The cost to park on Tybee Island’s beachfront parking lots on the north and south ends is going up.

The City Council unanimously approved increasing the parking rates at those locations from $1.50 to $2 per hour during their meeting Thursday night.

The council also approved increasing the cost of yearly parking decals from $100 to $150, although a senior rate of $125 was approved for those 62 years old and older.

Councilman Barry Brown made the motion for the senior discount after a Whitemarsh Island resident said the cost hike would be a financial hardship for him and other seniors.

Councilmen Tom Groover and Frank Schuman supported the motion, while Councilmen Paul Wolff, Wanda Doyle and Bill Garbett opposed it.

Mayor Jason Buelterman cast the deciding vote in favor of the senior rate.

The parking decal increase will go into effect starting Monday, while the parking rate increase will be contingent on when the pay and display meters can be updated.

City officials say the increase is needed to help cover the cost of beach-related services such as trash collection, lifeguard protection and erosion control.

Savannah and the seven other municipalities in Chatham County would lose a combined $200 million over 10 years under a formula change county officials are proposing to divvy up Local Option Sales Tax money.

Savannah alone would lose $15.2 million a year, for a 10-year loss of $152 million.

Savannah City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney called it “vastly unacceptable” at a council workshop session Thursday, adding it wouldn’t be a LOST, but a ‘LOSS’ for the city.

The county and the eight cities within it are renegotiating a 10-year-old
agreement on how a 1 percent sales tax should be divided. Over the decade, the penny tax is expected to generate about $600 million.

The county’s proposal boosts its portion of LOST funding from 17.8 percent to 52 percent. It cuts Savannah’s portion from 67.2 percent to almost 41 percent, but also takes from other municipalities.

County officials unveiled the revised formula at a Tuesday meeting, but city officials needed to calculate what the change would mean.

“We knew sitting around the table Tuesday night that what was going to be presented was not going to be in our favor, but we didn’t know it would be so drastic,” Small-Toney said.

Mayor Edna Jackson assured council it was early in the negotiating process. City and county officials have 60 days to reach consensus. If that fails, they enter non-binding arbitration. If that fails to secure an agreement, it would head to Superior Court.

County Commissioner Pat Farrell, who helped develop the new formula, said county officials struggled for months to develop calculations that would provide the most tax relief for taxpayers, including those in Savannah.

With the special services fees and a Chatham Area Transit assessment, the tax rate for an unincorporated resident is 15.5 mills. Savannah city residents have a 12.5 millage rate, but that’s on top of county taxes they pay, which are assessed at almost 12 additional mills.

The LOST monies can pay for services that have countywide benefit, such as courts and jail expenses. That leaves the county’s 87,000 unincorporated residents as “the red-headed stepchild” of the process, Farrell said, because, though they pay LOST as well, none of the money collected from them can go to needs in just unincorporated areas.

Savannah officials counter they have a far higher demand to provide services, not only from regional residents who work in the city, but also from nearly 12 million tourists annually. That places higher demand for police, sanitation and other services, meaning they deserve a higher cut of LOST funds.

The next negotiation session is scheduled for June 26.

Proposed LOST changes

Chatham County and area cities are negotiating a funding split for Local Option Sales Taxes. Here’s what the county funding would change:

CITY Current LOST share Proposed LOST share

Bloomingdale 1.36% .32%

Garden City 5.7% 1.3%

Pooler 3.19% 2.3%

Port Wentworth 1.6% .9%

Savannah 67.2% 40.98%

Thunderbolt 1.2% .53%

Tybee 1.7% 1.29%

Vernonberg .07% .02%

Chatham County 17.8% 52.2%

SOURCE: Chatham County

After saying little at first, congressional hopeful Wright McLeod is aggressively disputing a claim he broke election law.

Even so, the Augusta lawyer is attributing some apparent violations to what turned out to be faulty legal advice.

“This is just petty nonsense,” McLeod said last week.” ... I haven’t done anything wrong ...It’s crazy. ... It’s a hatchet job.”

He’s one of four Republicans seeking to replace incumbent Democrat John Barrow in the 12th Congressional District.

New district boundaries, which prompted Barrow to move from Savannah to Augusta, favor Republicans, so national GOP groups think they can win the seat.

McLeod was the top GOP fundraiser during the first quarter of 2012. But his campaign finances are the target of an opponent’s complaint to the Federal Election Commission.

Augusta businessman Rick Allen says McLeod misreported expenditures, took donations larger than allowed and filched campaign donor information.

The FEC often takes 10 months or so to resolve complaints, so it’s unlikely to act on Allen’s before the July 31 primary. That leaves the candidates to spin things as best they can.

At first, McLeod mostly deferred to a spokeswoman who said little about the complaint but called it “false, baseless and ... nothing but a witch hunt.”

But in a debate and an interview last week, McLeod addressed some of the specifics.

He defended his campaign finance reports’ failure to say who received eight payments totaling $51,159. The reports describe them merely as “payroll.”

By law, congressional campaigns must name anyone paid more than $200 in any calendar year.

McLeod didn’t contend the law doesn’t apply to him.

“We only listed it as payroll,” he said, “which is what we were told the law requires.”

He said he relied on the advice of a campaign finance expert who worked for the late U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood.

He said his campaign has provided news media the missing information, “and the numbers add up.”

McLeod said he’ll amend his report only if the FEC tells him to, not because Allen wants him to.

He also rejected Allen’s contention that McLeod under-reported the fair rental value of office space four people donated to the campaign.

As a result, Allen contends, each exceeded the $2,500 federal contribution limit for the primary.

The claim is documented by portions of McLeod’s reports and rental data on three nearby office sites that Scott Paradise, Allen’s campaign manager, said are comparable.

But McLeod said he’s using only a small portion of the space. He added his agreement with the donors lets them evict the campaign — with 30-days notice — if the office is sold or leased.

“That affects value,” he said.

His campaign didn’t respond to a request for a copy of any document that might have described such an understanding.

But McLeod spokeswoman Holly Croft said McLeod meant to say the agreement provides for 60-days notice, not 30.

“The building had been vacant four years,” McLeod said. “We reported rent at $1,000 a month, which is what the four owners told us to report.”

McLeod also denied Allen’s claim that his campaign illegally took names and addresses from Allen’s campaign finance reports and used them for fundraising letters.

The punctuation in the names and addresses in the solicitations is identical to that in Allen’s report but different than in other public records, Paradise said. That shows they were lifted from Allen’s reports, he added.

But McLeod said one of the mailings in question bore an Atlanta postmark.

“None of those names are in our database,” he said. “Who sent them? I don’t know. We didn’t.”

The actual postmark on the copy of a McLeod campaign envelope he cited is “North Metro,” which is near Atlanta.

The point, said Croft, is “we don’t drive two hours ... to mail letters.”

But Rebecca Cummisskey, a McLeod fundraising consultant, is based in Atlanta and is helping with a June 20 $500-per-person fundraiser for him in Atlanta.

Reminded of Cummisskey’s operations in the city, Croft didn’t respond.

Paradise rejected McLeod’s explanations.

“McLeod has yet again proven ... that when faced with a chance to tell the truth or tell a fib, he chooses to tell a fib every time,” Paradise said, “which is exactly why Georgians have become so cynical not only of Wright McLeod — but of Washington politicians in general.”

But McLeod isn’t backing off.

He said he first learned of the matter late on a Friday afternoon when a reporter sought a response to a complaint he didn’t know existed.

“She faxes me an unsigned letter from Allen’s campaign manager,” he said. “I didn’t know whether it was from Mr. Allen, Congressman Barrow or Mr. Anderson. I had no idea.”

State Rep. Lee Anderson of Grovetown and Dublin lawyer Maria Sheffield are the other GOP candidates.

“This is why politics in Washington is absolutely wacky,” McLeod said. “Instead of talking about the issues, we’re ... talking about verbal accusation and character assassination.”

The city of Savannah could reap more than $228 million to spend on road and sidewalk improvements if voters in 10 counties approve a new sales tax devoted solely to transportation.

Called the TSPLOST, or Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, it would collect another penny on the dollar on sales. The catch, though, is that all 10 counties, which are part of a regional transportation district, have to pass the tax in a July 31 vote.

Over a decade, if voters approve it, Savannah would garner more than $176 million toward big-ticket projects, including:

• Building a new connector from Interstate 516 to DeRenne Avenue and Hunter Army Airfield.

• Removing the Interstate 16 flyover.

• Widening I-16 from I-516 to I-95.

• Building a new bridge on President Street over the railroad tracks.

Another $52 million is in play for smaller city of Savannah projects that would be spread across the six City Council districts. That would provide each district more than $8.7 million.

Council members were briefed on the funding potential from TSPLOST at Thursday’s workshop, and had so many questions about how city staff had recommended spending the money that Mayor Edna Jackson asked them to schedule one-on-one meetings with City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney to shift priorities. Once changes are made, a revised list will come back to council for approval.

District 2 Alderwoman Mary Osborne plans to schedule a town hall meeting with her voters to decide what street repairs and sidewalk work should come first.

One concern she had about the schedule is that neither her nor Alderman Van Johnson’s districts would get any sidewalk projects until 2017. Her district wouldn’t get resurfacing projects until 2015. They would get more than $1 million per district in 2013 and 2014 for traffic and safety improvements.

“The bottom line is it’s equally divided in the end,” she said, “but in the first three years, nothing happens in the First or Second district.”

Johnson welcomed the opportunity for each district to evaluate needs.

“I think each district needs to do an individual analysis,” he said. “Our needs are different.”

Aside from Chatham, the other counties that make up the coastal region are Effingham, Bryan, Liberty, Bulloch, Screven, Long, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden.

The Garden City Council is on the verge of joining most of Chatham County’s other cities in levying a property tax on its residents.

The tax would be the first for the west Chatham city, although it is not exactly a historic occasion that officials want to celebrate.

City Manager Brian Johnson said a variety of factors are behind the plan to adopt a tax rate of 2 mills, which would amount to about $80 a year for a $100,000 property.

One of the most significant reasons is an anticipated drop in local option sales tax revenue, Johnson said.

“If we were not steering toward a revenue reduction, we would not be having this conversation,” he said.

Distribution of the 1 percent sales tax has to be renegotiated by Chatham County and the municipalities within two years of every 10-year census. A proposal presented by the county on Tuesday would reduce the municipalities’ share of revenue and be a significant hit on Garden City’s budget, Johnson said.

But Garden City’s cut could also be reduced if the governments reject the county’s formula and decide to base the distribution on population. The 2010 Census found the number of Garden City residents had decreased by 14 percent to 8,778 — a reduction the city is challenging.

If approved, Johnson said, the property tax is anticipated to raise about $600,000 for city services such as police, parks and recreation and public works.

Cutting spending to make up for the lost revenue is also an option, but there would be consequences, Johnson said.

“Cutting the police department in half may not be an acceptable option,” he said. “It’s just whether or not council and residents feel they are acceptable.

“That’s just what council has to take into account when they consider this.”

The first two of three public hearings on the tax proposal will be held Monday morning and evening at city hall. The third is scheduled for June 28.

If the tax is approved, Bloomingdale would be the only city in Chatham with no property tax. The town of Vernonburg also does not levy a property tax.

Bloomingdale City Administrator Charles Akridge said his city has no plans to adopt a property tax, although a drop in local option sales tax revenue, which funds about a quarter of the city’s expenses, would have significant impact. Akridge said the city’s population has remained about the same since 2000 and hoped Bloomingdale’s sales tax percentage follows suit.

“There is a lot of room for negotiation,” he said. “I anticipate the cities and counties will come to an adequate conclusion.”

IF YOU GO

What: Public hearings on Garden City property tax rate

When: 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday

Where: Garden City City Hall, 100 Central Ave.

Standing just feet from Habersham Street, Savannah-Chatham police Sgt. Jeron Young addressed the three rows of uniformed police officers lined up in the Habersham Village parking lot.

Many of the officers scribbled notes as Young advised them about a recent string of vehicle break-ins during the Central Precinct’s pre-shift meeting at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

It was the second time the officers held the meeting in public as part of Precinct Commander Capt. DeVonn Adams’ “Roll Call in the Streets” initiative that aims to bring police officers and the people they serve together. Every two weeks Adams will host the meeting in a different neighborhood within the precincts’ district.

“It’s just an opportunity for the community to see the resources that we have available for them and what they are getting,” Adams said. “It’s good for public perception. A lot of people, they watch TV, they read things, and we just want them to come out here and get a, kind of, up-close and personal feeling of the officers that serve them in their community, so they understand that they’ve taken an oath to protect and serve them and try to improve their quality of life.”

A few people glanced interestedly at the scene as they walked by the lot, but Savannah District 4 Alderman Mary Ellen Sprague watched intently.

“People in the community like to see their police officers,” Sprague said. “Public safety and security is absolutely No. 1 with me, and I can say with absolute sincerity, (it is No. 1 with) the entire council.”

Savannah-Chatham police have seen a recent uptick in Internet-related crime and reports of people impersonating police officers.

When using the Internet people should be cautious, said Julian Miller, metro police spokesman.

People have fallen victim to work-at-home scams, Craigslist scams and being paid with bogus certified checks for items they’ve sold online, Miller said.

Scammers are increasingly targeting victims in vulnerable situations who can least afford their losses, said Star Cpl. Raymond Woodberry, of metro’s Financial Crimes Division.

“The number of cases is growing so rapidly we actually have to triage them to determine which we can work on,” he said. “We have to focus on those with a higher possibility of solution and even then very few of our victims will be able to recover their losses.”

One scam is usually directed at residents who have been searching the Internet for employment opportunities.

The websites sell their email addresses to other businesses, including scammers who offer opportunities such as “Secret Shopper.” An offer to allow the victim to apply for the job comes in an email with a detailed questionnaire. Sometime later, the victim is “hired” by a company which sends a cashier’s check, Miller said.

In one incident, a victim was hired to critique a telegraph service. The company sent a check for $3,500, asked the victim to cash it at their bank and wire money back to an address; they were advised to keep $200 as their payment. Once the money was wired back, the victim was asked to critique the wire service on established criteria.

Several days later, the victim was advised by their bank that the check was fraudulent and they were ordered to return the money to the bank. The recipients of the wired money vanished with no identifying information.

“Sadly, these victims were involved because of their need for employment,” Woodberry said. “Few can afford to repay the loss, but banks must be insistent on repayment.”

On Craigslist, police have seen a scam where multiple people — often students or people new to the area — looking to rent a home have paid deposits for the same house or apartment.

Several groups arrive, all with leases for the same property, but they cannot find the landlord, Miller said.

Police suggest that in all transactions in which money is sent through banks, especially certified checks or money orders, people not send any item or spend any received money until the check or money order has cleared the bank.

The offenders “will want their money immediately, but people easily could find themselves the victims of losses they cannot afford,” Woodberry said. “Give the bank time to make sure the check clears before spending or using the cash. Ask the bank to let you know when it clears.”

Miller also advised people they have the right to inspect an officer’s badge, ask for a supervisor to be called, or ask for time to call police to confirm the identity of anyone attempting to question them as a law enforcement officer.

Recently, Miller said, an elderly Savannah woman reported a man knocked on her door with a badge on his belt and questioned her. She realized after he had left that she did not know what department he represented and had not been able to read the badge.

There have also been several reports in Camden County of a man in uniform without a badge in an unmarked car attempting to pull over vehicles and question drivers.

Savannah-Chatham police protocol, Miller said, states that only marked police units can stop vehicles for traffic offenses unless a dangerous situation exists.

Man convicted
of 2009 rape

A Savannah man was convicted Friday of eight charges stemming from an August 2009 sexual assault.

A jury found Maurice Anthony Gordon Jr. guilty of one count of rape, two counts of aggravated sodomy, one count of armed robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, one count of false imprisonment, one count of influencing witnesses and one count of cruelty to a child in the third degree.

Assistant Chatham County District Attorney Frank Pennington, of the DA’s Special Victim’s Unit, represented the state in the case presided over by Chatham County Superior Court Judge Michael Karpf.

Pennington detailed that Gordon forcibly entered the victim’s home at gunpoint, pistol whipped her and sexually assaulted her in front of her 4-year-old child. Gordon then stole the victim’s cell phone, took her license and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

Daniel V. Baxter, district attorney spokesman, credited DNA evidence discovered at the scene, testimony from the victim, injuries she sustained and multiple inconsistencies in the Gordon’s statement led to the jury convicting the suspect on all counts.

Gordon’s sentencing date, Baxter said, is currently being scheduled.

Tybee’s Polk Street Beach advisory lifted

A swimming advisory for Tybee Island’s Polk Street Beach has been lifted by the Chatham County Health Department.

The advisory — that covered the northern most part of Tybee Island — was issued Wednesday after routine water quality tests showed a high level of enterococci bacteria. Enterococci increases the risk of gastrointestinal illness in swimmers.

Since then, water samples show the bacteria levels have dropped below the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended limits.

Weekend lane closure for Abercorn

Georgia Department of Transportation contractors will close eastbound and westbound lanes on Abercorn Street today and Sunday.

The lanes between Deerfield Road up to Wilshire Boulevard will close at 7 a.m. and reopen at 6 p.m. both days, weather permitting.

GDOT advises the motors should reduce their speed in work zones.

Compiled by Corey Dickstein

Two Tybee Island city councilmen made a failed attempt to fire City Manager Diane Schleicher after a closed door session that extended past midnight Friday.

The motion by Councilman Tom Groover was supported by Barry Brown but was voted down by the other four council members. The vote came after a six-hour meeting in which next year’s budget and a number of zoning matters were discussed.

Groover, who began his first term on council this year, said he made the motion due to Schleicher’s handling of city funds and contracts, particularly in relation to a grant-funded Butler Avenue improvement project. He said payments were made for engineering work for the project prior to the council’s approval of a contract.

“There should have been a contract to say what they were going to do and then went ahead and did it,” he said. “There should have been a paper trail.

Brown said the city manager has mismanaged funds but refused to go into detail. He said he would contact the GBI and State Attorney General’s office to request an investigation.

“I don’t think there was anything illegal,” he said. “I just think it got out of hand.”

Schleicher, who has been with the city since 2006, said she would not comment because it was a personnel matter. She did say the vote will not affect her job performance.

Mayor Jason Buelterman also declined to comment on the motion but said he has full confidence in Schleicher’s ability to manage the city and its finances.

Council members Paul Wolff and Wanda Doyle attributed the growing costs of the Butler Avenue project, which stems back to 2007, to the fact the plan has gone through multiple revisions at the direction of different councils.

“If anyone is to blame for the high engineering costs, it’s the three councils involved because we kept changing our minds,” Wolff said.

If Schleicher was at fault in any way, it was for not keeping the council apprised of the running total of engineering costs, Wolff added.

“That was an error of omission,” he said. “It was something she could have done, but not something she was necessarily required to do.”

Doyle said the council could have been kept better apprised of the accumulating costs of the Butler Avenue project, but Schleicher did not deserve to be fired.

“She was following directives of a council that said we want to see this revised,” Doyle said. “I think there were mistakes made all the way around.”

Georgia state troopers continued their investigation late Friday into an early morning crash on Interstate 95 that killed a Bryan County deputy sheriff and left a Richmond Hill woman in critical condition.

Deputy Sheriff Robert Crapse was killed when his cruiser collided head-on with a car being driven the wrong way on I-95.

Crapse was traveling north near the 97-mile marker in Chatham County when his car was struck by a vehicle being driven south in the northbound lane by Patricia Ann Collins of Richmond Hill, according to Georgia State Patrol Trooper Joel Mock.

“She was on the wrong side of the highway, and they hit head-on,” Mock said.

Crapse, a K9 officer, died at the scene. Collins was airlifted to Memorial University Medical Center in critical condition where she remained in the ICU Friday afternoon, according to Mock.

Crapse’s K9 partner, Seppe, who was in the deputy’s car, escaped with minor injuries.

“His dog appears to be all right, just a scratch or two, but we are going to take him to get checked out,” Bryan County Sheriff Clyde Smith said.

Mock said results of blood-alcohol tests, as well as any charges that might be filed are pending.

“We are still investigating,” he said. “I will be out there with (Specialized Collision and Reconstruction Team), to reconstruct the accident. I think we will be doing that on Monday.”

While Mock said he did not know whether either driver was wearing a seat belt, he did say Collins was driving with her lights on.

The collision, which occurred about 2 a.m., closed the northbound lanes of the Interstate for almost four hours..

Mock said it was impossible to say Friday whether either driver attempted evasive action before the crash.

“But I can say they were definitely traveling at highway speeds,” he said.

The accident occurred while Crapse, who lived in Ellabell and had been working traffic control in south Bryan County, was headed back to the north end of the county, Smith said.

The sheriff said Crapse, 32, began with the department in 1999 before becoming a deputy in 2006.

“He started working for us in the jail right out of high school. I sent him to school, and he became a deputy,” the sheriff said.

Crapse is survived by a wife and three children, ages 6, 8 and 10.

Flags were lowered to half staff at governmental buildings in Bryan County in honor of Crapse Friday.

“It is a terrible, tragic thing. He was a fine deputy,” Smith said.

Collins, 23, is a 2006 graduate of Richmond Hill High School. Her advanced placement English teacher, Lee Ergle, described her as a workaholic.

“She was very bright. She went to Georgia Tech, then decided to change her major,” Ergle said. “I think she wants to be a physician’s assistant, so she transferred to South (University). Patricia was a really, really great kid.”

BENEFIT FUND

A fund to benefit the family of Bryan County Deputy Sheriff Robert Crapse has been set up at the Heritage Bank, 16 Railroad Street East, in Pembroke. The bank may be contacted at 912-653-2265.

Patricia Black grins when she thinks about her upcoming December graduation ceremony at Armstrong Atlantic State University.

But the grin is not about the finish line. Or the college ring she’s ordered and looks for every day in the mail or the “B” average she earned for her degree in early childhood education.

It’s not about the shifts — the 70- and 80-hour workweeks — she’ll no longer have to fill at a series of hourly wage sales jobs. Or the 1,000-plus books she has managed to accumulate for when she finally gets her own elementary school classroom.

This grin that lights up Patricia’s face is reserved for thinking about what she’s going to write inside her graduation cap, a missive she’ll direct to her father, Clyde, who died nearly two years ago.

The sentence she’s going to write is: “I did it, Dad.”

But the four-word message has nothing to do with the degree she’s getting, although she’s quite certain he’d be proud of that, too.

Instead it’s about what she and her mother, Frances — with the help of some friends in and around Ellabell — managed to pull off a few weeks ago. It’s about a promise they made to Clyde before he passed away from cancer.

For the Black family, life took a dark turn 19 years ago when Frances and Clyde entered their home near Lake Mayer and found their son, Patrick, on the floor, bleeding from a bullet wound in his head.

After the police could not find any suspects, the incident was ruled an accidental shooting, though Frances and Tricia, Patricia’s nickname, were quite certain it wasn’t suicide. Patrick — then 17, a junior at Jenkins High School and an ROTC cadet — underwent surgery, a six-week stay at Memorial University Medical Center and a shorter stay at a rehab unit in Atlanta.

He never spoke again.

And Clyde, an independent truck driver, a licensed Baptist preacher and a U.S. Marine, never went back to work. For the remaining year and a half of Patrick’s life, Clyde took over all caretaking duties. He did not want to put his son in a nursing home, as many people suggested. He lifted him out of his wheelchair and washed him in the shower. He inserted and removed the gastrointestinal tubes. He was meticulous.

He built a ramp on his van so he could take his son for rides. He took him to the beach and Six Flags. He researched everything there was to know about brain injuries. He did it all, 24/7. At Memorial, the staff took to calling Clyde, “Dr. Dad.” Clyde even slipped some Nehi blue cream soda, Patrick’s favorite, in his feeding tube.

But three days before Christmas in 1993, Patrick died.

By this time, Frances — who had been in a car accident — lost her job as an insurance adjuster and lost her life insurance. The family had to rely on friends and the kindness of the late funeral director Lester Hayman, a friend of the family, to bring Patrick home from the Atlanta hospital, where he had gone for surgery, and to bury him at Greenwich Cemetery in Savannah.

Eventually, the family moved to a house on DeRenne Avenue and then to another house in Ellabell. Frances found another job. Tricia worked and went to school. And Clyde, who got an associate’s degree from a seminary, continued visiting patients at Memorial to pray with them.

Five years later Clyde developed prostate cancer, which went into remission. Twelve years later it came back “with a vengeance,” said Tricia, now 38. When he died, they buried him at Northside Cemetery in Pembroke, but not before hearing Clyde’s bedside request to have his son Patrick buried next to him.

“He really wanted that,” Tricia said. “We did, too. But there was no way we could afford it. We just heard it was so expensive.”

By this time Tricia had quit school and her job to stay home and take care of her mother, who had developed cancer. Frances is now in remission, but she is legally blind.

After moving to Ellabell, the family had joined the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Pembroke.

“Even though my father was a Baptist preacher,” Tricia said, “Father Ed Gorny would come by every two weeks for a visit. They’d sit in the kitchen and pray for each other. He spoke at my dad’s funeral.”

Then one day after her father’s death she ran into Tommy Flanders of Flanders Morrison Funeral Home in Pembroke, “and we got to talking about dogs — he loved our dogs — and I asked about the possibility of moving Patrick. He said, ‘I’ll see what we can do.’”

On May 30, with the help of Flanders, Tricia and Frances moved Patrick next to his father. Father Gorny offered a graveside blessing.

And in December Tricia will graduate and write the words in her cap she never thought she’d be able to say: “I did it, Dad.”

Jane Fishman’s columns regularly appear each Sunday in Accent. You can read her other columns at savannahnow.com/accent/columnists. Contact her at gofish5@earthlink.net or 912-484-3045.

The Savannah-Chatham Public School System’s emphasis on reading may be paying off, but state test scores show declines in math and science.

District averages for 2012 on the state academic benchmark test, called the CRCT, were released Thursday after public school students in grades three through eight were tested in May.

Although retest scores were not included, Savannah-Chatham outcomes showed increases in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding reading standards in all but the eighth grade. The percentage of students meeting or exceeding English and language arts standards rose on all grade levels but the sixth.

And the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards in social studies rose on all grade levels but the third.

District officials announced earlier that Georgia standards were too low compared to the nation and launched a plan to move toward national standards, beginning with a reading program this year designed to raise student reading and comprehension levels.

The extra effort appears to have made some impact.

Seventh-grade reading scores rose by 10 percentage points, and fourth-grade English and language arts scores went up 5.5 percentage points.

Individual school reports won’t be available until next month.

While reading scores showed improvement, the number of students who met or exceeded state math standards dropped in the third, fourth, fifth,and eighth grades. The 5th grade math scores dropped 5 percent from last year.

The number of students who met or exceeded state science standards dropped in grades three, five and six. Third grade scores dropped 3.4% from last year.

Statewide, the only gains in the number of students who met or exceeded standards were in fifth grade social studies and eighth grade science.

“As we begin teaching the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards next school year, we know the curriculum and the tests will be more difficult, so we must continue to focus on successfully implementing the new standards,” said State School Superintendent John Barge. “We have been offering, and will continue to offer, teachers the necessary professional development to ensure they are equipped to deliver these new, more rigorous standards and to prepare our students for the next step.”

2012 CRCT DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Reading English English Math Math Science Science Soc.Studies Soc.Studies

Grade not met met/exceed not met met/exceed not met met/exceed not met met/exceed not met met/exceed

8th 6.6% 93.4% 8.3% 91.7% 37.9% 62.1% 43.5% 56.5% 37.7% 62.3%

7th 7.5% 92.5% 8.5% 91.5% 12% 88% 24% 76% 35.6% 64.4%

6th 6.4% 93.6% 12.9% 87.1% 31.5% 68.5% 47.1% 52.9% 41.5% 58.5%

5th 11.3% 88.7% 6.9% 93.1% 22% 78% 31.5% 68.5% 34.1% 65.9%

4th 10.4% 89.6% 10.8% 89.2% 29.3% 70.7% 28.4% 71.6% 31.7% 68.3%

3rd 12.4% 87.6% 12.1% 87.9% 29% 71% 29.7% 70.3% 24.7% 75.3%

2011 CRCT DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Reading English English Math Math Science Science Soc.Studies Soc.Studies

Grade not met. met/exceed not met met/exceed not met met/exceed not met met/exceed not met met/exceed

8th 5.5% 94.5% 10.2% 89.8% 34.1% 65.9% 52.9% 47.1% 43.3% 56.7%

7th 17.5% 82.5% 12.4% 87.6% 18% 82% 31.8% 68.2% 39.9% 60.1%

6th 8.6% 91.4% 12.1% 87.9% 34.1% 65.9% 43.9% 56.1% 42.5% 57.5%

5th 12.6% 87.4% 8.7% 91.3% 17% 83% 31% 69% 38.6% 61.4%

4th 15.7% 84.3% 16.3% 83.7% 26.5% 73.5% 30.5% 69.5% 33.8% 66.2%

3rd 12.8% 87.2% 14.4% 85.6% 27.2% 72.8% 26.3% 73.7% 22.6% 77.4%

Source: Georgia Department of Education

HERE’S HOW STUDENTS FARED ON STATE WRITING TESTS ADMINISTERED THIS YEAR

Students who meet or exceed Georgia 5th Grade Writing Test standard

2011 2012

State 79% 81%

District 75% 76%

Bartow 59% 77%

Bloomingdale 78% 74%

Butler 74% 79%

East Broad 64% 54%

Ellis 89% 77%

Gadsden 72% 65%

Garden City 64% 67%

Garrison 95% 97%

Georgetown 68% 77%

Godley Station 72% 77%

Gould 73% 76%

Haven 68% 50%

Heard 79% 85%

Hesse 83% 70%

Hodge 65% 73%

Howard 88% 89%

Isle of Hope 69% 87%

Smith 81% 93%

Largo Tibet 60% 70%

Low 68% 86%

Marshpoint 95% 90%

Pooler 74% 69%

Pt. Wentworth 65% 74%

Pulaski 62% 81%

Shuman 68% 59%

Southwest 79% 89%

Spencer 69% 83%

Thunderbolt 83% 67%

West Chatham 88% 69%

White Bluff 83% 76%

Windsor Forest 93% 80%

Source: Savannah-Chatham Public Schools

STUDENTS WHO MET OR EXCEEDED GEORGIA 8TH GRADE WRITING TEST STANDARDS

School 2011 2012

Bartlett 66% 71%

Coastal 78% 83%

DeRenne 72% 64%

Ellis 95% 100%

Garrison 91% 93%

Godley Station 78% 71%

Hesse 84% 80%

Hubert 65% 61%

Isle of Hope n/a 76%

Mercer 63% 61%

Myers 84% 82%

Oglethorpe 90% 91%

Southwest 79% 78%

West Chatham 56% 67%

Source: Savannah-Chatham Public Schools

Increasing insurance coverage isn’t the same as more access to health care or figuring out how to pay for it.

So said Georgia experts concerning Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Some local medical institutions are ahead of the curve in implementing the law, they said, but state government isn’t.

If the law survives the political challenge posed by this year’s elections, most agreed, there will be plenty to like.

“It’s going to be good for everybody,” said Toni Miles, head of the Institute of Gerontology at the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia.

Insurance companies, said Miles and others, won’t be able to deny coverage because of a pre-existing condition or make women or people over 50 pay more.

Millions of young people, they added, will still be able to stay on their family’s plan until they’re 26. There will be no more limits on lifetime or calendar-year benefits. The list goes on.

But, in Georgia and elsewhere, other experts said, there will be a bottleneck as millions of previously uninsured people get coverage.

“Increasing the demand doesn’t do a whole lot to increase the supply,” said Phaedra Corso, head of UGA’s Department of Policy and Management at the College of Public Health.

Mills Fleming, a lawyer with Savannah-based HunterMaclean who specializes in health care issues, agreed.

“Increasing coverage doesn’t increase access,” Fleming said.

The problem, he and Corso said, is a shortage of primary care doctors, which will worsen as new patients flood the system.

Facing six-figure educational debt, they said, new doctors gravitate toward higher-paying specialties.

Corso said some provisions of the new law help primary-care doctors with their debt and increase reimbursement for federally subsidized care.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough,” she said.

It would help, Corso added, if Georgia nurses had more authority to prescribe medicines — something the state has resisted so far.

At least in the short run, many people will wait longer to see a doctor, Fleming said.

Like others, Paul Hinchey, president and CEO at St. Joseph’s/Candler hospitals, said he likes expanding coverage but worries about costs.

“What is not clear to me,” Hinchey said, “is how that’s going to paid for. It’s not going to be paid for by reducing payments to doctors and hospitals any more than they’re facing now.”

Hinchey speculated that some “taxing entity” might offset some of the additional costs.

“I still think there is a disconnect between what this is going to cost and how it’s going to be funded,” he said. “And that’s a concern for me.”

Corso said the one feature of the law the Supreme Court invalidated might also drive up costs.

The court said the federal government can’t withhold Medicaid funds from states that won’t expand eligibility to cover more uninsured people.

Initially, Washington, D.C., would pick up the whole tab, but eventually states would have to bear some of the burden.

UGA’s Miles and others see that as a potential boon to hundreds of thousands of working poor who would get care they now lack.

But they acknowledged that financially strapped state governments in Georgia and elsewhere may not be able to afford their shares.

As states opt out, the federal government likely will have to provide more money for coverage, Corso said

“It is going to have re-evaluate what it will all cost,” she added.

Fleming said the costs may be eased under incentives offered under the new law.

Hospitals and other medical facilities will be encouraged to consolidate care and improve quality by stressing preventive care, he said.

Earlier intervention, Fleming added, means fewer hospital stays and operations — and lower costs.

Even before the ruling, local medical facilities were starting to adapt to the new law.

St. Joseph’s/Candler, Hinchey said, has been expanding hours at two community clinics that treat indigent people.

More significantly, he said, it’s moving ahead with a program that stresses prevention.

Among other things, it includes computerized management of prescriptions and making sure people keep their appointments and take their medicines.

“We’re doing it partly because of the law,” he said, “but also because it’s the right thing to do.”

State Rep. Ben Watson, a doctor at SouthCoast Medical Group, said the practice is one of 40 groups the federal government has picked to participate in a similar program.

Watson disagrees with the ruling, but supports the SouthCoast initiative.

“We hope this will help us provide better care for high-risk patients and reduce costs, too,” he said.

Mills said Memorial University Medical Center, Chatham County’s major provider of care for uninsured people, also has been pro-active.

“They’re doing a tremendous job,” Fleming said.

Memorial said in a statement it “has been actively planning for the implementation of this health care law, and today’s ruling simply means that we should continue to do so.”

Meanwhile, Corso said, Georgia state government has failed to set up the “exchanges” the law says will make insurance available to small business and individuals.

Barring a special session of the legislature this year — which she called “very unlikely” — no exchange will be in place by 2014, she said.

That means the federal government will establish one in Georgia without any input from Georgians.

“There is no way of telling what it will look like,” she said.

Corso regards the law as a work in progress.

“There is a lot there. It does wonders for public health. Does it go all the way? Absolutely not.

“It’s not a fix-all act. We need to increase supply and reduce costs. It’s really only the first step.”

Tybee beaches scored four out of five stars in an annual beachwater quality report released this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The national report, “Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches,” analyzes government data on beachwater testing results in 2011 at more than 3,000 beach-testing locations nationwide. Rankings are based on beach closings and advisory days as well as how often beach water is tested for pollution and how the public is notified of results. The report analyzes bacteria levels only, not chemical pollutants.

No Georgia beaches were among the dozen top-rated five-star beaches, but neither were any named among the top 15 “repeat offenders,” which exhibit chronically high bacteria counts. Overall, the Peach State ranked ninth out of 30 states for beach water quality.

Georgia has 41 public beaches along 118 miles of Atlantic coast and barrier island shores.

Georgia had a dry summer in 2011, which NRDC points out is associated with less bacteria-laden runoff. While that’s true, the Department of Natural Resources has determined that heavy rain isn’t directly associated with a beachwater advisory here, said Elizabeth Cheney, beach water quality manager for the Coastal Resources Division.

Unlike the hilly coastal areas of states such as California, much of the runoff in Coastal Georgia filters through marshes before hitting the beach. Beaches along the estuaries can be affected but ocean-front beaches are more protected.

King’s Ferry on the Ogeechee River is an example of the former. It’s under a permanent swim advisory. Half of last year’s four tests showed high levels of bacteria. Previous DNR investigations have indicated the bacteria is from a non-human source, but Cheney said there’s not enough information to discount the risk of that exposure.

Similarly, Tybee’s Polk Street has been repeatedly under an advisory, which a University of Georgia investigator linked to bird excrement.

Eleven percent of the samples at Polk Street exceeded state standards, giving that beach 81 advisory days. The exceedance rate was only 2 percent each at the south and north beach and 0 percent each at the middle and at the strand.

“Polk Street accounted for the most advisories on Tybee,” Cheney said. “It’s not Tybee’s best swimming beach. I’d encourage your readers to visit ocean-front beaches on Tybee.”

Health hazards

Beachwater pollution nationwide causes a range of waterborne illnesses in swimmers including stomach flu, skin rashes, pinkeye, ear, nose and throat problems, dysentery, hepatitis, respiratory ailments, neurological disorders and other serious health problems. For senior citizens, small children and people with weak immune systems, the results can be fatal, NRDC reports.

“Clean beaches are vital to our local, regional and national coastal economies,” said Steve Fleischli, acting director of the water program at NRDC. “This summer provides a crucial turning point and chance to urge EPA to put people first and strengthen water quality standards.”

Georgia’s $280,000-a year-monitoring and notification program is threatened by funding cuts, Cheney said. All of the funding comes from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, but that money has been cut in the president’s upcoming budget, which would affect the Georgia program in 2014.

“It’s a concern,” Cheney said. “I’m not sure what we would do. It’s unlikely the state would pick up the cost given its financial situation.”

She’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.

“I think beachgoers do want to know if the water they’re swimming in is safe and healthy,” Cheney said.

Search for a beach

NRDC’s report includes a ZIP code-searchable map of more than 3,000 beaches nationwide, Find it at www.nrdc.org/beaches

Veggies are yucky

If there’s one thing Avyn Castro wants to make clear to his parents, it’s that vegetables are not the way to his heart.

CoastalMommies.com readers picked Avyn as the winner of the site’s Grouchy Kid Photo Contest. The 9-month-old and his parents, Omar and Dawn, won a $50 gift certificate to Frames-n-Games in Pooler.

Omar Castro said this about the photo: “It was time to eat, and he was all right until he saw the jar of veggies. That’s when the problems began.”

Luckily for Avyn, the gift certificate is for games, not broccoli.

Click here to see some of the other fantastic photos submitted by parents.

Savannah-Chatham public schools officials are celebrating their state test gains and preparing to address the trouble spots.

Schools armed third- through eighth-graders with strong reading skills this year, and after four years of slow and steady improvements they believe they’ve made breakthrough victories on the state test, called the CRCT. Next year they plan to do the same for math.

“I am very pleased with the progress the district has made over the past four years,” said Superintendent Thomas Lockamy.

Savannah-Chatham outcomes, released by the state Thursday, showed one-year increases in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding reading standards in all but the eighth grade. The percentage of students meeting or exceeding English and language arts standards rose on all grade levels but the sixth. And the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards in social studies rose on all grade levels but the third.

Over the last four years, the district has raised outcomes in all subject areas and on all grade levels but third grade science.

Although individual school reports have not been released, officials say unofficial outcomes are high at many of the schools that had some of the biggest barriers to overcome.

Godley Station K-8, the district’s largest school, raised its outcomes, as did Hubert, Heard, West Chatham, Bartlett and Pooler.

Catching up

Pooler Elementary Principal Megan Kicklighter came up with a detailed plan for raising state test scores after taking over the school last year. Pooler’s teachers worked with students before school, on weekends and in small group sessions during the school day to make the plan work. The number of students who failed to meet state standards dropped from 35 last year to just five this year.

“We knew six and a half hours a day wouldn’t cut it,” Kicklighter said. “We played catch-up, and we caught up.”

Bartlett Middle School’s increases are the result of rising expectations for teaching, learning and behavior, said Principal James Heater. Every teacher was required to have a web page with homework and study materials. A mini-summer school was held at the end of each quarter for standards to be re-taught to anyone who failed courses. And reading instruction time was added to every student’s schedule.

“It showed in our scores,” Heater said.

Two years after Bartlett’s entire staff was replaced and the academic program restructured to stave off a state takeover, school-wide CRCT pass rates rose 5 to 8 percentage points in every academic subject area.

The district’s heavy emphasis on reading in 2012, particularly its Lexile Reading program, is working, according to Chief Academic Officer Sharon Sand. The percentage of students who meet or exceed the state standard on both the reading and English portions of the test was between 87 percent and 94 percent on all grade levels. Seventh-grade reading scores rose by 10 percentage points, and fourth-grade English scores went up 5.5 percentage points.

Next year, the district plans to address the dips in math by bringing in systems that measure math progress and develop individual academic plans for students based on their math needs. Math pass rates dropped in third, fourth, fifth and eighth grades district-wide. Fifth-grade pass rates dropped 5 points from last year.

“This year we had a very strong focus on reading, and that worked,” Sand said. “We know we have work to do in math, but we have a plan in action. Our schools were very focused this year, and we’re moving in the right direction.”

Attorneys for the family of an 83-year-old grandmother mauled to death by an alligator at The Landings in 2007 have asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider its decision to deny them a jury trial.

The motion for reconsideration filed Thursday evening contends the justices misconstrued the facts when they ruled June 18 that Gwyneth Williams had knowledge equal with Landings personnel concerning the threat of alligators.

It rejected Williams’ family’s attempt to get the case before a jury.

The petition said the record shows no evidence that Williams knew about more than “one, maybe two small” alligators while the defendants knew of many throughout the island.

The court’s “misapprehension of the law and fact have caused the (court’s) majority to render a decision factually and legally flawed,” the petition said.

Williams, a resident of Canada, was house sitting for her daughter and son-in-law when she went for a walk on Oct. 5, 2007, and was attacked by an 8-foot alligator in a lagoon behind the house. Her mutilated body was found floating in Lagoon 15 the next day.

Forum Monday for 5th District hopefuls

The Chatham County Democratic Committee will hold a forum Monday for Democrats competing for the Chatham County Commission District 5 seat.

Alexis Alexander, Warren Hickman, Clinton Young and Yusuf Shabazz have all qualified as candidates ahead of the July 31 primary.

No Republicans are running for the seat, currently filled by Tabitha Odell. Odell, who is not seeking reelection, was appointed in March by commissioners after her husband, Harris Odell Jr., vacated the seat following his selection as a Recorder’s Court judge.

The forum is 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Live Oak Public Libraries Bull Street Branch, 2002 Bull St.

Donate fans to help heat relief

Senior Citizens Inc. is asking the community to help older neighbors avoid heat-related health risks this summer by donating new electric box fans to the organization’s Annual Fan Drive.

New fans and donations can be dropped off at Senior Citizens Inc. headquarters at 3025 Bull St. between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

To qualify for a fan, seniors must be 55 or older and have an income of less than $1,000 per month. Seniors wishing to apply for a fan may come to 3025 Bull St. and provide proof of income and a photo ID.

For more information on qualifying for a fan, call 912-236-0363 or go to seniorcitizens-inc.org.

Fireworks parking

Parking for the annual Fourth of July downtown fireworks show will be available at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center on Hutchinson Island on Wednesday.

The center’s Main Parking Lot will be open for patron parking from 3 to 11 p.m. A parking fee of $5 per vehicle will be in effect Wednesday. Military personnel park free with ID.

Portable toilets will be available in the main parking lot and adjacent Bryan Square (between trade center and Westin Hotel).

Trade Center parking lots are intended for parking purposes only. Patrons are asked to refrain from setting off fireworks, using grills, fires or open-flame devices in these areas.

CAT announces July 4 schedule

Chatham Area Transit buses will operate on a holiday schedule on Wednesday. The holiday schedule is included on each of the printed route schedules and the online schedules at catchacat.org. CAT’s Administrative Office at 900 E. Gwinnett St. and CAT Central at 124 Bull St., will be closed for business, meaning that schedule information will not be available over the phone and bus passes and Teleride tickets will not be available for sale.

The Savannah Belles Ferry will operate on a regular schedule with an intermission during the fireworks show on the Savannah River. The regular schedule for the ferry service will resume after the fireworks show.

Normal bus route schedules will resume on Thursday. Riders can use the Google trip planner on CAT’s website www.catchacat.org to plan trips.

Free camp seeks kids

Kamp PHUN (Peace, Hope, Unity, Now) seeks to provide a camp experience for the children of current or formerly incarcerated parents.

The camp runs July 22-27 for children ages 9-11 at the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center in Waverly. The camp will provide transportation to and from Chatham County. There is no fee.

For more information, contact Cindy Coward at 912-355-0398 or goofycindy@gmail.com or Laura or Jack Kinzie at 912-925-8503 or jackkinzie@comcast.net.

Free dental care for kids

Dental services include dental cleaning, fillings and simple extractions are available free for qualified children ages 3-18 from 9 a.m. to noon Fridays at the Savannah Volunteer Dental Clinic. Located at 2230 Goodman Hall on the main campus of Savannah Tech, the clinic is staffed by volunteers from the local dental community. Call 912-429-8368 to schedule an appointment and leave a message. Children must not have private dental insurance, Peachcare or Medicaid, and parents’ income must not exceed 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($46,100 for a family of four).

AASU deadline near

Armstrong Atlantic State University’s undergraduate application deadline for fall semester is July 15.

Go to the Armstrong Online Application to get started. To find out more about Armstrong’s application process, go to www.armstrong.edu or call the Admissions Office at 912-344-2503. For questions about financial aid, call the Financial Aid Office at 912-344-3266 or email finaid@armstrong.edu.

Health Department encourages registration for evacuations

Chatham County Health Department officials are encouraging those with functional or medical needs to apply to the Functional and Medical Needs Registry before a storm threatens the area.

The registry is made up of residents who may require transport and medical assistance during a hurricane evacuation and have no other resources to help.

Those on the registry will be evacuated to an American Red Cross shelter in an inland county. To apply, call 912-353-3255. The application can also be downloaded from the Coastal Health District website at: Gachd.org/emergency-preparedness. The form can be mailed to: Cathy Schmid, RN, Chatham County Health Dept., 1395 Eisenhower Drive, Savannah, GA 31406.

Savannah Morning News

Two columns of firefighters saluted the American flag-draped casket of their slain comrade as uniformed pallbearers slowly marched William Wesley Franklin toward the waiting Isle of Hope fire truck.

From the front lawn of the Isle of Hope Methodist Church, hundreds of friends, family members and fellow public servants solemnly watched Friday afternoon as firemen from the Isle of Hope and Thunderbolt fire departments lifted Franklin’s coffin into the black-veiled fire truck to be taken to Forest Lawn Cemetery, where he was buried.

A 21-year-old Isle of Hope firefighter who’d lived his entire life in Chatham County, Franklin was killed inside a Sandfly lounge early Monday morning when he was struck by a bullet fired by a man robbing people outside the establishment.

Despite the tragedy ending his life so young, said the Rev. Billy Miller, Franklin lived a fuller life than most and touched almost “every person in Savannah.”

“Wesley Franklin was one of the most special young men I’ve ever met,” Miller said. “And there will never be another Wesley Franklin.”

Close friends and family members during the service remembered Franklin as a fun-loving young man who’d always put others before himself.

A fellow firefighter who’d known Franklin for about five years, Michael Locklear said his friend was “a hero.”

“There was never a time that Wesley did not have a smile on his face,” Locklear said. “He touched so many people with his personality and laughter.

“Wesley was dedicated to his job as a firefighter and loved it, and loved serving his community.”

Long before graduating from Savannah Christian Preparatory School in 2010, Franklin volunteered with the Thunderbolt Fire Department at 14 years old.

“When he first joined the fire department he was so excited just to go for a ride on the fire engine,” said Carl Smith, the department’s former chief. “That’s all he wanted to do, and we let him do that and let him do it for a while.”

But Franklin’s initial curiosity sparked a lifelong commitment and dedication to the trade.

“He wanted to learn everything there was to know about firefighting and being a first responder,” Smith said. “He learned everything. He had a million-and-one questions for these guys, and he soaked everything up like a sponge.”

That dedication led to two junior firefighter of the year awards and, eventually, to a paying job with the Isle of Hope department.

“He was a hell of a firefighter,” Smith said. “He could stand toe-to-toe with anybody with 10 to 20 years more experience than him.”

More than just a good firefighter, Locklear said, Franklin was a loving friend who cared deeply for his mother DeLane Reese, father James Franklin, and sister Jaymee Franklin.

“There was never a dull moment with Wesley and never a time when he didn’t have me laughing,” Locklear said. “ ... I am blessed and thankful I got to spend the final days with Wesley living life to the fullest.

“I know that heaven needs a hero and that Wesley will be shining down upon us.”

Police seek suspect in fireman’s slaying

Savannah-Chatham police are asking the public to help identify the gunman who shot Wesley Franklin in a Sandfly area lounge early Monday morning.

Homicide detectives are searching for a black male in his mid-20s with short to medium hair, 5’ 8” to 5’ 10,” about 175 pounds, with a medium complexion who was wearing a mask over the lower portion of his face, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.

Franklin, 21, died after being shot during the robbery of Deb’s Pub and Grub just off Skidaway Drive on Norwood Avenue about 2 a.m. He was inside the bar when the suspect fired a weapon while robbing other patrons outside, Miller said.

Anyone with information on the case or that can lead to the identification of the gunman is asked to call Crimestoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). In the body type, include “CStop2020” plus the tip. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.

Each year, the Savannah Morning News presents a list of all the graduating seniors from private and public high schools in Savannah and Chatham County.

Here’s when you can expect to see your graduate:

June 3: Providence Christian School, Savannah Christian Preparatory School, Calvary Day School, Bible Baptist School

June 10: Memorial Day School, Savannah Country Day School, St. Paul Academy, Bethesda Academy, Veritas Academy

June 17: St. Andrew’s School, Benedictine Military School, St. Vincent’s Academy, Chatham Academy

June 24: Johnson High School, Groves High School, Jenkins High School, Islands High School

Today: Beach High School, Savannah Arts Academy, Savannah High School, Windsor Forest High School

Beach High School

Jamie Aikens

Davon Albury

Dequan Albury

Dustin Allen

Elexia Allen

Janae Allen

Margie Andrews

James Armanie-Brazelton

Jamarey Baker

Cierra Barnes

Patrick Barnes

Madena Bartley

Jaquandra Benjamin

Leonard Bias

Dannette Blair

Lindsey Blair

Malaija Boyd

Deandre Bright

Melvin Brinson

Javonya Brooks

Nicholas Brown

Octavian Brown

Samantha Brown

Stephanie Brown

Tima Brown

Arainna Bryant

Darius Bryant

Jamika Bryant

Khadijah Bryant

Marlesha Bryant

Sharonta Butler

Amanda Castle

Jessica Cawley

Nicholas Chaplin

Kutana Cheever

Brian Childers

Derrick Chisholm

Ronisha Chisholm

Stephanie Chisholm

Jameashia Clarke

Cherrish Cocuzza

Eshawna Coleman

To’Nagia Collier

Connie Colonel

Allie Cross

Michael Cross

Amber Curtis

Darren Deloach

Toni Dixon-Branch

Lena Douglas

Shelidra Draper

Jasmine Drayton

Corinthia Dubois

Johnnie Dudley

Dekiyah Duncan

Zakia Early

Isaac Elmore

Dynisty Everette

She’Andrea Famble

Benjamin Fennell

Victoria Free

Onesima Franklin

Akele Gale

Khalid Gaston

Shondavia Gibbons

Ricky Gordon

Zavonna Gould

Kye Grant

Monica Grant

De’Vonta Green

Johnathan Green

N’dea Greene

Nicholas Gregory

Laguanda Haigler

Jordon Hall

Jenise Hall

Darryl Hamilton

Jazmine Hamilton

Lemarseilles Harvey

Shabree Haynes

Cedrick Henderson

Chazlea Henderson

Michael Henderson

Jalen Hendry

Ahkil Heyward

Larry Hickson

Sylvester Hill

Tyler Hill

Andrew Holloway

Jarvis Holman

Jarvonte’ Hood

Criteria Jackson

Jarod Jackson

Richard Jackson

Vashati Jackson

Jewel-Elizabeth Jenkins

Candice Johnson

Jessica Johnson

Janell Jones

Jarrett Jones

LaSondra Jones

Tybee Jones

Ta’rell Kelly

Robin LaGuerre

Aijalon Lawrence

Quanysha Lawson

Kwawshaye Lopez

Malik Lovett

Alexis Macklin

Desirae Marshall

Ranard Mather

Jonnny Mayes

Alicia McCombs

Ashley McDonald

Donald Mcknight

Zekia McPherson

Jordan Mike

Roshell Mobley

Brandon Moran

Markia Moreland

Xzavier Morrell

Toniqua Morrison-Ford

Shawn Moses

Jamaal Muhammad

Larry Murray

Joshua Orr

Lynn Pierce

Fatima Polite

Chancelor Porter

Devon Powell

Jessica Pye

Porche Quinn

Shakeyra Reed

Cor’Trena Reedy

Gabrielle Rivera

Marion Roberts

Parnell Rolle

Sequoya Sanders

Shaquille Sanders

Charlie Sapp

Shanequa Saulsberry

Isaac Scott

Quaseam Scott

Jaylen Scriven

Terrance Sheffield

Teresa Sheffield

Curtis Sheppard

Daniel Shuman

Jonta’ Simmons

Katie Sims

William Smith

Devante Spike

Emani Sumter

Laverne Sumter

Shalandice Thomas

Ashley Tremble

Amber Trevino

Christian Tyson

Khadijah Tyson

Nathan Vann

WillieVurgess

Sierra Washington

Tyshania Watson

Brianna Wells

Christon Wilcher

Angela Williams

Brianna N Williams

Shai Williams

Sharae Williams

Tiara Willingham

Christina Wilson

Shauntell Wilson

Isaac Wright

Shanteria Youman

Savannah Arts Academy

Preston Bowen Britten

Morgane Céline Bryant

Amy Elizabeth Buice

Kimberly Danielle Buice

Savannah Marie Crawford

Jessica Susanne Drew

Elizabeth Anne Fischer

Abbey Lee Girardeau

Morganne Marie Goddard

Janae Kiara Goode

Jasmine Kevea Green

John Michael Hendrix

Matthew Alexander Hunt

Daniel Robert Meis

Seema Sushil Patel

Jordan Olivia Sabia

Morgan Sheley Seckinger

Stephen Jabari Stamps

Cassidy Jane Tootle

Jasmine Lorraine Vasquez

Courtney Briana Ward

Janise Kierra Wright

Courtland James Beisel

Dyer Collins Bowers

Mollie Nicole Cohen

Franchesca Colley

Robert Francis Hubert

Rachel Antoninette Lewis

Brittany Chanell Miller

Da’Nette Latrese Stevens

Shaneria Lashawn Williams

Amber Danielle Adams

Miew Xinn Angel Ang

Dobrinka Georgieva Avramova

Graysen Maxwell Babbitt

Ellen Claire Brown

Ijeoma Amarachi Chukwukere

Kelly Elena Coleman

Christopher Renard Davis

Caleb Benjamin DeLorme

Ian Thomas Doyle

Michael Sims Durkee

Grant Edward Flinn

Maya Iman Fritts

Jasmine Alexis Monét Garvin

Nikki Kaia Lee Gasser

Christian Lamond Greene

Matthew Raymond Grooms

Katherine Elizabeth Durden

Colleen Monahan Guetherman

Kathryn Lee Higginbotham

Ashley Marie Irons

Emily Kathryn Kearney-Williams

Eric Lau

Brooke Lauren Lingard

Tam Nhat Luong

Jordan Lea Maxwell

Kyosha Reneé Mazo

Steve Jerett McQueen

Olivia Jane McTeer

David Samuel Miranda

Mario Luis Morales-Espejo

Guerin McCabe Nolen

Erica Catherine Pierce

Brian Robert Poticny

Steven James Rousakis

Cayla Jean Sheehan

Sarah Ellen Shiver

Antonio Brice Singleton

Teri Miyagi Smithberg

Patrycja Malgorzata Strzepek

Jonathan Rickey Swain

Andre Lavelle Trowel, Jr.

Kayla Elizabeth Warren

Joseph Colin Sebastian Williams

Molly Rebecca Alexander

Nicholas Alexander Anderson

Lindsey Mincer Braden

Dylan Samuel Chatland

Nikolas Aren Colbrook

Samuel Aaron Curtsinger

Jessica Lynn Day

Iris Dana DeLeon

Kathryn Corry Devlin

Sean Patrick Farrell

Victoria Celeste Frazier

Spencer Joseph Gerren

Whitney Janeí Hall

Courtney Nicole Jackson

Neal Lionel Kaviratna

Noshika Khalili

Johnathan Jar-Hua Lee

Jacob Paul Martin

Riley Liana Meyer

Zachary Dean Naspinski

April Amira Norton

Lauren Hillary Outler

Yash Sunsil Patel

Kadijah Nechelle Pendergraph

William Samuel Racz

Diamond Evita Rashad

Connor Yates Regan

Lucas Traub Ribbens

Whitney Kaylyn Robinson

Colin Kavon Roozbehi

Kimberly Dianna Stastny

John William Steiner

Daniel Elliott Strohmetz

Evan Michael Walker

Annelise Grace Wornat

Erin Rachael Anderson

Elizabeth Marie Burk

Brittany Caroline Claiborne

Davida Breanne Daniels

Kathryn Rose Engelmaier

Sara Fay Goldstein

LeeAnn Elizabeth Grayson

Keona Shanté Hall

Adeline Mae Hughes

Tyra Danielle Hurst

Jalea Shawndray Knight

Brittni Danielle Linton

Alexa Brianna Moore

Sarah Jane Riggs

Madison Michelle Roberson

Rebekah Leigh Robinson

Ashley Elizabeth Rodriguez

Kieran Finley Rose

Sarah Elisabeth Segall

Desiree’ Julia Smokes

Danielle Marie Sutlive

Chelsey Nicole Tabakian

Kaitlin Olivia Taylor

Andrien Karen Wilson

Erika Skye Andres

Amanda Claire Baskin

William Robert Buckley

Lindsey Marie Deering

Katherine Elizabeth Durden

Jared Andrew Augustine Eide

Maleeka Shakur Flowers

William Garrett Fuller-Senft

Taylor Danielle Grant

Anna Valeria Hernández-Cappas

Melissa Caroline Hinely

Shaquila Momoco Holder

Christina Lynn Huneycutt

Stephen Harrison Ingram

Michelle Lee Kanke

Christian Uenseok Kim

Esther Suk Medrano

Amber Rashida Miller

Lauren Ashley Mixon

Kizuwanda A’neika Moultrie

Alexis Breanna Rooks

James Gregory Sapp

Donald Ray Smooth, III

Alexander Thompson Washington

Sean Jordan White, Jr.

Jena Jacqueline Williams

Patrick Ross Worsham

Heetae Yu

Jacob Madison Ambrose

Jacob Fayeq Awad

Kaleigh Madeline Blessard

Natalie Lorraine Bonnell

Nicholas Guild Buckley

Mara Danielle Charles

Laila Rachel Cohen

Kelly Margaret Cook

Bailey Morgan Crownover

Jade Michelle Disselhoff

Lee Louis Dugas, III

Nicholas Teague Fruit

Khadijah Q’Shandia Green

Sydney Rebecca Jeffers

Keshawn Keith Jones

Ana Khutsishvili

Helen Brown Mahany

Briana Ashna Maharaj

Erinn Elizabeth Matthews

Richard Oscar McGrath

Sakura Moneé McLaughlin

Sarah Margaret Mead

William Alexander Jeffrey Mohr

Haley Catherine Naugle

Virginia Ruth Odom

Andrew Sullivan Ottimo

Sarah Taylor Pinkerton

Brandon Sadler

Bridget Ann Sheahan

Colton Jeffrey Terrace

Jazmin Solana Wright

LaKendra Kiana Young

Neha Fariborz Zaer

Nicholas Jordan Baxter

Madeline Marie Beasley

Briyona Makayla Brack

Helen Joann Clay

Christian Danielle Lyle

Destiny Lynnette Reed

Susan Marjorie Sawinski

Harry Antonio Scott

Nicholas Wayne Tatum

Leah Nicole Wade

Savannah High School

Dominique Louise Bryant-Lamar

Jabria Shalaya Simmons

Katharine A. Owen

Alexis Shakerria Rivers

Alex Christopher Alexander

Tiara M. Avery

Calvin B. Barkster

David Chijioke Basil

James Robert Bennett

Willette LaBre’e Biggins

Daishun Bizzard

Shelby Lee Bookhoop

Georgesta Elaine Bostick

Samuel L. Branham

Jamonte’ Maurice Bright

Roshodd S. Brown

Deborah Vanessa Brown

Ishmael Stephen Brown

Tekeivan Christopher Brown

Monique Loushawn Brunson

Ti’aira Alexis Bryan

Alexus S. Bryant

Seabrook Phyllip Bernard Bryant IV

Krystal D. Chisholm

Deshante Antoinette Chisholm

Demetrius Dont’e Chisholm

Serah Kenya Clark

Lakavie Dijona Coleman

Jamal Collier

Kiara Kelly Colon

Koran Jamel Coney

Lakera Vernice Cooper

Da’Shane Diamond M. Cope

Justin Marquel Cossey

Terrance Cummings

LeAndrew K. Daniels

Richarna N. Davis

Jermaine Fredrick De’Costa

Raven Symone Demery

Aarondya V. Dortch

Te’Arra Ashley Dunham

Kathy K. Eady

Marcus D. Echols

Keonda D. Edwards

Qashawn A. Edwards

Raven Q. Emerson

Joshua English-Short

Louis Evans

Naomi Alexus Fabin

Denzel Russell Famble

Akil R. Fenn

Marquise Tyrone Ferguson

Kwamee Floyd

Theona J. Frazier

Ivana Frederick

Kavon D. Freeman

Christopher J. Gamble

William Deandre’ Gardner

K’Hale Gleese

Bridgett Ann Green

Nyema Green

O’Neisha Green

Angilo Greene

Jarret Alexander Grier

Micheal Joseph Hamilton

Uwimana Afrika Hamilton

Sarah Harden

Bryan Christopher Harmon

Shaunte’ Nicole Harrell

Brianna Helen Harris

Johnathan D. Hawkins

Malaya F. Henderson-Williams

Mariah Isiah Hill

Toi-Kai’ Uneice Holloway

Anika Nzinga Holmes

Crystal LaShay Howard

David D. Howard

Michelle J. Hunt

Kadarryl M. Jackson

Shanetell B. Jackson

Shaqwan D. Jackson

Alexis Teawanna Johnson

David Van Johnson

Ke’ra Yvette Johnson

India D. Johnson

Sha’Don H. Johnson

Veryl Rachael Johnson

Eric Lee Jones Jr.

Joshlyn S. Keitt

Ashley Nicole Kemp

Avonna O. Kemp

Gregory Wendell Kibler

Gregory King

Keyon Antonio Kirkland

James Kittles III

Lavon A. Lamonte

Ashley V. Lang

Kiara Daryl Laurel

Alicia K. Lawton

Marika Akilah Leak

Tamirah K. Marsh

Sean Cebren Martin-Jackson II

Micheal Dontray Mason

Fortez McCray

Heyona McMillian

Sharron C. Miller

Keith K. Mills

Alexis T. Mitchell

Alyssa Yonnell Mitchell

Emani Jaquel Mitchell

DeAndre Jovon Moore

Jaleesa Shane Moore

Ramon D. Moore

Shybria Alicia Moore

Brian Christopher Morgan

Joe Fernando Murray

A’Keema E’mon Nesbitt

Jemelle E. Osborne

Justin Micheal Patterson

Melanie Perez

Jasmin To’nay Perry

Nikki Kay Polak

Derrick Quillie Porches

Tia Michell Proctor

Joshua Ramos

Jasmine Ciera Reynolds

Dionna Z. Richardson

Zhane K. Richardson

Leonard Robbins

Deanna A. Roberts

Marion Eugene Roberts

Paulette A. Santos

Asia Lashay Scott

Waseem K. Scott

Sable L. Shepherd

Charles Edward Sheppard

Shaquitah Latisha Renee Simmons

Barron Ronnell Smith

Bria Morgan Smith

Kemyra J. Smith

Patricia Ann Smith II

Peter Anthony Smith Jr.

Anita Renee Smith

Akera Jenee Springsteen

Paul Antonio Stephens

Kwanza O. Steplight

Giavonna Dee’von Stevens

Nakia Francina Stringer

Juanii L. Thomas

Demetria Latrisa Walker

Gerrod Clifton Walthour

Boyce Cardell Warnick

Zabriya L. Washington

Ebony Na’Kia Renee Watson

Lawrence C. Watson

Iesha Shqauwn White

Nicole Tiauna Wiggins

D’shawn D. Wilkerson

Kerra V. Williams

Justin Williams

Rick T. Williamson

Donta’ Traquan Wingster

Joseph Woolfolk

Brittany Bernice Young

Jermyrien Michael Young

Samantha J. Zellner

Windsor Forest High School

Omar Arafat Afaneh

Ignacio Manuel Aguilar

Kierra Breann Albright

Thea Rashida Alexus Allen

Jasmin Victoria Alonso

Kimberly K. Angeloff

Robert Shaquille Anderson

Seth Lee Andrews

Justis Markel Archbold

Lorenzo Trey Austin

Devontis Tyrell Baker

Jarrod Christian Baker

Patrick James Barcomb

Zachary John Bashnick

Victoria Ashley Baxter

Amber Lynn Beasley

Morgan Rae Bedgood

Kyle Christopher Benjamin

Kyla Ann Biggers

Nikkolas Maria Katherine Blough

Shacara Anita Bonds

Bruno Bonifacio

Portia LaBreá Bosco

Rae’ven Elaina Bostick

Chelsea Marie Brinson

Seandai Kieandra Brooks

Briana Latisha Brown

Marquis Shakur Brown

Shannon Sharaè Brown

Shawna Marie Brown

Jesse Richard Browne

Jacqueline Marie Bryant

Naudika Nicholle Bryant

Zachary Aaron Bryant

Vincent Joseph Buzzurro

Christina Kimura Cameron

Sarah Elizabeth Campbell

Mark Dean Carpenter

Jesus Loreto Carrillo

Tiffany Alyssa Carter

Achoy David Chang

Derrick Anthony Chin

Jazmyne Kamara Ann Clark

LeeAnne Barbara Clarke

Casey Claire Colquitt

Tramara Yvette Conyers

Cody Chance Coplin

Cquieane Melacia Covington

Aaron Rashod Crawford

Terrica Lorren Crawford

Kaleb Pfenton Cubbage

Roiana Janiece Cunningham

Kristen De’Leah Curtis

Deion Pices Cutter

Shanesha Alexandria Dallas

Imani K. Dandridge

Dillion Samal Daniels

Cassandra Marie Dardeno

Glenn Richard Davis

Kenneth Leonard Davis

Malcolm Lee Davis

Ranier Louis Barba DeVega

Kenneth Dillon Dixon

Windsor Forest High School

Malaysha Nichelle Drayton

Tyra Willette Dubar

KaDesia K. R. Early

Deondra Durrell Eason

Dreshawn Edwards

Patrice Terisha Edwards

Stephanie Marie Evans

Okechukwu Paul Ezeh

Jamari Najee Ford

Kendra Lorraine Ford

Kevin Oliver Franklin

John D. Frazier

Ozarius Dionte Frazier

Terrell Jamez Furman

Christian Michael Garnes

Kevin Anterrio Giles

Debora Fontes Goncalves

O-Shay A. Grant

Tr’kia Mone’ Grant

Louis Edwin Grayson

BriAnna LaShae Green

Tyasha Cheyenne Green

Kayley Savannah Greene

Kate Marie Greminger

Reagan Paige Gresham

Aquilla Monique Griffin

Zane Alonzo Griffin

Marcus D. J. Gulley

Angela Nicole Hall

Jennifer Ellen Hall

Tatiana Taj Heath

Jennifer Herrera

Linell Aaron Hicks

Jalen Michael Hill

Janae Machelle Hill

Mallorie-Christina Holmes

Ashley Nicole Hopkins

Brian Hudson

Aaron Rashad Hughes

Ah-Lisa Monique Hull

Nicole Chidima Iwule

Jaquon Amiel Jackson

Michelle Marie Jacobs

Kalin Dãi James

Marvin Jenkins

Callen Melissa Jessmore

Fenton Kendell Johnson

Jerusalema’ Akail Johnson

Jerrell Pernell Mi’keal Jones

Anisa Ameera Kicklighter

Raquel Nicole Kiernan

Akela Kiné Kirk

Cleveland Jaquan Knight

Frank Berdell Knight Jr.

Sarah Savannah Knight

Antwan Thomas Lang

Christopher Myles Larry

Carmella Denise Lennon

Erika Nicole LeVere

Briana LeOsha Lewis

Deirdre Alexandra Lewis

Austin Daniel Lowery

Robert Timothy Massengale

Wesley Adam Matthews

Felicia Renee Mayes

Tommie Walt McArthur II

Stephen Patrick McCoy

Jerica Alayna McNear

Kunal Gul Mirchandani

Michael Marquez Moore

Meranda Nicole Morton

Michael Allen Moser

Francisco Armando Moyer

Imani Nakeia Mullgrav

Danaidy Nuñez-Ramos

Marquis Shamarr O’Neal

Tavarus Steven O’Neal

Kellie Paige Oglesby

Tiffany Denise Outland

Michael LeRoy Owens

Charlea Danielle Pace

Xavier Christopher Parker

Soni Kaushik Patel

Cashmeria D. N. Phillips

Darrell Deonte’ Phillips

Indya Nicole Poindexter

Demonte Jabrie Pringle

RaShaun Denise Rawls

Quintin Rashaad Reed

Haley Alexa Register

Kyla-Ann Lóreal Reid

Sarah Ann Reid

Rigoberto Reyes

Nicholas Austin Reis

Rachel Lilyann-Marie Rewis

Kashief Lorenzo Robbins

Taranisha Shanté Robinson

Jennifer Rodriquez

Lisa Marie Rogers

Andre L. Ross

Charlie Justin-Alexander Sainz

Mathew Alex Sainz

Jessica Danielle Sammons

Catrell Patrick Sampson

April Reneé Sanchez

Katherine Marie Santos

Zavier Tre’Quan Scott

Frances Kayla-Marie Elizabeth Shaffell

Brandon Maurice Shuman

Ryan Zachary Shuman

Ju’Wan Antion Simmons

Autumn Melena Sims

Don Christopher Singleton Jr.

Courey Mack Sirmans

Joshua Hunter Sloan

Alexis Breonna Small

De’Quan Peter ViJay Smalls Jr.

Victor Robin Smith II

Brandon Thomas Spears

De’Qundra Chemelle Stevens

Jade Jamerah Stokes

Warren Tyrone Sweet

Nia Carrie Mariah Sweezer

Dennis Dale Sylvester

Layke Joseph Touchet

Wilson Tran

Megan Marie Traxtle

John Walter Trotta Jr.

César Dario Tupac Yupanqui Ismodes

Luz Anne Valdes

Carlos Jorge Valenzuela

Dat Vinh Vuong

Denise F. Walker

Keanu Orion Warren

Ariana Lashay Whipple

Charnice Patrice White

Chantel Tranice Whitt

Ashley Denise Williams

De’Andre Rashawn Williams

Angel Marie Wilson

Teric Javal Wilson

Christopher D. Woods

Cassandra Michelle Yardman

Denisha Fantasia Young

Jasmine Tyese Young

Ever wonder why we’re voting on July 31 whether to levy another penny sales tax on ourselves, this time for transportation?

It’s a variation of the game of kick the can down the road — to you and me, that is.

It’s also an attempted end run around our almost palpable distrust of politicians — and each other.

Everyone wants good, safe roads, bridges and such, but almost everyone also wants somebody else to pay for them.

Indeed, whenever we vote on penny sales taxes in Chatham County, backers gush that out-of-town tourists will be stuck with much of the tab.

That, of course, is yet another reason for folks to suspect that — whatever it is — everyone else wants to make them pay for it.

Not surprisingly, few elected officials want to be poster children for the everyone-else crowd.

But Georgia’s population has grown even as its per-capita transportation spending remained one of the nation’s lowest. Meanwhile, more fuel-efficient cars have tended to reduce gasoline tax revenues.

Bottom line: Before long, existing levies will be just enough to pay bonded indebtedness and to fix potholes. Forget about widenings and new bridges and flyovers.

“The political reality,” acknowledged Heath Garrett, Republican consultant for the July 31 ballot measure, is that “there was not the political will in either party to raise the gas tax.”

If they did so now, Garrett added, there’d be acute sticker shock; it would have to be 27 cents a gallon higher to raise as much as another penny in sales tax.

Be honest: Would you vote for a state senator who voted for that?

So what to do? Hmmmm. That’s it. Make the voters raise taxes on themselves.

That gets the legislature off the hook. Rather than vote to raise taxes, it passes the buck — or rather the question of pennies — gadzillions of them — to the electorate.

Presto — we have something on the ballot that goes by a horrible acronym: T-SPLOST, short for Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

All of which leads to another point Garrett made.

There was talk about one big, up-or-down statewide vote.

But that likely would have gone down.

Why?

“There is a huge distrust almost everywhere that the money would go somewhere else,” he said.

Atlantans think their bucks will go to the boonies, and everyone else thinks it would head to Atlanta.

So that’s why the wizards at the Capitol decided to have us vote on the newest proposed penny sales tax by region.

Vote yes, and all the money goes for things and stuff in your community and neighboring ones. Not a cent goes to those greedy half-wits way up or down the interstate.

And shopping lists that account for 75 percent of the money that would be raised were drawn up by elected local officials you may have voted for.

Of course, there’s more to it, Garrett acknowledges.

Gov. Nathan Deal and others think Georgia’s economy will create more jobs if we shift the tax burden from income to consumption.

State Senate leaders have talked about raising the sales tax a penny so they could cut income taxes. That went nowhere fast, but another reason why supporters like the July 31 measure is it would be a levy on consumption.

But if it passes, that likely dooms any future legislative attempt to swap additional sales tax levies for income tax cuts. S’more taxes on Girl Scout cookies, anyone? Guess not.

Vote as you will on July 31. But, as you ponder your choice, maybe you should also think about how we got to this point.

Blame the politicians if you want.

But as you look for scapegoats, you might also consider gazing at the mirror.

Senior reporter Larry Peterson covers politics for the Savannah Morning News. He can be reached at 912-652-0367 or at larry.peterson@savannahnow.com.