By Foy Evans
A lot is going on as we enter the shortest month of the year. Here’s my take on some of the issues and events affecting us in Houston County:
n Centerville’s mayor and council are dead serious about dealing with signs in the city. They are tackling the problem before it gets out of hand with an ordinance that will have teeth. One commendable action is a decision not to issue permits for billboards in Centerville. When I was mayor of Warner Robins about 25 years ago we had a moratorium on permits for billboards. Somehow in the intervening years the problem has gotten out of hand.
n Payday lenders may have enough clout in the Georgia Legislature to get a recently enacted ban on their outlandish interest rates rescinded. Military personnel and civilians least able to afford their interest rates are the victims. They need protection. I have been told that our Representatives will use their votes to protect victims of payday lending.
n Hospitals are required to receive certificates of need to add patient beds and other facilities, including operating rooms. Some doctors are asking the Legislature to do away with this policy, claiming that it would create more competition and lower prices. Hospitals, on the whole, oppose removing the certificate-of-need requirement. They contend, and rightfully so, that privately owned surgery centers would siphon off business from hospitals and would not result in less expensive procedures. One thing is certain: If this policy is abandoned Houston Healthcare will find itself with financial problems as privately owned surgery centers cherry pick their patients. End result:
Taxpayers could be called on to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to pay for indigent care patients whose costs the hospitals no longer would be able to absorb.
n School vouchers for disabled students to attend private schools sounds like a good idea to many people. A bill in the Legislature would give parents $9,000 each school year to be used to pay for these disabled students to attend private schools. It could be the first leak in the dam and eventually lead to vouchers for other students, something that would be a disaster for public schools. Legislators should think long and hard before they go down this road.
n A friend who is a land developer complained to me that the Houston County Development Authority is about to run out of land to lure industries to our county and, according to this developer, they are not acquiring more land. Realistically, ours never will be a real industrial county. Bibb County has the land, the money, the location and the connections to be the leader in Middle Georgia. One good thought: I rode up Interstate 75 a few days ago and it looks like Bibb County has big plans for the area around the new Sara Lee distribution center. I’ll wager that a large number of people who wind up working in that area will prefer to drive 10 or 15 minutes to work from homes in Houston County.
Nothing is going to stop growth in Houston County in the near future. We have too much to offer.
n President Bush has issued a stern warning to Iran. They must be quaking in their boots.
n Sen. Joe Biden, when announcing that he will be a candidate for President of the United States, complimented one of his opponents — Sen. Barak Obama. One attribute he attributed to Obama was that he is “articulate”, which he is. Obama took offense. This reminds me of the Warner Robins city councilman who was seeking reelection many years ago.
The local newspaper referred to him as the “incumbent”. The councilman charged into the newspaper and angrily told reporters to “never call me by that name again.”
n If the Legislature does go through with the proposal to give parents $9,000 a year to enroll their handicapped children in private schools, the private schools better beware. If they accept government money they will lose their autonomy and be subjected to government intervention.
