StarNews November 2022

$275,400 purchase to legally cover and pipe creek along Mirror Lake Connector

story by Janice Daniels

County Commissioner District 5 emphasizes again his concern on developments “eating up ag land”

Board met Oct. 27th to discuss proposed subdivision regulation changes

At work session, Commissioner Ernie Reynolds stated that agriculture is the main economic driver in the community and new ordinances need to be specifically designed, not open to individual interpretions

story by Janice Daniels

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners held their monthly work session Thursday, October 27, 2022, to discuss proposed subdivision ordinance

regulation changes and prepare a onevote consent agenda for the following Tuesday, November 1st regular meeting. In addition to the commission board, See AG LAND LOSS page 8

GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

GOVERNOR (Incumbent) Brian Kemp (R)53.50% √

Stacey Abrahms (D) 45.79%

Shane Hazel (LIB) 0.71%

LIEUTENANTGOVERNOR

Burt Jones (R) 51.49% √

Charlie Bailey (D) 46.23%

Ryan Graham (Libertarian) 2.18%

SECRETARY of STATE

(I) Brad Raffensperger (R)53.30% √

Bee Nguyen (D) 43.91%

See NOVEMBER 8th ELECTION

page 15

Post 2 seat open due to William Smolar’s abrupt resignation during September meeting story by Sue Horn Evans

A seat remains vacant on the Whitesburg City Council since the abrupt and unexpected resignation of Post 2 Council member William Smolar.

The city has held two work sessions and three meetings since the September 6th regular meet-

“West

30th

West Georgia Tech Night attendees will be able to learn about WGTC college programs, meet faculty and staff, visit with the Admissions and Financial Aid representatives, learn about dual enrollment, adult education/ESL and more.

In addition, attendees who attend the event will have the opportunity to enter into a drawing for a free laptop. One winner will be awarded per campus location.

www.westgatech.edu/event/west-georgia-technight

Georgia Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Chris Carter gave an indepth presentation on the economy at the well-attended October 14th Carroll County Chamber luncheon titled “The New Georgia Economy”.

Overall, economy is trending in the right direction

Dr. Joey Smith: economy is not the stock market

Dr. William J. “Joey” Smith, professor of economics, a David A. Johnson Distinguished Scholar, and chair of the Department of Economics at the University of West Georgia, gave a preview presentation on the annual “Economic Forecast” to the Carrollton Kiwanis Club of Carrollton October 21, 2022.

VP Rhyne Owenby exits chamber; hired by UWG

Owenby to be university’s first “Director of Signature Events and Traditions”

story and photo by Wayne J. Reynolds

On October 19, 2022, President/CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Chris Clark spoke at the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon on the state of the economy in Georgia. The well-attended event was held at City Station, Maple Street, Carrollton. His presentation was titled “The New Georgia Economy”. Aware that talks on the economy can oft times be boring and dry, Carter opened with the humorous comment, “If you don’t like data, this is the time to take out your phone and

Rhyne Owenby, vice president of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, has been hired by University of West Georgia (UWG) to be the institution’s inaugural Director of Signature Events and Traditions. Her first day

See OWENBY page 27

This issue is also posted on over 100 Facebook community pages, Twitter, LinkedIn, & starnewsgaonline.com Call 770-722-7227 suehorn.starnews @gmail.com waynereynolds.starnews @gmail.com “Bremen Family Health and Wellness Center” Medicine, Chiropractic, & Massage Therapy “Now accepting new medical patients” Call Today: 770-537-5555 Bremen Family Health and Wellness Center•507 Alabama Avenue, Bremen•(770-537-5555) Axiom Chiropractic, 941 S Carroll Rd Suite C Villa Rica 770-459-8782•Visit drtempleton.com Ralph Templeton, DC Rachael Truett,LMT Lori Hudson Hill FNP

story by Wayne J. Reynolds

See SPECIAL ELECTION page 15

Date for Whitesburg’s Special Election to fill vacant seat not set yet

Economic forecast preview by UWG’s professor of economics

from press release

Owenby

West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) will host “West Georgia Tech Night” 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday, November 30th at all WGTC campus locations. There is no cost to attend this event.

Georgia Tech Night” Wednesday, November

CHRISTMASCARROLL IN TONaltogethermerry

Lights sparkling on the downtown square. Concerts and carols. The aroma of freshly baked treats in the air. A warm cup of cocoa in your hands. The perfect gift found in a unique shop. A wave and heartfelt season’s greetings from a neighbor - or a stranger - passing by on the sidewalk. Raising a glass of good cheer with friends. ‘Tis the season to celebrate Christmas in Carrollton.

Thank You Will Never Be Enough...

The state chamber president gave his overall opinion on the economy, “Depending if you watch FOX or CNN or if you are a Democrat or Republican, we are either in a recession or an economic downturn. No matter which, we are in for difficult times the next 12 to 18 months. But, Georgia will continue to bring in new investment.”

Clark supported his outlook with the following data, “I want to share with you where I am optimistic about the Georgia economy, and where we are headed. Where are we optimistic? Georgia has just completed a record fourth straight year of economic development activity. That translates to 46.9 billion dollars in capital investment from companies moving into Georgia in the past 48 months. That is 1419 companies! And they will create 137,664 jobs.

He stopped at this point to mention that his church’s food bank is now seeing 30% more people, as are all food banks, than during covid due in part to inflation. It is impacting the most vulnerable. He implores that chamber members keep their friends in mind. “High prices are here to stay for sometime,” he declared.

The state chamber president gave his overall opinion on the economy, “Depending if you watch FOX or CNN or if you are a Democrat or Republican, we are either in a recession or an economic downturn. No matter which, we are in for difficult times the next 12 to 18 months. But, Georgia will continue to bring in new investment.”

Carter said that even though the economy is good now, the job of the chamber is to help you do even better. And after interviewing thousands of business leaders about the next 10-20-30 years, three areas emerged showing improvements are need on the local, state, and federal level;

1. businesses need to win the “war on talent”

2. need for increase in infrastructure to meet future demands

3.economy needs to be more inclusive

Auditions December 5th and 6th for “Steel Magnolias” at Cultural Arts Center; director Patrick J. Yuran

from press release

The play “Steel Magnolias” is a comedydrama written by Robert Harling about the bond among a group of Southern women in Northwest Louisiana who are as delicate as magnolias, but as tough as steel.

The play is set in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are “anybody” come to have their hair done. Helped by her eager new assistant, Annelle, the outspoken, wise-cracking Truvy dispenses shampoo and free advice to the town’s rich curmudgeon, Ouiser, an eccentric millionaire; Miss Clairee, who has a raging sweet tooth; and M’Lynn, whose daughter, Shelby is about to marry a “good ole boy.”

The play invokes knowing laughter and certain tears. The play features a cast of six

women.

Auditions are set for December 5th and 6th beginning at 6:00 pm at the Cultural Arts Center and the process will consist of two phases: scene readings and improvisation. For the scene readings, two pre-selected scenes are included in this packet for your review prior to the audition. They do not need to be memorized. Be sure to bring a pencil with you to the audition to take notes for the reading.

For the improvisation, the director will provide scenarios, goals, and objectives. You you’re your scene partners will then improvise dialogue on the spot to create your own scene. No advance preparation is needed for this portion of the audition.

For more information and a complete audition packet: www.carrolltheatre.com.

“These companies have helped Georgia to be the best place to do business for the ninth straight year. Even with the recession coming out of covid, Georgia’s GDP has grown 51 billion dollars over the past 48 months.”

“Over the past six months, the national Gross Domestic Product has shrunk 2 and 1/2%, while Georgia’s GDP has grown 0.1%. Georgia is the ninth best performing state in the country in the first two quarters of this year.”

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) growth investment in Georgia is ranked 12th, and Carter believes it will be number one or two next year.

If improvements were made in these three areas,it could fill 400,000 job openings, he said. The GDP needs to grow to $68 billion, and he said, “The good news is we have already grown the economy to $51 billion.”

He encouraged universities and colleges to continue to do research and development. He emphasized that to ensure long term economic health these institutions need to train the next generation of entrepreneurs. He stated that we just had 20 years of risk-averse millennials. And now with zoomers, the next generation and coming out of covid, will have a most riskaverse generation. He encouraged all schools to give students an entrepreneurial experience, contest, or class to learn those skills. He also encouraged members to get minority busi-

See CHRISCARTER page 6

Barnett Irrigation

State Senator Mike Dugan

nesses plugged in to resources like the chamber and other government and educational programs.

On infrastructure, Carter commented that it’s important to think even longer term than plans are now. He said that $2.5B would be needed to spend on each year for the next 30 years to fix roads, bridges, and streets. Funding the expansion of broadband and other infrastructure needs to continue. And finish Plant Vogel needs to be completed, in addition to more energy capacities through other sources.

“I would like you to consider healthcare as infrastructure, not a service,” Carter continued. “If I don’t have access to healthcare, I die. It is not a service. You have an incredible healthcare system in Tanner. But long term, as we continue to age there will be more stress. I encourage you to view healthcare as an infrastructure.”

He asked if anyone had an open position they couldn’t fill? Almost everyone present raised their hand. Carter then said, “The average 19 year old how goes to work at Walmart as a truck driver makes $120,000. You might want to re-think your career choices.

“At the moment, there are approximately 12 million job openings nationwide - and 6.5 million of those did not exist pre-covid. Here is the problem, we have 3.5 million fewer people in the workforce nationwide and 2.3 million women left the workforce. Why? Childcare. We have 10,000 childcare openings in Georgia. We are only at 85% capacity in senior care due to lack of nurses. We need to get women back in the workforce. We need more tax credits. We have 3 million less legal visa holders [immigrants]. Who left? Mostly the over 55s.”

During the ‘covid coma’, the demographic of the workforce changed. At the moment, Carter said:

- 58% of the workforce are women - 31% black, - 20% hispanic - 12.5% immigrants

By 2025 Carter predicts: - 40% of the workforce will be millennials - 30% will be zoomers.

“You need to recruit differently, and you need to think about how they work. Currently, in Georgia, 17% work hybrid. By 2025, that will be 40%, and by 2030 70% of the workers will be hybrid. In interviews with college graduates about what they were looking for in a job, first was a job with a purpose, then flexibility, and then money.

“And by 2030, we will be on a demographic cliff because over 73 million baby boomers will not be working. There will be 6 million fewer people working. Fewer people are being born. Have more children or grandchildren,” he said, jokingly.

Currently, Georgia has between 300,000 to 400,000 job openings. But, for every four openings only one person is looking for a job. “In 1998, of those us eligible to work 70% did; today 62% work,” he said. “There are 37,000 openings in healthcare alone. And it’s not going to get better. In 2025, we will need 122,000 healthcare workers and 40,000 teachers.

“And parents listen to this: the average teacher only worksfive years. In 2018, nationwide out of the 50 teachers of the year, only two are still teaching. They are burnt out. Why?They say the children are out of control, and how parents treat the teachers. No respect! We allow politics in the curriculum and demonize our teachers. Why would they want to teach? Stop - treat teachers well.”

By 2030, Carter said that 40% of construction workers and skilled professionals will be retired. We must find value in skilled

professionals.

Solutions for increasing the workforce, he offered:

- better recruiting - diversity inclusion - vibrant downtowns - health and wellness

- educational support such as Southwire’s 12 for Life - affordable workforce housing

For educators, he suggested: - volunteer business leaders mentoring in the classroom

- expand college and career counseling - more future professional counseling

Carter said in conclusion, “You may wonder why we are talking about 2030 and 2040. We need to plan now for the future. The planning for the interchange at 400 and 285 began twenty years ago. Your children graduating from high school this year and then college

will not start entering the workforce until 2030 and your grandchildren around 2040. The investing and planning we do now is not about us, it’s about your children and grandchildren.”

Chris Carter is a Georgia native. He earnedhis bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and master’s degree in public administration from Georgia College and State University. Prior to joining the Georgia Chamber, he was Commissioner of Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Economic Development. Before his state service, he was the President of the Fayette County Development Authority and CEO of the Hawkinsville-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce. He resides in Peachtree City.

For more information on the economy and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce: gachamber.com and carroll-ga.org

Smith opened with the clear and direct statement, “Please keep in mind the economy is not the stock market. Your stock portfolio may be down 20% to 30%, but, overall, we are experiencing among the lowest levels of unemployment. It is pretty good here and on the state level. There is reason to be optimistic compared to what you hear. We have the latest data for you today to digest.”

Unemployment insurance claims are down, and Smith said claims will remain down. From a labor perspective, the economy is still improving.

Unemployment rates have bounced around a little in this region, but not significantly, he said, “What we are seeing is not much of a decline as we had expected. From a labor perspective, we are not experiencing a recession.

ily in construction.You are doing better now than before. If you are still experiencing labor shortage, it is because you have expanded since the pandemic.

“The ‘Great Resignation’ actually started before the pandemic. The pandemic actually stopped people from resigning. Why did they stop? Because of policies and health benefits. The government guaranteed paychecks even if they stayed home. People could work from home and didn’t need to resign.

“Gross sales tax receipts are up, some because of inflation. People are spending money in Georgia. The state coffers are overflowing and they don’t know what to do with it. You might want to talk to your state representatives. . . so you can influence how they spend it.”

“In our six county area, anyone with any skills can get a job if he wants a job. We are not seeing layoffs or declines in production. What we didn’t anticipate is the amount of people leaving the labor force retiring early and not coming back. Also, some people who were adversely affected by covid have not come back, but most have.”

If an unemplyment rate is at 4% to 6% , this is an indicatation that anyone who wants a job can get a job. The highest unemployment in this area is Douglas County at 3.3%. Carroll County unemplyment rate is 3.1 % - considered “the star average”. Smith said, “Overall, the economy is trending in the right direction.”

Smith continued, “In this six county area, we are about 4800 people above pre-pandemic levels. In Carroll County, about 630 above that level. Carroll County was up 263 jobs primar-

“Who left? People who may have been planning to retire, who found they had larger nest eggs and house prices up - housing prices rising almost 100% over the past five years. And we think this was really a much longer term trend. Also, marginally attached workers left as did front line workers. Keep in mind, we expanded who front line workers are now: anyone in direct contact with the public, like fast food workers.”

Dr. Smith stated that during The Great Recession [2007-2009], there were 6% discouraged workers, and now it’s only 3.8% trying to find jobs.

What are the local economic indicators? First is the population and the Georgia population is growing. When the population grows, it brings economic growth with it. Georgia ranks 11th, just outside the top 10.

Another indicator is in auto. In this area, more than 7,000 jobs are in auto-related industries. Auto manufacturing is down, as is auto sales, but prices are up. Manufacturing is down due to access to electronic parts. Dealers are not complaining about making money, just about inventory. Both used and new car prices are still rising, but not as much.

Locally, is good for the workers with profits strong. There are three auto manufacturers nearby: Kia, Honda, and Hyundai. Smith said, “In 1994, their market share was 5% but now it’s 15% combined, three times higher. That’s pretty good for our area.”

Another national indicator is vehicle travel mileage. Car mileage is down while truck travel is trending down. Another indicator is fuel prices. Fuel prices are another indicator and they are up. Natural gas is up 51%, diesel up 56%, and gas is up 15% year to date. Propane prices are down 23% and that is good

for our area, for those who live in rural areas and for area farmers.

“Gross sales tax receipts are up, some because of inflation. People are spending money in Georgia. The state coffers are overflowing and they don’t know what to do with it. You might want to talk to your state representatives, and might want them in this group [Kiwanis Club] so you can influence how they spend it.”

Why shortage of goods? Smith said, “We have changed our behavior in the marketplace.

Shown above left is Dr. Joey Smith, professor of economics, David A. Johnson Distinguished Scholar, and chair of the Department of Economics at the University of West Georgia, as he is thanked by Carrollton Kiwanis Club Paul McDaniel, club president-elect, for his presentation on current economics. Photo by Neil Weathington

present (District 2 Commissioner Clint Chance absent) were County Attorney Avery Jackson, hired facilitator Theron Gay, and Director of Community Development Ben Skipper for further discussion on ordinance changes. These included:

- any developer proposing to build on 35 or more new estate lots- four acres or morewould need to go through a Board of Commissioners review.

- the 300-foot road frontage requirement in the current proposed regulations would be reduced to 210 feet, along with changing road setback in a subdivision with estate lots to 210 feet.

- the 30-foot easement for ingress/egress would be changed to 60 (sixty) feet.

Avery asked for feedback from the board in order to press forward with the proposed regulation changes that are scheduled to be presented and voted on at the December, 2022 regular commisison meeting.

District 3 Commissioner Tommy Lee was the first to speak up, and indicated that he has been on the board for ten years and thinks that the regulations already in place have worked well, and that he is against any changes.

District 5 Commissioner Ernie Reynolds, of which most of the rural and agriculturallyzoned land is found, gave an explanation of how, at his behest, this entire subdivision regulation change came about.

He said that because of a development off of Highway 5 about two years ago, he became

Reynolds brought the issue before the board that this problem was occurring, turning the four-time split requirement into “basically a farce.” He emphasized that he had no personal agenda for bringing this issue up, but many of his constituents were voicing valid concerns on how large subdivisions could be built on ag land when this was never the intention of the regulations. He said that citizens in his district were demanding that something be done about developments “eating up ag land.”

want to be able to sell or develop it in whatever way they choose.” He doesn’t want to vote for anything that would damage their ability to make the choice.

. . Reynolds became aware that a desecration of agricultural land was taking place because of the broad interpretation of the “ag land can only be split four times” rule. Some developers were taking thatand taking advantage of that - to mean they could split four times, and then four times, again, etc. with smaller and smaller acreage. . . turning the four-time split requirement into “basically a farce.”

.

He said that out of this experience, he had learned that “the people who are hollering the loudest can demonstrate some hypocrisy” and that one person wanting ag land preserved no matter what, was two months later trying to get the City of Carrollton to annex his land to put in higher density subdivisions than were allowed on ag land.

Reynolds said he felt pulled in multiple directions by others who had done the same thing, and, at this time, his main concern is that the developers and the county staff need to be open and up front with each other; that the new ordinances need to be specifically designed and not open to individual interpretations; that all commissioners need to know what is going on

Hired facilitator Theron Gay, county manager for Meriwether County, said that even though the current ordinance has worked pretty well for ten years or so, any regulations “that old will need to be tweaked and updated”, even though they don’t need a lot of changes. His suggestion was to “tweak what you have, give staff clear directions on minor variances they are authorized to make, and which variances should go through the zoning board”. Also of

importance, Gay suggested that information from electronic filings from the first application of any developer and through every stage, should be available not just to commissioners, but to everyone involved in the process. Skipper said that the new computer system purchased for his department last year, could do that, and every update is recorded for all to see.

Other discussions ensued about county water, paved access roads, and whether increased developer costs would reduce amount paid for properties, etc. Gay said those are tough to balance, and he suggested that the county might want to consider encouraging the remodeling of older neighborhood homes by making the market advantageous to remodelers as a way to keep people in their homes and reduce the need for all-new housing.

During the Financial Update, Alecia Searcy reported revenue at September 30, 2022 was at $9,800,000 compared to $9,646,000 same time

story by Janice Daniels

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, November 1, 2022 for their Regular Monthly Meeting, with all commissioners present. Invocation was offered by District 2 Commissioner Clint Chance and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Distrixt 3 Commissioner Tommy Lee.

The big issue of the meeting was the application by Smyrna, Georgia’s Glock, Inc. for rezoning and conditional use permit for 4,000 acres they plan to purchase from Blenheim Timber, LLC, a Delaware Corporation. Glock wants to use 385 acres within the 4,000 acretract for an indoor and outdoor shooting range and training center for their company. This is not for the general public. It is for a “state of the art” training facility for “private and public security personnel” from “around the world” for “use and operation of firearms and related machinery and equipment”.

The property is fronted by Jones Mill Road, Hutcheson Ferry Road, West Carroll Road, McLarty Road and Highway 5. It is located in Land Lots 102, 103, 161-163, and 179-182 in Commission District 5. Glock has agreed to five stipulations if this rezoning is approved: 1.approval is limited to Glock, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries.

2.allowed use is limited to the public safety training facility, including indoor and outdoor shooting ranges and related buildings and facilities, as generally described in the Application for Rezoning and Conditional Use Permit.

3.industrial zoning classification of the property will revert back to agricultural zoning if the industrial property is no longer owned by Glock or its affiliates or subsidiaries.

4.The following uses are prohibited: a.truck terminals

b.all other conditional uses for industrial tracts currently listed in the Carroll County Zoning Regulations, including without limitation landfills, rock quarries and junk yards.

5. All applicable requirements for shooting ranges set forth in Section 8.9(2)(g) and (h) of the Carroll County Zoning Regulations shall be satisfied prior to issuances of a certificate of occupancy; provided, however, that Section 8.9(2)(h)(9) may be satisfied by retaining a professional engineer licensed to do business in the State of Georgia to design sound abatement measures for the property in accordance with applicable NRA or Department of Defense Standards or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Carroll County Community Development Director.

Joel Larkin, attorney with the law firm of Sams, Larkin & Huff of Marietta, Georgia, spoke to the board regarding Glock’s plans if their application is approved. He said that Glock’s gun ranges are designed with berms to contain the bullets and the lead within them (bullets are around 99% lead). A berm is an earthen mound sometimes for outdoor ranges. Indoor range berms can be made of shock absorbing concrete which can contain the lead from rifles and small arms bullets. Larkin emphasized that the bullets will be “scientifically contained and controlled.” He also said that engineers will be involved to determine how sound waves will be dampened using the topography of the land, since gunfire noise travels in the direction guns are fired. He opined that Glock will not bring excess extra

traffic to existing roads, and will only use trucks and vans to bring clients and trainees into the camp.

Dee Perry of the Georgia Agricultural Land Trust, spoke in favor of Glock’s application. She said there will eventually have to be a compromise on land uses in Carroll County, and that Glock’s proposal is much better than what could happen to this property on the open market. It is on the Douglas County side of Carroll County, and would be prime property for devel-

Edward Jones

Carroll County’s Stober family honored as 2022 “West Georgia Conservationists of the Year”

from press release

The West Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District hosts an annual banquet where they award a conservation-minded individual or group as the Conservationist(s) of the Year. Each year, the award is presented to a landowner in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson, or Heard counties by rotation. This year’s banquet was held at Waldrop Farm in Winston, Georgia, and celebrated the Stober Family of H&S Farm in Carroll County.

The Stober Family includes Jerry and Angie, their children Jonathan and Alyson, and grandchildren Burns, Heyward, and Anna. Together, they steward 479 acres in the Lowell Community of Carroll County. The Stober family’s land ethic is deeply rooted in conservation and stewardship - a legacy that has been passed down through five generations at H&S Farm. The farm is a blend of parts of the Hollingsworth, Spence, and Burns farms in southern Carroll County, and qualifies for Centennial Farm status.

Much of H&S Farm is under a permanent conservation easement through the USDA Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, protecting it from future conversion to non-agricultural land use. Angie recalls many visits as a child to the USDA Soil Conservation Office (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) with her mother who managed the farm after her dad found work off the farm around 1945, when row cropping waned in the region.

“Caring for the land and water resources has always been at the forefront,” said Angie Stober.

The Stobers have a long history of conservation on the farm, including the installation of

terraces to control water runoff and mitigate soil erosion. The family was implementing this practice even before the government offered landowners assistance with installing terraces.

H&S Farm has seen many changes over the years. Initially a row crop operation, the farm was converted to cattle in the 1950s, and was one of the first Hereford cow / calf operations

in Carroll County.

Today, the Stobers responsibly manage 312 acres of woodland for timber and wildlife,

Left to right: West Georiga District Supervisors Tony Cole and Carl Brack with Jerry and Angie Stober, grandson Burns Stober, son Jonathan Stober, daughter Alyson Stober, and granddaughter Anna Stober.

submitted by Margery Bouris

Jacqueline Dost spoke to the League of Women Voters, Carrollton/Carroll County (10/24/22) on recycling in our community.

Dost is currently serving as the Director of Solid Waste for Carroll County. In this capacity, she oversees the maintenance and/or upgrading of the county Transfer Station and the 10 county convenience centers. In addition, she is charged with educating the public on the detrimental impact litter and improper recycling can have on the well-being of our community.

The convenience centers at Temple, Newnan Road, and Dyer Road are open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m., and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. The days and hours of the other seven centers are available on the recycling page of the county website along with specific information about the types of materials that can be left at each center.

Glass can now be left at the Newnan or the Dyer Road convenience centers, and when the Temple center upgrades are completed, glass will also be accepted there.

At this point, glass is not profitable from its sale, but its recycling to Strategic Materials in Atlanta has saved landfill fees for over 17 tons of glass in the past 6 months. Currently, recycled glass is crushed where it becomes an important constituent of insulation.

Dost spoke on a number of improvements in the handling of community solid waste over the past year. The county gets paid for some of the items the public recycles . . Proper recycling by citizens can help to increase profit for the county by increasing the value of recyclables and decreasing land fill costs

In reviewing opportunities available to Carroll County citizens for recycling, Dost discussed some of the classes of materials of concern to her audience. The most reliably accepted commodity at this point is cardboard, with almost 100% of donated cardboard successfully recycled.

After a hiatus, glass is again accepted for recycling, without the requirement that metal caps be removed or that it be separated by color. Technology now makes it possible for metal to be removed and for colors to be optically sorted further down the recycling process.

The story of Plastics does not have as successful a storyline. Recycling only works for milk jugs, water bottles and drink bottles labeled 1 or 2. Plastic is contaminated by items such as grocery or trash bags, or other types coded 3-7. Inclusion of these items will contaminate a whole collection and cause diversion to the land fill. At this point, education is the key to decreasing contamination of plastics at the recycling intake. Currently, there is a push to move away from “one use” plastics:

1 Reduce to use of plastics: use something else to hold items

2. Reuse: only use plastics that can be used more than once

3. Recycle: only use plastics that can be recycled and don’t contaminate

Aluminum (cans, pie plates, trays that have been rinsed) is accepted at all 10 locations and is a profitable commodity for the county.

Signs at each center state what types of materials cannot be accepted for recycling or disposal, including tires, carpets, building

materials, yard debris. These items may be hauled by the owner to the transfer station at 439 Simonton Mill Road where they can be disposed of for a tipping fee.

A “tire recycling” event will be held in November. Thanks to an EPD grant, up to ten tires per citizen may be recycled for free at the transfer station from Nov. 12 to 19.

Other opportunities to recycle difficult items, such as electronic equipment or hazardous materials, including paint, yard chemicals, old medicines etc. are provided through special events sponsored by Keep Carroll Beautiful. Watch their website and Facebook page for

opportunities.

Hazardous wastes traveling through the county are not under the supervision of the director of Solid Waste. Rather, should an accident occur resulting in a spill of oil or other hazardous material, the fire department would be tasked with taking the appropriate actions to protect the public.

Dost spoke on a number of improvements in the handling of community solid waste over the past year. The county gets paid for some of the items recycled by the public, which is beginning to help underwrite the cost of maintaining the convenience centers. Carroll County is one of the few counties to provide free drop-off of trash and recyclables at its centers. Proper recycling by citizens can help to increase profit for the county by increasing the value of recyclables and decreasing landfill

Dost

including turkey and deer. They have installed pollinator habitat areas (a mix of native flowering plants) that benefit their 10 honeybee colonies and a myriad of butterflies, native bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.

H&S Farm is also home to a natural longleaf pine stand which has been around since the early 1900s - a rarity, since the longleaf pine ecosystem is one of the most endangered in North America. Georgia Forestry Commission has harvested seed from this stand. From their planted timber stands, the Stobers have marketed timber three times, and have replanted with improved varieties of loblolly and longleaf pines.

In August 2019, H&S Farm also added sustainable energy to its repertoire, with the addition of 24 solar panels capable of producing 345 watts each. This has successfully contributed to cleaner energy consumption on the farm.

The overall goal of H&S Farm is the preservation of farmland, carbon reduction, and improving soil and water quality. Currently, 177 acres of the farm are preserved

with permanent Conservation Easements, and the Stobers plan to increase this acreage in 2023.

Angie Stober served as a founding member of the Carroll County Farmland and Rural Preservation Partnership, and served as chair during the inception. She and Bill Hodge, (past Carroll County Extension Coordinator) presented the concept of farmland preservation to the region, and planted the seeds that have resulted in multiple farms and thousands of acres now protected under permanent easements.

“Families like the Stobers set a precedent of natural resource conservation for future generations, and help ensure the conservation message continues. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their groundbreaking work in bringing farmland preservation to the forefront in Carroll County.” said Cindy Haygood, District Conservationist, NRCS Carrollton.

The West Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District is proud to recognize the Stober Family for their stewardship efforts as the 2022 Conservationists of the Year.

Congratulations, Stober Family of H&S Farms.

The West Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District is a unit of state government that directs natural resource management programs in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson, and Heard counties.

The Conservation District works with farmers, landowners, and local, state, and federal government to educate and actively

promote programs and practices that support the conservation, responsible use, and development of soil, water, and related resources.

For more information about this award or the West Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District: www.GACD.us/WestGeorgia or www.Facebook.com/WestGaSWCD.

Wallace Farm and Pet Supply

from press release Partners Advancing Student Success (PASS) announced in September 2022 that Brooke Mobley is now its new executive director. She will begin work with the organization immediately and fully assume all duties by the end of December. Earlier this year, PASS announced that founder and current executive director Cynthia Langley would retire at year-end. Founded in 2012 as Communities in Schools of Carroll County, PASS is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving student success by providing support and services to high school students with the aim of increasing graduation rates.

Mobley is a Carrollton native, graduated from Carrollton City School System; earned a bachelor’s degree, UWG; was admissions counselor at UWG and WGTC; and has been involved with Tanner Medical Foundation’s Magnolia Ball, Central Elementary PTO, United Methodist Children’s Home, and the Carroll County Child Advocacy Center.

Harry T’s

Angie and Jerry Stober installed 24 solar panels in 2019 for cleaner energy consumption on their farm.

PASS hires Brooke Mobley as executive director

Mobley

opers. Also, Glock would put little to no drain on county services, would generate revenue, and would bring no children into the education system. Perry thinks the stipulations Glock has made are a plus going forward, and she would want to see this pristine property under one owner that would care for it, and that, for this much land, it is the “best thing possible” for Carroll County.

Stacey Johnston of Whitesburg also spoke in favor, saying that she would much prefer Glock own the property than possibly over 1,000 new homes being built there.

cause, and some cities have spent multiple millions of dollars to clean up this lead when the range owner just goes out of business to avoid his responsibility.

Steve Kernan, speaking for his son who lives on Teepee Trail, asked about automatic weapons and high-caliber weapons that produce more noise. He also wanted to know what would be the use planned for the rest of the property besides the 385 acres.

Levi Wilkie of 197 Hilley Road asked if the timber is going to be harvested from the 4,000 acres. If so, a major portion of the sound control effect of the trees would be gone.

In opposition, some of the same citizens that spoke at the Planning and Zoning meeting were in attendance. Mark Nirschl said Glock’s proposal goes against Carroll County’s Comprehensive Plan, and that zoning the 385 acres as industrial would set the county up for pressure from other industrial sources. He asked, “Would you want this in your neighborhood?” and added that environmentally sensitive areas need to be protected. Nirschl was also concerned about the hours the shooting ranges would be used, and asked if Glock was prepared to guarantee such hours.

Tony Gaston of 263 Hilley Road said that the board has a duty to the property owners and taxpayers of the county. He said Glock has shown no septic or perk information on the area, no environmental surveys, or anything other than a few drawings. He said he’s required to fill out a multitude of paperwork to even get permission to build a barn on his property.

Steve Kernan wanted to know what would be the use planned for the rest of the property besides the 385 acres.

Gaston said that, at the Planning and Zoning meeting, he heard County Planner Janet Hyde say she wanted more information from Glock, then she turned around and voted to approve their application 20 minutes later. He fears that his property values will go down, and thinks that the board should choose Carroll County families over corporations.

requirements regarding protocols to clean, trap, and recycle lead. He said that Glock is interested in owning a nature reserve, and the majority of the property will be managed consistent with agricultural zoning rules.

Levi Wilkie of 197 Hilley Road asked if the timber is going to be harvested from the 4,000 acres. If so, a major portion of the sound control effect of the trees would be gone. In response to this question from Commissioner Ernie Reynolds, Glock said the primary plan for the 3,800 acres would be a buffer for noise, and they will do whatever timber management tells them to do regarding

that question, but that Glock people will be out there to ensure safety, to show prospective customers around, etc.

Larkin said that Glock will not be running an actual industrial business, that it was because of Carroll County Zoning Ordinance that gun ranges are considered industrial that they had to file for that class of zoning. But, the question remains that with a Glock industrial zoning approval, true industry can claim a right to set up business there at some time in the future.

Reynolds also commented that divisive comments on Facebook or other mediums, only incites people unfairly against government. He said that he ran for commissioner in District 5 to help the people, but when there are people both for and against a decision, you simply can’t please everybody. He asked the Glock representative to confirm that he had had no prior conversations with them at all, which they did confirm, and he also said that, at the Whitesburg town hall meeting which he attended, it seemed that “8590%” of the people were in favor of granting

Mike Clayton of 70 Hilley Road was concerned about lead contamination. Even though Larkin said that the berms would prevent such contamination, outdoor ranges would have to be carefully monitored. Lead can move into the environment by water (creeks or rivers), rainfall, soil acidity, vegetation, soil characteristics, and it can also be wind-driven, these factors creating a potential uptake by aquatic organisms, birds, mammals and humans. Health concerns are high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, reduced fertility, and with high doses, brain and central nervous system damage as well as learning and behavioral problems in children. Clayton provided information that many gun ranges are not held accountable for the lead contamination they

Kevin Smitley of 8272 Loch Lomond Lane, Winston, asked if stipulation #5 could add language that the noise abatement engineers had to be independent agents and not hired by Glock.

In rebuttal, Larkin said out that out of the 4,000 acres, no one will be within two miles of the gun ranges. Larkin said that Glock will not be running an actual industrial business, that it was because of Carroll County Zoning Ordinance that gun ranges are considered industrial that they had to file for that class of zoning. But, the question remains that with a Glock industrial zoning approval, true industry can claim a right to set up business there at some time in the future.

In response to concerns about lead, Larkin said that Glock is responsible to federal agency

WGTC President Julie Post named among list of “Georgia 500 – Georgia’s Most Influential Leaders”

from

press release

West Georgia Technical College (WGTC)

President Dr. Julie Post has been named to Georgia Trend magazine’s “500 Most Influential Leaders” list. Post was hired as president in 2021.

While the publication has produced an annual listing each year, this year it the first “Georgia 500”, a comprehensive list of leaders in various industries from across the state. Post was among the seven Technical College System of Georgia presidents selected in the listing, along with 35 leaders with higher education connections recognized.

Under Post’s leadership during 2021, she oversaw the construction of the new $66million-dollar Carroll campus, with four

last year; expeditures of $17,329,000 are at 25.8% of budget, some expenses have been paid for the year. She said sales tax income is “still good”, and the General Fund Balance of $26,000,000 ($26M) would account for 143 days (4.7 months) of county operations.

A presentation was made by Karen Handel, president and CEO of Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, and also of Carroll Tomorrow. Handel spoke on various upcoming events, as that the “Annual State of the County” by the chamber was to be presented January 12, 2023. She said that 1,000 plus jobs and $750 billion in capital investments will be made by county industries in the next 12 months. She thanked the board for the “connectiveness of elected officials”, and she also noted five new industries in the county, three of which are in Villa Rica.

Handel said that 40% of the county workforce also live in the county, and that significant growth is expected in the under 25 population of the county.

A one-vote consent agenda was prepared for the regular meeting scheduled for November 1st, 2022, as follows:

1. Rrequest by sheriff’s office for approval of replacement for a damaged investigator’s car with the insurance proceeds of $30,178.35

2. request by fire chief for the purchase of two Quick Response vehicles for the fire

buildings totaling almost 150,000 square feet on 38-acres, which now replaces the old campus that has served Carroll county since 1968. Post serves on several boards: Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Board, Coweta County Chamber of Commerce Board, the Carroll Tomorrow Board, Douglas County Chamber of Commerce Board, Troup County Strategic Planning Committee, and the West Georgia RESA Board

department at a cost of $175,000 and for 12 personnel to operate such at an annual cost of $806,000

3.request by recreation department for approval of installation of sod and irrigation system for multi-purpose recreation field at a cost of $125,580

4.request by recreation department for approval of Georgia Power easement for new multi-purpose field

5.request by finance department to invest monies from the General Fund in the Georgia Fund 1 investment pool which pays 1% more than one currently used

6.request by finance department to invest funds from Sales & Use Tax SPLOST in the Georgia Fund 1 investment pool.

7.request by finance department to invest funds from General Fund SPLOST and potentially ARPA Funds with Bank OZK for 4% return to make up for funds lost in vehicle price increases.

8.Request approval of appointment to Board of Health of Carroll County for Dr. Jenny Schussler to fill term expiring December, 2027

9. request approval of appointment to the Development Authority of Carroll County for Jeff May to fill term expiring June 30, 2025.

Meeting adjourned, leaving all other business to be taken up at regular meeting on Monday, November 1, 2022.

City of Carrollton Parks and Recreation selected Georgia Recreation Parks Association Fourth District Agency of the Year

from press release

The Carrollton Parks and Recreation Department (CPRD) was named the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association Fourth District Agency of the Year. This award is presented to a department whose services have made significant contributions to recreation in the community. The award was presented October 19, 2022 at the Center for the Arts, Carrollton.

The CPRD operates on a $5.4 million budget providing more than 6,700 recreational programs. Parks and Rec maintains 16 facilities, four cemeteries, two pools, one splash park, a dog park, six tennis courts, six pickleball courts and 32 parks.

The city acquired 278 acres of land for future growth of park areas to be used predominantly for conservation and passive recreation. The department received two grants: the Alice Huffard Richards grant of $25,000 for trail building and $500,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to renovate Midtown Water Park.

Parks and Rec made facility improvements including a two million dollar addition to the Carrollton GreenBelt, renovations and

resurfacing Lakeshore track and Lakeshore Park expansion. The department has made a tremendous effort in the last year to provide well maintained facilities, numerous recreation programs and strategic planning for future growth. The department received ten other Fourth District individual and program awards for accomplishments over the last year:

Outstanding Volunteer Athletic/Aquatics –

Ricky Walker

Outstanding Volunteer Programming –

Richard Morton

Outstanding Support Staff Administration –Dee Rudisel

Outstanding Support Staff Athletic/Aquatics

– John Driver

Outstanding Support Staff Programming –

Andrea Gonzalez

Outstanding Special Event Programming –Breakfast with Santa, Carrollton Senior Center

Outstanding Special Event Athletic/Aquatics

– Lacrosse Play Day

Outstanding Program – Programming

Bonner Fitness Center

Outstanding Project – Fourth Street

Network Professional Programming –

Candace Cline

of Control.

Prior to joining WGTC, Post worked for 16 years at Gwinnett Technical College where she held multiple positions in Institutional Research and Effectiveness, working to directly support college-wide planning, research, accreditation, and organizational support. In 2012, Post was selected as Vice President of Student Affairs where she led all college student services, all support services including the areas of: Special Populations, Graduation, Veterans’ Affairs, Student Life, Counseling, the Behavioral Intervention Team, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness.

“I am honored by this recognition and proud of West Georgia Tech’s influence statewide on education as well as our economic and

workforce development impacts,” Post said. “This notable recognition is due to our College’s students, professionals, alumni and all who partner and represent our College’s present and future.”

Others from Carroll County named included Dr. Brendan Kelly, president of the University of West Georgia, Loy Howard, CEO of Tanner Health System; Karen Handel, CEO and president of Carroll Tomorrow and the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and Rich Stinson, CEO of Southwire.

Post graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Education, Northern Kentucky University, Master of Arts Teaching, Marygrove College, and a Doctor of Education from the UGA. Post was awarded Outstanding Dissertation of the Year, University Council on Workforce and Human Resource Education.

Dr. Julie Post

compliance by Glock? “Code enforcement,” replied Skipper. “Plain and simple code enforcement, which if ignored, will then be taken to court. Complaints will come in, studies will be conducted by third-party experts, just as with any other code violation.”

In response to Commissioner Reynolds’ question about hours and days of operation, the answer was 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, mostly. The facility is designed for daytime use. And not all classes involve live fire. Skipper advised that they will be subject to the county’s nuisance ordinance, which is in effect 24/7, not just at night.

approve the application - with five stipulations as he was reminded by County Attorney Blackmon. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Lee.

At this point in the meeting, under Roberts Rules of Order [time limits], Commissioner George Chambers [whose term expires December 31st] made a motion to suspend discussions, seconded by Commissioner Lee, and the motion passed 5-2.

Commissioner Clint Chance spoke up stating that it “was unprecedented” that not all commissioners “had an opportunity to ask questions” and that he could not vote in favor because of that. His comment was met with applause from the audience.

Reynolds agreed with Chance, stating that he still had unanswered questions was against a vote being taken before all concerns were addressed.

mal shelters, and the urgent need for spay/neuter laws to be passed. She said she has spoken to the board in the past with no followup to her requests.

light of the Association’s journal.

Reynolds then asked if any other transport is involved, such as helicopters, the answer was no. The board was also advised that no caliber above .762 would be used, that the focus would be on Glock pistols.

At this point in the meeting, under Roberts Rules of Order [time limits], Commissioner George Chambers [whose term expires December 31st] made a motion to suspend discussions, seconded by Commissioner Lee, and the motion passed 5-2, the required two-thirds.

However, the rezoning with five stipulations was approved by the board 5-2, with Reynolds and Chance voting against.

The one-vote consent agenda was then read by Chairman Michelle Morgan by numbers only 10.1 through 10.9 with no reading or explanation of what each item represented.

Commissioner Clint Chance spoke up stating that it “was unprecedented” that not all commissioners “had an opportunity to ask questions” and that he could not vote in favor because of that. His comment was met with applause from the audience.

Commissioner Chambers made a motion to

ing, during which Smolar resigned after being questioned by StarNews about his comment to a citizen during the August 1st meeting.

Council and mayor are able to legally conduct work sessions and meetings as the remaining members - mayor and three council members with one council member also serving as mayor pro tem - constitute a quorum when all are present. Having just been re-elected, Smolar’s term was not to expire until 2025, so filling the vacancy is a requirement. Had he resigned with less than 90 days in his term, the seat would have remained open legally until the following General Election.

A date has not been set for a Special Election to fill this seat, but with allowing for the proper amount of time for both qualifying and early voting, the timetable would be in the spring (2023). The City of Whitesburg’s FY2022 Budget is $748,602, with a Water Fund Total of $137,185. The city is responsible for the costs of a Special Election. The city is small, as is their budget.The cost of a special election for this particular race is estimated at roughly $20,000-$21,000. Currently, 483 voters ara eligible to vote in that Special Election, with only

NOVEMBER

8th ELECTION from front

Georgia UNITED STATES SENATOR

No candidate received 50% +1 of vote at press time. Runoff predicted for December 6th

Herschel Junior Walker (R)48.60%

Raphael Warnock (D) 49.34%

Chase Oliver (LIB) 2.06%

State Representative DISTRICT 18

(I) Tyler Paul Smith (R)86.45% √

Pat Rhudy (D) 13.55%

State Representative DISTRICT 71

(I) J. Collins (R) 71.24% √

Afoma Eguh Okafor (D)28.76%

United States HOUSE DISTRICT 73

(I) Drew Ferguson (R)68.76% √

Val Almonord (D) 31.24%

Georgia AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER

Tyler Harper (R) 53.06% √

Nakita Hemingway (D)44.75%

David Raudabaugh (LIB) 2.19%

Georgia INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

(I) John King (R) 54.19% √

Janice Laws Robinson (D)45.81%

Consent agenda passed unanimously with one vote.

In Public Comments, Kelly Hyatt of Spring Street in Villa Rica spoke about the overcrowding at both Carroll and Haralson counties ani-

two precincts needing to be utilized: the county elections office for early voting, and Whitesburg Precinct on election day.

The average number of early voting days is 21 days. Workers would be needed for those three weeks plus two Saturdays. The average daily pay of poll workers is as follows: 1. Poll manager $235; 2. Assistant poll manager $195; 3. Poll clerk $165.

Five total poll workers/managers would be needed to cover the work for those two precincts (municipal only).

Five board of election employees would be needed to work outside of their regular hours to cover on Special Election Day.

Other costs for a Special Election include paper ballots, delivery, ink cartridges, Logistics & Algorithm tech expenses, newspaper legal notice of $600.00, board of election certification, election night personnel, postage, and ballot paper.

But, a Special Election, and costs to the City of Whitesburg citizens, may not need to happen if only one candidate qualifies. That lone qualifying candidate would be declared the winner by the Georgia Secretary of State and theSpecial Election would be cancelled.

Georgia LABOR COMMISSIONER

Bruce Thompson (R) 52.17% √

William Boddie, Jr. (D)45.24%

Emily Anderson (LIB) 2.50%

Georgia SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT

(I) Richard Woods (R)54.28% √

Alisha Thomas Searcy (D)45.72%

Georgia ATTORNEYGENERAL

(I)Chris Carr (R) 51.96% √

Jennifer Jordan (D) 46.51%

Martin Cowen (LIB) 1.53%

City of Carrollton Question on REDEVELOPMENT POWERS

YES68.98% √ NO31.02%

6,931 total votes

ProposedCONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

1. YES88.46% √ NO11.54%

2. YES91.85% √

NO 8.15%

3. YES59.06% √ NO40.94%

4. YES76.52% √ NO23.48%

Just at 43,700 voted in Carroll County, Georgia for this election, out of approximately 83,000 registered voters.

E-911 Director Clay Patterson presented the Carroll County Servant’s Heart Awards to two 911 staff who took part in the FEMA response to Hurricane Ian in mid-Florida a few weeks ago. Felicia Roland and Amber Wade completed training within two days and made a fourteen-day commitment to relieve 911 operators in Fort Myers, Florida, some of whom had lost their homes to the storm, or had family members affected and needed time away from work. Both Roland and Wade worked nightshifts of 12 to 16 hours at a time, slept in tents and worked with no benefits, no extra pay. Wade was selected by the National Association of Public Safety as Outstanding Young Professional and will be featured as the high-

agreed

The business portion of the meeting commenced with the board voting to approve acceptance of a FTC Federal Grant for Family Treatment Court in the amount of $753,755.

Chance,

Major Craig Dodson of the Sheriff’s Office requested approval of a GEMA Homeland Grant for an Armored Response Vehicle in the amount of $303,000 to be paid up-front by the county, then reimbursed by GEMA. Approval was unanimous. Danny Yates, Public Works Maintenance Coordinator, presented a request to purchase 5 new Mack tandem-axel dump trucks with a five-year warranty, from Nextrack for $960,330. Board approved unanimously.

There being no further business, meeting was adjourned.

The next commissioner work session is scheduled for Thurs., Dec. 1, 2022, 4:00 p.m. historic courthouse commission chambers.

J Best Hair

Smith Brothers

Reynolds

with

stating that he still had unanswered questions was against a vote being taken before all concerns were addressed.

SPECIAL ELECTION from front page

StarNews / StarNews Online www.starnewsgaonline.com

SUSAN

ADVERTISINGDIRECTOR: WAYNE REYNOLDS GRAPHICS DESIGNER: SHERRY REYNOLDS

REPORTERS: JANICE DANIEL WAYNE REYNOLDS

COMMENTARY

Disappointment in how Carroll County Board of Commissioners conducts its - our - business

At the most recent Carroll County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Nov. 1st, there was a full agenda slated for the evening. The proposed Glock land interest held most of the time. Glock spoke in favor, of course, and a few others as well, on the proposed training facility.

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ability to stop all discussion on a topic that is important to the citizens? The citizens only want to know their concerns are being taken into account before a thoughtful vote.

There were also many from the Whitesburg Community who expressed great concerns and excellent questions of the planned shooting ranges. None of these concerns or questions have yet to be clearly answered; these pertain to logging, land management, construction stipulations, traffic, lead pollution from the ammunition emitted at the outdoor ranges, and noise pollution, to name only a few.

SUE HORN EVANS

EDITOR/ PUBLISHER

This will be short, as is my space: The City of Villa Rica has purchased $275,400 worth of credits - 1836 credits with “Mitigation Banking” - so they can legally cover and pipe a protected creek along the Mirror Lake Connector. The VR growth burst has begun. This purchase ensures environmental protection somewhere else, ‘balancing’ this local ecological destruction. It is a cost of future growth that has been legally voted on and approved unanimously. Good move for quality of life/more tax dollars? Or indication of decision makers in position too long that they view themselves as government-promoting agents instead of conscientious members of their communities?

StarNews prints inspections of restaurants. Inspection reports have boxes for state inspectors (Room 508, 423 College Street, Carrollton) to check on illness risk factors, good (or not) retail practices, and short summaries on actions of recommended improvements. But, “Complaints” are on a different form that we usually don’t look at, as anyone - truthful or vindictive - can report a complaint. But, this one caught our attention: “Saturday morning, ordered biscuits, there were tiny little roaches baked into the biscuits. . . BAKEDIN. . . NOTJUSTRUNNINGAROUND.” Extra protein? (BTW, a roach has more protein than cow’s milk.) Or squicky-stomach-churning?

Baked-in roaches. You decide. Baked-in roaches. That’s my new phrase.

An Open Letter to Senator Mike Dugan, Earlier this Spring, it was reported in this paper that Sen. Mike Dugan was preparing to present “local legislation” to the General Assembly in January 2023 that would increase the County School Board Members monthly stipend from $200 to $1,000 and the Board Chair’s from $300 to $1,500. I confirmed this with Senator Dugan when he and I met at the Herschel Walker rally on Oct. 10th. “Local Legislation” is authorized under OCGA 28-1-4(a) which provides that “local bills” can be introduced and passed in as little as 5 days. In fact, “local bills” are not committee vetted nor debated in the General Assembly. These bills are passed without discussion as a “courtesy” to the local sponsoring legislator (Sen. Dugan).

I implore Sen. Dugan to NOT present this local bill. First, I quote from OCGA 20-2-49 Standards for Local Boards of Education: “The motivation to serve as a members of a local board of education should be the improvement of schools and academic achievement of all students. Service on a local board of education is important citizen service. Given the specialized nature and unique role of membership on a local board of education, this elected office should be characterized and treated differently from other elected offices…” Serving on a Board of Education is community service. It was when I was elected in 2002 and it has never changed. School board members do not offer their service to our community for money though they currently receive $200 a month stipend which is intended to cover their vehicle expenses traveling to meetings, etc. I never kept my $200 as I always donated it to school fundraisings. I’m sure that many of our board members continue this practice.

School board members are non-partisan and by law do not represent a constituency but rather serve to “improve our schools and increase academic achievement.” Please Sen. Dugan, do not politicize our BOE and change the nature of their public service. Throwing taxpayer money at them will not improve our schools nor increase student achievement. The increased annual expense of $67,620, to local taxpayers, would be better spent hiring two teachers or three aides. Now, that would help to improve our school system and raise academic achievement.

Sir, public service and local community service is a calling much like the blessed folks who operate food banks and church missions etc. Service on the BOE is not intended for financial enrichment!

Please sir, reconsider and DO NOT file this “local legislation”. If you do, it may well start a stampede of county commissioners and city council members wanting the same consideration. Thank you, sir, and God Bless you for your service to our county and state.

Respectfully, Bill Kecskes 770-328-6450 WMK@bellsouth.net

District 5 Commissioner Ernie Reynolds holds this district and his constituents in their best interest. He

is an engaged board member and always poses questions to consider on behalf of the citizens of the county. If you go to many BOC meetings, you begin to see a pattern of Reynolds and maybe one other commissioner promoting discussion. Where is our government? Who are our commissioners working for? After the Nov. 1st meeting, you might ask yourself this, especially if you haven’t attended these meetings prior. How does one commissioner have the

There needs to be more discussion and a refined plan presented to the BOC by Glock so that all concerns of the citizens are fully considered. As an attendee of the first Susan A. Mabry Citizens Academy, I am disappointed that our county government does not conduct itself with the concerns of the citizens at the forefront.

I am not writing for or against the proposed Glock inquiry, but instead, I’m writing in support of my fellow citizens of Carroll County and their valid questions. The BOC represents a conglomerate of citizens elected by their constituents to have discussions not stifled as they were in the November 1st meeting.

Carroll County improving, but still in violation of state law on illegal immigration: sheriff to forward compaint to GBI

Last month, I wrote a lengthy column here with an explanation of several state laws passed years ago with the goal of making Georgia less attractive to illegal immigration and a detailed narration of the fact that Carroll County government was - and is - in violation of these statutes. However dry and boring it may seem to the busy reader now, if these laws are honored and enforced, they would create difficulty for illegal aliens to obtain jobs, benefits, and services in Georgia. The politicians elected to lead Carroll County ignored my “heads up” warnings about glaring violations for more than six months.

To repeat another point from last month: With Georgia having a larger illegal alien population than Arizona and the Biden Administration allowing millions of illegal border crossings while choosing not to enforce immigration laws, Carroll County

officials took a very similar attitude until they received some public exposure. Illegal immigration is not only a “federal problem.”

Many thanks to StarNews publisher and owner Sue Horn for the space to outline the above.

Please know that if the storyline was about Carroll County government being in violation of any law that grants benefits or privileges to illegal aliens, it would have long ago been a lead report on “the news” and in an Associated Press headline. Imagine the media frenzy if illegals

Conjecture, pure conjecture

Each month, I say “no more columns in StarNews, as nobody really cares about what is on my mind any given day,” and, I probably won’t remember it tomorrow anyhow. But then, someone sends an e-mail and we exchange thoughts, and I learn something of value.

So, first may I predict, with absolute certainty, the outcome of our elections (some two weeks after this was written). Without any question, we will elect self-serving scoundrels who abuse their spouses, enrich themselves, and lie about their accomplishments, as we always do.

How do I know? Because that is what their opponents have been telling us 24/7 for months. Would the losers lie? Who would spend $70 million for a part time job? Who accumulated some $3 million after losing a Georgia state race last year? Yep, in politics, even the losers can win.

Economic predictions, probably best left to the professionals who write columns for this paper.

WILSON

were refused a taxpayer-funded K-12 education in Carroll County’s public schools or denied no-cost, noquestions-asked medical care in any emergency room in the state?

It appears that we created enough interest in the multiple Carroll County government violations to stir up some action on corrections.

I received an October 24th conference call from county attorney Avery Jackson and several county staffers including Ben Skipper asking me to check the changes they made to the county website and system of issuing public benefits. From here, it looks like the changes they corrected most of the violations. I write “most” because a law we mentioned last month designed to ensure that taxpayer-funded projects run by public employers exclude black market labor is apparently being bypassed.

most all other socialist economies are much worse. Yes, in my view, our current governing leaders, legislative and executive, are now Socialist, but we call them Progressive because that is a more positive term. Some call the Conservatives radical or insurrectionists. Words matter. Our economy is the best rotten apple in the barrel.

What will the Federal Reserve chairman (Powell) do? Some say, and I think they are correct, that Powell is like a “porcupine in a balloon factory” - any FED movement is no win. He will likely continue to raise rates “to control inflation” until the economy really tanks, (mortgage rates have doubled in about two months) then in about 6 to 9 months, the FED will likely pivot on a dime and reduce rates to flood the economy with more fiat dollars (printed money backed by nothing of tangible value) just in time for the 2024 election.

The dollar is strong now because

Our strong dollar is destroying the economies of developing nations because they must convert their cheap fiat currency for our overpriced fiat currency. A lot of people will go hungry and be cold this winter.

Remember when England was a world power and the pound sterling was $5.00? Now, it is $1.00, give or take a little. I have a son on vacation in Thailand now and his 4 Star Hotel in the financial district is less than $800 for a month! A .357 handgun sells for about $1800US when converting from the Thai Baht currency.

Public pensions are grossly underfunded. How will they be paid unless

“Baked-in roaches”: politics or a restaurant complaint? You decide . . .

“Not just what happened, but what matters”

M. HORN EDITOR/PUBLISHER

Political skills make democracy work

LEE HAMILTON

It sometimes seems that Americans are hopelessly divided by politics, but I believe it will take politics to make our country work. More specifically, it will take political skills. We need elected officials with the political skills to bring together diverse factions and address America’s challenges.

What are political skills? They include communication, not just persuasive speaking, but listening and understanding what people are trying to say. They include an ability to forge consensus among constituencies with different viewpoints. And they include the capacity to pull people together to focus on problems, one of the most difficult tasks in politics.

These skills matter because they are essential

to the functioning of our representative democracy. It takes real political skills to translate the will of the people into a functioning government.

The good news is that many of the skills needed for governing are the same skills required to win elections. Politicians often think they can get elected by firing up their base, and sometimes that works. But if they want enduring success, they need to build coalitions and appeal to a variety of voters.

Communication skills are at the heart of what every politician does. We tend to think of communication skills as the ability to rouse an audience with words. Ronald Reagan, an experienced actor, was known as the Great Communicator for his skill at delivering a phrase. Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were known for their inspirational oratory.

But communication also includes listening, and that’s a rarer skill. Truly skilled politicians have a knack for paying attention to every individual, focusing on what they say, and making them feel that their ideas matter – and following through on what they hear.

Following through and getting things done in our democracy usually requires bringing people together and creating consensus. These political skills are often overlooked in today’s polarized and hyper-partisan environment. It’s easy for politicians and advocacy groups to find wedge issues that will divide the public. It’s much more difficult to bring people together.

Doing so requires establishing a rapport with people of different backgrounds and political persuasions. It requires recognizing that our political adversaries deserve respect. It usually takes compromise. It means remembering that we all have an interest in addressing our nation’s challenges, whether it’s inflation, crime, economic inequality, immigration, climate change or national security.

Most of us, regardless of party, share the same values, including civility, freedom and opportunity for all.

I’ve been fortunate to work with some gifted political figures. Lyndon Johnson was hugely energetic and intensely focused. He wasn’t a great public speaker, but he knew the workings of Congress intimately and used that

Thanksgiving approaches, as does the year end

country, I saw a variety of different groups coexisting in the United States. Some were exclusive while the others were more accommodating. But, most of the time, they were peaceful and cooperated with one another. I assume that’s because of the multi-racial and ethnic makeup of the country.

seeks association with those regarded as social superiors. At the same time, he tends to rebuff, avoid, or ignore those regarded as inferiorone who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste.”

knowledge to get things done. Sen. Birch Bayh, from my home state of Indiana, possessed legendary interpersonal skills. He authored two successful constitutional amendments, more than anyone else but James Madison. Bill Clinton was very good at connecting with audiences. I wrote in a recent column that Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, had excellent political skills that would have made him successful in a political system like ours.

The skills that are needed to govern at home are also important for effective foreign policy. Communicating, listening, understanding and respecting others’ views, building coalitions: these are the essence of diplomacy. The United States has awesome military power, but that alone won’t make the world a safer place. We must have diplomatic skills that match our military might.

Political skills aren’t easy to learn and develop, and they aren’t always valued in this partisan era when compromise can seem like a dirty word. But they are essential to our representative democracy. We should cultivate and celebrate them at every opportunity.

surround us as a reminder of our life-long struggle. Those of us in the latter half of our life’s journey have earned the right of self-content as we are thankful of the blessings from above.

Most of us retirees have seen a variety of people in our life’s journey: high and low, the wealthy and the deprived, knowledgeable and the less well informed. People seem to gravitate toward the group that they perceive to be of the same “tribe” as they are. So, there comes the social class which is based on one’s sociopolitical, economic, or academic standing. Similarly, race and ethnicity also play a role in producing exclusive group forming.

In my own 90-plus years life journey of which two-thirds were mostly spent in this

Someone told me long ago that “variety is the spice of life.” Indeed, we see plenty of “spice” all around us. It enriches this country, I was told. I also heard that so long as the differences are resolved within the accepted cultural norm, it would add to the beauty of the United States.

As I spend some time contemplating life’s contour in my unexpectedly long journey, it occurred to me that there was an individual who did not quite seem to fit well with the overall picture. It was before I came to the United States. As best as I could determine, he was a “snob.” Snob is defined as “one who blatantly imitates, fawningly admires, or vulgarly

That is a mouthful. Fortunately, this individual did not last very long. Average people in America do not care much about such a person. If he were living in this country, he would have been thrown out much sooner. He was full of empty air. Puffed-up with self-importance, he appeared to be like a clown in a carnival. His over-blown ego was comical, but he seemed to be ignorant of his shortcoming.

The travel of my life did not amount much but, at least, I managed to avoid becoming a clown. And it is worthy of celebration.

Fall is the season for reflection. Hot summer is now a memory. Cold blustery winter is yet to arrive. This is the time for contemplation, as the fruits of labor are plentiful throughout the hills and fields, much like our children who

The First Principle, water consciousness, and water memory

YBIL ROSEN THOMAS

River Rambles syllabil@aol.com

Unless you’re an astronomer, mathematician or philosopher, you may not know Thales of Miletus. Considered one of Seven Sages of Antiquity, Thales lived around 600 BCE in the ancient port of Miletus on the coast of what is now Turkey. The first person in history to predict a solar eclipse, Thales was also a military strategist. Once, while leading an army into battle, he and his troops encountered a river they apparently weren’t expecting. (I assume maps were in short order in those days?) There were no bridges or boats to carry them across, nor was the water shallow enough to wade. So Thales had his men dig a channel to siphon off enough current so they could slog by foot to the far shore. (Must have been a small river, despite its depth; hard to imagine a similar feat succeeding on the Chattahoochee)

Thales of Miletus was curious about the composition of the known cosmos. What was the primordial substance of the world, the stuff the universe is made of? This substance had to embody four things: Existence, change, motion, and life itself. Thales reasoned that all things in existence are either solid, liquid, or gas. He noted that water, with its internal capacity for change, was able to take any of these forms. And also that water was often, if not always, in motion; and moreover, all livings beings required water to live. (Thales likely didn’t suspect that life itself was concocted in that water!) Since water happened to be the most common material on Earth, Thales concluded that, “Water is the First Principle of Everything.”

The universe has grown a lot since Thales’ time. I discovered him in “The True Power of Water” by Dr. Masaru Emoto, the 21st-century Japanese water-researcher who thought himself more an “original thinker” than a scientist. Dr. Emoto is credited with revolutionizing the theory that human thought and intention can impact the physical realm. Using Magnetic Resonance Analysis technology and high-speed photopraphy, he sought to demonstrate how our intentions can alter the molecular structure of water.

After taping written intentions like “Love and

Gratitude” or “You Disgust Me” to a container of water, Dr. Emoto would freeze the molecules and photograph them. Predictably, “Love and Gratitude” produced snowflake-like structures, crystalline and symmetrical, with a luminous blue transparency; “You Disgust Me” presented glob-like masses unable to crystallize, pocked and putrid in color. Similarly, images of clear stream water reflected balance and loveliness, while polluted water had an eerie, formless “You Disgust Me” vibe.

Dr. Emoto wasn’t suggesting that water can read. Rather he believed that water can carry information, that it has consciousness and memory. Water consciousness might not equate to ours, any more than a felled tree experiences the kind of pain we humans feel when wounded. Yet evidenced by Dr. Emoto’s striking photos, there does seem to be molecular receptivity and response.

To illuminate the power of human intention, Dr. Emoto set forth the concept of hado, a Japanese word that translates literally as “wave fluctuation.” To Dr. Emoto’s thinking, hado includes all “the subtle vibrations...inherent in all things.” The intention of the writer of “Love and Gratitude” - and the words themselvesbroadcast an inaudible frequency, an energy that communicates to water and is expressed in

Rough and tough struggle it was for many a day! Disappointments and tragedy were abound! In the midst of sorrow and agony, my better half and I clung to each other and cried out aloud! And our cry apparently reached to the Most High! Triumphantly, I now shout in silence, as my better half is now gone: We made it through together! Nay, He bestowed upon us the honor, the fruits of our struggle. Fall is therefore the season for Thanksgiving more than reflection or contemplation! Here, at this juncture of my fleeting thoughts, I now inject a new element that is of Asian origin. After all, I am of the Asian tradition by birth and experience. I am steeped in the Asian culture. It is from one of the ancient men of wis-

turn by its molecular make-up.

If your eyes are starting to glaze over, stay with me a minute more. Most of us experience some form of hado in our lives. Surely you’ve met someone for the first time and felt like you’ve known them all your life? How about falling in love? Or dejá vu? And what else is prayer, if not an expression of intention seeking to influence? In one instance of Dr. Emoto’s research, decayed molecules of tainted water were transformed into diaphanous crystals after being prayed over for an hour by Buddhist Chief Priest Houki Kato at Fujiwara Dam in Japan.

The human mind is powerful; our intentions likewise. Think of it this way: A woman wakes each morning for a year and thinks of five things she’s grateful for. Another wakes thinking of five things she’s angry about. At the end of the year, who do you think is the more contented? If intention can shape the life we create for ourselves, why not the quality of water? After all, we generate hado and our bodies are said to be atleast 70% water.

I admit I was skeptical at first. Then I remembered. When my husband Glyn was diagnosed with cancer, he underwent traditional medical treatments. But he also worked

Post-Covid: capitalizing on the benefits within independent schools

the conversations or interactions we were having pre-covid. I guess this is part of the new normal.

PATRICK YURAN

Headmaster OAK MOUNTAIN ACADEMY

Finally.... It is beginning to feel like “normal” in independent schools. A new normal, post-covid, that resembles the old normal, precovid, in what appears to be a different normal because of covid. Oh, boy...

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a colleague about setting up a meeting with a group of parents to discuss an upcoming event and we were debating on having an in-person meeting or a virtual meeting. A couple of days ago, I was walking down the hall and ran into a group of students waiting outside a classroom when the students shared with me that the teacher was finishing up a meeting on Zoom, so they were patiently waiting. These were not

Meanwhile, the news is covering more nonpandemic-related hot topics, the governor is going live with special reports less often, and covid-minimizing protocols are more relaxed. Finally, we have learned how to live in a world WITH covid – the new normal. So, what does the new normal look like in our independent schools?

There are many opportunities that have come out of the covid period that can easily transition into benefits worth keeping in the post-covid era. An obvious benefit is a more relaxed afterschool schedule for the younger students. More family mealtimes together, fewer co-curricular commitments, less divide and conquer with after hours transportation.

This relaxed afterschool schedule provides the younger students with more of an opportunity for skill development and knowledge absorption at a slower pace within the family unit. The students have more time for reading, creative writing, and experimenting within the

visual/performing arts while engaging the family unit within their process.

I think we can all acknowledge that less to do in a week was beneficial during the covid period, but in the post-covid era there is pressure to return to the way we operated precovid. We should be cautious about completely returning to the way it was pre-covid with our afterschool scheduling as we will be missing out on some great opportunities.

Due to the increase of mental health issues born during the covid period, independent schools began to prioritize a more dedicated focus on student’s social and emotional wellbeing. The focus on a student’s social and emotional well-being was already in place precovid but took a seat behind their academic well-being. The covid period can be considered “a great awakening” for many independent school educators with information and training on mental health coming to the forefront.

Whereas pre-covid the focus on student’s academic well- being took a seat in front of their social and emotional well-being due

Looking behind the curtain of abortion marketing

HACK

For 47 years now, abortion advocates have invented a laundry list of euphemisms to hide the truth and the marketing of abortions. Slogans such as “a woman’s right to choose,” “my body, my baby, my choice,” therapeutic termination,” “it’s only a blob of tissue,” and “reproductive freedom” have been trotted out to deny the reality that the process of abortion takes the innocent and helpless life of another human being! A statement blasted out to me during a recent Pro-Life event was: “What about a woman’s right? We woman have a right to choose what we do with our bodies!” This really made me think…. if 50% of the

births in America are of the female gender, and abortion is no respect of gender, then 50% of the abortions since 1973 would have been of the female gender 31.5M (63M divided by two). So, what you are fighting for, you’re also destroying through the gruesome act of abortion? Mixed message here?

One of the most shocking examples of this assault of another human being was found in an article in Salon.com in 2013 entitled: “So What If Abortion Ends a Life?” The author, Mary Elizabeth Williams, while acknowledging that a fetus is a human life, makes the unbelievable assertion that: “… a fetus can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides. She’s the boss. Her life and what is right for her circumstances and her health should automatically trump the rights of the non-autonomous entity inside her. Always.”

Past GRTL President Becker observed: “In all my years of working to protect the pre-born, I have never heard such a callous, heartless attitude about another human being. The only positive aspect of this self-centered admission is

We need more heroes

education in colleges or universities followed by getting high paying jobs.

that it helps make the case for passing personhood constitutional amendments in Georgia and across the nation.”

Acknowledging what pro-life advocates have always maintained, Ms. Williams added: “When we try to act like a pregnancy doesn’t involve human life, we wind up drawing stupid semantic lines in the sand: first trimester abortion vs. second trimester vs. late term, dancing around the issue trying to decide if there’s a single magic moment when a fetus becomes a person. Are you human only when you’re born? Only when you’re viable outside the womb? Are you less of human life when you look like a tadpole than when you can suck on your thumb?” Even though she claims to believe that “life begins at conception,” her bottom-line conclusion is: “a life is worth sacrificing.”

Planned Parenthood’s approach to Life questions was outlined in a past Time Magazine cover story: “40 Years Ago, Abortion-Rights Activists Won an Epic Victory with Roe v. Wade…..They’ve Been Losing Ever Since.” The article goes on to say the pro-choice cause

largely to our lack of knowledge and awareness. According to Maya Angelou, “Now that we know better, we must do better.” We have an opportunity not to return to the way we operated pre-covid. Again, we should be cautious about completely returning to the way it was pre-covid as we will be missing out on another great opportunity to protect our student’s social and emotional well-being.

My hope moving forward is that all independent schools identify the benefits they experienced during the covid period and capitalize on them during this post-covid time. We have an opportunity in our schools to build upon benefits such as a more relaxed afterschool co-curricular schedule and a more focused attention on student’s social and emotional well-being. Never have we been so aware of our ability to pivot quickly and therefore evolve to meet the ever-changing needs within our communities. This post-covid era demands we continue to meet the ever-changing needs within our communities by capitalizing on the benefits our schools experienced during the covid period.

is “in crisis” because “memories of women dying from illegal pre-Roe” abortionists are becoming more distant. As a result, young abortion rights supporters want to modernize and expand their activities to include more issues. “They often don’t even mention the term pro-choice, which they say is limiting and outdated. Instead, these young leaders have embraced a cause known as “reproductive justice” - a broader more diffuse agenda that addresses abortion access but also contraception, childcare, gay rights, health insurance and economic opportunity,” the article stated. Another new cause that can be added to this list is the trans-gender movement.

As you may have noticed, the talking points and marketing strategies used by abortionists is changing quickly.

And let’s never forget the atrocious comments spoken by the founder of Planned Parenthood Margaret and eugenicist in 1924: “How are we to breed a race of human thoroughbreds unless we follow the same plan? We

When we mention the word “hero”, some of us might automatically think of Superman, These characters convey that hero theme of unselfishingly putting yourself at risk or in harm’s way to save a person from imminent dangers. But, the type of hero you become can come in a plethora of forms.

By simply teaching younger kids how to read and turning them on to reading books regularly in a neighborhood where reading skills are regularly lower than their grade level, you have, in effect, become a hero.A hero to a generation of kids who may now change the trajectory of their future from staying unmotivated to learn and staying poor to becoming eager to learn and pursuing higher

For example, let’s look at a man who exemplifies being a hero to hundreds if not thousands of young people to encourage them to pursue a higher education and to subsequently pursue high goals: Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, the former president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is something of a rock star, according to writer Erica L. Green whose article in the August 4, 2022 issue of the New York Times is entitled “Beloved University President’s Legacy: A Diverse New Generation in STEM”. She describes into great detail how this man inspired so many African-American students to go into science. Green writes, “Dr. Hrabowski after leading U.M.B.C for 30 years is renowned in academic circles for transforming what was once a regional commuter school into the country’s strongest pipeline of Black graduates in science, technology, engineering and related fields.”

One of his most well-known students was Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who helped design one of the effective vaccines for the coronavirus. At 34 years of age, Dr. Corbett was the first Black woman to achieve such a feat. She met Dr.

Hrabowski as a 18 year old freshman at U.M.B.C. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert at the time of this writing, was asked once by the National Urban League “Can you talk about the input of African-American scientists in the vaccine process?” Without hesitance, Fauci answered that “the vaccine that’s one of the two that has absolutely exquisite levels…94 to 95% efficacy against clinical disease and almost 100% efficacy against serious disease that are shown to be clearly safe….that vaccine was developed in my institute’s vaccine research center by a team of scientists led by Dr. Barney Graham and his close colleague, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett”

Green states that “The School’s Meyerhoff Scholar’s Program. . . has served as a barrierbreaking model for colleges nationwide. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California, Berkeley, are among those that have replicated it. To add more merit to the hard work this man has sown into the lives of these young adults, let’s read this announcement from a prominent Institution: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced a $1.5 billion program to support the next generation of diverse faculty

in science, technology, engineering and math, it named the initiative the “Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program”.

Some heroes open doors.. I’m referring to Lt. Col. Charity Adams. A true trailblazer from Kittrell, NC. Adams served as the highest ranking African-American woman during World War II. In August of 1942, Lt. Col.

Adams graduated from the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, (this marked the beginning of a separate department to allow women to serve in the army). She was the first black woman to be an officer in the WAC. Additionally, Adam was the commanding officer of the first battalion of African American women to serve oversees during WWII. The Army gave Adams command of the 6885th Central Postal Battalion stationed in Birmingham, England. The postal battalion she commanded delivered mail to and from nearly seven million soldiers in the European Theatre.

You can become a hero by sacrificing a little of your time to help improve someone’s lifejust as Jesus sacrificed everything to improve all our lives. (Articles from the National Museum of the United States Army and The New York Times helped contribute to the writing of this column).

ELVIN

KEITH

Millennials Christian Ministry (MCM) kkeith@mcmempowered.org

Public School #122 in 1947: Maxwelton’s braes are bonnie, where early fa’s the dew. . .

shellac records, which was under lock and key in her closet. The recordings were played on a full-console wind-up phonograph player that was mounted on wheels, and brought into the classroom by the school janitor or his student assistant: a shiny very important piece of furniture named “the Victrola”. I’m pretty sure that Music Appreciation happened on Friday afternoons, the last topic of the week.

Ms. Brophy

Before moving on to the gender-separated Junior High Schools of New York City, we, the boys and girls of PS122 (Public School #122) had a year with the blue-eyed and slightly coldnatured Ms. Brophy. There, in the 6th grade, in 1947, we were introduced to a new topic of study, Current Events. This involved reading the daily newspapers, or at least knowing about their serious content. In a few years, such preparation for life would be replaced by television.

Also, the N.Y.C. Board of Education wanted students of the 6th grade to learn to recognize ten pieces of music. Until then, who knew that the Lone Ranger got his horse Silver excited with some bars from Rossini’s William Tell Overture? Until Ms. Brophy, I thought those musical sounds just trailed out and filled all Texas, from Silver’s rear end, thanks to Radio.

Then, there was The Swan by Saint-Saens, which made the girls very serene and less gabby, and Danse Macabre, which made us boys affect grotesque facial expressions with scrunched up shoulders. Country Gardens, by Percy Grainger, made us all feel good. And so on.

This music was part of Ms. Brophy’s prized - and handled only by her - album of 12”

I don’t think Ms. Brophy liked us boys, certainly not as much as the girls. A boy was much more likely to be sent to the principal’s office. A girl was much more likely to get a patient talking-to, an explanation. The “explanations” that I did overhear were so different from those given to me, and I was a well-behaved boy. Mine were something like, “Do it, because those are the rules.” She had the most intense blue eyes, twinkly, and a really nice, always calm face. Quiet voice, and brogue in it. Now, thinking back to those years, and recalling how she said “...those are the rules...”, I believe there was mischief in her voice. Imagine that! That’s complicated.

During our course in Music Appreciation, Ms. Brophy passed around an old song book. Most times we had to share it, since she had a limited number those old worn song-books. This time, it was Ms. Brophy’s choice, and not of the NYC Board of Education. She had a favorite song in there. She even played a recording of it, sung by one John McCormack, the great tenor of his day. Many preferred him to Caruso. Recently, I found a recording by the Australian soprano, Melba, of that day, as well.

To me, Melba’s brought me back to the memory of Ms. Brophy, more than McCormack’s. These were recordings made when Ms. Brophy had been a girl. She set out

to teach that song. She taught us so well, sang the passages so beautifully, explained the Scottish words, and brought “Annie Laurie” so to life so dramatically, that I, as so many of my classmates, have never forgotten it. Imagine that! A school, in an immigrant working-class neighborhood, whose teachers were also of immigrant backgrounds but from previous generations. They were of Italian, German, Irish, Dutch, and Scots backgrounds and all were dedicated to helping my generation acculturate to America during the Great Depression and now the World War.

Here’s what I remember. There are at least two stanzas more. Nellie Melba’s recording can be found at: https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=gQmrr9EHPzw

Also, Deanna Durbin, the movie star of the

1940s, whose fan I was for a while, recorded a very good version. But, in my humble opinion, its interpretaion is derived from Melba’s.

Maxwelton’s braes are bonnie, Where early fa’s the dew, ‘Twas there that Annie Laurie

Gi’ed me her promise true.

Gi’ed me her promise trueWhich ne’er forgot will be, And for bonnie Annie Laurie I’d lay me doon and dee.

Those teachers taught us well, but after Ms. Brophy’s 6th grade we went on to Junior High School, which was a community dominated by bullies and gangs.

I’m sure Ms. Brophy and her colleagues knew this was coming. Well, at least World War II had come to an end.

“Public employers” refers to official entitles like Carroll County, the state of Georgia or any other government agency in Georgia.

The law, OCGA 13-10-91, requires contractors bidding on public jobs to swear on an affidavit they are using the federal E-Verify system to validate work eligibility of new employees and subcontractors. False swearing is a felony. The law is clear on what must be in the affidavit.

In response to my latest open records request to Carroll County government for a copy of the affidavit they use for this purpose, Carroll County sent me completely unrelated copies of affidavits used for building permits. I sent a follow-up email asking if there had been an error, but I have not received a response.

Shorter: It looks like Carrol County government does not offer or collect the paperwork on which contractors are supposed to swear to use of E-Verify before they are allowed to bid on a tax-funded projects. I have no idea how many illegal aliens are working on public jobs paid for by Carroll County taxpayers. Neither do county officials. So much for the law.

As I wrote last month, I sent a request to Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley to forward my official complaint against Carroll officials to the GBI. The Sheriff was kind enough to call me in late October to inform me that he will grant my request.

The story isn’t so dry and boring now, is it?

Creating the political pressure for enforcement is now up to voters. Carroll County voters have a choice. Absent outside pressure, it is obvious that little determination exists on the part of county government officials to fight illegal immigration, illegal administration of public benefits, and illegal employment. But, voting taxpayers do have remedies.

As we pointed out last month, the laws aimed at reducing illegal immigration in Georgia that Conservatives fought for more than a decade ago were passed with the promise that state audits and inspection would be forthcoming “subject to available funding” and “contingent upon appropriation or approval of

ED WILSON from page 21

we print more money when they come due? Defined private pensions are worse. Can the government pay when the companies go bankrupt?

Physical assets like gold and silver appear underpriced and many think about 10% of your assets should be in gold and silver that is IN YOUR POSSESSION. In today’s world, if you don’t have physical possession, you can be wiped out with the flip of a switch.

What about the war in Ukraine? Putin made a very bad call when he invaded Ukraine. The weakness of his “top down” military decisions and the obsolescence of his military equipment is there for the world to see. In my view, Putin will do anything, including a world war, to promote his desired legacy of re-establishing the USSR. One possibility, the oligarchs may remove him. They had it much better before sanctions.

Of course, we have climate change, but are hurricanes worse? Or are more people living in areas where hurricane damage is likely to occur? If you listen to the media, all news is bad news. If it bleeds, it leads. Were hurricanes reported as frequently prior to satellite imaging?

Watch ALL of the news media. Same reporting, same weather forecasts. Yep, it will rain somewhere today. Look out the window and see the weather in your area. Yep, somebody got shot somewhere. Cars were wrecked somewhere. If it is really bad news the same stories will be on all stations at about the same time.

necessary funding…” Georgia now has a huge budget surplus.

Governor Brian Kemp is boasting of that budget surplus. In 2018, he ran on the promise of fighting illegal immigration in Georgia - it was his first TV campaign ad. He has betrayed us on that pledge. Phone calls to his office (404-656-1776) and unapologetic demands from voters to their public servant - state legislators - that money be appropriated for the purpose of monitoring compliance is the only way this anti-enforcement crisis will be solved.

Heads up and a warning to voters who take the time to follow up on this: Not many legislators under the Gold Dome want to hear about or discuss illegal immigration in Georgia.

D.A. King is pr oprietor of ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com and founder of the Marietta-based Dustin Inman Society. He is an independent voter. This column went to press on November 8, 2022

The UPS Store

must make this country into a garden of children instead of a disorderly back lot overrun with human weeds.” It’s not hard to infer the candidates in reference were the African Americans, as well as the Irish American due to the anti-prejudices of both populations during these times. In the 1930s, Sanger opened a second birth control clinic in Harlem, the home of the largest population of African Americans in New York.

Fast forward to 1973 and the Roe vs. Wade decision making abortion legal in America. Since 1973, over 63M innocent human beings have been aborted! Although the black community represents 13% of the U.S. population, the black community represents 29% of abortions performed in the U.S. today. And in Georgia, the black community is 30% of population, but account for 60% of abortions! So sad, the

from page 18

tional medical treatments. But he also worked with a healer in Europe connected to us through a Texas-music friend (both ask to remain anonymous). After taking Glyn’s medical history, the healer sent him a string of numbers hand-written on a piece of paper which Glyn was to tape to a gallon of our tap water and drink every day. The numbers corresponded to intentions the healer sought to bestow on the water’s hado.

I kept waiting for Glyn’s natural cynicism to kick in. He was as pragmatic as a sunrise, a true believer in Western medicine. Nevertheless, he drank that water religiously, you might say, and for whatever reasons had eight more good and happy years before the disease took him. Glyn knew pro-active patients do better than passive ones; he understood that intention can affect an outcome. I think he really wanted to live, and why not accept kindness offered in the spirit of healing? Drinking a gallon of well-intentioned water daily couldn’t have hurt either.

So this Thanksgiving, remember Thales’ First Principle. And when you look for recipients for your “Love and Gratitude,” send some sweet hado to the Chattahoochee River, and every other body of water you care about - and don’t forget those molecules in the glass right there in front of you.

DAN PAK from page 18

dom of China who was revered through many generations in Asia: “Nature does not hurry, yet it accomplishes everything.” - Lao Tzu Wise counsel it was. All of us, Easterners and Westerners alike, are living creatures in the Nature. We were born, surrounded by and have grown up with the Nature. Our Christian God has created the Nature at the time of creating Adam and Eve. The Nature is like companion to us humans. It has much to offer to us humans. We humans need to learn from the Nature. Regrettably, far too long, we have mistreated the Nature.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) said of himself: “The fact is, I am a mystic, a transcendentalist and a natural philosopher to boot.” Dorothee Soelle, the author of The Silent Cry, had this to say about Thoreau: “Withdrawing from the world of professional work and false needs, he found a non-dominating, mystical relation to the woods and animals, to light and water. In the face of a lake’s calm, he speaks of the transforming power that comes from living in nature and from leaving an existence that is purpose-ridden and machine-like.”

How so very much free one can become only if one is content to lead a simple life that is blended with the Nature! Only a selected few are given the privilege as such. Meantime, I am watching the calm lake as the setting sunlight is dancing on its surface.

Sanger eugenic philosophy still exists today at Planned Parenthood. We see these PPH abortion facilities located in minority low-income communities across the US.

So, what do these changed strategies, campaigns and ill-willed philosophies mean? There can only be one conclusion. Those who don’t value the sanctity of all innocent human life feel they are indeed losing.

We have seen the American mindset concerning abortion changing dramatically over the last 10 years. Technological advances (I love that word, “technology” has allowed us to be able to think “logically) have brought us 3D Ultrasound, determining any health issues or a baby’s structural issues within the first 12

weeks. The fetal heartbeat can be heard at 5-6 weeks in most cases, and doctors can determine if the pregnancy is progressing at normal stages.

The only reason to change a strategy and begin new attack ads and marketing strategies is when the current strategy is not working. Recent pro-life victories in the Dobbs case and the overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022, ProLife legislation victories in Georgia and other states across the US have obviously set off alarm bells for abortion supporters. (And you can see that in all the attack ads during this recent elections season.)

The message is clear: Stay close to God, base our course of action around the morality

Carroll County marriage licenses

of what scripture teaches us, as well as the blessings of technology and how it has allowed to comprehend the miracle of Life! We need to lovingly work to protect those who can’t protect themselves…the preborn and the aged!

Paul mentors and encourages young Timothy in 2Timothy 1:7. The same teaching would be wise for us today in this anti-life environment we exist in today: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” Paul also encourages the young church at Galatia: “And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”

Let’s “stay the course to protect all lives…. Let’s not leave one child left behind!” Selah!

OCTOBER 1-31, 2022

marriages continued on Page 25

RIVERRAMBLES

Carroll County Department of Public Health

To view complete inspection details: dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health

restaurant health inspections scores

10/06/2022: Zach’s Poppin 194 Rachel BlvdTemple 100 previous 100 10/05/2022: Hibachi Express 530 Bankhead Hway Carrollton 100 previous 100 10/05/2022: Store Grandez 1745 Bankhead Hwy Carrollton 100 previous 99 10/04/2022: City Tavern 109 Newnan Street Carrollton 100 previous 98 10/06/2022: Plant Wasted 1109 S Park Street Carrollton 100 previous NA 10/26/2022: Wendy’s 1133 Bankhead Hwy Carrollton 100 previous NA 10/06/2022: Olive Garden 1379 South Park Street Carrollton 99 previous 98 10/05/2022: Arby’s 1322 South Park Street Carrollton 99 previous 96 10/25/2022: Wendy’s 625 Carrollton Street Temple 98 previous 95 10/12/2022: Tanner Medical Center 601 Dallas Hwy Villa Rica 96 previous 100 10/17/2022: Downtown Darlin 311 Sage Street Temple 96 previous 100 10/21/2022: Chick-fil-A 1156 Bankhead Hwy Carrolltob 96 previous 96 10/11/2022: Fong’s 215 West Wilson Street Villa Rica 96 previous 96 10/21/2022: Mustard Seed Cafe 2115 Maple Street Carrollton 96 previous 96 10/25/2022: Gulf Seafood 339 West Bankhead Hwy Villa Rica 96 previous 96 10/04/2022: Hot Wings 932 Alabama Street Carrollton 96 previous 96 10/25/2022: Little Hawaiian 809 Cedar Street Carrollton 95 previous 100 10/06/2022: Wendy’s 186 Hwy 61 Villa Rica 95 previous 98 10/13/2022: Mojave Hot Wings 1069B Main Street Whitesburg 95 previous 98 10/04/2022: IHOP 1615 South Hwy 27 Carrollton 95 previous 98 10/212022: Subway 114 Hwy 61 Villa Rica 95 previous 98 10/06/2022: Chick-fil-A 85 Commerce Drive Villa Rica 95 previous 96 10/11/2022: Rooster’s 369 West Bankhead Hwy Villa Rica 95 previous 94 10/21/2022: Little Donkey 1561S Park Street Carrollton 95 previous 91 10/19/2022: Banning Mills 205 Horseshoe Dam Rd Whitesburg 94 previous 99 10/13/2022: Applebee’s 1105 South Park Street Carrollton 94 previous 95 10/11/2022: O’Charley’s 921 Moore’s Ferry Road Villa Rica 95 previous 89 10/17/2022: Lee’s Kitchen 819 South Park Street Carrollton 92 previous 94 10/14/2022: Blazer’s 23-B Tyus-Carrollton Road Carrollton 92 previous 94 10/25/2022: Hardee’s 587 Carrollton Street Temple 92 previous 91

10/14/2022: Nama Asian 108 Adamson Square Carrollton 92 previous 91 10/19/2022: The Chat & Choo 130 W Montgomery St Villa Rica 91 previous 100 10/21/2022: Waffle House 821 South Park Street Carrollton 90 previous 98 10/12/2022: Subway(Walmart) 1725 South Hwy 27 Carrollton 90 previous 95 10/25/2022: Cinema Tavern 200 WMontgomery St Villa Rica 90 previous 95 10/07/2022: Thai Best 921 Moore’s Ferry Road Villa Rica 90 previous 95 10/17/2022: Subway 231 Carrollton Street Temple 90 previous 87 10/25/2022: Stewart House Retirement 102 South StCarrollton 87 previous 94 10/31/2022: Carroll County Sales Barn 225 Sales Barn Rd Carrollton 87 previous 91 10/07/2022: Sonic Drive-In 100 Park Ridge Drive Villa Rica 87 previous 91 10/20/2022: Waffle House 1122 Maple Street Carrollton 86 previous 100 10/04/2022: La Fiesta 201 Bradley Street Carrollton 86 previous 94 10/21/2022: Station 1 Hot Wing Cafe 118 Hwy 61 Villa Rica 86 previous 91 10/20/2022: Jefferson’s 342 Maple Street Carrollton 85 previous 91 10/04/2022: El Monteray 815 South Park Street Carrollton 83 previous 92 10/21/2022: McDonald’s 116 Carrollton Villa Rica Hwy Villa Rica 83 previous NA 10/05/2022: La Salsa 1004 Maple Street Carrollton 82 previous 86 10/12/2022: Jefferson’s 75 West Bankhead Hwy Villa Rica 81 previous 88 10/21/2022: McDonald’s 2001 Alabama Street Bremen 81 previous NA 10/06/2022: Hardee’s 1375 South Park Street Carrollton 80 previous 90 10/17/2022: Maple Street Diner 1201 Maple Street Carrollton 76 previous 82 Violations: Observed stained walls, equipment, floors, and ceiling tiles with grease build-up. Observed ice bath on kitchen table holding food temps above 41F with cheese. Manager instructed to discard any foods that have been held for more than four hours. Observed raw bacon and raw ham stored over raw vegetables in walkin cooler. Observed employee drinks soted on top of food prep tables in main kitchen. Observed several in use bowls in bulk containers used as scoops. Replace bowls and use scoop with a proper handle to avoid potential contamination with foods.

10/27/2022: Casa SolMexican 955 W Bankhead Hwy Villa Rica 74 previous 90 Violations: Observed cook in main kitchen flipping tortillas on grill with bare hands. Cook observed adding ready to eat cheese to plate with bare hands. Observed potentially hazardous pan containing cheese with mold present in reach-in cooler. Observed many foods in walk-in cooler without a prep date or discard date. Observed many foods in walk-in freezer stored directly on the floor. Observed floors, walls, and equipment with grease splatter and food debris accumulation. Observed prep top cooler and reach-in unit holding TCS foods above 41F with chorizo 50F, meatball 49F, raw chicken 45F, cheese 50F.

Avoid becoming a ‘burden’ on grown children

ERICK NEWTON

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

Here’s an interesting statistic: Some 72% of retirees say one of their biggest fears is becoming a burden on their families, according to a 2021 survey by Age Wave and Edward Jones. Both before and during retirement, what steps can you take to avoid burdening your loved ones in the future.

Here are a few suggestions: Build your retirement savings. The greater your financial resources, the less likely it becomes that you’d ever have to count on

your grown children for financial support. You may have access to a 401(k) or similar retirement plan at work, so take advantage of it. Even with an employer-sponsored plan, you also may be eligible to contribute to an IRA. In addition to offering a variety of investment options, a 401(k) and IRA provide potential tax advantages.

And once you do retire, be careful about how much you withdraw each year from your retirement plans and other investments.

Plan for health care costs. Once you are retired, health care costs will be a significant expense. You may have Medicare, but you’ll also want to consider your need for supplemental health insurance to cover traditional medical costs. And you’ll want to consider another potential health-related expense: long-

Carroll County marriage licenses

term care. You may never need the services of a home health aide or a stay in a nursing home, but no one can predict the future.

Medicare does not cover most costs for long-term care, which can be quite high. In 2021, the annual national median cost for a private room in a nursing home was over $108,000, while the median cost for a fulltime home health aide was nearly $62,000, according to a survey by Genworth, an insurance company. You may want to consult with a financial professional on strategies for protecting yourself from these costs.

Create necessary legal documents. If something were to happen to you, and you didn’t have the appropriate legal documents in place, your loved ones could be placed in a bind, both financially and emotionally. That’s

OCTOBER 1-31, 2022

more marriages Page 23

why it’s a good idea to create documents such as a durable financial power of attorney, which lets you name someone to manage your finances if you became incapacitated, and a durable power of attorney for health care, which allows someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you can’t make them yourself. You’ll want to work with a legal professional to develop the documents appropriate for your needs.

Evaluate your housing needs. As you enter retirement, you may want to evaluate your living situation. Could you downsize to a smaller home, or perhaps a condominium or apartment? Not only might you save money with such a move, but you could also end up relieving your grown children of the responsibilities and hassles involved in clearing out and selling your home should you become unable to do so yourself during the later years of your retirement.

By taking these measures, along with others, you can go a long way toward maintaining your independence and putting yourself in a place where you won’t burden your grown children. And that’s a good place to be.

Derick Newton is financial advisor, 937B Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 770-832-9515

Carroll County pistol permits

Number of Weapons Carry Permits applied for: OCT. 1-31, 2022: 120

Concerning Weapons Carry Permits: On April 12, 2022, Governor Brian Kemp signed into law the Georgia Constitutional Carry Senate Bill 319 and the License Reciprocity Measure House Bill 218 which now allows a lawful weapons carrier to carry a concealed weapon without a gun permit requirement. A background check is still required in order to purchase weapon - and the applicant must pass the background check - but a permit to carry is now longer required.

Georgia is one of 24 states that now has Constitutional Carry which follows the intent of the Second Amendment of the Constitution allowing the right to bear arms.

Carroll County births

OCTOBER 1-31, 2022:

Tanner Medical Center, Carrollton: Girls: 66 Boys: 53

Tanner Medical Center, Villa Rica:� Girls: 36 Boys: 39

Carroll County cattle receipts

Carroll County Sales Barn 225 Sales Barn Road, Carrollton October 31, 2022: 602

October 24, 2022: 609 October 17, 2022: 512 October 10, 2022: 754

Carroll County jail population

Total population as of NOVEMBER1, 2022: 485

Males: 416 Females: 69

(The Jack T. Bell Detention Center, 1000 Newnan Road,Carrollton)

Carroll County prison population

Total population as of NOVEMBER 1, 2022: 231

Capacity: 246 Males: 100% The Carroll County Correctional Institute is a separate entity from the Carroll County Jail (which houses males and females on a temporary basis)

Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace will be open until January 15th, but don’t wait

MARCY HEATH

678-821-3508

marcy@beinoventive.com

It’s fall again, meaning shorter days, cooler temperatures, and Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurance. Enrollment for 2023 health coverage began November 1st and will run through January 15th, 2023. However to ensure that your coverage begins January 1st, your enrollment must be submitted by November 15th, 2022.

A rule recently finalized by the Treasury Department aims to address what has long been termed the “family glitch”. The change expands the number of families with jobbased insurance who can choose to forgo their coverage at work and qualify for subsidies to get an ACA plan. Before, employees could only qualify for a subsidy for marketplace insurance only if the cost of their employerbased coverage was considered unaffordable based on a threshold set annually by the IRS. That determination considered only how much workers would pay for insurance themselves. The cost of adding family members to the employer sponsored plan was NOT a part of the calculation, and family coverage is often far more expensive than employee only coverage. The families of employees who fall into the “glitch,” either go uninsured or pay more through their jobs for coverage than they might if they were able to get an ACA subsidy. Workers will now be able to get marketplace subsidies if their share of the dependent premium for their job-based coverage exceeds 9.12% of their expected 2023 income.

Subsidy enhancements created by the American Rescue Plan have allowed a huge number of Americans to qualify for premium tax credits. Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law August 2022, extends the current subsidy enhancements through 2025. During the 2023 Open Enrollment period, due to enhanced federal subsidies, people whose income is under 150% of federal poverty level qualifies for a $0 premium Marketplace plan.

Insurers can no longer deny coverage to members enrolling in coverage who owe pastdue premiums for previous coverage. If members fell behind on their 2022 premiums,they must be allowed to re-enroll in 2023 and when the first payment is made to activate coverage, the insurer must apply that payment to their January 2023 premium.

THOUGHTSWHILESHAVING from page 21

And what about all these guns killing people? I have been around firearms all my life and I have found that if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you. Have you noticed that knives cut people? Should we register them? When they are registered, should we tax them? The political class needs more money to do “good things”. Did the fainthearted panic when David killed Goliath with a sling?

Have you ever seen so much gender garbage? You can now select your preferred gender - male, female, none. or pretty much whatever you want - on the census forms. I just decided that I should be wiser and taller and leaner and stronger and better looking and have a better memory and have a better understanding of all things. But, can I cause these things to occur just because I “decided”? In my view, DNA pretty much makes us who we are and I/we cannot change that.

Have a nice day. It is the only one you have. cedwilson587@yahoo.com

Comparison shopping will likely be easier for 2023 plans, new rules require ACA health insurers to offer a set of plans with specific, standardized benefits. The standard plans,for example, have the same deductibles, copays and other cost sharing requirements.

Under a different set of rules, beginning January 1st, all health insurers must make available cost-comparison tools online or over the phone that will assist patients predict their cost for 500 “shoppable services”, such as repairs to a knee joint, colonoscopy, a chest X-ray or childbirth services.

Expect rate increases for 2023 Marketplace health insurance. Insurers reported that rising prices paid to hospitals, doctors and drug companies and utilization trends will account for 4% to 8% of their premium growth in 2023. Enrollment can be expedited if you have the necessary information such as name, address, social security number, birthdate and citizenship status (proof of lawful residency may be required). Other pertinent information is doctor’s names and addresses, a list of prescription medication for each individual who will be covered by the plan, household size and income (pay stubs, tax return or W-2), and coverage details for any employer-sponsored plan that is available to your household (regardless of whether you are enrolled or have declined coverage).

There is no longer a federal penalty for not having health insurance, but even healthy people can be faced with extraordinary costs for unforeseen health reasons especially those with no insurance.

In most states, if enrollees have not updated their application and plan selection for 2023, the Marketplace may auto-re-enroll them in their current plan or a similar plan for the coming year. However, passively renewing can sometimes place consumers at a disadvantage. If the enrollee’s benchmark plan changes from one year to the next, the dollar value of the subsidy can also change. A person who was enrolled in the benchmark plan in 2022 may no longer be enrolled in the 2023 benchmark plan and therefore may have

to pay the difference in cost between their plan and the new benchmark plan. To take full advantage of the subsidy, Marketplace enrollees should actively shop each year to make sure they are in the best plan available Insurance Solutions is your one stop shop for all things insurance related, recognized as

an Elite Plus Marketplace Circle of Champion for the third year in a row. Please call us at 770-537-5300 - we make insurance easy!

MarcyHeath, Insurance Solutions of the South and Inoventive Benefits Consulting, 678-821-3508 marcy@beinoventive.com

Momtahan; Ward 3 Leslie McPherson; and Ward 5 Danny Carter. Ward 4 Council Member Anna McCoy was absent.

City Manager Tom Barber told council and mayor that mitigation banking is a system of credits and debits to ensure that ecological loss, especially loss to wetlands and streams resulting from various development works, is compensated by preserving and restoring wetlands, natural habitats and streams in other areas so that there is no net loss to the environment. He said the credits are not always available to purchase nearby, and if the

OWENBY from front page

on the job was Tuesday, November 1, 2022.

In the newly created position in UWG’s Office of Alumni and Constituent Engagement in the University Advancement division and serving the Office of the President, Owenby will plan and create event experiences and enhance university traditions for key audiences, including alumni, supporters and other constituents.

BETTERRECYCLING from page 11 costs for trash. Close monitoring of the budget for the transfer station indicated that the costs of trucking fees, fuel, and maintenance costs at the station were outpacing the income generated by the tipping fees. Since the transfer station is operated through an enterprise fund (income must cover costs), it was necessary to increase the tipping fees this year.

Upgrades in progress at the Temple Convenience Center will increase safety and expand capabilities. It will look much like the Newnan Road and the Dyer Road centers when it is completed.

Finally, plans are beginning for the building of a much enlarged transfer station. The current one was planned in the 1980s and built in the 1990s and is not able to adequately handle the trash coming in and out.

Presentation is available on the LWV Facebook page or You Tube: https://youtu.be/Mm0Z_DCP4Ck .

ECONOMY GROWING

from page7

Because being home during covid you shopped for everything online - buying stuff, not services. Maybe buying a TV instead of going to the movies, buying a workout machine rather than a yoga class, buying an RV instead of renting a hotel room. It had been that goods manufacturing was going down and services were going up, but covid flipped everything, changed the mix. It probably will take several years to change. Logistics systems don’t change overnight.”

Dr. Smith wrapped up by saying, “The housing market had been going gangbusters but lately has leveled off a bit…slowing down. Expect that to continue. But don’t expect a huge recession because of housing. We are still under-housed.”

Dr. Smith provides information on the regional economy at the annual UWG Fall Forecasting Breakfast, through the Quarterly Updates published through the Center for Business and Economic Research, and speaking engagements and interviews. His primary areas of expertise are program participation, state and local taxation, and urban and regional economics focusing on the West Georgia Region. Smith has provided expert and technical research for large energy providers, the Georgia State Legislature and for private businesses. Formerly, he worked as a Senior Research Associate for the Fiscal Research Center at Georgia State University. While working at the FRC, he specialized in county growth patterns of the Atlanta Metro Area, Georgia tax policies, and welfare reform.

city waited until they absolutely had to have them and had to buy them from outside of the wetland basin, the cost could rise.

Barber said these 1836 screen credits will allow the City of Villa Rica to cover and pipe the creek that sits at the bottom of about onethird of the way along the Mirror Lake Connector. The road will be almost 200 feet wide due to having two traffic lanes, a median, a golf cart path, and a walking trail. The city would need to purchase these credits to get permits from the Georgia EPD in order to build that road. He told mayor and council that the 30-day price guarantee on these credits would expire at the end of the month of Octoberwhich would be before the next regular council meeting.

Responding to council questions, Barber stated that it isn’t legal to pipe a protected creek in the State of Georgia unless you compensate

for the environmental impact by purchasing credits in a mitigation bank, an organization that purchases land and restores an equal creek back to a meander.

The bank ‘site’ is the physical acreage that is restored, established, enhanced, or preserved.

The bank instrument is the formal agreement that bank owners and regulators establish to manage and monitor the acreage to ensure it provides such mitigation in an equal way to that which was lost or damaged by developers, in this case, the City of Villa Rica being “the developer”.

MayorGil McDougal said it sounded similar to an agency that requires forests to be replanted in an equal amount to any that is deforested due to development of an area.

Mitigation banking aids in protecting nature and its diversity. The program was designed because it is easier to restore a vast

consolidated piece of land than it is to preserve a lot of small sites, because the technical expertise of a mitigation bank makes it more efficient not just in cost, but also in terms of the quality of the restored acreage. The mitigation banks sell credits depending on how many linear feet they have to repair in the same geographical basin.

This purchase of mitigation credits was approved by council unanimously with a vote of 4-0 by council members Ward 1 Shirley Marchman (not seen or heard but referenced by the mayor as voting), Ward 2 Matthew Momtahan, Ward 3 Leslie McPherson (whos econded the motion to approve the purchase), and Ward 5 Danny Carter (who made the motion to approve the purchase).

As per the city charter, the mayor seat is an non-voting position except in the instance of a tie vote.