Edd's Gatherin' Place

While The Lady starts on her yearly ritual of taking down the Christmas decorations and getting ready for a visit by her twin sister from Levittown, Pennsylvania, on Friday, we should spend our time looking at unfinished business and what more faces our community Sumter County.
The idea came to me after reading Mayor Bubba’s Newsletter yesterday morning. And folks, if you don’t read Mayor Bubba, you are missing news and events connected to our history, local happenings, and the importance of your faith in a Judeo-Christian God.

Unfinished Business:

• Follow-up with Susan Wild on history of the Fantasy of Lights

• Complete my post on “A Miracle Unseen”

• Contact S.C. Dept. of Commerce on the new Paper Mill $125M investment (announced Tuesday December 14, 2004) and define the statement “competition for the company’s …capital was fierce.” How much did it cost taxpayers and what promises did the state make in the face of such “fierce competition?”

Ideas for the Future:

• Follow up on some ideas generated by Mayor Bubba’s Newsletter of December 26, 2004, Who monitors traffic; how much traffic is “too much” for the existing infrastructure; who determines what’s needed for any correction if needed; who pays for the improvements; and who makes these decisions
• Before a new development, i.e., I-Hop, Chili’s, old Ryan’s, and the possibility of a new mall location across from Goodwin on Broad Street Ext. that will include the indistinguishable Mr. Scrooge of department stores, Target
• Who looks at the traffic protocol of a before and afterMayor Bubba mentioned the intersection of US 441 and US 76 just beyond Shaw AFB as being the worst in the State. What makes it the worst and what if any are the corrective actions needed to make this area more safe
• Try to get numbers on traffic accidents and fatalities in the city, county and surrounding areas and a number of wrecker service pickups during this time frame
• Print a list of the Sumter County Legislative Delegation and arrange to get to know a little more information on each one – what is their job, how much control or influence do they have over the expenditure of taxpayers’ money and lives

I’ll leave it for now and will begin in earnest as we look forward to a new year in Sumter and the changes that face us in 2005 and beyond.

Peace from the Barber Shop…