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Letters to the Editor

Light at hospital: Will it take a death?

The article about our local government's inability to install a traffic light on Ga. Highway 54 in front of Piedmont Fayette Hospital reminds us again how hamstrung our society has become by bureaucracy and mind-boggling red tape.

While virtually no one questions the need for a traffic signal at this dangerous location, we are told that the issue has been studied for years, the need acknowledged long ago, and that it may be two or three more years before a traffic light is installed. Or when pigs fly.

The entities mentioned include the Ga. Department of Transportation, the Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission, the hospital's facilities development and support services, area developers. the city engineer, and the DOT district traffic engineer.

The wonder is that the State Office of Inter-Agency Pothole Repair was not cited.

Government services don't get much more basic than a traffic signal at a dangerous intersection on a state highway. But when we read of "studies," "stakeholders," and "methodology," with regard to the installation of a traffic light, we know we are in trouble.

One questions if even the inevitable tragic deaths and carnage at he hospital entrance will speed the "time frame" needed to install a traffic signal.

R. David Wallis

Fayetteville, Ga.

Calendar: Let's use some common sense

I know it's a tough job, but for the love of okra, would someone please use a little common sense and fix those darn school calendars?

The new 2005-2006 Fayette County schedule, for example, begins Aug. 8. This has the little tykes in school for the first 57 days, 32 percent of the school year, with one day off.

There is no other time in the school calendar where the students attend this many days without a decent break.

The school boards need to seriously consider that no one wants to start school in early August. In fact, many parents and legislators have spoken out against this practice. If the schools don't fix the calendars, it's only a matter of time before legislation will.

I've heard the arguments about testing, and I agree, major tests and assignments should not occur or be due the day after a break.

I've also heard that the boards are trying to align the calendars with the colleges.

This argument just doesn't add up. Our kids are in school for weeks before many college kids start their year.

Frankly, I find it hard to believe that it's good for anyone to have 30 hot, grumpy kids crammed into a classroom for nearly seven hours on Aug. 8.

Whatever happened to the dog days of summer where kids and parents enjoyed lazy days at the beach or lake or pool or backyard sprinkler?

And, why do we have 23 days, 74 percent of the time off, during the worst weather of the year (November through February)?

I can pretty much guarantee that, if given a choice for kids to be stuck indoors during cold weather or to have time off from school during nice weather, parents would choose the latter. It's not like we're living in ski country here.

Perhaps a bit of thinking outside the box would help the situation. Here are a few ideas to make the current calendar more palatable for families and still meet the school board objectives.

1. If the school boards are going to insist that school start in early August, at least give the kids a reasonable fall break. Take a few days and enjoy a week off in October.

2. Having a week off for Thanksgiving is silly. There is not enough turkey or snow to keep anyone occupied for seven days. Besides, who really wants to travel during the absolute worst travel season of the year? Take two days and put it at the end of summer.

3. Don't mess with the semester break, formerly known as Christmas. We like this.

4. Presidents' Day gives us a three-day weekend in February. This is good.

5. We don't need a full week in February. Take two days and put it at the end of summer.

Here's how the new calendar shakes out:

Aug. 15 - School starts.

Sept. 5 - Labor Day (3-day weekend).

Oct. 10 - Fall break (1 week).

Nov. 23 - Thanksgiving break (5-day weekend).

Dec. 22 - Semester break (until Jan. 3).

Jan. 16 - MLK holiday (3-day weekend).

Feb. 20 - Winter break (5-day weekend).

April 3 - Spring break (1 week).

May 3 - Mental health holiday (3-day weekend).

May 26 - School ends.

May 29 - Memorial Day.

Do the math: this gives the kids 29 days off versus the 32 in the current 2005-2006 calendar. Suggestion: take the three days and put it at the end of summer. School now starts Aug 18.

We can live with that.

Readers: if you agree, clip this article and send it to your local school board. Maybe we'll get their attention!

Tami Morris

Peachtree City, Ga.

Tami Morris and her husband, Rick, are the parents of two Fayette County students. They have been Peachtree City residents for four years. Tami is the publisher of the Peachtree PathFinder Maps and Guide Books. She can be reached at 770-487-1348 or [email protected] .

Let's get at the real heart of 54-74's problem: The Avenue's traffic light

I have a few comments regarding road construction mentioned in the article, "Line Creek bridge, RR overpass to clog traffic." Although this is true, the article fails to mention the one traffic light that has been the root of the horrendous backups endured every single day.

That omission is the light just east of the railroad bridge at The Avenue. On the very day this light went online, the backups began.

It's not the light at Wal-Mart, MacDuff Parkway, or Huddleston that is the cause. The traffic was bad long before MacDuff and Wal-Mart came to be.

Why is it that our know-best city government does not recognize that? Where is the synchronization they said was going to be implemented several years ago?

It seems to me that it either doesn't work, or they don't give a rats butt about the problem. Is it because it's a revenue generating opportunity?

Every time I make a left turn leaving Home Depot, the traffic on Ga. Highway 54 is backed up by the light at the avenue. To avoid this insanity, I turn right onto Huddleston and go around the problem.

Huddleston has a 30 mph speed limit. Peachtree's finest lay in wait and catch motorists speeding there all the time.

It makes no sense that just down the road on Dividend Drive the speed limit increases to 40 mph. Now why is that?

They also generate revenue at the intersections writing tickets to those individuals who happened to get caught in the intersection when the flow suddenly grinds to a stop. It's like taking candy from a baby.

I cannot see how this road expansion is going to eliminate the traffic flow problem. The same number of lights will be there along with that stupid instantaneous light change at The Avenue to let those few cars make left turns.

The Peachtree City government created this mess out of lack of forethought, intelligence, planning, and basic greed. There's got to be a scandal in there somewhere.

It's more important to them to placate The Avenue traffic flow rather than the highway. They had all kinds of tricks they used on Huddleston such as no left turns at certain times, and the like. Why can't they restrict that light at The Avenue at peak traffic times?

Oh, I forgot. They want the tax money The Avenue generates.

I say it's time for a change. Turn the light off and find other ways to enter and exit the poorly planned Avenue, at least during peak times until a more sensible solution can be made.

And then there is the TDK extension. What a joke that has turned out to be. Take a good idea, mix in state, federal, and local governments, sprinkle a little FAA on it, and top it with a hole on a golf course.

Do you people know how stupid and petty this all is? You suck at your jobs and anyone in the private industry would have been fired long ago for incompetence.

Get off your ego, Mr. Mayor, and get it done. It's our money and we NEED it done. Quit your childish grandstanding.

WE don't care about one hole on a golf course. WE don't care about The Avenue. WE don't care that you have to fork out a little more money.

Take it out of the non-reported revenue generated by your police department/traffic ticket collection agency. Their one-night Ga. Highway 74 roadblock last October generated much more money than $10,000 in traffic fines alone.

You see, we always pay, one way or another. We pay for everything. It's not your money, it's ours. Time for you to do your job for your constituents. Kill the light at The Avenue and get the TDK extension back on track.

Jim Blessitt

Peachtree City, Ga.

Parker and dissent: Does that apply to union talks?

"If can't dissent during war, where's the freedom?"

Re Mr. Parker's March 9 letter:

With all that said, Mr. Parker, you would then not only support but encourage individuals to openly express their disagreements and complaints with the Air Line Pilots Association both locally and nationally?

Even if they are in the midst of negotiations with the company?

Paul Fink

Peachtree City, Ga.

County Commissioner Pfeifer, PTC Mayor Brown debate taxing issues

Pfeifer Warning, some of you are not going to like my position on this very much. But, I'm sorry; I can't help that. We have another issue, which unfortunately illustrates the basic personal beliefs and the poor financial responsibility shown by our current [Peachtree City] mayor and council. They are doing what is morally wrong and what is in financially questionable judgment.

To those of you who have children, what do you teach them? If they find a wallet or cash on the ground, whom do you say it belongs to?

Do you say, "Finders keepers, losers weepers"? Or, do you teach them the moral and proper thing to do is to turn it in? Do you teach them that things don't belong to them just because they find themselves in possession of them? Do you teach them to do unto others, as you would have them do unto you?

How about in your business or professional life? Is it okay to hurt a customer or a vendor or an employee or your boss or anybody because you have the opportunity and it is legal? Because you think you can get away with it? Do you expect that, if you do, they may seek to take the first opportunity they have to pay you back in kind?

Is it okay to steal if a lawyer says that the other guy made a mistake? Is it okay to steal if you can split legal hairs and find a loophole? Some people say that it's okay to steal if the one you are stealing from is a big bank or a big business because they have plenty of money.

If you wonder what I'm referring to, it is this. A couple of local business entities lent Peachtree City some money or advanced some services for the Tennis Center.

Because the old Development Authority incurred the debt, possibly without the proper paperwork being executed, the lawyer, mayor, and council of Peachtree City say the debt was illegally incurred and they and we, the taxpayers, won't pay it back.

I am willing to say that I do not know if this is legal, but I do know this is wrong. And that our mayor and council are wrong.

It teaches our kids the wrong lesson. It is stealing from local people. Who do you think really owns a bank and these other businesses, and who works for them?

This little caper is going to cost us (the city) money into the future. Who would "give the city a break" now? Who would make any transaction with the city without every t being crossed and every i dotted?

And, I can attest to the fact that even when t's are crossed and i's are dotted, these people will say they are not crossed or dotted and try to weasel out of any deal that they make. Who wants to do business with them under those circumstances?

Do you want to do business with them? Are you a fool or do you think that you are a bigger, smarter or more cunning scoundrel? That is whom we'll end up dealing with in the future if we keep on this course; fools and scoundrels.

What a great combination for our city's future well-being. What a great comment on us. Wouldn't you expect our property values to soar, as people eagerly try to move into a paradise that has high standards like that?

Before Steve [Brown], or any alter ego, has the opportunity to say so, I will tell you that Ron Duffey of Peachtree National Bank is a friend and a supporter of mine. I also know Jim Pace who runs Group VI.

I don't know if they agree with everything I say or do, I imagine they do not. I hope that they support me because they know that I am honest and hard-working. We have never discussed this issue and I have not publicly commented on this issue until now. My comments now are not aimed at assisting Ron Duffey, Jim Pace, Group VI, or the bank financially.

It doesn't really matter if you don't like banks or if the Development Authority did not conduct their business properly. How do we define who is morally wrong? In my view, it is pretty easy and does not take a Solomon. Who ended up with something that they didn't pay for? It was our city. Are we all proud of that?

No matter how you try to dress it up, wrong is still wrong. Perhaps we should put up new signs at the borders; "Welcome to Peachtree City, don't drop your wallet." Or, "If you move here, tell your kids to do as we say, not as we do," or, "We don't care what Jesus would do, we do what the mayor and his lawyer say we can get away with doing!"

Peter Pfeifer

Fayette County Commission, Post 3

Pfeifer, in his second term on the commission, lives in Peachtree City.

Brown

I have had dozens of people ask me why County Commissioner Peter Pfeifer is writing a series of puzzling letters to the editor about the City Council of Peachtree City.

Since his weekly letters are a difficult to understand, many people seem to think that there is some sort of communication taking place beyond the normal open channels.

In actuality, Pfeifer is unsuccessfully attempting to launch some sort of campaign to lead all the residents of Fayette County into believing that the City Council of Peachtree City is being dishonest.

His weekly harangue generally comes off as dispassionate and, well, kind of mean. Pfeifer's letters more often insinuate an attempt at damage control concerning recent county actions rather than promoting a true position.

The debate on fair taxation and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is uncomplicated and very basic.

The county government has admitted that the county taxpayers residing in Peachtree City are paying taxes into the county general fund that are used to pay for EMS. Since the city provides its own EMS, the county taxpayers in the city are actually paying for services that they do not receive.

The county has demanded that we consolidate our EMS which would mean that the city's ambulances and EMS personnel that currently cover our city limits would have to cover an area that consists of TWICE the square miles of the current zones.

A move to consolidate would ruin our valued response times and reduce our standard of quality.

Without a doubt, the county government would receive an enormous benefit from consolidation at the expense of diluting the city's high standards for our citizens' safety.

Pfeifer's colleague, Chairman Greg Dunn, made this comment about the EMS tax discrepancy: "Nobody up here wants the people of Peachtree City to be double-taxed" (Citizen, 2/2/05). Based upon their lack of action, Dunn's comment appear to be deficient in sincerity.

The reader needs to remember that Commissioner Pfeifer has also admitted on the record that the county's recreation plans are unfair and exclude Tyrone and Peachtree City.

Pfeifer said of the county's master recreation plan, "I just cannot vote for a plan that says our service area is 61 percent of our population" (Citizen, 9/10/03).

At one time I applauded the fact that Pfeifer voted against a county plan that forces the county taxpayers residing in Tyrone and Peachtree City to pay for recreation services that they were not receiving until I read the minutes of the same meeting where he also stated, "I can't stop this plan, nor do I want to." Why would he not want to stop a plan that he openly admits is unjust?

The County Commission has continuously badgered the Sheriff's Office demanding that the marshals, under the control of the commissioners, should be allowed to duplicate the services of the sheriff's deputies. The fact that the commissioners would enter into a lawsuit against our sheriff so that they could duplicate services has a lot of us scratching our heads.

As it turns out, the state Attorney General says the County Commission is wrong and the marshals do not have the same policing powers.

Commissioner Pfeifer also criticized the City Council's performance on roads. For the record, over the last three years our city has secured more state and federal funds and budgeted more funds for transportation infrastructure than at any other point in our city's 46-year history.

Also for the record, our City Council did not disrupt the TDK Extension project. The stoppage was a result of FAA objections due to careless errors from an engineering firm that was hired by a previous council.

The City Council and staff were shocked when Pfeifer accused the city of mismanaging road improvements for Cooper Wiring Devices and of being inconsistent on the funding needed for the project.

Our City Council has a very straightforward approach to assisting our local industries and we take that responsibility very seriously. Unfortunately, Commissioner Pfeifer neglected to tell the general public that the difficulties that arose with that endeavor resulted from the fact his county Development Authority was leading the project. This matter will be discussed further at our Thursday, March 17, City Council meeting.

Pfeifer's letter-writing campaign has failed to give local taxpayers and critics of the county government a reason to feel differently about the County Commission. Instead of quelling their controversy, he is fanning the flames.

Admitting that there is taxation inequality while not doing anything to remedy the situation is inexcusable. My grandfather use to tell me that a government that neglects or oppresses one group of people is capable of doing it to all.

I want everyone in Fayette County to prosper regardless of where they reside in the county. I love our citizens from the little ones to our seniors and I will continue to stand up for equal treatment for all.

The misinformation and attempts at intimidation need to stop. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to serve as an advocate for the average taxpayer over the past several years.

Steve Brown, mayor

Peachtree City, Ga. PTC should allow annexation study to proceed and require 3 options

My name is Todd Strickland and I have lived in Peachtree City for almost 30 years. I grew up here. After college, my wife and I came