Tomorrow: Go Vote!

I'm not going to tell you who to vote for and I'm not going to tell you who I'm going to vote for.  All I'm going to tell you is to make sure who you're voting for has the best interests of this county in mind and doesn't have a hidden agenda once they're elected.  Vote for the person who you think will do the best job, not who has NOT been doing a good job.

Bourbon Street Restaurant's Latest Inspection Score

I just upgraded to high speed internet at the house and watched the latest (July 3) restaurant report from CBS 46's Adam Murphy.  Bourbon Street's latest score is a 66.  Inspectors found chicken and potato salad at unsafe temperatures and there was a roach crawling on the kitchen floor.

BOC Verbally Attacks Neighbor Writer

I could be nicer regarding the headline, but the BOC certainly were not when they wrote the letter to the editor that was published in today's Neigbor. The bottom line is that Worthan does not want to lose the race to Malanchuk. Worthan apparently thought Stephanie Siegel's July 2 article regarding the information Malanchuk posted in his blog was going to be damaging to his campaign. They even admit this in the letter, though not in those exact words.  I think the damage has been done, and this, in my opinion, only makes Worthan look like someone who is stamping his foot because he's not getting his way as to what goes in the local papers.

And, if the BOC says planning is not going on, why is there an entire page devoted to the new jail on the Douglas County Sheriff's Department website?  You can see it here-- http://www.sheriff.douglas.ga.us/newJail.html .  It has been there for quite some time, about a year, but if the jail is not in the planning stages, why has this page not been taken down??

Also, they say the mobile home park was disassembled.  This is not true, because last week I heard on the police scanner that three people were vandalizing trailers in the park.  They mentioned the park by name.

You can see the article the BOC is talking about at http://www.neighbornewspapers.com/articles/2008/07/03/318/10308333.txt

The letter is presented below in its entirety:

Jail Construction Story 'Inflammatory'

Dear editor:

One of our most cherished rights is that of a free press.  It is one of our most fundamental beliefs, and one that we work to protect.

However, when the free press decides to take information that it knows is not correct to create a news story that is inflammatory and presents it in a fashion as to make it seem factual, the free press has lost its way.

Newspaper reporters should report the news, not create the news.

Newspaper reporters should be impartial and report all sides of a story, giving ample time to all sides to answer questions and make statements.

Newspaper reporters should not have a political affiliation that is reflected in their work.

Newspaper reporters should not allow personal opinions to guide their work.  Opinions should be reserved for Letters to the Editor and Editorial Columns, not presented as front-page news.

In her July 2 article headlined "Douglas Jail Construction Planning Continues,"Douglas Neighbor Staff Writer Stephanie Siegel violated these standards.

The headline alone is inaccurate and misleading.  No planning is currently going on for the construction of a new Douglas County jail.  Ms. Siegal was told this in unequivocal terms by Douglas County Seriff's Department Chief Deputy Stan Copeland on Monday, June 30.  Chief Copeland stated to Ms. Siegel that the jail was a "dormant" issue at this time, and no planning or other activities were going on.

However, Ms. Siegal decided to use documents and information provided to her by a candidate for office to develop an inflammatory story that stated the exact opposite of what Chief Copeland stated to her.  These documents and information were taken completely out of context, as some were over two years old, and some did not present a total picture.  Ms. Siegel did not obtain these documents herself from the County.  They were brought to her and she cooperated with the candidate to create the story.

This obviously was an intentional effort of Ms. Siegel since the candidate for office who provided them to her had previously also put this information out to the public and did not correctly address the issues.

Ms. Siegel's intentions are obvious and purely political.

Ms. Sigel's July 2 story is irresponsible.

It is true that the former Flagview Village Mobile Home Park is a prospective site for a new Douglas County jail.  In the 2006 SPLOST referendum, the citizens of Douglas County said that they did not want the current jail to be expanded on the current site, and during community meetings, stated that a new jail, whenever constructed, should be located out of a residential area and closer to the Douglas County Courthouse.  At this direction from the citizens, the Board of Commissioners looked at many properties, and negotiated to purchase the Flagview Vilage Mobile Home Park.

Ms. Siegel's article states that the land was valued at $3.9 million by the County's Tax Appraisal Department, and $5.7 million by Bass & Associates  What Ms.Siegel didn't include in her article was that the purchase of the land included the purchase of a business must include the consideration of the monies made by that business as income and profit, and the Flagview Village Mobile Home Park was a for-profit business.  The county purchased the business, as well as the land, and that is the $8.5 million cost.

Ms. Siegel convieniently leaves out this information, implying that the County paid more than double what the property was worth, and leaving the impression that this is an irresponsible act of government.  Ms. Siegel is wrong.

The county contracted with Richards' Advantage Housing LLC to handle the management of the park and the removal of the homes.  Ms. Donna Richards personally managed the disassembledge of the park, offering free moving of mobile homes to associated parks, giving tenants bonuses for early moving, and assisting other tenants to find suitable housing.  There is a a deadline date of August 31, for Richards to have the park vacated because the county is not in the business of operating a mobile home park.

No master plan has yet been developed for the 36 acre property, including where the jail would be if it is located there.  There have been many discussions during District Town Hall meetings, Chat with the Chairman meetings, Commission work sessions and other meetings wher the public is present, of the need for other County services to locate near the Courthouse.  The Board of Commissioners recently employed Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum as a consultant to determine a short- and long-term space needs for the courthouse since a second State Court is imminent, and a fourth Superior Court most likely will be created by the General Assembly in its next session.  These courts will displace current county departments, which will have to be housed somewhere.  An administration complex on the 36 acres is possible, as are other county facilities, not just a jail.

However, Ms. Sigel decided not to also include this information in her article, leaving the impression that the land purchase was for a jail onl and that it was a done deal.  A new jail may indeed be located on this property in the future, but there are no plans in place, no planning being conducted, no funds with which to build the jail, and no decision as to its location at this time.  There is a need for a new jail, but the subject is dormant at this time.

The HOK study is for Courthouse needs at the present time.  After the needs analysis is completed, HOK will look at the 36-acre site and give the Board of Commissioners options for its consideration.  However, with no determination of needs, no decisions made, and no funding, any development on the 36-acre site is purely hypothetical at the present time, including the location there of a jail or any other facility.

"Douglas jail construction planning continues" is wrong.  Ms. Siegel knew that it was wrong, and her headline article was inflammatory and designed to influence the upcoming July 15 primary in which the provider of information to her is a candidate.

Ms. Siegel's statement that "calls to Worthan and to Douglas County project manager Wayne Watson were not returned" is a total cop-out.  The Douglas Neighbor's press deadline is Monday noon, and this story was conspired and written well before then.  It was already Monday afternoon when Ms Siegel called and left messages for Mr. Worthan and Mr. Watson.  These were given to Douglas County Communications Director Wes Tallon, who contacted Chief Copeland to respond to Ms. Siegel's questions.  Ms. Siegel has often been told to contact Mr. Tallon if she needs any information from any elected official or employee of the county.  She disregarded that source.

The political view of Ms. Siegel are reflected in her reporting, and this is not free press.  It is biased press, and her comments and opinions do not belong on the front page of the paper.  If the Neighbor newspapers desire her biased reporting to continue, her writings should be limited to the editorial page and labeled as personal opinions.  Freedom of speech is also a wonderful thing, and we encourage its use--just not thinly disguised in a total misrepresentative headline article on the front page of a weekly newspaper.

DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

 

If anyone would like to comment, please do not hesitate to do so.

Kroger to Build In Other Location In Bill Arp

The word was that Kroger would build where Dowda Equipment is now...turns out, according to a real estate agent, it will be built in the vacant lot across the street where the "Future home of Dowda Equipment" sign is.  Apparently there are 30 acres back in the woods behind the lot.

If you live in the Bill Arp community and don't want a Kroger in your neighborhood, please sign my petition.  It's in an earlier post.

County Libraries Getting Wi-Fi

Charlotte Hurt, the librarian at the Douglas County Library, says wi-fi will be available there in the next two weeks.  Both libraries are currently installing it.  For those who were looking for a good place to use their laptops. this will be a great place.

City, County Have Differing Views On Transportation Plan

From today's Sentinel:

City, BOC to work on differences over 25-year transporation plan

By Bobby Moore
Staff Writer

The Douglasville City Council Monday unanimously passed a resolution opposing the draft of the Douglas County Transportation Plan presented in a June 26 public hearing at the Douglas County Courthouse but also announced a meeting with the county to work on a resolution of the city’s complaints.

The 25-year plan, presented at a June 26 public hearing at the Douglas County Courthouse, is a blueprint for county wide transportation development for the next quarter century. The plan looks at current and future needs based on projected growth in Douglas County, including the cities of Douglasville, Austell and Villa Rica.

Wilbur Smith Associates is the agency preparing the plan with Steve Brown as project manager.

According to the resolution, city officials feel city road projects outside of Interstate 20 interchanges were either given low priority or not listed at all in the proposed plan.

City Manager Bill Osborne said Monday city officials and the City Council will meet with county officials and the Board of Commissioners Monday, July 28, to work on possible solutions to the city’s complaints.

If a compromise between the county and city is not reached by early August, Osborne said the city may pursue having its own transportation plan constructed by an outside firm.

In other business, the council granted a 7.5 percent adjustment to Waste Industries for commercial front-load waste collection services in the city. The increase will help cover the rising cost of diesel fuel.

The council accepted by a 5-1 vote a recycling trailer, portable bins and promotional materials from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) as part of an Away-from-Home turn-key recycling grant.

The lone opposing vote was cast by Councilor Callye B. Holmes.

There was some debate over accepting the grant prior to Monday’s meeting because all artwork options for the trailer depict people sporting pro-recycling tattoos.

New Businesses

New businesses coming soon to Douglas County:

Another Bright Creation Early Learning, 4482 Hwy 5
Apollo Hospitality, Inc.  3400 Chapel Hill Rd Ste 302
Consumer Forclosure Svc 3400 Chapel Hill Rd Ste 100
Healing Hands Massage 3417 Hwy 5 Ste G & H

No new restaurants.

Douglas County Sentinel

The Sentinel put the article about the deputy on their website today, trying to pass it off as an article they published in today's paper--but they didn't even change the two errors where they had Barnwell's name instead of the deputy's!  It shows everyone just how much they are paying attention--apparently not much.

The Village At Chapel Hill

Today I happened to pass by what used to be an empty lot across from Kohl's and noticed no fewer than three bulldozers (along with a couple of dump trucks) pushing what looked like dry cement into the lowest part of the lot.  It looks to be the beginnings of a foundation.  Anyone know if this is actually in the construction stages now?

Douglasville Police Department Wants $22.8 Million Facility

Who else thinks this is just a BIT much to pay for a building???  Also, this is $5 million MORE than they estimated it would cost.

From the Sentinel:

Police facility cost set at $22.8 million

Council votes Monday on bond issue for funding

By Bobby Moore
Staff Writer

The city of Douglasville learned Tuesday the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the proposed new public safety and municipal court facility prepared by the Facility Group is $22,789,992, over $5 million more than the amount estimated after a needs assessment study last fall.

The proposed two-story facility is expected to be built on 22 acres of city-owned land located south of Interstate 20 adjacent to Hillside Drive on Fairburn Road. It will house both the Douglasville Police Department and the city’s Municipal Court under one roof instead of having their offices spread out across several downtown buildings.

Maj. Oliver Fladrich said the facility would allow the department to respond to calls quicker since it will be located in a central location in the city and will be close to Interstate 20.

City Finance Director Karin Callan said the GMP includes the $350,000 cost of the design stage, which will be complete as soon as the Facility Group turns its final building plans over to the city.

The figure does not include fees the city will owe bond underwriters Morgan Keegan, so Callan said the actual total cost is likely around $23 million.

A referendum will give city voters the chance to decide if the city will be able to fund this project with a general obligation bond. The City Council will vote June 30 at a special called 6:30 p.m. meeting to add the referendum to the Sept. 16 special election ballot that already includes a race to fill the vacant Ward 3, Post 1 council seat vacated May 1 by Douglas County tax commissioner candidate Henry Mitchell III.

The general obligation bond, if passed, will cover $17,789,992 of the project, with the remaining $5 million covered by the police department’s confiscated drug funds.

City Manager Bill Osborne said the increased price is partly because of the design plans, which are for a larger than expected 70,000 square-foot facility designed to handle 20 years worth of police department growth. Originally, the Facility Group had proposed a 60,000 square-foot facility.

This larger design includes basement space with nearly 7,000 square feet left empty for future expansion.

“There will be growth potential in 20 years we would not have thought of today,” Fladrich said.

Osborne added the $17 million estimate was made before the Facility Group knew the exact location of the future public safety building.

Police Chief Joe Whisenant said this planned growth should keep his department from seeking building additions over the next decade.

“I don’t want us to build a building, and then come back five years later and ask for more money,” Whisenant said.

On March 17, the City Council selected the Smyrna-based Facility Group for design-build services for this project.

The city’s decision came about a week before Facility Group officials Robert Moultrie, 67, of Smyrna, Charles Morehead, 57, of Lilburn and Nixon Cawood, 58, of Woodstock were all indicted in Mississippi on charges of conspiracy to corruptly influence a public official and 15 counts of mail fraud. They have pled not guilty.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday the Facility Group and Moultrie, Cawood and Morehead face a new 16-count indictment related to a failed beef plant venture in Mississippi. This indictment replaces the one issued in March.

If convicted, they each face up to 305 years in prison, $4 million in fines and restitution for the amount of the losses, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Despite these allegations, the city has continued to work with the Facility Group on design/build services for the project.

Osborne said the city still has several “opt-out” points between now and Sept. 16 in case the need to stop doing business with the Facility Group arises. These “opt-out” points would have been available to the city without the indictments, Osborne said.

At this stage, Osborne said the city is comfortable with the Facility Group’s work on the design/build project.

“We do feel like we have an excellent product from the Facility Group,” Osborne said.

Between now and Sept. 16, Osborne said the police department and private residents will promote the need for a new facility to civic groups and homeowners associations.

Future Library?

I think the $2 million grant for the Fairplay Public Library was included in the FY 2009 state budget--but I don't know if it was approved or not.

I went to the Lithia Springs Library today and noticed a sign in front of the DVDs.  It said that due to DVD theft, the library would only be purchasing educational DVDs from now on.  So to whomever stole DVDs from the library, thanks for ruining this for everyone.  This library purchased recent movies as well as Britcoms (British comedies) as well as tv series.  They have a HUGE collection of DVDs and it could have become a lot bigger.  I actually prefer the Lithia Springs Library over the Douglas County Library (and it seems like a LOT of people do, because it was pretty crowded when I was there today) because they seem to have a bigger budget when it comes to purchasing new books.  Every time I go there I find several new books I've been wanting to read.  They also have an aisle of VHS videos for sale for $1 as well as some books and CDs for sale.

As I was leaving, I noticed a brochure on the table in the lobby.  On the front of this brochure was an illustration of a two-story library.  Underneath are the words "rendering of future Douglas County Library".  There was no information inside the brochure as to when this possible future library will be built.  Not sure if this will be the Fairplay Library or not, because I had heard that it would be about the same size as the Douglas County Library.  Maybe this is something the county hopes to gain with a possible SPLOST referendum in September?  Rumor has it there will be another in order to pay for the jail.  You can see a picture of the front of the brochure at http://news.webshots.com/photo/2638637030103568294jtxRjE

Also, the library hours have been shortened by four hours a week.  From Monday-Thursday, the two county libraries now close at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.

Burger Market Is Back!!

For all those who were disappointed when Burger Market closed, have hope--it's returned.  I don't know if it's actually called Burger Market now, but all the locals, I'm sure, will call it Burger Market because that's what it was for so many years.  I passed by it on my way to Lithia Springs Public Library.  I saw the sign outside and it said vine ripe tomatoes.  On my way back, I stopped.  Flanking the entrance are HUGE $5 Georgia seedless watermelons.  When I stopped a woman had just bought one and placed it inside her car, and as I was leaving another woman was on her cellphone commenting to a friend how big they were. 

Inside you can find vine ripe tomatoes (99 cents a pound!!), Vidalia onions, Texas sweet onions, HUGE bags of green peanuts, bell peppers, plums, South Carolina peaches ($1.59 a pound), black eyed peas still in their hulls, sweet potatoes, garlic, yellow corn, silver queen corn, and probably several other things I'm forgetting.  The entire left side of the store is empty save for some empty market baskets--all the produce is on the right side.  But well worth going to if you need some fresh produce.  Here's hoping they expand their selection to include more produce.

Clinton Nature Preserve

I went back to Clinton Nature Preserve today with my camera to see if anything had been done to the things I took pictures of in the children's play garden.  Nothing has been done.  The split fence slat is still there, and it looks like someone has been pulling at it a little--I took another picture.  I've also included pictures of things you can see at the park--it really is, despite its flaws, a great treasure of Douglas County.  You can find the new pictures at http://community.webshots.com/album/563830706JlUZoa?vhost=community .  I bought a new digital camera this weekend so the pictures should look a little sharper.  I also uploaded a video of one of the trails you can walk/bike on.  They have several trails that intersect into each other.  Some are stroller-friendly, some aren't--some go up and down steep hills.  Some maintenance does need to be done on some trails--the rain (yes, I know we haven't had much but it's been enough) has been eroding them.  The creek needs to be cleaned up--there are fallen trees going over the creek (and into the creek).

County Cover-Ups

Looks like there have been quite a few things covered up about the supposed "jail" Worthan and the sheriff want so much--one of the candidates for Commission Chairman, Igor Malanchuk, posted this--it's part of the public record.  Interesting how they wanted to handle "this quickly and quietly"--I'll be interested to see if anyone, if at all, comments about this.  I just wondered why we weren't hearing residents from Flagview voice their opinion about having to move--now we know.  After all, Tom Worthan doesn't even have a campaign website.  Supposedly he bought http://www.tomworthan.net, but the page isn't there.  I did an IP lookup and it says "client transfer prohibited".

http://tomworthan.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/summary-of-flagview-mobile-home-park-purchase/

Animal Shelter Open

The Douglas County Animal Shelter reopened on Friday.  The shelter had been quarintined for over two weeks as a result of distemper.  The shelter says 67 dogs were euthanized.  I would think that whomever took dogs home BEFORE the shelter discovered the distemper, however, might have also had to put their dogs to sleep, as a few people commented they had to do.  So actually, at least 70 dogs died as a result of the distemper outbreak.

I thought about something, too--when the Humane Society was running the shelter, was there ever a distemper outbreak?

Hurricane Katrina Article

I found this on a New Orleans blog and found it an interesting read.  I don't normally post anything other than news about Douglas County on this blog, but sometimes I find articles worth sharing--and this one is definitely worth sharing.  It's excerpted from a book about Hurricane Katrina.

To read it, click here:  http://www.salon.com/books/excerpt/2008/06/06/rove_katrina/

All comments are welcome.

Penny Mac Hydrangea Festival

While I will be going to the festival tomorrow, I wonder about the planning of this event.  I think the planners of this event thought it was going to be bigger than what it is.  According to today's Sentinel, there are 59 vendors--but not all of these are vendors selling merchandise.  Eight of these are demonstration vendors, the UGA Extension booth, the Parks & Recs booth, and a radio sponsor booth.  There are no booths in the main part of the plaza--most of them are around the old courthouse and on the street next to the courthouse.

Also, the hours are kind of odd.  The festival doesn't open until NOON.  The high tomorrow is 95.  I don't know how many people will be willing to go somewhere in the hottest part of the day.  Why didn't they start it at 9am, when it would be cooler and more people would be willing to attend?  I guess they wanted to be able to catch the people eating lunch and dinner at Gumbeaux's and the other restaurants in downtown.  There will be food vendors, but only two out of the six will have booths.  Why not combine this festival with a mini-Taste of Douglasville so there would be more options? 

The Sentinel's so-called map looks like it was hand-drawn, done in pencil and magic marker.  If you're going to make a map, make sure you label all streets and that the map is clear enough to read.  Church Street is the only street labeled on the map, and Hwy 78 isn't even on the map. 

Parking might also be an issue.  There is only one large parking lot, which fills up pretty quickly, and then the rest is parallell parking along Hwy 78 and down the other side streets.  If the city plans on having more events like this downtown, maybe they should think about building a parking deck like Carrollton did recently so they can handle large crowds.

Any other comments?

Jobs

Since jobs in Douglas County are few and far between I thought I'd post links to some jobs posted on Craigslist.

Dillard's is hiring stylists and massage therapists with existing clienteles.

A decorative concrete/curbing company is looking for workers.  This is just not for Douglas County--they'll be working within metro Atlanta.  They'll provide a vehicle for you during working hours.

Champion Windows is looking for a window installer assistant.

Can you draw caricatures?  Someone wants you to draw them for a birthday party.

http://www.Seniorhelpers.com is hiring CNA's for Dallas and Douglasville.

Someone is looking for "eclectic apparel designers for a co-op in Historic Douglasville."

KnuckleUp Fitness is hiring for five different positions.

Follow-Up: CONMED

The Sentinel had an article about it in today's paper.  I wasn't able to watch the BOC meeting this morning so if anyone has and knows if they approved the tax incentive, please post a comment.  Thanks.

Distribution center would add 40 jobs

By Winston Jones
Staff Writer

ConMed, a medical instrument manufacturer headquartered in Utica, N.Y., is considering Douglas County for a distribution center site.

“The company would add a minimum of 40 new jobs, with wages exceeding $12 per hour, and would invest more than $15 million in the county,” Robert Reynolds, executive director of the Development Authority of Douglas County, told a Monday Board of Commissioners (BOC) work session. He said the company intends to occupy a facility in the Terminus West Business Park later this year.

The BOC, in its 10 a.m. regular meeting today, will consider a seven-year tax incentive program for the company which would allow it to pay only 14.29 percent of assessment in 2009. The rate would increase each year until the company pays 100 percent assessment in 2015.

ConMed was founded in 1973 and its first product was disposable electrocardiogram (EKG) electrodes, according to the company Web site. It later added disposable grounding pads and pencils. The company went public in 1987, issuing about four million shares.

In 2004, ConMed acquired the Endoscopic Technologies business of C.R. Bard, and now manufactures thousands of endoscopic products used by physicians for scope surgeries and diagnostic procedures.

ConMed has 11 manufacturing facilities and employs 3,100 people.

In other items on today’s BOC agenda, the board will consider:

• a right-of-way easement with GreyStone Power for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment at Deer Lick Park;

• bid of 2.15 percent from SunTrust Robinson Humphrey on 2008 tax anticipation notes for the county;

• rejection of a bid from Atlanta Custom Coach for a 21-passenger bus;

• emergency purchase of a $35,000 chipper for storm cleanup;

• purchase agreement of $10,620 with Terex Utilities for a Butler trailer to be used with the county traffic signal work;

• subscription agreement of $183 per month with Data Transmission Network Corporation/Meteorlogix for 911 storm tracking satellite radar system;

• and membership agreement with The Work Number, a service used for background checks on public service employee applicants.

Follow-Up: Post Road Dog River Bridge

The Sentinel has a photo of the hole.  You can (I think) see it at http://douglascountysentinel.com/articles/2008/06/03/local_news/doc484464945eb41654389076.img

The article was mostly copied from the press release I posted earlier today--it doesn't say anything new other than the fact that a deputy either discovered it or was told to go check on the bridge--they kind of had two sentences into one and it was a little confusing.