I read the comment from someone questioning the political affiliation of Ann Jackson. It was signed by a C.J. Packard. Is it just a coincidence that Jim Whitlock owned a night club in Forest Park by that name? C.J. Packard’s operated on Jonesboro Road across from Fort Gillem between 1990 and 1991, complete with a ladies night that featured free drinks for the ladies and male exotic dancers. This was after Mr. Whitlock’s “epiphany” in 1984 when he embraced Republican values. His ownership of the night club, C.J. Packard’s, was between his stint as a pastor and his career defending drunk drivers. He has been a pastor, then a night club owner, now a criminal defense lawyer. What next? Our probate judge?

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I noticed a comment by C.J. Packard entitled “Ann Jackson, Democrat, Republican, or something else.” Jim Whitlock owned a night club by the name C.J. Packard’s in Forest Park in the 1990s. I believe that Mr. Whitlock wrote those comments and used his old alias, “CJ Packard.” This is old fashioned mud-slinging. Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. I hope that Ann, who is apparently better qualified, wins the election for probate court judge.

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Why would FCBOE ask for sales tax increase to pay the employees, because they never received the increase? Only the top notches will benefit off the increase. We have not received a pay increase in the last three years. It’s not our problem; you all mismanage the budget.

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Fayette County BOE wants to be saved by the community. Sell the unused trailers. That would get you some cash to start. I might agree with the tax increase if I knew the custodians, parapros and kitchen staff would receive a better pay scale. They are paid way below what the northern counties make (Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, etc.). Since we are the top school system in the state, give the employees more money.

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I guess this is what is called “backroom politics.” At the July 31 public meeting at the Fayette County Board of Education, a member of the community approached the podium supposedly to speak about the proposed tax increase for Fayette County. Instead, her first comment was to criticize a board member who was absent for personal reasons. When a board member tried to stop her, she continued to escalate the situation by being verbally combative. It proved to an embarrassing situation for the audience to watch. The board chairman did nothing to keep the meeting under control and allowed the speaker to continue. Why? I asked myself. Could it possibly have anything to do with the fact that the speaker works with another board member, one who has been videotaped being rude and overbearing to the absent board member? Perhaps birds of a feather do flock together. Small-town politics. Gotta love it.

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The move by the Fayette County School Board and its supporters to add a SPLOST referendum to the November election is nothing but a thinly disguised attempt to shift part of the school tax burden by way of a sales tax increase to currently non-school-tax participants such as senior citizens and renters. Comptroller Laura Brock let the cat out of the bag by discussing a potential millage rate rollback in the future. This is nothing but unabashed vote buying. Let’s have a look first at the bloated FCBOE operation and get it down to bare bones, educating the children of this county without all the extra frills.

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I urge all of us to support SPLOST. I realize that we are all going through difficult economic times; however, our educational system is what sets us apart from surrounding counties. Our county continues to have all schools make AYP and our children have some of the highest test scores in the state. This can be attributed to the wide array of locally funded programs such as the arts, low student/teacher ratios, and EIP. I am a long-time resident of Peachtree City and product of Fayette County schools. I was very well prepared for college and am thrilled that my children are receiving such a quality education. Taking away programs would be a disservice to all, as individual strengths lie across the curriculum. We must meet the needs of all students and continue to give them a well-rounded education, one that includes art and music programs. If we want to keep Fayette County headed in the right direction, we need to keep our educational system strong and inclusive of all the locally funded programs.

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Citizens of Fayetteville, enough is enough. I’m not a native of Fayetteville, but I have grown to love the community since arriving 10 years ago. Regardless of your racial ethnicity, we all should be extremely concerned by the increased crime at the Fayetteville Pavilion. As I read the police blotter, I’m convinced that these crimes are not committed by Fayetteville citizens, whether black, white or Hispanic, but by individuals living outside our community. Now is the time for all concerned Fayette County residents, law enforcement agencies and elected officials to let criminals know that Fayetteville citizens are not targets of opportunity. Why should we be fearful to shop anywhere in Fayetteville? So, let’s take back our community, let’s assist law enforcement by reporting all suspicious behavior, regardless of racial ethnicity, and demand a heavier police present at the Pavilion. Let’s demand those stores with increased crime increase security. Let’s demand our elected officials send a strong unwavering message to law-breakers and potential law-breakers: if you break the law in Fayette County, you will be punished. It is time for us to draw our line in the sand and tell the criminals enough is enough and we will not tolerate it in Fayette County. Fayette County Citizens United.

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Rather than spend an large sum of money to benefit only a few interests, can we consider stepping forward with our cultural development and build an arts center? This would be to the benefit of everyone in PTC who wants to expand their knowledge as well as their experience with different types of art. This is something that would become a part of Peachtree City rather than an eyesore which fails after a short time with no one to be held accountable. I am sure this idea has been brought up before, but I think it is time we should get away from these adolescent ideas of skating rinks. It seems everyone is so hell-bent on building something. I say let us build something that has substance and contributes to the betterment of our community for many years to come.

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My husband works for Fayette County. He came to Fayette because he heard it was a great place to work. About the time the new commission came, he went from being hopeful to shining. My husband had found a job where he felt all his needs were met. The new board seemed to care about their employees and the level of service that is provided as a whole. But more importantly, they acknowledged that to attract the level of service our citizens require, a package worthy of such talent (and to retain such talent) must be offered. One can twist numbers, change the name of studies (“comparative salary study” to “raises”) and play the political ball game to earn votes. But at the end of the day, my husband and his overly qualified colleagues can certainly quit and go to any of the comparables that were used to gauge what they should be making. Better yet, my husband could make more money in the private sector, but after several years in the service, he wants to continue to do what he does best, at home. So as he would love to continue to serve Fayette, and I would love to continue to call it home, we will leave if we have to because of people like Peter Pfeifer and his group of skeptics. I doubt this letter will change minds. After all, skeptics are stubborn by nature because they enjoy believing the controversial. So instead, I ask every county employee, every local citizen that knows the difference between a salary study and a raise, to vote at the upcoming election.

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I read the letter in last week’s Citizen about Wieland’s desire to build more multi-family units in PTC, and the writer pointed to the failure of the multi-family structures in Lexington Park. I was shocked to learn they are in foreclosure. What a waste of beautiful land that once was a home for wildlife. Hopefully, the buildings will be demolished. Maybe something nice could be planted there. Just pray some other genius doesn’t decide to put low income housing in those units. And then there’s the new ugly buildings going up near the Line Creek Nature Area. Are there tenants lined up for them? Probably not. Did we need a discount tire place on the other side of the road? I once thought the writer who said PTC was on its way to be the new Riverdale was extreme in that thought, but now I am not so sure. I sure wish Ms. Swing Vote on the City Council would get some smarts. I wish our citizens would be just as vocal (and effective) as they were to thwart the proposed Goodwill to stop this development madness. One more thing, I am also very concerned about the huge size of the senior citizen development going up on Crosstown/Peachtree Parkway. Is that going to lay half-vacant also? New motto for our beautiful city might one day be “Plan to Be overrun.”

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I must urge everyone who has taken the time to write Free Speech concerning the (poor) state of our elected officials to check out: American Solutions for Winning the Future and their Platform of the American People. As I grow older and increasingly more interested in politics, I have become painfully aware that the American government is not at all representative of its citizens. We have all sat back for too long and allowed our leadership to sell out our interests and line their own pockets. The severe lack of leadership, campaigning lies, and ”good-ol’-boy business as usual” has lead to all our current ills. I watch the (biased) news, the “do nothing” Congress, “our special-interest-only president” and feel helpless and defeated. Regardless of which party you identify with, we must all admit that there are no candidates of choice, just the lesser of the evils to choose from, and this great nation deserves more than that. Instead of airing our grief here, let us form a local American Solutions chapter and begin to work on America’s challenges together, from the local to the highest office. Together we can deliver this country from special interests and back-room deals and return it to a country of the people, by the people, and for the people. Personally, I have never headed or organized anything beyond my large family, but am ready, able and willing to heavily involve myself in anything productive that may give this family a voice. We can do it together! (And if we don’t, we’ll be sorry. How much more money and freedom are you willing to lose before we make a stand?)

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Love to hear about the new “club” in Fayetteville called the Mocha Moms. The real issue with this is there is a real need for a club called Mocha Fathers, but unfortunately it will not happen, because the bylaws state membership must be greater than zero.

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Let me get this straight — a sitting white congressman, who sponsored a bill to apologize for slavery and Jim Crow, who represents a majority black district of Memphis, has been turned down from joining the congressional Black Caucus because it’s against their rules? Gee, is his skin tone wrong? Only in America.

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Where is this term “reverse racism“ coming from? Everytime I hear it used, it is being implied that whites have the market cornered on racism. One need only listen to “The Two Live Stews” on 790 The Zone or the V103 morning show to know this isn’t the case.

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Usually the folks that you wish would read Free Speech don’t, but here goes anyway. Last week in mid-afternoon, along a quiet part of Lake Peachtree, there were a couple of little children and their parents wading in the shallow water. Nearby was a gentleman playing fetch with his dogs in the water. Everybody was having a nice time on a hot summer day. I was taking my afternoon walk and stopped to enjoy watching their fun. Along comes a trio of fishermen/woman and proceed to cast their lines right in harm’s way of the kids and dogs. You had the boat dock to fish from, or any other little quiet part of the lake, but you chose to verbalize your sense of entitlement and infringe on someone else’s rights and enjoyment. Unfortunately, I was not shocked. By the way, are any of you a resident of Peachtree City anyway?

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A special thanks to the children’s librarians at the Fayette County Library for a great summer. You filled each week with terrific programs. Your hard work is very much appreciated.

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Dear citizens of our fair Peachtree City, users of energy efficient golf carts for getting around, I beseech you, STOP using those voluminous energy thirsty drying machines and get out there and line-dry your laundry. What is this hang-up about using the laundry line as some rural, old fashioned relic of the past? Simply carrying out the basket of heavy damp clothing, bending and stooping, is exercise in itself. Yes, it is time to save energy. I am a full-time worker, wife, mother, but I can still look out of the window and say yeah, a lovely sunny day, time to hang out the laundry. Let’s get out there and use that amazing yellow orb called the sun to naturally dry towels, jeans, shirts, anything. I don’t want to hear the excuses, my suit, my shirt, blah blah. I remember ironing and starching my military shirts about 25 years ago, never once used a dry cleaners with all those ozone depleting chemicals they use. Let’s get back to basics — solar energy at its cheapest. Buy some pegs and hang out the laundry; it’s an earth friendly sight.

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Yesterday afternoon I picked up a businessman friend from Japan at the Atlanta airport. On the way back to Peachtree City I stopped for gas. After filling up with $56 worth, my Japanese friend asked me how often I do that. I told him about twice a week. He was flabbergasted. He said he usually spends about 3000 yen per week for gas and he drives a luxury car. The yen-dollar exchange rate is about 105 yen to the dollar. Do the math, then tell me who is spending more for gasoline. The same is true in European countries, where people use only a fraction of what we require in this country.

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Regarding Mr. King’s rebuttal and comment about Don Imus: why wasn’t Jesse Jackson fired over his comments about Obama? Oh, yeah, that’s right, you have to HAVE a job first before you can be fired from it.