Yankee Dunndle’s leaving townRiding on his ego.We plucked the feather from his hatAnd now he’s lost his mojo.Yankee Dunndle’s packing upAnd leaving all the candy.Yankee Dunndle’s out the door.Our sheriff is still the dandy.

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No one had more to do with wrecking Greg Dunn’s political livelihood than Dunn himself and his sidekick Peter Pfeifer. You might be able to overlook the arrogance, but their selfish abandonment of Tyrone, Peachtree City and north Fayette broke the camel’s back.

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They bullied the sheriff, the tax commissioner and the cities. Dunn, along with Pfeifer and Linda Wells became so self-absorbed, that they just plain forgot how to treat everyone. We’re now turning the control of the county over to a bunch of shameless little monsters. The results won’t be pretty, but we can always have the excuse that Greg Dunn drove us to killing ourselves.

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What happens when the vast majority of the registered voters who care about quality of life fail to show up at the polls? You end up with Sheryl Lee, Harold Logsdon and Eric Maxwell. More housing density, more traffic, and crowded schools (imagine Gwinnett County) are in our future. Our hindsight is going to be 20/20 on this one. We can only look at the mirror when it comes to blame.

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Mr. Maxwell, congrats on upsetting Mr. Dunn. We all have great expectations for you. Don’t pull a Logsdon on us. Mr. Chapman, do us all a favor and put the last nail in the coffin and throw your support behind Mr. Smith to upset Ms. Wells. A clean sweep of the commissioners would be a great gift to the citizens of Fayette County. By the way, Sheriff Johnson, wipe that smirk off your face.

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The DIRECT PAC has, once again, proven to be the guiding hand over the will of the people. Through the tireless efforts of the volunteers and the financial resources made available, the political action committee is transforming our county into a progressive area where we are no longer constrained by land use patterns that reflect lower density. The July 18 local primary was evidence that an overwhelming majority of our citizens prefer significant increases in housing density and the expansion of sewer into the unincorporated county. We no longer view large-scale developments and annexations in a negative light. With the likes of Greg Dunn and Steve Brown removed from elected office, our county is now free to take a more aggressive position on growth. The realignment of our focus is long overdue. Special thanks to the DIRECT PAC leadership: Rick Schlosser (Coldwell Banker and Metro South Realty) and Rex Green (Group VI). It’s time to clear some trees, move some dirt and become part of Atlanta.

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Well, the voters have spoken. Here are the lessons to be taken from this election: 1. Cal Beverly’s political endorsements are still the kiss of death. 2. Voters don’t like arrogant, “my-way-or-the-highway” politicians (Dunn and Wells). 3. Sam Chapman, for all his money, is the worst politician since Dan Quayle.

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Eric Maxwell was victorious even though he tried to mislead the public regarding his financial interests in the local development scene. Peter Pfeifer was a big reason why a lot of people are fed up with the status quo. His psychotic letters to the editor continually made people wonder if the problematic county commission was beyond hope. Pfeifer did a great deal to discredit both Greg Dunn and Linda Wells in the local newspaper. Pfeifer is anti-just-about-everything. If you go back and read his letters, you will notice that he is always right and that everyone else has a distorted point of view.

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Attention all candidates: I am serving notice here and now that I will not vote for any candidate that uses those insipid calls to entice me to vote for them. I just hang up. First of all, I could care less what John Smoltz, Rudi Guilliani, or Andy Young thinks of your candidacy. Secondly, I have paid my money to be on the no-call list. This is my reward for being a registered voter and voting in every election we hold? I can use my license to vote. I will change parties if necessary. Don’t call me, I’ll call you. Maybe I should call you while you are having dinner, every night.

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OK, Greg Dunn lost. The balance of power on the commission has shifted to the developer-friendly crowd. Wells and Pfeifer will have to become the loyal opposition to try to hold down as much of the overspending and trashing of the land use plan as they can. For you Eric supporters, save this comment. In two years when Horgan, Frady and Pfeifer are up for reelection, you will be screaming for the heads of Horgan and Frady because they will have gutted the land use plan in favor of their developer buddies. It will take two years and untold damage to the county to show that when 80 percent of the voters sit on the sidelines and let only 20 percent of their neighbors make their decisions for them, 100 percent of the county suffers. I can only hope that Wells’ people get out and vote on Aug. 8. If not, this will be a watershed moment for the county and the results will be disastrous.

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I am bothered by the sheriff’s involvement in the commission races. The only checks and balances that exist in county government are those exercised by the commission over the budget of the constitutional officers. Now that Dunn is out and Wells is in a runoff, are we going to allow the sheriff to anoint his own commissioners? That is very very dangerous. For that reason alone, I will vote for Linda Wells in the runoff.

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Did Sam Chapman get hung out to dry by the sheriff or what? Sam stated publicly that the sheriff’s wife was the one that convinced him to run for the commission again. The sheriff allowed Sam to think that he was the chosen one. That is, until Herb Frady got Jack Smith to run, and then suddenly Sam was out. It is this kind of back-stabbing that makes good people not want to run for office. It also shows how desperate the sheriff is to get rid of Wells.

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Does anybody realize that Mack was second behind Linda Wells in the primary July 18? And Jack Smith was third, according to the county election Web site. Nov. 7, Mr. Mack could be the next Post 4 commissioner. Why aren’t y’all talking about this? Mack, 3483; Jack Smith, 3270; Sam Chapman, 2696.

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If you want to know how Jack Smith leans on development, just look at his campaign managers. One is none other than Al Hovey-King, the recently defeated Fayetteville City Councilman who is in the pocket of the most favored developers in Fayetteville, Bob Rolader, Brent Scarbrough and Lane Brown. Although they have not made reportable contributions to Smith’s campaign, their friends have. It scares me to death that Al Hovey-King and that crowd could have any influence with Smith. Look what they did to Fayetteville. I do not want the same thing for the county. Wells has never taken money from any developer and that is why I am voting for her again.

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You whiners who think that Steve Brown was a better mayor of Peachtree City than Harold Logsdon are missing a few screws. You whine and complain about raising the millage rate to stop depleting the cash reserves. Well, Steve Brown not only depleted the cash reserves, but PTC taxes went up 22 percent under his “reasonable fiscal policies.” You whine about the council purchasing property as overpaying and “padding” the developers’ pockets. Yet where was the outrage when Brown purchased five acres for $850,000? That comes out to $170,000 per acre. And what were we going to do with it? Extend a road to relieve traffic? Heck, no. We were going to build a bridge to nowhere. Wow, nine firefighters short and nearly losing our insurance rating, but we could find all that money to buy property. By the way, the millage rate increase is going to hire more emergency workers, the ones Brown never addressed. Safety didn’t matter to him, only buying property and hiring unneeded assistant city managers. And you whine about Logsdon “buddying” up to the “big developers.” Where was your outrage when Brown privately, behind closed doors, worked a secret deal with John Wieland Homes, the biggest developer in the Southeast U.S.? And “Mr. Anti-Annexation” Steve Brown was working this “sweetheart” deal during an annexation moratorium. Talk about padding developers pockets. Yeah, you may think Logsden is bad, but you who say Brown was better are either stupid, brain-dead, or Steve Brown himself.

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Mayor Logsdon shouldn’t get a failing grade for lying to us about no new taxes and having a unique ability to cut the budget and roll back the millage rate. We should expel him. We’re in a leadership vacuum with Pinocchio as a mayor. Maybe Fred Brown and Joel Cowan can get off of their collective derrieres and help bail water out of this embarrassing ship that is sinking like a rock. Increased fees, increased taxes, railroad parking lots, pushing sewer expansions, boosting huge annexations, no prayer, no public speech at meetings, no southside fire station and walloping us senior citizens – and that’s the good news. The mayor is single-handedly creating a situation that’s making it difficult for seniors on a limited income to stay in Peachtree City. He should be ashamed.

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It looks as though Harold Logsdon, king of the double standard, changes the rules any time he feels like it. The same mayor and city staff that told my family and others the city will not fund solutions for “private drainage problems” with tax dollars or stormwater fees has done the opposite. Interestingly, the city paid over $120,000 for the piece of property to fix a drainage problem for a private residence in the Fairfield subdivision. Is this a change in city policy or does the mayor get to pick and choose who the law applies to? What happens to all of the other homeowners with serious flooding problems that have been turned away? Does the mayor and city staff believe in equal treatment under the law? The mayor welcomes special interests with open arms, but leaves the average citizens behind.

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It is important that the public be aware of a situation going on at a local [eatery] in Peachtree City. I am intensely against any drunk driving at all, but anyone who is turning in people (an employee who shall remain nameless) as they walk out the door just to get them in trouble needs to get their priorities in line. This has happened to at least five people that I am aware of. They go in for a beer or two and don’t make it out of the parking lot before police are hot on their tail. The more responsible, kind thing would be to stop them before they leave your establishment. Even better yet, don’t serve anyone who you feel has had too much. Your goal should be to prevent drunk drivers, not encourage them and then call your police buddies so they can make an arrest. Think about this before you go out for a quick beer or glass of wine after work.

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So now we have a “mystery” in Peachtree City, according to a recent Citizen article? The relatively new Peachtree City police station has a moisture problem. Don’t know what that means exactly, but mold was the only thing mentioned. Maybe some $20,000 expert can tell us to remove the mold and find the moisture source. It simply can’t be any kind of site problem because it was guaranteed to be suitable years ago. I know, it’s a mystery. It is possible that it is the same kind of “mystery” as the tennis center has: it has not only a moisture mystery, but a debt mystery: We don’t know who spent about $1.5 million, plus mucho attorney’s fees, and it is still mystifying us interest payers. Could that have been salaries and operating expenses they spent? No, it was self-sustaining, they say, with a little help from the amphitheater, so, it must also be a “mystery.” If the coverup isn’t soon completed and released to the public, we may soon have a bill we can’t pay, or, a former local bank who goes broke. Could be either way some of the same people get hurt, so I think we, the taxpayers, might as well save a little to pay it off on a time note. Maybe one of the local predatory lenders will finance all of it? Mystery numbers 3, 4, 5, and 6 at a later time.

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Do not, I repeat, do not start the TDK extension into Coweta, bypassing some traffic away from The Avenue and the restaurants across from The Avenue. Not yet. However, now that most of the land has been developed on the North Parkway, you may now go ahead and put the four-lane through so as to pass half of the southern PTC and Brooks traffic through the North Parkway. The bridge is already fixed for four-lane (remember). Smokerise and all of the others won’t mind, will you? Sincerely: those who owned or controlled the development.

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Could we get a progress report from our mayor on the tennis center at Planterra? Does it still leak? Is it paid for yet? Has the bank dropped the lawsuit to save attorney’s fees? Is there a project going to organize a raffle to pay off the tennis center? Is the NTA interested in buying the center from Peachtree National Bank and Group Six, or is that Pathways, or is it PCDC, I simply can’t keep up? Have numerous local millionaires, including our former mayor who once offered to put in a million or so, already have most of the money gathered from their last 10 years’ profits? I would feel better if you would just send me a bill for my part of the tennis center debt (I figure about $200) and avoid going into debt, as Washington does, but don’t cut taxes like Bush does when you do spend it.

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To all those parents of the Peachtree City kids that have been stealing golf carts or raiding garage refrigerators, it is you that should be taken out back behind the barn and whipped by the police. It is your responsibility to teach your kids right from wrong. Get the hint or otherwise some day you may be getting a call from the Chief Murray to tell you that your little darling was shot by a startled homeowner while they were being robbed by Junior.

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So, you don’t like seeing Peachtree City’s Code Enforcement out in the subdivisions. They are out there doing their job and not wasting time and tax dollars languishing with their feet up at a desk all day. Move if you don’t like the high standards for keeping PTC beautiful.

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We all should applaud the call for increased vigilance and prosecution for the subculture members of our neighborhoods who seem to see our streets and cart paths and your yard as a trash receptacle. I don’t understand the lack of pride expressed by such behavior. I was trained at a very young age to feel guilt at dropping trash on the ground and to see such social disregard as an affront to my sensibilities. And I grew up in a place not nearly as nice as this town. It is good that we live in a place where delinquents painting childish sayings and representations of their private zones on other’s fences or on the path, and heathens dropping their refuse where ever they feel the urge, is still seen as a problem to be addressed and not just tolerated. Make no mistake, this blatant dropping of garbage and tagging of property are acts of no higher mental thought than that of a dog urinating on a tree in your front yard. If you want to have a dog stop marking your tree, you either make the act painful for the animal or for the animal’s owner ( i.e., parent). Left to their own canine ways, once the dogs know each other’s mark, and determine their hierarchy, they then run in packs (a.k.a gangs). If they want to pack, have them do it in a kennel, not on your street. If you see it, report it. And to the folks we pay to enforce our laws, if you get the call, act upon it.

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I am hoping Fayetteville will do something soon about a noise ordinance. All day and all hours of the night we have to listen to these loud stereos, sometimes so loud that the glass is vibrating. What happened to this nice, quaint town?

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Planterra Ridge Association: Hope you are happy with your speed bumps as you will be the only ones enjoying them. You couldn’t wait two months or less until the 54/34 widening is completed, huh? Didn’t you ever consider your neighbors who travel to and from work, school, stores and the like who have to traverse this fiasco? Oh, and be very careful now so your transmission or muffler doesn’t fall off your vehicle.

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Fayette County has more 4-way stop intersections than nail salons. Both are a problem. Actually, the unusual growth in nail salons is really less of a problem but nevertheless bizarre. The real problem is the 4-way stop. This method of traffic control was never meant for the amount of vehicles that use it every day. We are at a point in the volume of traffic that a better solution would be a two-way stop or traffic light. In opposition to these anachronistic octagonal red demon quads I have chosen to approach all other motorists at the intersections and attempt to stop at the same time. This tie will result in the waving of hands, blinking of lights, honking of horns, and fraying of nerves. Countless seconds will be lost at each stop until the more responsible solutions are put in place.

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I agree that our students should start school later in August. Personally I would like to see school started after Labor Day, like 90 percent of the rest of the United States. This earlier start each year is ridiculous and all of the excuses the Board of Ed and teachers may present for an earlier start are a bunch of baloney. That and it’s too darned hot and not healthy for the children to ride the bus and have outside sports practices in August. How is it the rest of the United States can start college in time and get in their testing on a Labor Day school schedule? And so what if we get done in early June instead of Memorial Day? Cut all of the breaks out and give some continuity to our children’s education. Obviously whatever we are doing in Georgia isn’t and hasn’t been effective for many years; we are still next to last in testing scores. It would be a neat idea to see Fayette County take the lead in Georgia and try something different, like go with the flow of the rest of the country. Besides, from what I have been told by teachers within our county, the 2007-08 calendar has already been decided so it doesn’t really matter what the public thinks. Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? How about the Board of Ed publicly posting the results of their survey? It would have been interesting to see one more alternative of a Labor Day start on the survey.

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To the rude road hog on Tuesday, July 18, about 10 a.m. on Hwy. 74 between Peachtree Parkway and Wisdom Rd.: We had a veterinarian medical emergency with a seizing, choking dog in the back seat of our car. Our hazard lights were on and we were blowing our horn. You refused to yield the lane. Do you really think a car with flashing lights and the horn blowing is just trying to beat you to the next traffic light? Use your common sense and humanity. What if this had been an emergency involving a person? A Peachtree City resident whose dog survived, no thanks to you.

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Don’t beat yourself up for not being as clever or crafty as I. A $7 tarp allowed us to stay cool up until [July 4th] show time. Same with dropping my car off that morning loaded with coolers and chairs. Saved the long walk to the park lugging that stuff. Contrary to popular belief, the meek will not inherit the earth.

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You can tell the sections of [Fayetteville] built before air-conditioning by the trees. Even with air-conditioning, trees help to keep energy consumption down. Not all low-tech solutions are outdated.

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We must conserve water because of shortages, but have plenty of water for new construction. Huh?

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So, just how much did the city of Peachtree City pay to Money Magazine to be listed as one of the top 10 locations to live in 2005? Or was that a payoff by local real estate interests? Take a look at the 2006 list of top places to live and most of the top 10 from last year are not even on this year’s top 100. I guess that the readers of Money are not the type that you want to move into your town; they seem to make the place much less desirable.

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Apparently there is no word for “illegal” in the land of Liberal, where they’re only fluent in DoubleSpeak.

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Millions of foreign nationals coming here without permission is not immigration. It is invasion.