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Highway 196 work welcome; not well planned
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Editor, After several years of construction and reconstruction, Georgia Highway 196 is approximately 85 percent completed, and I am happy that it’s almost ready for use. I will certainly be thankful for the additional lanes traveling in each direction.
This will surely ease some of the congestion commuters have previously subjected to. Although I am somewhat unhappy with this road widening project, I see a minimum of three uncorrected issues posing serious traffic problems.
First, the new intersection, with traffic lights linking Highway 84 to 196 is a worse problem now for commuters driving eastbound toward Highway 17. The former vehicular carnage and motorist fatalities that took place at the former entrance to Highway 196 has only been moved a few hundred yards east on 84. Even with traffic lights, motorists making left turns from 84 onto 196 eastbound are still pushing the envelope when it comes to oncoming westbound traffic on Highway 84. It’s just as dangerous, or even worse, with the traffic lights. The problem is this; motorists are too impatient to wait for oncoming traffic to clear the intersection before safely attempting to turn left onto 196. Secondly, the left turn lane, at the new lighted intersection, doesn’t leave or allow enough room for automobiles lining up to make the left turn when the light changes to green, and that’s a fact. It’s all too apparent to me that the planners underestimated the number of vehicles departing Hinesville, and travel on 196 each day.
Finally, the third issue is the bottleneck and log jam of traffic at the intersection of Highway 196 and 17. Vehicles are still lined up, bumper-to-bumper, attempting to turn left onto Highway 17 and proceed on toward Richmond Hill. An overpass would have corrected this condition. So now we have a lovely new highway with the same old problems at both ends of Highway 196.
In closing, I must suggest that the “peter principle” appears to apply here in regards to all those self-important individuals involved in the planning phases of this “white elephant.” The Pentagon would most certainly love to have these individuals on staff and in our war rooms. Why, they could all be generals. They could teach everyone how to walk backward, emit smoke from their ears, chew gum, scratch themselves. Isn’t life wonderful.

— John P. Howard
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Showing gratitude for service
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Dear editor: Another election cycle is finally over and the voters of Bryan County have spoken. We will have three new county commissioners in January 2011.
My congratulations go out to Jimmy Henderson of District 5, Carter Infinger of District 4 and Wade Price of District 2. I look forward to working with them as we continue to take care of the business of the county.
All three races were contested, which gave the voters a choice of who they wanted as their commissioner. Those who did not prevail in this election are to be applauded for offering themselves as candidates.
Our county owes a debt of gratitude to retiring commissioners Rick Gardner with eight years of service, Blondean Newman with eight years of service as a commissioner and 30 years as tax commissioner, and Toby Roberts with 18 years on the county commission.
These three spent many hours establishing policies and procedures for our county government and many meetings with state and local officials to achieve the best possible outcomes regarding our county on numerous issues. Their many years of experience will be sorely missed.
I well remember the first time I ran for public office and lost. Sometimes those who are not elected are the winners because they don’t have to go to all the meetings – that is said with tongue in cheek, of course.
After my loss, someone sent me the following quotation from President Theodore Roosevelt, which I keep on the wall in my office:
“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
And my wish for all the citizens of Bryan County is to have a truly blessed Christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year’s.

Jimmy Burnsed
Chairman
Board of commissioners

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