Dear editor:

The commissioner’s race affects our county economically more than [any] other race. Commissioner Heiskell has proven through the years her integrity and her leadership abilities. She is leading our county at a time when we need to expand our industrial base. The county has an option on the ONLY 400-acre tract along our ONLY corridor (Highway 27) with rail and utilities available. To prepary for any industry that may want to locate here, without spending our local tax money, demonstrates leadership.

If the leaders of LaFayette had not had the foresight to do the same, we would not have Roper and other industries in the LaFayette area today. Commissioner Heiskell has also shown leadership in restoring and capitalizing on our natural beauty and our Cherokee and Civil War history. Without her we wouldn’t have the Marsh House in LaFayette, the Mouontain Cove property and many other improvements related to tourism and preservation.

If Rossville hadn’t preserved the John Ross House, we and our children would have missed much of our heritage.

If Chickamauga had not purchased the Gordon Lee House we would have lost more of our history. There are numerous others such as the depot and coke ovens in Chickamauga and Gordon Hall and Ft. Cumming in LaFayette.

I am thankful for these forward thinking leaders. With all the other numerous duties expected of our county commissioner, Bebe has done it all while maintaining the second lowest property tax rate in Georgia.What more could be asked of a commissioner but to do what we elected her to do!

This shows me that she is thinking about Walker County’s future generations and not just the present.

Vote for someone who will continue to take Walker County forward; not backward.

Roy Parrish, Chickamauga