The Cobb EMC Board of Directors voted to call off the wedding with Plant Washington Tuesday after a four year engagement which involved a swollen budget, court actions, 35 indictments, and in the end, a realization that this marriage was a bad idea from the beginning.
Cobb EMC owner members have demonstrated that it is possible to regain control of a co-op, and Tuesday's decision in favor of better fiscal action reflects that. Washington EMC members are urged to call their board member and the office on Wednesday and tell them, "NOT ANOTHER DOLLAR ON PLANT WASHINGTON! GET OUT NOW!"
The timing is uncanny. Last week I filled out the "permission form" so I can attend the board meeting of the co-op where I am an owner. That's kind of like asking your first grader if you can see the report card because you are the parent. I asked to attend (the board doesn't believe in members attending the regular meetings and participating in the co-op we own) the meeting by filling out a form and explaining exactly why I wanted to be there.
Fortunately the CEO and Board agreed I could be there, along with two other co-op members and an energy expert, who happens to be a Cobb EMC member. Tomorrow Mark Hackett, who is one of the nicest people anyone could ever wish to meet, will share information about pro forma cost and revenue estimates on projects like a coal plant.
That's especially handy because a V-P at Cobb EMC told the Marietta Daily Journal less than two weeks ago that there is no pro forma estimate for Plant Washington. Should the WEMC Board have any lingering doubts about the financial soundness of Plant Washington, or their legal obligation to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities on the members' behalf, if they listen with open minds and hearts they will see that there is no future in Dean Alford's no-bid Plant Washington.
So, to all the people who have spoken out against Plant Washington, and taken great risks in doing that, your bravery and moral fiber have helped bring us where we are today. For those who know this project is wrong for our community but haven't spoken out yet, there is a huge and important opportunity for you today.
Call the Washington EMC office at 478.552.2577 and tell them to VOTE TO QUIT PLANT WASHINGTON on Thursday, January 26. This plant will impact all citizens in the area and it is absolutely appropriate for anyone to call. If you are an EMC member call your Board Representative too and speak up.
There have never been any good reasons for Plant Washington to be pursued. There are no good reasons for Washington EMC and the citizens of Washington to worry about another dime being spent on it. STOP PLANT WASHINGTON NOW. SPEAK UP. DO WHAT IS RIGHT. This is the time. Don't worry about what you could have done or wish you had done. Do it now. Today.
Mike McDonald, District 1.......706–465–9414
Jeff Larksen, District 2...........706–444–7556
Joe Taylor, District 3..............478–452–7817
Bill Helton, District 4..............478-348-3078
Mildred Jackson, District 5.....478–552–9438
Chair Mike McCoy, District 6..478–552–0895
Ken Vickers, District 7............478–864–2459Washington EMC office.........478.552.2577
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Every taxpayer in Georgia should be furious with the DNR's latest stunt
Yesterday the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) used $35K of taxpayer dollars to restock the Ogeechee River after a massive 38K+ fish kill late in May. They have identified King Finishing, a private company, as the source for the pollution.
But it gets even worse-the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) inspected King Finishing and never discovered that they were dumping fire retardant chemicals into the river without a permit, for 5 years! EPD leaders, once they realized they were clearly caught with their pants down, set up a consent agreement (which isn't a fine or penalty, but rather money for a supplemental environmental project) for King Finishing to spend $1M on some unidentified project, which may in fact not even be connected to the damage done at the river.
To add to the insult to all Georgians, but particularly people fishing and swimming in the river, selling supplies to boaters and outdoors sportsmen, and wildlife supporters, King Finishing could have been fined $91M! But if the EPD inspected and failed to find the unpermitted dumping, how can it then turn around and punish the polluter to the full extent possible?
To further indicate just how bad oversight is across state departments, a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on factory farms revealed that the Agriculture Department isn't inspecting factory farms in the state and the EPD isn't finding the resulting pollution in rivers, streams, and lakes. Bert Langley with the EPD was quoted in the AJC, "We get very few complaints, which is typically our window into whether there are gross problems occurring,”
The AJC quoted Justine Thompson, Executive Director of GreenLaw, about the method, or lack thereof, of oversight: “If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If a farm is not inspected or looked at, does it have a violation?” Thompson said. “They are not inspecting these places. To unequivocally make a proclamation that places they’ve never seen are in compliance is inconceivable.”
Clearly the Emperor has no clothes, and doesn't have the sense to figure out where or how to get some.
 |
| Dead fish in the Ogeechee, May 2011 |
To add to the insult to all Georgians, but particularly people fishing and swimming in the river, selling supplies to boaters and outdoors sportsmen, and wildlife supporters, King Finishing could have been fined $91M! But if the EPD inspected and failed to find the unpermitted dumping, how can it then turn around and punish the polluter to the full extent possible?
To further indicate just how bad oversight is across state departments, a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on factory farms revealed that the Agriculture Department isn't inspecting factory farms in the state and the EPD isn't finding the resulting pollution in rivers, streams, and lakes. Bert Langley with the EPD was quoted in the AJC, "We get very few complaints, which is typically our window into whether there are gross problems occurring,”
The AJC quoted Justine Thompson, Executive Director of GreenLaw, about the method, or lack thereof, of oversight: “If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If a farm is not inspected or looked at, does it have a violation?” Thompson said. “They are not inspecting these places. To unequivocally make a proclamation that places they’ve never seen are in compliance is inconceivable.”
Clearly the Emperor has no clothes, and doesn't have the sense to figure out where or how to get some.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Speaking out is risky. Not speaking out can be riskier.
In the middle of July between work and my mother's health crisis, someone in my community asked me if I had read the weekly column written by the owner of "The Sandersville Progress." When I got a copy my hair stood up.
The column, which appeared in the July 19 edition in my hometown, was run in all Trib Publications
(approximately 40) and is online via a Fayette County paper Tribble owns. Read the full column here.
I sent the column to some friends to make sure I wasn't just experiencing a knee jerk response. Their responses were thoughtful but in agreement; name calling and intolerance of the very things that make our country unique merited more than a letter to the editor.
With their help, I launched a petition asking Tribble to apologize for name calling and narrow-mindedness. A few folks have suggested asking advertisers to boycott the paper until an apology is issued. In the end, these small town merchants need to use what they can to promote their businesses in a tight economy.
My response is intended to encourage others to speak up and say that they also disagree with Tribble's narrow-minded bullying language. Folks in my community are used to me speaking up, and I have won friends and made enemies as a result.
I hope that you will sign the petition and share it. If you want to send a full letter please send it to me and I will get it delivered. Tribble doesn't use email, but I am willing to work a little harder to share your response if you help.
Please check back. This isn't over. If we don't speak up, the name calling and verbal bullying won't end. Ever.
The column, which appeared in the July 19 edition in my hometown, was run in all Trib Publications
(approximately 40) and is online via a Fayette County paper Tribble owns. Read the full column here.
I sent the column to some friends to make sure I wasn't just experiencing a knee jerk response. Their responses were thoughtful but in agreement; name calling and intolerance of the very things that make our country unique merited more than a letter to the editor.
With their help, I launched a petition asking Tribble to apologize for name calling and narrow-mindedness. A few folks have suggested asking advertisers to boycott the paper until an apology is issued. In the end, these small town merchants need to use what they can to promote their businesses in a tight economy.
My response is intended to encourage others to speak up and say that they also disagree with Tribble's narrow-minded bullying language. Folks in my community are used to me speaking up, and I have won friends and made enemies as a result.
I hope that you will sign the petition and share it. If you want to send a full letter please send it to me and I will get it delivered. Tribble doesn't use email, but I am willing to work a little harder to share your response if you help.
Please check back. This isn't over. If we don't speak up, the name calling and verbal bullying won't end. Ever.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Sandwich Generation Speaks Up
I am beginning to know first hand what the sandwich generation is all about. I am the second of four generations in my family, and my husband is the same in his. We are both dealing with aging parents, keeping the house and yard in almost respectable order, and doing the things we want to do (exercise, garden, cook, read, blog). Next week I have appointments with three doctors who have been involved in treating my cancer since the middle of December.
It could be worse; we don't worry where our next meal will come from, if the car will get us to work, or whether we can see a doctor. We have friends and siblings we can call in the middle of the night (and who will call us if we are needed).
Can I imagine how awful it would be without those things? I can try, but I don't think I can fully understand it. Knowing it first hand is scary.
With that thought, I am doing my part and telling the folks who represent me (I use that term loosely as I don't like the way they vote on most issues) to say that cutting Social Security, Veteran's benefits, along with Medicare and Medicaid aren't just decisions about money. Those are decisions about the very real issues of quality of life. I'm willing to spend a little more on taxes to make sure the senior citizens in my neighborhood don't worry about cutting pills in half, or that kids with asthma have an inhaler when they need it.
And if I can do it on my middle class income that isn't getting any bigger while costs go up, then it seems like the jumbo corporations making millions in profits could come off a little of their cash to help our too.
We have hard decisions to make in our country. We need to remember that we aren't just talking about thousands of people. We are talking about the guy whose cute kids, wearing pretty worn out clothes, beamed as they cleaned the windshield while he put gas in the tank at $3.60+ a gallon.
I'm doing my part. Are you?
It could be worse; we don't worry where our next meal will come from, if the car will get us to work, or whether we can see a doctor. We have friends and siblings we can call in the middle of the night (and who will call us if we are needed).
Can I imagine how awful it would be without those things? I can try, but I don't think I can fully understand it. Knowing it first hand is scary.
With that thought, I am doing my part and telling the folks who represent me (I use that term loosely as I don't like the way they vote on most issues) to say that cutting Social Security, Veteran's benefits, along with Medicare and Medicaid aren't just decisions about money. Those are decisions about the very real issues of quality of life. I'm willing to spend a little more on taxes to make sure the senior citizens in my neighborhood don't worry about cutting pills in half, or that kids with asthma have an inhaler when they need it.
And if I can do it on my middle class income that isn't getting any bigger while costs go up, then it seems like the jumbo corporations making millions in profits could come off a little of their cash to help our too.
We have hard decisions to make in our country. We need to remember that we aren't just talking about thousands of people. We are talking about the guy whose cute kids, wearing pretty worn out clothes, beamed as they cleaned the windshield while he put gas in the tank at $3.60+ a gallon.
I'm doing my part. Are you?
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