For the last several years, I've had the honor of serving the citizens of Dalton as their mayor. Today I'm announcing my intention to seek reelection.

For the past four years, I have learned a tremendous amount about the city of Dalton and its operations. I feel I have much more to learn, but more importantly I still have more work to do. And my passion and commitment to the community is the reason why I am officially announcing my campaig…

Today, I announce my candidacy for mayor of Dalton. It was my privilege to serve you as mayor from 2008 to 2014 and I am proud of what we accomplished together. But there is more to do.

The problem is not guns! It's the hearts without God, homes without prayer and courts without justice.

Graves votes for globalism

Readers who have a concern about diversity in immigration, outsourcing American jobs and importing temporary foreign workers to replace Americans in the tech industry should learn more about the recent "yea" vote by U.S. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, to pass HR 1044 in Washington, D.C.

I was appalled by the comments of our Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Lynn Laughter regarding SPLOST opponents. She must realize that in her elected position, she should serve all citizens of Whitfield County, not just those who agree with her politically. Further, it is una…

The Kruger-Dunning Effect seemingly explains Donald Trump's behavior. It's a cognitive bias whereby incompetent people are unable to recognize their own incompetence. Commonly interpreted, they're intellectually limited, overestimate their ability and can't understand their mistakes. Trump's…

First, may I say congratulations to Mr. Ron Johnson for being appointed to the Whitfield County Board of Education by the grand jury. Mr. Johnson is an excellent choice. He was president of the Quarterback Club at Southeast Whitfield High School when both of my grandsons played football. I h…

People tell me all the time about how much they appreciate the unique way hemlock trees contribute to the beauty, privacy and value of our individual properties and our neighborhoods; cover our mountains with lush forests that support thousands of jobs related to tourism and recreation and p…

David Bean's call to impeach President Donald Trump will no doubt be a much repeated phrase in the coming days, but one that will fail just has with the two other presidents it has been tried on (Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson).

Graves should take stand on impeachment

DACA recipients can help improve health care

It just amazes me that we don't have sufficient handicapped parking places at the county ball fields.

On behalf of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia, I would like to congratulate the attorneys and staffs of Cook & Connelly in Summerville, total points winner, and The Minor Firm LLC in Dalton, per capita winner, for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank region in the r…

Moving on

We can all sit around and complain about the woes of Dalton all we want but the truth is we allow it by voting for the same types all the time. Love him or hate him, Donald Trump was not supposed to be president. But he ran, and he won.

On May 2, the National Day of Prayer was observed at the Whitfield County Courthouse, where a public official stated that regardless of which denomination or religion we come from, we all pray to the same God.

Thanks to everyone who supported Peter's Free Wheelin' 5K

There has been some discussion about whether mainstream media is guilty of propagating "fake news." The AP story on the front of your April 19 edition regarding the release of the Mueller report is, in my opinion, a perfect example of what some of us consider fake news.

I am just wondering when, and if ever, this newspaper will actually make the effort to tell the truth or at least attempt to inform the readers of this newspaper what is really happening in our world of increasing political bias (which, by the way, it readily appears that it is the direction…

Reckoning

We are writing this letter of thanks to all the volunteers who recently gave their time and talents to rehabilitating the hiking trails at Dalton State College. These volunteers cut trees, limbs, put out sand, filled in holes, cleaned up the vegetation and foliage and many other things I kno…

Thirty-nine years ago, I taught in Chattanooga City Schools. There was no school tax then in Tennessee except for a .5 percent addition to the sales tax in Hamilton County, which was permanent and could only be used for building construction and maintenance. Of course, we had the tourism dol…

I'm sure I don't have to tell people about the horrible noise here in Dalton.

I am in fifth grade at Greenville Elementary in Greenville, Pennsylvania. I have adopted your state as a class project. I will be doing a report and other projects to learn more about your state.

The Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce was a vocal supporter of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The SPLOST referendum didn't go our way on election day. Today, I'm proud that we conducted ourselves with a great deal of honor and integrity throughout the process, and the …

Since 1994, The GreenHouse in Dalton has served thousands of children who have made an outcry of sexual or physical abuse. As one of the first child advocacy centers in the state, The GreenHouse was a radical, nuanced idea to have trained professionals facilitate the system's response to chi…

This is an open response to Lynn Laughter's column in the Dalton Daily Citizen-News on Sunday. How dare you say "Those who voted no indicated a preference for a property tax increase."

The voters have spoken regarding the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax), and rather loudly in Whitfield County. I voted against the SPLOST because it came across as money looking for a purpose, rather than being about what was needed. It did not come across as a precision effort…

The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) was defeated in Whitfield County. Frankly, I was glad.

Our chamber of commerce is leading the charge to impose a six-year, $100 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to "keep the momentum going" -- but what does that actually mean? The chamber has told us our primary community goal is to entice people who work here and earn goo…

My thanks to the Daily Citizen-News for ongoing efforts to educate voters about the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). However, despite these efforts, many still do not realize just how much of an overreach $34 million for buildings really is, especially when other more cost-ef…

Regardless of the front page anti-Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) ad concerning the government buildings, I agree with your newspaper's "Our View" editorial of March 30, 2017, titled "County's Administrative Building No. 2 has outlived its use". In the editorial the newspaper…

The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) is a hot topic in our city and county and it should be. I have met with groups and individuals about it, and both sound good laying details and reasons, but I have made up my mind on situations in past times because of my conviction. I will…

Immigrants in the country illegally are not eligible for most government benefits by law.

The current debate on the proposed $100 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) isn't whether or not we should invest in our community's future -- of course we should. The question is who should invest. How do we optimize the balance between government and private sector inve…

Do you really know the projects in the proposed $100 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax list?

The Daily Citizen-News recently printed a column titled "Outsiders help pay for the SPLOST." The last sentence reads: "There is no probably about the fact that some percentage of our SPLOST is paid for by people who don't live here." The other side of the coin is that we who do live here pay…

The League of Women Voters for the Dalton Area has serious concerns about the timing of the March 19 special election which will determine if a six-year, $100 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) is enacted for Whitfield County. A special election is intended for unforesee…

Can we agree that there are valid reasons to be for or against this Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST); that neither those "for" nor those "against" wants to see our community embark on a course of stagnation and decline; that a SPLOST is paid by residents and visitors alike; an…

Visitors do impact our Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and other local taxes.

You are about to read the shortest Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) letter that will probably ever be written.

Great things are happening in our community -- north, south, east and west and smack in the middle of town -- many of them made possible by our current Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). If we want to keep the momentum going, then I hope all voters will give serious considerati…

When will Dalton/Whitfield start caring about pets?

I am writing to thank Dalton residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season.

Republican buyback lie

Nancy Pelosi says a wall is immoral and not who we are as Americans. I strongly disagree.

It’s a great time to be part of all the good things happening in Dalton. Whether it’s the local government, the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce, Believe Greater Dalton or various other community-minded groups and organizations, a lot of our citizens are working together to address many of…

Concerning wages, do you feel like you're running in place? Actually, you're moonwalking, like Michael Jackson. According to Gallup, nearly two-thirds say they've seen no wage increase resulting from the Republican tax cut. Inflation may cut 23 percent from Trump's tax cut. October's inflati…