4 Thursday, March 27, 2014

OPINION

387-5277

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Newcastle Pacer
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Established May 4, 1978 Published weekly on Thursday by Tri-City Publishing 120 NE 2nd Suite 102, P.O. Box 429 Newcastle, OK 73065 405-387-5277 Periodicals postage paid at Newcastle, OK ATTENTION POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Newcastle Pacer P.O. Box 429, Newcastle, OK 73065

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Your Legislators
City government
Newcastle City Hall: 387-4427 www.cityofnewcastleok.com Mayor Karl Nail ward4@cityofnewcastleok.com Wayne McDoulett ward1@cityofnewcastleok.com Vice Mayor Cindy Frizzell ward3@cityofnewcastleok.com Gene Reid ward2@cityofnewcastle.com Mike Fullerton atlarge@cityofnewcastleok.com

Palin endorsement wont do much for T.W. Shannon

By Tahlequah Daily Press staff Tahlequah Daily Press So Sarah Palin has endorsed former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tom Coburn. Were not impressed, and we doubt too many other folks in Cherokee County will be, either. This is the Sarah Palin who cost U.S. Sen. John McCain the presidency after a dim-bulb staffer closed his eyes, opened a book listing ultra-conservative female politicians, and dropped a nger on a name from Alaska. Its the same Sarah Palin who has been written off by many embarrassed Republicans as having the same intellectual acumen as a barrel of hair. Does Shannon really want to hitch his wagon to this particular mule? He already has some solid conservative credentials a bit too conservative in some ways, according to a Press poll. Folks around here would sure like to see someone in that seat who can cross party lines, as Coburn was known to do. And theyd like to see someone who is just as quick to denounce corporate welfare as the other kind, when its fraudulently and unnecessarily obtained. Coburn may not have been as popular here as he was in other parts of Oklahoma, but he was respected for his tendency to consider issues one at a time, rather than toeing the line on Republican Party politics. Corporate interests and wealthy donors couldnt always count on him to be their friend. Two other GOP politicians from Oklahoma who can work both sides of the aisle say they wont seek Coburns seat: 4th District U.S. Congressman Tom Cole, and State Sen. Doug Cox, of Grove. Thats too bad, because both of these men could command considerable support even among this countys 16,000-plus Democrats. Both are moderate to conservative, and are known for their no-nonsense approach to volatile issues. On the Democratic side, a few local Republicans have indicated they might support Dan Boren, who was one of the leading blue dog Democrats when he served this district. Prominent businessmen in the area like Kirk Boatright got along very well with Boren. Drew Edmondson would also make a strong showing here, with his long-time advocacy of the Illinois River and its related issues. At this point, it seems doubtful either will run. Several other politicians have tossed their hats into the ring, and therein lies the problem. Cynical voters and practically all of us are in that group are beginning to turn up their noses at career politicians, or those who aspire to the label. We wonder why we cant get a good citizen legislator to represent us anymore perhaps a savvy businessman who will look out for the little guy just as zealously as he does the corporate giants, or someone with years in the medical eld, or higher education, who has a good handle on Oklahomas particular issues. Getting a senator we can all stand to look at and listen to is probably a pipe dream, but we can still research and educate ourselves, and vote the best way we can. Its a sure bet Sarah Palins stamp of approval isnt going to convince anyone with at least as much sense as God gave a goat.

County government
McClain County Assessor 527-3520 Asst. District Attorney 527-6574 Commissioners Office 527-3117 Dist. 1 Commissioner Benny McGowen 449-3355 Dist. 2 Commissioner Wilson Lyles 527-2040 Dist. 3 Commissioner Charles Foster 485-3388 County Clerk 527-3360 Court Clerk 527-3221 Department of Human Services 527-6511 Child Welfare 527-3222 Juvenile Services 527-6755 District Judge 527-6432 Associate District Judge 527-6651 Election Board 527-3121 Extension Office 527-2174 Health Department: 527-6541 Sheriffs Department 527-2141 County Treasurer 527-3261

State government

Governor Mary Fallin 521-2342 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm 212 Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb 521-2161 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 211 Rep. Scott Martin, R-Dist. 46 557-7329 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 335 scott.martin@okhouse.gov Rep. Scott Biggs, R-Dist. 51 557-7405 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 320 scott.biggs@okhouse.gov Rep. Lisa Billy, R-Dist. 42 557-7365 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 302-A lisajbilly@okhouse.gov Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Dist. 20 557-7308 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 320 bob.cleveland@okhouse.gov Sen. Corey Brooks, R-Dist 43 (405) 521-5522 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 250 brooks@oksenate.gov

Local control = pay for it yourself

By Paul Laubach The Hennessey Clipper Gov. Mary Fallin and her followers, including Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, are coining the phrase Local Control to sell their idea to ask Oklahomans to raise property taxes to fund school storm shelters and security improvements. The Governors HJR 1092 property tax bill was passed out of Hickmans GOP-led House by a whopping 65-28 vote. Another lawmaker, Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing, is trying to pass HJR 1081 which would ask Oklahoma voters to amend the constitution to allow a ve mill increase in property taxes to fund local school districts certied employee salaries. All of these ideas are being sold under the banner of Local Control, but here is what that really means to western Oklahoma. It means you have to continue to raise local property taxes on yourself to pay for your own schools, but Oklahoma City is still going to tell you how to manage your classrooms, what tests to administer, and which students can pass or not, and the list goes on and on. The scariest part of this new Local Control theme is that it is disguise to shift the taxation burden from other state tax resources, such as income taxes, to local property taxes. Why? Special interest politics Gov. Fallin has proven what her real political goals are with her legislative agenda this year by eliminating the state income tax, increasing state government debt to x her ofce building, and increasing property taxes to pay for school storm shelters. She may or may not recognize the funding needs of our state, but regardless, the governor doesnt want to pay for them under our current tax code. Gov. Fallin has obviously adopted former Gov. Frank Keatings desire to make our state become like Texas. It makes me wonder how much Fallin dreams of the day when we become like Texas and you dont have to pay income tax but you do have to pay more than $2,000 a year in property tax to keep your farm (each farm) and $10,000 a year to keep your house. Gov. Fallin, like Keating, has been taken under the spell by the pomp and charm of our big city corporate aristocrats, such as Pete Delaney, CEO of OGE Energy Corp, and others who earn millions of dollars a year. When you make that kind of money, a little property tax is nothing compared to paying income tax. Delaney and his buddies at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce surely know that higher property taxes are bad for the companies they run but doesnt someone have to suffer if you want to fatten your own pockets with more cash? Let the OG&E shareholders and customers worry about higher property taxes, right? Why is this dangerous and outright scary for rural Oklahoma? Our economy depends almost entirely on energy, agriculture, and our public schools. The largest employers in every small town in this area are our farmers and ranchers, energy workers, and our schools. There has been a problem with growth and funding in rural public schools for some time. The most regressive tax in western Oklahoma is property taxes because it disproportionately affects our two most important industries. At the same time, this funding source is our schools life-bread yet the politicians in Oklahoma City punish our schools because we have so much local funding from our local property tax base. Gov. Fallins new higher property tax agenda, hidden under the theme of Local Control, will only make our problems worse and escalate the demise of our smalltown schools. Many aristocratic big city business leaders, fat cat political party bosses and politicians, and even big city school administrators think that it is wasteful taxpayer spending to keep our schools open in western Oklahoma because we have so few students. If Gov. Fallin and her followers have their way, we will be forced to vote in higher property taxes time and time again while the legislature continues to pass more unfunded mandates until our schools close. Will they nally be happy when they take our Local Control property tax money and send it all to Oklahoma City to fund their own pet projects? Where will our children go to school then? They can be bussed to countywide schools like they do in rural western Kansas where children can spend two to three hours a day just riding the school bus. Next time you run into a Kansas wheat farmer ask him about how high his property taxes are and how many schools are left in his county. We are shocked that western Oklahomas own son, Speaker Jeff Hickman of Fairview, would go along and bow down to Gov. Fallins reckless agenda. The disappointment we feel now by his actions will be nothing compared to the consequences western Oklahomas rural schools and small towns will feel in the future if Fallins agenda continues to advance under the disguise of Local Control. Our rural ag groups seem content with sitting back and watching this wrong-sided agenda move forward at their members peril. Rep. Mike Sanders, R-Kingsher, appears to understand our problems and stands in opposition to HJR 1092. Sanders needs our help, so let us all make sure we contact Speaker Hickman and Gov. Fallin and tell them we need more Local Control over how we manage our schools, not more Local Control to vote in higher taxes on our local farmers and ranchers. Make no bones about it. Gov. Fallins Local Control is equal to You Pay for it Yourself.

Federal government

President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 comments@whitehouse.gov Vice President Joe Biden vice_president@whitehouse.gov Rep. Tom Cole, R, Moore 2420 Springer Dr., Ste. 120 Norman, OK 73069 (405) 329-6500 (202) 225-6165 Sen. Jim Inhofe,R, Moore U.S. Senate 453 Russell SOB Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-4721 Sen. Tom Coburn 100 N. Broadway, Suite 1820 Oklahoma City, OK 73102 (405) 231-4941