This is Viewpoints for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015
Keep the neighborhoods intact
We would like to make one last plea to Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission before it votes on the Zebulon Lofts proposal. Stone Edge and Ashford Park subdivisions are an integral part of the Zebulon Road corridor. Many of us have been here since the early 1980s and have contributed to the success of Kroger, Wal-Mart, Lowe's and the many eateries and banks. Zebulon Road, Bass Road and Forsyth Road are home to many middle class neighborhoods and families. Voting "yes" to allow this development could very well start a cascade that will change the complexion and composition of this area.
The Comprehensive Land Development Resolution was developed to guide the direction of growth or change for any community in Macon-Bibb County. Macon is not growing and is losing 700-plus citizens a year. The stable parts of this city-county are the neighborhoods. Macon's backbone right now are the well-maintained, stabilizing neighborhoods. Lose those and you lose. Macon loses. Endanger one and you endanger others and thwart the growth of others. We have many restaurants and room for more on vacant land already zoned for this purpose. Placing a development with four huge unsightly apartments and commercial out-parcels could possibly and probably ruin Stone Edge. Then what?
Going forward this sets a very bad precedent for the Zebulon Road corridor. Other single family homes and neighborhoods in this area would now be in jeopardy. A vote to allow this change would empower other developers (or the same) to build just for the sake of building.
This decision is not about a single exception. This would have a ripple effect and you must know this. Bass Road and Foster Road will be expanded one day. What proposals will you approve then? More apartments? More commercial endeavors? We barely have enough people for the ones we have now. The 25 acres on Zebulon Road are valuable, but not in the way SPP/Sierra envision. Their proposal will reduce the value of our neighborhood. Neighbors will leave, their homes will sell for less or sit vacant. Our value is in our consistency. Put a huge development next to us and who wants to live here? This is how blight starts. What will be put in our place?
Planning & Zoning has the opportunity to preserve the nature of this area now. The commissioners have a duty to exercise their wisdom and understand that this will not end well for the Zebulon Road corridor.
-- Diane Gambrell
Macon
Pssst, secret news
I know it must be a well-kept secret in Macon because I have not seen a word in print about it in The Telegraph and only a very tiny blip of a video on TV, but I am going to tell. We have, right here in Macon, Georgia -- wait for it -- a hockey team. They are the Macon Mayhem and they have been playing here for a couple of weeks. I am sure the public is largely unaware due to the lack of news and media coverage, but now that I have leaked the secret, I am sure the press will be delighted to expose this exciting news.
The next games will be here at the Macon Coliseum on Nov. 13, 14 and 15th at 7:30 p.m. If you and your family would like to see some entertaining, exciting and fast paced sport, head on down for a night of fun. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Hope to see you all there for this exciting and no longer secret news.
GO MAYHEM!
-- Laurie Faircloth
Juliette
Racial profiling problems
In Charles E. Richardson's column, "What would you do?" he exhibits his fairness in relation to school/student behavioral problems. Such has been occurring for many years and not just in Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina.
First let's look at Spring Valley High School, grades 9-12, that consist of 2,000 students with a 72 percent minority student body; a student/teacher ratio of 17-1, with 2015 graduation class of 479. I do not know how many of the 479 qualified for scholarships, but $44,195,468 was given in 2015. And as reported, the school's representatives want workers to mirror the students. In my opinion, this is part of the problem due to hiring workers based on race. That's racial profiling. No educational process or people involved should be based on race.
Now I wonder if the teacher had physically tried to remove the student, would the student have slapped and fought with the teacher; would she have fought with the principal? Would either the teacher or principal been fired. They dared not apply such force due to keeping their jobs so they played it smart and asked for security who forcefully removed the student, who lost his job and NAACP and FBI are investigating if civil rights have been violated due to a white officer versus a black student. The only violation of civil rights occurred with the black female student's disobedient behavior. She violated the civil rights of her fellow students who were there to learn.
Now take a look on page 2A "Black women having rough time with policing issues, too," which states according to a 2015 report, black girls were suspended from school six times as often as their white counterparts. Is it not clear with a school having a 72 percent minority population that it stands to reason there is a potential you would have more minority students misbehaving than white students?
Folks, misbehavior and criminal activity are based on each person's performance. So why are exceptions to laws, rules and regulations to be excluded based on race?
-- Faye W. Tanner
Macon
Oh, boy
Overheard following the blowout of UGA by Florida on Saturday:
1. Only Mark Richt could make Ray Goff look like a coaching genius.
2. Even the hated former UF and USC coach Steve Spurrier was seen to throw his visor several times watching the first half of inept plays by UGA at the game in Jacksonville.
3. The Ice Bowl scheduled for late December in Antarctica wants to match powerhouse football teams from UGA and Georgia State. Igloo stadium seating is available now.
4. Prized five-star 2016 recruit Ronnie Running Back explained that the blowout was due to a "major scheduling mix-up which saw Georgia State football players playing in the game disguised as UGA players in observance of Halloween.
5. Football players for UGA explained their recent reluctance to score touchdowns as follows: "We do not want to trample the nice manicured turf in the endzones."
And, how was your day?
-- Bill Curry
Macon
This story was originally published November 2, 2015 at 6:40 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 ."