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3 NOV 03: YES, NO AND WWW
An early nominee for Columbus quote of the year goes to Councilor Mimi Woodson, who gave this response when the Ledger-Enquirer asked for her opinion on the school sales tax question: "I got to pray about that one." If that was her actual response, we need the sales tax money to teach some adults remedial English.
The final push is on, for and against Tuesday's one-cent school sales tax question. You don't see this much fighting about a penny when two homeless men find one on the street.
I spent some time Sunday night at a debating point you may have overlooked - the web sites for and against the school sales tax. The "Vote Yes 2003" site includes the familiar logo of a penny in the "O" of "Vote." Why some TV stations are illustrating this issue with a quarter, I have no idea....
The "Vote Yes" home page features a photo of a classroom full of students - with an open umbrella in the middle of it. Are Muscogee County schools in THAT much need of repair?
The "Vote Yes" web site argues: "We are on the cusp of creating a world class school system, but we have to be willing to put our cents where our hearts are." A world-class system?! What does the school board plan to do - merge Cusseta Road Elementary into Britt David?
(Let's face it, we ARE entering the season when people "put cents where their hearts are." Only they spell it SCENTS, and they're buying perfume and cologne as gifts.)
The "Vote Yes" web site purports to include a detailed list of all the events which promoted the one-cent school sales tax. But the strange thing is that the list goes back to July -- and leaves out appearances on TV stations in the final few days. If the summer forums were that noteworthy, why was the vote postponed?
There's an FAQ's page at the "Vote Yes" web site, which encourages you to approve "a revenue stream for capital expenses." It's either that, or a stream of rain pouring through cracks in school roofs.
The Yes side of the sales tax question also is running new last-minute commercials, warning a No vote will mean "no air conditioning for cafeteria workers." Now wait a minute! Is this vote about the children? Or about people fixing lunch?
Then I moved on to the web site "No-2-SPLOST." Either the Citizens for Tax Accountability are really into text messaging -- or the name shows why Muscogee County schools need improving.
There's "BREAKING NEWS" (complete with that label) on the No-2-SPLOST web site - a statement tax opponent Jim Evans made to Columbus Council a few weeks ago. Based on this example, I have breaking news to share: the Chicago Cubs beat Atlanta in the first round of the baseball playoffs.
The point Jim Evans makes in his "BREAKING NEWS" item is that the Columbus sales tax could jump to eight cents, if a school sales tax is followed by a one-cent city sales tax next year. Which would give a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Eight is Enough...."
The No-2-SPLOST web site boasts that the Citizens for Tax Accountability "published television ads" which "can be seen through Election Day" on "WRCG and WRBL." OK, who wants to inform this group that WRCG is a radio station?
A page on "The Issues" at No-2-SPLOST dares to state: "Remember Enron? There's not much difference here." Yes, I do remember Enron - but I'm waiting to learn how much sales tax money school board members took for ski chalets and mansions in Colorado.
The No-2-SPLOST web site also offers "a Senator's letter" to the Ledger-Enquirer against the school sales tax proposal. The Senator is Ted Land, who hasn't been in that office for years. Has Seth Harp been on a round-the-world vacation, missing this vote?
The "Solutions" page of No-2-SPLOST contains this curious final note: "Five years and 149 million dollars later, we still have schools that have brown water. Five years and 149 Million dollars later, there are 16 schools that we couldn't." And there the final note suddenly ends. Maybe they couldn't determine the water color at those 16 schools.
Looking for a break from the school sales tax tension, here's what we found around the area Sunday:
+ Filming began at Westville on a new horror movie called "2001 Maniacs." Won't this ruin the village's image? It's not called "1850 Maniacs."
(You can watch a day of movie production at Westville -- at a cost of only ten dollars. Aw, c'mon! It'll cost about that much to see the finished product at theatres.)
+ The Muscogee County Humane Society held a "Strut with a Mutt" fundraiser, with people walking dogs around Lakebottom Park. Regular walkers and joggers at this park are advised to be VERY careful where they step for the next couple of days.
+ Instant Message to the Columbus Parks Department: Why do you still have a "closed for maintenance" sign outside the football field at Britt David Park? That same sign was there a year ago - and from the evidence I saw, somebody played a football game there in the last week.
+ The Atlanta Falcons lost at home to Philadelphia. Starting offensive tackle Bob Whitfield was injured so badly, he had to be carted off the Georgia Dome turf. So was Whitfield driven to that hypnotist he consulted a few weeks ago -- to be told it really doesn't hurt?