June 12, 2019 Page 5A
at orter
F-
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
by Don Daniel
(
he other morning at the Forsyth-Monroe
County Chamber of Commerce Eggs and
Issues breakfast, County Commission Chair-
man Greg Tapley and Forsyth Mayor Eric
Wilson gave updates on going-ons in their different
realms. Mayor Wilson rightfully bragged how the
city was working on several projects and how the city
employees were working together under the concept
of"Team Forsyth". Next time
you see the highly visible
Mayor, ask him about "Team
Forsyth".
Following the Mayor, Chair-
man Tapley explained how
the county was going to spend
the 2020 Special Purpose Lo-
cal Option Sales Tax, brag-
ging how "my team" is going
to spend the SPLOST money
with road paving a major
priority.
I assume the Chairman's
reference to "my team" refers
to all county employees and
as he explained, hiring of a
county manager and a finance director made his "my
team" complete. I guess since he thinks he has a "team"
maybe we and all county employees should now refer
to the chairman as "Coach Tapley". His using "my
team" several times in his presentation brought out
comments that are not printable.
At the commission meeting, here are several unat-
tributed comments:
"I am not that familiar with ambulances";
'A mechanical question";
"You need to number the pages":
'Td like to say something about it";
"The only question I have ";
$30 bill";
"I think we need to give him a Mercedes";
"You came all the way over here?"
I'VE BEEN hearing grumbling in regards to the tax
assessments and assume by now you have received
yours. If you are not happy with how much they think
your property is worth, pay attention to the notice
because you've got 45 days to file an appeal with the
Monroe County Tax Assessors. You can't walk into the
Tax Assessors office to complain or file an appeal. Your
"This Is Not A Bill" tells you what have to do.
The county manager, in cooperation with Lorri Rob-
inson, county finance director, and of course those in
the tax assessors' office, have compiled a list comparing
Monroe County's millage rate to adjoining counties.
Guess what? We have next to the lowest rate, 29.047,
with Houston County being the lowest at 24.409. It's
understandable why people are moving out of Macon-
Bibb County with a millage rate of 39.966
The City of Forsyth has next to the lowest millage
rate at 32.047 with Jackson coming in first at 30.43.
The city of Jeffersonville is the highest at 46.965.
Praise the Lord for Plant Schererl
Here are some bills our tax money went to pay: Butts
county got a check for $26,146.85 for supplying us
with drinking water; we purchased $5,877.51 worth
of electricity from Central Georgia EMC; Cherokee
Culvert Company supplied pipe for $9,180.70; eight
county employees got their wages garnished having to
pay $1,631.72 and four others got garnished for $3,471
paid to Chapter 13; Trustee watching television costs
us $3,112.56 paid to Forsyth Cablevision; $9,498.15
went to Ham's Auto Parts for a list of auto supplies; we
got a lot of sand, $29,973.03, from Jerry Pate Turf and
Irrigation; Monroe County Health Department got
paid $9,998.42 for whatever. SheriffBrad Freeman got
a check for $14.38 for travel. Thirty checks were writ-
ten for a total of$116,820.18, which was only a half-
months' gotta pay.
HUMBLED is my expression upon receiving an
award for this column from the Georgia Press Associa-
tion. To be judged by your peers and thus honored by
one's peers is quite an honor. Thanks to all the readers
of "On The Outside Looking In".
NO CORRECT answers to last week's The Ques-
tion so here's the one for this week: cops were called
to the Waffle House because a drunk customer didn't
get a what? First correct answer after twelve noon on
Thursday gets a certificate for Scoops single dip ice
cream, dozen Dunkin donuts, Dairy Queen Blizzard,
Whistle Stop fried green tomato appetizer, slice of
lonah's pizza, slice of Shoney's strawberry pie, Forsyth
Main Street t-shirt, sandwich, chips and drink at The
Pickled Okra.
IF YOU were in Forsyth Saturday you could have
joined the Georgia Trust Expedition individuals tour
of 19 local historic homes and sites in Forsyth. It was
a total community effort by Forsyth Convention and
Visitors Bureau, Forsyth Main Street, Forsyth-Monroe
County Chamber of Commerce, the local Historical
Society, several local restaurants and many others.
THE LATEST food fad is no-meat hamburgers.
Haven't seen them on the menu boards at our local
Whopper/Diddly/DoodlyMacs but according to the
Wall Street Journal fast food restaurants are experi-
menting with different no-meat burgers and they are
big sellers. If you see a local restaurant offering the no-
meat burgers, let me know. I'll treat us both.
Donald Daniel is the founder and former publisher of
The Monroe County Reporter. Email him at mediadr@
bellsouth.net.
LETTERS TO THE
e
To the Editor:
Monroe County sent out
2019 tax notices Friday
but they were mailed
with an error. Whether
it is pennies or dollars difference on
your bill, it is the principle and the
County did not check before they
were mailed out.
Go to Part C, School. Mul-
tiply the net taxable amount
by the millage (0.015716)
and it does not equal the
amount shown under Esti-
mated Tax. Diversified Corp.
of Chattanooga, Tenn. is the
company the county uses
for these notices. They used
the millage rate for the 2018,gKH
notices, 0.015734.
Why are we paying a com-
pany that does not check their soft-
ware program or even care to proof
a mailing before all our residents see
this? Why is a county employee not
taking the time to check and do their
job thoroughly? Frankly, this is yet
another piece to add to the list or as I
call it a fire of complaints.
I was paying my water bill on
Friday so I stopped into. the tax office
to be nice and make them aware of
this error. I was sent into the office
of chief tax appraiser Bob Simmons.
It was a nightmare he was rude,
disrespectful and unprofessional. I
did not deserve this. Explaining to
him the difference in 2018
and 2019 notices, he liter-
ally threw my 2018 notice
back at me, then told me
"what is your problem? Your
taxes went down?" (Yes,
because I am 66 and get a
$4 exemption). I was not
there to dispute any part of
my bill except for the error
I found. He got upset &
wasn't listening to me. He
was bullying me, jumped out of his
chair and got nose to nose in my
face and could not intimidate me
so he told me to leave his office. I
didn't and he would not commit at
this point to admit to the error or tell
anyone about it. I told him my taxes
help pay his salary and he jumped
up again, reached toward his back
pocket for his wallet and said to me,
"Let me give you $2 back". Unbeliev-
able! When I tried to explain again,
he asked me what is wrong with me
and made circles with his hand on
the side of his head. I asked him if he
is calling me crazy and he said, "Am
I saying anything?'; he was silent
& kept on doing this gesture, so I
said you seem to be implying that
I am cra . He tried over and over
to irritate me and was annoyed that
it was Friday afternoon and at this
point past 5 p.m. I can go on with
his other antics, but I feel this all was
inappropriate behavior for a County
official that could have respectfully
said, "Thank you for bringing this
to my attention, I will look into this
and get it corrected". I would have
been satisfied with that response. No,
he told me it would cost $$$$$ to
resend out notices. He should have
thought about that before they were
mailed.
Serene Sanchez
High Falls
CHELSEA CHAT by Chelsea. Madden
Losing a loved one is never
easy. We all know that gut-
wrenching feeling - and we
all know that saying good-
bye is something we never expect
and don't want to do. The pain of
waking up and going about a nor-
mal routine seems impossible and
the holidays just aren't the same.
The idea of going to work is painful
and even the simplest tasks are a
thousand times harder to complete.
In my own experience, when I lost
my dear friend, Macy Morgan, all
of the above was true. I felt help-
less, hopeless, and lost. I hadn't felt
that kind of sadness before, so I
was unsure how to handle it. To tell
the truth, I didn't handle it for the
longest time - but I suppose denial
is a part of the grieving process.
After some time went by, I real-
ized that my happiest memories
with Macy were right here in For-
syth - singing in the choir together
at First Baptist, playing hide-and-
seek at Walmart, or enjoying our
favorite weekend tradition of a girls'
night with our other best friends.
These memories were especially
daunting and difficult to deal with;
each memory was so close to home,
literally. Losing someone in a small
town didn't sit well with me, espe-
cially in a town as small as Forsyth.
Chelsea Madden with her late friend
Macy Morgan of Forsyth.
In Forsyth, everyone knows every-
one and when something happens,
it is out there for all to see. There
were so many times I wished that
no one knew about what hap-
pened jfist so I didn't have to run
into someone around town and
fake being okay. Small town living
had it perks, but during this time, I
wanted to be as far away from this
town as I could get. I wanted to be
in a big city, where no one knew
Macy or me, or anything about
us because each and every time I
would look back on our friendship,
I saw Forsyth. I saw lost time. I saw
sorrow.
But then one day, I saw hope.
What Macy gave me were some
of the greatest memories I could
ever ask for, in a town that has the
best people and some of the most
comforting places. I met Macy in
this town, and I'll cherish that fact
forever.
I didn't always like being asked
how I was doing, but where else
would I get that kind of sincerity?
These people cared about Macy
and they cared about me. Even if
they didn't know me personally,
they still offered a warm hug and a
sweet smile. You see, when tragedy
strikes, Forsythians always come
together to show support, spread
love, and pray for one another.
Now when I look around Forsyth,
I still see Macy - but this time it is
different. I don't see the what ifs or
the coulda, shoulda, wouldas. I see
a part of her in every Forsythian. I
see kindness. I see friendship. I see
hope.
Chelsea Madden of Forsyth is a
graduate student seeking her Mas-
ters of Fine Arts in writing with the
Savannah College of Art and Design.
She is an administrative assistant at
the engineering firm Hodges, Harbin,
Newberry 6, Tribble in Macon.
STOREY TELLER by Bailey Storey
as long as I can remember,
I've always wanted to be a
writer. It didn't matter what it
was, as long as I could take my
ideas and put them onto paper, I was
ecstatic. I was that kid in school who
always went above and beyond with
projects because I loved being able to
share the information I had learned.
While my peers were complaining
about having to write essays
or narratives, I was over-
joyed. Writing those things
allowed me to express my
ideas and creativity in a
way I enjoyed, so while
everyone else moaned
and groaned and begged
the teacher not to give us
the work, I immediately
jumped into the assign-
ment. However, my real
passions are creative and
investigative writing. I find
it easy to lose myself making up char-
acters and stories, and I can spend
hours writing down information I
find interesting. I believe my love for
writing stems from the fact I've been
reading my entire life.
Growing up, I could read novel
after novel like they were children's
stories. I found it easy to breeze
through a book with 200 pages in a
matter of days. As I got older, it grew
harder and harder to balance reading
and writing with schoolwork. I was
constantly stressed about school and
grades, and felt pressured into believ-
ing my education was the only thing
that mattered. After my sophomore
year at Mary Persons, I hit a point
where I was stressed about school
that I felt physically and emotionally
drained. It was like nothing mattered
anymore than getting good grades. I
realized that focusing on nothing but
school and leaving no time for other
things in my life wasn't healthy. So I
decided to focus less on school and
more on myself and my emotions. I
would come home and do
my homework or study for
an hour or so, but then I
would dedicate the rest of
my afternoon to the things
I loved, reading and writ-
ing. I managed to keep my
grades up without stressing
to the breaking point, and
I was able to have the "me
time" that allowed me to
regain my sense of purpose.
I have lived in Monroe
County my entire life. I've
attended Monroe County Schools
since pre-k, and I graduated with
honors from Mary Persons on May
24. Growing up here has been a wild
ride. I have learned what it means to
have people who care about you and
your dreams. I have gained friends
and lost them. And I have been able
to grow into the person I am today by
studying the society we live in. While
I loved being able to grow and learn
here, I have always considered myself
to be a "city girl". I find myself now
comfortable surrounded by bright
lights and constant city noise than
quiet, small town living. It's my dream
to live and work in Atlanta, and I am
trying to start building my path to
accomplish that dream.
I found out about the opportunity
for an internship at the Reporter after
my stepmom sent me a post she had
seen on Facebook. I applied with
the idea that it would help me find
out what it means to be a journalist.
I am earning a more in-depth look
into our community, and I am hop-
ing to experience things I normally
wouldn't. By doing this intemship, I
am hoping to get a hands-on experi-
ence in studying the way journalists
report on current issues, events, and
people. I am hoping it will help me
with my intended study in college, as
well as with my future career.
In April, I was accepted into my sec-
ond choice school, Valdosta State. My
intended major of study is English,
and I'm going to be on a journalism
track for editing and reporting. For
many years I was intending to study
creative writing, but around Christ-
mas -- with a bit of a push from my
aunt -- I decided I would much rather
become an investigative journalist,
though I plan to continue working
with creative writing on the side. I am
hoping to minor in either History or
Mass Media Communications. But
for the next eight weeks I'll be here. If
you have a story idea for me, email to
baile aUysa.storey@grnafl.com.
Bailey Storey of Forsyth, a 2019
graduate of Mary Persons, is the sum-
mer intern for the Report She plans
to attend Valdosta State in the fall
majoring in journalism.
I
