Please fix Shawnee Egypt Road

Most mornings, my neighbor and I ride our bicycles up the length of Shawnee Egypt Road, turning around at Route 21 and return home. This eight-mile round trip is great exercise for me as I have Parkinson's disease.

The reason I am writing this letter is the road itself. This road is in poor condition, with cracked blacktop, and very faded striping along the sides and down the middle. I have called Hannah in Public Works at least six times over the last year and requested restriping of this road as a safety issue as the road is impossible to see in the dark, especially when raining. I have sent her photos as well.

The signage along the road is inadequate. The speed limit is 55 for the majority of the road, and drops suddenly to 15 mph once the curve behind my house has been made. There is not any gradual drop other than the posted. The 55 mph sign is within 100 yards of Hwy 21, leaving the next four miles unmarked.

This past weekend a lady died after she tried to navigate this curve at too high a rate of speed. Her car rolled over after hitting a drainage pipe and only stopped when she hit the pole at the comer of Shawnee Road and 5th Street. This tragic accident should not have occurred.

Several years ago, a car made the same mistake and missed the curve, plunging through our yard and hitting our house, knocking one comer off its pier.

Recently, Georgia Power Co. came and replaced a pole which a car hit, bending the guy wire anchor and splitting the pole.

So, this comer has a long history of being a problem area and is in need of extensive repair:

·       The speed limit signs are too far apart and in need of lower the limits.

·       Shawnee Egypt Road needs a sign stating "dangerous curve ahead" and the limit lowered to 35 mph.

·       A" No Trucks" sign should be mounted at the comer where one once stood.

·       The addition of a bike lane on this road would be fantastic.

·       The road is also in need of repaving.

I encourage you to drive down this road from Hwy 21 to evaluate the condition of the road, the striping, and the signage, preferably after dark and in the rain, if possible.

John F. Herdina,

Guyton

****

Tax rates rising too quickly

I recently had the displeasure of meeting with my County tax officials regarding excessive increases in my property taxes. Does anyone consider 252% increase to be excessive?

For 40 years I was in the accumulation-of-wealth phase. As retired, I am now in the distribution phase. But they've got me in a barrel and forcing me to distribute my savings way too hard to be taken as reasonable taxation.

Gone are 6-10% tax increases. This is being done by unelected County officials with no oversight locally or at the state level. How can this be?

I caution anyone that atternpts to refute wild increases in their property taxation as they will make you a target for future increases.

I tried to document this on my phone video and every head in the room exploded screaming that I couid not document any part of these proceeciings and that it was illegal for the taxpayers to even try.

I asked four very basic and reasonable questions. Each was met by blank stares, long pauses, no words or answers. I am not saying that they utilize Gestapo tactics, but it certainly felt like it.

As soon as I brought up several members of the community getting extremety favorable deals, the meeting was shut down and adjourned.

I hate to admit this, but I think I need legal representation as I am not in a fair fight here. Are there any honest lawyers in the area that might be able to help me with that? Or anyone who knows how to navigate social media who  could assist me in getting the word out regarding urtfair tax practices.

My total assessed value was $135,000 in 2019 and is now at $335,000 in just a couple of years (252% increase). My property is at the dead end of the roughest road (not highway frontage) in Effingham County where I get zero government services other than trash collection. I even have to pay for my own street light.

Aren't these 15 million square feet of new boxes and multiple subdivisions in the county contributing to their fair share of the total tax burden to finance the total screw-ups that have run into the millions around this county?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jeff Pritchard,

Effingham County