07.21 Ledger 01 - The Cherokee Ledger-News

JULY 21, 2010 OPINION THE CHEROKEE LEDGER-NEWS 7
LETTERS
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Feds need to stay out of businesses
Dear Editor,
Regarding the recent editorial,
"Unemployed need federal help,”
by Carolyn Mathews (July 7), I
could not help but notice how her
family and so many others are
falling into the Obama trap of government
dependence.
My heart goes out to her and her
family, but one thing we must never
forget is that the federal government
does not create private sector
jobs.
The vibrant economy that she
and her husband, as well as mil-
lions of Americans, are depending
on to lift them back to prosperity requires
a strong private sector and
the nanny state off of our backs.
This scenario of prosperity will
never recur until the feds get out of
the private sector and off of the
backs of small business and out of
our pocketbooks.
The current administration is
growing the federal government at
record pace at the expense and destruction
of private business and
creating and endless dependency
on Uncle Sam.
This is socialism at its finest. Un-
Tell Cherokee what you think.
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til the federal government gets out
of the private sector and allows it to
flourish, she and her husband may
never see prosperity again.
I know that reality does not immediately
help her family situation
but the bigger picture must be
looked at or this nation will never
again grow out of the depths the
current socialist chief is taking us.
The America you knew is being
intentionally destroyed from the
inside. Wake up folks.
Mark Walters
Holly Springs
Cherokee schools are fortunate
Dear Editor,
Recently a letter (“We need collaborative
leadership,” July 7)
written by the chairman of the
Cherokee County Republican party
addressed a forum in which Dr.
Frank Petruzielo, Cherokee County
school superintendent, and
State Sen. Chip Rogers participated.
The chairman praised Sen.
Rogers’ presentation but went into
a tirade criticizing Dr. Petruzielo's
comments and participation. It
seems that the superintendent and
Sen. Rogers, as well as other legislators
in the Cherokee state delegation
have had some disagreements.
Sen. Rogers and others postulate
that expanded vouchers and charter
schools would be good for
Cherokee County. Dr. Petruzielo is
not in complete agreement and has
repeatedly stated as much.
Charter school proposals have
been evaluated and have not met
minimum district requirements.
Unfortunately, with support of
Sen. Rogers, the state legislature
has granted the state the power to
usurp local discretion and place
charter schools in any district. In
addition, the district must provide
funding for the default charter
school.
With a proven record, the management
and operation of the
Cherokee school system under Dr.
Petruzielo has been outstanding,
actually remarkable.
Obviously that is due to his leadership,
competency of staff, teaching
excellence and parent involvement.
Testing results confirm the
school system's outstanding performance.
So what is the beef ? Is it
ideological? Probably.
The party chairman mentions
expanding vouchers to foster children
and children of military families.
Why?
These children can be accommodated
very well without vouchers
in existing schools. Likewise, a
charter school that duplicates services
already available is a waste of
money. With state education funding
reductions, it is strange that
county legislators would propose
adding more costs to local school
districts.
This, of course, is in addition to
the costs that have been previously
shifted from the state to local jurisdictions.
It is interesting to note
that profits from private charter
school ownership could leave the
state. That money would normally
be spent on Cherokee kids.
It is my understanding that Dr.
Petruzielo is recognized in education
circles for his outstanding organizational,
management and innovative
skills. Whenever school
superintendents get together, his
consultation is sought on a wide
range of topics. Indeed, Cherokee
County is truly fortunate.
Unnecessary political interference
with the operation of school
systems can be detrimental to students
and parents as well as to the
entire state.
Jerry Hulshult
Canton
People wear flag to be patriotic
Dear Editor,
I am curious if the person writing
the letter about the Flag Code
(“Revisit the Flag Code,” July 7)
and all its specifics and intricate legal
wording understands some
very basic things like: Do they
know how many hundreds of
thousands of police, firefighters,
sheriff’s deputies, highway patrol
officers and the hundreds of thousands
of Boy Scouts that wear a
flag as part of their uniform? What
about the military men and
women who wear a U.S. Flag patch
and millions of Americans all over
the country, who wear T-shirts
with a flag on it for the Fourth of
July? Furthermore, what about all
the politicians who wear a flag pin
on the lapel of their jackets?
They are not wearing the flag in
some manner to break some ethics
or legal code; they wear the flag to
be patriotic.
This person needs to spend time
worrying about something of real
importance that has a very bad impact
on society like crime, corruption
in government, badly failing
schools, jobs being permanently
moved out of the United States, terrorism
and the economy in general,
instead of looking as deeply as
possible into a code that no person
really cares about because they are
too busy being patriotic.
I think if the person who wrote
this letter went up to an American
service man or woman, or if they
had the bad luck of telling a special
operation forces person that they
can’t wear the American flag on
their uniform, they might not be
able walk away.
Just some food for thought: On
Oct. 1, 2005, the U.S. Flag was made
a mandatory component of all soldiers
uniforms.
Geoff Bewley
Woodstock
Gypsum isn’t the mold problem
Dear Editor,
As a registered architect in Georgia
since 1986, I can assure you that
two layers of gypsum board
(Sheetrock is a brand name of the
USG Corporation for that product,
so be sure that is the brand that was
used before calling it that) is not by
itself a "no, no" and would not
cause mold to develop in the Holly
Springs Municipal Building. The
building inspector should have a
set of architectural construction
documents on file for the project.
A wall or column with multiple
layers of gypsum board may be de-
signed that way to provide fire protection
to the structure based on
the required construction type for
the building and occupancy, and
will have an Underwriters Laboratory
(UL) number assigned to its
construction. It is also permissible
to have three or four layers of gypsum
board in order to meet certain
fire ratings. Removing layers from
a UL design is a code violation.
A sound rated wall may also have
multiple layers of gypsum board
based on the sound transmission
class (STC) that was required for
partitions in the building. Removing
layers will reduce the sound re-
duction ability of the wall.
Mold will only grow if you find
three things present: moisture, a
food source (paper on the
Sheetrock) and the right temperature.
Gypsum board can get wet
and then dry out and not grow mold
if the moisture source is removed.
It might be stained, but that is not
mold. They either have an actual
water leak, infiltration of humid
air through unsealed cracks, or
need dehumidification from the air
conditioning system.
Frank Pudysz
Woodstock
• To the person who said we need
to drug test welfare and the unemployed,
do think this is Russia or
something? We’re not Communists.
• It would be so nice if people
were educated when they spoke to
the Soapbox. American-made
cars are made with foreign parts.
Foreign cars are made in America.
So whatever you’re talking
about, study first before opening
your mouth.
• If the Cherokee County school
system wants to get to where they
won’t have furlough days and layoffs,
they should cut teachers’ pay
by $10,000 a year. They make entirely
too much money the way it
is now.
• If you don’t own an American
vehicle, then you’re not American
and you should be deported.
• I want America back. Let’s
adopt the Arizona law.
• How about some good news for
a change? From the people of Cobblestone,
we would like to thank
Vivian Phillips for being such a
good neighbor.
• To the crews who repaired Fate
Conn Road and the supervisor
who oversaw them: Come back
and look again. You missed more
holes than you hit.
• To the person with the flea
problem: My house is seven years
old, and I am inundated with fleas
this year. Where are they coming
from? I have no pets, no kids. They
are driving me crazy. I’m elderly
and tired … how do I get rid of
them? Please help me.
• I would like to thank the city of
Ball Ground for putting up all the
American flags on Main Street.
They look good.
• Fireworks, we’ve overdone it
again. It’s like World War II in the
neighborhood.
• The question you guys asked
about the worst roads in Canton, I
wish you had put my picture in
the paper. Those people must not
have driven on Knox Bridge Highway
from Canton to Cartersville.
• To the person who asked where
the boiled peanuts man at the
Chevron is, he has since moved to
Eagle Drive and Bells Ferry.
• Hey retiree, when you wake
up ill, grumpy and crabby, ya’ll
come down to the senior center in
Woodstock. We’ll have you happy
as a lark in no time.
• The post office plans on raising
stamp prices by 2 cents to make up
for revenue lost by less people
mailing letters. Yeah, that ought
to help.
• My heart goes out to the Goforth
family. I read in the July 7 issue
about the car accident in
which the family lost their son,
Josh. Having almost lost a daughter
in a car accident, we feel very
sad for this family. God bless you.
• There are usually a couple of
Dr. P bashing vents in the Ledger
every week; but this last one about
his bottled water really got to me.
He has a right to get his bottled
water delivered to him. Who are
these people bashing him? Do
they just hide outside his house in
the bushes?
• Yes I saw the Ledger dated June
23, 2010. I read it every week. If
you hate me because I don’t hate
people because of what they look
like or where they come from, that
is your right to do so.
• Nobody is saying that people
who get government assistance
are already doing drugs. However,
to get that government check they
should be willing to undergo random
drug testing just like I do at
my job.
• I was coming from the cemetery
on East Cherokee, and I hit
something on the road that caused
a flat tire. Within minutes of
pulling over, a fire truck stopped
and the firefighter changed my
SOAPBOX
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tire. Thank you Ball Ground firefighter
from truck No. 2 for changing
my tire and being so courteous.
• OK all you freeloaders: What
one person receives without
working for, another person must
work for, without receiving. It’s
that simple.
• I cannot believe how some parents
let their kids come snatch the
candy right in front of my little
girl’s seat at the parade. It’s unbelievable.
• How come every time I call the
child support office up in Canton
it’s always busy? It doesn’t matter
what time of day it is. Are they
just trying to avoid talking to people?
• To the editor, please get rid of
Rich and Joyce. I can’t stand their
crossword puzzles any longer.
• If most of the people believe
that our present problems, economic
or otherwise, are caused by
Obama and the Democrats, what
happens when they realize voting
in another majority party doesn’t
solve the problems overnight?
There is no quick fix to these problems
at the voting booths.
• Seems to me that the people
who say "I want my country back"
really want to take us backwards.
• I lost one to drugs. Please keep
these numbers. You may call in
drug tips anonymously to (770)
345- 7920, or may speak to an agent
by calling (770) 704-2350.
• Went to Cherokee County to
get my business license and the
woman didn’t know how to do it. I
asked for the manager, and she
said she was the manager. What a
joke.
• Here we go again with the
Woodstock Senior Center. Why
can no one stop for a treat when
one person doesn’t want to? Majority
rules; not one pompous person.
• Thank you to the city of Woodstock
for the wonderful Independence
Day fireworks display and
to the police department for monitoring
the traffic flow afterward.
It was awesome and we thank you.
• You can always count on the
Ledger-News to print it and publish
it for all the world to read
about.
• If you drive a foreign car made
in American by Americans, it still
makes you un-American. Try
driving an American car.
• If children come first at Johnston
Elementary, where are they?
Why does the principal and PTA
have their own pictures in the paper
and posted at the school? Let’s
see the children.
• I don’t think it’s fair people on
welfare, food stamps and unemployment
can use drugs. I work 10
hours a day and am tested and
cannot use drugs. That’s not fair.
• The reason why smokers
nowadays flick their cigarettes
out the window is because car
makers don’t put ashtrays in cars
anymore.
• To the person complaining
about the Holly Springs City
Council spending $150,000 on
bridge enhancements, they have
to spend the tax revenue they’re
collecting on 575 for something.
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