Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current, August 09, 2000, Image 4

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CONTACT US AT 0.0. BOX 1027. ATHENS, GA SOSOS OR MAtL@ELAGROLE.COM LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR STYLE, CLARITY AND SPACE CONSIDERATIONS I've been following talk about the land use plan. From what I can gather, the idea was to come up with a guideline about development in and around Athens. The idea was to preserve what we have so that Athens doesn't turn into another Atlanta. I would like to know, if the County Commission meetings to discuss the land use plan aren't open to the public, why is a real estate agent and a developer in the meeting con ferring with the Commission? Are they not part of the public? And if they are in these secret meet ings discussing the development of Athens, which no doubt they will personally profit from, this whole process sound rigged. [Some of the meet ings are dosed to public comment but do not exclude the public. Ed ] Where are the naturalists and conservationists to inform the Commission of the environmental impact of their decisions? Where are the studies of the financial benefit of preserving wild spaces instead of development? Everyone benefits from wild spaces, whereas tearing down our woods to build subdivisions makes only a few people rich. Georgia has been bitten by the development greed for money bug, and we obviously haven't learned from other states who let a few devel opers tear down their forests and sell the land off and get rich. No one seems to connect the destruction of *he neighborhood woods with the loss of peace or serenity. Or with alienation of young people. No one seems to think that getting rid of those open spaces of nature and wildlife will have any effect on people or their lives. But there is a connection. When I go visit my sister in one of these cities, I feel like a sardine in a crowded can. There's no privacy in stamp-sized backyards; rush hour lasts all day, and people seem much too stressed on the weekend as they rush off to get out of the city and out into nature. I come back to Athens, where life is still a bit laid back and people are still friendly, and neigh borhoods still have patches of cool, serene woods. And I wake tip to the sound of birds instead of boom boxes and freeway traffic. In my neighborhood, two acres of forest was torn up th’s week. People who have lived on this street their whole lives have had the trees they grew up with uprooted and hauled away. Not even one tree was left on the property line to shield the houses now exposed. I'm worried. I'm worried about the sickness that gets hold of people and makes them do any thing for money, that makes them sell off a neighborhood. I wonder what kind of person it is that feels they need money that bad; bad enough to bulldoze a littl? piece of nature on other people's street. We're taking Nature for granted in Athens. We need to realize how much we're each benefiting from our environment every day. We need to realize that we have something really special here that most cities have already lost. And, we need to save out neighborhood woods from the bull dozers and the individuals who would profit from their destruction. It's time to stop thinking that money can buy anything and that people with money can do anything they want. We also need to have a realistic discussion of what greenspace is. Open, green, natural, wild space. Preserved for wildlife and as a place where people can go to appreciate nature. Where we can take our children to learn a love and respect for the natural world, which, they have to learn to ensure the survival and prosperity of our planet. Greenspace is not farmland divided into one, five or ten acre ranchettes. It is public land set aside primarily to preserve ecosystems and wildlife habitat. It is public land in that the public has access to enjoy being in nature, but not public in the sense that the public can decide to destroy or alter it. Yes, Athens-Clarke needs green space. We need places to go walking and renew our spirits where we don't have to drive for hours in traffic. Where we can see wildflowers in the spring, and leaves turn color in the fall, and native plants in their natural environment. And we need to recog nize the value of the woods interspersed in our neighborhoods and protect them from those who would replace them with houses and irreparably alter our community for their own individual profit. I dc.Tt have the money that the developers have. But the woods are a beautiful, vibrant part of our community and deserve to remain standing. I'm thinking we need some different County Commissioneis, people who could find some creative ways to preserve nature both in Lown and in the outlying areas. L. Briggs Athens JUST SOY NO I find it deeply ironic that the Republicans reserved an entire night to highlight the impor tance of the Armed Services and yet there has been little press mention of the fact that for the first time in nearly 50 years, the Republicans will nominate two candidates who both have never served in the active duty military. Dick Cheney, who has readily admitted that [he] "had other pri orities in the 1960s than military service," actu ally received more draft deferments than President Clinton. The true story on Gov. G. W. Bush's spotty and strangely incomplete service record in the Air National Guard may never be fully known, but Gov. Bush was seemingly AWOL for much of the period of 1972-1973. There is yet no real verifiable infoi mation from the Bush campaign on the where abouts of the governor during these extended periods of unexplained and highly unusual absences. Still, this incomplete service record is very telling about the character of a man who campaigns to "return honor and integrity to the Oval Office." Honorable men do not shirk their duty when involved in the defense of America. Men of integrity are not absent without leave for months at a time with no explanation other than, "My daddy's a rich, well connected Congressman, so I thought I could skip out for awhile." There were more than 1500 stories examining every scintilla of Mr. Clinton's draft record before the 1992 election, but somehow the press seems les' than interested in following up on this story that speaks volumes about the candidates' respective "characters." If this was the period when Gov. Bush was just "young and irresponsible," (as help fully re-defined by the press as any period prior to his 45th birthday), we can then ask "When did he become responsible for his actions?" T o the answers of these vital questions the fate of the free world might depend. A few miles from where the Republicans met, the Continental Army once spent a winter freezing and hungry in Valley Forge. Those that remained with General Washington dedicated their lives in defense of our freedom despite incredible hard ships. Gov. Bush's lack of dedication to his duty in the ANG, despite a life of exceptional privilege, is a dramatic contrast that speaks volumes about his personal sense of honor. J. M. Prince Cartersville TBit MWIII W«Bk» by TOM TOMORROW RANDOM VIGNETTES FROM THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION 0 larry king Sits down next to m£ in A STAR0JCK5 ONE. MORNING. HE IS FRIENDLY, TALKATIVE--AND UTTERLY CAJSTIC ABOJTvTHE REPUBLICAN S SHOW OF DIVERSITY. WHITES IN THE AUDIENCE AND BLACKS ONSTAGE* ALL THE BlACKS ARE ONSTAGE If THERE'S A BELLMAN AROUND, THEY INVITE HIM ON STAGE! 3) SAM DONALDSON CAN FREQUENTLY BE FOUND AT THE A8C.COM SOOTH IN ONE Of THE HUGE MEDIA PAVILIONS OUTSIDE THE CONVENTION CENTER, PONTIFICATING ABOUT THE INTERNET-- WHICH THE VISIONARY NEWSMAN BELIEVES IS MUCH MORE THAN A PASSING FAD... /•v - numiii • -MARX AND LENIN—EAT YOUR HEARTS lour; THESE ARE the revolution aries—the people on THE H nf you aren't on the web, you ARE SOON gonna BE A DINO- \SAUR! WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT YOUR BONES AND SAY, WHAT WAS THIS? LET'S SEE If WE CAN RECONSTRUCT | THE FLESH I mote: since me smi*. TO be IT LCAST is ’With it" is SAM domalvSoM. me i ►OJTEO PHOTOS FROM THE CONVENTION ON OOP MEBSrrE: WWW.TMlSMOOCBNNCWOl.COM.' H) AT A CHRISTIAN COALITION RALLY IN A BALLROOM FAR FROM THE WARM l FUZZY G.O.P. CONVENTION, PAT Robertson explains why he sup-. PORTS GEORGE W. BUSH IN THIS SEA SON of INCLUSION... I DON'T WANT MY MONEY GOING TO fund DlRVt PICTURES or THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD ABORTION CLINKS'.! EHIFgangifi ** From: ATHENS TIMES A DAY ATHENS: Super Mcdo. Los Compadres-1380 Prince Ave. 706.543.6777 Council Travel- 480 Broad Street 706.543.9600 We are now inside PLAZA FIESTA 4166 Buford Hwy. - Suite 1023B 1-877-725-5287 OF GEORGIA ^ATLANTA 12' 9 ° □ FLAGPOLE AUGUST 9, 2000 00-b-8