I've been in DeKalb County now for four weeks, and I'm starting to learn a few things.
In week one, I learned there are two mayors here, not just one mayor and one county executive. That might not sound like a big deal, but when you holler out who is the mayor and the answer is Jimmy Poss in some instances that could be the wrong answer.
For example, if one were referring to the county mayor instead when writing a cutline for a picture after-the-fact.
It becomes even more important if one is a convicted felon and the other a pillar of the community. I know, these days they can often be one and the same depending on who gets caught but speaking relatively in the definitive you can get the picture.
I attended my first meeting of the county commission, which is headed by the county mayor and not the city. There were three items that might be of interest. One was the purchase of a piece of property by the county for $7,200 that was partially owned by the state and partially by the county. Is that as confusing as having two mayors?
In any case, because of the state-owned part, the county could only use the property for government matters. By paying the fair price asked by the state, the county now has full control of its own destiny, at least where this property is concerned. They can rent it out or hold a mini-Bonnaroo there if they so desire, which I thought was a good decision on the county's part.
I don’t think it was a good decision not to implement a speed limit on Ragland Bottom Road, by rejecting a petition by residents to set the speed limit from an unmarked county road which is 55 mph to a more reasonable 35 mph.
Speaking with the petition's drafter, Jeremy Colwell, the next day, I was surprised at how reasonable I found the request to be. Being the new guy, I just thought this was some nuisance case and I would find a straight road in the county someone was complaining about with no safety issues. Instead, I found a curvy lake-access road that definitely has some high-volume traffic, more so this past weekend with the holiday.
It looked like a collective roll of the eyes on the part of most of the commission, as the petition was voted down by a voice-vote. The petition was put forth by the 5th District commissioners who actually seem to care what the people who live on Ragland Bottom Road think, as I believe they probably vote.
The main reason against seemed to be they thought it would bankrupt the county to put up a few speed-limit signs. Seems to me it makes more sense to pass the motion, put up a few signs and then enforce it when you can. There are regular patrols with it being a lake road and all.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and all that.

Contact Steve Warner at news@smithvillereview.com.