Lake Lanier Woes, Part 3

My neighbor heard some rather shocking news today (on Earth Day, oh the irony) regarding the City of Cumming’s plans for routing the Lake Lanier water into town. He met a surveyor in his yard and apparently they are going to go around the lake, through our creek and up through Roger’s yard. The surveyor asked if he had gotten a letter yet. Yikes.

 

That doesn’t make any sense! That is a lot longer path to go from the current pumphouse to the city. My neighbor said it’s going to be about 40 feet wide taken of his land. Plus all the digging they will have to do to come around the creek and up our way, up his hill and to the street. How many hardwood trees are going to die because of this? What is going on?

 

He also said that the city manager has been going to Mobile 3x a week. Why does the City of Cumming Manager need to go to the Army Corps headquarters when they will not listen to the Governor of Georgia? What are they hiding?

 

Anyway, I need to research what our rights are if they come between our yards and the whole eminent domain issue. That means our trees will go in the front right side of our yard and in the back. Beautiful hardwood trees. It’s upsetting to say the least when you move to the lake to live in a natural setting and then hear that the forest on the lake is going to be tore up when there are other options available for the government.

 

We also wonder if the lake level is being held so they can dig. The lake dropped for the first time in awhile and they released 3x more water than usual. What is going on???? Who does the Army Corps answer to? Where are our checks and balances? The rumors are flying in Forsyth County and it’s not good.

Who can help us, Clark Howard? WSB-TV? The EPA? Greenpeace? Save the Trees? Lake Lanier Association? Someone!

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PR tips and web sites

Since I went to school for marketing and PR fell in my lap at my current job, I have been learning PR as I go. I rely on many of the industry experts and try to read as much as I can about all things PR. Here are some of my favorite sources for great information.

As for tips for contacting journalists, use common sense. Don’t send attachments, keep a pitch short and sweet, don’t call unless asked to and be sure that you know what beat the journalist covers! 

Here’s a funny and helpful article regarding contacting journalists:
Don’t be a flack: Tips for PR workers from the journalists who hate them
http://valleywag.com/tech/flacks/dont-be-a-flack-tips-for-pr-workers-from-the-journalists-who-hate-them-200494.php

PR News & Resources
Bill Stoller’s PublicityInsider.com
Holmes Report
O’Dwyer’s Public Relations Daily
Online Public Relations
PRWeek
The Publicity Hound

And the best new resource for journalist queries:
Help a Reporter http://www.helpareporter.com/

Lake Lanier Woes, Part Two

The latest rumor on our street about the City of Cumming and Army Corps of Engineers is that they will keep dredging until September 08. The heavy trucks continue to tear up our roads and some people’s yards continue to get parked on. My neighbor thinks that since they have so much equipment invested in the lake in young deer creek, that they are purposely keeping the water level down.

On weekends when there is rain in the forecast, the water is released before the rain comes and the readings appear different than what they should be. My neighbor has been measuring.

That coupled with the fact that there is a lot of dredging equipment where the water would come up makes us think that it will be a long while before our water comes back to full pool. Even a Congressman who lives across the lake from us wonders what is going on. I think they are keeping things from us. We can handle whatever truth there is, but just don’t hide things from the local citizens. It’s our money they are using to dig for more water in the first place.

 

 

This wouldn’t happen if English was the official language of the US

This is out of control. Now congress is going to allocate funds to help teach English in schools? It is time that we make English the official language of the United States before we have to start catering to a barrage of languages and bending over backwards to please everyone. If you come to the US, you know you need to know English. Period.

 

House OKs English-language instruction

Senate to vote today on $40 million for language instruction; allocation system faces fight

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0410flores0410.html

WTF? And now the Senate votes…

 

Help a reporter.com

As a public relations person, I am always looking for ways to connect with journalists. Here is a great web site and newsletter for journalists seeking experts and sources. Peter Shankman is hilarious and started it out of the goodness of his heart. He also offers humor and insight into the curious world of PR. Check it out.

http://www.helpareporter.com

The new Press form can be found at www.helpareporter.com/press

HARO rules!!!