This is Viewpoints for Sunday, March 19, 2017

Paying double

I would like Tommy Parker to have all the facts about our subdivision. The homeowners of Waters Edge have a annual lease agreement with Bibb County for our little beach area, (which by the way is not cheap). We do not lease Flint Rock Part and we do not use it unless we get permission from the parks and recreation to have an home owners association function there.

The homeowners of Waters Edge pay annual association dues for this amenity, which is the only amenity we have. The homeowners of Waters Edge maintain the upkeep of our beach area, we pay for the landscaping, we paid for the sand, we maintain the repairs to the dock area. We also have one elderly homeowner who is constantly down at the beach area with his bobcat to clear the washout sand from the docks in the summer months. While the lake was lowered this year he retrieved our sand that has flowed into the lake over the years.

The homeowners on the lake have an additional fee on their property taxes for lake access and homeowners who are not on the lake still have to purchase a yearly park pass to use our area. I had to show my pass once last summer while I was on my paddle board.

Macon-Bibb County Fire and Rescue use our beach area for training purposes, and we the homeowners, pay for the upkeep of that parking lot, which by the way is in bad shape. And finally, we are also Macon-Bibb County taxpayers, so I believe we are entitled to our little beach area that we doubly pay for.

Get it done

“Battle lines form over court merger plan.” This recent headline in The Telegraph was enough to bring back ghastly memories of pre-consolidation days headlining the Macon City Council and the Bibb County Commission.

Of course the Municipal Court should be merged into the State Court of Bibb County. We voted for consolidation in order to streamline and improve all of local government including the judicial branch where possible.

With State Court Chief Judge Bill Adams’ blessing, let’s get this done and move on. When we approved consolidation we didn’t sign up for continued bickering.

Questions

In reading the letters to the editor on March 16th, Brian T. Reid Sr. shared his comments regarding when we have questions about the Bible. I can appreciate his comments and would like to share my viewpoint as well.

Life brings twist and turns, and sometimes we do have questions and make mistakes along the way, young or old. The Bible says, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.” Isaiah 1:18a. God is loving and full of mercy, and he is big enough to handle our questions and concerns, and invites us to talk with him.

I believe that finding our place in life is coming to understand that knowing God is the key to knowing who we are meant to become. “In him we live and move and have our being...for we too are his offspring.” We belong to him, Acts 17:28.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5. We can rest in knowing even though we have questions in life, and there are things we don’t understand, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and is alive, and reaches out to where we are today.

The good, bad and the escape

The first good news.

Eaglet E9 has been found. Half the world has been watching minute-by-minute on TV since its birth two and a half months ago down in a tree nest in Fort Myers, Florida. Its first attempt to fly landed it below its nest on the ground. From there is seemingly disappeared. The good news is that today it has been found and Harriet, the mother, and E7, the father, are happily trying to coax it back to the nest in order to feed it another juicy fish carcass.

President Trump’s clandestinely exposed decade-old tax return disclosed humiliatingly only a gross of $153 million with a tax bite of $36 million. That was based on his world-wide companies and real estate properties. Heck, that’s not even up to an NFL or NBA top athlete’s half-year rewards for tossing a spheroid (ball). Trump’s not even in their league.

Now the bad.

Marie Osmond has still not found her lost 50 pounds after three years. You’d think she’d at least take out a small loan, after all 50 pounds Sterling is only $61 USD. I hope she finds the lost pounds soon; her TV ads are annoying.

News to watch for.

April and Oliver are about to be parents. When the baby is born he/she/it will be six feet tall, orange splots all over, and a burgeoning set of horns. ’Tis the season for 15-month gestations to end and this little Giraffe offspring will be seen by TV viewers all over the world like Eaglet E9. Some viewers objected to such an invasion; one viewer (jokingly I’m sure) criticized showing nudity and obscenity.

In today’s society, even the miracle of birth — taking our minds off the ugliness of society — should bring us back to what life is all about.

Making contact

I am in search of a Navy veteran who served in World War II aboard the SS Witchita along with my father, Charles E. (Bud, Buddy) Lutz. My daughter happened to meet him while at Academy Sports in Warner Robins in 2016. She failed to get his name, only that he lives in Warner Robins. I realiz this is a stretch to find him but I feel that it is worth it. I just want to talk about the war and my father.

Please contact me for anything else that you might need. FYI, we are camping in Blairsville, right now but will return home if needed. Thank you for possibly including this request in The Telegraph.

This story was originally published March 18, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Sunday, March 19, 2017."