ATE FOR ATHENS
mm
*The proposed Wal-Mart supercenter (the third in this
region!) is a very bad idea because:.
1. It would bring thousands more cars and trucks a day
to already jam-packed, dangerous streets;
2. It could result in a net loss (not gain) in taxes by
forcingsmaller stores out of business...
3. It would put people out of work or force them to
trade good jobs with benefits for hourly, part-time, low-
paying jobs at Wal-Mart;
4. It would mean Wal-Mart's huge profits would all go
to Bentonville, Ark., not Athens-Clarke County;
5. It would be in direct violation of our existing and
our new land-use plan, for which we paid a half-miltion
dollars to safeguard the qualify of our lives and the value
cfour homes and businesses;
6. It would result in huge retaining walls and massive
hillside cuts and fill, destroying the natural beauty of the
area; " V _
7. It would mean that 70 or mom acres of land around
the Wal-Mart site would also go commercial because, if
Wal-Mart is rezoned, a precedent would be t set...
A Wal-Mart supercenter on the Atla nta Highway?
Totally unacceptable!"
This letter to the Banner-Herald was written in 1999 by •
Burt Sparer, who at the time was president of the Federation of
Neighborhood Associations, Burt was summing up the group's
objections to building a Walmart off the Atlanta Highway, in *
the Mitchell Bridge Road vicinity. They won that fight because
the project required rezoning.
Burt Spararer died right before Christmas this year, and
probably few in the present Walmart fight know who he was.
That's understandable, because such struggles are in the
moment aimed at the future, not the past. Even so, we start
from a better position, with stronger laws in place, and we
benefit from the commitment and effort people like Burt have
put in before us to pave the way.
8urt was a professional planner who aided local govern
ments all over Northeast Georgia in a variety of capacities.
When he retired, he put his time and talents into efforts to
improve his own community, working through the precursor to
Community Connection, the Mental Health Association and the
Federation of Neighborhoods, among others.
Burt was by dint of long hard work and travel an expert on
local government That made him really valuable as an ally
when citizen gfoups found themselves up against developers
bent on destroying their neighborhoods. When Burt was get
ting started, all the balance was tipped toward the developers.
Local government was dominated by therri, and citizens had
few counterweights. Gradually, people like Burt started getting
neighborhoods familiar with techniques for exerting citizen
influence, and that citizen influence was felt, for instance,
when Athens Regional Medical Center was stopped from whole
sale destruction of homes on King Avenue, in Rve Points when
Eckerd was convinced not to build where the fire station even
tually went, and in many other land use issues. Burt was a big
guy, and we stand on his shoulders.
It's because of people like Burt that we have a history of
citizens demanding and getting results, and we can hope citi
zens wiU have an effect on the current Walmart 'right idea in
the wrong place."
There was something else about Burt that we can all benefit
from, too. He was strong and insistent in his advocacy. He was
concerned about his town, but he was concerned, too, about
the people who make up the. community. He had a way of get
ting down to issues but also being open to the concerns of
the human beings who were grappling with those problems. He
might ask you, 'How's it goingr But he would also ask you,
"How're you doing?" And he wouldn't accept a facile answer
to either question. Maybe that's why his impact was so great
because ultimately he understood that a community is not
an abstract entity but a group of people trying to figure out
how to live their lives together. Because he cared about both
dimensions, Burt Sparer was a leader and a healer. It's because
of people like Burt that we have the kind of community we
enjoy here, and why we have an obligation to continue trying
to make it better for us alL
: ; PoteWcOommowedilor@ftegpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
NEWS & FEATURES
City pc 4
Athens News and Views .
Ssiig's massive development continued to be a hot topic over the holidays, but we
still haven't seen the results of the developers traffic study.
Google That Sh!t 8
Search: Voter suppression laws
The GOP is pursuing a novel strategy for defeating Democrats: Don’t let them vote.
ARTS & EVENTS
Grub Notes. 9
2011 Roundup
We lest a few; we gained a few.
Movie Pick . .11
Morality as Method
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy tsa meticulously paced Cold War thriller.
MUSIC
Threats & Promises 12
Music News and Gossip
The Viking Progress launches a Kickstarter campaign! Zack Hembree debuts
Tarnation! And more...
Piano Across America... 13
Dotan Negrin Is the Wandering Pianist
Perhaps the resolve of this bold musician will inspire your New Year’s resolution.
CITY DOPE ■- 4
CAPITOL IMPACT. 4
CrTY RAGES. 5
ATHENS RISING 6
WORLDVIEW. 7
GOOGLE THAT SHIT 8
GRUB NOTES .....9
RIM NOTEBOOK 9
MOVIE DOPE.. 10
MOVIE PICK 11
THREATS & PROMISES 12
OCCUPY THE DEBATE.......12
PIANO ACROSS AMERICA.... 13
SARAHJAROSZ 15
THE CALENDAR! . ....16
BULLETIN BOARD 20
ART AROUND TOWN... 21
COMICS <....22
REALITY CHECK- ...23
ClASSIREDS 24
CROSSWORD * 25
COALITIONS AGAINST COAL . .26
EVERYDAY PEOPLE 27
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