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Subject:Citizen Newsletter #276 From: Henry Citizen ([email protected]) To: [email protected]; Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:28:18

The Citizen Newsletter

Issue # 276
July 6, 2011 The Conservative Voice of Henry County
Contact The Citizen at [email protected] Your comments and submissions are always welcome!

In This Issue

News & Announcements Hey Henry Important Stockbridge Meeting Richard Steinberg for COuncil T-SPLOST: No Reason to Believe Deal Pitches T-SPLOST Long Term Costs of T-SPLOST Your Voice Race Baiting GA Senator Life is not a Race MARTAs Rebirth Our Expense Henry City Elections Nov. 8th

It's very obvious Fred Evans is there for the paycheck every month. There should be a provision in the by-laws to vote him off for failure to do his job. Thanks, Barbara

Hey Henry is a feature of the Henry County Times Hey Henry, what nice press the commissioners put out about it
Editorial / Publication Policy Available in HTML (original) or PDF format Send email to [email protected] The Citizen newsletter is available online at Scribd.com View online at being so much easier to check out library books by McDonough being open on Sunday afternoons. They didn't mention that they are closing all the libraries on Fridays now and eliminating all paid holidays. This is equal to 48 furlough days for the remaining staff. Is any other county office losing this much pay? Certainly not the commissioners office!

Hey Henry, the Board of Commissioners just passed a budget that effectively gutted our public libraries. Nothing will change for Henry County libraries until the voters do what they did in Cobb Co. Get out your signs and protest. Hey Henry, get a life, everyone keeps crying over libraries and flip
flops, what about the waste of money for a battlefield, golf course and shooting range. This is money that could have saved some jobs and kept people from Henry P.D. from quitting daily to pursue jobs elsewhere.

http://www.scribd.com/larry_stanley

Cain loses top two Iowa staffers, campaign unraveling

Your Support is Appreciated
The Conservative Voice of Henry County has opened a venue for news, comment and opinion that exists nowhere else. It is because of you; a steady list of people who read and submit articles sharing ideas and principles.
From TheIowaRepublican.com:

Herman Cains Iowa director, Tina Goff, told TheIowaRepublican.com that she has submitted her resignation and is no longer working for the campaign. In addition to Goffs resignation, TheIowaRepublican.com can confirm that Kevin Hall has also left the campaign. Hall served as Cains Straw Poll coordinator. Goff and Hall both worked on Fred Thompsons presidential campaign in 2008 and Iowa Governor Terry Branstads campaign in 2010. Goff stated that she resigned because the Cain campaign refused to make a serious effort in Iowa, the home of the First-in-the-Nation caucuses.

Or visit www.hccitizen.org

With just 43 days to the Iowa Straw Poll, Cains campaign here in Iowa and nationally seems to be unraveling. Cain lost his New Hampshire director, Matt Murphy, who was his only staffer in that state, earlier this week. Jim Zeiler, a Cain regional director who had been to Iowa and was helping with the campaigns Straw Poll plans, has also left the campaign.

Curtail Immigration Problems

I have a very simple plan to curtail the immigration problems we experience here in America. If you want to immigrate to America you will be treated by our system just as an American would be treated by the country that you are immigrating from. In Mexico for example an American can not purchase property... If you come to America from Mexico you would not be allowed to purchase property. If you wish to come to America from Bermuda you MUST have a round trip ticket... In China you may only visit certain places with a government escort...All I am saying is if you come to America you should expect to be treated like an American would be treated by the government of you home country... pretty simple solution in my opinion. Don

Friends, Residents and Citizens of Stockbridge: On June 20, 2011 we filed an Open Records Request, on behalf of Concerned Citizens of Stockbridge (CCS), with the COS and its attorney. It was, and always had been, our desire to review an actual copy of the "so-called secret settlement agreement" (between the Mayor & City Council) prior to City Council's final vote to Change the COS Charter and amend the powers of our Mayor. The final vote by City Council is scheduled for July 11, 2011 at 600PM! There will be an open forum for any citizen to speak prior to the vote itself but, unfortunately, its outcome is a given conclusion! However, pro or con, this is the last opportunity for our citizens to voice their concern(s) at his time. PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THIS MOST IMPORTANT MEETING! With the help of the Georgia State Attorney Generals Office we were able to secure this and other important documentation. I am attaching a full copy of the settlement agreement, ordinance, resolution and billing related to this case and its disposition which I obtained through the efforts of the Georgia State Attorney General's Office. Please note that I was ONLY given 1 month of billing and yet the case went on for at least one year! PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND AND SPEAK OUT FOR OUR CITIZEN'S RIGHTS AT THE JULY 11, 2011 CITY COUNCIL MEETING! ITS OUR LAST CHANCE TO GO ON RECORD WITH OUR OPPOSITION TO ANY CHANGES WITHOUT OUR CITIZENS RIGHT TO VOTE ON SAID CHANGE(S)! Respectfully, Richard Steinberg for Concerned Citizens of Stockbridge (CCS)

Thank you for your support and participation

Over 16,000 reads at Scribd.com Over 4,000 subscribers

Richard Steinberg Announces intentions for Stockbridge City Council Election

this Year
Contact:Richard SteinbergFriends of Richard Steinberg Campaign Phone: 770-912-7036 www.friendsofrichardsteinberg.com Email: [email protected] PRESS RELEASE Richard Steinberg Announces Intentions for Stockbridge Office Stockbridge Resident, Small Business Owner & Leading Community Activist Files Paperwork to Run for Stockbridge City Council Stockbridge, GA, July 4th, 2011 Richard Steinberg, resident, small business owner and leading community activist in Stockbridge (GA), has filed his Declaration of Intent (DOI) to run for Stockbridge City Council.

Qualifying for the City of Stockbridge race is not until August 29th through September 2nd of this year, but with Steinberg filing his DOI, he can begin collecting money before officially qualifying for office. After being intimately involved in the City of Stockbridge for past the couple of years and being well versed in all the issues facing the city, stated Steinberg, I believe my unique business experience and knowledge will help the city solve its serious issues. More importantly, Steinberg noted, With 3 city council seats up this year, the citizens of Stockbridge have a real opportunity to strengthen their leadership on the council. I am currently in the exploratory phase of my campaign, talking with citizens and other fellow business owners and finding the best solutions for our city, stated Steinberg. I know we can bring economic development, businesses, jobs and prosperity to Stockbridge with real common sense solutions. Steinberg further noted, Our citizens deserve transparency in government, something which has been absent for many years, and it is my mandate to make this happen. Richard Steinberg is one of the first candidates to begin raising money for the City of Stockbridges City Council race in 2011. His announcement, on July 4, 2011, comes on the day which commemorates the 235th anniversary of our nations independence.

No Reason to Believe
There is no reason to believe the Brahmins sitting on the T-SPLOST Round Table will (or can) spend our money wisely. It is in their genetic profile to spend Other Peoples Money. They will make so-called investments that will drop hundreds of millions from the tax into deep, dark holes. They are, after all, politicians and they will produce a project list designed to attract the most voters. Even if those projects cannot be completed or the costs could never meet the projections. AJC - June 8, 2011: Some of the highest-profile projects proposed for a transportation sales tax may not be capable of completion by the time the tax ends, weakening their chances for inclusion in the referendum. While the projects are not disqualified, if they cannot be finished before the tax ends, they will be less attractive to voters. Local advocates for major transit lines, which they hope could be rail, into COBB C OUNTY, across the top end of I-285 and into GWINNETT C OUNTY said state analysts in preliminary discussions had told them those lines likely could not be complete and running by the end of the taxs 10-year period. A group of local elected officials called a roundtable is about to start choosing projects for the list. It is up to them what to choose from the $22.9 billion pool of eligible projects, but they must consider whether a project is likely to be finished on time. Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson chairs that group. Johnson said he could imagine placing "some" unfinished projects on the list -- for example, to complete land-buying for a future rail line. Pul-eeeze. This dog & pony show is making me ill. The great and wise are acting like voters are a stupid flock of sheep. They have experience; we are nave. They are thinking forward; we should trust them. As the bovine excrement deepens I will need more and more of Aunt Lillys rheumatiz medicine to calm my nerves! We know the past is the best teacher. Look to Henry Countys SPLOST programs. We got some good things accomplished. We also watched project priorities change on the fly and money shuffle from one place to another. Personal agendas, buying votes not the least among them, allows SPLOST to drain our pockets and fill their campaign war chests. We already have one Brahmin on the Round Table, Bucky Johnson, telling us they will choose projects that buy votes, and will be sold as investment for the future. Buying land, changing the geographical landscape, benefiting a handful of

landowners and developers along the way. Shall we trust Bucky? I dont think so.

Preaching to the Choir

Gov. Nathan Deal said that the Atlanta region's best opportunity to improve transportation is to support next year's regional referendum.

Deal urges support for transportation referendum The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Deal, speaking to the Atlanta Rotary Club, said he would personally advocate for the penny sales tax increase to fund a set list of regional transportation projects. "Many of you have worked on this project," he said. "The round-table process has moved fairly smoothly. This is an opportunity for us to have projects with regional significance." Shovel Ready?

Deal also touched the effort to deepen the Port of Savannah. The governor said it will be next spring at the earliest before the state could get approval from all the federal agencies who must sign off on the project before the first shovel of dirt is turned. Georgia, Deal said, has the support of the Army Corps of Engineers, but obstacles remain.
Metro Counties to Vote on T-SPLOST? So far we have seen great focus on the wants and desires of Atlantas political class. Ten metro counties will accept or deny the 10-year tax. Now we are to expect some of the revenue to shift to Savannah?

Long Term Costs of T-SPLOST

A group of 21 local elected officials must take those $22.9 billion worth of projects and jettison about $15 billion of them, because the penny tax would raise only about $8 billion over its 10 years. The projects they choose will be the key to swaying voters. Todd Long, the state's transportation planning director who did the adding and deleting over the past two months, said the MARTA extension to Roswell was one of the projects that would appeal to a lot of residents.

From DORABLOG, http://doraville.org

T-SPLOST funds will be used to subsidize transit operation in Gwinnett and Cobb County. T-SPLOST Project TIA-CO-002 provides $200,000,000 in transit operating funds for Cobb County. T-SPLOST Project TIA-GW-073 provides $50,000,000 in transit operating funds for Gwinnett County. No one with sense thinks that the County Chairs of Gwinnett and Cobb County that sit on the Roundtable that will select TSPLOST projects will allow these projects to be struck from the list, necessitating their County Commissions cut services or raise property taxes to make up the shortfall. Who would subsidize the operation of a T-SPLOST Northeast MARTA Line extension from Doraville to Oakcliff Road? Or a MARTA West Line extension to I-285? Despite them being located in Fulton and DeKalb Counties, their operations should not be funded by the DeKalb and Fulton County MARTA tax because they would overwhelmingly serve residents of other than DeKalb and Fulton Counties. There are two explanations concerning operating subsidy: 1 Nobody gave operating costs a second thought, what with the projects being located in Fulton and DeKalb Counties, and Gwinnett County freeloading on MARTA being second nature, or 2 The cost of transit operation is built into the T-SPLOST cost. (The legislation prohibits T-SPLOST funding current MARTA system operations, not new operations. How convenient.) The second explanation begs the broader question, what about operating subsidies for other T-SPLOST transit projects? Are transit operating subsidies built into T-SPLOST project costs? If they arent, taxpayers will be in for an unpleasant surprise. I speculate that operating subsidies are built into the cost of T-SPLOST transit projects, in which case there is a lack of transparency in T-SPLOST project description. T-SPLOST project descriptions ought to specifically indicate that transit project costs include operating subsidy. (Surely if a $8B T-SPLOST identifies a $50,000 paving project, it should identify a $25,000,000 transit operating subsidy!) Its important that the specific amount of the operating subsidy be identified because upon expiration of T-SPLOST, the annual tens if not hundreds of millions required to continue operating T-SPLOST built transit have to come from somewhere (or is this another tax, like the GA400 toll, that despite promises to the contrary, will never go away?). The only transparent thing about T-SPLOST Propaganda is the fleecing of Georgia taxpayers

T-SPLOST funding transit operations serving Gwinnett and Cobb County, and subsidizing new T-SPLOST transit make it clear that the states GOP leadership think that we in DeKalb and Fulton Counties are dolts to be taken advantage ofafter TSPLOST referendum approval is contingent on solid support from the DeKalb and Fulton electorate. SEND EM THE MESSAGE THAT YOU ARENT A DOORMAT BY VOTING NO VOTE ON THE T-SPLOST REFERENDUM.

YOUR VOICE
Letter to the Editor:

Vote No on TSPLOST Boondoggle

I was called by the Georgia State Government phone system to participate in the June 20, 2011 TRANSPORTATION ROUNDTABLE TOWN HALL MEETING for Gwinnett County. I dont know why, as I moved from Gwinnett County to Walton County in 1999 after living there for 19 years and watching it deteriorate under the watchful eye of supposedly experienced politicians and the GA DOT. So my thoughts on the TSPLOST tax are as follows and based on years of similar acts by the elected officials. In my opinion, this is just more politicians, construction companies and developers wanting the taxpayer to fund their follies. If anyone cares to remember, when the inner counties raised the sales taxes, the outer counties benefited from increased sales, so this will happen again and small businesses will be hurt. If anyone cares to remember how bad government people are at estimating, simply remember the Gwinnett Justice Center ... we simpleton taxpayers were told it would cost $36 million, then it went to $54 million, then to $77 million, and I think the final cost was somewhere around $110 million. I fought this insanity in Gwinnett County for 19 years before I'd had enough with the "this tax is for your future and your kids and grandkids" which is the line politicians always use when they want to sneak their hand into your pocket. Zoning is the problem and politicians won't control growth via zoning because it might cut into their developer friends who help fund their re-elections. And look at wasted roads, GA 20 was redone to benefit the Mall of Georgia, not to help traffic flow and look at the mess it is now with growth all around and the Mall of Georgia straddling the road. Also, find the grass and stone parking lots they said would be installed at the Mall of Georgia to limit the impervious ground cover, good luck with that search. Also, remember when the I-85 and 316 interchange could have been improved for about $25 million, but instead the final project, which really helped the developers around Gwinnett Place Mall, finally cost around $300 million. I remember one road campaign in Gwinnett when there was a group called Citizens for a Fair Tax (I think, its been awhile) were trying to convince the voters to go along with what they wanted when it came out that the group was really an man and his wife from Norcross and their $150,000 in funding all came from developers and others with a vested agenda. I could go on and on with stories, but then I dont know half of the political gaming that has gone on in just Gwinnett County, not to mention the entire metro area. If you believe politicians, you deserve what you get. VOTE NO on this boondoggle. Roger Hale, Monroe, Ga.

Cemetery Research Group

www.crghenry.org

Signature Broadcasting

Network SBN TV Were all about you! http://sbn.tv/

McDonough Arts 2011 events For more info contact: Debbie Withers 678/522-4020 or [email protected] http://www.mcdonougharts.net

Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance

If the BoC and movers and shakers are so very convinced that the Tara Field money pit is such a good deal for the taxpayers of Henry County I would issue this challenge... If the proposed purchase turns out to be a financial boon to the county then I would support that the BoC members who vote to buy the airport get a 2% bonus.... If the field turns out to be a bust then the BoC members and Chairperson who cast a vote to purchase the property then I submit that they should not only resign but collectively reimburse the citizens of Henry County for their loss.....that's the way things are done in the private sector... When a manager in the private sector goes against what the owner of the business has directed him to do then he resigns or is terminated and in many cases when the fraud is discovered the manager/managers are many time sued in civil court to recover the loss then owner/citizens suffer. I'm just saying projects such as "The non battle battlefield, Cottonfields Golf course, non-training training field, horse arenas that are unable to host sanctioned horse

www.ProvisionProperties.com

events, multi million dollar highways to a race track that hosts ONE national race per year, soccer fields that are overgrown and abandoned, recreational locations that some on the commission seem to believe to be their own personal playground and the list could go on, then those responsible for these money pits should go ahead and be honest and admit that they are about personal agendas., not public service. Don

Hat tip to Alfred Britt

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang myfirst painting on therefrigerator, and I immediatelywanted to paint another one. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed astray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kindto animals. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make myfavorite cake for me, and I learned that the littlethings can be the special things in life. When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say aprayer, and I knew that there is a God I could alwaystalk to, and I learned to trust in Him. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make ameal and take it to a friend who was sick, and Ilearned that we all have to help take care of each other. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take careof our house and everyone in it, and I learned we haveto take care of what we are given. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how youhandled your responsibilities, even when you didn'tfeel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears comefrom your eyes, and I learned that sometimes thingshurt, but it's all right to cry. When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that youcared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.. When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most oflife's lessons that I need to know to be a good andproductive person when I grow up. When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you andwanted to say,' Thanks for all the things I saw whenyou thought I wasn't looking.'

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God
Quote of the Day: "If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'll have to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot."

Race Baiting Under the Gold Dome

Robert Brown, GA Senate Minority Leader

Georgias illegal immigration crackdown laws should be called the "Brown Codes" because of their similarity to the "Black Codes" governing blacks after the Civil War.

All the experts we interviewed found big holes in Browns analogy. The biggest was this one: The Black Codes aimed to keep freed slaves on their plantations. Georgias immigration law pressures illegal immigrants to leave the state. Many of the states farmers say illegal immigrants are fleeing in droves. Swarthmore College professor Richard M. Valelly, an expert on Reconstruction, noted that illegal immigrants arent in danger of being re-enslaved. Theyre at risk of deportation.

Hat tip to June Knieriem

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word ' refrigeration ' mean nothing to you? How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ' Jeopardy ' on television? I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, ' How about going to lunch in a half hour? ' She would gas up and stammer, ' I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain ' And my personal favorite: ' It's Monday. ' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college. Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of ' I'm going to, ' ' I plan on, ' and ' Someday, when things are settled down a bit. When anyone calls my ' seize the moment ' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you ' re ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord. My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy. Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you. Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you? ' Do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, ' We'll do it tomorrow. ' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say ' Hi ' ? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

Coweta,? Douglas, Oconee, Fayette, Henry to Fund MARTA Rebirth MARTA will basically have to be re-created/re-named as a integrated regional transit system where

Fulton/DeKalb/Cobb/Gwinnett pay equally. In addition, some of MARTAs archaic rules (such as the 50/50 rule) will have to be brought into the 21st century. All of MARTAs assumptions for deliverability of the BeltLine and heavy rail expansion within 10 years are based on this. Not to mention 32 Coweta road projects on T-SPLOST wish list; Henrys Multi-Gazillion Dollar dreams for GA Hwy 42; and other counties where regional significance simply does not exist. WHEN
THE DUST SETTLES, NONE EXCEPT

FULTON, DEKALB, GWINNETT & COBB

WILL SEE THE

$BILLIONS

WE WOULD ALL PAY.

City Elections on November 18th

By Jason Smith, Henry Daily Herald Municipal elections will be held, on Nov 8th, in McDonough, Stockbridge, Hampton and Locust Grove. The earliest date for a candidate in the countys municipal elections to qualify is Aug. 29, at 8:30 a.m. The qualifying period ends Sept. 2, at 4:30 p.m. If any runoff elections are needed, they will be held on Dec. 6, according to Henry County Director of Elections and Registration Janet Shellnutt. Council seats in McDonough, which are up for re-election, are those currently held by At-Large Councilwoman Gail Notti, District 3 Councilman Wayne Smith, and District 4 Councilman Monta Brown. Three at-large council seats will be up for grabs in Stockbridge. Those seats are occupied by Mayor Pro Tempore Kathy Gilbert, Shirley Dabney and Fred Evans. Only one of Henrys four cities, Locust Grove, will have an election to determine its mayor in November. Locust Groves Mayor Lorene Lindsey announced earlier this month she will not seek re-election. Three at-large council seats in Locust Grove, currently held by W.L. Billy Carter, Otis Hammock and Frances Ward, also will be on the ballot. Hamptons municipal election will feature races for the three at-large council seats held by Councilmen Arley Lowe, Henry Byrd and Steve Hutchison. The outcome of the various races could be determined by a relatively small tally of votes, according to the countys top election official. The chances for participation from voters are greater in some of those cities, than others, according to Shellnutt. Several of the cities have a good voter turnout, Shellnut said. Stockbridge is our lowest-voting municipality, percentage-wise. That may be because the population is so spread out, and people are more interested in voting in larger elections than local issues. In 2009, a total of 1,244 McDonough residents went to the polls for the mayoral election, in which Mayor Billy Copeland was re-elected, according to information provided by the county. McDonough Councilman Rufus Amis was elected with just 460 of 1,199 total votes, in a city which reported 22,084 residents in the 2010 census. In Stockbridge, where census figures revealed a total of 25,636 residents last year, 1,436 votes were cast in the 2009 City Council election. The mayoral race in that city brought 833 voters to the polls, the same year. Similar election results were also reflected in Henrys two smaller cities. The 2009 Locust Grove City Council race which featured six contenders was decided by 788 votes, and the Hampton City Council contest with five candidates drew a total of 963 voters.

The Citizen Newsletter is provided by Henry Citizens for Responsible Government Larry Stanley, Editor

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