New big blue signs in SoWal

[Alicia Leonard]

We are officially a 2 newspaper family.

Thanks. I will get to cover the school board meeting next week at SWHS. Hope to see ya there.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I figure that if I'm paying for it, I might as well use it. 8)

 

[Alicia Leonard]

I figure that if I'm paying for it, I might as well use it. 8)

Cool.

I drank too much coffee last night and thought of your caffeine post. Not smart on my part.

 

[Jdarg]

Thanks. I will get to cover the school board meeting next week at SWHS. Hope to see ya there.

Like I have a choice. I just started a thread about it.

Back to the signs, I have thought of an excellent re-use of them. What about using the blue signs at Helen McCall? They are very "sports complex" looking, and we will need some "wayfaring" signs there to direct people to parking, restrooms, ball fields, play ground, etc.

 

[Kurt]

I have a hunch - if the sign on the causeway was run over on purpose, it was someone sore about the fact it said "Welcome To Walton County" and was not about aesthetics. I wonder if that one was supposed to be planted in Paxton?

 

[Teresa]

Geowickey



This is a dead horse, but I just want to clarify something. Sean actually had posted his full name and association with the Sun twice in previous messages on this board. I did not "out" him. I came across this as I was searching his posts, simply because I remembered "yucarenow" as a board member and I wanted to see if I could find his blog if he had one. I was interested in reading it!

As explained above ad nauseum, reporters are held to different, more exacting standards, thus the (justified) reaction by many of us to what he wrote. Sean has handled it pretty well I think.

And personally, I adhere to the old idea that it is not a good idea to post too many particulars about yourself on a public website, and so while I do not consider myself to be exactly anonymous, I will not be among those posting my full name on this thread.

good points there TFT. no, not a good idea to put your real info online. but I'm sorry, I can't agree with Jill on anonymity of this board. you may not know the board names, but I this is a real community on and off the board. surprisingly, we do know a great deal about one another. and usually get around to meeting a great number of members.

but a writer who writes articles and blogs on the net under his name, well that is totally fair game. just as any report or information pulled from an internet or other source - that source needs to be identified for verification purposes.

 

[TreeFrog]

There is something deeper going on. There is a huge demographic difference between the population of the county north of the Choctawhatchee Bay and SoWal. The number of people north of the bay vastly outnumbers the full time residents south of the bay. Developers and third party rental companies have been allowed to dominate the TDC and the Planning Commission and speak on behalf of South Walton rather than rank and file residents and homeowners, and though the tax revenues generated in the southern part of the county supply much of the county budget while requiring relatively fewer county services, the residents and homeowners in the southern part of the county are given little say in how it is governed. The meeting was about big vlue monsters, but it was also about the disregard of the opinions of citizens that is a pattern.

I see the bigger picture the same as Punzy. I've only lived here 3 years, and to tell the truth was never much interested in local politics before moving here. But after seawalls, beach privatization, developer-oriented planning decisions, dune lake meddling, etc. I decided to learn more.

So I've started to go to a few meetings just to learn how it all works. Just to listen. No speaking prematurely and branding myself an idiot...

What I hear conforms, to varying degrees, to what Punzy says. It's dismaying when you count on the press to hold them accountable, then you get an article like in today's Walton Sun that doesn't do that.

We in SoWal (business owner, residents, and absentee owners alike) have invested a lot of money and effort into SoWal, we pay a lot of taxes, and we deserve a voice.

Keep up the good work, Dave and all.

 

[Dave Rauschkolb]

Hello all. I am away from a computer till Sunday and posting on an iPhone is not an option. I will catch up Sunday eve. Dave

 

[Alicia Leonard]

I have a hunch - if the sign on the causeway was run over on purpose, it was someone sore about the fact it said "Welcome To Walton County" and was not about aesthetics. I wonder if that one was supposed to be planted in Paxton?

Kurt, I think that's a real possibility.;-)

 

[Mermaid]

C. C., Seacrest, Laundress



Mr. Boone saw some bored housewives, hippies looking for a cause, and rich, self-appointed arbiters of taste making much ado about nothing. There is something deeper going on. There is a huge demographic difference between the population of the county north of the Choctawhatchee Bay and SoWal. The number of people north of the bay vastly outnumbers the full time residents south of the bay. Developers and third party rental companies have been allowed to dominate the TDC and the Planning Commission and speak on behalf of South Walton rather than rank and file residents and homeowners, and though the tax revenues generated in the southern part of the county supply much of the county budget while requiring relatively fewer county services, the residents and homeowners in the southern part of the county are given little say in how it is governed. The meeting was about big vlue monsters, but it was also about the disregard of the opinions of citizens that is a pattern.

I like Sean and we are fortunate to have him at the Sun.

I think we can all agree that SoWal.com has become a very important part of the community- there is nothing else here that ties residents, out of town homeowners, and visitors together, and it has become vital to inform people about issues that affect our area.

I see the bigger picture the same as Punzy. I've only lived here 3 years, and to tell the truth was never much interested in local politics before moving here. But after seawalls, beach privatization, developer-oriented planning decisions, dune lake meddling, etc. I decided to learn more.

So I've started to go to a few meetings just to learn how it all works. Just to listen. No speaking prematurely and branding myself an idiot...

What I hear conforms, to varying degrees, to what Punzy says. It's dismaying when you count on the press to hold them accountable, then you get an article like in today's Walton Sun that doesn't do that.

We in SoWal (business owner, residents, and absentee owners alike) have invested a lot of money and effort into SoWal, we pay a lot of taxes, and we deserve a voice.

Keep up the good work, Dave and all.

I have been following this thread with interest but have been reluctant to chime in because I haven't personally seen the signs "in the flesh." For the most part, I don't like to comment on things unless I have first-hand info. However, I was talking to our rental manager and he let out a rant about the ugliness of these signs the likes of which I've never heard. This from a man who has a wide tolerance of ugly! He also commented about a realtor friend of his who called the TDC to voice an opinion (negative) and was given a huge runaround. This conversation drove the point home to me that "the blue monsters" controversy is NOT a SoWal thing. Quite the contrary.

Jenny, I'm glad you're not mad at Sean for his blog. I like people who have strong opinions and aren't afraid to state them, even when (and maybe even especially when) it goes against the tide. And to civilly clarify and apologise on what is a heated subject shows strength of character. Would that all posters be like that!

Anyway, I wasn't in total agreement with his rant but there was a kernel of truth in what he said about some of the ticky tacky developments sprouting up on 30-A. I'm sure he was thinking of the same places that we're all thinking of and discussing on this board.

The big blue monsters are just another example of how our community has been running amuck and honestly, if they serve as the straw that breaks the camel's back, well then, they've served us well. Recognize the signs as a wake-up call that we need to be vigilant about what is going on, because obviously our commissioners aren't willing to go out on a limb to keep the public that they serve informed of what they do.

It makes me sad to see many of the changes that have happened in the 20 years we've been going to the beach. I love many of the improvements--not having to drive to Destin anymore to get groceries upon arrival is a biggie--but it seems that in the last few years the unique character and quirkiness that defined 30-A is slowly being sucked out and squashed, only to be replaced by slick, anonmymous conformity of design. The big blue monsters are a prime example: they could be any sign in any state in any resort. Only the lettering and paint color distinquishes them from their sisters in Disney and Six Flags and Sea World et al. They'd be totally forgettable if they're weren't firstly totally obnoxious.

It's a pity that the TDC didn't see the forest for the trees. The signs that are the cause of such discord could instead have been a source of pride for each of the communities along 30-A, if residents had only been invited to participate in the process. (I know there was a comment about how time-consuming it is to involve the public, that it's more efficient to hand it over to professionals in its entirety, but I don't buy it, not for things like this.) Y'know the new state quarters? There were contests all across Indiana to choose the new design. The newspapers kept everyone abreast of how things were shaping up with all the artists' renderings. It was interesting and exciting. And when we get a new licence plate, the designs are up for discussion before the final one is chosen. If an entire STATE can pull its residents together on things of artistic import, why the heck can't SoWal commissioners have thought of something along the same lines as well? For all that they say there was no "secret" about the signs, a lot of people sure were surprised.

I hope these big blue monsters will blow in a sorely needed change in how things are handled in SoWal, and I hope our commissioners realize that south of the bay is as important as the north. Punzy hit the nail on the head with her observations on that point, and Tree Frog's comment about how we paying the taxes ought to translate into our concerns being heeded is also true. What lies ahead for SoWal bears watching and it's up to us to watch it. No one else is going to do it for us.