Don't kill the goose that layed the golden egg

Please reflect on the year that was in Oconee County, Georgia. This name challenged county decided aliens were no longer welcome to gather at shelter we built at the Home Depot. Houses no longer can be built here for under $125,000. We have planted more generic strip malls and developments than the sewer and other infrastructure can handle. The main road arteries like Mars Hill Road and 441 are no longer worthy of consideration for expansion. The beer and wine in Watkinsville restaurants next week leaves numerous Athens eateries lining up if only the county follows step. The black granite edifice to man's inhumanity to man will clash with the soccer and softball fields in the Community Complex. Meanwhile any plans for public swimming facilities gets to sit in the back of the bus, whoops we still don't have any public transportation, or decent sidewalks, or functional bike paths. We now have more high schools than Clarke County. We have better golf courses too. Better Christmas parades as well. Just don't try to display political material at the Fall Festival unless you are a Republican. We moved a school house and made the national news. Nobody else died here unless you count a bunch of old people, and one 12-year-old boy shot by his brother. Soccer mom coaches - well, one coach anyhow - chose to publicly humiliate boys instead of instruct them in the finer points of the game. The college campus could triple in size overnight and it would still be packed. We can't connect Bishop Farms Parkway north and south because of wetlands and Gainesville State College won't get their back door to the freeway. Meanwhile bookstore prices scream through the roof. More people shop online. Coffee houses are in Watkinsville with only rare readings of poetry or political gatherings. Sonny Perdue came to town twice and it did rain on the Republicans outdoor party. Wonder how much they paid the Sheriff Department for that one? Cathy Cox came here and it could not be mentioned, nor could she hang with Mark Taylor. Becky Vaughn and Jane Kidd did a good job of preaching to the choir, but did not achieve even half of what they needed to get across the aisle or the church pew. Bob Smith won in a cakewalk and lit up School Street on a nasty night for the GOP elsewhere in America. Bill Cowsert could be a good trial lawyer for Oconee in the Statehouse. Jim Ivey should still be in jail, but he is not for his embezzlement crimes against Veterans. Republicans remain largely inept and only a few of Board of Commissioner members such as Chuck Horton and Margaret Hale maintain staunch advocates against insane growth without consequences. Democrats demonstrate their disorganization in everything except parades. Congressman Charlie Norwood called for the deaths of members of the Senate and House who did not agree with his xenophobic immigration deportations. What more could we ask for? Riverwalk? The county personnel hired to do so help out with the Bicentennial? Look at the subdivision in Bishop. Empty. Look at the newest strip malls on 53. Almost empty. Look at the clear cutting from Farmington to Bogart - empty headed at the very least. We are at a critical crossroads that could determine a lot about the future of Oconee County. Get involved. Go to meetings. Raise Hell.