This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Samaritan’s Closet

On behalf of the Perry Georgia Fuller Center for Housing, I’d like to encourage everyone, especially here in Perry, to join Samaritan’s Closet for the ribbon-cutting of their new location at 623 Courtney Hodges Blvd. on Saturday, Aug. 20. There will be food, fun and prizes as we celebrate the expanded facility and its new offerings.

Moreover, this will give everyone a chance to get reacquainted with a wonderful organization that serves the local community in two major ways: (1) Samaritan’s Closet offers gently used clothing for children and adults and household furnishings and other items at incredible prices, and (2) all proceeds go to benefit local nonprofits. In fact, Samaritan’s Closet has been the top provider of funds for our affordable housing ministry here in Perry, helping us partner with more than two dozen families on home repair projects.

Just like us, Samaritan’s Closet is staffed wholly by unpaid volunteers. They are serving this community purely out of kindness and concern for our neighbors. We hope you’ll join us at the revamped Samaritan’s Closet in Perry on August 20 and that you will support these hard-working folks who help organizations like ours increase our capacity to extend a helping hand to those in need. You can call Samaritan’s Closet at (478) 224-6199.

Free lunch?

Years ago my father taught me that there is no free lunch. Then I read the article in The Telegraph Friday entitled “Ga. could gain billions by expanding Medicare.” Nowhere in the article to include the various studies is it mentioned that taxpayers pay for the additional expenditures. While it looks great and feels fine to gain billions of dollars, exactly where does the money come from? Ditto for free college, as well as all of the other entitlement programs.

We have a bad problem if every article about gaining money only paints one side of the picture. Pretty soon this country will run out of money. Nineteen trillion dollars and counting does not inspire confidence in the future, expecially when The Telegraph and other publications forget that there is no free lunch.

Troubling decisions

The assault upon private ownership of existing residential neighborhoods, especially those of R-1AAA zoning, continues based upon the lawsuit ruling by a Bibb Superior Court judge against a north Macon homeowners association.

The court’s reportedly apparent reliance on a planned buffer area to be preserved and Planning & Zoning oversight negated the assertion of potential loss of existing home values is particularly troubling considering the history of buffer failures and development proximity exposed over the years. (The court has knowledge of law history to rely upon, but the reported basis indicates naivete in this area of development that has been created in Bibb, revealed by time.

I am not alone in my decades long opinion that proposed existing or new buffers between developments and existing residential properties are better described as illusions best seen on pretty color drawings only to be lost over time, sometimes quite short. Time confirms this. (I have driven by one such buffered development multiple times a month for years, a perfect example of flawed intention bearing out what I testified would happen before P&Z prior to approval.)

I regret that I correctly predicted the end result of this development, as an example, and the more grievous approval of a landfill in east Bibb that I fought against while I was a P&Z commissioner now resulting in “every Bibb property owner” now paying some of the landfill’s taxes each year due to property-assessment reductions correctly given by the board of tax assessors to nearby residential property owners impacted by the landfill’s proximity. (This was a personal evaluation made several years ago when I was on a board of equalization to study the impact on taxes. I passed this information to then P&Z Chairman Damon King for dissemination to serving commissioners.)

An unbiased person can understand my frustration when I read similar Telegraph articles citing decisions by P&Z commissioners or a jurist. I am not clairvoyant, but my eighth decade does not mean I am unable to reason. It shows a large reservoir of experience and knowledge. Living long enough validates or allows further education.

I will not go into the flawed land revaluation in Bibb by BOA years ago, quietly swept under the rug, that cost me and other R-1A property owners additional taxes.

Blame

When there is a bombing, we blame the bomber. When there is a drunk driving fatality, we blame he drunk driver. Why, then, when there is a shooting, we blame the gun?

It’s the sign’s fault

I was in a large medical complex, and near the check-in counter was a sign stating guns are not allowed. Newsflash to all businesses: Criminals do not abide by laws, policies, regulatory signs, etc. What does that mean? Criminals who want to rob or murder a bunch of people will seek out businesses who post “No Firearms Allowed” signs. Why? Because most law-abiding citizens will adhere to the businesses’ policies, which means a killer could ruin the day of a lot more people since there might not be a hero citizen, who violated the no gun policy, to shoot the killer dead.

James Holmes, the mass murderer in the Colorado movie theater (12 dead and 58 injured) passed theaters closer to his home and chose one where signs were specifically posted that no guns were allowed. I really believe any business or organization that specifies no guns allowed is doing an exceptionally grave disservice to its customers. In other words, the business only wants your money and couldn’t care a less if you become a victim of a crazy killer.

Prize fight

I went to watch a fight on Friday night. In the middle of the fight an AFGE meeting broke out.