Miracles can be achieved
Dear Editor: The rescue of the miners at the Quecreek Mine mishap is another opportunity, just like our actions right after the Sept. 11 attacks, where we can see that the American people and our system can accomplish miracles.
We did not see partisan politics that seek to destroy our democracy or divide us into classes for political power. We saw leadership by example and what we deserve and demand from public servants.
We did not see federal or state bureaucracies that hobble us. We saw the expected and appropriate application and collaboration of government resources.
We did not see some physical or mental laborers riding on the coattails of their fellow man. We saw everyone doing his or her personal best.
We did not hear the whining of the few. We heard the harmonious drone of the majority. And we did not see the media manipulate us. They communicated the facts.
These were not the ideals of a Great Society. These are the standards and norms of a free and equal people.
R.B. Feather
Georges Township
Fayette’s three ring circus
Dear Editor:
This is in reply to the ongoing smokescreen that the Herald-Standard continues to blow in apparent cooperation with our three county commissioners concerning the failed property tax equalization, prison annex,and now the fiasco unleashed by the Fayette County Tax Claim Bureau.
On the failed tax equalization: I have personally wasted my time going through the initial process with Cole Layer Trumble, providing the documentation (photos, maps, surveys, etc.) they requested only to be told by their representative that they cannot use it because I could be providing false documentation.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we (the voting taxpayers) pay them to inspect and document all the properties in the county? Of course they didn’t change my new appraisals, which are so outrageous that I now have real concerns that I might not be able to afford to continue to pay my taxes. So now I have to take another day off to appeal to the county who I’m sure will be more than willing to hear my appeal with an open mind. (Yeah, right.)
Concerning the new prison annex: Did anyone stop and consider that the new annex will not save all this money as touted by the commissioners? Did anyone stop and add up the cost of feeding, housing and guarding the inmates? Nine new full time guards plus one full time counselor according to the last newspaper account. Plus the ever-escalating cost of the building itself which seems to take logarithmic jumps every time I open the paper. (How can anyone forget to order locks for a jail?) Were we really paying too much by paying Greene County $35 a day per inmate?
And now we have the countywide mailing of past due tax notices to every property owner in Fayette County. I received my notice, which came at a cost of $7.92.
According to the article in the July 23 paper, Tax Claim Bureau Director Donna Yauger states, “The cost of sending out the notices, which was $4.42 each was budgeted.” How can you budget for a mistake? Not only is Ms. Yauger’s math incorrect, she also fails to mention that everybody whose name appears on the deeds will get a certified notice.
So if you and your spouse’s name appears on the deed the cost for mailing out one property past due tax notice is now $15.84. Surely someone realized there was something drastically wrong before the mailings went out.
Why should we, the voting taxpayers, pay for a mistake made by a new computer company?
Maybe all of our commissioners and directors should be equipped with the same radar that Commissioner Nehls professes to possess.
What’s next? Are we going to give away some more county property (the amphitheater maybe) with the promise of high paying jobs that never seem to appear?
My final question is directed to the county commissioners and others who are supposed to be guarding the coffers – which we the voting taxpayers give up not because we want to but because we have to – do you have any monkeys with your circus?
Gary R. Crayton
Wharton Township