I guess the man in Brooks whose dog was killed by the deer hunter not only will try and get the law changed that says you can shoot a dog chasing a deer if the dog doesn’t have a collar, but will try and get the leash law changed since he doesn’t believe in it either. I’m sure the hunter didn’t come in his back yard and shoot the dog.

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Skip Stephenson, I would like to commend you on your Free Speech comments. My name is Jim Stinson. I too have been “trashed” in this most cowardly way. Over the years I have been labeled as “political venereal disease” (my personal favorite), a “malicious vermin parasite,” a “member of the axis of evil,” and many other “lovely” but very anonymous names. All this in front of my friends and family. And what did I do to deserve this? Simply exercise my rights as an American and speak out regarding decisions of our local government. Now I am always open to a debate. But when you debate a shadow there is no debate. Skip, you have earned my admiration. You have truly showed your Marine background by standing tall for your beliefs and principles. This particular forum is detracting and destructive to our community. It takes a “big man” to stand up for his principles. You are such a person. Those “shadow dwellers” are simply cowards with no conviction. Thank you for calling them out.

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Skip Stephenson, spoken like a true Marine: Arrogant and non-apologetic. Son, you need to reduce the caffeine, arrive earlier and have a plan B, one that is agreeable with law enforcement, not what you decide. This gung-ho attitude does not fly in a social community such as ours. Leave it on the battlefield where it is needed.

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We get it. We know the two Super Bowl coaches are African-American. We acknowledge that fact. Can we now go on past that and enjoy the game? The two head coaches are outstanding role models for all young people and aspiring coaches as well. They know the game of football. They are respected by opposing coaches and players. Their own players admire them. By continuously pounding the idea of their African-American heritage, I think you demean their accomplishments. I am glad the Colts and Bears made it to the Super Bowl and the main reason is because they are coached by two outstanding NFL coaches. Please!

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I just want everyone in Fayette County to know that the Whitewater Wildcats wrestling team won runner-up in the state wrestling duals. This is a great accomplishment, especially due to the coaches and one man. That one man is the athletic director at Whitewater High, Mr. Mike Vena. He set a great foundation for these boys as their wrestling coach at Whitewater Middle. We got lucky when he became our athletic director and he is the one who got us Mickey Statham. Coach Penland and Dustin are great assets as well. I would just like for the school board, John DeCotis and Sam Sweat to know how valuable Mike Vena is not only to our school but to our children. This is the first year for Whitewater High to have all four grades and to come in as underdogs and win second in state is a great accomplishment. I would just like to thank the coaches and Mike Vena for your heart and soul that you have put into our boys on the wrestling team. GO CATS!

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A blogger commends the personnel of Sandy Creek and FRMS as “the best in Fayette County schools.” Instantly, one intuits an analogy between the school staff and British maritime Capt. Edward John Smith: “Smith was born at Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent in January 1850. As he rose in seniority in world of maritime travel, Smith gained a reputation amongst passengers and crew for quiet flamboyance and greatness. Some passengers would only sail the Atlantic in a ship commanded by him. After he became commodore of the White Star fleet, it became routine for Smith to command the line’s newest ships on their maiden voyages. He was last seen on April 11, 1912, on the bridge of the Titanic having given the final order to abandon ship.” Sorry, folks, but our Fayette schools are declining and it is only a matter of time. Thanks to folks like the school board member from Tyrone for no leadership, we are spiraling downward

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And the award for complete disregard of public safety goes to that construction company building the luxury houses next to Starr’s Mill High School. They deemed it necessary to park their personal vehicles and various construction equipment on the cart path forcing pedestrians and cart traffic out into busy Redwine Road. I observed one child struggle trying to avoid ankle-deep mud trying to get around the cars parked on the path. Honorable mention goes to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department who, while aware of this, allowed this dangerous public safety condition to exist. I thought the protection of public safety was mission one?

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I was getting gas at [a Peachtree City convenience store] Monday evening. A Mexican lady pulls up to one of the pumps, gets out and starts fueling her minivan and then gets her young boy (age 3 or 4) out of the van and stands him beside the car door and lets him start [urinating] on the gas pumps. I was just floored! I could not believe what I was seeing, right in front of everyone, I mean this place was packed. Everyone that saw it just shook their heads in disgust. If you want to be accepted, you can’t act like animals. It might be OK to let your kids [urinate] on the gas pumps in good ol’ Mexico, but not in America. By the way, it was a dark blue Caravan, Georgia tag.

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Very frustrating for a taxpayer who resides in the county with one of the highest per capita incomes in the state and we cannot reach the tax office. We pay very high taxes to live here and the very office which collects the taxes is not accessible to us. Why is that? I can hear the excuses now. Phone problems or tax office employees being “overtaxed” with work? “Overtaxed”: now there is an interesting concept. Please fix the phones and have your employees accessible to the people they are supposed to be helping.

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What is the state of the curbside recycling program here in Fayetteville? Hardly any of my neighbors put their bins out. It would be nice to know which items were collected and which ones weren’t. Is it true that glass and corrugated cardboard (two highly recyclable items) are not accepted? Perhaps a newsletter highlighting the details of the recycling program could be mailed along with our bill. We’re paying for this service anyway, as part of our sanitation charge. More people should use it.

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I was reading the “Tweaked annex bid gets PTC kudos” article and I’m left wondering why the kudos? The Wieland guys are getting 495 houses on land where the current zoning calls for 150 houses. What are we getting in return for making the developer wealthy? Reading the article, I would say not much. “Planning Commissioner Patrick Staples said it was important to him for the plan to preserve as many trees as possible.” Good boy, Patrick, but if they build less homes we’ll save a ton of trees. That would be nice because the appearance of our city is dropping. “Planning Commissioner Theo Scott said the plan’s golf cart access looked solid.” They actually included cart paths, wow! “I for one applaud you for what you’ve done,” Mullin said. “It’s far better than what you had here.” What they had before was outrageous. Yes, this version is better than outrageous, but it certainly doesn’t deserve applause. What we really get out of the annexation is 990 students without a school to put them in, another 1,200 cars on our roads, and another big drain on our city services. Why are we applauding? I just can’t get used to the new developer-get-rich-quick phase and the loss of quality controlled growth. What do we really get with this new unappealing plan?

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Why are we continuing with TDK after the comments from the rude Coweta chairman? I can’t believe we’re even discussing new big box stores either. Mayor Logsdon has yet to learn that good ideas come and go, but disastrous ones accumulate. Who is going to run against Judi Rutherford and Stuart Kourajian? You’ll get a lot of support.

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My family first thought Mayor Logsdon and the City Council were being overly chided on certain issues in 2005. But we are now solid in the camp which is wondering what in the world is happening to our city. It looks as though everything is up for grabs from ugly warehouse stores to selling our city’s forested areas. The TDK Extension is nothing but a phony deal to profit Coweta County builders. Let’s start showing some accountability and respect the wishes of the people.

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I’m registering again for the Senior Homestead Exemption. The tax relief is truly appreciated. Thank you to Councilman Weed, Councilman Rapson and Mayor Brown for looking out for the least of these in our city. We miss you.

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Hey, you in the Infinity G20, APH 6023, you know, the one with the double pro-life bumper stickers. If you are so pro-life, how about not speeding through the school zone near Huddleston Elementary?

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To the person who wrote about the merge lane on I-85 and was irritated by people flashing their lights: Why don’t you just stay in the right-hand lane? There is no reason for you to merge onto the other lanes. Remember this: “Slower traffic keep right,” and nobody will bother you. Now since we’re critiquing local drivers, why do people have such a hard time with four-way stops? It’s not that difficult, people. First car stopping at the intersection has the right of way. If two cars arrive simultaneously the car to your right has the right of way. Why do so many people come to a complete stop at the yield signs? Yield simply means give way to oncoming traffic. If no car is approaching, do not stop. If you get honked at for stopping, you deserve it. So hang up and drive.

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“Are 10 too many per single-family home?” It was so nice to know that at last the Association of Fayette County Government is planning to look and study this growing problem. I don’t know if you have noticed how big this problem is in the neighborhood around the Glenloch area in Peachtree City. I hope the county governments take action soon.

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There is little doubt that the USA has the power to mobilize a force that would permanently secure our borders in a matter of weeks. But it is clear that we lack the will to accomplish this task. Lack of will and “impossible” are pretty much the same thing.

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Our society depends upon trust and honesty in its citizens to survive. What does the illegal entry by millions say to us and where we are going as a country and what we have become as a people if we tolerate it and our leaders embrace it?