Letters to the Editor

State must meet its legal obligation to adequately fund our schools

Last week the editor of this paper made excellent points about the effect of local politicians making unconstitutional choices and the financial impact on the taxpayers. While the $12,000 lost by the Peachtree City Council is substantial, we need to consider the actions of the Georgia state legislature that have cost the taxpayers of Fayette County over $75 million to date. This loss has directly impacted our schools and their future. Read More»

With schools closing, we must come together

Convenience or quality? That’s a choice for Fayette County parents, other taxpayers, and our Board of Education (BOE) as enrollments decline and the state signals fewer dollars and increased benefits costs for the next school year.

The county now has about 28 schools. Each is staffed with dedicated educators and their locations throughout the county make them convenient to just about every student. Read More»

Widow, 80, seeks help from Rep. Westmoreland

I mailed the letter below to Congressman Westmoreland, Senator Chambliss and Senator Isakson.

Mr. Westmoreland, when I retired in 2000 at the age of 68 from the United States Post Office, I thought I was eligible to receive my deceased husband’s Social Security in addition to my government pension.

However, I found out about the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which cut my survivor benefits by two-thirds.

Not only did I lose money since 2000, but each time I have received a cost of living raise through my pension, the Social Security Administration has tried to decrease my benefits. Read More»

Why do blacks block vote? Let’s count reasons

Bill Webster wants to know why black voters align with the Democratic Party and why “such a high percentage” voted for President Obama. Oh, where to begin?

I do not speak for all black voters, as we are not monolithic, rather, pragmatic in the voting booth. Given the current political and social environment, the answers are not elusive, and we can thank Republicans for their clarity. Read More»

Now is the time to close some schools

For the past five years, the Fayette County Board of Education has been in one financial crisis after another. This school district has over-built, over-employed, and over-spent. Read More»

Racial slurs and Ga.’s Core Curriculum

After reading about the Georgia Dept. of Education (GDOE) adopting Common Core Curriculum, I was browsing the GDOE website and its curriculum (since taken down). I found a book titled, “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood” by Janice Ray. I was astonished.

Cracker is a racial slur for white people and very demeaning. I was shocked that the GDOE has this book as part of the reading material. Read More»

Fleisch: Despite national economy, PTC finances are in good shape

The city of Peachtree City recently received yet another AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s. This is a huge achievement for the city given the economic climate in which we find ourselves.

Roswell and Alpharetta are the only other cities in the state of Georgia that share in this achievement. Even our country can no longer boast of such an achievement since it was downgraded a couple of years ago.

Peachtree City has been rated twice within two years and both times has ended up with the same high rating. Read More»

Irony and the state of the PTC Council

I read the statement the mayor gave to the City Council on Jan. 19 in The Citizen last night. I had to chuckle a little bit in the irony of the situation. But the more I thought about the current state of the City Council it bothered me.

First the irony: The basic point of what the mayor said is that the City Council had a double standard. The council libeled and slandered the mayor by saying he was not to be indemnified based on the lawsuit filed by H. Logsdon. The council felt Mayor Haddix should be liable for the lawsuit and later reduced his salary to cover the expenses. Read More»

Obama has failed new direction leadership

Obama’s press conference on Jan. 14 seemed to focus on the theme, “from each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs.”

He may think he’s reinventing communism, but all he’s doing is trying to rebuild something that has failed.

In the view of Karl Marx (who popularized the slogan in 1875) this notion would work only if there were an abundance of goods and services. Read More»

Black vote solid: Why?

With the inauguration of President Obama I found myself wondering about something. Over 90 percent of black Americans voted for the Democratic Party and more than that voted for President Obama. So why do such a high percentage of black voters pick the Democrats?

I have known lots of black people who are very unique in the way they live their lives and the things they believe. So why are they virtually monolithic at the voting booth? Read More»