Free Speech for 8-31-05


		Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005

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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. No personal attacks on private persons, but just about any aspect of public life is fair game.

08-31-05

It’s absolutely hilarious how upset the speeding tailgaters are with Tyrone’s “speed traps.” Those of us who obey the law couldn’t care less. Go get ‘em, coppers.

Now that Tyrone has lowered many of its speed limits because of safety concerns, I am sure they will need more officers to enforce, and possibly ticket, drivers that are not very, very, careful about adhering to these new safety speed limits. Peachtree City has an officer I think would be a perfect fit over there in Tyrone. The only problem with [this] officer leaving would be the PTC Police Department would then be even more understaffed; the number would then be about 27.

Now that the cat is out of the bag with Tyrone and their publicized speed trap revenue issue, everyone should clearly see now that the only thing that government wants is our money. Whether it is confiscated by taxation, traffic fines, fees, penalties, regulations, or whatever other excuse they can invent, they want nothing but to take our money. And they can take it at gunpoint if necessary. Pure robbery. What a bunch of lying, dishonest, greedy thieves they all are. Time for another tea party, don’t you think?

An editorial in The Citizen last week suggested boycotting Tyrone businesses in protest of the new absurd Tyrone speed traps, embarrassingly implemented by the Tyrone Council. I think it is a good idea, and after eating at [a new restaurant] in Tyrone a couple of weeks ago, I think it is a really, really good idea.

It was great to get a response to my Free Speech about buddies Greg Norred and Bruce Jordan. I have nothing to hide but refer to Ben Nelms article (8-10-05), “Free speech is a hallmark of any people unencumbered by the often invisible chains of tyranny, able to speak their mind without fear of reprisal or fear for their lives.”

One Free Speech contributor warned of the trend in Fayette County politics: “With a tarnishing shadow looming over the lustrous reputation of the sheriff’s office, Greg Dunn’s furtive plans of getting himself elected sheriff has markedly improved. If that does happen, Peter Pfeifer will most likely become commission chairman. The boys from New York and ‘Jerzee’ will then have Fayette County locked up tighter than Mayor Richard ‘King’ Daley had Chicago in the sixties.” Sorry, buddy, but transplanted Yankees have a much bigger foothold in Fayette than you know. We got Connecticut’s finest, Janet Smola, on the school board, her hubby cranking the bulldozers in Tyrone and Bill McNally, the correspondence school county attorney from New Yawk, raking it in. (He’s the guy that whispers in Dunn’s ear with his orders.) Just wait: the next attraction will be NYC Rev. Al Sharpton leading a parade.

In response to “Did your little Johnnie or Ashley get caught committing a crime? After all, his/her infraction was not nearly as serious as the crimes his/her friends committed.” Wrong is your assumption. No crimes, one daughter graduated, no arrest, nor any criminal activity, not even a traffic violation. Just being out in the community, support groups, church functions and listening to the concerned parents, time and time again. This isn’t an isolated event, or the made-up antics of misguided adults. If you have children, ask them about their day, about their friends and some of the things they hear while at school. If you really want to know, it won’t be long before you wish you had put on a seat belt, because the stories are the same no matter which middle school or high school the kids go to. The ride is bumpy and quite uncomfortable, but putting my head in the sand is not an option either. Too many of the same kinds of stories, from all the different areas for there not to be some truth within them. There truly needs to be change. Parents need to get involved in their children’s lives, ask where, when, how, why, and be willing sometimes to say NO or verify their stories. Not a new concept, just simple things our parents did to us. And, to the mom who agrees, yes, out of state and far, far away.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has decided that colleges with Indian mascots, nicknames, and logos are insensitive and should not be allowed to play in post season tournaments. What idiots. I thought the NCAA’s job was to ensure fairness in competition. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them set team racial quotas next. I hope fans are planning on boycotting the NCAA basketball tournament next March and are asking their colleges and alumni associations to withhold all support of the NCAA until they rescind their foolish dictate.

For everyone’s information, letter to the editor writer Jim Stinson’s official title with the Direct PAC (political action committee) is “Candidate Support Committee Co-Chairperson.” He often tries to hide the fact that he is an operative for the PAC in his letters. His main objective is to smear the current city council and push their political opposition. Stinson and PAC Vice Chairman developer Rick Schlosser are equivalent to a political venereal disease.

If the Aug. 24 letters to the editor are sum total of what Bob Lenox, Harold Logsdon and Jim Stinson have to complain about with Steve Brown and the City Council, it’ll be a cake walk in November for the incumbents. Brown painted his office (Oh, my gosh!). They had help, not from Lenox mind you, on pulling in highway funds (a team effort? Say it ain’t so!). The City Council is building a golf cart bridge across the highway with federal funds (shoot me now, I can’t take it!). The mayor won’t press charges against the development authority members like Lenox did to the mayor (Brown is a nice guy. We can’t bear to look!).

Harold Logsdon’s toothless attack dog, the fallen King Bob Lenox, tried to growl at us again. To say that Lenox left those that followed a good budget is big bunch of Harold Logsdon budget propaganda. The budget that he handed over to the poor unfortunate council that trailed him was inadequate at best. You can go on the city Web site and pull up the minutes for yourself. Here’s a sample of the truth: “Lenox commented that none of staff’s (FY 2002 budget) presentation was a surprise, saying the only bad decision made in the last 20 years relative to the millage rate had been the decision to reduce it to 3.84 last year (FY 2001). Lenox said part of the decision to reduce the millage rate was political and based on the changes at the state level in the process, so Council cut the millage rate and now had to pay for it.” That was straight from the King himself at the City Council meeting on July 19, 2001. In his own words, who made the city’s worst budget decision in the last several decades? King Bob admitted that he did.

Is Bob Lenox determined to see Steve Brown reelected? Lenox and his ousted cronies got Brown elected once. It appears they are trying their best to do it again.

Here come the bottom feeders. The very fact that Bob Lenox would even try to compare himself to any good mayor is preposterous. The largest scandal ever in PTC was the $25 million sewer deal for his developer buddies. The Lenox-Era in PTC will always be painfully remembered as the time the “little people” got hammered into submission. Logsdon must be absolutely desperate to drag Lenox back out into the public eye.

Can someone please explain to us why Bob Lenox spends an inordinate amount of time trying to be destructive toward our current mayor and council? The man is full of sour grapes and vinegar. Citizen reporter Nelms was right: the old cronies are intimidating others in order to shut them up. Bob was mean when he was in elected office and he is still mean today.

Steve Rapson, please get away from politics in Peachtree City and stay in Fulton County. Peachtree City already has serious governmental issues and you would just add to that with your past “ethics” issues.

Now wait just a minute. The same Bob Lenox that was caught signing an altered agreement in favor of the Development Authority thinks that the authority did nothing illegal. The guy that led the infamous $26 million sewer scam deal for his developer and banker buddies using our tax dollars said nothing was illegal. The person responsible for the oversight of the same authority for a decade who let his “friends” borrow over a million dollars without a single public vote said it was all legal. The ex-mayor Direct PAC’er that asked Rep. Westmoreland to change the state development authority law in 2003 so the authority actions would no longer be illegal thinks it was all above board. Well, gosh, I guess we ought to take his word for it.

I read with interest Jim Stinson’s position on Wi-Fi at the athletics fields. It’s amazing to me the strong position a person takes without knowing all the facts. First of all, Mr. Rapson never suggested it would be used during a game. What he said was that it could be used during practices so that parents could stay as opposed to leaving. Furthermore, Jim posed the question, “Do you really want your tax dollars committed to entice uninterested parents to come participate in their children’s lives?” Well, yes, I do. I think it would be good to entice parents to become active in their children lives, don’t you? Finally, this is an improvement to my quality of life. For a little under $4,000 there will be three separate locations where I can go and enjoy recreational facilities and have access to not only my children but my world. I commend Mr. Rapson and the City Council for this one-time expenditure to improve my quality of life.

Last week’s R. Lenox article stated that the Tennis Center lost over 200 members in 2004 and lost as much money as in 2003 despite increased hotel/motel tax subsidies. The fact is that according to The Citizen a few weeks ago the Tennis Center actually lost $108,000 in ‘04. This is a 50 percent increase over the ‘03 loss under DAPC/Virgil/Sean. Hmmm, looks like rhetoric is finally walking in this case. In addition, The Fred is at an all-time low as all Fred season ticket holders all know.

Ever wonder why Bob Lenox feels the need to keep defending the DAPC? Even Direct PAC leader Rick Schlosser had a difficult time explaining why Rep. Westmoreland had to change the state development authority law in 2003 to legalize the authority’s improper conduct. Schlosser said the illegal acts were a “technical defect.” They were violating the law because Schlosser admitted, “This technical defect (or illegality depending upon whether one is a glass half-full or half-empty type of person) was corrected by passage of House Bill 309 in the House of Representatives on April 9 (2003)” (Citizen, 4-16-03, letter to editor). Schlosser’s candidate Harold Logsdon must be a pro-“technical defect half-full illegality” kind of guy because he has vowed to pay the illegal loans back with our tax dollars.

Attention, amphitheater patrons. Do you get what you pay for? How long will you continue to keep the lights on at the tennis center? Do you have any idea how much of you contribute to the tennis center with the purchase of each ticket? I would prefer there be an added tennis center surcharge on each concert ticket. Now we understand the shoddy line-ups.

Who owns the land mentioned by the mayor last week as prime building areas? When did they acquire it? Frankly, I’m amazed that a skyscraper isn’t already located behind the library on Lake Peachtree. At one time this was a beautiful place on which to gather and play games, picnic, fish, and celebrate America, and Peachtree City. Why don’t we just sell out to one of the large corporations in the U.S. and for several million dollars a year income just call us, say, “Banker’s and Developer’s City,” (formerly Peachtree City)? That would make us BDC, instead of PTC.

Many of us concur with the sentiment of the writer who expressed support of Chief Jim Murray and the Peachtree City Police Department in general and, in particular, in their efforts to round up sexual criminals. We the silent majority (who don’t write letters to the editor for fear of being sued by an unscrupulous lawyer) support you, Chief. Please don’t be discouraged by the way these perverts might get cut loose. Just keep locking them up, like that perverted school superintendent. I saw that infuriating story about him in today’s Citizen. Even if his lawyers “know the right people” and get him off he will definitely stay out of Fayette County. That means mission accomplished, Chief. Thank you and best to you and your family.

Peachtree City has been included in the Top 10 Best Places to Live. My question is: for whom (or what)? People or goats?

The Citizen did ask many good questions about our fire department and some of the answers were very helpful for our citizens to understand the department’s condition. However, as in most of these type of questions with no follow-up, they bring up other questions. We still don’t see the total budget with reasonable breakdowns of expenses. We don’t know why there are numerous volunteers but only one to three show up when needed. We don’t need them to attend air shows for us. If four stations are needed, and two people are required for emergency vehicles, and six people are needed to fight a fire, and Fayette County comes as a back-up, I suppose then mathematical calculations should be able to determine needs. As to the dollars needed (overhead and capital write-offs included) then we need to see those.

Hey, Kathy Cheney, how about dropping your second-hand prayer crusade in favor of hammering the FCC to make them prevent news broadcasters from showing us their idiot reporters shouting at us from the midst of 90 mph wind gusts, driving rain, and flying debris. Wouldn’t it be safer for all of us to just watch them smoke?

What is it with this Kathie Cheney? We haven’t yet even seen all the damage of her last crusade and here she is with another. Restaurants and other businesses (check out the bowling alleys, skating rinks and others) are down 30 and 40 percent in sales. Our local cities and county are going to suffer a loss of sales tax revenue. Our young folks are being laid off due the drop in business and she’s already gearing up another “cause.” Lady, get on with your life and leave the rest of us alone.

[Operator] of World Gym and mayoral candidate gets an eviction notice for his Aberdeen Village location. Can’t he even pay the rent or is he taking advantage of another sucker?

At a recent Starr’s Mill game, I was surprised to see the opponent’s band gyrating on the field like strippers in a seedy bar. Don’t they have parents? Thank you, Starr’s Mill band, for displaying your usual class and high standards.

It was so nice to read about the Peachtree City’s Challenger All Stars headed to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn. I am sure all the supporters of the Field of Hope and the Special Olympics are so proud of all the teams and are extremely grateful for the parents and the volunteers that make the dreams of these wonderful kids a reality. Peachtree City has always been a major supporter of the Special Olympics and one of our own, Steve Rapson, served on the board for the Georgia Special Olympics. I am writing this to encourage all that attend the concerts at the Fred Brown Amphitheater to voice their support to keep the Special Olympics as the charity recipient from the end of the year auction. It is the new management that does not recognize the Special Olympics as a valuable charity and would like to see the charity auction go to a humane society. So, please, before the concert season ends, voice your support for this wonderful charity that brings so much joy to the children and to the community as well. If you would like to learn more, log on to specialolympicsga.org.

Some believe Free Speech should be devoted to smiley faces, rainbows and gentle rays of newborn sunshine illuminating as rubies tiny droplets of morning dew gracefully merging and cascading down the golden trusses of the diamond-crested bridge that awesomely adorns the heavenly River of Euphoria. That’s well and good, to a point. Escapism helps us temporarily avoid harsh realities of the painful truth. While we’re at it, let’s go a step further. How about this? The U.S. will win the war in Iraq leaving a legacy of democracy and enduring peace. A world-engulfing apocalypse perpetuated by millions of satanic fanatics fervently dedicated to sacrificing their own lives in order to kill every American and their allies will never happen. The harsh bickering and hostilities over politics, race, religion, sexual preference, abortion, war, open-borders, over-crowding, crime, taxes and jokes in Free Speech will suddenly come to a screeching halt and each side will embrace the other with love and respect. Our sheriff’s office and two certain commissioners will bury the hatchet someplace other than between each other’s shoulder blades and take their families on a Christmas vacation together to Disney World. Tyrone will return to the utopian depiction of a Norman Rockwell painting from the fifties. Peachtree City will still be Peachtree City, but void of Wal-Mart. The Loch Ness Monster will emerge from Lake Peachtree dressed as a McIntosh cheerleader performing wondrous miracles of free housing, education and healthcare to every U.S. citizen as well as 10 million illegal aliens and all of their descendants. The greatest oil reserve in history will be discovered beneath Jordan Sales and Salvage and a gallon of gas will once again be cheaper than a two-liter bottle of Coke. Fantasy can be fun, but let’s look at the truth. We freely humiliate and disparage each other without restraint, yet rarely is a condemning word ever spoken against those hell-bent on our destruction. Why? Because, admit it or not, we are afraid of retaliation. This is the beginning of the end of the freedom we so cherish in America. Terrorism experts agree that an attack of catastrophic proportions on a major U.S. city is inevitable. While we ravenously devour each other like wounded and starving wolves, our enemies celebrate our efforts and furtively plan their next deadly attack. We have become as the legendary city of Troy and our Trojan Horse already awaits for nightfall within our gates. Yet, many have hope. Their youthful laughter provides a healing quality like a good medicine. Envy those who have hope and live their lives showing kindness, patience and love, and most importantly, seek to comprehend the reason for their joyous hope.

In last week’s paper, there was an article about how easy it is to appeal your property tax assessment here in Fayette County. Don’t believe them. When I moved into my second house in Peachtree City, the appraised value was higher than what we had paid for it. I appealed it, went to the tax assessor’s office, filled out all the paperwork, and even supplied them with comps in the neighborhood from my Realtor. Then I received a notice in the mail with a new assessment, higher, and with no explanation whatsoever. However, I didn’t need an explanation. The message came through loud and clear. You can’t fight City Hall, and if you try, you will be punished. Don’t believe what these Fayette County officials say to the paper.

Your chances of getting a decent meal at [a restaurant] in Tyrone are about as good as driving through Tyrone without getting a speeding ticket.

I’m watching to see which commissioners vote in favor of these high density developments because I’ll be voting against them next time. We need to keep the at least five acres per home rule.

To the unnamed PTC resident who brought shame to the entire community for her actions and cruel words to the employee at Neiman-Marcus at Lenox, it just goes to prove that money buys many things, including an $80,000 car and two forgiving poodles, but it does not buy class. I pray the door you slammed in her life opens another one for her in the near future.

I would like to know why no one in the marshal’s office or sheriff’s office will do anything about two loose dogs in my neighborhood. I have made numerous calls at all hours of the day and night only to have someone come out and do nothing other than talk to the owners. The 10-day list is a joke that they ask me to keep because the people are good for that length of time. One time I had a deputy tell me that there was nothing he could do even after I showed him photos of the dog using my yard as his toilet and after he watched the dog walk alone down the street. I knew that there was no reason to call again after the dogs chased him out of their driveway. I have a video of one of the dogs chasing a child who was riding a bike. People in my neighborhood walk with a stick or a bat. Animal control will not come after 5 or on weekends.

Kudos to the Fayette County Animal Shelter staff for initiating Saturday hours. This increased access, plus other positive changes mentioned in The Citizen’s Aug. 24 article, demonstrate a genuine concern for the welfare of our county’s unwanted pets. Thank you, Director Miguel Abi-Hassen, for caring.

Once an agency of government is given the responsibility for drug enforcement, given the profit mark-up, corruption will be inevitable.

With just a few clicks of my mouse, I found myself on www.fayettecountymaps.com. Last week’s letter writers who complained about rising property tax bills should be ashamed. They all know that the “fair market value” that they are being assessed on their tax bills are at least $100,000 less than they would ever sell their home for.

I would like to know how a 16-year-old with pot in his car on school grounds (remember zero tolerance) gets a slap on the hand but yet I heard about a group of boys who toilet-papered a house (unknowingly happened to be a teacher) on the weekend, received discipline from the school, probation of six months, court costs, six-week class plus money. I’d like to know who his parents know. Go figure.

I’ve seen so many others, but I am surprised no one has mentioned my own pet traffic peeve: People crossing or making left turns into Ga. Highway 74, Ga. Highway 54, or Peachtree Parkway that pull (almost) halfway across and stop, not realizing that the back end of their vehicles are still within the lanes of moving cross traffic.

Our Secretary of Transportation, a fellow named Mineta, I believe, said today that the government will demand that auto makers improve some vehicle gas mileages from 21.5 miles per gallon to 23.0 by 2011. Of course this is not nearly as much improvement as what extra fuel we will be burning by 2011. I suppose the government got permission from the oil companies beforehand for such a grand gesture. We are being told by the government how well off we are with $3 gasoline and doubled heating oil prices, since Europe is paying much more. The much more of course is per gallon, not per person, as our economy is based on more and bigger cars than Europe. Personally, I think the oil companies have been paid back by now for the large bonuses and termination fees some of our leaders have garnered.

Car blinker: I had to laugh but he/she is correct. The writer asked for an occasional blinker to signal that you are turning. Just count the vehicles that use their signals. Not many! It is a law, isn’t it?

Now this is funny: we’ve got illegals begging for work on street corners and legals begging for handouts in Atlanta parks. Seems like we’re deporting the wrong group.

Whistle-blowers get fired or killed, not because they are wrong, but because they speak up for injustice or dishonesty.

This is to the woman who was cleaning her nose with the linen napkin at Chin Chin’s in PTC last Sunday evening: Buy a packet of tissues!

Do you really think that Mars will be as large as the moon? Is the Internet a reliable source for a news story? Is the Easter bunny for real?

To Carolyn Cary, ace reporter: I, too, received that easily-verifiable-as-horsehockey e-mail about Mars being closer than ever (even though it’s further now than two years ago). The only difference is that I did not send it on to anyone. The upside is that you have ensured for yourself seven years of good luck. Plus you’re going to get a check from Bill Gates, or is it Land’s End, or ...?

Ever considered checking sources before printing a story? This hoax has doing the rounds for a while now.

Shame on this newspaper for being so naive as to have printed something so silly as your article about Mars coming so close to earth that it will look as close as our own Moon. Oh, and that this will be the last time for some 60,000 years. No. 1, you can’t always believe everything that you get in an e-mail that has been sent to everybody on an e-mail list, but more importantly, No. 2, as a newspaper you have and continue to have a credibility problem when you can’t even research some specious e-mails for their validity before you publish them as news in your paper. I’d be pretty embarrassed if I were you. Next thing you know you’ll be printing articles about other silly ideas, extolling them as fact, such as the idea that the blacks in our community are disenfranchised because the system of voting we’ve had here for decades is racist, or that the Democratic Party is alive in well in Fayette, ready to take back control from the evil Republicans, or worse yet, that Steve Brown “was” the best candidate for mayor when your editor “liked” him, but now is no longer the best candidate when this same editor “changes” his mind. Time to get off your can and start doing a little investigating before you start printing every little tidbit of information that happens to land in your e-mail inbox. BTW, for those of you who wonder about the truth or falsity of these and many other e-mails, try going to www.snopes.com. They give you the facts, and they don’t even claim to be a newspaper.

Why is it so hard for many people to understand why one can admire and even want to pay our soldiers more, and at the same time want them out of the quagmire in Iraq? That is not rocket science. We have got to get out of this terrible polarization where one must choose the same side on everything proposed by an administration. One can be against abortion and for welfare; against too much debt and for more human programs by cutting in other areas, for a heavy defense budget but against invading Iraq. Vote for the best of both parties.

I’m just wondering. God created everything, right? Does “everything” include God as well?

08-24-05

Silent vigils are a fine way to honor those who have given their all. But these days the silence must be broken to insure that more don’t fall.

Hey, Tyrone, you’re killing us all with all your comments. Save some room for us Peachtree City folks. Get your own paper and own Free Speech.

According to the grapevine, the city of Tyrone has contracted with an entertainment company to begin offering horse and carriage rides through the slower-paced, antique town. Drivers caught speeding will be fined and sentenced to shovel the streets. The city council must be getting arm-weary from doing all the shoveling by themselves.

Anyone that has lived near Tyrone for any time (I have lived in PTC for 24 years) knows or should know that Tyrone has ALWAYS been a speed trap. While I have never had a ticket there, a very good friend was once ticketed for doing 2 mph over one of their ever-changing limits (at night on a clear evening, no traffic). In fact, this is one of the reasons I didn’t purchase a home there, trains being the other.

If you live along one of the roads with a new lowered speed limit, stick a sign in your yard warning motorists of the change, and the associated speed trap. Band together and don’t speed. Let them know that missing revenue will not be made up by shady attempts to harm the public. It’s like adding insult to injury, making us drive slower as we’re all trying to move out of town. Oh, yeah, and is there still time to sign up for a booth during the Founders Day celebrations? It would be a fitting place to let residents sign the petition for the mayor’s recall.

The Tyrone town management refuses to publish the minutes of their previous council meeting until AFTER the subsequent meeting. They did manage to publish five, count them, five, dating back to June, previous council meeting minutes on Aug. 18, just prior to last Thursday’s council meeting. However, the previous minutes were released just AFTER the Aug. 18 meeting. If published, it would have been noted that several citizens requested lowering of speed limits, more stop signs, more enforcement, etc. Having these minutes would have added credibility to those citizens speaking in defense of the changes and negating the article in The Citizen, Councilman Letourneau’s previous comments excepted.

When I first moved to Georgia 13 years ago, I fell in love with the town of Tyrone. I have now lived in Tyrone for eight of those 13 years and am saddened by what the cute little town of Tyrone has become. No longer do you know the police officers and they know you. Instead of a smile and a “hello” you get a scowl and stare. No longer do you drive through town and appreciate the old buildings and people visiting the park. Instead you are forced to look at half-built strip malls and strategically placed speed limit signs. In my opinion there are two sure signs that your community has gone down the dumper: one is a gas station with a huge sign in the window that says, Check Cashing,” and the other would be the addition of a Dollar Store. We now have both. Neither of these two places draws a very desirable clientele. Our park looks like something you’d be more likely to see in Riverdale than Tyrone and we have a mayor and two council members who have demonstrated again and again that Tyrone is up for sale to the highest bidder which lately has been John Wieland. 155 homes on half-acre lots? Have you seen what the “high dollar“ homes in Southhampton have brought to this town? Can you imagine what type of residents a neighborhood of cluster shacks on half-acre lots will attract? Unfortunately the attempted recall of the mayor is bound to fail. Tyrone voters must have been asleep during the last election when they voted Sheryl Lee back into office. Her opponent was far more qualified and definitely seemed to have Tyrone’s best interest in mind. As for Mike Smola, once again, the voters have themselves to blame. Ronnie Cannon wasn’t perfect but he was a good, honest, friendly man who loved his town. Once again the voters weren’t paying attention and voted in a guy that makes me feel like I need a shower each time I see him around town. Wake up, Tyrone, I don’t like the direction we’re going any more than you do but the voters have no one to blame but themselves. I personally pledge to do all I can to replace the mayor and most of the council next time they are up for election. I ask that all of you do the same.

You should have been at the Tyrone Council meeting last Thursday. Smola spent $6,000 of our hard-earned dollars on a drawing of what the new library was going to look like on Shamrock Park. The only problem is that the county has a provision in the deed that Shamrock reverts back to the county if not used for recreation. Thank God for the wisdom of the county commissioners. So Smola spent $6,000 on a drawing for a piece of land that they can’t build on. When he was questioned about the other sites, and why there was no drawing on them, we got some strange answers indeed. When questioned on Handley Park, he said it was too close to the railroad tracks. It was brought to his attention that Shamrock was even closer to the railroad tracks. It was never mentioned that the kids at Handley Park have been using Porta-potties for five years. If put at Handley, are we, like the children, going to have a row of outhouses, lined up in front of the library at Handley? He stated another site would cost $300,000 for two acres. He was asked where the two acres were. He said he didn’t know. That was what he was told two acres in downtown would cost. Then, the strangest answer of all. Melissa Hill, of recall fame, asked why the current site where the library stands wasn’t considered. He had no answer for that one at all. In all his wisdom, he never considered expanding on the current library. It seemed that he felt the current building should be torn down and a tennis court put in its place. That would mean tennis players would be knocking tennis balls over on the graves on our dead ancestors laying in the graveyard on two sides of it. I am very angry at the way they have let [the park] go down. My thought is they let it run down on purpose, so when they wanted to start putting buildings on it, it would be such an eyesore, people would go along with the program. Shamrock was fixed up for us by Fayette County as a park for our children and handed to Tyrone on a silver platter, all they had to do was keep it up, which they never have. Now, because they have their own agenda, i.e., new offices for themselves and a library on Shamrock, they want to take the park from our children for their own vanity.

If hilarious jokes about politicians were illegal, Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live and 95 percent of talk radio would vanish in a nation where the ability to laugh at ourselves is already an endangered species. I would venture to say that any politician that openly threatens to sue over some inane joke casts their political future into the same arena as the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I have to side with Mr. Beverly about the complaints raised by Mrs. Janet Smola about the items in the paper about her. To my knowledge, The Citizen has respected the privacy of private citizens and has only given public politicians and the like some criticism. So, since she chose to be on the school board, her actions and indiscretions are OK to discuss. In that way, what Bill Clinton, Janet Smola and any other public person does is newsworthy and fair game. What you do as a public official or what you do with a public official is open for discussion. I say that The Citizen is alright in what it does.

You go, Janet Smola. This “newspaper” has gone downhill and has lost whatever semblance of balance it used to have. The continual trashing of our community and the personal attacks feeds the fires of negativity. This paper does more damage to our great county than anything it purports to “report” on. Reporting used to be an art with balance and information as the goal. No more, at least in this publication. The trashy Free Speech section where vitriolic slams are the norm is now what people think of when they hear the once fine and proud name The Citizen Newspaper.

Giving up a name will end the Free Speech game.

School’s in session and we as drivers need to remember that there are lots of small children around. In a community with very few sidewalks we need to be aware of them walking on the streets,curbs and lawns. I beg of you, slow down. Residents of Quail Hollow, I am talking to you too.

Free Speech and Letters to the Editor have got me utterly confused. I thought that in order for a candidate to get elected to public office in Fayette County that it was imperative for them, at every available opportunity, to be out on the streets campaigning. I’ve heard that in Washington, D.C., politicians only go out on the streets after they’re elected? Can somebody please clarify this issue?

Free Speech is like an advertisement for a new prescription drug. It should come with a warning label. While it provides much needed relief for the vast majority, possible side effects, although rare, might include costly trips to the drugstore to purchase extra Valium and blood-pressure medication.

Friends of Tom Farr: You have the right to remain silent.

I too would like to know what happened to the Code Enforcement in PTC. There are three homes in Waterwood Bend. One of them is well taken care of. The former model home is a disgrace. It used to be on the cover of a former PTC magazine. The bermuda lawn is gone replaced with 12- to 20-inch weeds and the shrubbery has all but engulfed the home. The home across the street is worse. The Beverly Hillbillies lived better than this before they inherited their fortune. I don’t think that a paintbrush has ever come in contact with that house. Instead of Code Enforcement driving by and looking, they need to get out of the car and do some footwork.

Has anyone noticed that the grass in Fayette County has not been cut lately? You would think that their lawn mowers were broken. Ga. Highway 54 has not been cut in how long? If you go down by Hood Avenue, the schools over there are full of brush including one of the playgrounds out in front. Down by Cleveland Elementary I would not put my child on those bike paths for anything due to the brush on the sides of the roads. It has really become an issue to me as I drive to the airport and back daily and I cannot tell when I cross the Clayton County-Fayette County line on Ga. Highway 85. You would think that is where some of our taxes are going to: Rain, cost of gas, heat, whatever. Just please cut the grass.

News flash for Code Enforcement in PTC. The signs that you guys put up which say, “Keep PTC Beautiful,” put trash in its place, are not working. Why don’t we try, “$500 fine for littering”? Hello? Do you really think that these low-life punks who throw entire bags of fast-food waste out of their vehicles take heed to these lame beautification signs? Look around, trash is everywhere. We have volunteer squads which clean up on weekends on the Parkway. There is also a guy who cleans up McIntosh Trail most weekends in his golf cart. Why should all these people have to do PTC’s job? Where are our tax dollars going? I hear constant complaints from parents about their teens being harassed by PTC’s finest over bogus offenses and I marvel at how littering is totally off the radar screen. Clayton County is on our door step, folks. We need to wake up and protect what we have built here before it is too late.

I love Peachtree City. I am especially happy with both the police and fire departments. We are very lucky to have such good representation in both departments. I would like to say a special big thank you to the police for keeping tabs on the sexual offenders in the city. A big “Well done!” to the PTC police for nabbing [a sexual predator suspect] last week. With loads of kids in the city, miles of cart paths, and heavily wooded areas at every turn, I am grateful for our police having such a watchful eye. Keep up the good work. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Have you noticed when somebody’s kid gets arrested, they try to make you believe it is Chief Murray’s fault? I say, go for it, Chief. Catch ’em all! Many more folks want you to get these bad, out-of-control kids out of our schools, and off our streets. Keep up the good work.

A police department cannot function effectively without the support of the community. That support is based on a foundation of mutual respect and trust. It is clear that many Peachtree City citizens do not respect or trust their police department. Chief Murray should be held accountable by the city manager, mayor and council members. We all saw the results of the Fayetteville PD after many years of a hands-off approach to their city’s police department. The many fine officers of the Peachtree City Police Department don’t deserve the reputation that their leaders have brought them.

To all of you who are contemplating moving out of Peachtree City because of the police, I have lived here since 1972 and only have one thing to say to you: Move!

Didn’t the Ice Cream Bandit go in a school and then got sentenced to three years jail time and yet the President’s grandson gets hugs and probation after a burglary? What’s the real story? I thought burglars got jail time here.

In response to the parent of the “good student” who is being harassed by the police, go ahead do us all a favor and move. Good students do not commit vandalism that costs thousands of dollars to repair. They do not purposely bat rocks at a neighbor’s window to break it (good parents do not take three months to replace that window). Shooting at birds in their backyard with the BB gun their parents gave them is not a Christian family value. Breaking and entering someone’s garage and stealing parts off of a vintage BMW is not a Christian family value. Can it with the “my son is a good student” routine. Everyone knows it is not true. Kudos to the kids using condoms on the cart paths, at least you are smarter than your parents. Now if we could just get you to pick up after yourselves.

To the person who wrote, “They hate traffic directing regularly, as evidenced by the schools having to hire their own.” Hello, the Police Department includes the salaries for those crossing guards in their budget and not the schools. In addition, I can guarantee you that the city’s guards are paid less and gripe a whole lot less than some other people who act as crossing guards in other jurisdictions. I suggest that you get facts before spouting off at the mouth like the rest of these Free Speechers.

The goats are coming to eat the excess kudzu. Now if council passes this fiasco we are certainly in for trouble. I can just see the goat kidnappings that are to occur. We will find them in the high school hallways, maybe even at the police station, tied up. One on top of the chief of police’s house may even occur. It is also the culture of some of our citizens to eat goat. They may even replace deer meat. I do hope these areas have very good fences. Goats are agile. What will we do with the baby goats? Can they eat kudzu, or just milk? I suggest some giraffes and elephants to get the tall stuff.

From my kitchen window this morning I watched a family of deer, a rabbit, a squirrel, a chipmunk, a cardinal, a chickadee, and a red bellied woodpecker having breakfast. At the end of the day I rode my golf cart through a wooded path and heard the frogs and crickets and watched the fire flies, and everyone I met smiled and waved. I love Peachtree City.

Wonder why hardly any volunteer firemen report when they are needed? I don’t know except what I read in the newspaper by someone seeming to know. Is there an active program to replenish these volunteers? Does the fire department want volunteer firemen and women? My impression is they don’t since the excuse for it not working is that everyone is too busy and the training is so hard. It used to work this way: advertise for volunteers but only sign up those who are healthy and are willing to attend training meetings on a regular schedule. If they don’t, throw them out. You will find that they will come and they will go, except for a few long-timers, but a well-run program will keep a staff, usually larger than you need. It will mean that the regular firemen will spend more of their time training these volunteers. This suggestion is not meant to replace a paid fire department, merely to help with our safety when needed, and not have to pay so many all of the time. If we posted two policemen at every business we could reduce robberies.

The rather long explanation of the fire department’s Peachtree City operation in last week’s paper didn’t mention a single dollar amount that anything costs. If we set budgets by verbiage and anecdotes only, and comparisons to other areas, this may be one of the reasons they are in need. This explanation reminded me of one given once as to why 100 policemen show up at a bank robbery and patrol the place diligently for days afterward. Is it to prevent the robbers from coming back there, or is it politics and comfort to the bank employees? We may need 25 more firemen, but we will never know by those involved justifying it.

In Mr. Brown’s letter to the editor he made reference to “my council.” I think the council belongs to the people or maybe it is “King Brown.” He also appears to be taking credit for SPLOST funding. Didn’t Mr. Brown campaign against that, even to the point that an ethics complaint was filed against him? He also brags that Peachtree City has the most open government. Didn’t Peachtree City get sued and lose for having closed meetings regarding the Target store? Steve Brown, we hope you are in your final term.

Look out, Fayette County. Kathy Cheney already got your right to smoke taken from you because she didn’t like it. Now she is coming after your right to assemble and pray because she doesn’t like that either. Beware of her and everyone else like her who believe her rights supersede those of the rest of the world. If you think it can’t happen here, just watch.

Okay. Kathy Cheney got rid of smoking; now is trying to get rid of praying. She needs to focus on getting Tyrone squared away and stay out of PTC.

Kathie Cheney, with due respect to the pain and suffering you have endured and your endless tirade of badgering smokers and business owners, your campaign for the position of Joan of Arc will surely suffer if you chose to jump into the religious arena also.

Kathie Cheney, get a life.

Mayors and other public officials please note: Vocal prayer is like a naked body. Perfectly natural in private but not to be needlessly enforced on others.

Is our Holy City of Georgia ever going to repair the not-used-anymore rail spur crossing on Huddleston Road? Oh, I forgot, it’s probably being used as a “natural” speed control device on that heavily patrolled detour speed trap. Meanwhile, our hard-earned tires, shocks, hub caps, suspension, and dental work is constantly being abused at the slowest of speeds. Maybe I can run an ad in this esteemed newspaper asking for volunteers. We can all meet one Saturday with bags of concrete, close the road, and repair it ourselves by filling in the holes. I figure the cost would be less than $100 bucks. I’ll supply the cold adult beverages.

I was shocked and stunned by the Atlanta paper. When I skimmed the headline, “Public defender caught with stolen property,” I just assumed it was like Clayton County or DeKalb or Fulton. I can’t believe it was Fayette County’s public defender. Please, Fayette Citizen, identify the honest folks in government so we can put ‘em in a museum.

The shortage of personnel or equipment when weather delays throw off the schedule is the price paid for low-cost airline tickets. Successful airlines redistribute their personnel most effectively but a lean machine can come up short at times. Remember, the money saved on your ticket may have to pay for a hotel room when delays happen. You get what you pay for.

To the person who wrote that Greg Norred misled the “public” in his letter to the editor (8/10/05): I think that you need to do a little more “investigating.”. Mr. Norred openly in a letter to the editor a while back admitted to being a personal friend of Bruce’s. Also, while you are doing your “investigating,” you may discover that Greg Norred is much more than just a security company. And yes, I know Mr. Norred. I also know Sheriff Johnson and Bruce Jordan and I am proud of our sheriff and Bruce for all they do for our county and will stand behind them, no matter how much Free Speech is written or Letters to the Editor. So enjoy your Free Speech, but you could at least sign your name in an open letter to the editor like Mr. Norred did, unless of course YOU have something to hide.

War college graduates learn advanced battlefield strategy and tactics which prove equally effective in the political arena. Discerning one’s target is of the utmost importance. If a selected opponent appears to be invincible, a weakness must be revealed. If no obvious chink in the armor exists, one must be created. Until recently, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office had a 30-year record of excellence and outstanding duty. There were no chinks in the armor. Such a reputation is not easily challenged. Furthermore, this legacy seemed evident to be inherited by a well-respected and highly-qualified successor. Thus, a chink was formulated. Apparently, this is what Greg Dunn has surreptitiously accomplished with Sheriff Johnson and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Dunn, a war college graduate with a master’s degree, studied Sheriff Johnson to the point of being able to predict his reactions in certain situations. Dunn, with the assistance of Peter Pfeifer, his top lieutenant, devised a state of affairs whereby Sheriff Johnson would respond predictably. In turn, this allowed Dunn and his cronies the perfect opportunity to launch a counter-offensive in the media, all the while making Sheriff Johnson appear to be the bad guy and the aggressor. With a tarnishing shadow looming over the lustrous reputation of the sheriff’s office, Greg Dunn’s furtive plans of getting himself elected sheriff has markedly improved. If that does happen, Peter Pfeifer will most likely become commission chairman. The boys from New York and “Jerzee” will then have Fayette County locked up tighter than Mayor Richard “King” Daley had Chicago in the sixties. Truth stands on its own merit, and this may or may not stand. It’s merely the viewpoint of one who has no personal connection to the sheriff’s office, be it friend or associate, but does believe that too much power is dangerous. Good soldiers may never associate with or get to know their colonel or general, but they’ll stand steadfast alongside those who have served and led them with distinguished valor and honor for so many decades when they fall under attack.

Drivers turning right off of Ga. Highway 85 onto Beauregard Boulevard: An occasional blinker would be greatly appreciated.

You are absolutely right about the “flashing yellow lights” meaning caution and not stop. The people that stop at a flashing yellow light are the same ones that roll through red lights and stop signs to make a right turn as though they were yield signs. Even more ironic is when the traffic light is out completely, folks drive right through, when, by law, the intersection is to be treated as 4-way stops. The sooner Wal-Mart stops selling drivers’ licenses, the better.

Why doesn’t Fayette County have online motor vehicle registration renewals? Of 21 counties in metro Atlanta, Fayette is the only one without this convenience. I contacted Tax Commissioner Wingo at the tax office and he told me it is because the county commissioners will not approve the form of payment. He, like myself, has no idea why their approval is needed. Mr. Wingo told me it has a one-time cost to the county of $495 to set up the software, and all the cost after that are borne by the motor vehicle owner doing the online renewal. He also told me that he had twice asked the county commissioners to approve the process and twice they had refused, the last time using the excuse that people should not “charge” their motor vehicle registrations. Isn’t it about time the Fayette County commissioners came into the 21st century and made this convenience available to the citizens of Fayette County? After all, aren’t they there to serve the public?

Brian Cardoza, Fayette County Development Authority president, is elated about attracting a textile manufacturer. With President Bush signing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) deal, we can kiss that new business goodbye. Why not attract some professional upper-tier jobs so we don’t have to spend two hours in traffic every day? The county just doesn’t get it.

As a former employee of Piedmont Fayette Hospital, I felt I just had to respond to the upset parent of the 12-year-old who waited all day in the ER to be seen. First of all, I know that administration would want to apologize for such an extended wait. They are continually tracking ER waiting times and working to make the process smoother and faster but sometimes there are factors beyond their control. I agree that there needs to be “a new definition of the word ‘emergency.’” But, not by the hospital which has very clear triage guidelines and protocols in place for each patient so that the most emergent patients get seen first. It is the public who uses the Emergency Room as their private physician’s office for minor complaints such as sunburn, chronic headache, chronic abdominal pain, sore throat and other cold or viral symptoms, etc., that needs to understand the word “emergency.” When I say chronic, I mean long-standing complaints. Any of these and many more could and should be evaluated at their primary care physician’s office or an urgent care center which would free up the ER for TRUE emergency cases and decrease the wait times significantly for patients like your child. The fact that your doctor’s office called ahead does not guarantee a speedy visit. As I mentioned earlier, each patient is triaged upon arrival and brought to the back of the ER according to those guidelines and how full the ER is at the time. Obviously, the triage nurse and, later, the ER physician concluded that your child did not have a life-threatening emergency which seems to have been accurate since (s)he was released without surgery or admission for observation. Meanwhile, it is completely possible that the ER staff and the CT staff were caring for other patients who DID have life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, overdoses, etc. I also worked for a large medical center downtown and I’m sorry to say that the wait times there and at most other Atlanta hospitals are much longer than what you experienced. No one expected PFH to be as popular and busy as it is and expansion is taking place all over the facility to include building a larger ER. Meanwhile, they are giving superlative care with the small amount of space that they have. Our community has a top-notch hospital that we can be proud of. That’s why they were named to the “Top 100 Hospitals” list.

Fayetteville better get its act together. You expect to tax us near PTC levels but you can’t even make the city look nice by doing some decent landscaping along the roads and major intersections? What’s the deal? And the next time I call the city and make a street light request for the safety and security of our subdivision, I don’t expect to hear your receptionist to ask me how I plan to pay for it.

What has happened to the plans of the Famous Fish Company to develop a location in Fayetteville? They are running out of time to open in “Late summer 2005.”

Now the Flamingo Jerks are carrying signs along with their little toys. How sad. Not enough attention lately? None of the acts commenting on you lately? And how bad do you feel that you didn’t get called up to the stage last Saturday in Fayetteville? Life’s not fair for fading flamingos.

In response to the person that wrote our Schools have opened with more students that we can handle. I don’t believe the cause is kids coming from Fulton. Have you notice the amount of children from the illegal immigrants that have been moving to Fayette County, most of them to Peachtree City? At least the ones from Fulton are Americans; they are not breaking any federal laws.

In regard to the person wanting ”old folks” off the road, and suggesting they take a cab, I would think that “a senior citizen” would enjoy giving up their driving privileges if they were relieved of all tax. Then the burden would be on you to pay all the tax for ”your” highways and “your” great schools. By the way, where do you do your grocery shopping? I never see arrogant older people, or any arrogant people where I shop. Sounds like you have a misdirected anger. Seek help before your obvious rage hurts someone.

It is one thing to ask for help, it is not supposed to be your job. Just like the smokers who don’t want to acknowledge the harm their smoke does to others, panhandlers don’t want to see the damage they do to a city and to themselves. I hope the Atlanta City Council does and moves to protect all of us. Permit and support organized, effective help by setting reasonable limits on panhandling (which damages the person and the community). The 24/7 Gateway Center works like United Fund. It funnels support to those who need it while holding them accountable not to squander it. Help people, don’t enable the con artists.

Since everyone is complaining about something, let’s complain about having too much rain.

Having lived in Massachusetts for a few years before moving back here to Georgia, I have seen what the tax per gallon of gas can do to the prices. Gasoline at the pump used to be so much cheaper in Georgia than everywhere else I ever traveled. Not any more. In the North, the states require a sticker to be placed on the pump stating how much in taxes (federal, state and local) that you are paying for each gallon of gas you buy. Having contacted a relative up there recently, they said they are paying over 80 cents out of every $2.49 per gallon in taxes. What are we paying in Georgia in taxes for that same gallon at $2.49-plus? I know it’s a lot less, meaning the gas station owners are making a bigger profit here. Why aren’t they placing those stickers on our pumps here? Please research this and write an article about it, front page news. I searched the Internet and haven’t found any such report. Maybe your article could help lower gas prices in Georgia. It’s time someone stopped the gouging here.

In Iraq are we just trading one form of terrorism for another, that of Sadaam Hussein for religious terrorism? Are we just paving the way for an Iranian/Shiite form of democracy that will limit the rights of Iraqi women long used to the most freedoms allowed in any Arab country? When we left Vietnam, how did we put Americans at risk? I know how being there cost American lives, but how did leaving put us at risk? Civil wars can be assisted but not won by outside interventions. It is up to the people of each country to chose what price they are willing to pay for freedoms. Communism’s own limitations cause its downfall. By forcing their military expenditures with our own military spending we hastened the financial downfall of the Soviet Union better than with all the lives lost in too many years of warfare. Walk softly but carry a big stick. Be careful where you use it.

If the staff writers keep trying eventually one of them will simply say our dollars’ worth of taxes to be paid in November will go up “x” percent from last year, without all the confusing statements about this going up, this going down, and libraries being built. The statement about it going to cost a third of a million dollars to roll back the millage rate enough to offset the reevaluation of property is rubbish. It cost nothing. If it isn’t rolled back, it cost us taxpayers one-third of a million. Anyway isn’t the library cost in the bond for the library and is included in the bonds repayment part of the budget and not as a separate item? Who do they take us for: children?

In my experience, all liberals are not takers and all conservatives are not givers. The question that many conservatives, liberals and moderates are asking today is, “Why was it necessary to enter this war based on lies?” This moderate student of history often wondered why we waited so long to enter W.W. II. Americans are not afraid of war. Would earlier intervention in W.W. II have saved the lives of many Jews and others from Hitler’s barbarism? The American people are a generous giving people who support their troops. Why did this administration think that the American people would not support a war to defend the lives of the victims of Saddam? Why did this administration feel that only out of fear of destruction on our home soil would we support entering Iraq? Without weapons of mass destruction, was Saddam a threat to American soil? Has his capture and the overthrow of his government made the world a safer place to live? Why was the intelligence which was available regarding students learning how to fly, but not how to land not investigated further? Who is benefiting financially from this war? Why are our troops fighting for their lives with inadequate equipment? Why are parents of our soldiers buying their sons and daughters protective gear? Why are the giving people of America not being asked to tighten their belts, plant victory gardens, raise money, etc., as they were asked during W.W. II in order to support our effort in Iraq? It is not just the those identified by Dr. Herndon as “anti-war tea sipping liberals” who are asking these questions of this administration. Over 60 percent of the American people have lost confidence in the stated reasons given for why we are in Iraq. Dr. Herndon’s article did not answer the question, Why?

The Gulf of Tonkin, weapons of mass destruction: I guess Texans will use any excuse to triple the budget deficit with a war with no basis in reality.

Vietnam veterans lament the lack of respect they received for putting their lives on the line for a futile cause. If a draft is instituted, I guarantee that the outcry from this pampered generation will make the outcries from the 1960s look tame. American patriotism extends only to the boundaries of sacrifice from people we don’t know. Wave the flag, but don’t expect us to sacrifice our children or stop driving our SUVs.

Christians, get a clue. Jesus never mentioned abortion or homosexuals. He spoke constantly of relief for the poor. Your response is to support a President who cuts all programs for the poor. Read your Bible once in a while and forgo your bigotry. What a novel idea.

The President is pushing Lance Armstrong to run for a Republican office just because he is popular for being an excellent bicycle rider. And of course getting rich from Post Office money. We have enough of this kind of politician: left his wife and kids for a loose rock star and is living with her now. Newt is the master at this stuff and may still be president. Isn’t it odd that apparently now “values” mean the ability to accumulate money?

08-17-05

I read with interest the article in Wednesday’s Citizen on, “Tyrone lowers many speed limits.” The gist of the whole article states that speed limits were reduced because traffic fines revenue was lower than projected. Finally toward the end of the article Councilman Paul Letourneau indicated the objective for reducing the speed limits is to prevent injuries and save lives. Nowhere in the article is it mentioned that accidents, injuries or deaths were on the increase due to the current speed limits. Have these statistics increased and if so were they on these streets? I doubt that either is true and the honest fact is that speed limits were lowered to raise revenue. Why not put up a few stop signs and have the police stake-outs to ticket motorists who do not come to a full stop? I would guess that the city officials, their friends and family members will not abide by these lowered speed limits. I would suggest that the police chief give his officers a list of people who do not have to abide by the lower speed limits. We periodically come to Tyrone to shop and eat out. I think we can find other places to shop and eat.

This is rich. Tyrone has learned that they will not be receiving as much money from traffic fines as previously. Instead of being pleased since that means more motorists are obeying the laws and being safe, they are worried about their economic shortfall. They then decrease the speed limits on five roads in and around their town to ridiculously low levels so police can issue more tickets. Councilman Letourneau says, “The town has a reputation of being a speed trap but that’s not true.” Well, if it wasn’t true before, it will be now and he has the nerve to hide behind the excuse of trying to reduce the number of accidents instead of the real reason which is raising more money for the town coffers. For example, Dogwood Trail is a rural road flanked by open pastures and barely any homes. There is no reason to reduce the speed limit there to 35 mph other than to help balance Tyrone’s budget. Surely, there must be better ways to do it than this. Tyrone, please rethink this decision.

Tyrone says that they’re lowering their speed limits in the interest of safety. So where are the statistics? How many speed-related accidents have occurred on those road segments they’ve reduced the speed on? Of course, there are none. As Lee Williams pointed out in the article, the town council voted to lower the speed limit as a reaction to reduced revenue from speeding fines. If Paul Letourneau and other council members really believe that they took this action “to reduce the number of accidents,” then they should be able to talk about the statistics behind their policy. Unfortunately, the only statistics they’re concerned with have dollar signs in front of them.

I just finished reading this article and find it interesting that they are lowering the speed limit on Ashland Trail. I was one of the 16 or more residents of Windsong who were ticketed in less than a week by Tyrone’s finest for running the stop sign at the intersection of Ashland and McDade streets in Windsong subdivision. I guess I got so excited about seeing the first police car with all its lights flashing that I ran right through that stop sign. For more than a week, one and sometimes two of Tyrone’s finest were hiding up in a neighbor’s driveway watching this intersection during the afternoon rush hour from 5 to 6-6:30 p.m. They could have written many more tickets if they were monitoring the hundreds of cars using the autobahn, called Ga. Highway 74 that runs through Tyrone. I guess that’s too much trouble. It’s much easier to sit in someone’s driveway monitoring the 30 or so cars that use that intersection daily. Since I live on Ashland, I asked Officer Barney why they couldn’t monitor the speed on the hills in front of my house, and his reply was they can’t give speeding tickets on that stretch of road because the grade is greater than 7 percent. He went on to say the only ticket they could write would be for too fast for conditions, and that they could only write that ticket if someone was walking their dog along the road. In other words, you can drive as fast as you want up and down Ashland Trail and Tyrone’s finest can’t do a thing. As long as you stop at the stop sign for five minutes, you’re OK. I told Barney I guess someone would have to be injured or killed trying to turn into or out of their driveway before something happens, and he replied, “I guess so.”

After reading the article, “Tyrone lowers many speed limits,” I find it interesting that it is not about revenue. Give me a break. Tyrone does have a reputation of being a speed trap. People are slowing down because of the way the Tyrone police are lurking in every crack and corner. Still it did not generate enough revenue, so they will lower the limit in their words to “save lives.” Bull, again; it is all about money and why won’t the town manager and chief of police say so?

The problem with Mayor Sheryl Lee is that she thinks we cannot remember things beyond a month or two back. The mayor said that the Wieland land should be left as it is during her last campaign. Mayor Lee and Town Councilman Ronnie Cannon said that the sewer was not going to cause more residential development when it was established. Cannon said in the May 9, 2001, Citizen, “We do not want to sewer any residential development.” Unfortunately, we elected slippery Mike Smola instead of Cannon. Unfortunately again, Mayor Lee followed Councilman Smola’s destructive lead.

Tyrone residents. Now we know why the Tyrone government has not been taking care of Shamrock Park. It can only be kept a secret just so long. On the Town Council agenda [was] item # 6 authorization for mayor to request county release deed restriction on Shamrock Park. That deed restriction is Shamrock Park has to always be used for recreation or Shamrock Park reverts back to the county. A copy of the deed reveals the county owns Shamrock Park. Legal documents obtained show that Town Manager Barry Amos requested and received a letter dated Aug. 21, 2001, from the Georgia State Parks and Historic Site removing Shamrock Park from the Ga. State Parks registry as a park and transferred that land to now Handley Park. Legal documents also show that a letter obtained from the United States Department of the Interior dated Nov. 9, 2000, also states that Mr. Amos removed Shamrock Park from the National Parks registry and replaced it with Handley Park. How is this possible without knowledge of the Fayette County Commission? How can a town remove a park from the state and national parks registry when they don’t own the property? Oh, by the way, this transfer has only signatures by Barry Amos. Who is the mayor of Tyrone? Why didn’t she sign these legal documents? Fayette County Commission, deny the request by town of Tyrone to lift the deed restriction, take Shamrock Park away from town of Tyrone and manage it yourself. It would certainly be a great improvement to Tyrone.

Does anyone but me get the feeling the way Ginger Blackstone keeps showing up at the Tyrone Town Council and putting in her goodie-two shoes comments that she intends to run for council? That is a very scary thought.

Hey Tyrone YBA, got a question for you: Have any of your Little League coaches ever been arrested for breaking and entering? Oh, never mind, I just remembered TYBA can’t answer that because not all of your coaches had a background check.

I am all for amending the recall to include Mr. Letourneau, Mr. Smola, and Mr. Amos.

Is it true that Barry Amos got tennis elbow from holding cue cards for Mayor Lee?

Whoever you are, please stop the hate-filled attacks on Mike and Janet Smola. You don’t have to agree with anything they say or do, but it’s obvious you have a personal vendetta against them that is fueling this hate. It’s very easy to sit back and make anonymous and unsubstantiated remarks. I know this family and they don’t deserve to be defiled this way, no matter what your political beliefs, or theirs, may be. Enough is enough. Your comments have crossed the line of decency.

We need to remember that the posted speed limits are upper limits, not lower limits.

What do the code enforcement employees actually do? Our city is turning into a waste bin. Look around, Peachtree Parkway is a disgrace, not to mention the areas near fast food restaurants. I was in Sandown Creek the other day and noticed a home which had a small jungle of weeds four feet tall in the front yard. Does this meet code? Then I saw another house with a motor home in the back yard. PTC residents want to protect their property values. It is your job to enforce the codes and covenants of our fair city. None of us is particularly interested in becoming the next Clayton County.

One tool to fight gangs that will never be used: Deport any gang member who is an illegal alien. FBI says 50 percent of gangsters in large cities are illegal aliens. Deport the parents and family members who are also illegal aliens. Yeah, it’s too tough. We send our military in to tough places, but we’re not willing to be tough with thugs and criminals.

To the Georgia fan upset that an Auburn person is now working for The Citizen. I have to believe you are a Georgia fan because no Tech fan I know cares if Auburn is predicted to beat UGA for the SEC championship. I agree with you that the reporter should not be biased. I am an Auburn fan and I agree that Auburn will probably not win the SEC again this year. That honor will more than likely belong to LSU or Tennessee. This is the time of year that everyone has to hear from the hardcore blind Dawg fans. Please understand: I do not lump all UGA fans in this category. Just the ones that complain there are too many words and not enough pictures in the sports section. Your team is always the cream of the crop in the SEC. Your team will win the national championship. Tennessee is never a match for the Dawgs. Florida cheats every year they beat the Dawgs. The Dawgs usually dominate Auburn. Most of these assertions are proved wrong year after year. Last point to ponder. Since Greene is gone, who will the Dawgs put in to bail out DJ to save the Dawgs from a loss to Tech?

Yellow flashing traffic light means “Proceed with Caution,” not “Stop”! That would be the red flashing light. It is really scary how this basic driving concept is lost on so many Georgia licensed drivers. Funny part is they have no clue why you are beeping at them to go and then you get the friendly fist-waving and other lovely gestures.

Concerning the bothersome traffic issue at McDonough Road and Ga. Highway 54 which was mentioned in last week’s Free Speech, you are absolutely right that the driveway to the gas station is ridiculous. I should know since I built it. What you don’t know is that we tried repeatedly to get your county and state governments to allow us to place (at our expense) the driveway much further from the intersection. We even held up construction for a couple of weeks to get one, final answer from the county. They still refused, again. Nevertheless, we would still be willing to move this ridiculously located driveway, but this genuine public safety issue obviously takes a back seat to other less pressing issues.

I’d be curious to know how the 12 members of the Board of Equalization and the three members of the Board of Assessors came to be selected. I am willing to bet it’s all a result of patronage and good-ol’-boy connections.

My wife and I were amazed to see the tax comparison on the front page of the Aug. 10 paper. We have always thought Peachtree City was too expensive. They only take in about $180 more than Fayetteville on a $200,000 home. Fayetteville does not provide ball fields, pools, parks, library, they share fire and emergency medical with the county, they have less than half of the landscaping to maintain and they collect property tax from the huge Pavilion shopping center. Where is the money going? Even more surprising is Fayette County collecting $112 more than Peachtree City on a $200,000 home. The county commission pulls taxes from the entire county and they can’t maintain the place any better than rural Upson County. Fayette County won’t even put up a street light at darkened major intersections. Our hats off to Peachtree City residents; the others need to shape up.

Our schools have opened with more students than we can handle. That affects all of us Fayette County taxpaying citizens. I think it is time to throw out the freeloading out-of-county kids getting us to pay their costs. At $6,000 per student, I think Fulton should pay for them in Fulton County. Throw out the kids, or throw out the school board; easy choice. And thanks, Fayette County School Board, for your last tax increase. Is this how you spend our money?

Who had the idea to let Ticketmaster control how tickets are sold at the Peachtree City Amphitheater? I think people should call the amphitheater and voice their opinions at 770-631-0630.

It’s really sad to see so many people in Peachtree City get so wrapped up in complaining about The Fred. Don’t you people realize how lucky we are to live in a community that offers us such a great venue and (what I feel) a great diversity in talent? Granted, I may be a bit younger than many of the Fred’s patrons (early 40s), but my friends and I are having a great time seeing many of our favorite bands from the ‘70s playing right here in our back yard. I would also like to commend the people who run the amphitheater for listening to the people, and now offering the use of lawn chairs to lawn-seat patrons at no charge. I don’t follow all of the politics that surrounds the management of the amphitheater, but it seems many people just love to get in the mix and add their discontent. Life’s too short, people. Enjoy what we have, and let the people do their jobs and run The Fred as they know best.

What is it with the behavior of the audiences at the concert series this year? We attended both The Fred and The Villages amphitheater concert series last year, and with the exception of occasional boorish behavior by some attendees, most people seemed to be there to listen to the performers. But behavior this year at both venues has deteriorated. While we haven’t attended all the PTC concerts this year (sold some of the tickets since we weren’t that impressed with the lineup this year), the ones we did attend featured a middle-aged woman in the row in front of us standing up and dancing at a frenetic pace for virtually the entire time at each concert. The only time she sat down was to make out with her husband or boyfriend or to take another sip of wine. Behavior over at Fayetteville is no better. This past week during the Kenny Rogers concert we were in the midst of loud talkers. One of the men and his wife in the row behind us kept up a loud conversation during the warm-up acts, but at least they quieted down for most of Kenny Rogers act. Not so the three women in the row in front of us. Not only did they talk loudly and cackle through the warm-up acts, but they kept it up during Kenny Rogers performance. About a third of the way through his act, I had had enough and decided to ask them to leave if they wanted to talk instead of listen to the concert. Of course they were quite indignant over that, but at least they quieted down some. Between the exhibitionists at The Fred and the loud talkers at The Villages, the concerts just aren’t much fun anymore.

It won’t hurt my feelings if 4 Nights in October goes away. It is the only concert that is ever a problem with noise and end time. Apparently, if you are a Christian it is OK to play until midnight on a school night and five times louder than any other concert at the amphitheater. I am not opposed at all to the concert. I just don’t want it to sound like it’s in my living room at midnight. None of the other shows are like that. Why is it acceptable for 4 Nights to keep my family up all night?

I have heard of restaurants making it without serving breakfast, and even breakfast and lunch, but I have never heard of a restaurant making it without serving dinner and breakfast. Why would the management of the new Tennis Center restaurant allow such an obvious failure to begin? Starting to serve dinner later won’t cut it. First impressions are critical in this business. It would be better just to have good wheat bread hamburgers, beef hot dogs, and pizza, with fountain drinks, all day, than just lunch. It seems that someone who knows the tennis business doesn’t seem to know anything about retail, and vice-versa.

In Wilder’s play “Our Town,” one woman confides in another that she wants to travel to exotic places where “they don’t speak English and don’t even want to.” That exotic place is now any U.S. town with a concentration of Spanish-speaking “immigrants.”

Peter Pfeifer has not mislead the public but Greg Norred sure did in his letter to the editor. I did some research and, lo and behold, Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Drug Task Force and Greg Norred of Norred Securities at Hartsfield airport are buddies. Which explains why Mr. Norred is saddened because the board refused to provide funds for additional drug investigators.

Commissioner Pfeifer’s criticism of our ability to conduct law enforcement in Fayette County is depressing. Imagine being in uniform on your way to work each morning knowing that more and more dangerous criminals enter our county every month. On top of that, your budget is sliced and you don’t have the funds to add more deputies. To make matters worse, you are being sued by your own county board of commissioners and they are threatening to not participate in a program that provides federal seized drugs funds for vital equipment with no local match. No one becomes a sheriff’s deputy to get rich. The pay is low and our spouses get stressed out, but we appreciate helping others. Commissioners Dunn and Pfeifer have caused morale to drop significantly. Pfeifer has a habit of breaking his promises. He promised not to carry out political fighting through the newspapers, but he does it every week. He also promised to make himself available to listen to what other elected officials had to say, but he is absent and close-minded. There is almost no communication with the sheriff or the local cities. Pfeifer promised to have a spirit of cooperation, but he and Dunn try to break our self-esteem every chance they get.

I personally got a laugh last week at Greg Norred’s letter saying he is let down and saddened with the Board of Commissioners refusing to provide funds for the Sheriff Department to hire additional “drug” investigators. You have no clue as to how much those “drug” investigators bring in and how much is accountable. I know for a fact that Sheriff Johnson and Bruce Jordan can place employees in whatever division they want to and it is the fault of the department head that they do not have enough “drug” investigators. I am so sick of hearing people like you blame the commissioners for doing their job.

Thank you to Gary Norred for setting the record straight on Peter Pfeifer and his less than factual letter regarding the sheriff. Greg Dunn and Pfeifer are reckless control mongers and they have, unfortunately, managed to pull county law enforcement into politics. Public safety doesn’t need to be politicized. The sheriff’s staff is following Department of Justice regulations but Pfeifer wants it his way or no way at all. It would be a shame if we lost the federal funds for narcotics arrests. Our drug-related arrests in the county are going up annually. Keep in mind that the statistics only reflect the ones we apprehend and a bunch of them are getting away. We need to get rid of the ego problem and the problem is definitely not the sheriff.

I see that Commissioner Pfeifer is still in the dark and doesn’t have his facts straight or maybe he’s still just trying to mislead the public. Let’s clarify a couple of the items addressed in Commissioner Pfeifer’s “let down” letter regarding the Sheriff’s Office (08/03/05). First of all, when the Georgia Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion in 2003 that marshals have no arrest powers, the legal counsel for the Georgia Sheriffs Association notified sheriffs across the state of this decision. The advice of the legal counsel to sheriffs who dealt with marshals was to not accept prisoners “arrested” by marshals since that could be considered an illegal arrest. That illegal arrest would in turn place the sheriffs and county governments in a position of being liable for false imprisonment. The sheriff didn’t just dream this up out of nowhere. Now what would you have done, Mr. Pfeifer, if the sheriff had ignored this recommendation, accepted a prisoner from a marshal and that prisoner in turn sued the county for false imprisonment? I’m sure you wouldn’t blame the sheriff. Not! Another part of your letter addressing the budget procedure states, “The budget process used was the wrong process,” and continues with, “The truth is that the commission has absolutely no power to assign people to this or that division inside the Sheriff’s Department,” and then you state, “the sheriff has been sending over each of his division heads separately.” Well, Mr. Pfeifer, do you not know that this is the procedure required by the Finance Department and the Board of Commissioners? Each division within the Sheriff’s Office is required to become totally separate during the budget process. You make this procedure sound ridiculous yet you were part of the board that implemented this procedure. You state, “We should just authorize a total amount to the department, because that is the reality.” Then why do the division directors get berated at your budget workshops (yes, I’ve read the minutes of those meetings) and their requests get nit-picked to death? The rest of your letter is so ridiculous it doesn’t deserve addressing. I do have to quote you one more time though. Since I voted for you in 2001 (we all make mistakes), “I am let down and saddened.”

Unprofessional is a word that could be applied to lots of people, but Greg Dunn is not one of them.

The vicious, personal attacks on Greg Dunn only serve to make me be a more avid supporter of his. Good government is a system of checks and balances. I personally don’t even know him, but I can read through the lines.

Is it true that now that Chairman Dunn has been unable to take over the sheriff’s department that he has ordered the marshals serving under his command to wear mirror-reflector MP helmets and refer to him as Commandant Dunn?

Our county Board of Commissioners is a joke. Truth be told, we all are the punch line. I recall a “Candidate Pfeifer” that ran on the pledge of focusing on public safety. He kept his promise. He focused on cutting the sheriff’s budget, killing the federal drug fund program, tying up the sheriff’s department with lawsuits and having the county marshals duplicate services. As the 911 log shows, they are also using EMS funds from Peachtree City residents that are not receiving the services so they can balance their budget. The three-headed monster of Dunn, Pfeifer and Wells has thrived in minimizing county law enforcement staffing while the crime rates climb. A.G. VanLandingham is the only one making sense.

James Inagawa is a responsible and caring solicitor general serving the citizens of Fayette County. Greg Dunn had no right to attack Mr. Inagawa’s dignity at the County Commission meeting. The bad guys are the ones stealing from innocent people and committing armed robbery, child molestation and drug trafficking, not Mr. Inagawa. Everyone is getting sick of Dunn’s abusive behavior. Commissioner Pfeifer’s taunting the sheriff’s department in the newspaper is just as bad. Stop attacking the people that are protecting us.

Have you noticed how helpful and friendly the library staff are in Peachtree City and Tyrone? Much better than in some other cities where I have lived. And the services offered such as borrowing from other libraries in the state, renewing books on-line, and having books pulled off the shelf and held for you are so helpful.

Those people proposing that the police help out at the Ga. highways 54/74 intersection in Peachtree City at rush hours are wasting their time. First, it wouldn’t help due to the close proximity of the lights, and second, sooner or later another close one will have to be installed at Westpark Walk, and, even if assigned to the police, it wouldn’t happen long. They hate traffic directing regularly, as evidenced by the schools having to hire their own. This intersection is on a slope, it is too wide for good control with the close lights, and the traffic is too heavy. The four-lane bridge won’t help due to the traffic growth. Instead of so many golf cart million dollar bridges, maybe we need a bridge of Hwy. 74 over Hwy. 54.

To the writer who states he has a problem with Peachtree City Police Department’s outstanding efforts in arresting pedophiles preying on our children, stop being so ignorant. Modern technology has caused a significant increase in Internet crimes, some of which create devastating psychological problems for children all over this country (even in PTC). If you would climb out from under your rock, you would realize this. As I see it, you have a difficult time understanding the issue or you might be in need of some professional help.

How is it that PTC consistently has both the coolest morning temperatures and the highest concentration of hot air?

To the person who has never responded to the “free speech” column before and is moving from Peachtree City because of all the horrible kids and the crime problems: Goodbye. I hope the readers read between the lines. It sounds as if you have an awful lot of first-hand knowledge about the crime in our fair city. Should the bad police and juvenile authorities come and talk to you? Did your little Johnnie or Ashley get caught committing a crime? After all, his/her infraction was not nearly as serious as the crimes his/her friends committed. Why shouldn’t the police selectively enforce the law? It makes me wonder if you will be taking some of the crime with you when you move. Stop taking our police officers for granted. After all, you live in a city surrounded by crime and yet the police department manages to maintain a very low crime rate, lower than most cities in the nation. From my perspective, they are doing a lot of things right. It’s no accident that Peachtree City was recently selected as one of the best cities to live in the nation. You think that safety and security had anything to do with it?

So no one consulted PTC Police Chief Murray on the Carter plea arrangement and it seemed he was a little put out over that. The citizens elected a DA. The DA knows the law much better than Chief Murray. If it were up to Chief Murray, everyone who ever committed a crime would be charged as an adult and thrown in jail for the rest of their lives without the waste of time of a trial.

I read the comments from the person that is moving out of PTC and Fayetteville area. One of your issues seemed to be that of people being arrested for actions that we take for granted, on a daily basis, as something free Americans would not get arrested for. Well, don’t move to Coweta. I have also moved and plan to leave the state entirely eventually. Good luck to you.

In response to (Aug. 10) the PTC Mom who has been a resident for 18 years and is planning on moving soon: I have been a PTC resident for 13 years and feel the same way. The children are harassed by the police in PTC. For all of our new residents with small children who may question this: You will hear what we are saying when your child grows up, is a good student, never been in any kind of trouble and becomes the next “victim” of our police department. My son goes to high school and was approached in the hallway by the new police officer at the school. [The] officer got close to his face and said, “You’re next on my list.” What list, sweetheart? I am horrified at what I hear that these men and women of our city do to our local teens. Yes, some of it is justified, but we all know that most of it is nothing but harassment. All you are doing is showing them how to distrust you, disrespect you, dishonor you and your badge and run if they ever come in contact with any of you, and most of all, never ever tell you the truth Why, oh why, is this the way our city is run? Our police chief does not care. He allows his boys and girls to operate however they want to. Or maybe he is too busy running the Mexicans out of town to bother with the citizens who pay taxes here.

Kudos to the Public Works Department of Peachtree City for their rapid response to my phone call about trees hanging over a golf cart path. I passed the same area the next day and the offending trees were gone, clearing up a hazard. This is the second time I have called about green space problems and the response has been great both times. Thanks again.

I presume the person admonishing everyone to “slow down” and “get their brakes fixed” is a senior who thinks that when (s)he wants to pull out, all traffic must yield as (s)he always has the right of way. Friday’s Citizen has the story of the latest one of your brethren, an 80-year-old who made a left onto Ebenezer Road from Hwy. 54 and got t-boned by the poor family he either didn’t see, didn’t slow down or needed their brakes fixed. His poor wife died. If you can’t see oncoming traffic, or can’t judge how much room you really need to pull out safely, or can’t even turn your head far enough to look for traffic, then stay home. Consider taking a cab or having someone drive you, but you are the danger on the road. You may get away with your arrogant attitude in the grocery store but this is someone’s life. Pretend it’s your grandchildren in that car you’re cutting off and wait until it’s clear. Or, better yet, get off the road.

With the Peachtree City politicians vote on the new golf cart fees, it makes my voting choices very easy come election time. Anything to gouge the taxpayers.

To all those I see picking up litter along the cart paths, “Well done. Thank you.”

I saw a few weeks back that PTC plans to extend golf cart path access to the baseball/soccer complex on Hwy. 74 South. In today’s paper (8/12/05) the city will start offering free wi-fi access to three recreation areas, including the baseball/soccer complex. Has anyone told the city that the Meade fields girls softball complex exists? Has the city ever heard of Title IX? While parents can easily park and access the baseball/soccer complex, when’s the last time a city official tried to attend a softball game around noon time on a Saturday? Have you ever looked at the Meade fields’ parking lot on a game day (double- and triple-parked cars) and wonder how an emergency vehicle could access a field (then sit in traffic for an hour trying to get to Hwy. 74 South)? Have you ever seen area ballparks for softball and wondered why our well to do PTC cannot do better for their girls? It can rain an inch at Lovejoy and two hours later fields are playable (try to make that happen in the Meade flood-plain). Enjoy a day at Meade fields, take in the sewer gas smells and use the bathrooms that aren’t suitable for a public golf course. Trip over the extension cords that run across puddles to the batting cages because the city won’t allow for installation of permanent outlets at the cages. Someone needs to recognize that the Meade complex is an embarrassment to PTC and do something about it. The problems shouldn’t have to be funded and solved by the parent volunteers who do an awesome job running a fun and competitive league for our girls.

I love it when someone with a personal agenda goes public with their views and thinks no one else is aware of what is really going on.

Have you ever wondered why every old Club Car golf cart in Peachtree City is maroon in color? I wonder how many of those folks were expecting a different color but the vendor told you that was the color you picked?

Can somebody please tell me why Fayetteville is repaving miles and miles of perfectly good roads and highways? We voted for a 1 percent sales tax because Fayette County told us we needed to make road improvements to improve the horrendous, congested traffic conditions. Seems to me that widening the roads and allowing people to get around cars turning left would significantly help with traffic congestion. I am very sad that our tax dollars are going to waste. What can we do about this? In addition, I wish someone would do something about the poor sensors and timing of traffic lights in Fayetteville. To have to sit every day through 30-plus seconds of a green arrow (oncoming) when nobody is even turning and triggering the sensor is ridiculous (intersection of 54 and 92). No wonder you can’t get more than 10 vehicles through a light before it turns red again. What is a five-minute drive on a weekend takes a minimum of 15 minutes on a weekday morning, mostly due to having to sit through the same lights two to three times. It just seems that our county could do some really simple things to make improvements, but it just doesn’t happen.

Piedmont Fayette Community Hospital requires a new definition for the word “emergency.” Obviously being referred to the ER by your physician, with an advance phone call from her on your behalf, for a suspected case of appendicitis does not constitute an emergency even if you are only 12 years old. To add insult to injury, having a spokesperson from the hospital enter the packed emergency waiting room eight hours later to tell you how concerned they are about your condition and to notify those present that the wait is two to three hours. She also explained that those under 15 would be immediately received in the pediatric wing of the hospital. That never happened. The excuse she gave for the inexcusable was that the 12-bed facility currently had 28 patients. Common sense would dictate that if any of those patients who arrived all day had been treated and released, there would have been beds available. Just to reiterate, 12-year-old child referred by physician arrived at 9:30 a.m., waited all day in pain for a CT scan, and did not receive a diagnosis until 7:30 that evening. Absolutely unacceptable. Would someone please explain to me how this hospital got an award as one of the top 100 hospitals?

It’s really too bad that the unscrupulous bunch that once ruled Peachtree City is now working to undermine other parts of Fayette County. The political action committee named Direct PAC is a tool of the former Peachtree City power brokers designed to throw the system back to the days of old with its hidden deals and profiteering off of government. Most people do not know that the Direct PAC is now exerting its influence in Tyrone as well. The Friends of Farr organization is a sister faction to the Direct PAC (almost identical membership). The Friends of Farr organization was designed to create a diversion away from the unlawful conduct of the development authority in Peachtree City and to protect its former members. It was created as a pseudo-grassroots group designed to bring certain developers, bankers and attorneys back into favor with the general population. Mayor Sheryl Lee is a member of the Friends of Farr as well as PTC mayoral candidate Harold Logsdon. An exchange of political support for unsavory decision making is not what we need in Fayette County. If we don’t wake up in Tyrone and get our affairs in order we will be very sorry in the years to come.

Trying to sweeten a batch of Free Speech by adding a pinch of humor is like tossing a strawberry sundae into a swirling Jacuzzi full of rotten prunes.

Long summer walks or bike rides on tree-shaded paths, greeting friendly passers-by while enjoying the sparkling lake and other pleasing views: I love Peachtree City.

Might we have categories for Free Speech? 1. Smiley faces. 2. Funk and carping. 3. Let’s rumble. 4. Manuscripts and manifestos.

Just as advocates for “white supremacy” are always inferior, advocates for “intelligent design” are always a bit dimwitted.

Cable television, especially their so-called news programs (shows as they call them), are going to have to be regulated, unfortunately. Either that or we must begin to prosecute producers and announcers for malfeasance. They often, if not nearly always, give news with only one unreliable source, or often no source, just a hunch. FOX is the leader but others are beginning to follow due to ratings; apparently we like to hear such stuff. These “shows” are shameful and also politically polarized. Quit watching them.

In Orwell’s “1984” novel, Newspeak and Doublethink were prominent tools used by the government to educate citizens. We seem to have the beginnings currently of these things occurring. One week I hear that we will begin draw-down of our troops next spring from Iraq because by then we will have the Iraqi army trained. The next week it is announced that we cannot withdraw our troops since that would send a bad message. In fact we will increase them for the elections. I don’t know how we are to train that army in a few months when we have made little progress with them in three years. Also, I have noticed some doublespeak in NASA recently: all interviews now with astronauts or executives include the word “test” flights numerous times, as to the reason for the fuel tank insulation falling off. I guess we have been testing for 30 years? One astronaut said today that the area where the latest foam fell off was one of the areas that weren’t “worked on” for correction during the time since the Columbia disaster. I suppose they have the shuttle divided into worked on areas and non-worked on areas? Can’t we just be honest and say we planned the Iraqi war for a quick in and a quick out and it didn’t happen due to things we didn’t foresee, or didn’t care about,and propose what we really are going to do? Also NASA needs to quit saying “not enough money” and stop flying junk until a better vehicle is ready. If it were left up to the military alone we would be in “test” phases for eternity, and NASA has the same heritage, I’m afraid. No worse than owing trillions on our debt, I suppose. Either we get some real leaders or we will collapse before too much longer.

I want someone in law enforcement to tell me why on earth have there been so many mysterious and unexplained deaths in Fayette and Coweta counties over the past 10 years and how some have been suppressed from the public?

Well, it appears that the Iraqi war didn’t solve our oil supply problems; just the opposite. Gasoline at nearly $3 per gallon, and trending up, is just the beginning. So many things are now made from petroleum that we will soon see those higher prices (clothes, plastic, computers, cars, electricity, transportation). Even airports now are running out of fuel due to it costing so much that they buy less on-hand supply. Also when their hedging contracts expire it will be much worse. We have seen 20 years of price increases in just about five years due to two things: We didn’t see China buying so much, and we messed in the Middle East incorrectly. Let us really look for leaders in our next elections who can reverse these destructive trends. Never thought that I would see the day when the Republicans could outspend and stupidly plan worse than the Democrats.