Rockdale Citizen

The Rockdale Citizen Poll is a compilation of opinions submitted by readers. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Citizen newspapers. If you agree or disagree with something you read here, you may respond by e-mailing poll@rockdalecitizen.com. Please remember that the Citizen Poll is not a forum for comments about candidates seeking elected office.

"I am calling in regard to the article in Sunday's paper about DeKalb Technical college name change. My questions are: 1. Where is the money coming from to pay for this name change? 2. How is this benefiting students? At this economic low why are they spending money for this name change. Name changes are very costly. Why not put this money back into the school to benefit the students. I'm a retired instructor from this school. I have seen the school be productive over the 30 years I was there. People and students could care less about the name of the school as long as it serves their educational needs. I would like the president of the school to respond to these questions."

"Rich Autry, please help us at Hightower Trail! Those in charge are running this place into the ground with their poor leadership skills, worse communication skills and abysmally ineffective discipline plan. Help us, 'Obi Wan Autry,' you are our only hope!"

"Dear King Oden -- we would agree to allow a MARTA bus into Rockdale County if you would agree to leave on it. And, if you please, take the other King -- Dr. Samuel King -- with you."

"One of the real reasons why RCPS needs so many new substitutes is the fact that the county office has mandated training for teachers. Not because the teachers are performing poorly but because they want us to feel better and relate to each other in meaningful ways. I should know, as a teacher I was sent to an all-day meeting where one of the activities was cutting out a paper figure and writing how I feel on the cut-out. At a later session on a different day we held hands and talked about how the snow break affected us after the meeting started an hour late."

"... So the citizens of Atlanta counties and from the inner city, who listen to Ms. Oprah, can bring their pit bulls to Rockdale County and have demonstrations in their own park. Invite Vic's Rub too, so he can teach them all good dogs bad manners ... I believe Rockdale could use personnel management and money elsewhere."

"Can someone please tell me who to call about a utility cable that needs to be buried? I live in a busy neighborhood where a bright orange utility cable goes from one box to another box. The cord goes over a driveway and across a street. Kids play with this cord. It's been there for over a year! Who do I call to get it taken care of before someone gets hurt."

"Hey Rockdale County High, Is it OK if my daughter passes out flyers for a Christian Youth Conference at school. Probably not, but I just thought I would try since I saw the flyer she brought home advertising a bar called The Valley that advertises deals on drinks and shots. Oh and by the way it is 18 to enter and 21 to drink. A place promoting this is allowed to be passed out at school, but if it had anything to do with religion then it would have been stopped. What is wrong with that picture?"

"When my husband became disable we ask for help and the only way we got the help we did is because we had a grandson living with us. Now just let you know we had no income coming in at all. All we got from the state was $159 a month and that was TANF check for our grandson, $220 food stamps. This was in 2004. And my husband and grandson got Medicaid, not me. Now when our grandson went back to his mother we lost all of it. This was in 2005. Now remind you we have nothing coming in. Still no help. Now in 2006 my husband's disability check started and I got a job making $7 an hour. Well when I got laid off, I drew my unemployment ($128 week). When it ran out we went back and applied for food stamps and we were told we could not get them. So I ask the lady what we're we supposed to do after we paid rent, lights, gas, water, car insurance and life insurance, there was no money left to buy food. Her words were if I was 19 and was going to have a baby we could get anything we wanted. So my friends, that's why seniors can't get help. And my husband and I have worked all our life. And we are just getting by also. I guess when you become a senior citizen you are just pushed aside and forgot about. There is one person who hasn't forgot about us and that is the man up above. God bless all of us!"

"Dear Mr. Oden -- we have recently had shootings at a house party, a video game store, and an Ingle's parking lot without the help of MARTA. Law enforcement can't seem to handle what we have here now. Why do you want to bring more in? It looks to me that you care more about increasing your voter base for 2012 than you do about Rockdale County!"

"States with the highest performance on national tests are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont, and New Hampshire, where teachers belong to unions that bargain collectively for their members. Tell this to the conservatives who are fighting to destroy teacher unions."

"To the person in favor of the dog park: this isn't Kennesaw. Do you know what kinds of things are already going on in that part of Rockdale? It's low income there, and not a safe area -- you'd need a lot more than one patrol officer. 'No' to the dog park; we've got plenty of other problems that need to be fixed with the small amount of taxpayer money Rockdale still has."

"To the person concerned about the Conyers Police officer passing her at the train ... I am sorry your world is so small and unimportant that you have to worry about everyone but yourself. If all you have to worry about is an officer passing you then your world is rather sad. Odd how any time one of those men and women do the slightest, most insignificant thing, people like you cry and complain about it. Unbelievable ... and sad."

"It makes me sick to drive here in Rockdale County and see all of the trash along the sides of the roads. Come on people. Stop littering! Please."

"Citizen, you probably will not print this but I wonder what supervisor at RCSO is mad because he did not get promoted to captain?"

"I don't understand. Why is it so terrible for CEOs who work long hours and are responsible for hundreds or thousands of jobs to earn millions of dollars, but it's OK for sports players who only work part of the year and are responsible for only themselves to make many millions of dollars?"

"I think most tattoos look bad but the ones on the neck and face are the worst. What are these people thinking?"

"I would like to know where I can find the pictures that the protesters at Starship claimed they took of people going into the establishment. I was having a great hair day that day, so when I went in the store I would just love a copy of that picture so I can frame and give to my friends."

"I cannot believe that the only thing a person has to do is sit and count how many ads someone has placed in the Cheap Stuff Section. It could be that the person placing several ads has lost their job and house, or has to sell their belongings to buy food. Ads are only placed in the Cheap Stuff according to the space that the paper has. The person complaining needs to be complaining about our president, Board of Commissioners, gas prices, no jobs to be had, or something that is a bit more constructive. The Cheap Stuff complaint just shows how petty that some people of this county and country can be."

"Rockdale people are complaining about the influx of new people. Get over it! Every county is feeling similar changes. How about the 'well-off' people who paid very high prices for land near Oconee -- I'm sure they are not happy, nor are the locals who saw the prices go up and now drop due to the Reynolds (Plantation) problems."

"Illegal immigration is destroying America -- just look at what it did to the White House."

"When will the Citizen do the all-area baseball team from last year?"

"Many thanks to the lady who turned my purse in at Publix that I had left outside in the buggy. Thank you, thank you, thank you."