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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. AUGUST 13. 2009 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Rest of the BOA was going one way,
while I was going the other
Dear Editor:
It’s kind of funny in a way.
The “fire the tax assessors’’
crowd have had their way
and we’re all gone, including
me. What’s funny is that in
so many instances, the rest
of the BOA was going in one
direction and I was going in
another. I don’t even have
count of the times that I was
a minority of one when votes
were taken by the board.
Every time I voted as I did,
though, I was trying to pro
tect the best interests of the
Madison County taxpayers.
Now that the BOA is dis
solved and I can speak freely
for myself, I want to tell
you some of the things I
tried to do for you, Madison
County taxpayers. This will
take more than one letter, but
first things first.
Because I was so dissatis
fied with some of the deci
sions by the BOA, I tried
to appear before the board
of commissioners on Dec.
8, 2008, to give them infor
mation (possibly evidence)
that the BOA should be ter
minated. I was informed
that I would have only three
minutes to speak, and there
was no way I could have
explained and clarified my
concerns in that length of
time, so I stopped trying. (I
had always felt that some
BOA members were work
ing closer with some BOC
members than they should
have been, and I wondered if
the BOC was trying to shield
them.) After I sat down, one
of the BOA members went to
the podium and thanked the
BOC. Later that night, anoth
er BOA member threatened
a possible lawsuit against
me. Because Chairman-elect
Anthony Dove was sitting
next to me on the front row,
I am sure he saw and heard
everything that happened that
night.
After Chairman Dove took
office I met with him and
revealed part of my concerns,
but I could tell he wasn’t
interested in doing anything.
After another conversa
tion with him, he became
so mad that he asked me to
step down from the BOA.
Eventually, the BOC decid
ed action was needed and
demanded that we all step
down. It’s ironic that almost
exactly eight months to the
day after I first approached
the BOC with my concerns
on Dec. 8, 2008, we were all
removed.
Taxpayers of Madison
County, I still worry about
the way your values are set
and I will continue to work as
a private citizen to get things
done right. Remember, over
strong objections I was able
to get an assessment notice
mailed to every one of you
this year. By receiving these
notices, you have the right
to appeal your values if you
think they are not correct.
I know some bloggers and
others have tried to make me
look bad for pushing to get
an assessment notice mailed
to every taxpayer, but anyone
who will take the time to
think this through can under
stand that this could cer
tainly benefit you. These are
unusual times and people’s
property values should be set
correctly. After you look at
your appraised value, if you
think it is too high you have
the right to appeal it and ask
for a reduction. Reductions
may not always be granted,
but one thing is sure — if you
don’t ask for it, you definitely
won’t get it. The deadline for
doing this is Aug. 17.
I will have more to say
on the subject of Madison
County taxes in future letters
to the editor. In the mean
while, if I can ever be of help
to any of you, please ask.
Sincerely,
Jim R. Escoe Sr.
Former member, Madison
County Board of Assessors
Confusion on health care
issue is truly amazing
Dear Editor:
Health care for everyone!
If after hearing this statement
for the last several months, you
still have no idea what it means
rest assured you are not alone.
Most of the people, doing most
of the talking on the subject do
not know what it means either.
Based on what’s being said it
would appear that these five
words have more definitions
then Webster’s has pages.
The confusion on this issue
is truly amazing and totally
uncalled for. Health care for
every one means just what it
says, health care for every one!
The only way to truly have this
happen is a single payer health
system that provides coverage
for every one. Now I know
you have heard that this option
is off the table but that couldn’t
be further from the truth.
There is a bill in the House
of Representatives, HR
676, supported by over 90
Representatives that would
provide for a single payer
health care system. HR 676
details how the plan will work
and how it will be paid for.
If implemented, single payer
would provide you with the
best coverage at the lowest cost
to you. The only people who
would get less with a single
payer system are the big drug
companies, the big insurance
companies and everyone else
who profits handsomely from
your health care. They are the
reason single payer is off the
table and they are spending
millions of dollars to keep it
that way.
Congress is going home for
the month of August. We hear
this break will give them time to
study the proposed health care
plans and return to Washington
with our best interest in mind.
This sounds great, but I doubt
if it will happen. Too many in
Congress are too dependent on
the money from big business to
make the right decision for you
on this important issue.
You, on the other hand,
could use this time to really
find out which plan would be
best for you. Take the time
to really look at the single
payer plan proposed in House
Bill 676. Base your decision
on what you know to be fact
not what you hear from those
who want single payer off the
table. Decide for yourself and
then let your representatives
in Congress know which way
you want them to vote on the
health care issue.
Learn the facts and let’s truly
have a system that provides the
best health care for everyone.
“Of all the forms of inequal
ity, injustice in health is the
most shocking and the most
inhumane.” Martin Luther
King Jr.
Sincerely,
Drago Tesanovich
The septic tank and how it works
Dear Editor:
The septic tank is unsur
passed as a device for reduc
ing the solid matter in our
waste water using the bac
teria that we send with it.
This bacterium dwells in our
digestive system which is
anaerobic, or without air, and
so is the septic tank, until we
send it something that harms
or kills the bacteria. The tank
has an air trap at the entrance
and exit and always remains
full of some liquid.
The first problem can
begin at the entrance where
water from the kitchen sink
and dishwasher containing
grease is sent directly to the
tank entrance, without going
through a grease trap. The
water cools and the grease
rises to the top, forming a
plug around the entrance air
trap.
The grease trap is the most
frequently omitted part of a
domestic waste water system,
for it costs a little money and
sometimes needs a rerouting
of the sink plumbing. It is
usually installed soon after
the kitchen water leaves the
building and before it joins
the other drainage plumbing
and is the place where the
water cools and the grease
rises to the top for easy
removal.
The septic tank is the place
where solid wastes settle
to the bottom where they
are acted on by the bacteria
which must be kept without
air or more accurately with
out oxygen from the air. Here
the wastes can be reduced to
l/10 th their original volume.
The tank is kept full of liq
uid from bath taking, clothes
washing, and yes, flush
water with the urine. All of
this is mixed together with
one gallon leaving the exit
for each gallon that enters;
with the solids settling to the
bottom.
This exit water goes to a
leach field where the chemi
cal reaction reverses from
anaerobic to aerobic, with air
or oxygen.
The nutrients left in the
water require oxygen to
complete this reaction. I pre
fer the open drain tile and
crushed stone bed in trench
es no more than two feet
deep that must be absolutely
level. The effluent then coats
the stone, and with bacte
ria and oxygen from the air,
the treatment is completed.
The length and width of the
trench must be sufficient to
contain all the water entering
the system including when
it rains. All surface water
from rain must be excluded.
The water is leached into
the sides and bottom of the
trench and rises to the sur
face by capillary attraction,
where it evaporates and some
used by grass and sod.
Chlorine in drinking water
displaces oxygen from the
water and some of this oxy
gen finds its way to the sep
tic tank where it harms or
destroys the bacteria needed
for its operation. Perhaps
this bacteria is harmed or
destroyed while it is still in
your digestive tract causing
cramping and other prob
lems. The tank then becomes
a holding tank and fills with
solids, followed by the leach
field and it “leaks.”
Sincerely,
Jim Warren
jimwarren27 @ wind-
stream.net
We must take responsibility for health care
Dear Editor:
I have been thinking a lot about
health care in this country, not
because I am sick, but because I
am healthy, and that seems to be
unusual in this day and age. Drug
companies, doctors, supplement
manufacturers, insurance compa
nies, and advertising executives all
seem determined to convince me
that I am too fat. too thin, too old.
too bored, too depressed, too lazy
or too hyper to possibly be happy
and healthy. Doctors I know make
salaries of close to $750,000 per
year, and young drug company
sales reps can earn about $100,000
per year. My insurance company
salesman drips diamond pinky
rings, drives a L£xus, and loves to
talk about his golf game and his
house on Lake Lanier. In short,
there is a lot of money being made
on my behalf.
Unfortunately, sometimes my
coverage seems to cover an annual
mammogram; other times that is
an indulgence that the insurance
company underwriters consider
suspicious. If my doctor recom
mends an annual exam, perhaps
there is something wrong with
me? Is there a pre-existing condi
tion that they shouldn’t have to
take responsibility for? And could
this be an unfair risk to the insur
ance company's bottom line? In
short, my health is at the mercy
of a veiy strange foim of free
enterprise, one that has created a
hodge-podge of medical supports
and treatments that often seem to
discourage, rather than support,
living a responsibly healthy life.
Should we allow "bottom lines”
“free enterprise” and market forc
es to be the deciding factors in
our health coverage? Is that the
freedom of choice people who
are fighting health care reform are
working so hard to save for us?
Congress has been wrangling
with an extremely complex health
care debate, and I commend our
president, his advisors and con
gressmen and women on both
sides of the aisle for having the
guts to tiy to come to temis with
what has become an insupportable
situation. At the same time, I can't
help but wonder if Americans’
access to cheap, processed food,
unnecessary products, and easy
access to inexpensive energy isn't
catching up with us. Where does
our own responsibility he if we
choose to eat Twinkies, drink
soft drinks, and spend our lives
in the car? How can we expect
any health care system, public or
private, to care for us if we're not
willing to take responsibility for
our lives by eating healthy foods,
getting exercise, and avoiding
the things that we know make us
sick? Should we ignore all that and
expect the government to care for
us as we age?
As I see it, this effort by President
Obama and the Congress is not
about destroying choice, limiting
care, or taking away "freedom."
And it certainly isn't about eutha
nizing elderly people. The govern
ment is and has been involved in
our care for decades and for the
most part, it has done a good job.
(Medicate never ceases to amaze
me. And Medicaid assists the most
needy while various government-
sponsored insurance helps cover
children, etc.) The current debate
is about finding ways to address
increasingly complex issues of our
society’s ihs. We need to continue
to think critically listen respectful
ly and be generous in our efforts to
understand the needs of the unin
sured members of our society. But
until we Americans are willing to
take responsibility for our indul
gences and our personal health, we
will forever be paying outrageous
prices for health care, no matter
what system we’re using.
Sincerely,
Melissa Tufts
Comer
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Announcing the arrival of
DR. KRISTY E. CARTER
Pediatrician
at
medIlink
COLBERT
ON AUGUST 3, 2009
ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS
• Birth to 18 years • Immunizations • Sick and Well Child Care
• Hospital Newborn Care • School and Sports Physicals
• Board Eligible in Pediatric Medicine
Medlink Colbert accepts: Medicaid (Amerigroup, Wellcare, PeachCare for
Kids, Georgia Better Healthcare), State Health Benefits Plan, Medicare,
Tricare, most insurance programs and offers a sliding fee program for
patients who quality with proof of income and household size.
11 Charlie Morris Rd.
Colbert, GA
706-788-2127
Dr. Carter graduated from the University of Georgia
with a B.S. in Exercise and Sports Science and
earned her Doctorate in Medicine from Medical
College of Georgia. She completed her pediatric
residency at Greenville Hospital System in
Greenville, South Carolina.
Dr. Carter is a native of Barrow County and is
excited to return to Northeast Georgia. When not
practicing pediatric medicine, she and husband,
Jonathan, can be found outdoors hiking and
backpacking, or spending time with family. She
enjoys cooking, quilting, and music.