Q: Where is the WORST Place to Put a "Telecommunications Tower" ?

A:  ... On the July 2012 Primary Election Ballot! 

(we would alternately accept the answers:  on the Nov. 2012 Presidential Ballot or on any Ballot in the state of Georgia)

(click headline to read why)

Not sure why anyone would debate why one school is “worse” as far as a location than another, but perhaps from an eyesore or danger standpoint, every single school has taxpaying citizens who live nearby and have been wronged by this decision. And there are plenty more who do not know.

If Get the Cell Out – Atlanta did not form in order to warn everyone about what had taken place and what to expect, every school on the list would have very likely been blindsided – learning about the tower only when they wake up early in the a.m. to the sound of construction, walking to the tower site to ask what is being built and learning about the new environmental hazard the school system has approved and railroaded through the zoning process without a second thought about local ordiances or zoning laws.

And, the new anti-picketing law in Ga. was designed to make it a felony if those people here were to do any of the typical things that people in this same exact situation do – stand in front of the entrance to the job site to try to stop the construction workers from getting through while they desparately send other neighbors home to call police or attorneys or get in touch with someone at the school to find out what is going on. These people would be fined $1,000 a day for exercising their right to protest in their own neighborhood, a right guaranteed by the U.S. constitution.

As for Briarlake, are they making a mistake by letting their PTA run their opposition?  At other schools, the PTA has been identified as being part of the reason the initial reports of the cell tower plans were kept so quiet.  Recently, they warned residents to set their "No cell tower" signs back 10' from the road and into their own yards.  This advice is not an innocent warning.

With school board member Paul Womack living right there in the same neighborhood, those signs, when placed 10′ away from the curb and into one’s own yard, will constitute a formal “picket” and every individual is at risk of being fined $1,000, maybe more if they have not submitted a request for a sign permit and have it affixed to the back of the sign.  Or, as a group, the No Tower Briarlake, LLC, could be fined $10,000 a day for those signs so there goes any money in the legal fund!

And, if a tower application is filed, the organizers of the protest, protected under their “LLC,” will have only 15 days to file any legal action from the date the application is submitted.   That's half the time an individual would have.  As a group, it may be required that they are represented by an attorney.  But, any individual can appeal an application up to 30 days from the date it is submitted.

If brought within the timeframe (15 days for a group or 30 for an informal group of individuals or a single person), the attorney fees will likely be refunded at the end of the court proceedings, regardless of outcome, because it is guaranteed as a right under the FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Act attempts to deal with all “obstacles to smooth entry” into an area, so they give this incentive to encourage anyone who wants to bring legal action to do so, but within the relatively short timeframe.

Those I-pads will be all the justification that T-mobile will need to show that the new 4G technology tower really was needed for educational purposes all along – and then it will be exempt from zoning regulation. The county citizens need to work together rather than listening to different perspectives that will lead to different results.

To compare one’s school to another when you consider the fact that the biggest concern at the heart of this matter is the fear that long-term exposure to RF radiation may cause cancer and children are the most vulnerable  (followed by unborn children, the elderly, then those with compromised mmune systems, then women and finally men).  Everyone exposed to the unknown effects of being near a cell tower for many hours a day is taking part in the largest human experient in the history of mankind.

Think what you want, but this is not an issue that we can debate – the science of this issue must work itself out and will take time – probably 15 to 30 years, about the length of the contracts. To subject any human being to this type of research, but especially to do this to children, against their will and without the consent or input of their parents will be a tragedy we hope our county is strong enough and wise enough to avoid.

Please, don’t let your school board do what it always does to all of you – don’t let them divide you into bickering little factions where you start to blame each other and then find ways to ask for favors behind each other's backs.  That is the grease of politics, but we must leave that for the politicians and the lobbyists. We must be loyal to the humanity inside of all of us that says, “I wouldn’t want this in my yard. Why would I be okay with it in anyone’s yard?"

There must be a better way – tell T-mobile to take their money back to the drawing board because we do not want to impose this great of a risk on any human being and we do not wish to punish these 9 schools, their communities or anyone else with an eyesore and a burden that they should be legally protected from.

If handled correctly, THIS ISSUE could actually HELP DeKalb bring new homebuyers to our county if word gets out that we decided to put the health of our children and residents first.  We don't need an outright ban (such as the one denied by the state legislature even with support of 16 of 18 of our delegates) to know that we, collectively, do not approve of the practice of cell towers on school grounds.

You may have heard Tom Bowen, former school board chairman, in the press flippantly stating that this is "common" because it has already taken place in Fulton and Gwinnett.  So what?  Good for them.  The big difference is that they made their "deal with the devil" before the World Health Organization legitimized the concerns about the health risks and confirmed that brain cancer has increased in multiple studie that looked at exposure to RF radiation for more than 10 years. 

If we say no where other counties have said yes, that will only make DeKalb more attractive and improve ALL of our home values even more. And, the entire country will be learning from us about how to be good neighbors, good citizens and good parents.

We Need Your Help!

EMAIL OR WRITE:   The CEO Mr. Burrell Ellis, to back up the fact that we are counting on him to follow the advice of the county commissioners since they are well trained and experienced in these matters: 

Mr. W. Burrell Ellis, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer

(can approve a Special Administrative Permit)

(Can influence all permits)

c/o DeKalb County Government

Executive Office --     (404) 371 - 2881

330 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue, 6th Floor
Decatur, GA  30030

This is an easy access online feedback form.

His recent speaking tour was entitled, "DeKalb County - Making Your Priorities Our Priorities."  So, let's put that slogan to the test!  If it is true and his office really does want to make our priorities the priorities that count, Mr. Ellis might have a better chance at re-election that many may have expected. 

DeKalb County Director of Public Works

(can approve a Special Administrative Permit - usually for tempoary structures)
Director’s Office –             (404) 371-4778     
http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/publicwrks/pw_who.html

The Zoning Board of Appeals

(can approve a Special Exception Permit) 

The Director (or Interim Director) of Planning & Sustainability
Director’s Office –             404-371-2155     
email: planDev@dekalbcountyga.gov

The Director of Planning & Sustainability

(can approve a Special Land Use Permit)

(which would then go to the commissioners for sign-off).

Thank you for reading this far into this article.  We wish we could keep comments brief, but this issue is complex and very important. Please tell everyone you know about it so that we can keep it in the forefront of everyone’s minds when they go to the ballot boxes and with any luck they will understand the importance of voting responsibly this year.

A single cell tower at a single school sets a dangerous precedent. If it happens here the way it has happened elsewhere, the money will go for a slush fund for prinicpals and top administrators. It will not do any good for any child or any school. Look what it has done already to the credibility of the PTA.

Womack knows that Lakeside will not get a tower. They do not even have a signed lease right now. He tried to do this same thing in the late 1990s (from what we have been told from several sources) and the community stopped it. Lakeside doesn’t care about the towers – they need the money to finish their construction because SPLOST III funds ran out.

This is where the money will go and the big winners will be AT&T because they will likely be the owners of T-mobile’s towers and making tons in the subleasing to other providers alone and the avoidance of property taxes. This was a bad deal from the beginning and we should not let it rub off on us – rise above it. Do the right thing for the COUNTY, not just your school. Do the right thing for all the children. If the roles were reversed, I bet the children would choose to do the right thing for you.

DISCLAIMER:  THIS IS A BLOG:  a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also: the contents of such a site.  (as defined by Merrim-Webster) 

COMMENT:  Yes, we know that sometimes we might be speculating or ruffling a few feathers, but that's what we are here for.  We are just trying to get to the truth.  And when your governement and school board shuts you out of the meetings where you may have learned what they were doing or why, you are left with nothing but pure speculation.  And often, when one fact is uncovered, it leads down the path to another lie which must be exposed if we will ever be sucessful.

Everything we have stated is based in fact or complete reprints of what answers we received.  It is our intention to help the public by providing the transparency we all seek, yet are often denied.  When we do not know the answers, we say so.  When we are trying to figure things out, we share our thoughts.  We are all in this together and no one really knows how this battle will turn out.  Except perhpaps T-mobile or ATT... they have done this many, many times before and they have already moved on in other parts of the U.S. to public parks and other grounds that are willing to provide them locations for their towers, tax breaks and access to areas that are closer and closer to our homes. 

4G technology isn't all it is cracked up to be when you realize the loss of your own privacy that might come along with it.  We hope you do not give up this fight to get to the truth.  Our children and our future is worth every bit of effort you are willing to put into it.  And it is our combined efforts that will, we hope, lead to the success of this movement to keep our children safe and place the focus on education - where it should be.  We hope our county and our country will be able to rise above those who wish to keep us at odds with one another.  We hope more people will learn how important it is that they register to vote, learn the issues, make informed choices and get out there and VOTE! 

If you will not be here for the election at the end of July, please request an away-ballot NOW so you can still have your voice counted!