Saturday, October 31, 2009

An "Urgent Message from Deborah Hase."

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The above message was sent as an e-mail by Mrs. Hase on Thursday or Friday to her e-mail list of business associates. I learned of its possible existence on Friday when one of the TOPIX crazies went off on it. When I called Deborah yesterday to ask for permission to publish it on my blog, after some hesitation, she finally agreed. I was going to hold publication until Sunday. However, I got a call from Deborah a few minutes ago. Yesterday, many of the original recipients sent it to everyone on their e-mail lists. Now today, she's had several calls from people asking permission to photocopy it and distribute it door-to-door in their neighborhoods. In light of it being already widely disseminated, she has given me permission to publish it now. By the way, if you only arrived in town just yesterday, Mrs. Hase is a sitting St. Marys City Councilwoman, the former Mayor of St. Marys, and an area Realtor. She knows of what she speaks.

Cleaning a loaded and cocked machine gun!?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/30/poland.us.navy.shoot/index.html

GTU coverage of St. Marys mayoral race.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-31/story/eskridge_facing_2_opponents_for_mayor_of_st_marys

Friday, October 30, 2009

Oh, really, Gaila?

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2009/10/30/opinion/letters/05letter10.30.txt Read Gaila's letter-to-the-editor first. Now, y'all may recall that not too many weeks ago, I ran into my old friend Wyman Westberry. You'll recall that he gave me some correspondence he had received from the Corps of Engineers about that railhead / warehouse project in Kingsland on 17 N. Well, he told me another very interesting story that day. Back when Gaila's husband Jerry was the mayor of St. Marys, Wyman got a call from a friend of his in Chicago. Said friend was the friend of an Israeli who manufactured corporate jets in Israel. It seems this company wanted to fly the unfurnished jets over to a small airfield in the states where they would build a facility and hire American craftsmen to do custom finishes to the interiors according to their deep-pocketed customers' desires. The friend had visited Wyman in St. Marys before and thought that the airport would be perfect. Wyman got together all of the contact information and personally gave it to then Mayor Jerry Brandon as well as whoever was the JDA dirctor at the time - Bill Wiesensee, I believe. The upshot? NO ONE EVER CONTACTED THE ISRAELI COMPANY. They located elsewhere in the states. My, how times have changed, eh, Gaila?

Latest news on Steve Berry's latest novel.

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/468745/1794cb450a/1668001270/d0d1e811dd/

778 "pathetic" hits yesterday!

http://counter26.bravenet.com/index.php?id=405430&type=traffic&graph=week&dataset=pageviewstrends&usernum=2178398764

High-end condos in old Savananh Morning News building on Bay Street sell at auction at huge discounts off original asking prices.

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2009-10-29/news-place-auction-unloads-more-downtown-condos-planned

GTU's coverage of Kingsland races.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-30/story/economy_services_top_issues_in_race

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Campaign blog / website updates.

I just checked. It appears that Haney, Rillo, and Feller have updated their sites since their original statements.

More prophetic words were never spoken!

sandy feller Kingsland, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #16 18 min ago check out my web site later today for my parting words for the campaign. "Parting words," indeed!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Click on images to enlarge.
The top 5 are good.
The one next to the bottom is bad (motorcycles parking in ramp deployment zone). The bottom one is bad and ugly.

Now, I know what you're thinking...

Click on image to enlarge.
but this is not an endorsement. Why? Well, because I say so. What it actually is is a photo of my eco-friendly, organic, pesticide-free lawn which I maintain as a sanctuary for endangered earthworms and mole crickets.

Cojack and Teddy. Bedtime buddies.

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I'm not sure what these two get up to at night, but oftentimes I open my bedroom door in the morning to find Teddy out in the middle of the living room floor. So far, no harm has come to him.

St. Marys mulls yet another revision of alcohol ordinance.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-28/story/st_marys_alcohol_rules_get_a_review Could someone explain to me what the rationale for these arbitrary distances actually is?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

St. Marys Howard Gilman Waterfront Park's amphitheater to get roof.

At 6:30, the St. Marys Historic Preservation Commission met in council chambers. The event was chaired by Tom Cyphers. Tom is not my choice for mayor, but if he makes it, he chairs a good meeting. Other than forgetting to call for a vote to adjourn, he was almost flawless. Tom started out by stating that investigation revealed that insofar as the park, built circa 1999, does not qualify as historic, it does not fall under his commission's jurisdiction. At least, that's what I thought he said but I'm not sure because they then went on to conduct a 35 minute meeting (orignally scheduled for 30) in which the project was examined by the commission and the audience from every possible angle. In the end, they were unanimously in favor of the city signing a contract tomorrow to build it as designed. Apparently, the city council was hanging out somewhere in the back of the building waiting for the meeting to end. Somebody finally rounded them all up and the 7:00 called city council meeting got underway 10 minutes late. They could have simply made a motion to build it, voted yea, and gone home. But, being election season, it dragged out for 30 minutes, mostly thanks to the mayor explaining how they had no choice but to spend the money on this designated SPLOST (though, like several others on council, he tends to pronounce it "SPLOSH") project and could not transfer it to any other account, yadda, yadda. Mercifully, they finally voted unanimously to authorize signing a contract with Doyle Strickland NLT noon tomorrow. Neither Bird nor Deloughy were there. By the way, I made a point of getting downtown early to ride through the neigborhoods for about 30 minutes. Feller yard signs were rare. He's finished. There was also a surprising dearth of Eskridge signs. Clearly, the mayoral race is between Deloughy and Cyphers. I noticed that where ever there was a Deloughy sign, that same lawn almost always sported signs for Weaver, Post, and Morrissey as well -just like mine does. Christopher Bennett and L.J. Williams also appear to be non-factors.

Racial politics run amok.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/9250F6CB3C607A998625765D000312CC?OpenDocument

"No conflict" Bird now certified as "No Police Powers" Bird.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-28/story/city_attorney_councilman_has_no_police_powers

GTU coverage of Orange Hall / Ghost Hunters controversy.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-28/story/reality_show_at_old_house_spooks_st_marys_council http://old.dmagazine.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=5C1933F1D01C4247A724BAB13C6E670B&nm=test&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=7155F7796F354F21B1183937D847D6DF&AudId=29CB3DCAC7E94A08B642EC371FE6E70B&tier=4&id=B6E4E86F4B39438EB4C40B0CF4D3B23F

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A Lilliputian ghost story.

Yesterday, a strange thread popped up on TOPIX, Kingsland. http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/TBIEPLOG6VLRGEFF6 My first thought was that it was a back door attack on Gull Weaver. Well, it got even curiouser at last night's council meeting. Apparently, Royal Weaver, in his capacity of chair of the Orange Hall Foundation was approached by some promoter - a "Mr. King"- about using Orange Hall as the setting for some sort of a ghost hunters' competition which this fellow hopes to market as some sort of new reality show. The promoter offers Orange Hall nothing but the promise of national exposure. He is charging 144 participants $65.00 each to spend the night in Orange Hall presumably in a competition to see who can videotape the most, uh, interesting (for idiots who go for that kind of bogus crap) ghost hunting experience. Apparently, there are people who travel all over the country doing that. Anyway the top three get a chance to move on to further competition. Now, at last night's meeting, Royal Weaver felt compelled to present a vigorous defense of his actions. He assured everyone that there would be no more than 20 people in the house per night. The opponents included Barbara "Delta Dawn" Ryan, Thug Void, and a couple of women whose names escape me, but they assured everyone that they had lived here all their lives (which, of course, ads great gravitas to their statements), had grown up believing that Orange Hall was actually an example of fine period architecture, had volunteered there, and yadda, yadda. All of them expressed concern that the building would be irreparably damaged by the ghost hunters, went on to say how structurally unsound the building was, how the electrical wiring would overheat and the building would surely burn to the ground, and so on. This prompted Councilwoman Deborah Hase to ask if perhaps the building should not be immediately closed to all visitors if things were that bad. I kept waiting for Rev. Jim to pop up and decry the ungodly nature of "ghost hunting," but, mercifully, that did not happen. Councilman Larry Johnson questioned (repeatedly) whether the city should approve the project before having the chief of police do a thorough investigation of the promoter to make sure it was not a scam. It turns out that the Orange Hall Foundation does not need the city's permission. This whole thing went on for about 20 minutes. It was discussed longer than anything else last night. I left with the distinct feeling that there was more going on than met the eye. Well, this morning, a trusted source confirmed my suspicions. Here's the rest of the story. A while back, Barbara "Delta Dawn" Ryan and her sidekick, Thug Void, announced that they were forming some sort of St. Marys Independent Film Commission, or some such name. Of course, they are part of the cabal that owns and operates the "downtown" franchise. Royal Weaver is not. They and presumably, all of the DMA types, are highly pissed because this upstart, double outsider, Royal Weaver, took it upon himself to invite in a TV production crew without the involvement and approval of their fledgling film commission. Only in Lilliput-By-The-Sea!

Finally! A Jay Derangement Syndrome support group!

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/TTTB3RA4S9F20TV3Q

Special, called St. Marys City Council meeting tomorrow night.

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Tomorrow, 10/28, at 7:00 PM, there will be a special, called St. Marys City Council meeting. It will be immediately following a special, called meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission at 6:30. It seems that plans have been afoot for some time to take the money that was allocated to building the now abandoned river front theatre project and build some sort of roof over the "stage" in the Gilman Waterfront Park. Now, as I understood it at last night's meeting (although after it was discussed by council, I had to ask them to explain to me what in the hell they were talking about), there is some contractor who has given them an offer to do it at a reduced price because he is "hungry," but they have to give him an answer and a contract by NLT Thursday of this week. Hence, the rush. Now, it turns out that mayoral candidate, Tom Cyphers, is the chair of the Historic Preservation Committee. As was obvious last night, Tom realizes that tomorrow's meeting will be a great opportunity to act mayoral. He will, of course, have to come down on the side most likely to garner the most votes. I've not yet deciphered which way he'll jump because it is not yet entirely clear to me which way the DMA has jumped on this issue. We'll see tomorrow.

F.O.E. candidates' forum tonight at 6:30 PM.

If you don't know where the Fraternal Order of Eagles "aerie" is, off of Pt. Peter Rd. northbound, take a left at the road just beyond the police station. At the first building on the left behind the police station, take a left. It's on the far end of the building. For a good seat, you probably want to be there NLT 5:45. Oh, by the way, I've already taken all of my voting decisions so I'll be skipping this one to leave room for those who actually remain undecided (if there are such people on this one). After it's done, y'all are all welcome to come on here and comment. I'll publish even the most outrageous claims for the merits of the horses you're backing and, within reason, all of the slams you wish to fling. I'll try my best to choke down the obvious lies without correcting them.

Like I've said, they're all slightly nuts - at a minimum!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6891362.ece

Savannah's Crystal Beer Parlor to reopen.

http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2009-10-27/crystal-beer-parlor-reopens-west-jones

Monday, October 26, 2009

St. Marys City Council meeting tonight at 6:00 PM.

Agenda: http://www.ci.st-marys.ga.us/agendas/2009/10%2026%2009%20City%20Council%20Agenda.pdf

Another "inconvenient truth" for would be "picked-on" county employees.

Hi Mr. Moreno, The only individuals that do not pay insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars are three contract employees, two retirees and those on COBRA benefits…everyone else in our plan pays their premium with pre-tax dollars. Hope this helps, please let me know if you need any additional information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Staci J. Bowick Director of Support Services From: Jay Moreno [mailto:jaymor@tds.net] Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 8:43 PM To: Staci Bowick Subject: Pre-tax EE premium payments Staci, Sorry to bother you but one of the usual suspects is trying to say on my blog that only the commissioners are paying their health insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. Please confirm that, in fact, all county employees' premiums are paid with pre-tax dollars. Thanks. Jay Moreno

Anything for a buck! Well, at least it appears that the taxpayers are not subsidizing this one.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-26/story/st_marys_to_come_alive_with_tales_of_the_dead

Sunday, October 25, 2009

An Aunt B's mystery solved.

A few days ago, I got this comment on another post: Anonymous said... Jay, I think the world of Kathy and Janie so I am asking that you give them a message for me. The last two times I have eaten at Aunt B's, I have left with the feeling that they must be on the fringe of shutting it down. I usually go in about 11:00 am for lunch, and the last two times I did not see Kathy or Janie. I did tell a waitress about the food. It was cold, except for the fried chicken and pork chops. And the bisquits were at least a day old. These are a couple of indicators that give me the indication that they are on the slippery sloop. I will not go back there as cold food is not what I want for lunch. thanks Jay. October 19, 2009 8:20 AM Jay Moreno said... You just did. They both read my blog. In fact, Cathy and I had a few good laughs just yesterday about what a bunch of malarky this whole thong about my being rude is. If you are getting there right at 11:00, it could be that somebody is not turning the steam table on early enough. You can bet that will be taken care of ASAP. One thing about Cathy and Janie is that they not only appreciate sincere constructive criticism, but act upon it immediately. No, they are not about to shut down. What they are about to do is stop leasing that third room for sure and, unless they can get a concession on the lease on that second room, may close it as well and go back to their original footprint in that location. When business is down and rent is way up - both a reflection of the economy rather than the quality of their product, then you have to do what you have to do. By the way, when you find something wrong, tell them at the time. If they are not there, leave a message for them to call you. They'll appreciate it. They're both local Southern gals. You might also want to tell them when you find something exceptionally good, too. October 19, 2009 10:08 AM Now, flash forward to today about 2:30 PM. I had just sat down for my Sunday dinner at Aunt B's when co-owner Cathy Gentry came over and sat at my table. She told me that she can't find the time to read my blog but every few days. When she did get around to reading the above comments, she and her partner, Janie Highsmith, immediately sprung into action. By questioning the waitresses, they found out that here is what happened. One of their senior kitchen personnel is out on the injured list. The day in question, they were making bread pudding. One of the ingredients of bread pudding is the left over biscuits from the day before. Somebody took the sheet of day old biscuits out of the chill box and placed them in the bread warmer to warm up before crumbling into the bread pudding mix. Because they were short handed, the day old biscuits were not removed from the warmer as early as usual. One of the waitresses, thinking they were the fresh biscuits they make daily without fail, took the old biscuits to the serving line. As soon as they were aware of the error via a customer complaint they immediately pulled all of the old biscuits off of the line and replaced them with the hot biscuits fresh from the oven. When the waitress told Janie who that customer was, Janie got on the phone to that customer, apologised, explained what happened, and assured the customer that they had put in place some procedural safeguards to make sure that that never happens again. Now, as to the matter of the supposedly cold vegetables. They don't know whether that happened or not, but, in an abundance of caution, they have reemphasized to all kitchen hands that the steam tables are to be turned on the moment they walk in the door at 7:00 AM, no matter how uneconomical that might be. Moreover, in addition to the owner/managers and the head cook having thermometers, they went out and bought thermometers for all the kitchen personnel. Anything on the line not hot enough will be detected. If you are attentive, you will notice that every once in a while, someone on the serving line will go down the line and deeply stir all of the serving pans. The reason you do that is to bring up the warmer food from the bottom and bring the cooler food from the top down closer to the bottom and the heat source. If you turn the heat up too high - so that you have simmering food in the serving pans - it breaks down and goes to ruin in short order. As to their closing down, that is not going to happen. Business is way down, as it is everywhere, but they are not going anywhere. Trust me - these ladies will not cut corners on food quality and preparation to save a buck. They take customer satisfaction very seriously, as I think is evident with the way they handled these complaints. Trust me, that does not happen with all local restaurateurs. By the way, they had some killer rutabaga today.

No, Caitlin, there is no Santa Claus and there is no Jay Moreno posting on TOPIX.

Caitlin Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #18 48 min ago Ace wrote: oh and what about Acorn? You left out that great bunch of volunteers-wait-St.Marys didn't have a local chapter but I am sure if they did some people would have been volunteering also and tooting their horns. Sit on a board vs charity volunteering have two different meanings Caitlin=anyone wanting to change things for the worse sit on many boards and put follow there noses to not help anyne but themselves. Yes, Caitlin I know Santa lives within your heart. You didn't answer the question, Jay. What have YOU done to improve anyone's life at all? It seems to me that you just sit around getting your jollies by spreading lies and hatred, eating and counting your pitiful blog hits. Nice.

Hoisted upon their own global warming petard, Green eco-weenies may now have to back more nuclear power plants.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/10/25/nuclear-energy-pivotal-climate-debate/

Sunday Funnies; Volume 87.

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH: Please enjoy and understand the following 1. DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY THINGS. 2. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR. 3. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION. 4. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES? 5. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE. 6. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE. 7. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS? 8. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP? 9. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION? 10. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM? 11. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?" 12. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT? 13. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES? 14. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK? 15. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL CLEAN THEM? 16. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED? 17. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS? 18. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MIME, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT? 19. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK ATM MACHINES? 20. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS? 21. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD? 22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE. 23. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA? 24. DO INFANTS ENJOY INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY? 25. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR? 26. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO? 27. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY? 28. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE? 29. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT? 30. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"? 31. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT THEM? 32. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM? 33. IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL PERSON IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DO THEY BECOME DISORIENTED? 34. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD

Federal stimulus funded "job creation" off to a very slow start in Georgia.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-25/story/federal_stimulus_is_saving_georgia_job_not_creating_them

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The St. Marys Citizens' Advisory Board for Beautification is asking for suggestions.

The apparently re-named St. Marys Citizens' Advisory Board for Beautification is soliciting suggestions from citizens as to how best to beautify St. Marys. I've already suggested a field trip to Savannah for a guided tour by the Parks and Trees Department. If you have suggestions, please e-mail them to STMCAB@aol.com. For some strange reason, they have a "deadline" of Saturday, October 31st.

Reversing decline in red snapper stocks may require drastic measures off entire southeast coast.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-24/story/feds_weighing_unprecedented_fishing_closure_0

Friday, October 23, 2009

As if we needed more convincing that all green eco-weenie activists are at least slightly nuts!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569124,00.html?test=latestnews As usual, Cojack has already had his early morning beef-based snacks. He'll get his chicken based snack this afternoon. Plus, he gets his 15 mg of phenobarb b.i.d. (petit mal seizures) rolled up in cheese. Around nine, my housekeeper will fix him an omelette of 2 eggs, a slice of cheese and about a half cup of dried Purina dog chow. By golly, he may be the equivalent of a Hummer -and he will be for many more years!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Missing Orange Park child's body found in Charlton landfill.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/21363638/detail.html

County employee health premium issue coming up for a vote next month.

At last night's regular meeting of the Camden County Board of Commissioners, in the public comments section, I reminded the commissioners that when they last addressed the issue of a years overdue increase in the employees' share of the total cost of the county's generous health plan on June 6th, the consensus was to raise the percentage of their contribution effective January 1, 2010. I reminded them that January was not that far away and encouraged them to put it on the agenda for an up or down vote at their first meeting in November (3rd). At the conclusion of my remarks, Chairman Rainer said they were already on it. This morning, I got a phone call from County Administrator Steve Howard. Steve confirmed that, indeed, it will be on the agenda for a vote on November 3rd and gave me a little background. Since the meeting on June 6th, there have been numerous meetings between himself, Staci Bowick, and the employees' health insurance committee. Mr. Howard's first step was to expand the membership of that committee to include some of the employees who were most vocal in their opposition to the long overdue adjustment. He reports that the committee, when presented with the facts, gradually came to the realization that they had, in fact, been getting an overly generous, sweetheart deal (my characterization, not his) for years. They have accepted the need for an adjustment. Once again, it remains to be seen if the will and political courage of Commissioners Sears, Rainer, and Zell can hold out through the vote on November 3rd. We taxpayers know that we can count on Commissioners Berry and Keene on this issue. Stay tuned. 6:50 PM sandy feller Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #3 18 min ago as a potential commission candidate how do you reconcile increasing health plan fees at the same time as no raises. isn't that a unilateral reduction in compensation? Glad you asked, Kingfish. No, assuming they pass the modest increase of the percentage of the total premium paid by the employees, that will be a long overdue correction of an abuse of the generosity of the 99.9% of the taxpayers who do not work for the county. What has happened is that over the years, a gutless BOC has found that they can purchase the votes of the employees - or at least a vocal minority of them - by giving into their political pressure to continue to give them a Cadillac plan at a Cadillac cost to the taxpayers, but a used Yugo cost to the employees. As you well know, this was slipped in below the radar of the taxpayers for years until I believe it was Steve Howard who outed it. You also know it is the right thing to do - and was the right thing to do when you were a commissioner. Alas, insofar as you have of late proven yourself to be the biggest, unprincipled vote whore in the county, I'm not surprised that you would use this in your pathetic and losing campaign to revive your pied piper, man-of-the-people persona. Trust me - it's not working. Thank you also for giving me the opportunity to repeat what I told Commissioner Zell at the oyster roast and reiterated to Steve Howard this morning. I can understand the need to occasionally withhold raises during really tough times for county revenues. However, I believe that the county employee COLAS should remain inviolate. As I told Steve this morning, insofar as to the extent of the CPI (in years when it increases) the employees are seeing an actual reduction in purchasing power tantamount to a pay decrease, I, for one, as both a taxpayer and potential future commissioner, would not be opposed to a modest (i.e., a small fraction of a mill) tax increase, if necessary, to maintain COLAS in even the worst of times. It is not only a matter of fairness, but it makes good business sense in light of the economics of employee turnover versus retention. 10/22 @ 4:11 PM: A different perspective. It was about 3:50 PM today. Cojack had just walked up from the foot of the bed and nuzzled my cheek to let me know that it was time to end our nap and give him his afternoon treat. That's when the phone rang. It was an animated Jodi Gregory. It seems that Ray Dyal had printed a copy of my post so far and brought it to her at work. Turns out she is on the employee benefits committee, or whatever they are calling the committee which ostensibly has input to the administration on the employee group health premiums. Jodi tells me that there is anything but support on that committee for an adjustment of the employees percentage of the premium load. She did concede that there is probably a better appreciation now of how it needs to be adjusted upward but that the employee consensus is that until they all get raises - the way some of the higher paid people have - that there should be no increase. She said that whereas she and her family would not be particularly burdened by it, the lowest paid employees would be disproportionately effected. She cited the road department personnel, specifically. She went on to say that virtually every suggestion made in the meetings with the administration by the committee members had been immediately shot down. Moreover, she said it appeared that the administration and the commissioners were determined to carry out the adjustment in spite of the wishes of the committee. The very instant that I put the phone back into the charger, it rang again. It was Steve Howard. He began to say that I had perhaps misunderstood him during our conversation the other day. I stopped him and said "You've just been talking to Jodi Gregory, right?" He had. He went on to say that the impression I had given that all agreed with the coming adjustment was an overstatement of the situation. Now, here's my take on it. In the current, pre-Obama state of health insurance, in ANY group health plan where the premiums are equal for any employee and their dependents, across the board, it is axiomatic that the health premiums will be a much smaller burden, percentage of total compensation wise, to the CEO and much more onerous to the lowest paid employee. Unless we opt to turn the county government into a socialist work program, it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. That's life. While I sympathize with the fact that there have been no across-the-board pay increases since 2006 (according to Jodi), that does not preclude the justification of pay increases for upper management types who were given more hats to wear and more responsibility as a result of Mr. Howard's streamlining realignments of duties. There are some skill sets that command higher compensation than others. That's life. At least, we don't have a caste system. If you're a low end employee, you can always better your lot through education. Frankly, the idea of having an employees' health benefit committee decide premium issues is an absurdity on the face of it. I worked in the insurance industry for 20 plus years. I never encountered one. I've never been asked by any other private employer if I approved of the boss' executive decision vis-a-vis the health plan and the percentage of the premium he is willing to pay. The fact is that the employees have been laboring under the assumption that by making the threat of voting for some populist, vote-whoring ass like Sandy Feller rather than the incumbents, they can eternally cow the BOC into all but giving them their benefits at no cost. Unfortunately, they may yet be right. I guess we will all learn on November 3rd whether the incumbents will do right by the taxpayers as well as by the employees. That's right - they have done wrong by the employees by giving in to them to assure their votes all these years. Now, even an extremely modest adjustment seems callous when it is in fact the long overdue responsible thing to do. In the future, hopefully both the employees and the commissioners will realize that PAY and BENEFITS should be two entirely separate issues which stand on their own bottoms. Are some employees currently paid below market rates? Perhaps, but the way to deal with that is a compensation study and raises where needed, not an under-the-political-radar premium giveaway.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Did I or did I not warn y'all that the supply of airport pro-status quo lies was infinite?!

Click on image to enlarge
To All Addressees: I am always very concerned when public officials and candidates for public office make erroneous statements publicly. I am especially concerned when it is one that could have a negative impact on the public and the public’s perception of public safety and/or related to the critical care of our citizens. Last night a candidate for St Marys City Council made the statement that the landing zone at the St Marys Airport was the only designated life flight zone in our area. This statement was made in the context of trying to convince those present of why we should keep the airport in its current location. I knew that statement did not sound correct. Therefore I spoke with Chief Gailey today of the Camden County Fire Rescue Department. He assured me that Camden County has 24 designated landing zones (see attached list), and many other areas that are easily capable of being a landing zone. I felt that this information was important enough to forward to all that I knew who were present at the forum (whose email addresses I have), the City Council, and the press, which I believe was represented. I didn’t want to embarrass anyone, but felt that this correction needed to be made as soon as possible, in the best interest of the public. Respectfully, Deborah Hase, Post #2, St Marys City Council Cc: City Clerk Tribune Publisher From: Dennis Gailey [mailto:dgailey@co.camden.ga.us] Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 2:51 PM To: deborah.hase@ci.st-marys.ga.us Subject: Landing Zones Dennis Gailey, Fire Chief Camden County Fire Rescue 125 N. Gross Rd. Kingsland, GA 31548 (912)729-3911 Office Camden County Fire Rescue On the Web
I, on the other hand, have no problem identifying the author of this lie and already would have had I been there. Who was it folks (as if I'm not 99.99% certain just by the nature of it)? Nope! My guess was wrong. It turns out that Haney was the mother of that whopper!
Now get this. Howell said that when elected, at his very first council meeting, he would call for a vote to cut the salaries of the city manager and ALL department heads by 10%! A graduate of the Kingfish Feller school of populism, perhaps? Not to be outdone but still showing an amazing lack of a clue as to how a mayor functions in a council/manager form of a municipal government in Georgia, Cyphers promised that as mayor, he would impose as much furlough time on employees across the board as was necessary to do the job.

What a senseless tragedy.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-20/story/classmates_teachers_mourn_death_of_ware_county_student While it may be legal, is it really wise for a 12 year old to be hunting? I spent many hours (about 20 weeks) observing and teaching about 150, 12 and 13 year olds last school year. The thought of even the most matured of them with a .30-.30 scares the hell out of me.

Camden County BOC regular meeting tonight at 6:00 PM.

Agenda: http://www.co.camden.ga.us/archive.aspx?AMID=&Type=&ADID=653

Monday, October 19, 2009

Light years beyond Galileo, Copernicus, et al!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/10/19/space.new.planets/index.html

Watchdog Debate

I'll not be going tonight, but if someone wants to make post debate comments, here's a place to do it. I'm not so sure that the Watchdogs can be considered unbiased moderators. Too many of their founders are running. Hell, their president is Cyphers' campaign manager. I will be at the Eagles' forum however - even though I already know who my choices are in each race.

The Navy's "non-existent" airport letter and the rest of the story.

Click on image to enlarge
Once again, you can see that the pro-status quo side, which denies the existence of such a letter, has no problem with lying. They're getting better at it every day.
Now, I got this e-mail from Councilwoman Deborah Hase about 30 minutes ago.
Jay please post the following blog response for me (including this part) because since I never blog I can’t seem to figure out how to make a post, and it isn’t allowing me to do so. I keep getting an “error” message. To Camden Commentary Bloggers: I never blog, but since a question has come up about Mr. Moreno posting only a portion of an email I sent to him regarding the airport issue, I decided to make an exception. For the most part I don’t blog because it is very time consuming, and I don’t care to read the anonymous and mostly uninformed comments, not to mention that I don’t care for the language and negativity that consumes most bloggers. My response: I always answer every email and question that I get from the constituency. Mr. Moreno occasionally sends me a blogger’s comments that he thinks I need to respond to and he sometimes asks me for information. He could have posted the entire email that I sent to him because it became a public record when I sent it; however, he is considerate enough to always ask me first. In this particular email I made some comments about the briefing that is currently being held for all candidates at the base . I didn’t want anyone to read it and make a big deal out of it before the briefing. Not that anything that I had to say is that important, but certain people tend to take things out of context and I wanted those candidates to go to the briefing with an open mind today, and not try to use anything I said while they were there. They need to make up their own minds about what those in authority have to say concerning the military and the issues in our community that concern the military. Thus I asked him to wait to post that part of the email until today. There was nothing “top secret” or anything about it. I am sure that he will finish that post today, and you will understand why I wanted to wait. I hope that this answers any question someone may have had about my email to Mr. Moreno. If not, please feel free to email me at Deborah.hase@ci.st-marys.ga.us. Or if you insist on remaining anonymous, Jay can ask me for you. Respectfully, Deb Hase, Post 2, St Marys So, where are our St. Marys candidates even as we speak? They are having lunch as the guests of the base CO after he asked them to come to a meeting with him earlier this morning. I don't yet know for a fact what it was about, but I'm fairly certain it was NOT to tell them how happy he was to have an airport in no warning time proximity to his base. NEVER before in the history of the base and Camden County has this happened. As soon as I get a reliable report from one of the attendees, I'll pass it on to y'all. Update @2:36 PM. Okay, here's what happened. The candidates were first given an extensive guided tour of the base. Next, they had lunch. After lunch, the CO addressed them for some 45 minutes. He gave them all a copy of the above letter. He told them that the Navy's position has not changed. That is that, optimally, they would like to see this airport "go away." Failing that, as a bare minimum, they want the longer of the two runways, the one which puts departing planes on a heading directly over the base, to be shut down. My understanding is that that is the 5,000 foot runway which can handle private jets, such as the one Senator Isakson flew in on on Saturday. If that were closed, all that would be left is the shorter runway, 3,000 feet, I believe, suitable only for our handful of local hobbyists. Of course, Roger Rillo was heard to say afterwards that we have the option of extending the other runway. Well, yes. If we extend it to the east, we will have to shift Point Peter Rd. over to where the woodstork rookery is on the old mill property. If we extend it to the west, the city willl have to condemn houses off the west end of the runway almost all the way to Martha Drive. Alternatively, the runway at the new airport will be 6,000 feet long and only require a few salmanders to crawl over to another mudhole. I can't wait to see how the Luddite tribals spin this one.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Good shooting!

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2009-10-17/homeowner-fatally-shoots-suspected-burglar

Sunday Funnies; Volume 86

How to Tell the Sex of a Fly A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Hunting Flies" He responded. "Oh. ! Killing any?" She asked. "Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied. Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell them apart?" He responded, "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Today's annual Camden Republican oyster roast was a huge success!

Click on image to enlarge.
I just got back from Jim & Ginna Stein's beautiful place on the St. Marys River about a pistol shot west of the I-95 bridge. The scenery on the river was gorgeous; the first hint of autumnal weather absolutely perfect; and, as usual, Jim, Ginna, Jay, and Buddy Holly feted everyone with about as perfect an oyster roast as you could want. This year, so he could circulate more, Jim turned over his oyster roasting duties to some fellows who appeared to be professional oyster roasters - or sure could have been! They were so perfectly roasted that even with my diminished hand strength and my own oyster knife - of course ( I AM from Savannah), I could easily call on years of practice to slip the point into the shell's back door, give her a quick twist of the wrist, then slurp 'em down, juice and all. Come to find out, my beard doubles as an excellent oyster eating bib. (No - it's too easy!) And let me tell you, Jim and Jay have got the art of boiling shrimp down to a science. They start with perfect size shrimp for a boil, about big around as your thumb at the thick end and no bigger. They get the water with the right amount of Zatarains in it to boiling before they put in the shrimp, cook them until they're done perfectly - not overdone - then sprinkle a little of the dry Zatarains on the drained shrimp. Everybody was raving about the shrimp and for good reason. Of course, there were piles of barbecue, baked beans, hot dogs, sausages, and desserts galore, all washed down with your choice of soft drinks, beers, and wines. Man, who wasn't there? At the height of the evening, there had to be somewhere between 80 and 100 people gathered there on the edge of the river. The majority of St. Marys candidates were there. Eskridge, Deloughy, Cyphers, Weaver, Howell, Post, Haney, Rillo. I believe maybe Don Mounsey from Kingsland was there, but I'm not sure what he looks like. I saw some folks with Mounsey buttons, though. Larry Johnson was there, looking as healthy as I've seen him in a while. No sign of Cookie, though. Hope she's okay. There were a lot of state level elected officials and candidates there as well. Georgia's U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, State Rep. Cecilly Hill, some fellow whose name escapes me who is a state senator running for Ag commissioner, I believe it was. Cap Fendig from Brunswick was there, running for the state house or senate, one. The only county commissioner I saw was Katherine Nisi Zell. We had a nice chat. Turns out that in retirement, she travels all over the country as part of a professional team that audits the medical technology programs at colleges and universities for accreditation. I was surprised Chip Keene was not there this year. Other guests included Dr. Jim Burnham, Charles Davis, Robbie Morgan and Mrs. Morgan, Fred Hill and dozens upon dozens I don't know. A special thanks to the several people who came up and introduced themselves and told me how much they enjoy following my blog. Oh, and it was a real pleasure to see my friend, Dave Green, who was my mentoring teacher during student teaching at Camden Middle School. I was pleased to tell him that I am now, indeed, fully certified by the state to teach Middle Grades, Middle Grades Social Studies, Middle Grades Language Arts, and Political Science (6-12). I'm sure I speak to everyone there when I say thank you so much to Jim, Ginna, Jay, and Buddy. We're all looking forward to next year. Update: Link to Senator Isakson's photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36677414@N06/

The deliberate misinformation versus the truth.

The lies: Bennie Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #409 19 min ago As far as I know, the relocation proposal involves $20 to $30 million in federal funds to build an airport in Woodbine. St. Marys (taxpayers) would then be required to pay the monies back through the sale of the current airport property estimated to be over $10 million (based on the true market value). So we pay $10 million to lose our airport and pay for one in Woodbine. Add to that the estimated $7 million plus for Georgia Power line relocation (Dept. of the Interior report), massive mitigation bank expenses (USACE report), law suits (Satilla Riverkeepers), the loss of a city asset that could attract developers when the economy turns around (Dept. of Industry, Trade and Tourism) and the cost of giving the airport away is huge. Buzzard, you seem to be the most knowledgeable. Can you reply to Piglet's question? The Truth: The federal government's estimate of the cost of building a new airport is $20 to $30 million. A large part of that $10 million variance was the uncertainty of the cost of the land. The deal was that when the city closed and sold the old airport, whatever the city got from the sale of the airport had to be turned over to the FAA as the city's share of the cost of the new airport. Insofar as one study has shown that the estimated fair market value of the current airport property is $10,000,000, the pro status quo liars (and let's face it - that's what they are) have relentlessly spread the lie that the new airport will cost the taxpayers $10,000,000. Even if we did have to turn over a sales price of $10,000,000, the money would have come from the buyer, not the taxpayers. The taxpayers' cost basis in the property is the $1.00 St. Marys paid for the airport after it was declared government surplus after WWII. The land would still be there, albeit under private ownership, being developed and producing ever increasing tax revenues as it was built out. Okay, all that I've said so far is absolutely true and paints the picture BEFORE Sea Island stepped up and volunteered to DONATE land for the new airport. The fact of the matter is that the city is currently negotiating with the FAA to accept the donation of the land (from the city after it is first donated to the city by Sea Island Co.) as the city's share of the cost of the new airport in lieu of the sales price of the old airport. Now, if they agree, we get to have a new airport, sell the old one, AND keep the sales price, estimated a $10,000,000. If they do not agree, see the previous paragraph. Thems the facts. Everything else you've heard is a pack of lies based on the liars' assumption that they can fool the overwhelming majority of you, especially if you are already looking for an excuse to appear that your opposition to the new airport is rational rather than knee jerk, tribal, obstructionism. Update, 10/18 @8:15 AM. My, my! Look who has been forced to engage in a little "truthiness!"

Buzzard Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #412 9 hrs ago Just asking wrote: Buzzard is biased against the move. The cost is 95% Feds, 2.5% State, 2.5% St. Marys. They are working on having the Sea Island land count as the St Marys 2.5%. You are absolutely right. As long as the valuation of the Sea Island property is more than the mandated 2.5% local match amount, FAA policy is that the donation of the property can be used to offset our contribution. If total airport construction costs are $25 million, the local 2.5% match would be $625,000. The donated property value is greater then $625,000, so the city's share of the airport airport construction project would be nothing. But that is not the whole story. Update: 10/19

"Being oddly silent, isn't he? There's little to say in the face of logic and truth." No, I've simply decided to further respond would be pointless because "Buzzard'" has amply demonstrated his willingness to lie repeatedly in support of his specious assertions. Insofar as the actual fact set - as I have accurately stated it - is finite while the supply of possible lies is infinite, there is no point in arguing with an inveterate liar.

"These intimidation tactics are working and spreading, and they are a cancer on our society." Amen, brother!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322004574477021697942920.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel

You only think you know the Navy's position!

The prologue to this post is to be found at: http://camdencommentary.blogspot.com/2009/10/riverine-forces-training-center-with-50.html Be sure to read all of the comments. Now, in light of all that, read this e-mail of yesterday from Councilwoman Deborah Hase. Note that I am only publishing half of her e-mail, at her request, because the info in the second half needs to be embargoed until after the event described therin actually takes place. I will give it to y'all when I can. From: Deborah Hase To: 'Jay Moreno' Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 4:10 PM Subject: FYI:airport Jay, just read your blog about airport: FYI: the Navy HAS put it in writing. A letter was sent to the Mayor last year from Com.(Captain) Wes Stevens (the base CO) and he said that the Navy wants the airport moved. People keep saying that it hasn’t been put in writing, but it has. ( I will find it and forward to you). Also, The Asst. Sec of the Navy, three admirals, three base commanders, the Director of Naval Installations, the Director of the Governor’s Military Affairs Commission (for the state of Ga),and Rep. Jack Kingston, just to mention a few, have said it needs to be moved; and they said it to large groups of people many times. Several of those times I was present.

Friday, October 16, 2009

100% pure, libelous, bullshit!

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/TBSP8FT7057B0AH5C What say you, Cathy and Janie? Have I ever been rude to anyone at Aunt B's? For that matter, I defy anyone to cite an instance of my ever having been rude to a waitress anywhere. Now, obnoxious owners with an "up your ass" attitude are a different matter. You know, perhaps it's time that I get TOPIX to reveal some Camden County cowards' actual names. Think of it as a public service. Not that I would presume to compare myself to The Great One, but it is obvious that a certain, misanthropic, ultra-leftist, Sol Alinskyite bitch has launched a campaign to discredit and malign me in hopes of blunting my devastating, anti-leftist, pro American effectiveness in much the same way that her fellow travelers atttack Rush.

In case you were wondering (or hoping).....

The 26 y/o Christopehr Moreno who was arrested on DUI charges by the KPD on Oct. 11th is no kin to me. In point of fact, I do not now have, nor have I ever, had any relatives, by blood or by marriage, residing in Camden County.

I'm guessing that the arsonist doesn't vote for Catholics, either.

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2009-10-15/update-arson-ruled-west-savannah-church-fire-0 http://savannahnow.com/news/2009-10-16/arson-blaze-strikes-west-savannah-church

Camden, the perennial bridesmaid, misses another one.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-16/story/brantley_getting_130_million_fuel_pellet_plant To be fair,the groundwork for landing this one no doubt took place way before the beginning of JDA Director, David Keating's watch. "We've been working on this project for a couple of years," Dukes said. "It arose out of having a bunch of land with trees on it." What a pity we don't have a lot of trees in Camden, eh? Now, we can only hope that the anti-capitalist, Green eco-weenies don't queer this project before it is completed.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Let me guess: Next we'll learn that Kingfish founded ACORN and mentored a young community activist named Barack Obama.

sandy feller Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #402 1 hr ago Mike99 wrote: Oh Sandy...enough already. I don't think that I can stand any more political "vote for me because I'm the best becuase I said so" stuff. Either straight talk about where you stand on firm issues or silence, please, and no more "senseless endless talk". This "for the people" chant grows tiresome as all the candidates sing it together. There's an idea...they can all form an "I speak for the people" choir. (Feller)i will start taking positions on the issues of the day starting next week. unlike my opponents i will offer suggestions for solutions rather than simply quoting the headlines in our local newspapers. keep in mind neither one of my opponents has government experience. neither one of them has started and run a civic association (with over 1000 members). neither one of them has run a tenants rights group, protecting those who cannot help themselves. in other words my opponents are long on talk but lack practical experience

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Riverine Forces training center with $50 million annual impact or the "pride" of having a hobbyist airport?

Read the story in a hardcopy of today's T&G. If we land the Navy's Riverine Forces training command that several other bases are vying for (including Mayport) we would get 700 personnel and a $50,000,000 annual financial boost to the community. But then, on the other hand, why should we give up our wonderfully quaint little airport with virtually no positive financial impact just to remain "Navy friendly" during the competition for this and the many other units that base has plenty of room to accommodate in the future? After all, you can't put a price on old tribal civic pride now, can you?

Oh? You mean like when you were a county commissioner?

sandy feller Saint Marys, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #392 1 hr ago Alex Kearns wrote: I see that Mr Deloughy has chosen to mention both the St. Marys EarthKeepers and the Citizens Advisory Board on his website. Though I appreciate his statement that he will "work with" both groups, the inclusion of the EarthKeepers on his website should not, in any sense, be taken as an endorsement. We do not endorse any candidate for we are a 501c3 organization and thus are prohibited from doing so. We sincerely hope that ALL candidates would work with the various groups who strive to make St. Marys all that it can be. (Feller) i will work with anyone so long as they put the people's needs first.

Oh, really?

Alex Kearns Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #390 2 hrs ago I see that Mr Deloughy has chosen to mention both the St. Marys EarthKeepers and the Citizens Advisory Board on his website. Though I appreciate his statement that he will "work with" both groups, the inclusion of the EarthKeepers on his website should not, in any sense, be taken as an endorsement. We do not endorse any candidate for we are a 501c3 organization and thus are prohibited from doing so. We sincerely hope that ALL candidates would work with the various groups who strive to make St. Marys all that it can be. So, tell me folks: is there anyone out there who does not now know just EXACTLY what this non-voting (but damned well campaigning) Canadian citizen's position is on the airport issue as well as which candidate she backs in each St. Marys race? For the one slow guy over in the corner, here. Let me help you out. Eeyore (AKA ALEX KEARNS) Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #386 Yesterday Welcome to St. Marys, Piglet, and thank you for your interest. There's a Town Hall meeting at the Eagle's on Oct. 27th (I believe) and you would be able to meet, and listen to, the candidates there. Here are some websites for you to check out: http://www.tomcyphersformayor.com/ http://jolenehaney.blogspot.com/ http://personalpages.tds.net/~royalgull/ http://rilloforcouncil.blogspot.com/ As far as the airport goes, this has been a contentious issue for many years with a few wanting to relocate the St. Marys airport and the majority wanting it to stay where it is. Your best bet is to read: read old newspaper stories at the Times-Union and Tribune-Georgian websites. Read the documents available at City Hall - http://www.ci.st-marys.ga.us/assessments.htm#... The candidates are below (I will be choosing those who are against (in CAPS)the airport relocation to Site 1 for I do not wish to destroy a fragile environment (including the Satilla River), needlessly give away an city asset (an asset that could well contribute to growth and development here) and pander to the very few who would benefit from this misguided scheme. But that's just my opinion and you must form your own. Candidates: Mayor – Eskridge, Deloughy, CYPHERS Post 1 – Bird Post 2 – Hase Post 3- Trader Post 4 – ROGER RILLO, SandyFeller. Keith Post Post 5 – HANEY, LJ Williams, Morrisey, Christopher Bennet Post 6 – Gull Weaver, SIDNEY HOWELL

Annual Taste of Camden Expo tomorrow in Kingsland.

The annual Chamber of Commerce's Taste of Camden Expo will be held tomorrow from 3-7 PM at the Community Rec Center on Wildcat Drive. Details are in the hard copy of today's T&G. You could run around looking for a six dollar ticket in advance at the places listed, but hell's bells, it's only $8.00 at the door. Save yourself a trip and make supper out of it. If you've never been, it's worth checking out.

Bill Deloughy's campaign website.

http://www.billdeloughy.com/ I note with interest that he has not only addressed the airport issue but several others as well, AND encourages voters to keep checking back as he will address more issues in the coming days. By comparison, the other campaign blogs / websites have been one-shot-wonders so far.

"Hay Days" in St. Marys.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-14/story/scarecrows_mean_its_hay_days_in_st_marys I'm curious as to how a potential tourist on I-95 would learn of this event.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

McIntosh BOE increases millage rate.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-13/story/se_georgia_county_taxpayers_to_see_higher_bill

The answer: Campaigning or campaign signs on public property are against state law.

The questions: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/TVE50LBORUUB6E2I7

Cash-strapped McIntosh contemplating county employee furloughs.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-13/story/se_georgia_county_looking_at_employee_furloughs

St. Marys votes to roll back millage rate.

I have it from a reliable source that St. Marys City Council voted last night to roll back the millage rate from .0056 to .005351. Or, if you prefer, from 5.6 mils to 5.351 mils. The result is no net revenue increase over last year. Kingsland, by contrast, left their's at 8 mils, representing a 3.13% increase over last year's revenues. Oh, yes, there's this: Jeff Stanford asked the mayor and council if, in their opinion, Greg Bird, wearing his "council hat," had any authority to trespass onto his leasehold property and to interrogate him about the contents of the celebrated mysterious box. The mayor turned that toughie over to the city attorney to render an opinion by their next meeting. Thank goodness we have an attorney on salary.

Study will attempt to determine range of Altamaha's outflow into ocean.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-13/story/researchers_to_use_red_dye_to_track_altamaha_rivers_flow_offshore

Monday, October 12, 2009

St. Marys 4th Qtr. Town Hall / City Council meetings tonight at 6:00 PM.

http://www.ci.st-marys.ga.us/agendas/2009/10%2012%2009%20City%20Council%20Agenda.pdf From the city's website: "During the first meeting of each quarter (January, April, July, October), a Town Hall meeting is held for the public to discuss any matter of concern." 3:54 PM: Looking for a reporter! I was running errands and shopping on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. From some of the gobs of people I was around, I feel like I've contracted a cold or maybe even the flu. I'm going to sit this one out. Any reportage would be appreciated. What candidates said what? What was done with the respective agenda items? Thanks.

Doug Vaught has started an all-talk radio station.

That's not the major thrust of the story, but it's the only part of it that is of any interest to me. http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-12/story/gallery_owner_hopes_to_spark_downtown_businesses

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sunday Funnies; Volume 85

I was having trouble with my computer. So I called John, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over. John clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem. As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong? He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.' I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.' John grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?'' No,' I replied. 'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.' So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T. I used to like the little shit.

Brunswick's experience in dealing with dilapidated houses should be instructive to Camden governmemnts.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2009-10-11/story/sprint_to_bring_down_brunswicks_dilapidated_housing_hits_roadblock

Friday, October 9, 2009

A funny thing about Tom's signs...

Have y'all noticed Tom Cyphers' unique signs? They all dart freely in any direction, depending upon which way the wind is blowing. I surely do hope that there is not an allegory hidden in there somewhere.

St. Marys PW crew cab truck T-bones civilians at intersection in front of Mail and More.

The hell of the note is that the damned long-overdue traffic lights are hung, but with plastic bags still over them! I was having late lunch / early supper at Aunt B's today. At about 1520 HRS, some patrons starting craning their necks over by the windows. Seems there had been yet another wreck at that intersection. I got finished eating and out there about 1540 HRS. There were the usual there: one fire truck, two EMS boxes, and every on-duty member of SMPD patrol division. Additionally, there were three St. Marys Public Works trucks there: the crew cab in the accident, one other pick up, and Bobby Marrs' command truck. One of the EMS boxes departed just as I arrived on scene. A bystander told me that the mid-sized sedan that was T-boned by the PW truck carried two women - one heavily pregnant - and a child. All three were transported - apparently none with life threatening injuries. In typical fashion (yes, I've seen them respond there before) the 2 boxes had blocked ingress and egress to and from that parking lot in front of Mail and More completely. One fellow told me that he had arrived seconds after the accident. He said the PW driver and passenger were saying it was the civilian's fault. This fellow said that one of the employees - I think in that men's clothing store - had witnessed the whole thing and said it was the PW truck's fault. All I know is that the truck was on Kings Bay Road heading towards the base (north). The car was heading east, either turning left off of Walmart-bound Kings Bay or coming straight across from the road to the soccer fields. The guy was not sure. By the time I could finally get out, Bill Shanahan was there. I sort of half jokingly leaned out he window and asked "Do you have any comment for my blog?" He replied, and I quote "You can say that if it had not been for the heroic actions of this driver (pointing to the nearby PW truck driver) those poor people may have been killed." I had to move because I had a car behind me. As I drove off, I thought about what he had said. The PW truck was still sitting out in Kings Bay. If the base was at 12:00 o'clock, the front of the truck was at about 2:30. The car, which had been moved up into the parking lot, was impacted at an angle on the passenger side back door. I'm guessing what he meant was that in the nano-seconds before impact, the PW driver had cut hard to the right to affect a tangential blow rather than a perpendicular one. At any rate, hopefully that light will be working soon. That is clearly a bad interesction.

The apology tour pays off.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html I fully expect him to be named the the Taliban's Man -Of - The- Year next.

Coming soon to a federal courthouse near Woodbine?

Thanks to the eagle-eyed reader who spotted this spot-on article in the AJC. It's a perfect desription of the jam a dithering Camden County Board of Commissioners is about to put our sheriff into. http://www.ajc.com/news/north-fulton/federal-judge-gives-fulton-158062.html

Thursday, October 8, 2009

A preview of coming "attractions."

Click on image to enlarge
So I guess y'all have noticed the nearly 17 acres being cleared across Hwy 40 from Saturday Park and just east of Mt. Zion Baptist. The back end of that property comes butt up against my back property line. Someone said on TOPIX that it was going to be condos. I just got off of the phone with Roger Weaver in Planning and Zoning. It is actually going to be apartments. Here is the website for the developer. I'm told that he pictures are of a "twin" development he's built somewhere in Florida. http://pdone.info/brantcreek/index.php What prompted my call was the fact that up until today,the track hoe operator was maintaining a +/- 50 ft. buffer of trees between my property line and what turns out will be a retention pond behind my house. Then I looked out there today and saw them creeping closer and closer. I asked Roger Weaver if the plans called for a buffer and how much. He called me back 15 minutes later. Seems he can't find the part of the plan that covers "landscaping" but he'll call me back tomorrow. Well, they've knocked off for today and I still have a 50 foot buffer, except for one path where some yahoo on a front end loader plowed a clear path right up to within three feet of my cypress fence! Roger tells me that if they screw up and tear down what they are not supposed to, they will have to replant. Hell, I'll turn 62 in November. I'll be dead of old age before trees grow back to any significant height and thickness. This will effect about eight lots on my street. Stay tuned. P.S., I'll bet that the residents of 252 apartments trying to ingress and egress off of and onto Hwy 40 - complete with u-truns to get around the divider - will be the best thing that has happened to local body shops in years. Update, 10.9.09: My e-mail to developer, Tom Purdie: Thanks. That's what I figured. Some ass commented (or at least tried to - I rejected the comment) on my blog this morning that there was a sign in front of it saying it was HUD housing. My blog helped defeat our corrupt sheriff last year so a lot of his die hard supporters like to mess with me - and wish that it was HUD!. I figured it was either an outright lie or some damned fool who does not know the difference between HUD and FHA. Jay. ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom Purdie To: 'Jay Moreno' Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 11:06 AM Subject: RE: Rental rates /HUD? Jay, Rents are market rate. NO subsidies, no income limitation, no percentage rental requirements just like the apartments I lived in after college. While under the HUD umbrella (as is Freddie, Fannie, Ginnie Mae products et al) this is a FHA package. Hope this sets aside any concerns you might have had in that area. Tom -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jay Moreno [mailto:jaymor@tds.net] Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 10:58 AM To: tpurdie@springfieldcapital.com Subject: Rental rates /HUD? Tom, Do you know what the projected market rental rates will be? Is this a HUD project? Thank You. Jay Moreno 510 Victoria's Circle 912 673 7037. Nice try, Thuggie scum! Now go sandpaper that rabid wildcat's ass!
5:02 PM:
Note to Kingfish Feller: I have been in e-mail and voice contact with the owner/developer for two days. I have negotiated several options for an aesthetic buffer solution provided by the developer. As soon as I've had a chance to poll all of the neighbors this weekend, I will get back with the owner / developer to finalize an equitable solution. Your investigation / intervention is not needed. Now, kindly go take a nap. Thank you.