Free Speech for 6-29-05


		Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

FREE SPEECH
Our Readers Sound Off

What do you really think? E-mail us your pithy opinions, your short takes on life in Fayette and environs, your gotta-get-it-off-your-chest questions or sound-offs. E-mails only to editor@TheCitizenNews.com.
Put "Free Speech" in your subject line and include your contribution as the body text of your e-mail. No signature required. No phone calls, faxes or snail-mail letters, please. We won't print libel or obscenities or personal attacks on private persons, but just about any aspect of public life is fair game.

06-29-05

If The Citizen newspaper is exposed to the light of day, it turns yellow. Verrrry interesting.

Free Speech: half-truths, innuendoes, and personal attacks. Speaks volumes about this paper.

In the spiraling downward spirit of Free Speech, my friends and I have decided to stop talking about and start contributing to this farce. As the newspaper has broken its printed rule, “We won’t print libel or obscenities or personal attacks on private persons, but just about any aspect of public life is fair game,” we gather it is now open season on private citizens. An attack on a private individual, John Boykin, was sleazy, not to mention that it was poorly written by someone who obviously did not pay attention during high school grammar. In the spirit of fairness, something this newspaper needs a healthy dose of: a friendly warning that we also plan to find out if you really print everything that is sent your way or if you play favorites.

Hi, out there. Just wondering if we could just have one week of nice vents? :o)

I was dismayed to see yet another sign of deterioration in the quality of this newspaper last week. I had long ago given up on your local competitor. However, despite the loss of your “balance” when Dave Hamrick passed, I continued to read The Citizen as it contained higher quality writing and, while sometimes biased, generally gave a fairly good overview of community news. The paper is becoming alarmingly similar to some of the periodicals I see while waiting in line at the grocery store. When you slipped further into maligning private business persons last week, I decided it was the final straw. I will no longer be reading your paper and will make it a point to let local businesses who advertise know how I feel. John Boykin may have made some mistakes in how he ran the Whitewater golf course, but he does not deserve to be publicly and so maliciously scorned in the newspaper. He had big dreams and high hopes and maybe an insufficient business background. He ran into many problems taking over a failing country club course which had many years of bad management prior to his purchase. He also misunderstood the community. Looking at the median income in Fayette County most would think the community would support the course. He did not realize how tight we all are with our money and how long our collective memories are in regards to the damage inflicted on members from past owners. He came into the community believing we would jump to support a golf course whose primary goal was to give back to charities in the community. Unfortunately he was wrong. Are private business owners now to be the subject of this paper? The tone of this paper has changed dramatically over the past few years. Trash, attacks and inflammatory slanted stories may sell newspapers but it does come back to haunt sooner or later and it is ultimately harmful to the community.

In recent weeks you have included comments about a politician’s spouse and a local businessman. Just exactly what is a private person by this newspaper’s definition?

To R.S., S.U., J.V. and R.B.: Go back to the store for more food and beer. I want to see your prediction for next week.

You folks think you’ve got problems now, just wait till Fayette County’s free clinic opens.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, seeking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. Since that date in history the American flag has stood proudly as a symbol of the United States of America. Throughout history men and women have proudly and bravely fought and died to protect the rights and the unity of these United States. Today our flag still flies high promoting that same unity adopted by the Continental Congress. Some say the flag is only a symbol and burning it is our right under free speech; that any law or Constitutional amendment barring burning of the U.S. Flag is an attack on political speech. If someone goes out and buys a flag legally and burns it, it does not deny anyone their individual right to life, liberty or property. We have laws to protect many things in this world and some agree with those laws and some don’t. The smoking ban, seat belt laws, helmet laws just to name a few. The flag was adopted to protect this country in “pride and unity”; I think today more than ever we need to adopt a law that will keep that symbol flying high. And one last thought: if the flag is just a symbol, nothing more, and can be destroyed under free speech, then why is Amnesty International and the other civil liberties groups so up in arms over the alleged Quran abuse at Guantanamo? Isn’t that a symbol as well? Books, including some Bibles, get burned under free speech. Why is this different?

Attention, parents of teenagers: Please do the citizens of Peachtree City a favor and give your children lessons on basic golf cart etiquette and safety before allowing them use of the family golf cart. Today, while on my way home from Wal-Mart with my two children I had the pleasure of ending up behind golf cart #9017, driven by a teenage boy with three teenage passengers. They were deliberately “cruising” at an extremely slow speed, ignoring my requests to yield in order for me to pass and then weaving back and forth in the wider sections of the path in order to block me. All this while laughing and puffing away on their cigarettes. Maybe if citizens start writing down and reporting tag numbers to the paper, the rude and dangerous teenage drivers may realize they are not anonymous out there on the paths.

I know why the individual who wrote in about the church (no question as to which one they meant) charging for Bible school did so in Free Speech. What he or she wrote was just downright evil. If that church is charging (and I would check that information before believing it) there has got to be a good reason. And you don’t have to read between the lines as to what the writer was implying. I also know for a fact that church (yes, it is my church) would never turn a child away from any activity because of inability to pay. We have special funds so no one is left out. My apologies once again to my pastors who have asked us not to get involved in these letter writing campaigns. It is the only way I can control my blood pressure.

This is concerning the letters being written about the funds stolen from Flat Creek Baptist Church. It is a fact that the woman in question was wrong in stealing this money. Yes, there are consequences for sins, and they are being carried out. No, church funds were not used to post bail. It was a fraction of the stated $22,000 and it was given from the pockets of good-hearted people from CrossPoint Community church, Flat Creek Baptist, as well as the community. It was not given to try and make the deed go unpunished, but rather a gesture of forgiveness for a woman who has apologized and realized her sin and is preparing to repay her debt. If she was not sincere in her apology, let God be her judge. We can only go on face value and give her the benefit of the doubt and start the healing process with love. Let’s not make the pain of this situation worse by feuding in the paper. Put your energy into improving the world, not spreading the bitterness. This behavior does not further the name of Christ, but rather tarnishes our claim as His children and furthers the notion “the church” is filled with hypocrites. To err on the side of loving too much is far better then feeding our bitterness. Yes, I was saddened by the original article, but I decided to believe that Mr. Chambers was misquoted. Yes, I cringed when I saw the first “Free Speech” letter, but fortunately for us all, it was not mentioned what church the letter writer belonged to, so any accuser is only guessing. I know these letters represent a minority, but please stop using the name of any body of believers as a whole for your personal opinions. Let God show His power in our lives and not the humanness that so often invades. Pray for each other and look for the good in each other. It’s not always easy, I admit, but there is too much sadness and hatred in the world. Please don’t let it come under the name of any church. I’d love to sign my name to this, as I have no fear for what I’ve said, but I’m hoping that my anonymity will serve to be the voice of the majority.

All Fayette Countians need to read this: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. - Abraham Lincoln

It is real easy to point fingers at our local law enforcement. Why don’t you try to work different shifts, most holidays and get paid nothing and see what kind of life you have? Ask any officer’s wife or husband and children how many holidays and school functions they have missed. You don’t want them to stop you for speeding or breaking the law, but let your house get broken into or little Johnny’s bike get stolen and they are the ones you call. I can’t tell you how many calls the Sheriff’s Department gets everyday because you can’t control your children. Susie won’t go to school and she is pregnant and Johnny hit his sister. You people need to get a life and focus on people and raise your own children and make them aware that we need law enforcement and respect them. And when they constantly read crap like how crooked our local law enforcement is they have no respect. And by the way they learn it from you. Officers have a difficult job to do and like school teachers they are over-worked and under-paid. Remember the next time you see an officer changing a tire in the rain or directing traffic or show up at your house to make sure your house is not being vandalized because your alarm has gone off he is a person with a real family. Not all Officers are crooked. I happen to know plenty in this county that are great and we should be proud of them.

To the naive person who thinks the city and county had enough law enforcement officers on duty to cover the Tinseltown robbery, think again. Most officers were waked up out of their beds to come in and cover the street or stand guard. No, unless you would have rather us to have stayed home, stop complaining. When you see a local officer on the street just ask how many are on patrol at that time of day, or stop by the jail or courthouse and check with them. See if you feel there are enough people protecting your family. Do your research. There are many other divisions that go unseen in the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. Unless you want to live in Clayton County then realize this county needs more officers.

How many deputies does it take to catch a cornered drug dealer? We don’t know, we’re still waiting on the helicopter to show up. How many deputies does it take to catch a cornered crook in a theater? We don’t know, we’re still counting ... and waiting on the helicopter to show up. How many deputies does it take to make a huge drug bust? We don’t know, we’re still waiting on the helicopter to show up ... and the reporters from the daily paper.

Hey, Fayette County Sheriff Department employees (better yet, fired ex-Fayette County Sheriff Department employees), tell us some dirt you have on this department. Wait a minute, I forgot, there must still be that gag order going on. Oops.

Sheriff Johnson: This is a sincere request from countless numbers of us who have been and remain strong supporters of yours. In the last few years Lt. Col. Jordan has not served you well. He seems more interested in personal power than good law enforcement. He will say or do anything to become your successor. To the detriment of your officers and the public, he acts as if he is already the sheriff, not you. Please look into this for yourself. The morale of your officers is at an all-time low and Lt. Col. Jordan is the reason. Please do not let what happened to the Fayetteville Police Department happen to your department. The community has too much at stake. Under your leadership your department has grown in experience, professionalism and great service to the entire county. The very real fear many of us have now is that single-handedly your arrogant, spiteful and less-than-honest, would-be successor, whom you have nurtured and supported all these years, will destroy the organization you have built, destroy your personal legacy which we want you to have after retirement and worst of all he will probably lead your department into the same type problems sheriffs all over this region are involved with. Please look into this, please stop him before it is too late. The community needs you now more than we ever have before.

Let’s hope the child-mayor of Peachtree City doesn’t find out about the very, very, bad Supreme Court decision last week that allows government to confiscate private property to simply increase its revenue from property taxes. If he’s allowed to be unleashed by the other council members, all of the West Village will be seized for soccer fields and senior citizens, and of course the shortcut to Ga. Highway 74 for the Centennial people. Let us be sure to ask all candidates for mayor and council how they feel about this stupid decision before we elect any one of them.

Dear Cluck, Cluck, Cluck. The case: Tennis Center. The match: Politicians’ world vs. real world. The means: This country is governed by politicians to a certain extent, yet legal disputes are settled in courts of law as we all know. The end: You lost on both counts. Count 1: No criminal charges filed against DAPC, Virgil Christian or Tate Godfrey. Count 2: PTC will settle out of court with PNB/Regions/Group 6 for an undisclosed amount. You see, politics and rhetoric do not get you very far in a court of law. Looks like the rubber just met the road. Next case.

The Tennis Center loan: Those who participated in the loan say the former director, who left, used the money to increase the value of the center (build something, or buy land) but the other side is saying that the money just supported operating expenses and salaries, plus some was used from the Amphitheater revenues. It seems to me, even though the books were skimpy, that pure cash-flow audits would determine that. Why are we not talking about obvious details? If the bank messed up, they need to write it off, especially if the money wasn’t supervised for use into real estate improvements.

Murray Weed needs to go. His pompous manner borders on unbearable. However, bankruptcy lawyer Gibbs and his desire to “compromise” on the $1 million-plus defaulted loan from Peachtree National Bank to the “old” development authority is misplaced. If the taxpayers of Peachtree City get saddled with repaying one-cent of this loan there should be a taxpayer revolt in this community. The former development authority was illegally funded, poorly managed and abandoned like rats from a sinking ship once the malfeasance came to light. Plus, the officer at the bank who made the loan was a sitting member of the previous development authority. It is an absolute outrage if taxpayers in Peachtree City are “compromised” into repaying any portion of this defaulted loan.

I see that another Peachtree City citizen is undergoing a vicious barrage of personal attacks in Free Speech because he dared criticize the actions of current officeholders. Does the person coordinating or producing those attacks think we are so dumb that we don’t know the ultimate source of those attacks? It doesn’t take a member of Mensa to figure out what’s going on here and who is behind it.

Councilman Weed’s opinion is that fireworks are dangerous and therefore should be outlawed. My opinion is that Councilman Weed should be outlawed for attempting to use the power of government to protect people from themselves.

Reading the Free Speech section for the last couple of weeks has reminded me just how much time this part-time job leaves Greg Dunn with.

Why would law enforcement start a drug case against someone, when they have evidence, and then because the kid moves to Atlanta toss the case? Something doesn’t sound right. Too bad they didn’t try to stop this when the kid was in high school and prevented who knows what from happening. What a tragedy.

Will someone make sure that Tax Commissioner George Wingo knows they’re auctioning off a shotgun at the Fayetteville amphitheater concerts? If he wins, I’ll let everyone know so they can start calling 911.

I just attended the free Temptations concert at Wolf Creek and it was great. My first thought was, this could be the Chastain Park of the Southside. This was my first visit to this site and I, am a resident of South Fulton. A amphitheater would be a welcome addition. The crowd was unbelievable, people of all ages. I loved it. Thank you and do continue your plans.

I have lived in Tyrone for five years and prior to this a total of 25 years in Peachtree City. I have never heard anyone refer to themselves as living in North Peachtree City or north of Peachtree City. Both places have lots of room for improvement in my opinion so who really cares?

No one can top the Mayberry quote. You hit the nail on the head. This should be put on the “Welcome to Tyrone” signs as you enter the town.

I personally know the Smolas, all of them. I know Councilman Paul Letourneau as well. They are all upstanding, outstanding, hard-working citizens of Fayette County. I take it as a personal insult, being from New England as well. We are here in Georgia by choice. We have worked hard for this county, as a paid professional and a volunteer, as have the Smolas and the Letourneaus. If you think that it is wrong to have “two members of one family on the taxpayers’ payroll,” so be it. You’re entitled to your opinion, but I’ve got to tell you that you certainly do not realize the volume of family members that do work for Fayette County. Are they all wrong? Most of all, you really need to look at how “much” we (taxpayers) are paying the councilmen/women of Tyrone and how “much” the school board members are paid. By the way, when was the last time YOU ran for/volunteered/worked for Fayette County?

Fayette, the other Coweta.

I thought I’d seen it all on the roads, but what I saw on Ga. Highway 74 takes the cake. A southbound motorist stopped completely in the road approaching the Rockaway Road intersection (there is no stop sign there for Hwy. 74). She sat there totally stopped, obviously to let out all the people who were stopped at the stop sign on Rockaway; she waved them all out. Then, to top it all off, she calmly made a right-hand turn onto Rockaway, heading south. She had no need to stop at all, no need to block traffic for five minutes. There is a solution to getting Rockaway moved: let’s let the people who need it moved most pay for it. Either get Coweta County to fund the land purchase and construction, or better yet, let’s build a toll booth on the Line Creek bridge, and charge a dollar for each northbound vehicle.

Don’t celebrate yet. Make that three years and 200-plus days and it’ll be bye-bye, Bush.

The Democrats will never regain the presidency until they find a party leader with no moral compass, one who is ruthless and void of any conscience. Sounds like Karl Rove, but then he is already taken.

Your opinion that the Downing Street memo is a “dead end” is wishful thinking.

I recently saw a bumper sticker in PTC that read something like this, “An eye for an eye leaves the world blind,” similar to the one that says, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave the world blind and toothless.” I suppose these are advocating world peace and tolerance, or something of that nature. But these statements miss the point of what Jesus was trying to teach. People in that day did a lot of avenging for personal attacks, which prompted even more avenging, and on and on. What Jesus meant was that the punishment should not exceed the crime. In other words, you shouldn’t kill someone who only gave you a black eye. An eye for an eye is justice, not vengeance.

Above what age is a senior? Some places senior is 55, some 60, some 62, and some 65. Just wondered for my information.

Saw where some Air Force Academy instructors required students to pray before taking tests. Also many are being told repeatedly that they will go to hell if they don’t get born again. These things can and should happen at a right-wing Christian church there on base, but not in the classroom. I don’t know how we expect our Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist, Muslim, and the various East Indian religions to go there and fight for us if we don’t want them.

The runaway bride fiasco where a woman who was caught numerous times (and quite likely 10 times that many times where she didn’t get caught) for shoplifting, and the situation at Guantanamo Bay terrorist prison, seem to have the same characteristics. In the case of the runaway bride, each time she paid for what she stole and served no time, then paid a city several thousand for running away and lying to officers, just before she was paid $500,000 for her “story.” The administration and the Pentagon do not want Guantanamo prison investigated again by an impartial panel since they say all have been punished who did wrong. They said that at Abu Ghraib also. We can win a war without being heathens or civil people.

The new proposal (this week) to save Social Security would take the money coming in now from SS, and instead of giving the SS administration credit for the money on a piece of paper and storing the paper in West Virginia, as they do now, would write someone’s name on a piece of paper and store that in another vault, with a new bureaucracy to administer it, but they would still spend the cash anyway. Supposedly, one could leave such a fund upon one’s death in one’s name to their children. I guess the funds would still be credited, not paid, a bond rate as now, not the stock market, I’m not sure about that. Another case of not admitting something is wrong (stock market investing by the government) and substituting something worse, and calling it a victory. All of this SS problem is the fault of WW2 and the baby boom after the war. Too many geezers retiring at the same time. What happens when the boomers all die?

06-22-05

The mayor and council of Tyrone will have a budget work session on Monday, June 27 at 6:30 p.m. and subsequently will adopt the budget on Tuesday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. Proposed in this budget is the following: 1. 13-to-15 percent pay raise for Town Clerk Valerie Flowers and Town Manager Barry Amos. 2. $201,000 to move tennis courts to an area near the recreation building ($40,000) and the balance to clear 14 acres at Handley park for soccer fields. Hello, Pendleton homeowners, if you think you have erosion problems now, just wait. Is the town thinking of putting the new library at Shamrock location because other areas of Shamrock is unsuitable for perking? Is the mayor and council taking this recreation area away from Tyrone taxpayers? What will happen to all those Fulton County residents who play basketball all day and night at the expense of Tyrone taxpayers? Interesting: County commissioners, are you going to let this happen since you own Shamrock Park or are you afraid to lose a vote next election term? 3. $38,000 for taxpayers to fund Founders Day. Tyrone residents, please attend this meeting and express your views. P. S. The ONLY notice of these meetings in posted on the bulletin board at Town Hall. That is your public notice since the town posts the meeting in the Fayette Daily newspaper, a newspaper that is only received at Town Hall.

Who is Phil Boswell “candidate for mayor” and why is he so mean-spirited? He comes off like Bob Lenox, version 2. We certainly don’t need another arrogant tyrant who is going to whine his way into our central nervous system. Steve Brown never claimed to be perfect but we finally have a government that cares about its citizens for the first time. If Candidate Boswell wants us to believe that the mayor flip-flopped on some issues, he needs to prove it. The mayor has always stood for good planning and I never recall him saying that he was totally against annexation as long as the city wins.

The hypocrite of the year award goes to Phil Boswell for his foolish blast of the City Council of Peachtree City. Mr. Boswell lets everyone know that he is “convinced of the validity of annexing the West Village” and somehow Steve Brown is a bad person arriving at the same conclusion? If the project benefits those of us on west side then he ought to be in favor of it. For your information, Mr. Boswell, Murray Weed is the only member of the council that ran on a platform of opposing annexation under any circumstances. This fact has been discussed at many of the council meetings, the ones that you are too busy to attend. If the hypocrite would read the newspapers he would see that the council has always maintained a position of wanting fair taxation. Please try another issue.

We don’t need Philip Boswell as mayor. Just so that you know, he owns a mortgage company that could benefit from rezonings and annexations. We don’t need another developer’s buddy on the City Council. The current City Council has been refreshing because there are no conflicts of interest like we had in the past. Boswell wants to pay the crooked Development Authority loans back with our tax dollars. He has shown us who he would be working for if elected and it’s sickening.

Part of Big Mike’s plea agreement should have been a company name change to Wee Willie’s.

Murray Weed, you really like the word “metamorphosis.” You use it a lot when talking about the Peachtree City Tourism Association and its two main venues, especially the amphitheater. I, along with numerous taxpaying citizens, don’t like what we see. Tell you what, Murray, why don’t you metamorphosis yourself?

Mayberry — I mean Tyrone (I’m not sure if there is a difference!): Aunt Bea is controlling the town; Gomer and Goober are on Town Council; Barney and Thelma Lou are managing the town; and now it seems we have Otis coming to plan the town. Wow, now that’s the simple life.

When a Tyrone resident is asked where they live, why do they say, “Just north of Peachtree City” or even “North Peachtree City”? Why not be proud of where you chose to live?

A note to the person attempting to denigrate Commissioner Greg Dunn for his role on the Board of Trustees for the Palmer Course at Starr’s Mill Golf Course, previously known as Whitewater. Please check your facts before making wild allegations. A simple call to the owner, any of the other board members, to former Congressman Mac Collins or to Mr. Dunn would have provided you with accurate information. Mr. Dunn’s purpose for agreeing to sit on the board was simply to help determine where to distribute any profits to Fayette County charities. Unfortunately the non-profit course was unable to make a profit for numerous reasons and is being sold. Dunn did not have anything to do with financial decisions or the day-to-day running of the course nor did he benefit financially or in any other way from sitting on the board.

This is to John Boykin, the one who screwed up Whitewater Country Club (won’t even mention the new long name), who was able to get loan guarantees from the government because his course was public access and because it was so-called “non profit.” I’d love to see the accounting practices in that joint. I thought you were going to reach out to the community and expose new people to the game. I thought money was supposed to go to local charities. If the course was supposed to reach out to the public why did you give the Augusta theme with cart boys wearing silly Masters Caddy body suits, and changing the names from guest to patrons? That’s as private as it gets. Canongate, please bail them out so the taxpayers won’t have to. I know all the Canongate members would love access to that facility. The USDA’s Rural Development Branch should have checked out Boykin’s business plan before just throwing the government’s money in the toilet. Boykin called Whitewater “a Mercedes neighborhood with a Chevrolet golf facility,” but it’s really a “private community with a yahoo running the non-profit-(making) golf course.”

My friends and I thought Commissioner Greg Dunn’s letter to the editor was fair, informative, factual and clear. He didn’t attack anyone and came across as being professional. That is refreshing, especially when compared to the immature letters and comments being made by some in law enforcement. Thank you for setting us straight, Mr. Dunn.

Saying Greg Dunn has a cruel nature is just ridiculous. He is an honorable person with a very tough job.

So, Commissioner Dunn has a firm grip on Fayette County, the Whitewater Golf Course and now he is going for Coweta County. This dude’s ego has no limits.

Greg Dunn is not your typical or stereotypical politician. I have known him for many years and can personally vouch for his honesty and integrity. I hear nothing but good things about him from all who know him. They speak of his intelligence, his ability to plan and see the big picture. He is known for listening to both sides on issues and for carefully looking at all the facts. I have heard of many positive things he has done for Fayette County that have never made it into the newspapers. Unfortunately, the newspapers seem to only want to print sensational stories leaving most of us in the dark as to the positive things our elected officials do. The citizens of Fayette County will be reaping the rewards of Dunn’s hard work for years to come. I hope that those who are reading the misleading letters and articles being generated by Col. Jordan and his good friends who run the daily paper are wise enough to see through the smoke.

Was I the only one to get a call from some guy wanting someone to call 911 and report a robbery attempt at Tinseltown Theater last week? I was getting ready to do it but a little light bulb went off in my head when I heard sirens in the background and began to wonder why he called me instead of calling 911 himself. Do you think he was trying to pull a Wingo?

It took countless police and sheriff deputies from Fayette County and other jurisdictions to catch one man inside a theater. Oops, excuse me, I almost forgot. It took all those police and sheriff’s deputies AND one Fayette County helicopter buzzing around to distract the man inside the theater so they could catch him. (Picture this: The bad guy man running around, holding his ears, silently screaming in the mostly sound-proof theater, trying to get away from the big, bad copter! He runs right into the arms of one of the cops. Works for me, uh huh.) So, we need more deputies to do what? Must have plenty of time on their hands if that many can afford to show up for a one-man hunt inside a building. Although, on the other hand, if it takes that many to catch one man, maybe we need to quadruple the size of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

Note to Bruce Jordan: You can’t get helicopters inside movie theaters. But what the heck, a photo op is a photo op.

You people that have been screaming to give the Sheriff’s Department more drug enforcement officers because “they only have five”? Five? For crying out loud, are you that ignorant? They have plenty of undercover agents that you don’t even know about. Do your homework, people. You have no clue as what type of agency you are supporting.

Sheriff Johnson and Bruce Jordan: Let’s be honest. Where is all the money going that you have received from your “drug busts”? Are you following the money or actually working drugs in our county like one other citizen mentioned last week? This county has let it get way out of hand as far as turning our backs and letting it get out of control. Some of us know exactly what is going on and others have no clue. So, Jordan, who are you fooling? Certainly not Greg Dunn. As a citizen of Fayette County for 24 years I have enjoyed living here but the corruption has gotten out of hand and people need to wake up and speak out about what they know and what goes on behind closed doors. Come on, Fayette County: wake up.

Thank you to the citizen who wrote, “a number of us were shocked at his (Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan’s) childish display at the Community Meth-Watch function a few weeks ago.” That was certainly the most unprofessional, out of place display of political ranting that I have seen in quite some time. He took an innocent community meeting about drug trends, and tried to make it a campaign platform to fulfill his agenda for the DTF. Worse still was his arrogant bragging about the $11 million dollars seized by the task force on all their “great” drug busts. I’m sure the uninformed majority doesn’t realize how pompous and ridiculous this is. Why don’t we ask him how many of those busts occurred in Fayette County, and how much his drug agents actually contributed to each of them? Oh, and as for the money, how much actually goes to the sheriff’s department, and how much goes to the DEA and other involved agencies? I’ll bet those answers will surprise us. Beyond that, I wonder what they do with all that money? I recently overheard a conversation at my gym that involved an employee of the sheriff’s office. He seemed awfully proud of the fact that they have a large flat screen plasma TV in the “watch office” to play movies and video games on. Now I’m not sure who’s job that is, but maybe his time would be better spent working on drug cases. Maybe it’s things like these that “Sheriff Jordan’s” $11 million is being used on. Either way, I suggest, Mr. Jordan, that you be prepared to account for statements like these that you throw out in public venues, even if you think you’re talking to a bunch of idiots.

I have never met Bruce Jordan but it’s time for Sheriff Johnson to fire this underling of his and let the “Lt. Col.” take his vitriol to some other county. It was enough when Jordan purchased a helicopter without the county commission’s approval but for him to now manufacture a “drug problem” to get even more money from taxpayers in Fayette county is ludicrous. According to a copy of the budget that I obtained, the Sheriff’s Department is already getting a $500,000 increase in 2005. Let’s examine some of the stated problems drugs cause and see if they apply to Fayette County. 1. Gang-related shootings. I’ve lived here for over 15 years and have to date never heard of a gang-related shooting in Fayette County. 2. Increased burglaries committed by druggies to support their habit. According to the GBI web page, burglaries have dropped three years in a row in the county (through 2003). So how exactly is the “drug problem” getting worse? I would love for someone to explain to me the tangible consequences of this “worsening drug problem.” Thank goodness we have a county commission that doesn’t fall for the hyperbole put forth by Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan when it comes to feeding at the public money trough.

Wow! The county commissioners don’t take criticism very well.

This is a group Free Speech. After reading last week’s paper, four of us were talking and made a small wager on the slant of this week’s Free Speech. R.S.: Thinks Bruce Jordan and friends will take the old route of “if you can’t refute with facts, attack.” He’s expecting them to ignore any facts or questions raised in Free Speech and instead say everything was written by Dunn or Wells or their friends. He says there are going to be a ton of personal attacks against probably just Dunn. S.U.: Betting Sheriff Johnson is going to put a cap on Jordan and his cronies if he’s able because all his antics are making Randall look bad. All’s quiet on the Free Speech front other than a few random comments. J.V.: Betting last week’s Free Speech empowers a few people to write in supporting the commissioners and that most of the comments lean in their favor. R.B.: There will be another wild letter from Jordan and, or, one from someone who works for him. He thinks they’ll attack like R.S. says; difference is, he expects a signed letter to go with the Free Speech attacks. I’m not sure what we’ll do if it’s a fairly even combination of a two or three of the above; ran out of food and beer before we got that far.

It’s funny how some police officers, and reporters, talk of “subjects” rather than suspects. Common in the law enforcement trade, these displays of ignorant pomposity elicit public ridicule more than respect.

I think I’m going to eat breakfast at Melear’s in the morning and find out what’s really going on. Everyone speak up really loud, please.

Zero tolerance needs to apply to all city employees and city government establishments. Our schools have “zero tolerance” regarding weapons, threats and other harmful acts which also includes dress code. George Wingo should be terminated. He represents the county in an official capacity. The message being sent to the taxpaying citizens and to the younger generation, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Our school students are treated as criminals for a lesser infractions. Students have been suspended and expelled. George Wingo is an adult. He is to set an example. George Wingo took advantage of his position and connections. He needs to be removed. Remember this come election time.

To the critic of Flat Creek Baptist Church in last week’s Free Speech: It is real easy to stand on the outside and criticize when you are not part. We have been members of Flat Creek for a number of years. We have found it to be a very caring, and forgiving congregation. The matter is not in the hands of Flat Creek Baptist Church at this point but rests with the authorities. Yes, it is unfortunate that this individual had to sell her house to pay back some of the funds which were taken from our congregation. Yes, it is unfortunate also that these funds were taken from the church by forging signatures of our church treasurers. This is not a situation where someone was in need of funds. If so, our church would have assisted as they have done to so many individuals and families in the past. I would be afraid to take funds from the church. Any other company or institution, also but a church. When an individual takes funds and diverts to their own use for whatever reason, it is a serious matter. The report is that this person has used all of $200,000 already. Hence, the sale of the house. Flat Creek Baptist will be lucky to recover even half of the amount that our members have sacrificed to give. Yes, we can forgive but there are consequences for one’s actions for such as this. I for one will watch this played out in our judicial system.

To the Crosspoint Community Church member who wrote in on Wednesday’s paper, here is my two cents. First of all, if one member from Flat Creek Baptist Church hasn’t forgiven the woman who stole $200,000 plus dollars from their church then so be it, let them and God deal with that. Can you blame them for being so bitter, though? I mean, have you ever tithed? If so, didn’t you expect that the money would go toward funding the church and for outreach? Then you find out it went in a woman’s personal checking account so she could put gas in her Lexus. Forgiveness doesn’t come easy but it could start with an apology from the woman. You haven’t forgiven everybody in your life who has done you wrong either, hence the whole start of Crosspoint. I’ll forgive her; she didn’t steal my money, she stole God’s, so in the end it will be left for her to deal with it with Him, not me or you. But don’t you think it would be nice to have an apology given from the thief? I think so, but that hasn’t happened. Aren’t Christians suppose to ask for forgiveness just as they are to forgive, exactly. Secondly, $200,000 plus has already been stolen from doing God’s work, now another $22,000 has. I find it outrageous that a church would spend $22,000 to bond out an admitted thief from jail. Just think how far that money could have went in the mission field spreading the word of God or how about this, you want to help her so bad, give that money back to Flat Creek to help her start paying back her debt. Now $222,000 plus has been taken from God and wasted; way to go! It is very clear now, Crosspoint: a church with the right priorities, Yeah, right.

Why is the Fayette County Board of Commissioners paying the McNally law firm $100,000 to $200,000 annually to tell them what to do? Isn’t that what they are being paid for?

I think it is wrong that you cannot purchase alcohol after midnight during the week. After midnight Monday through Friday is still not Sunday. I can understand after midnight on Saturday because it is Sunday. But the rest of the week it should be OK at all times to buy. Some people cannot get to stores before midnight and cannot buy it on the way to work because they would have nowhere to put it.

Attention, citizens of Peachtree City: Forget about the problem stories in this newspaper about Fayettedale and their weekly challenges of right and wrong. We have an election coming up and the candidates will be coming forward with their way of saving PTC from itself. Once again I say: ”Re-elect no one.” Our Weed has long been Brown too long and Steve already has a job.

Wondering why Mayor Brown, Murray Weed and Steve Rapson are having to reconsider running once again after indicating in prior months of no intentions. Could it be that they need to run in hopes of being re-elected so they aren’t found out by their successors how bad they have ruined not only one city venue, the tennis center, but the amphitheater venue as well? I suspect with the bad showing this season at the amphitheater that venue is in the red too. The tennis center has always struggled from the beginning. But why destroy the amphitheater? Brown, Weed, Bernie McMullen, along with past board members of the PCTA, Steve Rapson and Paul Salvatore, you were all so quick to pass judgment on Virgil Christian. Appears you took lessons on how to pad a budget for appearances and have no financial business knowledge.

United States Tennis Association hires Virgil Christian. The USTA hired Virgil for this prestigious national position due to his excellent reputation in the tennis industry on a national level. They saw right through the trumped-up smear campaign launched by our local politicians for power and control of these two facilities. If the $1.5 million in bank loans were in fact “illegal” then Virgil and Tate Godfrey would be in prison or at least on trial. The fact is that no criminal charges were ever even filed against Virgil or Tate, nor will they ever be. Instead the city is quietly making this lawsuit go away as it is a total embarrassment. The PNB/Regions/Group 6 lawsuit will never go to court. The city will settle this out of court because they have no case. This is why this issue has gone very quiet of late as you readers may have noticed. The money from these loans was used to improve a facility which the city owns and therefore the city must pay it back. It is that simple.

The first sign of corruption is the belief that the end justifies the means. Cluck, cluck, cluck.

We’ve been planning a move to PTC for the past four months (from Gwinnett County) and the stuff I read in Free Speech makes me very scared to do so. Not just for the claims that are being made, but also the manner in which some of you (my future neighbors) say them. I don’t know if Free Speech is just a soap box for whackos or a true barometer of what’s going on in the county and PTC. It’s hard to tell from the posts. We’re moving there anyway. Our plan is to stay at least six years. We are mindful of Clayton County and their problems and will keep a wary eye on what flows into Fayette. The DeKalb riffraff is starting to drift into Gwinnett but I hate to think I’m selling my house for a loss, buying a more expensive (for less room) house in Fayette, only to find out that the same problems are happening there. All of you regular posters keep in mind that The Citizen and Free Speech DO show up in Web searches, and may very well be the first impression potential newcomers see.

I love Free Speech because it gives a forum for all the dirt to come to the surface about what is really going on in law enforcement. Look what happened to the Fayette police chief in part due to Free Speech. It was about time. Keep it going so the public can know the truth. We deserve it.

Red alert to the citizens of Peachtree City: Last week a mysterious three-armed entity was spotted running the 4-way stop sign at the intersection of Peachtree Parkway and Crosstown Drive. This strange being was driving a humongous, stupid utility vehicle, steering with one hand, securing its cell phone to its ear with its second hand and flashing the one finger salute with its third hand. If you encounter one of these entities, be aware that they exhibit a nasty, surly, arrogant attitude. Their ability to communicate is extremely limited. Usually they just snarl, “Get outta my way,” or “My precious SUV is bigger than yours.” Homeland Security has speculated that these entities may be from the planet Trafalmador. (Apologies to author Kurt Vonnegut.)

Can we close the border between Fayetteville and Clayton NOW before someone gets killed? Next time thugs decide to rip off the movie theater, there may be a lot more people there.

I noticed recently the advertisements for vacation Bible schools sponsored by our local churches. My, things do change. One church is charging $15 per person to attend Bible school. This church probably needs to do this since they were turned down by the City Council for rezoning and sale of property. I can tell you that they need not worry about lower income families being a part of this. Of course, I suspect this to be the reason. Another church which has recently had over $200,000 stolen by an employee was forced to charge $3 each for the picnic meal on the last day. There were a number of children who could not participate in this for financial reasons. Thank God for those churches who place this important yearly event into their budget. It is worth every dime.

How sad that a local tire company just wants to make a buck. They have this man working there, ”Dr. Doom”, [whose] job is to find something wrong and tell you it will cost big dollars. My son went there for the “free brake inspection.” Well, you guessed it, nothing is free. They told him he had to pay $87 for the “free inspection.” It seems that the free inspection only pertains to certain vehicles. He was not told that until after the fact. Ends up that the “freebie” is only for “visual inspection.” He was also told it would cost over $400 to repair his ride. Well, we suggested that he should go to our mechanic. Part ordered and job total: Just over $100. An honest mechanic, truly. Not at all like ”Dr. Doom.” I honestly thought companies wanted to keep customers and were fair. Guess I was wrong.

Cheer up: Only about 215 days and George W(arlord) Bush will be history.

Every year it is interesting to see how the tax increase on personal property is explained to the press so as to put it in the very best light. This year it was expressed as about a 5 percent increase in taxes, but not including capital write-offs. I don’t know what that means, but I guess it’s OK. What would be wrong with a side comparison of line items for, say, 2003, 2004, and proposed 2005 (or 2006)? Dollars, not percentage. Isn’t dollars what we pay?

Today it was announced that scores of millions more people had their personal data stolen off the Internet where banks and credit cards keep our records. If I’m not mistaken this sort of thing happens maybe twice per week, the difference being this time the FBI was instructed not to tell us at first. With rare exception, I get three to five four-page, small-print disclosure notices per week telling me how safe my information is. This is the same kind of information (propaganda) we get out of Washington, D.C., these days. When something goes bad, we are told just how well things are going.

How does one speak in favor of the war in Iraq, or anywhere else, yet discourage his own from joining the military to help out? The standard answer seems to be just how proud they would be if suddenly their son or grandson showed up in uniform to do his bit, even if for years he had encouraged his sons or grandson to attend college right after high school, otherwise he would never amount to much. It seems that the military is just for dummies, incorrigibles, and people of a lesser ambition, not for his family. Of course all mommas are against the service. In the current planning to resume the draft (secretly) already the exceptions to being drafted have begun: If you are smart; if you are already in college or beauty school; if you couldn’t play sports and were against all violence; if you were the very one who was needed to save the family business, and so on. WW2 was like that, and of course so was Vietnam. Just hush if you aren’t willing to encourage yours to help.

06-15-05

I have never met Bruce Jordan but I truly admire his stand against Greg Dunn’s cruel nature. For Dunn to claim that the drug problem has not worsened in Fayette County in the past 15 years is downright crazy. In fact, his having the tax commissioner arrested was ridiculous. His suing the sheriff is lame. His firing the county manager and having to take four weeks to find an appropriate reason for the action was shameful. His current Palmer Golf Course failure using federal loans is par for his course. Exactly who does Dunn get along with anyway?

Want to know what’s going on in the county? Forget the newspapers. Go to Melear’s for breakfast, Longbranch for lunch and pick your barber carefully. For example, on the topic that is currently keeping two newspapers busy, did you know the sheriff has in the ballpark of 215 people working for him? (Which begs the question, why does he only have five investigating drugs? What are the rest of the people doing?) Did you know that the County Commission approved two new people in the budget for the sheriff this year? I read all four Fayette County newspapers and I never learn anywhere near what I pick up in casual conversation while getting my hair cut.

I don’t understand Commissioner Dunn’s reasoning concerning the shortage of narcotics deputies in the county. Everybody concurs that there are only five narcotics deputies positions authorized in Fayette County and it’s been that way since 1989. Five? Five? For crying out loud, no wonder we have a problem. How much has Fayette County grown since 1989? The total number of officers (200-plus) is irrelevant if only five are dedicated to narcotics trafficking, a specialized area. Captain Pruitt has articulated his case with precision and clarity. You get what you pay for. We have a worsening problem because we don’t have enough officers. The current commissioners need to fix this problem and rearrange priorities or we’ll get some ones who will. We pay you guys to solve problems. The solution to this one is clear. Hire more deputies. So get moving on it. Now!

I was appalled when I read Captain Pruitt’s letter to the editor and the previous letter from Lt. Colonel Bruce Jordan. I intend to send a letter to Sheriff Johnson immediately. I do not understand why he would only have five people in his drug area if it is as dangerous as Capt. Pruitt and Lt. Col. Jordan indicate. There are 214 people working for him. What does he have the other 200-plus people doing? Are those positions as critical? Can Sheriff Johnson not work out some sort of cooperative effort with the other law enforcement groups in the county if just one of two people will fix the problem Capt. Pruitt outlines? Why has Sheriff Johnson not been asking for five, 10, 15 people each year? Per the info in the newspapers I gather the county commissioners just hand over the money so Sheriff Johnson can do his job however he thinks he needs to do it. Where has he been putting the other new people he has asked for and received over the past five to 10 years and what has he been doing with all the millions of dollars he has received?

We have given Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan the opportunity to redeem himself in his battle with the Fayette County commissioners. However, a number of us were shocked at his childish display at the Community Meth-Watch function a few weeks ago. Please, don’t use good community programs for your own political agenda. Also, start being more accountable when you and your staff discuss drugs in Fayette County. We realize that our county has a significant drug problem. We also realize that there is a degree of confidentiality in identifying the locations where your Task Force is conducting these operations. We just want you to be honest and tell us if the large money-making drug busts are happening here in Fayette County or somewhere else (not a hard question). Are you following the money or actually working drugs in our county? This should not be like the question about Fayette County S.O.’s helicopters (one or two) or how many deputies are certified helicopter pilots (how is that paid for and how much?). Again, not hard questions unless you choose to deliberately dance around the issues. Do you have any agents assigned to the Atlanta Airport or other task forces? We just want to know. Last we checked, you are responsible to our community, like it or not. Also, you are not above public accountability, especially as it relates to large sums of seized drug monies (which as long as you are employed really belongs to the citizens of this county anyway). Let’s open the books and go back to the beginning. I’m sure after a full independent audit, The Citizen newspaper would love to publish the itemized results. Also, spread the wealth if you’re so passionate about drug intervention (we believe you said about $2 million). There are a number of community sponsored programs that could benefit from these large drug seizures (e.g., DARE, Students Against Drunk Drivers, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, etc.) The Meth-Watch group will be awaiting a large donation from the S.O., the one you said could be considered. Thanks in advance.

Bruce Jordan is so far off-base I had to laugh. Anyone who knows or has worked with Commissioner Greg Dunn will tell you he is as honest as a person can be. During the many years I have known him I have seen him weather a number of difficult situations. Rather than do something that might have the appearance of being even slightly questionable he always opted to do the “right thing.” I am proud to know that we have an honest and truthful commissioner who will tell it like it is, even if he has to take the heat. In my experience, the biggest “problem” Col. Dunn has is that he is so honest that he cannot walk away from an immoral, illegal or otherwise detrimental situation without trying to correct the problem, even if it costs him personally.

Citizens of Fayette County are getting just what they deserve. George Wingo, Randal-Rooter and his helicopters, “give me more money or I’ll arrest you on Sunday morning” Bruce Jordan, the mayor, the police chief, county inspectors and all the other arm-twisters are here to stay. All the ham-fisted good ol’ boys of yesteryear are still right in here in our faces after more than 20 years, hanging on our coattails. Who would blame them? Fayette County is an incompetent’s dream come true: to sit back with a smirkish grin with their feet up, and watch their power grow exponentially every day. Do a Google search on the word “inept” or “corrupt” and you’ll find their photos. Randall has run totally unopposed for almost three decades. Let the national media get wind of this and we’ll be the laughing stock of the nation. If we as Fayette Citizens can’t muster any more sensibility than this, then the small-time leeches in this town will continue to plague us with what they do best: their incompetence, ignorance, arrogance, greed and corruption. We’ve got exactly what we voted for, and exactly what we deserve.

Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan finds it a hard pill to swallow when he suggests that the county commissioners aren’t telling the truth. Cry me a river! I sat through a trial in Fayette County and witnessed (and can prove) that the police officers involved perjured their testimony. Now that, Lt. Col. Policeman, is a hard pill to swallow! Perhaps you can begin monitoring what the local law enforcement officers are saying under oath and fix that.

As usual the cheap shots are taken at everyone by Bruce Jordan but himself. If he is in charge of personnel and budgets for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, then this is an indication to me that he is not sheriff material, as he has grand visions of being sheriff someday of Fayette County.

Top ten things Bruce Jordan needs to remember. 10. I don’t play well with others. 9. Do the employees know what I really stand for besides me, myself and I? 8. I didn’t know there is no “I” in the word team. 7. Why should I share with other agencies when I can have all for myself (“I love the media”)? 6. Will everyone have their own take-home helicopter soon? 5. It’s a good thing I don’t have an elected position. 4. If it is spelled “Jordan,” why do I keep saying “Jerdan”? 3. I told you 12-hour shifts were more fun than 8 hours. It takes less people to go around. 2. Sheriff who? 1. Nothing is forever; ask Major Rose.

Capt. Pruitt must have spent a lot of time composing his letter to the editor. The points seemed reasonable on my first reading, as did Commissioner Dunn’s, but after I went back later I realized Capt. Pruitt’s letter twisted Mr. Dunn’s words and left out just enough to mislead. Here’s my take on parts of Capt. Pruitt’s letter after doing some thinking and some minimal research: 1. Having only five agents may be dangerous. Capt. Pruitt’s bosses should address that by permanently moving some people around. I didn’t think Mr. Dunn meant temporarily move people and I don’t think you really thought he did either. I believe he has a military police background. I would imagine he probably understands at least to some degree how things work in that regard. I intend to call and talk to him more about this. 2. I don’t doubt that your second point is correct regarding the number of drug agents in other counties. However, if you add the five sheriff’s agents with the agents from Fayetteville, Tyrone and Peachtree City, how many are there in the county? How do we then stack up? Are you comparing apples and oranges? I keep reading about all these drug busts in PTC by the PTC police so I have to assume they’re doing something to combat drugs. When you make drug busts do some of those guys from other counties come into our county to help? How often are we going outside the county to help them with a drug bust? 3. The County Commission rejected your request for manpower in that one particular area. What has the overall increase in the entire Sheriff’s Department been? Someone told me that in the past 10 years or so that the department has gone from under 100 to well over 200. Where is Sheriff Johnson putting all those people if those numbers are even close to being correct? Why does he only feel five are needed to combat drugs? Why are you only asking for one or two people this year if drugs are that bad a problem? 4. I keep reading about these huge drug busts in other counties that involve deputies from your agency. You might not call it a “Regional Drug Unit,” but there is some sort of cooperation going on. Commissioner Dunn made a general reference to some sort of regional cooperation. Maybe he did miss on what he called it, but I don’t think he missed out on the concept. 5, 6 and 7. That’s great that Sheriff Johnson is saving taxpayers money on the equipment. But I understand that’s a small percentage of the budget that the taxpayers fund each year. I plan to find out how much it’s costing us to pay for two helicopters, pilots, maintenance, and housing. I plan to find out how many helicopters Clayton, Spalding and Coweta have. I plan to find out exactly how many people are working in all of our police departments and how many are allotted to stopping drugs. I hope others will also take the time to do a little research.

I’m in upper management in a large corporation and have a long history in business world. Bruce Jordan needs some lessons in public relations and anger control. His name-calling is not professional and is doing nothing to help the image of the Sheriff’s Department or his own personal cause. It seems that he has a personal vendetta against the county commission, Mr. Dunn and Ms. Wells in particular, and is stirring up trouble to the detriment of the county. I have to wonder how he would handle the annual audits and monetary constraints we endure in my company. In “my world” we would have put a muzzle on him after his first outburst.

I’ve always thought Free Speech was for chickens. Now I is one ‘cause I’m not signing my name so Bruce Jordan can roast this chicken or so George Wingo can put a tax lien on my coop. But I have been wondering how you investigate a 911 call beforehand? If you catch a crime because of a call, who cares if the call was made from the North Pole? When is the last time anyone in law enforcement spent three minutes, much less three weeks, trying to clear someone of a charge on a technicality? Bruce Jordan seemed proud he’d spent all that time looking into this. To me it looked like he was doing what he could to try to hurt the marshals or help a friend or both. Cluck, cluck.

I remember back in the day when my friends would tell me they were hesitant to drive through Fayetteville because the police would pull them over for no reason. Now I bet those same people wish they still had a police force like that.

Peachtree City Police Chief Murray argued for accreditation for the Fayetteville Police Department “because it is the right thing to do for the community” (The Citizen, Dec. 19, 2001). Do the right thing for your community, Chief Murray: Resign. Yes, change is needed in Peachtree City — in the police department. Mayor Brown, councilmen Rapson and Weed deserve four more years. Murray, you’re next.

To the PTC police, I have a way for you to improve upon your “joke” standing among the mostly-good teenage community. Use the time you currently spend stalking and harassing all our teenagers to patrol Harmony Village and the surrounding golf cart paths. It’s getting old to hear from my teens and their friends, each and every day, that five different police cars are hiding out on various one-mile stretches of road. And, worse yet, the almost daily occurrence for most kids of police following right behind them for two miles at a time. Help me out here, I keep reminding my kids that it’s your job, but frankly, I’m starting to agree with them. You have nothing else to do?

Great news for criminals. Anytime it looks like you’re getting ready to be caught doing any kind of crime be sure to have someone who couldn’t possibly see you make a quick 911 call. After the thing with George Wingo and his gun, the sheriff’s deputies will now have to wait to arrest you until after they’ve investigated the 911 call. Worst case scenario (no matter what incriminating evidence they find) you’ll get off in the end. Even if you admit when they show up that you did it. What a great precedent Bruce Jordan, George Wingo and Inagawa have set for the future! Disclaimer: You’re on your own if a marshal, Fayetteville, Peachtree City or Tyrone policeman shows up. They’ll arrest you or cite you. The best you can hope for is that a deputy sheriff will also show up to set them straight or that you have a friend in the sheriff’s department to follow up and fix things for you.

Well, it was a pretty ho-hum commission meeting [Thursday] night until Greg Dunn [gave] his feeble-minded explanation of the marshal’s issuing Mr. Wingo a citation. He failed to tell you that the solicitor general deemed the whole thing to be a crock and properly dismissed the charges. Commissioners, case closed; live with it!

So Tyrone has hired the mayor of Union City for a planner. Obviously, Mayor Lee knows nothing about planning and land use. Is he the future mayor of Tyrone or does this incident with the law forbid him from running for mayor of Tyrone? Maybe if he became mayor he could explain to the citizens of Tyrone why all coaches involved with children’s athletics have to pass a police questionnaire except the mayor of Tyrone’s son.

In regards to the powers that be in Tyrone, (Barry Amos, Sheryl Lee, Smola etc.) hiring the mayor of Union City to be town planner, I read in the paper that the man in question is up on drunk driving charges and may or may not go to the pokie for it. I moved here some time ago for the beauty of the area. As I have watched the beauty and the land being squandered, I have turned my attention to those public officials making this possible. This is what I found. We have a chairman of the Planning Commission for Tyrone with an overgrown front yard complete with honeysuckle and weeds, struggling with big words like “garish” to describe the Sonic’s colors, and “vitriol” to describe the tone of the people at the last town meeting concerning their disappointment over the Wieland deal. We have a mayor with a purple mail box (how’s that for style?) who gives the impression she never has an independent thought without asking the town manager first. Then we have the town manager, who is supposed to be an engineer who masterminded Hadley Field. It is raining now, and I am sure in the morning Hadley will be the same big mud pie it is after every rain, filling Pendleton Lake with more mud. These are our decision-makers, our people in charge. Which brings me back to my first thoughts about how we wound up with a possible drunk driving town planner. My Daddy use to say, “Water seeks its own level.” need I say more?

Thanks to Mayor Sheryl Lee, Councilman Mike and Paul, we can now fill up Sandy Creek school district with students and the school board including Janet Smola (Councilman Mike’s wife) doesn’t have to make a decision on re-districting to fill up a school that has never reached its capacity. Two members of one family on the taxpayers’ payroll. Two too many. Time for the Smolas to descend back North. Mike and Janet, this is the South; we don’t want to look like the North.

Wasn’t it gracious of the Fayette County Commissioners not to say, “I told you so,” to Tyrone? They tried to stop the sewers and predicted everything that is happening now in Tyrone. They have tried to stop many of the rampant annexations that are ruining Tyrone. It’s a shame they lost the sewer battle and it’s sad they did not have the legal power to stop the annexations. Now Tyrone is lost.

So I understand that this year’s theme for the Tyrone Founders Day is “the simple life.” Wow! Now is that an oxymoron or what? Because we all know that the town is run by a bunch of simpletons.

You gotta love how things work in this county. The sheriff decides which of the newspapers gets to print the legal notices. I would surely imagine there’s a lot of money coming in from the tons of legal notices I see in the other paper. Now that I know the free daily newspaper is making money by keeping the sheriff’s good will, I will be looking at their stories a lot differently.

I am totally embarrassed to call the members of Flat Creek Baptist Church my brothers and sisters in Christ. The recent comment in The Citizen concerning the theft of money by a church member which stated, “We just can’t forgive this because this money was actually stolen from our congregation.” Well, hello! If Christians can’t forgive, who can? And how many times did Jesus say we’re to forgive our brothers? Seven times? No! Seventy times seven! And beyond. To rake a sister in Christ, sinner though she is, through the coals of the public eye, is really showing Christian love. What about the Scripture that says, “Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers! ... Why not rather be wronged? (1 Cor. 6:6,7)” Didn’t Christ say, “Love your brother. Do good to those who persecute you” Did you forget to mention that the sinner is selling her house in order to pay the church back? Flat Creek, you’ve got a heart problem. And for all those non-believers out there, I apologize. We’re not all so unforgiving and judgmental.

Who benefits when you put a parent in jail for not paying child support? The child doesn’t because no money will be coming in at all. The parent that is in jail doesn’t because they can’t work to send in money to the child, and by the way the debt is not wiped out for time served so it just keeps adding up. The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) doesn’t because there is no money coming in. No one benefits. As a matter of fact, the burden falls on the taxpayers of Coweta County. There are over 13 men (that I know of) in jail right now for nonpayment of child support. I was told that the county has to pay $125 per day per inmate for the men in jail for a child support charge. A man was just released last week after spending one year in Coweta County jail for not paying his child support. Should these men or women just get off the hook? No way! But find a better solution that won’t cost the taxpayer.

To the person complaining about the “Delta noise” over PTC. Get some binoculars; not all of those jets are Delta. Also, be thankful for Delta. Otherwise the next “Delta noise” you may hear will be a sucking noise of the Fayette County economy if they shut down.

Attention, “Delta basher”: First of all, Delta doesn’t decide on changing their departure routes, the FAA does. All airlines must follow those same departure routes when given to them by the FAA. Weather conditions, thunderstorms, wind-shears, etc., will also cause the routes to change. Sounds to me like the jet engines aren’t the only things “whining” in your neighborhood. You’ll really hate Delta if they go belly up and turn your beloved PTC into another Riverdale.

If the Fayette Board of Commissioners amends its current pet ordinance from allowing three pets per household to five pets per household, how are you going to enjoy your sleep at night when your neighbor’s five large dogs are barking all night? The foul odor of five large dogs can be quite repulsive. The backyard cookouts could be very unpleasant, with the possibility of five dogs on your right side, five dogs on your left side and five dogs behind you. Will our children be able to play in our own backyards? Are fences going to be required or do we have to argue with our neighbors about the leash law? Not everyone is a considerate pet owner and three pets per household are enough.

I’m in total agreement with the parent who attended the fifth grade graduation and was irritated by the way things went. My child graduated from Peachtree City Elementary and it was the same show. A few select students were paraded over and over in front of the crowd while the “average or less than” students watched and wondered. Far more appropriate would have been an awards night so these students could all be together to receive their prizes. An awards night is how the middle and high school level handles this. If I had it to do over, I and my child would have just skipped this altogether.

Since Peachtree City is so strict in the colors allowed for homes, who on earth approved the hideous orange eyesore on Golfview Drive?

If it can’t build a road to extend TDK Boulevard, and needs a developer to build the MacDuff bypass road, why is PTC selling T-shirts? Why not stick to its business providing street construction and leave the retail business to our business owners? By the way, how many shirts are left over from last year still for sale?

Apparently the National Tennis Association has hired our former director of the Tennis Center and amphitheater here in PTC. Isn’t this the same fellow who illegally borrowed a million dollars for the Tennis Center and then left town? Maybe our old board of directors of the old development authority and the National Tennis Association don’t care who they hire, but we taxpayers sure mind here. I doubt if the recommendations given by our people here for this gentleman mentioned that he left town owing more than the center is worth.

Sharpsburg man faces sex charge: When this man’s innocence is proven, I hope you cover it with a front page story. The Fayette County policeman totally made assumptions here that has put a good family in crisis. I thought cops were supposed to uphold the law, not make assumptions and trumped-up charges out of their own prejudice. I read this police report and I know for a fact that this cop has made false charges. The truth will be known and when it is, I sincerely hope a case for filing a false police report as well as discrimination will be brought against this cop and the department who made this arrest. Unfortunately the police department and the press go hand in hand in allowing the public to believe a man is guilty until he can be proven innocent in a court of law. Your wording is totally sensationalized. Have you hopes to write for Star Magazine?

Maybe it’s just that I don’t understand the business, but why can one group, National Association of Realtors, severely control the approximate 6 percent commission amount on houses sold, and no one in the monopoly can sell discount if they wish? Are they kept out of the listings somehow? Even banks compete with each other; why shouldn’t Realtors? Now I know that hundreds of thousands of agents show houses for months sometime before they sell one, and that newspapers are practically kept in business by these people and auto dealers, but the whole thing stinks somehow. Houses that were $150,000 just a few years ago are now selling for $300,000, but the commission, or charge for listing it, is still about the same. Making double the gross profit for the same work in such a short time isn’t competitive. No one should make much money selling three to four houses per year, but with hundreds of thousands of agents out there, that is what happens: they make too much on a monopoly.

I’ve just discovered that I have been wrong all my life about something. I spent most of it thinking that at least one half of us had to work at something that initiated a product to sell to someone in order to be able to support all of the others. If one assumes that there are about 18,000 bread winners in Peachtree City, it is interesting to try and determine whether or not they make a product or perform a service. I don’t consider signed pieces of paper a product as some do. It doesn’t take but a few minutes to determine that nearly everyone here performs a service. There are a few local factories who add something to a few products, and some of us who go to Atlanta and other places may do the same, but generally, we are in banks, insurance companies, clerks in stores, drive trucks and vans and cars hauling stuff, fix hair, do nails, work for the government (no products there), and scores of other services. My question is: who is making something to sell to support us all?

Hype is killing our culture. Even here in Fayette. We never point out the good and the bad at the same time for evaluation. Good government should do that. We also tend to go with personalities rather than facts. Just today, in reporting the missing Aruba lady, the news channels were carrying both stories at the same time, whether or not someone had confessed to a killing. They had no facts, they had no second source. Just generating news, paid for by John Basedow, fitness personality, and the video professor. The storm in Florida Gulf, known for two days as NOT a hurricane was being promoted fiercely, hours on end, for John Basedow, fitness personality. They even hired a yellow truck with a big red flag to drive behind them so the camera would see it. May our local papers, such as they are, not participate in this stuff, except of course for the property tax millage not going up again.

The consequences of decades of schizophrenic immigration policies and practices are the equivalent of running your car for years with no oil change. The “oil” in this analogy is due diligence, and the “change” is ignoring the will of the people. Between local cops saying “it’s the fed’s job,” and ICE agents not picking up illegals, and the feds refusing to prosecute obvious employer scoff-laws, it is no wonder that we have tens of millions of illegals in our nation.

I am in my seventies, retired after many years of owning a business, 30 years of working in industry, and three and one-half years as a serviceman during the Korean Police Action. I feel that I can sometimes see mistakes our country makes, nationally and locally, quicker than some in political power seem to do. Just a couple of examples: military senior officers no longer are willing to threaten their careers by speaking out or taking individual action as did MacArthur and Patton; and, politicians do the same thing in order to get re-elected. It is obvious that several senior officers would now like to say they were ignored before the Iraq war, and certainly all Republicans and Democrats can’t possibly agree about the same facts 100 percent of the time. The ugly head of religious faith has crept back into our governing of the country and the world. Certainly, individuals have the right to choose their faith, but when a group of them insist that everyone else see religion as they do, then government by law instead of man falls through the cracks. Always has and always will.

06-08-05

I read in the newspaper that the Sheriff’s Drug Task Force found a dealer wearing a shirt saying, “We love Clayton, Fayette is next.” Those shirts have been appearing in Riverdale for a long time. If you want to know what it means, try the real estate business, not a drug dealer. It sounds like the sheriff is gonna blame the growing African-American community in Fayette County for this problem, too. Drugs got here before we did. Sheriff, you need to find someone besides us and the County Commissioners to blame.

It’s time for Fayette County to wake up. We do have a drug problem in this county. A gang problem is right around the corner, if it’s not already here. Burglaries are now commonplace. Violent crime IS on the rise and we are facing many challenges in the very near future. The government of this great county, both the county commission and the city governments (to include many high ranking police officials) seem to be ignoring the problem and telling all of us that local law enforcement has plenty of resources to protect us and the problem isn’t really that bad and refuse to give public safety (law enforcement, fire, EMS) what they need. The thing that amazes me is the citizens of this county just keep on believing “things like that don’t happen in this county.” We keep on electing people that won’t step up and try and deal with the problems and educate themselves about what is really going on. Instead we keep outdated, unmotivated, stuck-in-a-rut politicians in office. It’s time for a change. It’s time for citizens to take a good look at where we are headed and put the right people in place to do something about it. It’s time for the people of this county to give our public safety the funding that they need to combat the problems this county faces. Wake up, Fayette County, or the t-shirt the drug task force talked about will come true and we will be next.

To be fair and balanced, when The Citizen runs a story or prints a politician’s letter about government squabbling on providing money and personnel for the war on drugs, the paper should reprint, next to them, one of these smiling cop and politician pictures where they stand next to a big pile of cash seized from drug dealers and congratulate each other over their cooperation and ability to fund their operations without taxing honest citizens.

Oh no! Now Greg Dunn’s going to start writing long boring letters to The Citizen. Okay, so you don’t get along with the Sheriff’s Department. You could have said that in one sentence. Tell us something we didn’t already know, only don’t make it a novel.

I thought Randall Johnson was the sheriff, so when did Bruce Jordan get elected? Or has Randall Johnson finally checked out and left the inmates in charge?

OK, Sheriff Johnson. I know you are an avid fisherman. It’s time to reel in the big mouth. I am a long-time resident of Fayette County and have always been a strong supporter of you and your department. However, I believe it is past time to reel in the big mouth. No, I’m not talking about a bass this time. I’m talking about Bruce Jordan. I support you on your helicopter, drug funds, the marshal’s office issue, etc., but I believe you would make better progress with the commissioners if it was explained to Bruce Jordan that you are the sheriff and he is to stop bickering with the commissioners through the local newspapers.

Bruce Jordan says he spent three weeks “tracking down” a 911 caller after a marshal had already found the gun and George Wingo admitted bringing it into his office. Now Jordan wants the taxpayers to fund ANOTHER investigator? If they can waste three weeks on stuff like that they don’t need more people.

George Wingo is history next election and everyone knows it, except him.

Free Speech, also known as Cowards’ Corner. Free Speech: When you care enough to send the very worst.

Some 30 years ago I witnessed a zoning sell-out, similar to the Tyrone mayor and two councilmen’s “deal” with John Wieland, by the then-three-person Clayton County Commission. It smelled just as bad, and also defied logic and the land-use plan those three bozos were expected to uphold! Many good citizens rose up in anger, and with the help of the last three honest lawyers in the county we were able to uncover the fact that all three commissioners had been put on the payrolls of involved developer/builder/ready-mix firms as “consultant,” “public relations advisor,” and the like, on top of their other regular employment. A vigorously pursued recall effort failed, mainly due to apathy and disbelief on the part of too many residents. We were eventually successful, however, in raising the public awareness to a point that all three bozos were kicked out at election time. But, by then their spot-zoning for high-density housing, including multi-family, had poked so many holes in the land-use plan that it had become just a bad joke. And, it wasn’t many years before the big-money developers had again packed the county commission with their stooges, in spite of the increase to a five-person panel. That was the beginning of Clayton’s long, down-hill slide into the mess you see it in today. Thereafter, few commissioners left office in Clayton without a considerable fattening of their wallets from blatant involvement in land speculation or developer-builder related business, right up to the present. Reading about the recent Tyrone sell-out was deja vu all over again. I really hate to see Tyrone and Fayetteville leading Fayette’s slide, but citizen apathy will be the real culprit here also.

Well, is it just me, or is it time to get a petition going in Tyrone to get ride of Smola, Letourneau and Lee? We put them in, now let’s take them out. The damage is not all done; it could get worse. Did I hear they hired someone to help plan the town that can’t drive straight, or was that a nightmare? Someone up on drunk driving charges. They are getting more people like them, not us, to represent us.

So the Tyrone Town Council has hired the mayor of Union City to be the town planner. Do they really think the citizens of Tyrone want our lovely little town to look like that cesspool called Union City? Is there anyone with any common sense making decisions that will affect our town forever? My family is outta here as soon as we can transfer in our work. My prediction is a mass exodus of good, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens from this city that was once a great place to live. Shame on all those who are bringing it to this.

Entrapment is unfair and unjust. Entrapment verges on totalitarianism. It is wasteful and an unsound use of public resources. It may violate the Constitution in more than one way. While all other law enforcement agencies in Fayette County work to keep the criminals out, Peachtree City law enforcement lures them here. Our tax dollars would be better spent if that “15-year-old nymphet” lectured our local teens on the dangers of the WorldWide Web.

First Fayetteville City Council strongly discourages Fayetteville Police Department employees from attending council meetings in support of Harold Simmons and now they encourage officers to attend after being scrutinized in the media for discouraging them. Sounds like someone was caught with their pants down and now they are playing catch up.

At the City Council meeting, ex-Fayetteville Police Officer Harold Simmons asked some intriguing questions of City Council members regarding the “early retirement incentive program.” I find it interesting that [Chief] Johnny Roberts’ retirement date falls directly in between the start and end period for this incentive program. I find it equally interesting that our own government wants to approve a program which will cost the citizens a substantial amount of money without doing a cost study as recommended by the policy holder.

Enough is enough. Fayetteville City Council needs to admit their involvement with the problems inside Fayetteville Police Department. Joe Morton, Ken Steele and the remaining council members all had direct knowledge of Johnny Roberts and Steve Ledbetter’s wrongdoing and made the choice to either ignore it or bury it. I keep asking myself why they choose to remain silent and not open up and share the reasoning behind their behavior. City Council won’t come clean because they do not want the citizens to know something. Maybe the citizens should start asking.

Fayetteville City Council: How much additional money is Johnny Roberts going to get from the “new” early retirement incentive program that has not yet been approved but will be on June 20? Did Mr. Roberts originally have 60 percent retirement and now will have 70 percent, 80 percent or more under this plan?

The citizens of Europe got to vote on the European Union constitution, and some turned it down. How would Americans vote on the economic and cultural changes that result from massive illegal immigration? We won’t know, because we are not allowed to vote on that.

Ever since Delta Air Lines stopped using noise-reducing power settings on their engines the noise levels in PTC have increased dramatically. For those of us close to ATL departure routes the jet noise is relentless. The noise level could be easily reduced if Delta would simply return to the noise abatement procedures they used for the last few decades. This would be a good example of good goes around instead of ignoring the common good.

Vent (v): find expression for, voice, e-mail, utter, declare; short, simple statement. Useless drivel (n): nonsense, foolishness, poppycock, idiocy, a Steve Brown letter to the editor.

Steve Brown running again for mayor cause he (a) could not keep a job as manager for one dentist, (b) he can keep house while his wife brings in physician wages, or (c) the best full-time job he can find is the mayor’s at $9,000. You choose.

The Tom Farr bullies are losing their steam now that Steve Brown has said that he will run again. The mayor is an honest guy and he should not let the old-school cry-babies ruin his efforts to make our city better. We are all finally being represented, regardless of what Cal Beverly might say.

Mayor Brown, I am not part of the “old Guard,” as you put it, but I have lived here for 14 years. My family and I moved here because of the fine school system (I realize it is a county system, and I am sure you will agree it is outstanding) and the quality of life in Peachtree City. Do your children attend Fayette County schools? Sorry, that is beside the point. The schools are still, for the most part, better than anywhere else in Georgia and I am proud my daughter attends school here; she will be well prepared for college. Quality of life is another issue; since your administration arrived, it has diminished. There was a time when business leaders and local government coexisted for the good of the community. I’ll name names: PCDC (now Pathways Communities) and the city butted heads many times, but both parties cared enough for what they helped create, they compromised, in most cases, for the good of Peachtree City. They used their good judgment and honorably worked things out (novel idea, huh). Their word was their bond, like it or not. (How many times have you given your word in private and gone back on it in public?) That brings me to why did you move here if the city government and “old Guard” were inept and corrupt prior to your administration? Seems like you would have gone to D.C. (Delta is ready when you are). Peachtree City was a pretty nice place, huh? Another item: how many times did you apply to be appointed to the Peachtree City Development Authority, prior to you being elected mayor, only to be denied? Once, twice? Could that rejection possibly have anything to do with your vendetta against the DAPC? It is important to you to leave a legacy. Trust me, you are, one which will take years for this fine community to overcome. Hey, I have an idea, maybe the city will name the dog park “The Steve,” or the idea to bring goats in to control the kudzu “The Steve Project,” both brilliant ideas, unlike the world class (used to be) Tennis Center or the marvelous (used to be) ”Fred.” Or maybe the West Village, oh, sorry, that was the idea of the previous administration, my mistake. I suspect the Fayette County residents encouraging you to run for County Commission are Peachtree City residents. Makes sense to me.

Are we to understand that the Peachtree City political PAC, who wish to elect a new mayor, would immediately pay the Peachtree City Bank (and others, apparently) the $1.5 million that was given to the old Development Authority without formal town approval? Wonder why this is? Why do they want to spend my money if I don’t legally owe it? I wonder why? There is no law that says banks automatically can get their money no matter what, unless, unless, some in the PAC are bank ... Never mind.

Cut to the chase now and resolve the illegal bank loan made to the old, so-called Development Authority by a local bank, of course now owned by a chain. The lawyers and interest must be compounding and if the bank made a bad loan, insist that a judge tell them so. It is inappropriate for us to sit here and let lawyer bills and interest pile up. Someone get a warrant for the bank to stop asking us taxpayers to bail them out.

With all these blanket statements about Clayton County, how about one for Fayetteville: City Council is corrupt and we have to change things or we will become Clayton County.

I was talking with my family the other day as we were driving in the car about the cones along Ga. Highway 54. And I asked them if they could tell me where the entrances are to the subdivisions and Wal-Mart in the West Village, because I had passed my entrance a few times before, not knowing exactly where to pull in. And as I was listening to the radio this morning, I found out I wasn’t the only one who had this problem of not knowing where exits are due to construction (there were a few people mentioning this happening all around the city). I would love to know if we could get different color cones or at least have a blue ribbon tied around the existing cones to make us aware of where the entrances are?

I wonder if the flamingo women and their oh-so-tired act would still be irritating if they were somewhat attractive. Maybe it is time for a change, pass the torch so to speak, and start over with a new group of attractive women. It has to be some new folks, though, to make it work, not just some kind of name change; that never works. Look at the Direct PAC: they change their name to “Friends of Tom,” but, alas, if anything, they are more irritating than ever.

I don’t know how early the picture of the Styx concert was taken, but at showtime, the place was full. I bought the last four tickets to be had at the box office for the Friday night show. One thing he failed to mention is how many people enjoy taking the golf cart to the show.

What a biased report! “The Fred” wins in three out of five categories (venue, menu and vibe), ties in one category (menu) and loses in only one category (other uses), but the big bold title announces that The Villages wins. What? Who paid for that one? We’ve gone to both, and been season ticket holders at The Fred for years. We love it. It has never dawned on me that I should think less of The Fred because they have limited other uses. We have fun, we love the concerts, we love the atmosphere. In our opinion, The Fred wins hands down.

So, Linda McCarthy, you couldn’t stand the pressure. You breeze into town, disrupt a number of lives and families, and then tuck your tail and run. What a coward! I hope you realize that you were set up to fail by the Tourism Association just like you set up employees from the PCTC and the amphitheater to fail. You will NOT be missed in this community. But could you take a few past and present members of the Tourism Board with you?

Goodbye, Linda. I hope you take the rest of the management staff at The Fred Amphitheater with you. Seriously, what the people running The Fred don’t understand is that we don’t want our amphitheater to be run like The Georgia Dome. Last year Peggy and Lisa in the office were so nice and helpful and really seemed to care about the patrons and employees of the venue. The people running it this year just don’t care about anything but making money. Please bring back Peggy and Lisa .

Earlier this year, the PTC Tourism Association created five member advisory councils for both the tennis center and amphitheater. By the April 8 deadline, at least five people cared for each venue enough to take the time to apply for these unpaid, volunteer positions. But, the Tourism Association didn’t like what they saw on the applications (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!). After a few weeks to wrangle with how to solve the problem they had created, the Tourism Association voted to extend the deadline until May 27 to recruit more people. Then surprisingly, without even talking to everyone that applied originally, the Tourism Association made their selections. The best people may have been chosen (this Free Speech is not meant to belittle them) but we’ll never know for sure. The selection process was just a nice way to show the patrons-members once again that professionalism and courtesy take second place behind politics.

Believe it or not, all the undesirables from Clayton County are not relocating to Fayette County. Some of them had enough gas to get to Coweta County and it’s not a pretty sight.

Should I be surprised that writers are still kicking us Lutherans a month after the fateful decision? I hesitate to wade into the fray, but today’s writer (June 1) should have checked facts before making Suggestion #2: Christ Our Shepherd has not only an early service but also a Saturday night service. The times are Saturday at 7, Sunday at 8:30, Sunday at 11 (two services simultaneously), and Sunday evening at 6. On June 6 at 7 p.m. will be a special bimonthly service with prayers for healing. And since Lutherans are big on grace, the writer would be welcome at any of those services!

I do hope the Lutherans are planning their new church that they must have to expand their ministry. If only the members would one-half tithe, they could build a building twice the size of one they could have built with the drugstore money. A church can buy land nearly anywhere, even in Alabama. I am interested that they follow up with their plans so that we can turn our backs on that corner and not be afraid it will slip through somehow and create another 54/74 intersection. Money into pockets as opposed to money out of pockets sure makes a difference in wants.

My “essential question” for the Fayette County school system is this: Why does it expect its faculty members to be aware and appreciative of the diversity of its student population when it does not act likewise towards those same teachers. More and more we are expected to teach the same material in the same manner at the same time with no appreciation whatsoever for the individual strengths that made this an excellent school system to begin with. We are losing great teachers because of this inhibiting of their individual strengths.

Now that school is out I can get to work on time. The overprotective moms and dads who monopolize the neighborhood streets with cars and golf carts at bus pick-up and drop-off times have cleared the area. Surely the smog rate is down for Fayette County. Weather doesn’t matter: pretty, warm, cool, rainy, they are out every morning blocking the cul de sacs for those of us who have to go to work and can’t party every day at the bus stop.

An $85,000 employee leaves town (Tourism Association) and it seems we have no need to replace the person. Never in my life have I seen tax and donated money spread around in such exorbitant salaries as is being done today. The Atlanta head of the Boy Scouts resigned last week for supervising thousands of scouts he never did have. His salary was $287,000 per year. Unbelievable. We seem to be wanting to skirt a chain of responsibility by appointing special, highly paid, outside the elected official range, personnel to do our job for us. We have a mayor. We in PTC have a town manager. We have a deputy town manager. We have a director of recreation. We have, we have. It has been seen what these types of organizations do: they fill pockets and cater to special interests, so why on earth don’t we expect the people we hire and elect to do their job and get rid of these enterprises? Isn’t that what good Republicans would do?

I’d love for someone to address what is going on with the building designated to be the next Three Dollar Cafe in Peachtree City. As it sits empty, no closer to opening than it was six months ago when your newspaper reported they were shooting for a December opening, I have not seen anything since. Que pasa?

Father Epps, with all due respect, aren’t you missing the point? Most people in this country will agree wholeheartedly with everything you say about peace. But more and more people are now seeing the folly of the ill-advised, unprovoked and illegal war in Iraq. The U.S.A. and its citizens are unconditionally devoted to peace and will defend itself to the death if attacked by another nation; but this nation, as a matter of principle, does not wage preemptive war. That was a policy followed by a dictator named Adolph Hitler.

As if the Fayette County, city of Fayetteville, and Peachtree City laws, rules and regs are not enough, try living in a neighborhood that is regulated by a homeowners association. I can’t wait to get out and back into the freedom of only county rules and regs.

So far, Fayette County has not had to contend with political polarization as has many counties in the country. But I’m afraid it has gone too far with polarization (never do anything wrong, other side never does anything right) and will pay at the polls in a near election. We have run out of politicians who vote for what is correct in each case, even if it doesn’t follow their party leadership’s direction. I have made a point of watching CNN and FOX alternately for some time now on similar or the same subjects. Believe me, unless you are polarized, you cannot help but see that there are two sides in nearly all cases, even on 50-year-old news. Folks, lets do this thing right about politics and the war: call every case like it is.

In the last two days during my commute to Atlanta, I have seen six auto accidents totaling 15 cars. All of them were rear-end collisions. How smart does someone have to be to stay out of another car’s trunk?

I think that having the police waste our tax dollars on roadblocks to check for seat belts speaks for itself. I would think if they didn’t have better things to do than send out 10 or 12 officers to act as our parents and be policed to wear our seat-belts, which is not crime because we would only be hurting ourselves, is a scary day in America. If they need something to do that bad, lay them off. Spend our money more wisely.

Hypocrite: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue. One can see it every day, right here in Fayette County. Pretending to be against war but saying that war is necessary for purposes they believe in, even if entered under false pretenses. Criticizing those who bemoan the daily war deaths, caused by false planning, as traitors, but protecting those in power who simply goofed.

What is it that the Air Force Academy in Colorado doesn’t understand about the separation of church and state? It is sheer stupidity for one religious group, no matter which one, to insist that all people have the same faith as they do. It is especially bad for those in command or in influence to do so. It should be obvious to these people since I am sure they would be the first to complain if another religious group was harassing them on their rights. Governing a country or state can only be done by laws passed by the people, not a religious group. If the passed laws happen to be similar to religious laws then that is for our Supreme Court to decide in individual cases. We cannot seem to exist without religious faith but trying to get every single person on earth to obey one set of rules only is the main reason for the failure of all civilizations to date. Ours could also fail for the same reasons. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people of faith, of all types, to also obey our laws of governing and still practice their own method of salvation. If they happen to choose the wrong one then that is none of our business.

06-01-05

So the Tyrone Council (including the mayor) has sold out to Wieland, the Fayetteville Council has finally been forced to get rid of the police chief and his cohort (and they buy them off by “retiring” them), the PTC Keystone Cops would still rather write tickets than help the traffic situation and our mayor is suddenly for big-box stores and replacing churches with drugstores. Delta will implode soon, Photocircuits is gone and Cooper Lighting’s management is doing their best to run them into the ground. Yep, seems like a great time to get out of here.

Congratulations, Tyrone. You made your bed, now lie in it. You had a chance in your last mayoral election to elect a qualified mayor that would have absolutely voted NO in that very important vote on the Wieland development. Enjoy.

Well, the cows are out of the barn in Tyrone. I get home late only to see that here come the half-acre lots. Mayor Lee gave us her land use position when she very recently ran for mayor. She was not truthful with us. Mike Smola only won by eight votes and he has certainly proved that none of us should have voted for him. This is the same town councilman that was devoted to slow growth and keeping the small town atmosphere. Maybe one day our town will get out of the dark ages and be able to vote in the same polling place for our town council that we vote for everything else. As for Lee and Smola, where is the tree buffer that was promised on Ga. Highway 74? How can you explain half-acre lots and say that you want to keep the small town feel? The Smolas have turned into the duo of political disaster.

Does taxation without representation remind you of what happened at the last Tyrone mayor and council meeting? I think our ancestors fought a war and won over this kind of BS. So why are we putting up with this now?

You piqued Lutherans who are so upset that your unreasonable request was denied and are now lashing out in a very un-Christian-like manner should consider a few things: 1. If your next-door neighbor wanted to increase the size of his family and move to a larger house, you would have been just as upset if he decided to sell his house to Walgreens. 2. Why must a church grow? Who are you racing? Add an early service or do one on Saturday night like the Catholics do, so those who don’t want to lose their Sunday mornings can still remain in good graces. 3. The citizenry had every right to protest; every time a church is built that’s another piece of real estate that won’t generate any taxes and we all get to pick up the slack. You not only wanted the free lunch, you wanted dinner and desert too. At least our council didn’t cave like Tyrone’s just did (in spite of our mayor: what’s up with you? Your objections to these things is why you got my vote!).

It sure is ironic that the current members of the Development Authority of PTC feel “handcuffed” by the two lawsuits currently pending against the authority. Who should be “handcuffed” are those members of the previous authority who accepted in excess of $1.5 million in loan proceeds all the while they were overseeing an authority that was illegally financed and poorly run and managed. Dislike Steve Brown if you must, and there are plenty of reasons to do so, but he is/was right about that previous Peachtree City Development Authority. It was ill-conceived, mismanaged and illegally funded.

To the uneducated Free Speecher on hotel/motel tax, a bit of advice: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”

Gang of Tom Farr or Mob of Farr, whatever you choose to call the group, you are the same person writing over and over to put them down. Wonder who it could be? Change your writing style if you want us to think there is more than one person writing in Free Speech.

All you Steve Brown supporters need to stop drinking all the Kool-aid he’s been serving up and actually become informed and educated on his behavior, policies, constant denigrating and slanderous remarks and columns. Added to his constant, eight-hour a day meddling in the running of the city he has managed to alienate and inflame all of the surrounding communities and most of the local citizens. His attempt to remake the city in his own image has been a total failure. It’s time to dump him where he belongs, any other place but here.

To the “fun guy” who is constantly bombarding the flamingoes, why don’t you get a life? They have fun, you don’t. Why don’t you sign your name? Are you afraid or are you just a member of the “Yellow Chicken Club”?

I hope the folks who live on Battery Way closest to the docks and playground will start flooding the PTC police with 911 calls. The other evening while walking my dog, the playground was host to a bunch of loud teen males with boom box blaring and profanity coloring the air. Next walk I plan to have my cell phone, and will call 911 if they are there. And to those of you who think the PTC police harass teens and minorities, would you prefer to live in Clayton County? Or, do you want to sit back and lose everything the way the folks in Clayton County have?

I have lived in Fayette County since the 1960s and the article by John Thompson blew me away. I have never heard of the ordinance that allows people in the county to have only a total of three dogs and cats total. We moved to this county so that our children could have pets, and over the years we have had chickens, horses, cats, dogs and burros. This county is quickly becoming a county where big brother is watching a little too close to suit me. What next, the County Commission may require the owners of horses to put diapers on their pets? If Kim Finck has to give some of her five animals away that is like asking a mother to give away one of her children. The county animal shelter will not take animals they deem unadoptable, so what do people who read this article do when they realize they are breaking a law? Do we go back to the past when people either drove out into the country and put animals out, or like the heartless people who put cats and dogs in a bag and threw them into a creek to drown? When we moved I have driven down the road and found abandoned animals still siting on a bag or box they were left in. I would bring them home and find homes for them, or keep them, never knowing I had one kitten, or one dog too many. If the marshals are going to control the numbers of animals that people have, they must go to each and every home in this county and make people get rid of animals; otherwise Kim Finck has been discriminated against. I suggest that everyone in the county call and report everyone who has one cat or dog too many, and quickly the County Commission may find out they have a law that requires many marshals, and many overtime hours to enforce a law that no one knew about.

My brother is a graduate this year and I know how it feels to lose your older brother or sister when they go off to college. I will really miss my brother this year because of all the acts of kindness he does for me. If I need a ride to the store, or if I want to go get a ice cream, he will always be there to take me. Even though when I was little, he would pick on me, I still love him a whole lot! He may not be the president or the guy who gets a GPA of 4.0, but he is still my brother! I want him to know that he will always be in my heart!

I would really be interested to know what other parents thought about Crabapple’s fifth grade graduation. We all sat in the cafeteria for two hours listening to the teachers praise students. Unfortunately, their praise seemed to only shine upon a certain few which alienated many other wonderful, hard-working students. Sure, not every child was able to receive the “Citizenship” award or the “Teacher’s Pet” award. However, my child couldn’t help to feel as if his teachers didn’t select him because they didn’t like him. Not to mention that as a parent, I left feeling like a bit of a failure and wondering what areas I could improve my parental teachings. This is a great community, but really, why can’t these children arrive to receive their fifth grade diplomas, have a cookie, a cup of punch, maybe even a photo with mom and dad and be on their way? So, in my opinion, it was too much and very disturbing.

Thank you to the school that removed the book which contained inappropriate material from the required summer reading list. Please completely read the books before assigning them to our students.

PTC is turning into a garbage dump and the city does nothing. Young spoiled punks throwing their fast food out of their vehicles everywhere with no regard for the community whatsoever. You guys are great at harassing teens over bogus offenses such as curfew violations, etc. Why don’t you crack down on a real offense: Littering? Post signs like you see in Vinings and Dunwoody which say $500 fine for littering. I would also give them community service, or better yet, just deport them to Clayton County where they belong.

Thank you, sir or ma’am, whoever it was that wrote the 5-18-05 sound off about our wonderful neighbors in Clayton County. Yet you forgot to mention Fulton County. Look at the license plates in The Pavilion now, on average only 1 in 5 is Fayette County. And to the witty one who mentioned the deafening silence of the NAACP regarding the recent African-American crime spree, you hit the nail on the head! Even Tyrone has had to deal with the spread, and when Wieland makes his next $10 million or more, I am sure we’ll have a whole new group of great, courteous, and well-mannered neighbors to deal with.

To the person who issued the blanket statement to readers from Clayton County: How about YOU get some class?

Have you ever noticed that when something goes wrong in the Peachtree City government, Mayor Steve Brown always blames someone else? Whatever happened to the concept of accepting responsibility?

The local Fox News TV station recently ran a story regarding the understaffing of fire departments, referring primarily to Cherokee County Fire Department, on the north side. This story contained a brief mention of Coweta County Fire Department as well, as they share a similar distinction of being grossly understaffed (glad I’m not a resident there). They somehow didn’t include the departments in Fayette County, which are understaffed by any formul