Perhaps a couple of hundred folks showed up at Oconee Veterans Park on an absolutely gorgeous Saturday morning to speak their minds about healthcare “reform.”
The crowd appeared to be about evenly split between those who favored the various bills wending their ways through Congress and those who did not (unsurprisingly, I count myself among the latter). Each side, which was essentially preaching to its own choir, got a bit raucous on occasion but, for the most part, civility prevailed. Much to their credit, after the scheduled speakers had completed their remarks the organizers of the event opened up the microphone to anyone, regardless of their positions on the topic at hand.
A minor controversy arose over the invocation offered by former Oconee GOP chairman Larry Davidson; some on the left though that Davidson singled them out for disdain of some sort. My wife and I arrived late and missed Davidson’s comments. However, when we inquired of several attendees about the prayer; none of those to whom we spoke found anything particularly amiss with it.
Be that as it may, though, there was that one woman who took advantage of the open microphone to blatantly call Republican opposition to healthcare “reform” racist. According to her, conservative reticence about a government takeover of healthcare merely stemmed from having a black man in the White House. Of course, labeling opponents as racist has been a standard tactic of the left for years; I vividly remember being likened to the Ku Klux Klan for maintaining the “pro” position at a forum concerning nonpartisan elections for Athens-Clarke County mayor and commissioners back in 2004 – a referendum the overwhelmingly blue voters of Athens-Clarke County approved by a 2-to-1 margin, by the way. Fortunately, that tactic doesn’t work nearly so well anymore.
Also, though we on the right are constantly labeled “Astroturf” protestors, I will note that the only folks who came supplied with preprinted signs which, of course, denoted at least some pre-event organization and planning, were on the left.
See the Banner-Herald’s photos of the event here.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Oconee Protest Recap
SCHS Pigskin Update
Ouch. My alma mater SCHS Indians traveled to Flowery Branch last Friday evening, only to receive a 38-8 thumping at the hands of the Falcons (currently ranked #1 by MaxPreps and #3 by the AJC).
This week, the Indians (0-1) travel across the Tugaloo River to face Seneca, South Carolina. The Bobcats (0-1) opened the season with a 21-3 road loss to Pendleton.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Howling
What appears below was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Banner-Herald in response to this article and this editorial of last Thursday. The letter appeared in today's edition.
Facing an unprecedented revenue shortfall, the Georgia General Assembly recently discontinued the decade-old Homeowners Tax Relief Grants program. These payments, made by the state to local governments, were intended to offset the property tax burden placed on we taxpayers by those same local governments. Predictably, local officials across the state are howling now that they will be forced to increase property taxes to compensate for these lost funds. But is their consternation justified?
No, not really. That is because, since its inception, the program has simply engaged in the fiscal sophistry of robbing Peter to pay Paul. From where did the folks under the Gold Dome get the money to fund the grants in the first place? From we same taxpayers, of course. So instead of funneling tax money through the state bureaucracy, merely to have it distributed back to local governments, we are now going to pay those local governments directly.
The truth is that to the taxpayers generally, the General Assembly’s action represents not so much a tax increase as a tax transfer, from the state bureaucracy to local ones. If anything, this approach should have the advantage of making local government budgeting more transparent, if for no other reason than we taxpayers will now feel the full brunt of local expenditures.
Once again, government at all levels, not to mention the media and citizens generally, need to recognize that there is no free lunch. Ultimately, we taxpayers are the source of all government largess.
I’ve been making this same point for years. Whether it is the latest iteration of SPLOST, or Homeowner Tax Relief Grants, or an increased hotel/motel occupancy tax, we are constantly being assured that someone else will pay for our local expenditures. But it does not work out that way, does it? My property taxes increased dramatically this year, in part because of the General Assembly's action, but also because the Unified Government upped the millage rate and (unbelievably!!!) increased my assessment. Why? Because the local government has not, and will not, reign in its spending to any appreciable degree.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Winterville Municipal Elections
The qualifying dates for this coming November's municipal elections in Winterville have been established by the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections.
There will be two at-large City Council seats up for election, the ones currently held by Kenneth Tweedell and Mary Quinn. The new (or returning) council members will serve four year terms beginning on 01 January 2010.
Those wishing to run for either of these seats must qualify at the Board of Elections office, located at 155 East Washington Street in downtown Athens, between Monday, 31 August, and noon on Wednesday, 02 September. The qualifying fee is $54.
Any unregistered voter wishing to vote in this election must register by Monday, 05 October. The polling place will be the Winterville Depot, which will be open on Tuesday, 03 November, from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Any runoff election that may be required will be held on Tuesday, 01 December.
For more information, call the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections at (706) 613-3150 or Winterville City Hall at (706) 742-8600.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Winterville Neighborhood Watch
According to the town's newsgroup, Winterville's finest are holding an informational meeting for those interested in starting up a local Neighborhood Watch program. The meeting takes place at the Winterville Depot at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 25 August.
Sphere: Related ContentSCHS Pigskin Update
Yes, sports fans, it is that time of year again. My alma mater Stephens County Indians are gearing up to make another playoff run in Region 8AAA. To that end, there is a “Red Rage” communitywide pep rally scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, 20 August, in downtown Toccoa.
This year's campaign will not be an easy one, as several opponents on the SCHS schedule are ranked in preseason polls: the AJC has Flowery Branch at #3 and LaGrange at #4 in its AAA top 10, while MaxPreps has Flowery Branch at #1, Eastside at #6, LaGrange at #8, and Hart County at #18 in its AAA top 25. The Indians come in at #9 in the latter poll.
The Indians open the season on Friday evening, 28 August, at Flowery Branch. SCHS narrowly defeated the Falcons early last season, but lost the rematch in the first round of the state playoffs.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Oconee Healthcare Reform Protest
Exercise you First Amendment rights by joining The Citizens for Ethical Government in a peaceful demonstration against the various healthcare “reform” proposals being put forth by congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration.
The event, slated for Saturday, August 29, will take place at 10:30 a.m. at Oconee Veterans Park, located on Highway 53 in Watkinsville. Invited speakers include State Representative Bob Smith (District 113), State Senator Bill Cowsert (District 46), U.S. Representative Paul Broun (District 10), and Oconee Leader editor and publisher Rob Peecher, among others. There will also be people displaying signs at the Butler’s Crossing intersection and in downtown Watkinsville.
• Oconee and surrounding counties’ residents are welcome
• Bring your own signs
• Donations will be accepted to defray the cost of the event and publicity
For more information, contact Michelle Smith by telephone at (706) 206-6060 or
by email.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Red Fish Blue Fish*
The concept of odiferous ichthyoids has proven rather popular of late – on either side of the political aisle.
On the GOP right, our own 10th District Representative Paul Broun likened the Democrats’ health care proposals to “smelly, rotten fish.” The good doctor used this rhetoric during his town hall meetings in both Evans on Monday (the turnout was so large, a second session had to be arranged) and Clarkesville on Tuesday. Word from his office is that a meeting may be scheduled for the Athens area. Of course, it comes as no surprise that Broun is disinclined to support the proposals – and with darned good reason in my opinion.
On the Democrat left, first consider Obama Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel, who legendarily sent a dead fish to a pollster as the means of registering his dissatisfaction (see here and here). Granted, the incident took place a while back – but you've got to admit that it is still pretty good.
Next consider that the Obama Administration is encouraging the populace to report “fishy” opposition to the Dem’s health care proposals to the Oval Office (see here and here). I will certainly agree that something here does not pass the smell test, but to my thinking the odor wafts up not from folks protesting a government takeover of health care, but rather from our betters in the White House channeling Saul Alinsky and David Axelrod.
*Apologies to Mr. Geisel.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
What Do They Know That We Do Not?
Life has interfered to a considerable degree with blogging of late. Even so, I cannot let this one pass without comment, if for no other reason than to twist the tails of those myriad souls here in the Classic City who staunchly defend the educational status quo (or rather constantly carp about needing to fund more of the same).
As I have commented ad nauseam, year after year the Clarke County School District spends top dollar in terms of per pupil spending. For FY 2008, the figure was $11,180.05, which placed the CCSD in the 95th percentile of all school systems in the state.
Right across the county line, however, the Oconee County School District made do with a comparatively paltry $8542.34 per pupil, a mere 76.41% of what was spent in Clarke County.
The problem is that lower expenditure Oconee County kicks higher expenditure Clarke County’s butt eight ways from Sunday with regard to graduation test scores, graduation rates, CRCT scores, AYP scores, etc. This pattern has remained consistent for a long, long time.
And here is the kicker: while last minute teacher furloughs have played Hell with the CCSD’s pre-planning schedule, over in Watkinsville they are managing to make ends meet without any teacher furloughs (see here and here).
So once again, what do they know that we do not?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Fire Station No. 6: A Contrarian Argument
As I was driving to work westward on the Athens bypass one morning last week at about 8:15, I noticed a series of three fire department vehicles (two engines and another rescue-type vehicle) complete with lights flashing and sirens wailing, coming down the ramp from North Avenue headed east on the bypass toward Old Hull Road. I assume they were dispatched from Fire Station No. 1 on College Avenue. Though I do not know precisely where the fire engines were heading, it appeared to be toward the Athens Technical College and Athena Industrial park area – you know, right where the closed Fire Station No. 6 is located.
Of course this immediately aroused my interest, as I (apparently) have been the only person in Clarke County concerned about the obvious gap in local fire protection created by the indefinite closing of Fire Station No. 6 – which has now been vacant for four full months with no projected reopening in sight.
My concern was how the indefinite closing of a station would affect property insurance ratings – a question that proved quite a chore to answer. Over the course of the past few weeks, I spoke to all manner of folks in all manner of places. To make a very long story short, I eventually got hold of a real live person in the “mitigation” section of the Insurance Services Office (ISO) regarding its Public Protection Classification ratings, the group that to a large part determines what I pay for property insurance. I was told that information pertaining to the ratings was “proprietary” and that I would have to go through the local fire chief in order for them to talk to me.
That being the case, I had an informative chat with Chief Iby George of the Athens-Clarke County Fire & Emergency Services Department a week ago today.
The gist of that conversation is that the Unified Government has until 10 June to submit its application for that “economic stimulus” grant it wants from the Obama Administration to rebuild Fire Station No. 6 (of course, one may argue as to how this constitutes economic stimulus in any meaningful manner – as opposed to routine government spending – but that is another matter concerning which I did not quiz the good chief). About 30 days after that, the folks down at City Hall should then know whether the grant will be forthcoming.
If the grant does not come through and the Unified Government elects to repair the existing roof, the process to make the station fully operational again should take from six to nine months after the bid process is completed (partial operations could resume somewhat sooner). Even if one assumes the most optimistic of circumstances, Fire Station No. 6 will be closed for more than a full year at the very least.
If, on the other hand, the Unified Government secures its desired federal largesse, demolition of the existing structure and building of a new station is expected to take between 18 and 24 months after the bid process is completed (as it was explained to me, the grant has a limit of three years). Given that scenario, Fire Station No. 6 may be closed for more than three years.
The prospect of such an extended closure is what prompted my concern in the first place. I am told that, given the distribution of the county’s other fire stations, the absence of Fire Station No. 6 should not affect “prescribed” response times to a significant degree, certainly not enough to cause concern. The nearest stations are Fire Station No. 1 on College Avenue and Fire Station No. 9 on Danielsville Road though, in my opinion, it is a long haul from either to the more remote portions of the county formerly served by Fire Station No.6.
Apparently, as long as the prescribed response times are theoretically maintained though other stations and Fire Station No. 6 is back in operation at the time of the Department’s ten-year ISO renewal, no one seems to share my concerns as to its lengthy closure. To me, at least, this calls the accuracy and utility of the ISO’s ratings into serious question – but that is just me.
Also, I am told that Clarke County has agreements with regard to neighboring “mutual aid responders,” which means the volunteer fire departments in Winterville, Madison County, Oglethorpe County, etc. No disrespect intended, but if a school (e.g. Winterville Elementary School, Coile Middle School, Athens Technical College) or an industry (e.g. Nakanishi Manufacturing, Certainteed, Carrier Transicold, Invista, Merial Limited, Noramco) or some other such structure in the Clarke County hinterland goes up in flames, I’m not counting on much help from a volunteer fire department located half an hour away (okay, the one in Winterville is local, but the point remains).
For those interested, I confirmed that Fire Station No. 10, located at Athens-Ben Epps Airport, is operated as part of the airport rather than as part of the Fire & Emergency Services Department. Its staff and equipment are required for the conduct of flight operations, so neither leave the airport’s property.
With the caveat that I think that repairs should be made to the existing structure so as to get Fire Station No. 6 operational again as soon as possible, that station being the closest one to a large portion of the county’s industries and to those homes and schools in the northeastern part of the county, here comes the contrarian argument:
1. If Fire Station No. 6 is a vital part of the county’s fire protection system (as the Unified Government’s intention to either repair or rebuild it – not to mention common sense – would indicate), the objective should be getting the station back up and running as soon as possible. Thus repairing the roof of the existing station would be the correct course of action.
2. If Fire Station No. 6 is not a vital part of the county’s fire protection system (as its closure for a period that may well stretch into years – and the claim that such an absence does not substantially degrade the level of fire protection across the county – would indicate), why repair or rebuild the station at all? Why not save the taxpayers a substantial sum by permanently closing the station?
It seems to me that the Unified Government is maintaining diametrically opposed positions merely because it may have the opportunity to get a new fire station on someone else’s dime. But of course, all of those government dimes, be they local, state, or federal, ultimately come from the same pocket don’t they?
