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Bonner, Davis visit T'ville
What was an oddity when the pair held their first joint town hall session now seems almost commonplace for Clarke County, said county commissioner Paul Bradford. Yet the attention the pair have given to this county split between two congressional districts is envied by others, he said. As they have before, Davis, a Democrat, and Bonner, a Republican offered words of praise for their counterpart across the political aisle and stressed that, at the core, their goals were the same, to make this a better country. Bonner and Davis also stressed the idea that differing political ideals can be discussed calmly without the shouting often seen on highly charged political talk shows. When asked about FEMA and the troubles of responding to Hurricane Katrina, Davis said he hoped lessons were learned in the wake of that storm. "We found that some counties were so devastated they couldn't afford to put up the matching funds often required from federal assistance," he said. Davis also said they were working to make the system more accountable and responsive. Bonner said what happened in the aftermath of the tornadoes that hit Miller's Ferry and Enterprise show that response has gotten better but that there is still too much red tape in the process, but that he believed the new FEMA director was "the right man for the job." Commissioner Rhondell Rhone asked about Corps of Engineeers money to help continue the work at the old Lock One in turning it into a recreational lake.
"We've been in touch with the Corps so much about that project we have our own name for it," Bonner joked. "But the Corps is stretched very thin right now." Bonner said money Corps is stretched very thin right now." Bonner said money for recreation projects may not be coming soon, but other projects, like dredging the Alabama River for more commercial traffic could be made a priority. When asked about getting more support for vocational training, Davis and Bonner agreed that it could be better. Also asked about the No Child Left Behind Act, Davis and Bonner both seemed to state their support for it in general. "Kids are not dropping out because of something with No Child Left Behind," Davis said. "It's because of outside influences." Davis talked about the differing standards from state to state, that some states have 3 standards to meet while Alabama has 13. Bonner said he felt the underlying premise of the act was sound. "We don't want to lower standards, but we don't want to add to teacher stress and problems, either," Bonner said. On the issue of Iraq, both men agreed that there was too much political partisanship taking place in Washington over the matter. Davis said he believed the president should sit down with the leadership in the legislature to work out a plan for moving forward and getting the troops out. Bonner said he believed the legislature took over the role of commander in chief when it started passing bills to get out of Iraq by next year.
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