Editor, I’ve been reading the recent back-and-forth debate between Liberty County Commissioner Gary Gilliard and Mr. Bruce A. McCartney. I have some comments.
Let’s discuss jobs. Recently, I discussed the “jobs” situation with Liberty County Commission Chairman Lovette (who’s on the Liberty County Development Authority board). General Electric recently opened three 50-employee factories in Ohio and Kentucky. Why not here? Chairman Lovette told me it’s difficult to get a company like GE because those companies don’t want to pay local taxes.
Hmm, let’s see. Several trips to China and a lot of trips to Washington, D.C., (both Hinesville Mayor Jim Thomas and Chairman Lovette could have stayed home and visited Rep. Jack Kingston in Savannah), yet our unemployment rate still is above the national rate.
Mr. Gilliard, have you discussed the unemployment issue with Chairman Lovette and Mayor Thomas?
Regarding racism, maybe you’ve see some of the filth that children of various races live in on Sharon, Lesa and Elaine streets in Hinesville, almost all of which is rental property.
I have a solution — a “summit,” or maybe a joint meeting, at Hinesville’s Irene B. Thomas Park pavilion, which is located among some of the most some slummy, trashy filth in Hinesville. Let’s have the Hinesville City Council, the mayor, the Liberty County Commission and chairman, the city of Hinesville Department chiefs and 3rd ID Commander Gen. John “Mike” Murray attend the summit. Unfortunately, Gen. Murray, some — though not all — of your soldiers are guilty of not cleaning up their trashy, filthy yards, so you, too, can take part in the event. Coastal Courier, you can be a part of this, too — bring your camera!
Now, how to solve the trashy, filthy yards situation — how about a strong task force that includes military members from Fort Stewart, local government leaders to enforce codes and members of our real-estate industry.
Real-estate people, this problem is simple. When a neighborhood like Sharon, Lesa and Elaine streets turns into a slum, your rent checks decrease, and you generally have a difficult time renting and selling these properties. This means lower sales commissions and lower rent profits. Hmm, that’s like a money loser, and because the property values decline, that’s less tax revenue for the city. Something to think about.
To the above-mentioned entities, let’s have this summit, and maybe it should be a yearly event at this park.

— Joe Stuart
Hinesville