Rome Information-Tribune. January 8, 2022.
Editorial: Vote for our instructional future
It’s straightforward to say “I don’t have children” or “I don’t wish to pay for that” however supporting the proposed schooling native choice gross sales tax is an funding in our neighborhood’s future.
The vote, which can happen on Might’s main poll, will decide the course of our native faculty methods and skill to enhance their current services. Logistically, consider the objects on this ELOST as protecting for the services and enhancements over the subsequent seven years in every faculty system.
A vote for the ELOST is a vote to provide our youngsters one of the best services through which to obtain an schooling.
In an oversimplified nutshell, town elementary colleges are serving many extra youngsters than they have been designed for. The county has too many services for a dwindling scholar inhabitants.
The proposed makes use of for this ELOST are primarily to assemble a brand new Rome Center Faculty throughout the loop from Rome Excessive Faculty. That mission isn’t to simply get a brand new center faculty, it’s to accommodate the upcoming college students who’re presently in elementary colleges.
The plan is to maneuver sixth graders to what’s now the center faculty, opening up a lot wanted area within the faculty system’s six elementary colleges. The purpose is to have the brand new center faculty prepared and open by fall 2024, Superintendent Lou Byars mentioned.
The Floyd County Faculty System is proposing enhancements in any respect its current services together with HVAC system and roof replacements with expertise upgrades. Armuchee Excessive Faculty would particularly be getting new kitchen and plumbing in addition to a brand new modernized discipline home, Superintendent Glenn White mentioned.
He’d like to make use of this ELOST to verify the county’s athletic services equate with town colleges’ and is taking a look at including lights to baseball and softball fields in addition to turf fields for soccer and artificial tracks at every highschool.
Different choices?
Previous to the penny gross sales tax, faculty building relied on the voters passing bond points. As a substitute of constructing the funds organically, you even have the problem of getting to pay curiosity on these bonds. Rates of interest are low now, however it’s seemingly they’re going up quickly.
The previous mechanism of voters approving bonds concerned some inherent battle. If enhancements for one district have been sought, particularly within the county, then the voters within the others tended to react negatively as a result of there was nothing particularly in it for them. The shortsightedness of that view jeopardizes college students throughout town and county.
An ELOST permits for the communities through which they’ll be used to specify most important initiatives in addition to fill different wants.
Whereas there’s been criticism of some SPLOST plans, the ELOST has been a constant and beneficially used mechanism to fund faculty initiatives for years now.
The ELOST program works and makes use of EVERYBODY’s further cent on the subject of the schooling of our youngsters. Vacationers, visiting family members or anyone from out of city who desires to return eat on the Texas Roadhouse or possibly even The Varsity some day — that cent stays right here and pays for our youngsters’s schooling right here.
We ask that you just help the schooling in Rome and Floyd County in Might.
Thanks for studying.
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Dalton Every day Citizen. January 11, 2022.
Editorial: Ideas for protected driving within the wintertime
Our space has already obtained a dusting of snow this winter, and temperatures are dropping under freezing. This weekend, there’s an opportunity of snow for the Dalton space.
As we enter the frigid days of winter, it’s a good suggestion to clean up in your chilly climate driving strategies and ensure your car is prepared for the chilly season. The next are suggestions from the AARP on the best way to keep protected whereas driving this winter:
• Do a verify: After three years, a battery would possibly want changing. Activate the headlights, then begin the engine. If the lights brighten when the engine is operating, your battery is weak and certain prepared for a alternative. Additionally, verify that your windshield fluid and engine antifreeze ranges are full.
• Be prepared: Winter gear it’s best to preserve in your vehicle contains battery jumper cables, a snow brush, an ice scraper, sand to place underneath slipping wheels in case you’re caught, a small shovel, a flashlight and batteries, a telephone charger, ingesting water and snacks. Preserve loads of fuel within the tank in case you should run the engine to remain heat.
• Be seen: Preserve your brake lights and switch indicators as clear as doable, and take away any snow or ice. Use your headlights in daytime to make your car stand out from the drab winter background. Have reflective triangles and/or a reflective vest to put on in case you get caught and have to exit the automobile for assist.
• Drive gently: Attempting to begin too rapidly, even with all-wheel drive or traction management, can go away you caught in place. Abruptly altering speeds — up or down — may cause the tires to slide and spin.
• Keep away from skids: If the again finish of the automobile or truck begins to slip sideways on a slippery floor, flip the steering wheel the identical path because the again finish is transferring. If it’s dancing out to the left, flip the wheel to the left; if proper, flip proper. In any other case you’ll flip the skid right into a spin. Antiskid management, widespread on most vehicles, helps, however it will probably’t stop all slick-road skids.
• Preserve heat: Blankets can heat you in case you’re stranded. In the event you preserve the engine operating to remain heat, open a few home windows for recent air in case there’s a harmful exhaust-system leak that would seep into the automobile’s inside.
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Valdosta Every day Occasions. January 12, 2022.
Editorial: Voters ought to decide election outcomes
Voters ought to decide the result of elections, not politicians and celebration loyalists.
Civil rights leaders in Atlanta rebuffed President Joe Biden’s go to Tuesday to speak about voting rights.
It’s not that they disagree with Biden’s speaking factors about federal voting laws.
It’s simply that they’re sick and bored with discuss and wish to see motion.
Thus far the push for a brand new voting rights act has been all hat and no cattle.
Republicans within the Home and Senate have demonstrated they will work collectively to dam laws and thwart the Biden agenda.
Democrats, then again, have clearly demonstrated they can’t shut ranks and benefit from their razor-thin majority. Regardless of controlling the Home, the Senate and the White Home, Democrats have didn’t move the administration’s Construct Again Higher plan, the signature piece of the Biden agenda, and have now stalled on voting rights laws regardless of the efforts of Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock.
One other U.S. senator, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, has proved to be the spoiler of the Democratic Social gathering and, in some ways, essentially the most highly effective lawmaker within the nation, however that’s not a badge of honor. Manchin’s perceived energy has not been due to something he has achieved however merely in being an obstructionist.
Georgia is amongst a handful of Republican-led states which have handed restrictive voting legal guidelines which successfully enable state lawmakers, all the time underneath the management of 1 celebration or the opposite, to nominate a hand-picked board that may take management of native elections within the occasion of controversy or questionable exercise. That’s harmful and undemocratic.
The regulation additionally shortens the interval for early voting and reduces the variety of, visibility of and accessibility of drop bins. Limiting voter entry disproportionately disadvantages Black voters.
To be clear, solely legally registered voters ought to vote in Georgia elections however for these legally registered voters, voting must be handy, straightforward and inspired, not suppressed.
President Biden has referred to as Georgia’s voting restrictions, handed this yr, an atrocity and in contrast the regulation to Jim Crow-era voter suppression.
These are robust phrases, however simply phrases.
Possibly Manchin can’t be reached and can proceed to oppose simply to oppose, however Biden, Warnock, Vice President Kamala Harris and others prepared to guide on this challenge should use all their affect, attain throughout the aisle and defend democracy not only for our time however forever.
GOP lawmakers have to be referred to as to the appropriate aspect of historical past and understand voting rights should not Democrat rights or Republican rights however American rights.
That is the defining challenge of our time.
It’s time to leverage the total weight of the presidency and to understand the gravity of the second.
Biden ran for workplace as a consensus builder. It’s time to construct consensus. If there was ever a problem that ought to garner bipartisan help, the appropriate to vote and constructing guardrails round democracy must be that challenge.
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