Newspaper Page Text
THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 30, 2009 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Water: the earth’s
supply and distribution
Dear Editor:
Ninety seven percent of all water is saline or salty and is
in the oceans; three percent is fresh. Of this three percent,
two percent is frozen and locked in ice caps and glaciers.
One percent is available fresh for our use.
Of all the fresh water: 30 percent is ground water, 67.7
percent is frozen and .3 percent is in rivers and lakes.
Yet, rivers and lakes are the water we can see, and the
water we seek for our fresh water supply. It is the most
contaminated and polluted of all fresh water for the rivers
are the gutters and sewers of the earth and contain the once
fresh water on its way back to the oceans to begin its cycle
over again.
All of our fresh water comes from rain. It is evaporated
from the oceans, swamps and wetlands by the energy of
the sun, and comes suspended as vapor in the air, riding on
the prevailing winds.
For it to rain, this vapor must be cooled to the point of
condensation, when it falls, either back into the ocean or
over land.
Over land, this cooling is assisted by the rise in elevation
and the green and growing vegetation. Of the vegetation
best available, trees contain the most mass, providing
shade, and in addition, cooling by their endothermic
reactions. Trees replaced by grass cannot provide enough
water to sustain itself, not to mention constructed pervious
surfaces which is negative.
This endothermic reaction is powered by the sun's
energy through its ultra-violet rays striking the leaves and
needles.
This process involves the breakdown of carbon dioxide
from the air, sequestering the carbon in the limbs and
trunks of the trees and releasing the oxygen back to the air
to be used again by our carbon cycle.
In all the talk about reducing carbon emissions, not one
word is spoken for the return of the oxygen taken from the
air to make these emissions possible.
Here is a system that operates free and without atten
tion to reverse the carbon dioxide creation, but we cannot
remove one of the elements necessary for its success, to
use for other unrelated purposes.
We can no longer use 40 percent of our fresh water to
transport our human wastes, to any destination, and then
expect to clean it for reuse.
Sincerely,
Jim Warren
Danielsville
jimwarren27 @ windstream.net
Crawford .cont’dfrom 4A
A look at the 2010 sheriff’s budget
It's that time of year again
for the county, budget time.
This is a particularly tough
year with the current econ
omy. I turned in a budget
for next year and I know that
anyone who saw it probably
thought I was crazy. Well, I
promise that I am not crazy
and that I don’t expect to get
everything that I asked for on
that budget.
Budgets are turned in and
then worked and reworked
numerous times before they
are approved for the next
year. I know that what I
turned in will be done the
same way. I did have a reason
for turning in the budget that
you have read about and I
would like to take this time
to give more explanation of
the larger items that I have
asked for.
The sheriff's office is a vital
part of the county and there
are certain things that are
necessary to function, while
also reducing the liability on
the county. A big part of the
proposed budget increase is
vehicle replacement. I have
vehicles with over 200,000
and 300,000 miles on them
that are actively on patrol.
The county’s insurance
company and the Grand Jury
has stated that these vehicles
need to be replaced. The
county is taking a risk of a
lawsuit if any of these vehi
cles are involved in an acci
dent, along with the problem
that the cars are not consid
ered safe in certain situations
From
the
Sheriff’s
Desk
By Kip Thomas
that a deputy may find him
self while on duty.
It’s not that I want new
vehicles for my office: it's
that I am trying to prevent
future problems, both physi
cally and monetarily. I realize
that because of the econo
my, replacing all the needed
vehicles may not be feasible
in 2010. It is my hope that
the budget talks between the
commissioners and myself
will give opportunity for a
plan or timeline to be put into
place for the replacement of
these vehicles in the not-so-
distant future.
During my campaign, I
stated that I could run the
sheriff's office adequately
with the current number of
positions. I have been able to
do that with the patrol divi
sion, but unfortunately, the
current number of employees
in the jail is not adequate.
Beginning on Jan. 1, my
staff has been working
towards making the jail a
safer place for the employees
and the inmates. Currently
there are four people on each
12-hour shift. Two of these
positions are stationary posi
tions, which means that per
son cannot leave that position
unless someone is there to
take their place. That leaves
two employees to control and
monitor an average of 70
inmates. This includes meals,
medications, visitation, book
ing of new inmates, along
with many other supervision
duties.
It was my feeling that the
number of jailers needed
to be increased but before
including this in my budget
proposal, I asked the Georgia
Sheriff’s Association to con
duct a jail study on my facil
ity. In their study, they also
suggested the increase of the
number of jailers per shift.
In this past spring, the Grand
Jury echoed those findings
as well. There are many state
and federal mandates that
require us to provide cer
tain things for inmates. If
we aren’t adequately doing
so, this can allow for many
problems to arise.
Along with these two
major budget items, I inher
ited a problem with my cur
rent budget. A budget was
set in December of 2007 for
2008. In February of 2008 a
raise was given to the sher
iff's office employees and
was to be retroactive to the
first of that year. The payroll
piece of the 2009 budget was
kept the same as the initial
2008 budget, which did not
include the raises given later
within that same fiscal year.
This budgeting error from a
year ago accounts for almost
$200,000 that is included in
the 2010 budget request. The
employees of the sheriff’s
office have been getting paid
for these raises for a year
and a half even though it was
not included in the finance
department’s numbers.
I hope that this closer look
into my budget requests helps
to explain my department’s
needs. I want you to know
that I am sensitive to our
county’s budget concerns.
With that I also want to make
known the items that I feel
are falling short of upholding
the level of safety that I want
for Madison County. If you
have questions, please do not
hesitate to discuss them with
me. I am here for the citizens
or our county and your con
cerns are important to me.
On a lighter note, I would
like to encourage everyone
to visit our new website at
www.madisoncountysheriff-
ga.org. On this site you can
obtain various forms, view
the sex offender registry, and
locate contact information
for the office. Along with
the CHAMPS program get
ting started in our elemen
tary schools, there are several
other initiatives that I will be
starting in the near future. I
look forward to sharing more
about them with you in the
coming months.
Kip Thomas is the sheriff of
Madison County.
Want to submit a letter?
Email us at zach@mainstreetnews.com, fax us at 706-795-2765 or mail us at P.O. Box
658 Danielsville, GA 30633. Please include your first and last name, town of residence
and phone number for verification purposes.
move the state’s northern boundary line and take water
from the Tennessee River. It would be a better idea to
negotiate with Tennessee about buying some of that water,
even though that will be an expensive proposition.
There are negative and positive possibilities for the
state’s future because of the Fanier water crisis. If our
political leadership is smart enough, they may be able to
move us in the more positive direction.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia
Report, an Internet news service at www.gareport.com
that covers governmen t and politics in Georgia. He can be
reached at tcrawford@capitolimpact.net.
The Madison County
Journal is your source
for local news. Subscribe
by calling 706-795-2567.
Apple Specialist
Taxes: None. Savings: Huge!
Save BIG during the Tax-Free Holiday Event Thurs, July 30 - Sun, Aug. 2!
Open extended hours during this event - visit our web site for details
Aluminum MacBooks only $ 999*
\
CASH
CALL AND COMPARE
PER GRAM
706-369-0000
■n);l
ww 1
GREG REEVES
Fine Jewelry
613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens
H • H
Concrete Construction
Residential and Commercial
Serving Madison County
for 66 years
Specializing in all concrete needs:
• Decorative Stamp
• Stain
• Repairs
• All Flatwork and driveways
706-795-5388 • 706-296-0464
Frank Hall
Free Printer
with purchase of a Mac
HP C4680
—
Amazing Savings during Tax-Free Holiday
visit our web site for more savings & details @ peachmac.com
MacBook Air 1.6
only $1,299*
Save $500
Time Capsule 500GB
only $199
Save $100
High Speed Laser Printer
only $299
Save $400
iPod Alarm Clock from Scosche
only $49.99
Save $100
Lacie Rugged 320GB Drive
only $99.99
Save $50
15” MacBook Pro 2.66
only $1,799*
Save $700
peachmac
macs • ipods • software • service • business solutions
1850 Epps Bridge Parkway (across from Lowe's) • 706-208-9990 • peachmac.com
*Not eligible for educational discounts or iPod offers. All offers good while supplies last.
Purchases over $1500 are NOT tax exempt. #After mail-in rebate and with purchase of printer cable