SNAFU
I don't really watch or keep up with local news as much as I should, and whenever I do come home to Jonesboro, I usually stay at my house or the tennis courts at Atlanta Beach. Because of this I am naturally, oblivious to the current state of Clayton County.
Sure, I read in the AJC that Clayton County public schools are at risk of losing accreditation, and sure, I've heard here and there that Victor Hill is a fucking psycho. But, I have essentially been living in the Lake Spivey bubble with my sister and family, so I really did not understand these problems at its fullest and I did not take them as seriously as I should. So, many of you I'm sure are already fully aware (more so than I) that Clayton is and has been in MAJOR trouble for some time now, and things will worsen if something does not change soon.
What finally brought my attention to all of this was yesterday's Creative Loafing cover. It had a picture of some Thomas the Engine-looking trains derailed with the words Clayton County on its sides. The headline read, "The little county that couldn't." This was definitely a rude awakening-- I had always thought the shape of Clay-co was bad relative to say, Henry county, not the rest of Georgia. And, I never knew that severity of its problems had garnered so much attention from everyone else.
After reading the article, I found out that losing accreditation was only one among many issues concerning Clay-co. We are ranked second in the nation for homes purchased with subprime mortgages, we've already experiencing projects residents moving into our area and there will be an influx once the remaining Atlanta Housing Authority projects are torn down next year, our political officials are grossly miss-using public funds, and so on and so forth.
Again, I'm sure I'm late on all of this, but I can't help but feel both appalled and angered. I'm really upset that Thao and I will be out of town August 5th for the run-off elections for sheriff, district attorney and commission chairman, but I hope that everyone else who remains here will do their part by going out and voting and encouraging others to do the same. I know this is corny, but I do strongly feel that we can make a difference! This election will determine the direction our county will take for the next four years; we can't afford to sit by and let things happen on its own any longer. I know I'm the last person that should be saying this, but please, get informed and vote!
Here's the Creative Loafing article: http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/clayton_county_s_tribulations/Content?oid=524058