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Thursday, September 27, 2007
“Perdue on water, litter, growth”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whenever I cover a big shindig, I tend to skirt the glad-handing movers and shakers and seek out that one person who appears timid, as out-of-place with the posturing as me.
Meet Mick Gallagher, a Brookwood High senior.
I met him at the eighth annual Governor’s Environmental Address, held Wednesday at the Gwinnett Center off Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. He was selected by the school sponsor of Quest, an academic club for brainiacs, to represent his school.
Gallagher considered it an honor. The operatives in attendance were a who’s who list - county commissioners, city leaders, law enforcement officers, teachers - and several more students like Gallagher.
“I don’t know what to expect,” he told me before lunch. “But [Gov. Sonny Perdue] seems like a pretty cool guy.”
The cool guy started off with a joke, then eased into what he’d come to discuss - issues that he said are near and dear to his heart. Initially, he touched on something that resonated in ways he may not even realize. He mentioned the “problems of prosperity and the problems of growth” and the way they intertwine to tax local leaders and planners.
“I can’t think of a county that has been challenged more than Gwinnett,” he said. “I wish we’d done as good of a job over Georgia as you have done here.”
I liked the way Perdue segued into his next subject, veering from his scripted speech. He talked about “the war,” how -despite media reports - “it’s proceeding better than we read about.”
Only he wasn’t talking about the war in Iraq.
“It’s the war on litter,”proclaimed Perdue. “And we’re winning.
“We’re winning because of communities like this that understand it’s not just a slogan. It’s getting the job done.”
Then he talked about a partnership between the state and the Pepsi Bottling Group regarding Georgia’s new anti-litter campaign: “Litter: It Costs You.” PBG’s delivery trucks will display that message with a picture of the state’s anti-litter mascot, “General Buster the Brown Trasher.”
“Litter is everyone’s job,” Perdue said.
So is water conservation.
Georgia, Perdue said, needs a statewide comprehensive water plan. He encouraged the audience to attend public hearings on the proposed plan, which will be held across the state Oct. 15-19. The final plan is to be presented to the Legislature in January.
Perdue said he wants to work with people in this county to keep Georgia clean, abundant and beautiful. He will be long gone from office, but there will always be county leaders to rise to the challenge.
Like Gallagher, the Brookwood student.
“It could be me someday,” he said, “being a leader.”
To read Perdue’s prepared speech, click here.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
