• Changes at Reed Bingham State Park



Over the past month, there has been a great deal of concern expressed regarding management changes at Reed Bingham State Park. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been very aware of this concern but because they involve personnel matters, has been limited in our ability to comment publicly. However, now that DNR is moving forward with new leadership at the park, it is appropriate to share a few points.

First and foremost, we recognize and greatly appreciate all of the support that the local community has shown for Reed Bingham State Park. From the active support of our Friends Chapter, Cook and Colquitt counties, and all the local and state elected leaders, it is obvious that Reed Bingham State Park is a beloved natural, economic and recreational asset.

Secondly, the management change at the park that was initiated by DNR was due to a number of unfortunate factors but was not related to timber cutting. As in the past, any future timber management actions at Reed Bingham will employ a selective thinning process, not clear cutting. The management change also had no relation to the purported North Georgia vs. South Georgia funding of parks that was raised in a recent editorial. Having grown up in South Georgia, the DNR leadership understands that certain areas have been underserved in the past. That’s a central motivating factor for our request for bond funding from the General Assembly. Our hope is that this new capital infusion will help DNR make much needed repairs to restrooms, roads, residences, buildings and trails across the state.

Finally, DNR is moving forward as quickly as possible to establish a new leadership team at the park. We expedited posting for the position and will be interviewing soon for the manager’s position. In the interim, we have asked former Reed Bingham manager Jay Lewis to oversee the operations of the park. Once in place, the new team will work hard to continue the many important interpretive and programming opportunities that Reed Bingham is known for.

The next manager, whomever that may be, was not involved in this recent management change and shouldn’t be burdened with the baggage of the past. We hope that you will embrace this new person as they take on stewardship of the park. By working together, we can ensure that Reed Bingham will continue to be a vital part of our state park system and the local community long into the future.



Becky Kelley

Director, Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites

Department of Natural Resources



• Toxic chemicals



After reading the list of toxic chemicals Wiregrass Power LLC plans to emit into our community’s air, which it listed in its Air Permit Application, I am convinced that citizens of Lowndes County should be greatly concerned. The company plans to burn over 3,000 tons of sewage sludge, a combination of human waste, household chemicals, leaked automotive fluids, and industrial wastes, in its proposed biomass power plant.

The National Lung Association's recent State of the Air report draws clear connections between lung and heart disease, asthma, and the air emissions from biomass power plants. As a result of this and similar studies, the Florida and Massachusetts Medical Associations have passed resolutions calling on governments to stop all new biomass power plant construction. Let me be clear: the emissions from the proposed Wiregrass Biomass Plant will increase rates of heart and lung disease in Valdosta and surrounding areas, and will ultimately shorten the lifespan of some members of our community. I hope that our elected officials will stand up for local families in upcoming EPD hearings, and will support a healthy and clean economy rooted in energy efficiency and real renewable energy.



Seth Gunning

Valdosta



• Pitts wrong about Sarah Palin



I must take issue with your resident super- biased ( I won’t call him bigoted because I don’t want to use his tactics against him.) columnist Mr. Leonard Pitts, regarding his column which appeared in the Feb. 16th issue of the VDT. To quote the late Senator Moynihan, D, (N.Y.), when he replied to a colleague in a debate, “Sir, you are entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts.”

First, Mrs. Palin never called the president an idiot in her Tea Party speech. I rather imagine she preferred that his actions be allowed to speak louder than her words.

Secondly, you seem to ignore the fact that this administration has exhibited many times that they suffer that old baseball term called “rabbit ears” (Which, for the uninitiated is the inability to ignore criticism, real or imagined.) While I am sure that even the president wouldn’t be so gauche as to use those words on the general public, he has, many times, implied that disagreement with his policies are an indication of the critics’ failure to understand the motives for his rather elitist views.

Thirdly, I don’t remember any sputtering in the Chris Wallace interview to the degree which occurred when the teleprompter malfunctioned during one of the president’s speeches .

Lastly, I actually agree with Mr. Pitts about something. It is about a clash of intelligence rather than a clash of ideologies. Although I feel that Mr. Pitts is wrong about which of the two lack the intelligence. It seems that he is unable to distinguish between the relative disingenuousness of the glibness in misrepresenting terms like “transparency” and what qualifies as friendship with Bill Ayres and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on the part of the president and the proven ability to administer the affairs of the State of Alaska in such a way as to leave a surplus to the state budget, bring the oil lobby to heel, support ethics reform to the extent that members of the legislature, (including members of her own party), were sent to prison and, lastly accrue an 86 percent approval rating, while doing so in only two-and-a-half years.

We can always use a good laugh Mr. Pitts. So to paraphrase a statement in your own column, “Write, Leonard, write.”



Forrest Williams

Valdosta