Wednesday, March 22, 2000

I hear the Census Bureau's phone lines have been jammed with people wanting to complain about the intrusiveness of the questions on this year's Census.

Schools here have model safety plan
By AMY RILEY
One Citizen's Perspective

The Fayette County school system has recently unveiled a comprehensive safety plan under the leadership of Wayne Robinson, who is the director of Secondary School Operations. Those in attendance at the last meeting of the Board of Education witnessed a presentation of the new plan, and judging by the receptive murmurs heard in the audience, the plan was a huge success. I was so impressed by the professional caliber of the end product, that I went and met with Mr. Robinson to see it up close. As a parent, I am much more comfortable knowing that a concrete plan is in place now which will enable school officials to deal with any crisis swiftly and efficiently.

Griffin Tech funding suffers because of local legislators' tactics
By LEE NL HOWELL
Politically Speaking

There is a lot of uproar in Spalding County — and in the surrounding counties (including Clayton, Coweta and Fayette) which are served by the Griffin Technical Institute — because the state's recently-adopted supplemental budget did not include the $9.8 million in construction funding for a new classroom building on that technical school's campus.

PTC Frankenstein? Embrace the beast!
BILLY MURPHY
Laugh Lines

 

Throughout history monsters have reared their ugly heads in many different forms, but none have been as repulsive as local government gone bad. We, the people, though, have created this monster. And though we blame government, it is because of our own apathy that this creature exists. Can Frankenstein be blamed for his own freakishness?

Letters to the Editor

PTC mayor responds with `The real facts'

The RealFacts: I took to heart your comments on the Opinion page in your edition of March 15. You are correct — if I don't write it, you can't print it. While I have an aversion on principle to writing letters to the editor to your paper, I have decided that I will do so from time to time. I would like to establish some ground rules:

Power structure won't silence Tennant's voice

Standing Up When You're Expected To Sit

Steve Brown: How freedom of speech has benefitted citizens in PTC

Our last Peachtree City Council meeting was about as close to an apology as we can expect for an extremely unfortunate incident that was government sanctioned. It will be interesting to see how Judge Johnnie Caldwell fares in his upcoming election now that City Attorney Jim Webb has begun to ask what we know about him.

PTC fiasco reeks of power mongering, political posturing

I've followed with growing interest the recent developments regarding the libel lawsuit and “free speech” controversy involving Peachtree City Mayor Bob Lenox, local law firm Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey, Councilman Dan Tennant, and local resident Steve Brown. I have lived in Peachtree City for almost three years and not once have I felt compelled to voice my opinion about local political matters until now.

Teacher dismissal in education bill smells

Dave Hamrick's column, “Education bill's gems are buried in dung,” shows clearly why the effort to eliminate fair dismissal for Georgia's teachers “smells.” First of all, no teacher has “automatic contract renewal.” Teachers are evaluated each year and are then either offered or not offered a one-year contract.

The bill? What bill?

Lately, talk at Sandy Creek High School has been about the Plus Education Reform Act of 2000, the school-related bill that was passed last month. Many students, as well as teachers, have only read or heard excerpts of this bill and are extremely frustrated with it. Spanning 153 pages, containing 77 sections, the bill explains the changes that will be made in Georgia's schools come July 1, 2000.

Mayor shows humility in apologizing, has point about replies

I would appreciate publication of the enclosed e-mail I sent to Mayor Lenox.

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