This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
Our County Commissioners have committed themselves to a more aggressive approach to reducing the percentage of dirt roads in Jackson County. They are now struggling with devising a method of defining road paving priorities, and funding these projects in a manner that fairly allocates the improvements between the five county districts.
As a beginning step to the process, road priorities were determined by a formula that used population density, traffic estimates, and location as criteria. This rating process seems to be appropriate and has developed a procedure for determining which roads would seem to justify paving first. Based on this data, each Commissioner has defined the road in his district that will be the first priority for paving. This is where the paving issue rests at this time.
However, the situation is not as clear cut and easily defined as it would appear. Initially, the board discussed using miles of new pavement as the criteria, with each commissioner and his district being allowed five miles of pavement in the first paving cycle. This approach soon raised the discussion about funding differences, since five miles of new paving on one road might cost much more than five miles on a different road. This cost per mile difference can be caused by differences in the condition of existing road beds, culvert requirements, soil differences, and terrain differences.
Because of these factors, it would appear that an approach which provides equitable allocation of a stated amount of paving funds for each district is the most appropriate system. I hope that this issue can be quickly resolved so that we see some paving underway this summer.
The one cent sales tax revenues which are supposed to be used for paving, historically have amounted to approximately $2,000,000 per year. It would appear to be prudent for the Commissioners to enter into a short term, five year loan agreement for each paving cycle. This would involve creating a $10,000,000 loan which would be retired over the next five years from the $2,000,000 per year revenues. Then each district would be given $2,000,000 from the loan proceeds and a paving project could begin simultaneously in each district. The interest involved in the cost of the loan would be offset by the savings in paving cost from inflationary cost increases during the five years. This approach will work and in my opinion (as well as other citizens), is the approach that the commissioners should approve and use.
ISSUE FOR DISCUSSION #2
You Can Be "Politically Correct" and Still Be Very Wrong
I am writing this part of the column on President’s Day. I just finished taking my grandson Ryan to school, I am now looking across the street as people come in and out of the court house, while down the street businesses are open and doing normal business. A couple of weeks ago it was Martin Luther King’s birthday and all county schools were closed, the court house "crats" were all at home enjoying one of their eleven holidays, and many of the businesses were closed. I think we have our priorities seriously out of whack in our efforts to be "politically correct".
If King’s birthday is a historical date worthy of closing our schools and public offices, while our "President’s Day", is not deserving of that much recognition…then we are indirectly stating that Martin Luther King was a greater patriot than all of the President’s combined. That perception is flawed, and so are the political motives that are creating this difference in our levels of recognition. We are being "Historically Incorrect" in our efforts to be "Politically Correct".
Do not get me wrong. I believe that Martin Luther King demonstrated great wisdom, foresight, and courage as he forced this nation away from a system of social injustice that was in direct contradiction to the principles upon which this nation was founded. It is appropriate that we recognize his great service to his race and our national ethic.
However, George Washington refused to become our King and implemented our democracy and a system of peaceful transfer of power from president to president. Abraham Lincoln had the courage to abolish a terrible system of human slavery, President Roosevelt led this nation out of the depths of economic despair during the Great Depression, and then provided the needed leadership to lead our nation to a final victory in World War II, and many, many other Presidents have provided great, lasting services to our nation. We can not allow their contributions and sacrifices to be diminished or ignored.
The truth to the situation is our politicians are using their proclaimed support of the Martin Luther King holiday as a political ploy in an effort to "buy" the black vote. It is a transparent, shallow political scheme that should be recognized for what it is by all voters. In my opinion, we should properly recognize both holidays by closure of schools and public offices…..or neither. And while we are evaluating these things, we should throw in Veterans Day as another equally qualified event.
I understand that schools are closed for Presidents Day in other counties across the State, so it must be a policy determined by local school boards and school administrators. I encourage you to begin to correct these inequities by encouraging your elected school officials and your City and County officials to get their priorities in order. Do this and you will be helping us to "Get It Right".
Our County Commissioners have committed themselves to a more aggressive approach to reducing the percentage of dirt roads in Jackson County. They are now struggling with devising a method of defining road paving priorities, and funding these projects in a manner that fairly allocates the improvements between the five county districts.
As a beginning step to the process, road priorities were determined by a formula that used population density, traffic estimates, and location as criteria. This rating process seems to be appropriate and has developed a procedure for determining which roads would seem to justify paving first. Based on this data, each Commissioner has defined the road in his district that will be the first priority for paving. This is where the paving issue rests at this time.
However, the situation is not as clear cut and easily defined as it would appear. Initially, the board discussed using miles of new pavement as the criteria, with each commissioner and his district being allowed five miles of pavement in the first paving cycle. This approach soon raised the discussion about funding differences, since five miles of new paving on one road might cost much more than five miles on a different road. This cost per mile difference can be caused by differences in the condition of existing road beds, culvert requirements, soil differences, and terrain differences.
Because of these factors, it would appear that an approach which provides equitable allocation of a stated amount of paving funds for each district is the most appropriate system. I hope that this issue can be quickly resolved so that we see some paving underway this summer.
The one cent sales tax revenues which are supposed to be used for paving, historically have amounted to approximately $2,000,000 per year. It would appear to be prudent for the Commissioners to enter into a short term, five year loan agreement for each paving cycle. This would involve creating a $10,000,000 loan which would be retired over the next five years from the $2,000,000 per year revenues. Then each district would be given $2,000,000 from the loan proceeds and a paving project could begin simultaneously in each district. The interest involved in the cost of the loan would be offset by the savings in paving cost from inflationary cost increases during the five years. This approach will work and in my opinion (as well as other citizens), is the approach that the commissioners should approve and use.
ISSUE FOR DISCUSSION #2
You Can Be "Politically Correct" and Still Be Very Wrong
I am writing this part of the column on President’s Day. I just finished taking my grandson Ryan to school, I am now looking across the street as people come in and out of the court house, while down the street businesses are open and doing normal business. A couple of weeks ago it was Martin Luther King’s birthday and all county schools were closed, the court house "crats" were all at home enjoying one of their eleven holidays, and many of the businesses were closed. I think we have our priorities seriously out of whack in our efforts to be "politically correct".
If King’s birthday is a historical date worthy of closing our schools and public offices, while our "President’s Day", is not deserving of that much recognition…then we are indirectly stating that Martin Luther King was a greater patriot than all of the President’s combined. That perception is flawed, and so are the political motives that are creating this difference in our levels of recognition. We are being "Historically Incorrect" in our efforts to be "Politically Correct".
Do not get me wrong. I believe that Martin Luther King demonstrated great wisdom, foresight, and courage as he forced this nation away from a system of social injustice that was in direct contradiction to the principles upon which this nation was founded. It is appropriate that we recognize his great service to his race and our national ethic.
However, George Washington refused to become our King and implemented our democracy and a system of peaceful transfer of power from president to president. Abraham Lincoln had the courage to abolish a terrible system of human slavery, President Roosevelt led this nation out of the depths of economic despair during the Great Depression, and then provided the needed leadership to lead our nation to a final victory in World War II, and many, many other Presidents have provided great, lasting services to our nation. We can not allow their contributions and sacrifices to be diminished or ignored.
The truth to the situation is our politicians are using their proclaimed support of the Martin Luther King holiday as a political ploy in an effort to "buy" the black vote. It is a transparent, shallow political scheme that should be recognized for what it is by all voters. In my opinion, we should properly recognize both holidays by closure of schools and public offices…..or neither. And while we are evaluating these things, we should throw in Veterans Day as another equally qualified event.
I understand that schools are closed for Presidents Day in other counties across the State, so it must be a policy determined by local school boards and school administrators. I encourage you to begin to correct these inequities by encouraging your elected school officials and your City and County officials to get their priorities in order. Do this and you will be helping us to "Get It Right".
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