A forum featuring the candidates for Effingham County sheriff and tax commissioner will be held at South Effingham High School on July 1 at 7 p.m.

The forum, sponsored by LIFE  and the Effingham Herald, will feature a panel of local leaders to pose questions and will have an independent moderator for the questioning period. Candidates will be given the opportunity to make opening and closing statements and the opportunity for rebuttal on questions answered by their opponents when appropriate.

Candidates with no opposition are encouraged to attend and will be introduced.

“We feel that it is important that citizens have the opportunity to hear candidates speak and answer questions pertinent to their elections. We also feel that it is important for an event as this forum to take place in south Effingham, where so many residents live,” said LIFE president Alan Zipperer.

Citizens may propose questions for the candidates to: LIFE, PO Box 1810, Rincon, GA 31326 or to EffinghamLife@windstream.net. All questions will be reviewed for possible use at the forum and must be received no later than June 23.

LIFE — Leaders Improving the Future of Effingham — is an organization whose members are active businessmen and women in Effingham County. LIFE is a limited liability corporation organized under that LLC as a political action committee. LIFE’s mission statement is “to find and support community leaders who proactively promote our county’s growth and quality of life with the utmost efforts of honesty, ethics and a constructive cooperation with our cities.”

“The continued growth of our industrial and commercial areas of the county is vital to the issue of, at a minimum, stabilizing our local ad valorem rates,” Zipperer said. “We are at the threshold of expanding these areas of growth in Effingham, and we will continue to encourage our local officials to see that we provide a pro-business atmosphere that will encourage developers as they work with various entities that are interested in bringing the industrial and commercial growth to the county.

“Our goal as a group is to promote pro-business candidates for political office on the local level and to be positive voice in other issues in the county. We have a vital interest in bringing together the cities and county government in the water and sewer issue. We are concerned that the local governments, cities and county, present a unified front on this vital issue and the issues regarding transportation. The Effingham Parkway is a must issue for all citizens of Effingham.”

Zipperer also said that the group has no agenda but that of promoting Effingham County and a positive economic growth within the cities and county.

“We will encourage candidates for public office who will meet the level of positive, ethical, pro-business standard that citizens have a right to expect,” he said.

The group has been involved in issues in the county and in the encouragement of candidates for public office. This has included inviting city and county officials to discuss with the group primary issues for city and county government.

“We are pleased to have been a part of voter registration efforts at the high schools to bring our young people to become active voters in their community,” Zipperer said.

LIFE members include vice president Mark Arrington, secretary-treasurer Paul Hanagan, Eric Allread, Danny Anderson, Mark Bryant, Carolyn Collins, Steve Collins, Grant Exley, Tommy Exley, Gussie Nease, Phillip Heidt, Rickey Kicklighter, Mickey Kicklighter, Ashley Kieffer, Harvey Kieffer, Phil Kieffer, Bill Lee, Ruth Lee, Terry Lee, Joe Marshall, Murray Marshall, Darrell Morgan, Parker Rahn, Barnard Rahn, Jeremy Smith, Carl Smith, Doug Tyson, Keith Woods and Dusty Zeigler.