Small Town News

Comments, opinions on the weeks news

---

Judging from comments made by Forsyth City council aspirants and comments in the Vent of this newspaper, there is/are concern(s) about the Forsyth Police Department, particularly in regards to the upcoming retirement of the present chief and who will be the chosen one to wear the scrambled egg on his (maybe a her) hat.

Each of the council candidates have been asked "how would you rate the Forsyth police department and what could be done to improve it?" Their answers have been evasive with no commitment as to what needs to be done. In other words, nothing definitive.

In my opinion, the Forsyth Police Department should be the best in the state as well as in the whole U.S. Why? Well, I'll put it another way: They should be the most trained and qualified from the chief down to the underpaid patrol officers and staff.

Each member of the department should not only be given the opportunity but also required to take courses offered at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. According to my sources, the Forsyth Police Department has not capitalized on the opportunities the GPSTC has to offer to become the best.

Maybe who ever is going to be the next chief, he/she will require the officers to take courses and training to become the best. My comment is the Forsyth Police Department has ignored the training and continuing training GPSTC has to offer!

YOU KNOW, we've got Save-A-Pet which does a great job in rescuing, saving and offering for adoption stray and unwanted dogs. Just in case you didn't know, we've got another organization that is attempting to make us aware by stating, "We Can No Longer Turn Our Backs On Forsyth's Stray Cats". That's right, stray cats and the Forsyth Feline Fund is attempting do to something about the cat problem in Forsyth.

According to the Fund brochure, "stray cats have tough lives. Some were born wild and some have lost their homes. Most have hot been spayed or neutered". Their first challenge should be to come up with a solution as to how a stray cat can be caught. Maybe their fund will include cat traps. Veterinarian Dr. Kevin Smith is a sponsor of the fund. Wonder what his solution to the cat problem is. Let me know Dr. Smith.

LAST WEEK'S county commission meeting has to go on record as the shortest in commission history. After starting five minutes past the hour, the motion for adjournment was made, seconded and approved after only 18 minutes. They did go into 5-minute executive session to discuss land acquisition.

Before calling it quits for the night, there was discussion about purchasing an advertisement in an upcoming issue of Georgia Trend magazine that will "feature" Monroe County. Four of the They-Think-They-Are-The-Fabulous-Five voted to spend $1,000 of our money to participate in an ad purchase. The original request for the ad brought this comment by the chairman: "That's pretty rich for my blood" which was met by nods and yeahs.

I'M GONNA change my comment when I am asked, "Where are you from?" My reply has always been, Forsyth, Monroe County, Georgia, further explaining, "south of Atlanta, north of Macon on 1-75". That reply usually gets a response of "yes, I know where Macon is".

After last week's Forbes magazine report that rated Macon seventh out of the 10 worst urban areas in the U.S. for poverty, I'm not gonna use Macon as a reference point to where I live. I'll just reference just south of Atlanta on 1-75. Macon lost out to Albany which garnered the No. 4 spot in the nation for poverty.

Maybe all the poverty in Macon is being created because those who have money moved or are moving out, like into south Monroe County. You know, the Bolingacons and North Maconites. They are the same one who live in Monroe County, work in Macon and complain about the high property taxes and property appraisals in Monroe County.

SINCE Bibb County has in essence necessitated our They-Think-They-Are-The-Fabulous-Five to fork over our tax money to hire an outside attorney to get what they think is rightfully ours in the county line dispute, we should send Bibb County a bill for attorney's fee.

Donald Jackson Daniel is the founder and former publisher of The Reporter. He encourages your comments by e-mail at tullay-bear@bellsouth.net. He insures your privacy when requested.



Copyright 2009 The Monroe County Reporter, Forsyth, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 The Monroe County Reporter Forsyth, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from The Monroe County Reporter