This is Viewpoints for Friday, June 9, 2017

So unfair

On May 22, there was a picture of attorney Franklin Hogue and the Byron man charged with the 2016 murders of two deputies. The picture reminded me of other pictures where Hogue is defending murderers. He seems to do it a lot.

The article with the picture said Hogue’s client won’t have to wear jail garb or shackles in the trial. Ahh, memories. In 2005, a man entered an Atlanta courthouse wearing shackles and jail clothes, but when they took the shackles off, he began a road to infamy that resulted in four or five people being killed. Thank God the jury wasn’t biased by jail clothes and shackles.

Even though no one ever really doubted the guilt of the courtroom killer and the Byron cop killer, the media kept calling them “alleged” or “accused.” They played the insane of “don’t make bad guys look too bad.” On the courtroom killer case, Charles Richardson wound up writing an editorial explaining this idiocy.

The killers I’ve mentioned, though guilty, will receive free food, clothing, medical care and entertainment throughout their life sentences. Though guilty, they most likely will never have to plead for their life.

Though guilty, they may never feel the sting of a bullet or blade ripping through their skin. It seems so wrong to me that killers, though guilty, are alive while the courtroom victims, Lauren Giddens, and the Byron police, though innocent, are not alive.

‘School poor’

This letter comments on an article from May 31, which stated that schools could be an issue as to why Macon isn’t getting its fair share of economic growth in Georgia. “House poor” is when a family becomes burdened by spending too much discretionary income on housing. Macon may be “school poor.”

Macon has 17 private schools which serve 4,867 students, with average annual tuition of $11,398 per student. That totals $55,474,066 per year that families spend on private schools. That money does not go into the Macon economy for merchandise, services, new cars, restaurants and the like.

By combining the current private and public schools, Macon could have the finest public schools in Georgia; which would better educate and uplift the whole community. In addition, the city might be more attractive to new businesses and families if the extra burden of private school tuition was not an issue.

However, there are some in the community who don’t care for diversity, and if private schools went away, all kids would go to school together. Sadly, Macon’s obsession for homogeneity comes with a cost.

Over the 13-year span of educating private school students, Macon families each shell out $148,174. That’s an aggregate of $721,162,868 for education already paid for through school taxes. The Macon economy could benefit from that money over the course of those years, but instead the community has become “school poor.”

Fly safe but look up

Linda Morris wrote a good staff article in the June 1 issue of The Telegraph. It was about an agreement to “..better serve Robins..” by working on opportunities to enhance Middle Georgia Regional Airport with aircraft overflow work from Robins. Cool. But the Middle Georgia runways are smack on departure/approach headings for Robins’ runways.

Firstly, expanding our county airfield runway and advertising overflow work to Middle Georgia does not guarantee larger and more aircraft will come to fill the current, or to be built, jet maintenance facilities.

Secondly, get this, any BRAC (military base closure commission) will look unfavorably with increased airspace interferences like the conflicts that arriving and departing aircraft have with each other between Middle Georgia and Robins. Lastly, Georgia Power is going to build a solar panel farm between Robins and Middle Georgia.

I ask, as a retired pilot from Robins, and as a past airspace manager of one of the units down there, what interference will the solar array have on the ILS or localizer hertz and megahertz transmitted narrow-beams for the approach to runway 15 at Robins? Will there be any anomalies to aircraft instrumentation using that critical procedure to land in bad weather or even with use of the VORTAC at Middle Georgia that Robins aircrews use?

So, folks, building big hangars will not guarantee jets coming in. Plus, what work will they take from the Robins logistics workload giving us a black-eye in the eyes of BRAC? Also, look-up, the real threat is in the air when BRAC does come around with possible airspace conflicts and navigation issues to aircrews.

‘Widow makers’

Connie Abel’s letter to editor asks that citizens take responsibility relating to the danger posed by pine trees killed by pine beetles during our recent drought. Property owners have been removing dead pines during recent months with much of this work delayed for months due to many of our local tree removal companies working on the Georgia coast clearing storm damage, now completed.

“Mr. Brook does not want a tree cut down, Macon to the Mississippi River,” as I, was once described at P&Z, had 11 trees removed. Eighteen months ago I observed a leaning tall live pine, obviously without a tap root, at the corner of South Nancelon Circle at Corbin Avenue endangering overhead power lines and called Georgia Power. They evidently talked with the property owner, cut the tree, leaving it on the ground for the owner to handle, as I observed during the next car trip, another example of cooperative utility engagement.

I suggest consideration be given to an “active” task force under county leadership and utilities along roads right of ways with property owners regarding dead pines. The county, claiming control of right of ways should, in fairness, participate in the removal of these trees, setting an example to encourage removal of all of the dangerous trees on private property by property owners. Connie Abel has brought attention to the community about a danger that should encourage removal of potential “widow makers” (logger’s vernacular).

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, June 9, 2017."