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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA1 JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 24. 2009 — PAGE 5A Live Nativity in Danielsville Jake McGee, 5, Danielsville is greeted by a camel at the Live Nativity scene on Booger Hill Road Saturday night. Photos by Zach Mitcham Briannah Daniel, 11; Stephanie Daniel, 7; Kaila Morgan, 10; and Brooklynn Morgan, 6; enjoy the Live Nativity scene on Booger Hill Road Saturday. Incinerator .cont’dfrom 1A released from the facility could have on surrounding residents. He told Madison County resi dents that they are fortunate in the fact that wind typically blows east, meaning the incinerator toxins might be pushed away from the county. But he said the potential for severe pollution of the environment is very real. “In one year, a similar waste incinerator in Charleston, S.C., (scheduled to close down in 2010) released over 700,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide, over 4,000 pounds of lead and over 1,000 pounds of mercury into the air,” said Felt. “... Elements like mercury cannot be broken down into less toxic substances, but burning reduces the size of the particles so that they can be released into the air. These tinier particles are actually more dangerous, because they can be absorbed by the lungs and released into the bloodstream.” Elbert County commissioners are considering a proposal by GreenFirst LLC for a $440-450 million trash incinerator, which would also create steam for elec tricity. They say they haven’t finalized a site for the project, but a proposed locale is on 220 to 250 acres owned by Holland Ware. The tract is accessed by an unpaved road off Hwy. 72, three miles from the Madison County line. According to a handout from the Citizens’ group, the site is “over a half mile from the Broad River.” GreenFirst Chief Executive Officer Ernest Kaufman attend ed Tuesday’s meeting, fielding numerous questions from the audience. Kaufman explained that his company is the permitting agency for the project and will not actually operate the busi ness. Another company, possi bly Covanta Energy, will ran the facility. He said opponents of the incin erator have the “chief objective of creating fear and uncertainty through rumor and innuendo.” “What we submit, we’ll have to do line by line,” he said. Kaufman said his company is environmentally conscious and pointed to a large stream buffer at the landfill recently opened in Meriwether, Georgia. “It’s actually wrapped around the landfill,” said Kaufman, not ing that the buffer project cost $f0 million. Terry Brown of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission said he was disturbed by the neg ative tone of Tuesday’s meeting. He said there was a lot of infor mation presented that is “slanted and not factual.” “A lot of this stuff is slanted in a direction to the negative, which I think is premature,” said Brown. “... I’m concerned about the tone of this meeting.” Felt said he approached the proposal with an open mind. He said he was interested in the idea of converting trash to electricity. “But this is not an electricity business,” said Felt. “It’s about trash. There’s very little positive about this business.” Felt said there’s no “rumor or innuendo” in the fact that mercu ry and other toxins are harmful to the body. He added that the oper ators of the incinerator will only be tested by the Environmental Protection Division twice a year, leaving a real opportunity for manipulation of numbers. A number of others at the meeting said they have a hard time believing Kaufman’s assur ances that the facility will be safe, considering that GreenFirst won’t actually be responsible for running the business. It will obtain the permits for the proj ect, then sell the incinerator to another company. “How are you going to stick to the permits if you’re not going to operate the facility?” Madison County resident Kat Gilmore asked Kaufman. Felt likened GreenFirst to those who profited from “flip ping houses.” “They’re flipping incinerators,” he said. Madison County resident Doug Epps said Elbert County citizens should consider who their elected officials answer to — the citizens or GreenFirst. Meanwhile, Madison County resident Ed Gilmore suggested that the citizens’ group push for an independent analysis of the proposal from a third party, pointing out that citizens have a hard time accepting safety assur ances from a business driven by economic interests, while oth ers may not accept the informa tion presented by an opponents’ group. “Why not get an independent firm to get honest, unbiased information?” asked Gilmore. The proposed incinerator will bring in an estimated 50 jobs. Rev. Dallas Martin said the economic benefit is not worth the environmental price. “A plant is going to come in here with all this toxic waste and employ just 50 people?” asked Martin, drawing applause. One opponent referred to the incinerator as “the dinosaur” of waste disposal — a “costly and inefficient” practice, not seen elsewhere in Georgia. “If this is so good, why is no one else doing it?” one opponent asked. A number of citizens voiced concerns about how fast the pro posal is being pushed by Elbert County commissioners and how little public input has been sought. The Elbert BOC is now waiting for a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) study to be completed by the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission. The completion date is expected in mid-January. Kevin Lewis of Citizens for Public Awareness said he feels Elbert County leaders haven’t been forthright in presenting the proposal. He said information from those pushing the project is hazy and hard to trust, noting, for instance, that Kaufman assured the audience Tuesday that trash will not be taken to the facility by rail fine. However, Lewis read a copy of minutes from a recent meeting between the EPD and GreenFirst. In that meeting, a GreenFirst representative told the EPD that trash would not “ini tially” be transported by rail fine. No commissioners offered opinions on the matter Tuesday. “We (the citizens’ group) have acted hastily because this is being slammed down our throats,” said Lewis. DRAKE GAS CO. Service You Can Depend On! drakegas.com Locally owned since 1964 Royston 706-245-6111 Lexington 706-743-5414 Elberton 706-283-6111 Hartwell 706-376-6111 PROPANE EXCEPTIONAL ENERGY" Heat Cook Dry Hot Water CALL TODAY 45 YEARS 1964-2009 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR BOC should have to answer for budget Dear Editor: The Board of Commissioners passed the budget for 2010 and they are very self-congratulatory about what an austere budget it is. I am left with several ques tions. I know the BOC will say I should have spoken up during the public input por tions of the budget hearings, but I have learned a lesson about that. I have tried many times to speak on what I felt are important matters, only to have them limit my time, or place themselves above answering questions from ordinary citizens such as myself. For instance, I’m thinking about the Madison County employees who have been told they will be losing part of their earned holiday pay. They, for example, may share my interest in the bud get item for board of tax assessor members" pay. (Or maybe they would seriously like a job on the BOA.) After the previous BOA members (including myself) were fired, we were replaced by a board of three mem bers who only meet once a month. The budget of $8,400 for 2010 works out to $300 per meeting for the chair man and $200 per meeting for each of the other two members. So think about this - records show that the Aug. 19 meeting lasted only 15 minutes, so the chair man was paid $20 per min ute. Each of the other two members were paid $13 per minute. Yes you read it right - those dollar amounts were per minute. Their first three meetings lasted a total of one hour and 30 minutes. Is it possible that $2,100 was divided among three people for working one and a half hours? Fantastic figures, if you’re on the receiving end of them. I"m sure the BOC mem bers would just brush my comments off, saying I'm a disgruntled fired member of the BOA. Yes, I am a fired member and I am certainly disgruntled, but it has always been about the way your property values (and mine) are being set and the way some of our taxes are spent (spell that “wasted’). There is an old saying, “ignorance is bliss.” Don’t choose to be blissful about being ignorant, ask questions and demand answers, but good luck on getting them. Sincerely, Jim R. Escoe Sr. Colbert Let’s establish a health care system that would really work Dear Editor: In another twist of words, corporate America has suc ceeded in making them selves a lot more profitable at your expense. Instead of quality health care for all of us we are about to get mandatory insurance for all of us. Believe me there is a big difference between the two. Insurance for all of us means we will all be paying for health insurance. This does not mean we will have better health care it only means we will all have insurance and that for the insurance companies is, as the say, “Money in the bank!” The idea that insurance will make health care better is just not true! What it will do is put your health care in the hands of an indus try where profit, not your health, is the most impor tant thing. When it comes down to your health or their profits which way do you think the decisions will go? Which way have they gone in the past? We don’t need insurance. What we need is quality health care that’s affordable and available to every one. A plan where your health, not cost, is always the first consider ation and what you need to stay healthy is available to you when you need it. The Madison County Journal is your source for local news. Subscribe by calling 706-795-2567. To accomplish this health care needs to be wrestled away from the profiteers and speculators of the for profit system we now have. The only way to make that happen is to have a govern ment, we the people, run single payer national health care system. There are already coun tries that have this type of health care system in place and it works well. In fact, the top health care systems in the world are set up this way. For those of you who believe we have the best system in the world look at this fact. According to the World Health Organization, France is first and has a national health care system in place. We are rated 37 th— right behind Costa Rica and Dominica and right in front of Slovenia. That’s quite a ways from the best and leaves plenty of room for improvement. We need to work towards a health care system that puts people in front of profit. Don’t be swayed by those crying out that it’s too expensive. We already pay the most for the health care we receive and with a 37 th rating it would appear that we’re not getting what we’re paying for. National health care would not be free, but it may actually cost you less than you’re paying now. Consider the fact that almost everything you buy, your car, your home, your food, almost everything has health care costs to the company who supplies it built into the price. You are paying for that health care! Every time you make a purchase you’re paying for someone else’s health care. With a well-designed and thought-out health care system in place, some of these hidden costs would be eliminated. Paying less for the things we buy could easily offset the cost to you for a national health care system. The key to a suc cessful system is taking the necessary time to make it right for every one. We should not be rushing to get something (anything) in place before the end of this year. Anything will just not work! Another year or two or three spent on work ing out all the details is really not that long a time to wait for a system that will provide quality health care at an affordable price for every one. Let’s slow down, stop all the yelling, and work towards a health care system that would really work. Once that’s accom plished we just might find we would all feel better. Sincerely, Drago Tesanovich Call 245-2695 24 Hour Obituary News Compliments of PEruitt rFiuicind f/(omc, f/m\ “Locally Owned and Operated Since 1905” 47 Franklin Springs St. RoystomG^066^^^^^^^^(706)245^234 2SH5HSHSiSZS?SZ5HSHS2S2SZSIS2SH5HSZSHSHSE5ESZSZSZr£S2SH5HSH5Z5252SZ5Z525HSHSH5H5 •WtWJ OPEN CHRISTMAS EVE, CHRISTMAS DAY & NEW YEAR'S! No. 1 CHINA BUFFET EXCELLENT CHINESE FOOD TO EAT IN OR TAKE OUT Open 7 days a week! Lunch Buffet f 11:00 am - 3:00 pmJ EVERY DAY $6.45 with drink Under 2 years ■ Free 3 years • $1.99 • 4-6 years ■ $2.75 ■. 710 years • $3.50 . 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