Rockdale Citizen

The Citizen Poll is a weekly compilation of reader comments on subjects of local interest. The Citizen publishes as many comments as space allows. Comments, which may be edited for space or content, are published anonymously on Sunday. To submit a comment, call 770-483-7108, ext. 402, email: poll@rockdalecitizen.com or complete the online form.

"I have enjoyed reading the crime reports in this paper lately that have included citizens being active and helping police by reporting and being watchful. This needs to continue. If everything suspicious gets reported, the creeps will stop. I would also like to see more reporting on what happens in court. The follow-up to see how the judges are sentencing them is very important to me. I want the judges to be tough on all crimes but especially violence and robbery."

"With the elections around the corner, please be mindful of what would be good for our community. Please pick hard-working, qualified, community-minded people for the BOC. We have had enough of the ones who are really in it for themselves. For the Board of Education, we need people who are innovative and dedicated to ridding our schools of bad behavior. If we want good families to move here, we need to be tough on behavior issues. Right now, I do not trust this board to keep my kids safe and provide a low-stress, encouraging learning environment. There are students in this system who are getting away with terrible things on our campuses and not being expelled. It is shameful. Finally, we should look for the toughest, meanest judges we can find. The time for second chances and mercy in this town was 15 years ago when you had people who actually appreciated it and changed their ways when granted mercy. Not now. Those days are over and Conyers needs to be known for toughness. We are too small of a county to allow bad things to continue. In bigger counties, people can shift around and you can have good areas and bad areas, but Conyers is small and we can't do that like Gwinnett and DeKalb where there are different cities working together."

"I'm taking mental notes of them local businesses that tell me Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays. Those that tell me Merry Christmas will have me as repeat customers. Those that tell me happy holidays will be avoided. Merry Christmas!"

"If you have a new pet for Christmas ... remember that it is a lifetime commitment. Research before you adopt! Do not run out and buy a certain pet because you saw one on TV! Pets are not something to be tossed aside and ignored after the new wears off! If you do not become attached and want to give your pet the best care then you should not have one! Train your pet from day one! Please spay or neuter your pets! They live longer and are much healthier. This pet is attached to you! Do not drop it off at the pound because you are a lazy owner ... There are no bad dogs ... only bad owners!"

"Dear Barack Obama -- I'm a good enough person to forgive you -- but not stupid enough to trust you again."

"The news keeps saying that we have had a strong Christmas season for the stores. There is only one reason for this. The stores have finally gotten the clue that we don't have as much money as we used to. Everywhere I went there were great sales. The items I wanted were on sale. I had coupons too and they almost always took more off of the items at the register. Attention stores! This is what we want. But even with this apparent breakthrough, we still need to send these guys the message that we only want to buy stuff cheap. But, there are some things we as consumers need to get real about too. We can start with that Air Jordan fiasco. No basketball shoe is worth $160 ... or pepper pray. The smart phones are also killing us. These phone companies are overcharging for those services and we are lining up to give them our hard-earned cash."

"Dear RSO and CPD, thank you for your hard work this year. This town is not perfect but you did a better job this year. You had a tough one in 2010 but you adjusted and have gotten tougher and smarter. Please keep it up. Keep up the roadblocks and the diligent patrols. This will make the complainers leave and attract the kind of people that stay out of trouble and do not have a problem with authority. Every criminal you keep off the streets, no matter how big or small, increases the value of our properties and businesses. I want you to know that you have my support. Thank you for your hard work and sacrifice. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your families."

"I am tired of some of the people who comment in this paper talking out of both sides of their mouth. On one hand, they want the police to do a better job. On the other hand, they complain about cops looking for DUIs and putting up roadblocks and pulling over for minor infractions. You can't have one without the other. If we want a community where crime is low, we must support police and thank them for pulling us over for the little stuff. Stop complaining about it and realize that they need to be picky about the little stuff to catch criminals before they do the big stuff. If a robber knows he has no license, a long rap sheet, or a bench warrant out on him, he will not risk even riding around scoping out the banks because he knows he could be pulled over and hauled in. I applaud our police and thank them for all of my little seatbelt tickets!"

"Night driving can be dangerous, especially in bad weather, when highway side and dividing lines practically disappear. What does it take for the many (reflecting) white lines to be repainted so that they can be more easily seen?"

"I would just like to speak peace to Conyers for the year 2012. I hope this is a great year for the honest citizens who work hard and do what is best for our town. I hope they continue to stand up for what is right, make the correct decisions in the polls, and come to understand better how to keep our town peaceful, prosperous and happy. Merry Christmas and happy New Year."

"I love being a teacher in Rockdale. We have plenty of problems at my school and in the system but my frustrations have faded while I am on this nice long Christmas break. I wish all of my fellow teachers, and administrators a restful break filled with great ideas on how to encourage our students to be successful, great citizens. I also hope that Dr. King and the school board come out of the break ready to really make a difference in the lives of the teachers. I hope their wheels are turning on great ideas to solve the roadblocks to great education and help us be successful teachers. I hope Dr. Brundage is coming up with some great 'outside the box' ideas to really support teachers, enforce discipline, and get rid of behavior problems in the schools. I hope the goal of the school board is to be creative and make this the best county in the state to be a teacher! OK I will put down the eggnog. But I can still wish!"

"Merry Christmas to Conyers! A great little town. I hope you have a prosperous and peaceful new year!"

"Merry Christmas to every employee of the city and county. Merry Christmas to everyone with students in our schools. Merry Christmas to everyone in the jail, or to anyone who was arrested or who used the services of the police and fire department. Merry Christmas to everyone who called the police or fire department. Merry Christmas to all of the people getting free or reduced lunch in schools, free or reduced housing or any other kind of local government assistance. All told, I have paid around 2,800 bucks for my property taxes plus whatever sales taxes I have paid on groceries, gas, and purchased items. If this comment does not sound genuine, it is probably due to the fact that I was forced to pay this and it was not really a gift. So please, whoever is in charge, cut back on taxes for next year and run out all the people who are making it so expensive."

"I sympathize with the persons who reported inconsiderate or inappropriate responses from county officials. It is worse to be labeled 'trouble maker' when trying to report illegal or serious criminal activities. The officials are in need of public relations repair."

"Kudos to the city people who put up the decorations around Olde Town. They look great. Plus, I do not know what group decorates the fountain in the roundabout below the library but it is very Christmasy. I really like it."

"Thank you to whoever finally decided to change the bent power pole on Main Street. Good work. It looks safer when it's straight."

"Can someone please make the water bill go back down. It seems like it is five times more than it was a few years ago. Water is water. I don't see what makes it more expensive. They haven't let them hire more people have they? What costs have gone up?"

"About a month ago, over the announcements at RCPS high schools, information about a scholarship was given. The words were something like, 'If you are African American, Hispanic, or of Malaysian descent, and have a 3.0 to 3.4 GPA you are eligible for a college scholarship.' In addition, on a county-sponsored test given to 10th-graders, questions of the same type were asked indicating that if you were a minority, special funds were available. Is this not discrimination against the white children? How many parents heard about this from your high school student? Unfortunately, white kids are so used to being left out of this type of help that they don't even respond appropriately to it. They should be outraged that their classmates, because of skin color, are eligible for college funds that they are not. I think the county office needs to tell from where this money has come, and if it excludes some students, why are they offering a forum for this discrimination? Private organizations have the right to do whatever they want with their money, including awarding scholarships to particular groups of people. However, our public schools should not participate in activities that divide students based on race, color, religious background, or creed. In America, if you're a minority, you're treated like royalty in that you have an advantage in our education system over anyone Caucasian. I could have possibly become president if I'd had the government paying for my college education, but I had to work to pay tuition. No one today should receive anything special because of their race. My teenagers have learned that they have to work harder than their black and Hispanic friends. They know that to get in most colleges, their SAT scores have to be much higher because they don't get the 'extra points' for being a minority. When is everyone going to wake up to this blatant injustice against white children? Will race relations ever get any better when everyone, including the minorities, know this is unfair? There are students in our schools who were not born in this country, yet are eligible for scholarships, and my children with generations of American roots (and taxpayers) are not. Students are divided based on something over which they have no control, their race or ethnicity, rather than scholastic performance, effort, character, and civic duty. This is such a screwed up message to send, yet on second thought, because of the extra work my children have to put in, they may in the end, land on top. Hopefully, along the way, I can keep them from becoming cynical."

"Democrats love drugs and don't really mind that the family unit keeps breaking down."

"Today is Dec. 27. Your last opinion poll is from Dec. 18. What gives?"

"I have heard the name 'NewRock' a lot lately. Is the legal organization affiliated with the homeless family assistance organization? http://www.familypromiseofnewrock.org."

Editor's Note: No. They are two separate organizations. NewRock Legal Society is an association of local attorney and Family Promise of NewRock is a partnership of local churches to help families out of homelessness.

"Where is the citizen poll? It seems like a long time since the last one."

"What does it say about a town that does not have a book store? The book stores have closed that once thrived here. No book store, but we have plenty of title loan places, rent to own stores, check cashing places and other businesses that thrive off uneducated people. It says a lot about us."

"I wonder how many people who use drugs think about where those drugs have been. How many people smoking dope ever ask, 'Have these drugs been in someone's rear end?" I am pretty sure if a mule gets away from cops by putting drugs in their behind, he would still sell the drugs without thinking that they were too nasty for someone to use."