Coweta County
Where it might be said, in a manner of speaking, that I 'live' now.
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June 2008
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11:48 pm Monday
June 30, 2008
No backtalk
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I Cannot Disagree
by McGehee
68°F. and fair in Coweta County, GA
Saturday evening, on our way to the fairgrounds, Chris and I saw a ten-mile-long backup on northbound I-85 due to a series of accidents not far from our own exit. Vehicles in the backup attempting to leave the interstate four miles from the accident scene were backed up for at least another six miles.
The interstate is undergoing extensive work through Coweta County, and in my opinion the planning for the project has been an extended fustercluck.
It’s time for Coweta County residents to avoid travel on Interstate 85, if possible. In less than a week, there are been three massive multi-vehicle traffic accidents on the interstate in our county that have jammed traffic for hours.
Each of these major wrecks took place in highway construction areas. Stormy weather may have contributed to two of the pileups.
Even before these recent multi-vehicle accidents, authorities reported a significant increase in wrecks on the interstate within the past year. For well over a year, every mile of I-85 in Coweta—plus a stretch south of Coweta in Meriwether and a much longer stretch in South Fulton north of Coweta—have been undergoing construction. That construction will continue at least for another 18 months. The scheduled deadline is for the work to be completed by the end of 2009. Too often construction deadlines are not met.
As the construction has progressed, more barriers have been erected. There have been recurring lane changes and shifting of traffic. When the new inside lanes that are now being constructed are completed, workers will begin rebuilding the outside lanes. We will experience more and more lane changes and more and more barriers during the next 18 months.
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It would be a good idea to avoid travel along dangerous I-85
For miles, I-85 effectively has no shoulders. The posted speed limit has been lowered from 70 to 60, with signs proclaiming the limit is “strictly enforced”—but the prevailing speed remains as it was before the work began.
Did I mention “no shoulders”? As in, where the @#$!! is a trooper or deputy supposed to pull somebody over?
Very bad planning. The only thing worse I can imagine is for all that traffic to detour onto Coweta’s surface roads. Fortunately not everyone who travels I-85 reads the Times-Herald. Or this blog.
[People] [Coweta County]
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12:11 pm Saturday
June 28, 2008
» McGehee
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...it’s field day
Today at 2:00 p.m., hams across the country begin “Field Day,” a 24-hour activity designed to practice emergency-power operations, make contact with a lot of other hams far away, and if possible show off the hobby to interested prospective new hams.
My club will be having its Field Day fun at the Coweta County Fairgrounds in Newnan.
[Me] [AK4MC] [Humor?] [People] [Coweta County]
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12:54 pm Friday
June 27, 2008
No backtalk
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DeGeorge for Coweta County Commission
by McGehee
87°F. and partly cloudy in Coweta County, GA
To paraphrase Don Rumsfeld—and as proved yesterday—sometimes you have to choose your candidate for the reasons you have, not necessarily the reasons you want or wish you had.
I mentioned last month that I didn’t know enough about the two candidates for county commissioner in my district, to really have any idea which to vote for. Well, I think I’m probably going to vote for Gary DeGeorge.
First (and least substantively), he was the one who contacted me seeking my support. That’s one of those little things that make a lot more difference than they should, and which John McCain could stand to think about. Now, DeGeorge admitted that he sought me out because I have this blog, which apparently has some local readership—but his opponent, Rodney Brooks, didn’t even respond to a League of Women Voters survey. DeGeorge, being younger, has some grasp of the possibilities of the “new media” in politics, and is trying to use them. (I do kind of wish he weren’t using MySpace for his campaign site, but at least he has one.)
Two other things have tipped me toward preferring DeGeorge, one being:
Brooks said he doesn’t understand why the county commissioners stopped a Wal-Mart from coming to Ga. Hwy. 154 at Interstate 85.
“We lost a large tax base,” Brooks said. Many residents of the fourth district are going to Peachtree City’s Wal-Mart and taking their sales tax dollars with them. »
Candidates oppose passenger jets here
That Wal-Mart issue was as close as I’ve come in a long time to an outright NIMBY position, but others also opposed it who live nowhere near that interchange. The Times-Herald editorialized against it, citing its proximity to a considerably larger, existing Wal-Mart, and the need for massive road and intersection improvements to handle the traffic—improvements that the developers weren’t offering to cover. The cost of making that location workable for high-impact retail would have eaten a huge chunk of the sales-tax benefit Brooks envisioned. Furthermore, sales tax revenue contributes a great deal to government spending; not necessarily so much to residents’ standard of living. Coweta needs a wider and more balanced range of economic development. Minimum-wage retail has its place, but we’re not exactly hurting for those jobs as it is.
And for the record, if people who live in my part of the county are shopping at a Wal-Mart in an adjacent county, it may be due in part to the fact that so many of my neighbors’ jobs are not in Coweta. Priorities, people.
One more matter that enters into my thinking on county politics is the commission chairmanship. Of Georgia’s 159 counties, only Coweta County does not have a chairman specifically elected to that post by the voters. Rather, each year the chairman is elected by the members of the commission itself. There is some talk of bringing Coweta into line with the rest of the state, and I tend to agree—but it’s not a major issue to me.
This issue has had its profile raised a little bit after Commissioner Leigh Schlumper, the incumbent in my district who is not seeking re-election, was passed over for the chairmanship this year and sued for discrimination. The lawsuit raises other complaints besides the chairmanship, which I think deserve to be aired if they have any basis—but on the chairmanship itself I’m fairly confident what a court would have to rule.
The claim is that the county has a rule prescribing a sequence of rotation that essentially made 2008 Schlumper’s “turn” for a second term as chairman. However the chairmanship remains the subject of a commission vote. The rotation sequence, if binding, essentially dictates the outcome of a commission vote, which I think a court would rule the commission cannot do merely by ordinance. As long as the commissioners elect their chairman, they should be free to use their own best judgment from year to year in making that choice. For his part, DeGeorge agrees. Brooks would prefer that the chairman be elected countywide, so that the power now held by a non-elected county administrator would be wielded instead by an elected official, directly accountable to voters.
As I said, I think the voter-elected chairmanship is probably a better way to go than the current, rotating chairmanship—but a lot would depend on how the powers of the office are balanced against those of the other commissioners. Lacking a definite plan for such a transition I am not inclined to give that issue alone a great deal of weight in deciding my vote.
I think DeGeorge deserves a chance.
[People] [Coweta County] [Government] [Politics] [Elections] [Election 2008]
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That’s My Congressman
by McGehee
75°F. and fair in Coweta County, GA
I think I must be unusually lucky in that I almost always manage to have an elected representative worthy of my respect.
Westmoreland said he was contacted by a constituent about a petition asking the U.S. Government to “drill here, and drill now” for oil. “I hope you will all go and sign that,” Westmoreland said.
But it gave him an idea, and he’s drawn up a petition just for congressmen. Bills in Congress can become so convoluted that it can be hard to tell whether someone is for or against something.
But Westmoreland’s oil drill petition is very simple. The petition was rolled out last Thursday, Westmoreland said, and asks congressmen to sign if they support more land-based drilling, more offshore drilling, and more refineries.
At that, Westmoreland was met with thunderous applause by the crowd gathered in the community room at the Publix at Thomas Crossroads.
“That is as simple as it gets. So there is no wiggle room in there for anybody to say that they were for something or against something,” Westmoreland said. »
Lawmaker petitions Congress to drill for oil
Contact your member of Congress and tell him to sign Rep. Westmoreland’s petition.
[People] [Coweta County] [Government] [Politics]
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May 2008
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1:48 pm Thursday
May 8, 2008
No backtalk
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The Short Bus
by McGehee
So I’m driving along on a state highway here in Coweta County—one on which the posted limit is 55—and I come up on a parade.
About a half a dozen vehicles are stuck plodding along at 35 behind a short bus with the logo of a day-care chain that we have in the area. Apparently this has been going on for a while because eventually the two vehicles immediately behind the bus pull out and pass on a double-yellow.
The bus driver is riding his brakes and acts like he’s lost, or on something. A third vehicle—a pickup with a trailer—tries to follow the other two that escaped, but oncoming traffic robs him of his opportunity.
One location of this day-care chain is not very far from my home; I start to worry that if I don’t get out of this parade I’ll be behind this short-bus driver for most of the afternoon. There’s a traffic light coming up, and I consider my options:
I could make a left at the light and end up taking a long way home, the only advantage being that I don’t have to look at the bus’ slow-moving backside anymore. I could stay put and hope the short bus isn’t going my way. Or, I could duck down a short detour to the right, come back around to the light from a different direction and hope that between being able to go faster and the timing of that light I’m able to get there before the bus has gotten through the intersection.
I take Plan C. It works. It shouldn’t have worked; there were too many variables against it. I should have ended up taking that other, longer way home. But the bus was waiting at the light as I got there, and the intersection was clear so I could make a right turn and wind up ahead of the parade.
For all I know that bus is still leading those other drivers, only just now getting to the next major intersection on that stretch of highway.
I think that day-care chain needs to hire people whose short-bus experience is driving, not riding.
Afterthought: Maybe the driver thought he was a portable school zone…
[Me] [People] [Here's Your Sign] [Coweta County]
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Sticking with Stokely
by McGehee
56°F. and clear in Coweta County, GA
In a post three days ago I wrote about the state-court solicitor post that’s on the ballot this year:
Coweta County’s State Court Solicitor, Robert Stokely, finally has a challenger—and if this had happened four years ago that would have been enough to make the decision for me. However Stokely’s response to personal tragedy after his son’s death in Iraq, has made me reassess my opinion of him—which was itself character-related anyway. On balance I have more reason to support Stokely than not, but in fairness to his challenger Randy Coggin I’ll wait until I know more about him before deciding for sure.» Local Candidates
Tuesday’s Times-Herald covers the two candidates each in separate articles (Coggin, Stokely), and having read both I’ll be voting for Stokely in the upcoming Republican primary.
Coggin seems to be a dedicated and capable prosecutor—he works for the District Attorney serving Coweta and several neighboring counties—and had he run for this office in 2004 on many of the issues he’s raising I would certainly have supported him. The thing is, he could have run on a lot of these issues four years ago. Now, not so much.
And now that I’m able—unlike four years ago—to consider Stokely with an open mind, I think he deserves to be re-elected.
[People] [Coweta County] [Government] [Politics] [Elections] [Election 2008]
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Local Candidates
by McGehee
66°F. and cloudy in Coweta County, GA
With all the hoopla about the presidential fracas, even in less nonsensical years the local elections are overshadowed. But qualifying has just concluded for those seeking the Democrat or Republican nominations for various local and state legislative offices in my area.
My incumbent county commissioner is not seeking a third term (I suspect this ridiculousness played a role in her decision), so I have to choose between Gary DeGeorge and Rodney Brooks, neither of whom I’ve ever heard of before, in time for the Republican primary this summer—no Democrat has qualified for that seat, so unless someone qualifies next month to run as an independent the winning Republican will be the new commissioner.
The only Republican candidates for either of the two legislative seats—House and Senate—are the incumbents (Billy Horne and Mitch Seabaugh, respectively), so they’re easy enough to decide, especially since I know and like both of them. Likewise for the congressional seat representing Coweta County, currently held by Lynn Westmoreland.
Coweta County’s State Court Solicitor, Robert Stokely, finally has a challenger—and if this had happened four years ago that would have been enough to make the decision for me. However Stokely’s response to personal tragedy after his son’s death in Iraq, has made me reassess my opinion of him—which was itself character-related anyway. On balance I have more reason to support Stokely than not, but in fairness to his challenger Randy Coggin I’ll wait until I know more about him before deciding for sure.
Four years ago I gave Sheriff Mike Yeager‘s then-challenger that same opportunity, and by Election Day I was thoroughly disgusted with Scott Smith. This time around Yeager is unopposed—so far. As noted above, there is a chance someone will qualify to run as an independent. At this point though, I’m quite satisfied with Yeager.
In 2004 Coweta County Coroner Wimp Pierce defeated Ray Yeager, Jr. for the Republican nomination. This year Pierce isn’t seeking re-election, and Yeager is up against Mike Hutson. I don’t know much about either, including what relationship, if any, this Yeager has to the sheriff (in 2004, at least, Ray Yeager was a sheriff’s deputy). The idea of a close relative of one important local officeholder being in another elective local office, bothers me—which might give Hutson an inside track for my vote.
In a marginally related note, there was an anonymous “Sound Off” in today’s Times-Herald about high gas prices:
OUST INCUMBENTS: If you are tired of high gasoline prices, do not vote for these old congressmen and senators. They are getting rich and fatter with our tax dollars. In July, vote for new representation. It may take a few years, but we will win in the long run.
The trouble with this idea is, to the extent members of Congress are responsible for high gas prices, the ones to blame would be those who put Democrats in the Speaker’s chair and the Majority Leader’s office. I’m pretty sure Saxby Chambliss, whose Senate seat is on the ballot this year, and Lynn Westmoreland—both Republicans—can’t be blamed for that.
I’ve submitted a response “Sound Off” pointing this out. After 2006, you just can’t be sure anymore who will get punished for things they had nothing to do with.
[People] [Coweta County] [Government] [Politics] [Elections] [Election 2008]
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April 2008
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9:31 am Wednesday
April 16, 2008
No backtalk
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WHOA! Newnan Times-Herald Debuts New Website
by McGehee
47°F. and sunny in Coweta County, GA
I had no clue the Times-Herald was going to be upgrading their website when I added a link to them and to the Fayetteville Citizen in the sidebar, but today the Newnan daily’s website actually looks like something designed in the 21st century.
Seriously. Until this morning my reaction to the Times-Herald website was consistently, “Hell, I could do better than that.”
Not today, though.
[People] [Coweta County]
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7:41 am Tuesday
April 1, 2008
No backtalk
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Lacking Verisimilitude
by McGehee
57°F. and cloudy in Coweta County, GA
I mean, come on: “without tanks”? Nice try, Alex.
There’s a deal to sell the 1,200-acre Moreland megasite to the People’s Republic of China, according to classified government documents discovered by The Times-Herald in a dumpster behind the Coweta County Administration building.
[...]
One of the documents, entitled “potential zoning concerns” says the Chinese intend to use the property to build a “theme” industrial park that will be a miniature of downtown Beijing. The park will include open air fish and poultry markets, bicycle rentals, smog machines, a Chinese fortune cookie bakery and a half-scale model of Tienanmen Square, but without tanks. »
Chinese want Moreland megasite for half-scale model of Tienanmen Square
Every year the Times-Herald does at least one* April Fool’s joke on April 1. This one nearly had me, but that bit about no tanks in the square is a dead giveaway.
[People] [Coweta County] [War]
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