The bridge is up, the tunnels are in
For this, PTC, we are grateful.
A few feet to go, to the cart paths, you know,
But you’re telling us, “Not ‘til next April!”

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New Starr’s Mill Mastercard commercial: 10 bags of chips, $23; 2 boxes of prophylactics, $19; 3 kegs of beer, $265; bail money for 7 people, $1875; getting arrested and still getting to play in the Dome: Priceless. Getting caught drinking and getting arrested at Brookwood and you learn a lifelong lesson about responsibility and character. For everyone else, there is Starr’s Mill.

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To the new head football coach at MHS in regards to his comment during half-time of the ECHS game: so you wished you had never come to McIntosh? Well, you can head west on Ga. Highway 54 out of PTC; continue west on Ga. Highway 34 at the fork; which takes you to I-85 South, and you’ll be well on your way back to Columbus. And as far as your assistant’s comment that McIntosh is a career killer, you should have done your homework before you took the job and not listened to school administration which includes an AD who has never been a head coach in addition to having an ego that needs feeding and a female principal who knows zero about football. Sounds like it is all about yourselves (career wins) and not about the players. Guess you Columbus boys don’t get the quote: You make men first, football players second.

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To all the people who drive down Walnut Grove Road in the mornings and complain to the police about the parents getting their children to the school bus, try complaining to the FCBOE. We know that the situation is not ideal and have asked that they pick our children up across the street on the cart path so the road is not congested. They have told us this is the way it is going to be. We have asked them to come out and look at the situation, but have not seen anyone to date. We have, however, seen the police and have “supposedly” been warned several times not to park there or else we will receive a citation. What would that citation be for? I guess our 35-plus kids from the neighborhood will cross the street in front of the bus to get to their parents and then cross the street again. Why is it that what is best for the children never really seems to matter anymore?

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Congratulations, Fayette County Board Of Education, for removing the illegal students, and holding their parent responsible. This should have been done several years ago. Thank goodness the people are white or Jessie Jackson would be here screaming racism.

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I have two messages. One is for the Board of Education. Thank you for proving me wrong. You have finally listened to us parents about later school start dates. While the new calendar is not perfect, it shows you are willing to listen. The second message is for board member Marion Key, the only member who voted against the calendar and who wants year-round school. We parents do not want our children to go to school in the summer. We want our kids to enjoy long summers with plenty of opportunities to relax, enjoy and learn different things. And to those who preach that children forget what they learn when they are out of school for a long period of time, let me tell you this. If they forget it so fast it’s because they never learned it in the first place.

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I am sadly disappointed that some schools (I don’t know how many) ignored such an important day as Sept. 11. This day should be an opportunity for our children to learn some important lessons. A minute of silence means little when no explanation is given. Even though we discussed the events at home, the school should have taken some time to teach them a valuable age-appropriate history lesson. I don’t know how many schools asked children to wear red, white and blue that day to show their patriotism. My children’s school did. It is just too sad that so many people, especially some teachers, forgot to do it. I’m sure they never forget when it is pajama day, but apparently the sacrifices made and the lives lost on Sept. 11 mean little here. One more thing. I was not born in this country, but my children were. I do my best to instill in them a sense of pride, patriotism and respect for their country everyday, and especially on Sept. 11. We should not forget. Our future depends on it.

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To the person who would like to see a change in the tax laws: If you think that you will no longer have to pay school tax when you’re 65, then you should be prepared to only receive $15,000 net taxable Georgia income (all family members residing in the household) or be totally disabled. Otherwise you will only receive a 50 percent exemption. I know because I have reached that age, and I have not had a child in school for 19 years. Not only that, but you should be ready to fill out papers at the tax office immediately after you turn 65 or you may lose the first year’s eligibility.

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I totally agree with the poster last week regarding the tax law that needs to be changed. Everybody I know that’s 55 have grown children who have children. So as a matter of fact, if those “kids” have “kids” going to school, their parents and grandparents are paying school taxes. I don’t see how that can be right. We haven’t had any children in school for 15 years, but have had to pay school taxes, Even if they are not paying for college, the economy makes it hard for 55 and older to just get by. Enough with the taxes!

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Georgia consistently ranks near the bottom on all educational indices, while a recent poll found that over half of all Georgians believe in a link between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks. Coincidence? I think not.

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One-third of Fayette homes are overtaxed: How many real property assessment appeals are actually approved? I will venture to say our courts hardly ever, if ever, rule favorably for the citizens who appeal the assessments. Check the records. When we must sell our property below the county assessed value, we should expect a rebate of our overpaid property taxes.

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With regard to the TDK Extension, what Kroger Manager Paul Yellina needs, rather than more traffic into Peachtree City, is some cashiers polite enough to offer a simple “thank you” and a smile when you buy there. Right now they are almost nonexistent.

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Braelinn Village does not need TDK Extension to help business. What they need is an anchor store to attract business. Kmart is not drawing anybody, not with their high prices, and lack of customer service. Too bad, instead of tearing up more land in PTC, that this shopping center wasn’t revamped instead.

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What do you get when you cross a misguided local mayor with greedy developers? You get the TDK expansion. The joke is on us.

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They are pitiful. The PTC City Council says, “We’re just going to build TDK anyway.” This bunch reeks of incompetence.

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The whole TDK disaster is like the blind leading the blind. The poor decisions made Tuesday will go down in Fayette County history as the most colossal screw-ups we have ever seen. If you live in Peachtree City or Tyrone, your future commute is going to hell in a hand basket. The City Council in Peachtree City is either ignorant or on the take.

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I would like to know why with all the taxes we pay in Fayette County we have county roads that look like something you’d see in rural Alabama. The grasses and weeds along the sides of our roads are embarrassing. Maybe once Greg Dunn leaves office, more taxpayers’ money will devoted to the beautification of our county instead of wasting that money on lawsuits against the sheriff’s office.

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The issue of a traffic light at the hospital is redundant? How idiotic is that? There are cars coming from the office complex across the street that can’t go to the Sandy Creek intersection. They can’t get a light there but had one at Oak Street/Brandywine before the strip mall there even went up. What about the light already erected at the cemetery on Hwy. 54 East? I don’t think there is too much traffic coming out of there.

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I wasn’t aware there were so many people without homes in Fayette County. I’m not talking about the poor. I’m talking about people who are incensed about development in the county. I’m just assuming that all of the “no growth” advocates who complain about “evil developers and builders” don’t live in houses or shop in local stores, or drive on the roads. Of course they do. What hypocrites they are. For all of you who want to close the doors to the county (right after you bought your own homes here), it bears pointing out that the owners of the new homes actually pay property taxes and local sales taxes. In most cases, the new home have a higher value than pre-existing homes, so instead of you arrogant “no growth” advocates supporting the new residents and their children in our schools as you claim, the new residents may very well be supporting you and yours. Further, there are people in this county who have owned property for many years, some since before Peachtree City even existed. These people have invested in the land and paid property taxes on it for decades. The have a right to sell their property to whomever they like for the best price they can get for it. They deserve to be able to realize their investment: to retire, or send their kids to college, or do whatever smart investors desire to do. When you socialist, elitist politicians, citizen activists and others decide you need to tell people what they cannot do with their land, even though you’ve never paid a dime to own it or to pay the property taxes on it, you strip a good deal of the value of land away. It’s a shame that a citizen who works hard to set aside money to invest in land can expect a bunch of busybodies to decide what their land can and can’t be used for and thereby greatly affect it value. It’s outrageous, and it’s un-American.

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Once again the Muslims have proven what a “peaceful” religion they have. Let the Pope make a few truthful statements, or a Dutch cartoonist make a derogatory depiction about the Muslims and they erupt in chaos and violence. They protest against Christians over cartoons and remarks, but yet there is a deafening silence from the Muslim world when events such as 9/11, the attack on the Cole, the London bombing, and the Spain bombing, just to mention a few. This is not a peaceful religion and I for one am sick of all the political correctness in defending Muslims. The Muslim religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today, I think it is time for Christians to wake up and start defending our rights before we have lost them all. And thank you to our commissioners for giving the go ahead for a second mosque to be built in Fayette County. I am not concerned about this county becoming another Clayton County; I am concerned it will become another Baghdad.

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For the person who asked about law enforcement and illegal aliens: Local law enforcement can only do so much. Yes, we arrest the person and, yes, the vehicle is impounded. Their information and charges are forwarded to the FBI. We have no control over deportation. That power belongs to INS. If we do not receive notification to “hold” that subject from any agency, INS included, we have to release them once they post bond. If we do not, then we face charges.

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If a U.S. citizen gives fake or stolen ID to a cop or the feds, he is in looking at jail time. If an illegal alien does these things, he/she is given a pass.

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It’s a mystery. Why are business and many elected officials in such a hurry to convert our country to a Spanish-speaking nation? ”Press one ...” Well, you know the drill.

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As if you didn’t already have enough to worry about. Will your job be the next one to be described as “work Americans won’t do”? Are you willing to work for peon-poor wages? Do you speak Spanish? No? Start worrying.

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Within the next four weeks, America will join China and India as the only three countries in the world with 300 million or more people. At present immigration levels, we are projected to reach 400 million by 2040. Yikes!

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Will some techie please invent a device on my ballot that will retroactively destruct if the electee caves in to the Administration’s arm-twisting on the stay-forever-guest-worker scam? Zap! My vote wasted on a lying snake will disappear, and so will the snake.

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I do not live in a “homeland.” I am a citizen of a nation called the United States of America. I did not serve in the military for a “homeland,” and no matter how many federal agencies are labeled “homeland,” it doesn’t reduce our nation to a “homeland.”

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Cal’s original blog was interesting to re-read. It is not hard to agree with everything he said until he says we taxpayers (hotel taxes) should repay the Peachtree National Bank (now Synovis, not a “local” bank) note on the Tennis Center. I don’t know how much Peachtree National is trying to collect now but it was about a million, plus some other loan, I think. If that bank loaned that entity (DA) money which was then spent for operating money, with no bank approvals, or town approvals, then it was a “bad” loan, and stinks to the highest heaven as having been done for the benefit of the prestige of the venture and a few of our citizens who didn’t care where the money was coming from. Let’s face it: the town and the bank were “taken” by some tennis pros and a very few local inept, but not dumb, individuals. Some of those same people also probably stand to lose some stock value if this loan is written off by the bank. What do the federal bank examiner’s notes say about this loan — then and now? There is a possibility that if some money is still owed this bank for the original construction costs, maybe that could be refinanced by the current authority and paid with our taxes. At the same time, this facility should be made available to all PTC citizens at a very nominal charge, including the west side people, or, sold to private enterprise to own and operate. It is not right that we people can’t have all of the information about this loan and the sordid details, but we can be expected to pay for it.