Letters to the Editor

We have the technology to reclaim items from the Titanic on the bottom of the ocean. We have the technology to remove crude oil from the ocean.

Surely, there is the technology to remove the sediment and reclaim Lake Helen without tearing everything up.

As a citizen of Gothenburg, I say “No” to the current plan and “No downsizing” of Lake Helen, either!

I would like to move past Joe Knoedler’s statement (02-22-12) that President Obama “...sounds like someone who understands the middle class...” The problem is, Obama says something almost everyday that proves Knoedler’s statement to be utter nonsense. Whenever the community organizer gets in front of a crowd of drooling sycophants and goes off teleprompter (TOTUS), we find out what he really thinks.

In Roanoke, VA, speaking about how nothing can be achieved without government, he said “If you’ve got a business--you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Outraged business owners nationwide expressed their displeasure with his statement. His understanding seems to be somewhat lacking for “middle class” job creators. I am not surprised by what he said.

After observing Obama for years, I follow three rules. If he speaks out against something others are doing, he is doing it himself. If he proposes something I disagree with, take it to the bank. If he says something I agree with, he is lying. This works virtually without fail.

When Republicans came out with ads highlighting what he said, he replied with the same lame claim that he was taken out of context. However, if you read/listen to all of what he said, the “context” just makes it worse.

Now he’s on a “I love the middle class” tour, burning up millions of tax dollars for jet fuel on the way to his next fundraiser. At over 185 events (the combined total of five previous presidents), some are saying “... he is far more dedicated to raising money and winning re-election than to performing the actual job for which he was elected...”

Now is the time he’ll begin his move to the right (as in 2008) to make voters believe as he says “...I would wake up every single morning...” (at 10 a.m.) “... thinking about you and fighting as hard as I knew how to make your life a little bit better.”

Never mind the fact that he and his party have driven us into such massive debt, we may never recover. Because Obama has no economic accomplishments he can run on, he is pointing to the days of Clinton (turning deficits into surplus). Referring to them as “my theories” and “our plan.”

I am all in favor of returning to that. After two years of failing Democrat policies, Clinton began adopting Republican ideas to cut spending and deficits, cut taxes (capital gains, fueling an investment and stock market boom), deregulation (stimulating innovation and competition) and welfare reform that Clinton said would “...break the cycle of dependency that has existed for millions...” How can Obama claim that he wants to return to that when he opposes every single one of those points?

If re-elected he can go back to being the most divisive, anti-sovereignty, anti-gun rights, anti-free speech and religion, big government, wealth re-distributing, partisan hack ever elected president. At the same time showing his understanding for the middle class of course.

I recorded a video in June of Gothenburg’s Pony Express and it’s now posted on YouTube. It was part of my family’s 6,000 miles coast-to-coast summer road trip. LouAnn Houchin (who works at the Pony Express Station) is simply an outstanding station master. I’ll be looking forward to her visiting me in Flowery Branch, GA, about 3,000 miles southeast from y’all. Here’s a link to the video: http://youtu.be/gSNhDOEI0mo.

Gothenburg City Council member Jeff Kennedy said to us at the “stakeholder’s input” special City Council meeting July 24 regarding the Lake Helen master plan, “Every council meeting is open and anyone can come.”

He’s right. I am urging any of you who are interested in the city to do just that. Council needs to be reminded periodically that the stakeholders in public projects are the taxpayer-owners. The city council listened patiently and all the various state entities present answered taxpayers’ questions patiently after holding their meeting without mics and talking quietly among themselves.

Some of the answers we got, however, were not helpful. When questioned about the cost of alternatives to filling in the north part of Lake Helen (probably draining and dredging), no one had asked for a proposal on that. Why not? We understand (now) that a project cannot be done without grant money, but that does not preclude pricing alternatives. At this point, the grant process needs to be handled immediately, within a week after the ‘’public input” meeting Aug. 7, and apparently the Department of Environmental Quality is making these decisions for the citizens of Gothenburg. Again, I urge us all to keep a better eye on our council’s actions.

Publishing a map containing “proposed future” elements for a filled-in Lake Helen was irresponsible at best, and was apparently put together with ideas and input from only the city administrator and the hired engineer with no taxpayer input, no public hearings and no city council approval. Setting up expectations for the myriad of hardscape projects (city administrator) Bruce (Clymer) thinks desirable without the steps of exploring better alternatives, compromises and best options for funding, etc., before publishing a visual is terrible government.

We have an excellent city council who should be delegating less of their leadership and policy-making decisions, especially the very sensitive area of land use.

My bottom line requests are: 1) Show up at the public input council meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 7 , and 2) Let the council know that you care what happens with your Lake Helen. Hopefully at this meeting council will use mics and talk to all of us, not just each other.