Newspaper Page Text
Drought Conditions Go On,
Climatologists Say
North Georgia did receive some hydro-
logic "recharge" in winter and early spring,
experts say, but not enough to preclude severe
drought conditions this summer. Since Oct.
1, North Georgia has received only 70 to 80
percent of normal rainfall, according to an
Apr. 23 press release from State Climatologist
David Stooksbury, and "most North Georgia
streams are at or near record low flows for late
April." That's been true on an almost-daily
basis in the Athens area, where both the North
Oconee and Middle Oconee rivers—Athens'
water sources—were at record low flows (for
this time of year) last week.
Streamflows remain low largely because
groundwater, or deep soil moisture, is lacking,
says Assistant State Climatologist Pam Knox.
"The surface soil moisture's okay, but the
deeper levels—if you dig down a little bit—
it's just so dry," she says. And it's typical for
official drought-level declarations—which are
based on several drought indicators—to be
lessened in wintertime, as they were this year,
Knox says, but "in a way, it's a little mislead
ing, because underlying it all it's so dry."
With no eggs and few issues, a large
crowd of well-turned-out Athens Chamber
of Commerce members met over coffee the
morning of Apr. 24 with the local legislative
delegation for a report on what happened at
the recently concluded session of the Georgia
General Assembly—or didn't. The coffee
was an occasion, as Chamber Chairman Sean
Hogan said in his welcome, for the legislators
to tell the Chamber about all the accomplish
ments that the press didn't think fit into the
story of nothing happening.
All of the delegation was there: State
Representatives Keith Heard, Bob Smith and
Doug McKillip, along with State Senators
Ralph Hudgens and Bill Cowsert.
Rep. Heard was first up, and it fell his lot
to enumerate the legislative accomplishments.
After the impressive list of allocations to the
University of Georgia (the legislature put the
university "on a pedestal," Rep. Smith said
later)—2.5 percent raises for faculty and staff,
$10 million for the medical college satellite
campus (at the present Navy School, where
this event took place), $2.5 million for the
pharmacy school, $1.5 million for the library's
special collections, as well as $800,000 for
the Griffin extension campus—Heard listed
tax cuts for industrial equipment, incentives
for the tourist industry, tax incentives for
the movie industry and solar energy and, of
course, the new statewide water plan, which
everybody agreed is "not perfect." Before he
could stop himself, Heard slid into enumerat
ing some of the things that did not happen:
tax reform, trauma care; but then, mercifully,
his five minutes had lapsed.
Near the surface, meanwhile, the arrival
of spring means that both evaporation and
water uptake by plants are taking a heavier
toll on shallow soil moisture levels. Or, in the
words of the press release: "Late April through
October, moisture loss from soils is usually
greater than rainfall. If Georgia has normal
weather this summer, we can expect the soils
to continue to dry out and groundwater lev
els, stream flows and reservoir levels to drop
across the entire state." And rainfall of an
inch a week might be "about normal" lately,
Knox says, but even if it were coming, it
wouldn't make up for the current deficit.
As Knox says, "It'll be a really interesting
spring." It's conceivable that a strong "La
Nina" effect could bring an active tropical-
storm season to the Southeast, but there's no
way to know if that will happen, and it won't
come until June or July if it does. "You need
a big [rain] event to break the drought," Knox
says. "We just don't see any signs of that
happening."
Sen. Hudgens admitted that the personal
political agendas of the Speaker and the
Lieutenant Governor got in the way of the
ambitious hopes that started the session, and
then launched into a recitation of the legisla
tion he would like to see passed: a one-cent
sales tax for transportation, long-term funding
for trauma care, and more.
Sen. Cowsert, in his remarks, praised
Rep. Smith and said Smith had fought "in
the trenches" in the House Appropriations
Committee against powerful legislators from
Augusta to protect the funding for the medical
college campus in Athens. Cowsert admitted
that he was frustrated by the legislature's fail
ure to act on key measures such as property-
tax relief and trauma care. Cowsert counted
the two top accomplishments of the session
as dealing with the water crisis in a respon
sible manner and funding the planning for the
medical college campus in Athens.
Rep. McKillip, batting cleanup, said he
wouldn't rant about the failures of the legis
lature and acknowledged the raises for teach
ers, the water plan ("far from perfect, a good
framework, a good start"), some protection for
Jekyll Island and at least the beginnings of a
debate on tax reform.
In closing remarks, Navy Lt. Commander
Paul Wilson told the group that the projected
date to turn over the Navy School property is
in March 2011, though the Center for Service
Support will leave in May 2009 and the Marine
detachment will leave in late 2009 or early
2010.
Pete McCommons editor@flagpole.com
Chambliss’
Stake Claims
They may be "also-rans" in the U.S.
Senate race against Saxby Chambliss, but
three Democratic candidates didn't lack edge
or ideas at a forum Apr. 23 held by UGA's
Young Democrats. And although collegial
with one another, they didn't mince words in
criticizing Republican Chambliss or the other
two Democrats in the race, none of whom
attended.
Former Atlanta TV reporter Dale Cardwell
saw Washington as "paralyzed" by special-
interest campaign money. "We cannot fix
healthcare," he said. "We cannot fuel our
growing economy. We will not even begin to
end our dependence on foreign oil. And we
will not fix immigration—because the special
interests own and control Washington."
And those interests own Saxby Chambliss,
Cardwell said: "He's owned by the oil compa
nies, and he's owned by the Bush people that
control him." Cardwell
encouraged individual
citizens to support
candidates with their
donations.
For his part, Josh
Lanier said he's made it
"very difficult for people
to give money" to his
own campaign by limit
ing donations to $100.
Such a donation limit "is
what every member of
Congress—senator or whoever it is—wants to
do, but does not dare," Lanier said. "I spent
35 years working in that system. I've been a
staff member in the Senate, a staff member
in the House. I've been a lobbyist, I've run
a PAC. I've bundled hundreds of thousands
of dollars for friends of mine running for the
Senate. I know the script. I'm not going to be
a part of it."
Campaign finance reform has been talked
about "since Teddy Roosevelt was president,"
Lanier said. "My objective in this campaign is
to force this issue."
But "money's not everything in this game
here in Georgia," countered Rand Knight, an
Atlanta candidate for Senate with a back
ground in ecology.
"We just saw several years back—Roy
Barnes had $29 million, folks, and lost to
Sonny Perdue with $3 million... How do you
do that, if money means everything?" Georgia
needs a committed senator like Sam Nunn or
Richard Russell, Knight said.
Challengers
with Students
"We need a quarterback who's going to go
up there and fight for us," Knight said. "If...
you don't really have the fire in the belly to
go up there and stand up for Georgia, then—
all this money—who cares?" he asked. "Are
we electing the best folks to go up there and
fight for us? What kind of person is going to
go up there and fight for working families?"
"Saxby's polling lower than any stand
ing senator in the United States right now,"
Knight said. "That means he's vulnerable."
And in February's presidential primary, 53
percent of Georgia's ballots were cast were for
Democrats, he added. "We haven't done that
in almost 40 years... It's a clear and pres
ent danger to our national security and our
economy and the very health of our people to
leave Saxby Chambliss in office."
Nor were the candidates complimentary to
DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, who along
with Jim Martin is run
ning against Chambliss
as a Democrat. Even if
Jones becomes the nom
inee, "I will not support
Vernon Jones—because
he's not a Democrat,"
Cardwell said. In the
past, he said, Jones
publicly denounced
the Democratic Party
and supported George
Bush. "He's running to
spoil, to keep a good honest Democrat from
winning the race." Cardwell said "insiders" of
the Democratic Party have decided to support
candidates who are not much different from
Chambliss and to depend on support from
national Democrats, instead of offering vot
ers a real choice. "That's the only thing they
know," he said.
But determined young people can change
things, said Lanier. "Your generation has the
possibility of being the next great genera
tion... If you step up and ask, it'll happen,"
he said. "Go find a way to do something
for your country. Break the mold in America
where... we view ourselves [as] a big pot of
money and everybody wants to know, 'What's
in it for me?'" He went on, "You can so change
this country if you will simply revive the idea
of that purest of patriotism that says, This is
what I want to do for my country' and then go
show up and do it."
John Huie jphuie@athens.net
Ben Emanuel t>en@flagpole com
Legislators Counter-Spin a
Do-Nothing Session
“You can so change this
country if you will simply
revive the idea of that
purest of patriotism that
says, ‘This is what I want
to do for my country’ and
then go show up and do it.”
6 FLAGPOLE.COM • APRIL 30,2008 NEWS & FEATURES I CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E T MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS