JR pOrter
Page 5A
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN by Don Daniel
W!re ,you surprised at the election results? Well we
on t have ,my results yet. We ve got a run-off for
e Sheriff s badge and the governor s race was
upposed to be official yesterday. But with all the
lawsuits being filed by the Democratic gubernatorial candidate
and her minions, the official declaration of the results will be
tainted for the history books.
As well as the Democratic governor candidate and her sup-
porters yelling discrimination, a developer who was refused a
request to build a low-income apartment complex down in the
southem part of the county (just past Bolingbroke) is suing the
county commissioners, daiming discrimination.
Here's a quote I found on the intemet. Andy Rooney is
credited with saying it, but he didn't. Whoever said it, it's good:
"I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything
except numbers. The only thing I can think of that are truly
discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund,
Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television and Miss Black
America". He further commented, "try to have things like the
United Caucasian College Fund, White Entertainment Televi-
sion or Miss White America and see what happens Jesse
Jackson will be knocking down your door:'
"I am sick of'Political Correctness'. I know a lot of black peo-
ple and not a single one of them was born in Africa: so how
can they be ffrican Americans'? Besides, Africa is a continent.
I don't go around saying I am a European-American because
my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from
Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else, and
if you don't like my point of view, tough ."
BUYING THE old/dilapidated/blighted Big Star building
and property, by a vote of 5 to 1, Forsyth's "Godfathers" made
the right and correct decision to build a new city hall on the
downtown site. Guess it's gonna be an ultra-modem building
since it will be next door to the "bat winged" United Bank. You
know, fit into and complement the
surroundings.
Also at the meeting, Norfolk
Southern and the Georgia Depart-
ment of Transportation again made
million-dollar railroad crossing
proposals that again were re-
jected by the city which led to this
email: "Don, I betcha Forsyth City
Councilmen Mike Dodd and Chris
Hewett are really upset because the
Lee Street railroad crossing was
dosed for repairs by NS and GDOT
for a couple of days".
Here are a few Forsyth City
Councilmen unattributed meeting
comments:
"I am not trying to be mean";
"I can understand that";
"Don't have to worry about rift-raft";
"It wasn't hard to deride";
"People stranded over there";
"You've got a carrot and sticl ';
"When I taught him how to drive";
"We can move the street";
"I don't think I have enough information";
"I was already asleep".
THIS PAST week's The Question must have been an easy
one because of all the correct answers that were emailed.
But Laurie Pippin was the first naming Lawson Bittick and
Brad Freeman as the two top vote getters in the sheriffs' race
and will be facing each other in the rtm-off. Laurie gets the
certificate for a dozen Dunkin Donuts, Dairy Queen Blizzard,
Juliette's Whistle Stop fried green tomato appetizer, Boling-
broke's Sweet Tea dessert, slice of Shoney's strawberry pie,
Forsyth Main Street t-shirt and a sandwich, chip and drink at
The Pickled Okra.
Here's The Question for this week: What is the date for the
Bolingbroke Christmas Parade? First correct answer after 12
noon on Thursday gets the goody certificate.
I MISSED the county commission last week and according
to Reporter Richard Dumas, who had a front row seat, it prob-
ably has to go down in the record books as one of the longest --
six plus hours. The commission room was packed with those
in favor and those against eight zoning requests that came
before the "Ruling Five". First there was a "called meeting'; a
brief recess and back to business at the regular meeting.
Here are a few taxpayer-money-paid checks: $2,467.54 reim-
bursement for tourism/advertising; Hanson Aggregates Inc.
supplied us with a lot of pipe for $7,254.07; former Sheriffand
grandfather of sheriff candidate Lawson Bittick got a check for
$2,765.59 for "tower rental" along with another tower rental
check paid to somebody for tower rental, $3,182.57, Blue
Ridge School; Kathy Pritchett got a $3,240 check for "interim";
we had to put a dog "down" paying Primary Pet Care $50 to do
the deed; former state representative and local lawyer Curtis S.
Jenkins got $1,500 for October solicitor hours.
Checks were written in the total amount of $61,974.54.
I WORKED as a "bag boy" while in high school at the Piggly
Wiggly in Swainsboro. I did get promoted to the meat depart-
ment where my job was to cut-up the whole chickens. They
didn't come in "parts" and had to be cut up according to the
customers' specifications.
Back to the bag boy job: not only did I have to bag the
groceries, there was a certain way they had to be bagged. Cold
stuff, vegetables, canned goods, paper goods all had to be
bagged separately. And, of course, we had to take the bags to
the customers' cars. Never got a tip because it was never ex-
pected. We were expected to interact with the customer during
bagging and taking to the vehicle. Customer service is what it
is called now.
I write about this because Walmart and Ingles have become
notorious for their lack of personal service when checking out.
I despise having to use a "self-checkout" machine, bagging
my purchases. It is too impersonal and totally non-customer
friendly. My advice is the following which I saw on the inter-
net: never use a self-checkout because they kill jobs; self-check-
out machines don't contribute with payroll taxes and they are
not really convenient.
Don Daniel founded the Reporter in 1972. Email him at medi-
adr@bellsouth.net to answer The Question or make a comment.
Dorft forget to listen to The Reporter On The Radio on Majic 100
on Sunday mornings at 7 and watch Don, Will and Richard---
on Forsyth Cable's community access channel
GUEST COLUMN by Terry Scarborough
Or ce again,
rSec-
of State
rian Kemp
has sought to conceal his
incompetence with com-
ments at his rally in Forsyth
on Oct. 31. q-his newspa-
per reported that, "Kemp
blamed appointed surveyor
Terry Scarborough for
his lack of cooperation in
refusing to testify at yet
another hearing as the basis
for his not having settled
the matter?
Astordshingl ; Kemp
went on to say "So there's
really nothing we can do
until we hear from him '
That irrationality was
quickly followed by 'Tm
not going to move the
county line without being
able to ask the person that
drew the line a question
about why they did what
theydid"
To grasp the absurdity of
these excuses, look at what
has transpired since March
27, 2009 when I submitted
my survey to the Secretary
of State.
At Kemp's visit to the
disputed area on July 15,
2011, I gave him more
proof of my findings, and a
month later also gave him a
36-minute DVD rebutting
Bibb County. In addition, at
the Aug. 30, 2016 hear-
ing, we gave Kemp more
evidence in 4.5 hours of
testimony including video,
documen and spoken
evidence of the surve
which had been endorsed
by special administrative
law judge John SherriU as
the true boundary between
Bibb and Monroe coun-
ties on April 29, 2011. In
addition I have offered to
testify before Kemp about
my surv .
What emerges, for those
who have followed the
dispute the past 9+ years,
is that Bibb County has per-
suaded Kemp that his pow-
ers far exceed those given
him by law. Therefore,
Kemp has the misguided
belief that he can place the
Governor's Surveyor on
Surveyor Terry Scarbor-
ough, right, shares his
findings with then-secretary
of state Brian Kemp on the
Ocmulgee River in 2011.
trial.
Accordingly, both
legal teams pursued costly
litigation, taking the matter
twice to Fulton County
Superior Court and twice
to the Georgia Supreme
Court. That reckless
litigation certainly filled
the purses of the attomeys.
How do they jusl@ costly
attomey's fees? Answer:
Blame the Surveyor!
The truth is Bibb County
never had sufficient
evidence to overcome the
findings of the Scarborough
Survey. So, the goal then
became that of discrediting
the surveyor on the witness
stand somehow.
Bibb lawyers cleverly
crafted the means to allow
Bibb County to submit an
alternate plat for Kemp's
consideration. This plat was
prepared by the privately
engaged, former-dected
Bibb County Surveyor in
defiance of the landmark
case, Fine v. Dade County,
which mandated by prece-
dent: "If in fact it is obscure,
the line must be made dear
and definite by an official
governmental survey under
order of the Governor, and
in accordance with the ACt
of 1887, supra, and not by
the evidence of engineers
or surveyors privately
engaged."
So, how would Kemp and
Bibb County use this illegal
survey?
In cross-examining me,
Bibb County would try
to plant in Kemp's mind a
reasonable doubt about the
Scarborough surve noting
that it doesdt agree with
every nuance and theory
from the theatrical imagi-
nation of Bibb's surveyor,
who will be paid hand-
somely for his testimony.
Kemp's new-found
"broad discretion" then
could allow him to accept
the privatdy engaged Bibb
County surveyor's illegal
plat to supersede and
replace the one by the Gov-
ernors Surveyor. What or
who would stop Kemp?
The facts in the matter are
these:
Kemp could have ques-
tioned me at any time, as
has been offered through-
out these proceedings after
Kemp finally ordered Bibb
County to pay their share of
the surveyor's fee. Further,
I wrote Kemp on Aug. 9,
2018 detailing a way the
matter could be resolved
using the Scarborough Sur-
vey to settle the boundary
dispute sensibly. I also sent
the letter to Brad Raffens-
perger and John Barrow,
candidates to succeed
Kemp as Secretary of State
in January2019.
An errant survey plat by
Bibb County-based Stantec
Consulting Services was
used to define the boundar-
ies for the Bass Pro develop-
ment. Those boundaries
claimed some 57 acres of
Monroe County territory
in the description for the
contract that would secure
the Bass Pro devdopment.
Stantec was under the
direction of Executive Vice-
President Elmo Richardson
who was also a sitting Bibb
County Commissioner at
that time. Richardson had
also been appointed to the
State Board of Registration
for Professional Engineers
and Land Surveyors, a
regulating agency under the
Secretary of State, on March
13,2006. Just 7 months
prior, Gov. Sonny Perdue
had appointed me as the
Bibb-Monme boundary
surveyor on Aug. 9, 2005.
Richardson then became
Chairman of that Board in
January 2009 and served
in that role from 2009-
13, throughout the early
evidentiary proceedings for
the Bibb-Monroe bound-
ary dispute. Elmo Richard-
son remains a member of
the State Board of Registra-
tion for Professional Engi-
neers and Land Surveyors
to this day. This preliminary
posturing leaves little doubt
regarding Bibb County's
devious strategy to steal the
Kemp decision.
Kemp's blaming me for
this is absurd. It is Kemp's
failure to deverly com-
promise me, in a quasi-
court contrived with Bibb
County influence and an il-
legal altemate plat of survey
composed by Bibb CounW,
that is the basis for his not
having settled the matter.
All the grandstanding by
Kemp and Bibb County
while allowing Bibb County
to benefit from tax revenue
rightfully entitled to Mon-
roe County has served to
delay the settlement of the
issue and has burdened the
taxpayers of both counties.
The fact that I am apri-
rate dtizen and a licensed
professional with Fifth
Amendment privilege
should have brought clarity
to the Secretary as to the
extent of his powers. So
now, this certainty can be
instrumental in expediting
the discharge of the statu-
tory duties of the Secretary
going forward.
The imminent resolution
of this dispute should be
watched carefully now by
the taxpayers as either Mr.
Barrow or Mr. Raffensperg-
er takes over as Secretary of
State in January 2019.
Terry Scarborough was
appointed by then-Gov.
Sonny Perdue to find the
Monroe-Bibb County line
in 2006. Submitted in 2011,
his work is still awaiting a
decision from the Georgia
Secretary of State.
TAKING A LIKENS TO YOU by Dale Likens
I
II
I remember in my
early school days
learning about the
different types of
clouds that cover this
earth of
ours. If my
memory
serves
me well
there are
the cirrus
douds, the
cumulus
douds, the
nebulas
clouds and
the stratus
clouds.
Please OJe
don't ask
me to
identify each. It's excit-
ing that I remember their
names. I still enjoy look-
ing to the western sky and
trying to determine if rain
is coming in or if I must
wait another day.
I'm certainly not great at
predicting rain, but some-
times I think I'm better
than the national weather
channd on television.
For some reason it seems
shortly after I mow our
lawn a rain comes either
that evening or the next
morning. Well, at least
within the next week.
Hey, that's better than
the national
weather chan-
nel! That's the
point of this
article. It's all
about the na-
tional weather
channel. Every
night I check
the national
weather chan-
nel to see ff I
should throw
my umbrella
into our car
before leaving
for town or
not. Every morning the
weather goes something
like this: Monday- 20
percent chance of rain,
Tuesday- 0 percent
chance of rain, Wednes-
day- 0 percent chance of
rain and Thursday- 70
percent chance of rain.
"Hey, Hon! We're sup-
posed to get rain this
Thursday!" I call excitedly
to my wife.
"That's great!" she calls
back. "Great news!"
So on Wednesday I
check the weather and
now they tell me there is
a 0 percent chance of rain
on Thursday!
"Hey, Hon] Guess what
the weather channel is
predicting for rain on
Thursday?"
"0 percent!" she calls
back.
How did she know that?
My father was much
better at predicting the
weather. He truly was! He
would stand outside on
a clear day and say, "It's
gonna rain today!"
"Sure, Dad!" we would
laugh and continue hoe-
ing our garden.
"Yes sir! I can fed it in
my bones" he assured us
as he took his hanky out
and wiped his brow. "No
doubt about it!"
It rained.
As I grew older I
learned that I, too, could
predict the weather better
than the national weather
channd by watching
cowboy movies. It's true!
I discovered that the
Indians always knew
when it was going to rain.
I watched a Lone Ranger
movie once when Lone
sent Tonto into town to
check on something and
Tonto said, "Me can't go!
It's gonna rain!"
"No!" Lone said in
return. "The sky is a beau-
tiful blue?
Tonto reached down,
picked up a tumbleweed,
threw it toward Lone and
it flew upward.
"Proves rain in air! 100
percent sure!" Tonto said.
It rained.
That's when I learned
that true Indians can
predict rain.
Now I simply call Sena-
tor Elizabeth Warren and
ask her if it's going to rain
each day. When she tells
me to throw two umbrel-
las into our car because
it's definitely going to rain,
I believe her. "There is a
0.00098 percent chance!"
she tells me.
I believe her! Why
shouldn't I? God bless.
Dale Likens is an author
who lives in Monroe
County.
without line
Brian Kemp resigned as Georgia~ secretary of state on Wednesday, Nov. 7, meaning
he served 3,255 in the office without making a decision on the Monroe-Bibb county line
dispute despite an order from the Georgia Supreme Court that he do so. We hope Kemp
does his job as governor more dutifully than he did as secretary of state. Gov. Nathan Deal
appointed Robyn Crittenden as interim secretary of state until the runoff for the job between
Republican Brad Raffemperger and Democrat John Barrow on Dec. 4. Since Monroe
County has now spent $3 million on this dispute, we hope Kemp replacement will do his
job under Georgia law and resolve the dispute by accepting the Terry Scarboraugh survey.
We plan to count the days in ofl'~e of his successor in this location until they do their job.
/ I
