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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. AUGUST 6. 2009 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Say ‘No’ to the relocation of Hwy. 29
Dear Editor:
This is to alert Madison
County homeowners living
up to two miles from Hwy.
29 that the plans to widen
Hwy 29 have drastically
changed. The new proposal
is no widening at all. Instead,
except for a short segment
near Ingles, it is a complete
relocation of Hwy. 29. This
relocation may end up going
through your front yard,
backyard, or straight through
your home.
You probably missed the
DOT meeting where the new
plans were unveiled because
the media announcements
prior to the public meeting
were not completely accu
rate. In the July 16 and July
23 editions of The Madison
County Journal, this project
was repeatedly described
as “widening” of Hwy. 29.
According to DOT spokes
person Teri Pope, the 4.3 mile
first segment would “follow
the existing roadway” with
variances to correct hills and
curves “up to 1000 feet” from
the existing roadway.
“So we want folks along
this section of Hwy. 29 to
please come look at it,” Pope
said. The problem is that all
the proposed routes in the
Hull, Colbert and Diamond
Hill areas go far beyond the
1,000 foot variance and many
people living way off the cur
rent Hwy. 29 had no idea
this meeting concerned their
property.
Several options are being
considered by the DOT, so
public awareness and input is
vital. If the southeastern route
is chosen, the homes and live
lihoods of many families will
be forever changed. One farm
near us will be split in two
pieces. The farmer's bam will
be on one side of the four-lane
and his home of over 30 years
will be on the other side. This
route also passes through, not
around, an established sub
division, cutting down acres
of mature trees and coming
within feet of two quiet cul-
de-sacs where families have
lived for years and children
play. Some homeowners will
lose not just their yards but
their homes as well, while
others will wish they had
when big trucks rush by 24
hours a day just outside their
front doors. Keep in mind
that these are families who
purchased homes and farms
far from the current Hwy. 29,
who now, thanks to the DOT,
may see their peaceful home
lives vanish.
The northwestern route
is equally devastating. The
Moon's Grove area, for
instance, is one of the pret
tiest, pastoral places in our
county. Families have lived
there for generations. If the
DOT chooses this route, cars
will replace cows, and proper
ty values, already hit hard by
the recession, will plummet as
the DOT takes everything in
its 250-foot wide path. And,
with stimulus money freely
flowing from Washington,
this could happen sooner than
we think.
The DOT said that com
ments received by Aug.
13 would be considered in
the final project design. If
we remain silent, they will
assume there is no opposi
tion. Please ask the DOT to
hold another public meet
ing so that all families now
finding this out can see the
detailed aerial view of the
routes and let their opposi
tion be known. See the plan
and leave comments at www.
dot.ga.gov (click on info cen
ter, then public outreach, then
Madison County 7-30-2009
US 29 Bypass). Also, you
may call 404-631-1577
or 404-699-4413.
Please spread the word and
encourage others to say no to
the relocation of Hwy. 29.
Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Shubert
Hull
Says pizzeria showed no negligence in case of hit dog
Dear Editor:
I want to take this opportu
nity to respond to the letter
“Disappointed in response of
business after dog hit.” Pizza
and Sub Express has shown
no negligence in the injured
dog situation. The dog ran
out into the road - if the dog
had been in a fenced yard or
on a leash, this unforeseen
accident would not have
happened.
Madison County current
ly has a leash law and (it)
should be used. If anyone
was negligent it would have
been the person attending the
dog. Pizza and Sub Express
and the owners are huge dog
lovers. They contribute to
the humane society every
year and have house pets
of their own. We are truly
sorry for anyone's loss or
any injuries the pet or own
ers have had. To the accusa
tion of the Pizza and Sub
Express driver having been
reported for speeding, it has
no merit. The driver has a
spotless driving record with
no violations. I too believe
that Madison County is a
great place to live and would
like to take the opportunity
to tell all the great people
of Madison County that we
appreciate all the support
and business that they have
given us at Pizza and Sub
Express.
Sincerely,
Larry and Pat Colquitt
Offers counter proposal
to Hwy. 29 bypass
Dear Editor:
This is in response to the proposal of a Hwy. 29 bypass
in Danielsville. While I realize this is the devil rearing its
evil head again, I would like to offer a counter proposal
to the one which continues to pop up.
First of all, if I were a business owner in Danielsville,
I would be sitting on my commissioner’s doorsteps from
dusk to dawn until someone listened to me.
Why not add a turning lane and a left turn arrow to the
existing traffic light at the intersection of Hwys. 29 and
98? This seems like it would eliminate the “need” for a
bypass, allow traffic in and out of Danielsville to flow
more easily and also cost considerably less.
The money saved could be put to good use by paving
more dirt roads, etc.
Sincerely,
Troy McElroy
Crawford .cont’d from 4A
jobs in return. Where are the jobs?”
That's a question that could be difficult to answer.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact's Georgia
Report, an Internet news sen’ice at www.gareport.com that
covers government and politics in Georgia. He can be reached
at tcrawford@ capitolimpact. net.
For the best buys,
read the classifieds.
We need both parties
working to fix health care
Dear Editor:
My letter concerns the health care debate. No matter
which way one leans politically, there is general agreement
that our healthcare system is broken. Some of the best
minds from both the right and the left are sounding the
alert, telling us that if left unchecked, prices will continue
to escalate, and that the number of Americans who cannot
afford coverage, already in the millions, will continue to
grow.
This is something we need to have a national discussion
over. The need for high quality, affordable health care isn't
something we need to be divided over since it’s something
we all need. Even so, some are pitching this as Obama-
Care, or as the brainchild of a vast liberal conspiracy.
This president is not the first one who has attempted to
find a way to provide health care to all of us, but he may be
the first to have gone to such lengths to include representa
tives of both major parties in drafting legislation to make it
so. Still, special interests are attempting the usual routine
of framing the discussion in language guaranteed to alarm
us, using words like socialism, big government, European-
style and so forth. If special interests and opportunistic
politicians wishing to ruin Obama win the day and we wind
up doing nothing to address this problem, listen for the
media frenzy a few years from now castigating those who
“did nothing” while we had the chance.
If you’re reading this letter to the editor, there's a good
chance you have strong opinions on this issue, and I
wouldn’t try to change them. I’m not an expert by any
means. But I do know hard-working people who have no
coverage because they cannot afford it. Even though I do
have coverage, I have been denied payment from my insur
ance company for less-than-humane reasons. I am seeing
less of my paycheck as premiums continue to increase
year by year. I have had a doctor suggest pharmaceuticals I
neither requested nor needed, just for his own gain. These
struggles with the healthcare system are rather small and
benign when compared with others', but they point to a
broken system that's not constructed in the patient's best
interest. One doesn’t need to be an expert to see that,
although I do see an awful lot of special interest money
being spent to convince me, and you, that things are just
fine as they are.
Today 14,000 more Americans lost their coverage. In the
course of just two days the number of people who lose cov
erage matches the number of people living in our county.
Healthcare is a national problem with moral consequences.
I hope those who want to turn it into a political game will
ask themselves what constituency they were elected to
serve. Who will benefit if nothing is changed? Who will
benefit, I wonder, if special interests manage to convince a
majority of us to come out against it? Instead of falling for
the usual divisive tactics from wealthy specials interests,
we should demand that both parties take their eye off the
next election and focus their best efforts on fixing health
care.
Sincerely,
Michael Hill
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