter to the editor was provided
by MoveOn.org. It is based on
facts and sources, not words
and empty rhetoric.
President Obama’s eco
nomic stimulus plan is a very,
very good bill. As The Nation
writes, "If enacted, the eco
nomic revovery plan will be
one of the biggest and boldest
pieces of legislation in the past
forty years."
Here are some facts about
what the bill really does: cre
ates or saves three to four mil-
colder spots reported eight or nine
degrees. Only a few snow flurries
accompanied this cold outbreak,
except in mountain areas which
enjoyed a couple of inches on the
18th.
We had a two-week stretch in the
middle of the month that brought
below average temperatures, but
warm spells at the beginning and
end of the month kept January
from being way below nonnal.
lion jobs in the next two years,
averts “literally hundreds of
thousands of teacher layoffs”
— and doubles funding for the
Department of Education, cre
ates 500,000 green jobs and
doubles our clean energy pro
duction, immediately helps
unemployed folks get afford
able health insurance.
Some folks are arguing that
it should be bigger, and they’re
probably right, but this is the
best down payment on eco
nomic recovery we have seen,
and it needs to be passed.
The stuff that’s being sin
gled out for criticism amounts
to a tiny faction of the bill
— like anti-smoking programs
that make up less than one-
Jenkins
Rainfall started off good for the
month, but the persistent cold, dry
air from Canada shut off the mois
ture for most of the rest of January.
Very heavy rains of four to six
inches fell north of Cedartown
to Toccoa during the first week,
helping raise river and lake levels
a little. Dry weather since then,
however, has erased most of the
good done.
Lake Hartwell continues into
ten-thousandth of the spending.
They would have you believe
that this is the centerpiece of
the bill. It is not. This kind of
nit-picking is pure politics.
If it doesn’t pass, we’re in
deep trouble. Even John
McCain’s economic adviser
estimates that without the stim
ulus, unemployment would
top 11 percent by 2010, the
highest level since the Great
Depression.
Last week alone, 100,000
people lost their jobs in this
country. So we need to make
sure the Senate takes action
quickly. Nearly 200 economists
from across the political spec
trum wrote to Congress, agree
ing: “We do not have the luxury
..cont’dfrom 1A
record low levels not seen since
the lake was built in the late 50’s.
Long-term, it appears our drier
than average trend will continue
for a while longer. A lingering La
Nina (colder water) in the Pacific
generally means north Georgia is
on the cusp of dryness, while just
200 miles northwest of here wetter
than average is forecast through
the spring. If more neutral water
temperatures begin to return in the
of a lengthy debate over the
best course of action. This leg
islation may not be enough to
solve all the economy’s prob
lems, but it is urgently needed
and an important step in the
right direction.”
But with so much rhetoric
and demagoguery surrounding
the bill, it won't pass unless we
can get the real facts out to a
wide audience.
Call your senator in
Washington, D.C., and ask him
to support the economic stimu
lus plan.
“Those who fail to act are
doomed to failure.”
Sincerely,
Victor Johnson
Danielsville
spring or early summer as fore
cast, we may see more abundant
rainfall return as well. Averages
for January, 2009: Avg. low: 32.
Avg. high: 51. Mean: 41.5 (-0.9).
Lowest: 13. Highest: 70. Total
rainfall: 3.65" (-1.18").
Mark Jenkins is the cooperative
weather observer for Madison
Count}’. He provides a monthly
weather column to The Madison
County Journal.
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Child passenger
restraints are a must
By David Larkins
The other day I sat in my car waiting for my fiancee, who had gone
inside the store to make a quick purchase. In the five minutes I sat there
watching traffic go by, I saw three cars with small children riding unre
strained and bouncing around inside. My blood began to boil.
I’m sorry, but this is one of my pet peeves. In 11 years of law enforce
ment. I have worked thousands of accidents. Many of these accidents
resulted in people being injured or killed, and on occasion those victims
were children. But not once have I worked an accident where a small
child was injured or killed, who was properly restrained in a child safety
seat.
George code 40-8-76 requires that all children under six years of age
being transported in a passenger automobile, van or pickup truck shall be
in a child passenger restraining system (a.k.a. child safety seat) appropri
ate for such child’s height and weight. That the child shall be restrained
in the rear seat of the motor vehicle if it is equipped with a rear seat. And
that the child passenger restraining system shall be installed and used in
accordance with the manufacturer's directions. There are very few excep
tions to this law.
What does this mean? This means that until your child turns six, he
must be in a child passenger restraining system, or “child safety seat."
That the child must meet the height and weight requirements for that
restraining system, and that it must be installed in accordance with the
manufacturers directions.
Would you allow your child to jump from a speeding automobile? Or
ran across the road in front of oncoming traffic? Allowing your child to
ride in a vehicle unrestrained can be just as deadly. Nobody knows when
the next traffic accident will happen, or who will be involved. I have often
heard the excuses, "my child hates car seats and won't stay in one," or
"we’re only going just right up the road.” To that. I respond that the vast
majority of automobile accidents occur within a few miles of home, or
"just right up the road,” and that children don’t get a say in whether or
not they are restrained. If your child wanted to drive, you would let him
or her? No, that wouldn’t be safe, they might be killed. So why allow a
small child to decide whether or not he/she rides in a “safety seat," when
the stakes are just as high? There is a reason we don’t allow children to
make decisions that might involve life or death. They are incapable of
understanding the consequences of their actions, or of weighing risk and
making an informed decision.
I know that it is unpleasant to listen to a child cry because he or she
is strapped in a "safety seat” when they would rather freely roam the
automobile. As a parent of five children, I have had to listen to those
cries many times in the past. But I would rather listen to the cries of an
uncomfortable child than the wailing of parents mourning the loss of that
same child. All across this country there are many thousands of parents
who can no longer hear their children cry, and who wish that they had
been more concerned for the safety of their children as they were "only
going right up the road."
David Larkins is a Madison County resident, a former lieutenant with
the Madison County Sheriff's Department and current employee of the
Jackson Count}' Sheriff's Department.
Socialism on
the rise in America
Dear Editor:
This country was founded on the dream of democracy for
its citizens in a republic-style of government to escape the
totalitarian rule of another government where the working
citizens had no voice.
For hundreds of years America as we call it, has flourished
and become the strongest freedom loving country in the
known universe. This is where hardworking people could
improve their way of life, which kept our country strong and
free.
Let the history books of other countries show the decline
— See “Skinner” on 6A
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