2A The Madison Enterprise-Recorder www. greenepublishing.com Uicwpoints & Opinions Friday,January 18, 2008 Letters to the Editor are typed word for word, comma for comma, as sent to this newspaper. Justin Jamar McFadden Gets Eight (8) Years On January 2nd. 2008, it was discovered that Mc- Fadden may plead guilty by his Attorney, and Assistant State Attorney, John Weed. If, he were to get 8 or less years. I had a message on my answering service, from Assistant State Attorney John Weed to contact his of- fice, as soon as I received his message. January 3rd. Having just arrived from a business FaeppgB irtkdagj Daddy My father, Bobby Bembry, will celebrate his 72nd birthday on Monday, January 21. I hope that 2008 will be a better year for him than last year was. Last year wasn't all bad for Daddy After all, he moved into the first new house that he had ever lived in that year and the best house that he had lived in since my family had left Monticello in 1986. Daddy also welcomed his third great-grandchild into the world last year, as my niece Morgan gave birth to her second daughter, Catherine Lynn Taff. Daddy was in attendance at church last year every time the doors were open. The only times he missed were when he was in the hospital or in rehab, recovering from a broken hip. If he hadn't been hospitalized or do- ing therapy, he would have been there then. My father was at the revivals held at the church, the peanut boil, the Christmas play and every special event the church had. He would have been there for the hayride and hobo supper and for the church homecom- ing, but he was recovering from a broken hip then. I know how badly that he missed it, however. Daddy has set an example for me, my brother, my two sisters, my nieces and great nieces and my nephew' and great nephew to.follow with his dedication to the church and his faith in God. For that, he deserves.all.the, respect that-I and my familyca- give him. ...n I pray that God gives Daddy great health and pros- pers him physically, mentally, financially and spiritual- ly during the next year. Happy birthday, Daddy! 'Che Mani0son Enterprise-Recorber P.O. Box 772 Madison, FL 32341 1695 S SR 53 Madison, FL 32340 (850) 973-4141 Fax: (850) 973-4121 greenepub@greenepublishing.com http://www.areenepublishina.com -since lo5- "Telling it like it is with honesty and integrity" 'tbe abisot o e nttprist-Recotrcr Madison Recorder established 1865, New Enterprise established 1901, Consolidated June 25, 1908 Published weekly by Greene Publishing, Inc., 1695 S. SR 53, Madison, FL 32340. Periodicals postage PAID at Madison Post Of- fice 32340. Publication No. 177.400. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Madison En- terprise-Recorder, P.O. Drawer 772, Madison, FL 32341-0772. This newspaper reserves the right to reject any advertisement, news matter, or subscriptions that, in the opinion of the manage- ment, will not be for the best interest of the county and/or the own- ers of this newspaper, and to investigate any advertisement submit- ted. All photos given to Greene Publishing, Inc. for publication in this newspaper must be picked up no later than 6 months from the date they are dropped off. Greene Publishing, Inc. will not be responsible for photos beyond said deadline. trip, I immediately went to the County Court House and made contact with Weed, where I was told of the im- pending 8 year deal. Thinking this was quite possibly the best deal he could get, I felt hopeless, and said so. The following, has me baffled. I was asked by this re- ally cute judge, what I thought, McFadden should get. After all, he was charged with "Burglary while armed". One can get life, for something like this. I responded by saying, "10 Years, or more". I'll not bore the reader with the rest of that conversation, but when I left, this cute Judge told the Defense Attorney, and the State Attorney, that she would not accept less than a 10 year plea. Sev- eral hours later, John Weed came to my store and told my wife and I that Justin Jamar McFadden received the 8 year agreed to earlier. I wonder, what happened after I left? What are the real consequences for this action? Everyone, in this county lost. Justin Jamar McFadden will be out of prison in only 5 years. McFadden has been in County Jail the last year and a half, therefore, he gets time for that. McFadden will also get time off if he 500- Word Amendment Is Not True Tax Reform Dear Editor: You should have an opportunity to vote for real prop- erty tax reform. The 500-word amendment on the ballot is not true reform and is likely to do more harm than good. The amendment will increase the inequities of the property tax and could end the hopes for future compre- hensive reform. The real flaw in Amendment One is that tax savings are not guaranteed and tax burdens will be unfairly shifted with unpredictable results. Most of the relief goes to those who need it the least (long-term Save Our Homes property owners) while giving very little to those that have seen their taxes rise the most (non-homestead property). The tax burden will continue to be shifted to new homeowners and businesses. Florida can, and must, do better. Unfair taxes on one group of taxpayers have an impact for all taxpay- ers. The proposed constitutional amendment will make a bad situation worse. . 3 lTrue -property tax reform should greatly reduce the tax disckepancies among homestead properties. Simi- larly situated taxpayers should be taxed similarly Fu- ture growth of property tax revenue should not exceed taxpayers' ability to pay Tax relief should be targeted disproportionately to those taxpayers that have shoul- dered the burden of increasing property taxes. If you want true reform, vote no and demand real property tax reform. Sound advice when voting on whether to amend the constitution is "when in doubt, leave it out." This proposed amendment is not true property tax reform. It is something "people will vote for." It is not property tax reform. Sincerely, Jim Catron, Mayor/ Commissioner District 3 Reader Says, "Property Taxes Are Out Of Hand" Dear Editor: On January 29, 2008, the people of Florida have an opportunity to begin a reduction of property taxes. Property taxes in Florida have become out of hand and are hurting the property owners and the State with such high tax rates. The people have been told that if the tax amendment does pass on January 29, services will be reduced. This is nothing more than an old scare tactic that politicians and bureaucrats always use to get voters to vote against any tax reductions. Most of the ones who are against this amendment are those who benefit directly from the taxes of property owners, such as elected politicians, bu- reaucrats who head up agencies, department heads, etc. It is noteworthy that the counties, cities, and school boards use tax money to hire lobbyist groups to work for them to get additional tax money that they, the politi- cians and bureaucrats, can use to hire additional people in order to strengthen their base of voters to get re-elect- ed. The lobbyist groups for the county and city commis- sions, the mayors, the school boards are, of course, all for the defeat of the amendment because it would make budget reductions necessary The elected officials and appointed bureaucrats who live off the property tax rev- enue have made no effort to reduce their spending and, in fact, bemoan the fact that they do not have more to spend. The amendment that is on the ballot January 29, 2008, is not the complete answer to the property tax question, but it is a start. I believe Thomas Jefferson said, "The government that can give you everything can certainly take away everything you have." Sincerely, C. T. McWilIiams, Jr. brushes his teeth, ties his shoes, and plays well with oth- ers. But then, I would wager with anyone, McFadden will, be back in prison, in less than a year, after being re- leased. What will happen next? In less than six years, we will have three former Madison county residents, Justin McFadden, Corry Johnson, and O'Neal Robin- son, back on the'streets of Florida, causing mayhem. However, this time they will be bigger, smarter, more street smart, and more dangerous. Remember, these model citizens stole 30 firearms on July 4th. 2006. Eight of which are still out on the streets. These wonderful residents know where these firearms are, and refuse to let the authorities know where, or whom, has them. These firearms were stolen for one reason and one reason only They were to be used to enhance their crim- inal activities, having firearms in their possession, gave ,them the upper hand over those that don't, thus, they have easy prey on whom to plunder. George Pouliotte Living With Little People: Part 2 This is the second part of my series. "Living with Little People." This segment was written in June 2006, eight months later than the first. This month, Trinity and Karic will be two years old and Donovan is now 17 months old, which gets him caught up with where we started with the other two last week. There is still never a dull moment at our house. It just keeps getting better. We are on the border now of what people call the "terrible twos." Oh, it can't be that bad, right? But three almost two-year-olds, well, that's just plain fun. All three are walking, two are running, it's a zoo. The families are celebrating Trinity and Karic's, birthdays together on June 17. That date falls between the two birthdays as they are only three weeks apart. The last eight months have been filled with several more amazing feats with these children. We still feel they are little geniuses. Their language has improved drasti- cally They are now learning colors, shapes and numbers. They recognize people and now know most of them by name, including aunt and uncle prefixes. They affiliate the word, doctor with pain and it upsets them. They have moved up from ride on toys to battery powered vehicles. They enjoy playing in the outside play areas and most of the time know where they are allowed to play and stay there. They have mastered the stomp and throw stuff tantrum antics. But they quickly find themselves in time out or being ignored until they stop. It is hard to punish them without laughing at their responses sometimes and hearing their argument proving no wrongdoing on their part. You can't be mean to them sometimes when they are so darn cute. They have mastered feeding them- selves. They know that the food may be hot at first and they wait for it to cool down. They are trying real hard with potty training, if they mess the diaper, they even bring you a new one to let you know it's time to change th4m. They have great imaginations and play make be- lieve for long periods of time. They even want you to in- teract with them by eating and drinking what they have prepared, or talk on the phone to whoever they are talk- ing with. Keeping this week short so that I can share some of my favorite pictures of these little people with you. Next week, we jump ahead about a year ahead and have yet another surprise. See you next week!!