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I have just read the article regarding sexual harassment allegations made by Hall County Tax Assessors Office employee Pam Dixon. May I say kudos to this lady for having the courage to bring this matter before the proper Hall County officials as well as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. I believe this type of discrimination occurs more than we want to admit.
I certainly hope the county will conduct an unbiased investigation and deal with this situation appropriately. It seems there have been problems in this office for the past two years with no end in sight.
Just for curiosity sake, a review was made regarding prior issues investigated by the Times spanning over a 20-month period of time from Feb. 19, 2008, through Sept. 25,2009, and it was discovered that 21 published articles written by reporters dealing with the office of Hall County Tax Assessors had been published. The majority of these articles dealt with problems within this office. It was further discovered that more than 20 published letters to the editor written by Hall County taxpayers who were upset over what was going on in that office were published as well.
It appears that extending the tax board to five members, changing the assessors pay to a monthly stipend and correcting the full time health insurance issue has not changed the situation very much other than the fact that the tax board now meets only twice per month rather than every week, cutting their work days in half.
Hall County Commissioners should begin dealing with this issue immediately and bring whatever is wrong in this office to closure. The citizens of this county are tired of excuses and we want action!
Karen Carswell
Buford
Never underestimate the power of one person
In regards to the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School football team no longer being able to display banners bearing a Bible verse. It took one parent, ONE person, to make a phone call. Because the school doesn’t want lawsuits, the cheerleaders are no longer allowed to display banners with Bible verses.
One person. Think about it. Our society is so afraid to "offend" anyone that we are becoming fearful to stand strong for what we believe in.
We must commend those students however, as they displayed hand-held signs during the game that contained Bible verses. They took a stand for what they believed in and proudly displayed those signs.
I pray that more students and parents will stand strong in their faith and take every opportunity they can to share it with a world that is in bad need of saving. We need to pray for our students as they are the future of this country.
Coleen McConnell
Gainesville
We should help others but also take responsibility
I am in favor of good health care for all Americans, but not at the expense of working Americans only, especially if one refuses to take advantage of all of our opportunities and responsibilities.
In any society, there is a cost that somebody has to absorb to take care of its citizens’ health care when they are unable to do for themselves.
People who are free to choose their way of life, assuming that they choose wisely, generally do better than those who leave it up to someone else to do for them. It is good when one exercises their mind for good instead of letting it become useless.
A person should always use what God has given him or her for the best, according to their ability to make good use of it. I believe, it is ungodly and downright wrong for a person to waste what they earn and expect someone else to provide necessities such as health care.
Insurance, I believe, is a good investment to cover medical expenses, along with what one has been able to set aside for such purposes. Social Security has surely been a blessing to this nation. It is more of a savings account that many people wouldn’t have had it not been for someone with foresight for the future of mankind, not that it should take the place of God or one thinking for him or herself.
If we could come up with a similar plan for medical care that would be used strictly for the purpose, that would be run by the private sector, I would be in favor of it. But to let people with unclean hearts and hands manage such is only asking for trouble. And people would have a right to rebel against it. It ought to be mandatory that all people pay into the system so that all would be part owners that they would be proud of.
America has been blessed to come up with programs to help its less fortunate citizens, but it has not been able to help them to move on and walk on their own so that someone else may get help without robbing the taxpayers. I think that is where good work from the church would come in handy to help people to understand that it is not pleasing to God to be deadbeats instead of getting up and taking the initiative, then making room for someone who may really need help.
Jesse Jenkins
Gainesville