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Letters to the Editor

Yes to Walgreens will gut land use plan

A major issue currently facing Peachtree City is whether to grant a re-zoning of Christ Our Shepherd’s property for commercial development at the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Peachtree Parkway.

This intersection at the heart of our city is now 50-50 church and commercial with the two existing churches buffering neighborhoods. It is a delicate balance.

Who wants this commercial rezoning? Does the community need another and much bigger-box drugstore, or does Walgreens need the community? There are much more suitable locations already zoned commercial. Walgreens is welcome. Money talks, but we do not always have to listen. There are several alternative commercial sites.

Hwy. 54 from east city limits to Ga. Highway 74 is a lovely mixed-use corridor that is as much “Church Street” as it is commercial. Count them: there are six major churches plus two more Methodist campuses and St. Andrew’s Episcopal just blocks away.

If the Peachtree City Council approved a commercial rezoning, what might the community expect in return?

We would lose an architectural gem of a church plus a beautiful lawn with a fountain at the crossroads of Peachtree City. We would lose a place to worship.

The community would get a 24-hour Walgreens and a second business to be named later. There would be a dramatic increase in traffic to this site and possibly more accidents and even loss of life at what is now the second most dangerous intersection in town. The livability of three neighborhoods near this property would be adversely affected.

A zoning change at the heart of the city would also signal other developers that our long-established land use plan has become a clawless paper tiger.

Changing the current Office/Institutional zoning would set a terrible precedent. It would be an unnecessary impediment to overcome in future rezoning requests from other Office/Institutional property owners. The city would also forfeit the ability to effectively negotiate alternative solutions for future church property rezonings.

The Lutheran church is simultaneously seeking to rebuild and likely would purchase a large parcel in the proposed 400-acre city annexation for John Wieland Homes.

Churches are private property owners, not public entities. I repeat, churches are private, not public property owners. They already have special property privileges in recognition of community service. Churches do not pay taxes and they can build in any zoning, residential or otherwise.

I question the wisdom of providing further “indirect” public financial assistance. Christ Our Shepherd is a respected private property owner with rights. The city also has the right to say no to their proposed commercial rezoning. They can relocate regardless.

Should the community continue to subsidize a private entity? Christ Our Shepherd bought their current property at one-half market rate; the proposed rezoning would raise the land-only value of this property by at least $1.5 million; and if approved they will then likely seek the equivalent of a further community subsidy to relocate and rebuild on another very favorably priced and larger parcel, thereby adding support for the proposed John Wieland Homes annexation into Peachtree City.

The Lutherans by their actions are also disregarding the original (and now legally expired) land covenant that specified church or church-related use only at their current site. Simply said, they are disregarding the spirit of this covenant.

If not a Walgreens plus another business to be named, then what? Christ Our Shepherd can still move or expand. Numerous suggestions have been made other than selling to Walgreens and include the following:

A. Build a third Lutheran Church in town;

B. Establish a two-campus Christ Our Shepherd church;

C. Sell to a much larger congregation that wants a satellite church like Christian City South or similar;

D. Sell to another local church for a youth campus, like the Methodists; and E. Sell to a smaller, growing church or an education center that fits the current Office/Institutional zoning.

Christ Our Shepherd’s active membership includes about 3 percent of Peachtree City’s population. They have a wonderful ministry. They do deserve community support, but so do our other churches.

We do not, however, need to be left with an unneeded 24-hour mess and potentially other future commercial rezonings.

The delicate balance between commercial, residential, recreational and industrial that our planned community has maintained over many years through the wisdom of successive city councils would be forever broken. It is simply too large a price to pay.

B. Ray Helton,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Mayor, ex-mayor trade insults prior to sitting down at lunch

Re: Luncheon invitation

Dear Mr. Lenox, it is true that I am notoriously behind on e-mail and I apologize. I really meant it when I invited you to lunch as there are some things that we need to discuss.

People ask me all the time why you have this burning hatred for me and pursue arrest warrants and state ethics complaint against me for things that seem insignificant and not relevant to the charges.

I came in office wanting a level playing field. That means being fair to everyone, including you.

The average citizen would be shocked to read some of the things that you say to me. Former Mayor Fred Brown has certainly gathered opposition against me over the years, but he has always maintained a sense of decorum.

I have said this before and it could use repeating, the primary difference between us is that when a beneficial project was on a council agenda when you were mayor, I came to support it.

You appear set on the total destruction of anything my council acts upon. I do not see love of city and love of people in your actions.

I have not worked my way down to your Jan. 10, 2005, e-mail yet (I am behind) but I would like to talk over lunch and see if we can resolve to find issues were we can work together for the betterment of the city. I will ask my assistant to give you a call so that we can meet at a local restaurant for lunch.

I hold no ill will towards you and I wish you the best in 2005.

Steve Brown, mayor,
Peachtree City, Ga.

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005, [former Mayor] Robert Lenox wrote: Mr. Brown, on Jan. 10 I sent you an e-mail accepting your “phantom” invitation to have lunch. I have as yet received no response.

I know that you are busy, busy, busy with your mayoral duties and notoriously bad at responding to e-mails in anything resembling a timely fashion, but really! A simple yes or no would suffice.

I believe that if you cannot afford me the courtesy of a response by this weekend that I will have to advise the three reporters of this strange situation.

You might also wish to note that your failure to respond has caused those of us following this amusing exchange to reach the following conclusions:

1. You are, in fact, a blatant liar, never wanted to have lunch with me in the first place, and never invited me to do so.

2. You are a coward and prefer anonymous innuendo and backstabbing to forthright and blunt discussion.

3. You are so incapable of managing your time, or anything else, that you can’t even fashion a response to a simple question in a timely manner.

Bob Lenox, your constituent,
Peachtree City, Ga.

[Lenox served 10 years as mayor of Peachtree City prior to Brown’s election.]

Stop pointing fingers in PTC

I listened to Mayor Principle today at Rotary. (He must have used that word 40 times in his speech.)

He is wrong about our obligation to pay that tennis center loan. We, the people of Peachtree City, are doing the wrong thing by not paying for property we intend to keep.

If we are not going to pay the loan, we need to turn that property over to the bank. Anything less is to act as if we were thieves.

Mayor Brown, set aside your petty, childish and expensive disputes and pay that bank or hand over the property.

Unfair to the people, you say? Sorry, but we stand to pay for all the incompetence, waste and corruption whether it is misuse of grounds-keeping equipment, a lawsuit from a council member’s wife, paving the wrong road or not charging a market price for concert tickets.

It all comes out of our pockets and is just the nature of government and why we should look at government-oriented answers to problems as a last choice.

This is not to say the every department is staffed by bumbling fools. They work hard and we have a beautiful, safe city to show for it.

Inefficiency is just inherent in government because you are spending somebody else’s money. It seems that you are always careening between being too careful, yielding paralysis, and not careful enough, leading to the attendant finger pointing.

Frankly, it is time to put our fingers in our pockets and get back to the task at hand.

Rick Viall,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Fayette’s at-large districts probably violate federal voting rights act

Not long before Republican President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves held in Fayette County, Georgia and elsewhere in America in 1863, the Fayette County government established the same general boundaries now used to define the current county commission districts.

Former slaves later won the right to vote but attempting to vote was a serious life-threatening event in most cases.

About 100 long years later in 1965, Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, virtually assuring Negroes the uninterrupted right to vote.

The historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 makes clear and precise references to RACE because rampant racial discrimination and voter intimidation are the reasons why the act needed to be passed in the first place.

Dramatic changes made to federal laws governing the electoral process specifically mandate aggressive remedies for places with historical patterns of black or minority voter disenfranchisement.

Fayette County is most likely in total and complete violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because of its antiquated at-large voting system that severely dilutes the votes of all residents of the various districts.

A publication entitled, “A Short History of Fayette County,” states, “Most slaves in Fayette County were treated well as long as they recognized their station in life and adhered to it.”

Over time, Fayette County has changed in virtually every way except the way county commissioners are elected. As the population of Fayette County becomes increasingly diverse, the quality of life we all enjoy is threatened by the persistent politics of exclusion.

Sadly, areas surrounding Fayette have multiple problems partially stemming from long-standing politics of exclusion, and if diversity is not embraced here, we will see an erosion of the quality of life in Fayette County as well.

Those who say the wheel isn’t broken are essentially numb and cannot feel the insidious wobble that occurs just before a broken wheel falls off. That is what happens when you run over people’s rights and expect them not to holler.

Those I know who want to change to district voting care much more about getting greater accountability from elected officials and less about the color of their skin.

When I pay my taxes and keep my grass cut, I expect my elected representatives to aggressively support the needs of my district or community.

Nonetheless, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Oriental or other, no one deserves to have their right to vote denied, discarded, diluted or forsaken.

P.S. I am a writer, social commentator, community activist, and major airline pilot.

John E. Jones,
Fairburn (Fayette County), Ga.

Needed: Accountable representation

The public hearing held on Saturday, Jan. 22, was quite informative when citizens from other areas of Fayette County stood up in support for a change in the way we vote in local government. The level of complaints would not have been brought to the attention of our state legislators if our commissioners demonstrated fairness and accountability in serving all of Fayette County.

My family moved to Fayette County during 1997 after purchasing a lot in a subdivision in the northern area of Fayette County. While building my home, we had an opportunity to visit some major areas and sites countywide.

It was then when I realized no public facility existed in North Fayette to accommodate recreational needs for families. After talking to some prominent citizens in the area, I was informed their children’s recreational needs were fulfilled at Clayton County parks facilities. They also expressed that this part of Fayette County has always been neglected in services and improvements when requested through our county government and its administration.

We then saw a common concern and interest and formed an association to protect our investments.

Interests grew from the lack of accountable representation to stand up for what is right to protect and defend our community even through continuous appeal for improvements to quality of life in North Fayette County. It mattered not of the skin color and political affiliation, we stuck together to protect our common concerns.

The northern area of Fayette County is basically under-served. This neglected area is made up of all races of people, Republicans, Democrats and independent voters. A majority of the population, however, is made up of African-Americans who are the highest income earners in Fayette County according to the AJC and other media sources.

These residents are wage earners working in other counties and states, yet they contribute a healthy share of taxes to Fayette County government operations. Their tax investment makes up a very large percentage of Fayette County’s budget with continuous increases in property taxes through increased assessed valuation of properties.

A park has finally been approved for North Fayette in the Kenwood area. After several years of attempts and pleading, funding has been appropriated to support this effort. A ground-breaking took place last spring on this project and the progress made on phase I to date has been slow.

Let us be remindful that this is not a North Fayette park that serve the needs of the northern area only; it is being built to serve all of Fayette County but closer to the northern communities.

Our Fayette County delegation has been asked to intervene at the prompting of their constituents for improvements in the way our Fayette County government does business. The goal is to achieve fair taxation and accountable representation.

Our commissioners want all the praise for the quality of life in Fayette County, but the citizens of this county must be given credit as well for maintaining good quality of living.

One remark at the public hearing was to get rid of our any commissioner(s) who does not serve the county well. The question is how is this accomplished with countywide voting in place?

A possible solution is to change to district voting so that elected officials can be held accountable to the constituents who voted them into office and can have them removed.

Alice Jones, vice president,
North Fayette Community Association

Rep. Fludd, allies more concerned with expanding their own power

I am very concerned about state Representative Virgil Fludd’s comments during his meeting at North Fayette Elementary School. At this meeting, Rep. Fludd claimed that he had invited our school board and that they had not shown up.

One can only assume that he intended to illustrate the lack of active representation or attention given to that part of our county.

After researching this claim, I have discovered that Rep. Fludd did not invite anyone from our school board, or their administration, to his meeting on representative voting.

I am also saddened to find that Rep. Fludd failed to note the quality education given to all residents of Fayette County regardless of address, race, or representation.

As a former resident of Clayton County, I have seen first-hand the effects that racial power politics can have on the quality and perception of a school system. It appears Mr. Fludd and his allies have more concern for their own power than the education of our children.

Given that the district he represents encompasses both Fulton and Fayette counties, I would hope that Mr. Fludd’s best efforts would be directed towards elevating all of his constituents to our standards in Fayette County.

His statements as to how long it’s been since “redistricting” took place is also misleading. In fact, the school board “redistricted” their boundaries following the last census, just four years ago.

Under the current representation, each member of the school board “runs” by districts, but is elected at large. This method assures all of us that each member represents all schools and not just those in their home district.

I am concerned that Mr. Fludd believes it is at all reasonable to muddy the names and reputations of the people who have provided so much to our residents.

I am certain Mr. Fludd will find a way to explain away the disparity between his words and actions regarding our school board. However, I believe he will have a much more difficult time hiding his motives.

Neil Sullivan,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Fayette graduates face grading disadvantage

Elizabeth is a senior at Starr’s Mill High School. She has a 4.0 GPA and is attending an excellent university next fall.

Matt is a senior at Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham, Ala., and will be attending the same university.

Their transcripts are virtually identical: same classes, identical SAT scores, same club involvement, and both straight “A’s.”

However, Matt is receiving freshman scholarship money based on his scores and grades and Elizabeth is receiving nothing.

You may think that doesn’t seem fair, and you would be correct.

One reason is that Fayette County high schools do not participate in the common practice of “weighting” Advance Placement (AP) course grades.

Students who are college-bound are highly encouraged to take AP classes. These classes are designed to challenge the student at a collegiate level and may result in the student earning college credit.

Because of the difficulty of these classes, most school systems, including Fayette County, increase the year-end numerical grade by five points. For example, an 88 would convert to a 93.

However, large numbers of competitive school systems take the additional step of “weighting” the overall grade point average. For schools using a 4.0 scale, an AP “A” is worth a 5.0 instead of a 4.0 and an AP “B” is worth a 4.0 instead of a 3.0 when computing the overall grade point average.

Thus, a student earning excellent marks could potentially graduate with a GPA higher than a 4.0. According to admission officers at several colleges, including Auburn, Duke, and Vanderbilt, most high schools weight the AP grades.

In researching this subject, I found there is the belief that all colleges recalculate GPAs when determining admission and scholarship awards.

However, according to Mr. John Fletcher, assistant vice president of student affairs at Auburn University, “For years and years, Auburn recalculated the GPAs of applicants, but now we do not recalculate GPAs. The majority of high schools weight grades. If your system doesn’t, your students are not fully advantaged. If you won’t make it a policy, then why not have two GPAs? You would be giving your students more advantage.”

The scholarship department at Auburn also confirmed that, “No, we do not recalculate GPAs. We take the GPA given to us and assume your counselor has already taken care of weighting it.”

One Fayette student was told that in order to receive freshman scholarship money, she would need a 4.06 on her GPA. When informed of Fayette County’s no-weight policy, the scholarship department said they would happily accept a recalculated number from her counselor, but that Auburn will not recalculate.

The West Chester Area School District in Pennsylvania surveyed 94 colleges last month to determine if colleges recalculated GPAs. Some of the colleges who participated in the survey were Clemson, College of William & Mary, Duke, Florida State, Harvard, Purdue, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Princeton, UNC of Charlotte, Savannah College of Art & Design, U.S. Military Academy, University of Virginia and Georgia Tech.

The colleges were asked if they translate into a common system the GPAs of students from schools with different grading scales and weighting policies.

Of the 94 schools, 46 percent said they DID NOT recalculate GPAs. The three top factors considered in awarding scholarship money were combinations of rank, GPA, or grades, merit, and class rank.

I contacted admission officers from several top colleges and inquired about policies regarding weighted and unweighted GPAs of applicants. Again and again, I was told the colleges DID NOT recalculate GPAs. A few comments from various admission officers are noted below.

“We look at how the GPA is listed on the transcript. If a GPA is weighted, the high school has paid attention to the fact that the student has taken a challenging curriculum and is honoring that.”

“We do not recalculate GPAs. Most high schools weight grades. A 4.0 tells me nothing. A weighted 4.5 says the student took a challenging, hard load.”

“We don’t recalculate GPAs. If a school weights a class ranking, it reflects a course load of higher level courses. An unweighted 4.0 is worthless ... it tells me nothing about the course load. We don’t redo the GPA, but if the student took higher level courses and his school doesn’t weight, we try to add extra weight on his record to help balance the field. It’s hard to make a fair comparison.”

“We don’t recalculate GPAs. If your students don’t have weighted grades, they are disadvantaged.”

The Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) has recognized the need for uniform comparison of GPAs for purposes of the HOPE Scholarship.

In 2007, the GSFC will begin recalculating GPAs for students and advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses will be weighted. The exact method has not been determined and this will be for HOPE Scholarship purposes only.

The recalculated GPA will not be reflected on the student’s transcript and cannot be used for college applications or other scholarships.

I realize some parents may object that if Fayette County begins to weight GPAs, this might put their student, who isn’t taking AP classes, at a disadvantage.

However, when that very same student is competing for college acceptance and scholarships, they are already going up against other students with weighted grades from AP courses.

By keeping the current policy, ALL of our students are at a disadvantage when applying to colleges and competing for scholarships.

We can, for the most part, count on colleges to include many factors in the acceptance decision. However, when a formula is used to determine scholarship money, the Fayette student does not have the same edge as most other students.

Apparently, weighted grades for AP courses are so much the norm that the colleges expect to see it. As Mr. Fletcher at Auburn University stated, “Your students are not fully advantaged.”

Many parents and administrators recognize the need for our students to be able to compete “neck and neck” with students across the country.

College acceptance is based on many factors. But sometimes, scholarship money is based on a formula.

The HOPE Scholarship recognizes that the playing field is not even and is taking action in 2007 to correct that. Unfortunately, students going out of state and also those applying for private scholarships won’t be helped.

Let’s make a positive move into the 21st century by equipping these students with everything they need to effectively compete. There are many, many parents and administrators alike who want our policy changed. So, if you agree, let the board of education hear your voice. They can be reached at 770-460-3535.

Dana Chitwood,
Peachtree City, Ga.

County torn into factions; let’s start pulling for common good

After reading your paper today I, again, had that sick feeling in my stomach after witnessing the people of this country continue to tear each other apart over who won and who lost in the last election.

It’s time for this country to pull together and educate itself about what is going on or we all lose.

Read all you can from all sides. Record the sessions of the House and Senate (tune into C-SPAN, channel 30 and C-SPAN2, channel 31) and devote at least an hour or more a day to watch it.

Read and watch news from other countries, Canada, England, Iraq, etc. Watch and read with an open mind if possible. The more intelligent you are, the more you realize how much you don’t know. Attacking each other only makes us weaker as a nation.

I have been around a long time and I have seen administrations come and go. What scares me today is what we don’t see on our news programs or read in our papers.

We take our freedoms for granted and it is time to do our part to protect them. We ALL have our love for our country in common. Please learn to build on that fact and encourage those you know to do their part. I love you all.

Marilyn Knapton,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Prohibit chained or penned pets

I am writing about an issue that has gone unaddressed for too long, that of the perpetually chained or penned, so-called “outside” or “backyard” dog.

There is no sadder sight than these outcast, forlorn, forgotten animals relegated to the status of lawn ornaments and virtually ignored by the family.

Many chained or penned dogs are seriously neglected. They lack fresh, unfrozen water, adequate housing, hygiene and the most basic veterinary care, including vaccinations required by law.

Every winter such dogs are found frozen to death. At other times of the year they may be left to starve until they die.

Chaining is not only inhumane for dogs, but has taken a severe toll on this nation’s children.

In the period from last October until this month, there have been at least 17 children killed or seriously injured by chained dogs across the country.

Chained dogs, unsocialized with humans, can become very territorial of their tiny space, and any 2-year-old who wanders into this space can be attacked and killed before adults can intervene.

A recent attack in July of 2004 led to the death of 2-year-old Patricia J. Anderson in Cook County, Georgia. Patricia was attacked and killed by a bulldog mix chained behind the house of a family friend.

Furthermore, researchers are confirming the link between animal abuse and neglect and abuse of children and perpetration of future crimes.

Austria is the latest nation to ban the chaining of dogs, completely prohibiting the practice. Connecticut is the first state in the nation to limit chaining, and Hawaii currently has a bill in committee.

There are at least 50 communities or counties in at least 26 states with limits on chaining. Our state needs to be a part of this growing movement to eliminate chaining of dogs.

The wording of model legislation and a letter to send to state representatives can be found by visiting the website www.dogsdeservebetter.com.

Judy Erlichman,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Logsdon, maybe; Direct-PAC, no

“Logsdon to run for mayor”: I enjoyed the online story, but I did not understand the connection between Logsdon and the Direct-PAC soliciting candidates.

Is Direct-PAC endorsing Logsdon? If so, Mr. Logsdon will not obtain my vote. I believe Direct-PAC is a seditious activity.

Doug Tucker,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Writer: ‘I know his type all too well’

As regards my letter of Jan. 5, the reference to Karl Rove as “Goebbels” was meant as historical analogy only. Both men recognized the use of the half-truth and the big lie to divert the masses.

I never meant to imply that the soft-spoken junk mailing political genius would ever be involved in Nazi type activity. Additionally, my reference to Republicans putting their brains to bed in the morning was only meant for non de cerebrates.

As for the rest: Res ipsa loquitur. Mr. Dickinson didn’t bother to counter my arguments with arguments, but with mere gainsay claiming gainsay. While that may work fine in a Monty Python skit, it didn’t work for him.

What I gained from his letter was: 1. He knows my name. 2. Anyone who criticizes the government is an anti-American leftist. 3. He knows my name.

Unfortunately I know his type all too well. I saw them on the hills around Sarajevo at Christmas 1993 poring shot after shot of heavy artillery onto the city. They were the same people who killed the czar and his family; who massacred the Armenians in Turkey; the same who sat on Joe McCarthy’s committee in the early 1950s.

I’m sure Mr. Dickinson agrees with the President’s assault on habeas corpus, and was quite put out by the liberal Supreme Court telling him, no, you have to show cause and bring charges against Americans if you wish to hold them, just like the document says.

Intolerance varies only in degree and opportunity, but it all pretty much ends up in the same basket. When they get the upper hand, these same types become bullies.

Given political power, ignorance and poverty they acquire brown shirts and swastikas. Given all that and war, they add Death’s Head insignia. Sometimes they make the mistake of choosing the wrong target.

So here is a quiz for Mr. Dickinson: “I (insert your own Dickinson) do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the ( ) of the United States ....”

If you said government, you’re wrong. If you said President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, Republican Party, Army, Navy Air Force, Marines, you’re wrong.

Holding our leader’s feet to the fire is the most wholly American thing we do. This applies both in time of conflict and in time of peace. If we as Americans don’t believe that, we forfeit the Founding Fathers’ wisdom and discard their blessing.

It’s a shame for Dickinson that he spent 25 years of his life ostensibly defending something and he still doesn’t understand what the hell it’s all about.

Timothy J. Parker,
Peachtree City, Ga.

Fight cap on damages for medical maiming

I know all doctors do take the Hippocratic oath before they start serving in the medical field. This goes back to the era of 460-3770 B.C. His theories of modern medicine were laid down 400 years before the birth of Christ. The oath gives the medical profession a sense of duty to mankind, which I believe it has never lost. All medical doctors still take this oath.

I recently learned through reading newspapers that state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh has introduced a bill that caps [damages at] $250,000 if you, your family or anyone who has been medically maimed or injured or killed.

I do know from asking many questions that the insurance industry has sent medical professionals’ insurance sky high. Perhaps this is the place we should direct our concerns.

I have learned over the years that some medical people do have some medical problems themselves. They should step away from practicing medicine until they are in great shape themselves, before they injure their patients, or perhaps maim them.

In this bill I believe it is entirely disregarding the Hippocratic oath. Politics should not interfere with such a policy; let the medical personnel do their best in their chosen profession.

I honestly can say I have never met a poor doctor. Let’s put the Hippocratic oath where it should be and not give this bill the clout that the political advocates are trying to do.

Seabaugh’s phone number is 404-656-6446.

If you or I run a red light and get caught and injure, main, or kill someone because we “were in a hurry,” do you not think you can obey the rules and laws you want to, if it is convenient?

No, I don’t think so, and neither do the majority of folks I know.

Ivy Lockett,
Fayette County, Ga.