RSS Feed
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bonner sees prosperous times for South Alabama
"…Good things are happening," he said. "Now, we've got to work to make sure we are ready for it. With growth comes additional needs and infrastructure and roads." Congressman Bonner held a Town Hall meeting Aug. 14 at Grove Hill Town Hall. He spoke on a number of issues and responded to many questions from local residents. The meeting was hosted by Grove Hill Mayor Lamar Hudson and was attended by elected officials such as Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day and State Representative Marc Keahey. "Members of the El Camino (East/West Corridor) commission and your local community leaders were in Washington just a few weeks ago lobbying your Congressmen and your Senators, making sure that a very important artery (Highway 84) to the economic future of South Alabama is fourlaned," Bonner said. "…It is truly a team effort, and it is going to require a lot of money. "There is going to be a lot of demand put on Highway 43….There are rumors that there will be widening of 43. There will be additions. I want to see 43 keep going north…four-laned all the way to Tuscaloosa and beyond. …With these changes that are coming, we've got to be prepared," he said. "It's going to require more sewer, more water. But, I don't think there is an area better prepared for the economic growth that is coming than Clarke County." The Grove Hill Town meeting was one stop on a two-day tour by Bonner of district communities. "…I would like to come home and give you a report that all is well in Washington and we're singing 'Cum Ba Ya' at the end of the day and we're all happy and working together. Unfortunately, our nation is pretty well split down the middle, and that's not good for America. …Both parties are guilty of some of the mischief that is going on." • In regard to immigration, Bonner praised U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions for opposing the recent bill, "the snake in the grass." Bonner said there was a tremendous problem with up to 20 million people who are here illegally. "We can't as a nation of laws reward illegal behavior by giving someone a path to citizenship or granting them amnesty. Or worse yet, as some have proposed in Washington, by giving them access to Social Security, Medicare or welfare." • In regard to the Iraq War, "we cannot expect our soldiers to win something that is unwinnable. If the political leadership of that country doesn't accept the gift we are giving them, and assume some responsibility to get their political affairs in order, we can't expect our military - the best military in the world - to perform a miracle." He hopes that General David Petraeus will give "a candid report" in September on the progress of the surge of American soldiers. • On global warming, in the Congress, "we are debating ideas…which should have been debated 20 years ago. You can't undo what hasn't been done. What you can do is prepare for the future." In addition, "it's going to take an awareness of every American - not just the Congress of the United States or the President - to become more concerned about the world in which we live in." Bonner suggested that citizens change to fluorescent light bulbs and become involved in local recycling efforts. • On healthcare, "our nation is going to have to have a very heartto heart with ourselves about what kind of healthcare system we want. The current system clearly has challenges in terms of annual proposed cuts to physicians and providers. Hospitals are struggling in small communities. There's a real need for this debate." However, Bonner was not in favor of a "socialized" healthcare system such as the one in Canada. • Gerald Stephens, superintendent of Clarke County Schools, has criticized the federal "No Child Left Behind" law and its insistence that special education students be taught in the regular population. The law is up for reauthorization this year. "The chairman of the committee, George Miller of California, has indicated there will be major changes made to it," Bonner said after the Town Hall meeting. Bonner had recently attended a meeting with State School Superintendent Joe Morton and county superintendents on changes that "would make it a better, more practical piece of legislation." The Congressman said he was promoting Morton's ideas to the U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Funding is always an issue, Bonner said. "We're funding special ed at a higher level than we ever have, but it's still not where Congress promised it would be 40 years ago.
…A lot of relief could come if we could give districts and even states more flexibility. What works in Los Angeles might not work in lower Alabama."
|
for larger version       Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
