•Storms pound Georgia.

There are at least 33 deaths from the storm that stretched from Alabama to Ohio. No deaths in Georgia, but there are injuries and property damage. Over 18,000 are without power. In Pickens County the Davis Barbeque building is cooked. Houses and chicken coops were damaged in Bartow County.

And to really top it all off, my dogs did not want to go outside and do their business in the rain. That really made a mess of my morning!

Still, Georgia will need much more rain to get out of the current drought. Lake Lanier is still 9 feet below its normal level.

Sonny Perdue speaking out against those who are criticizing his quoting of MLK's "Free at Last" speech.

"I admire Dr. King," he [Perdue] said. "I am afraid those people unhappy about it. They didn't vote for me anyway."

He must be a uniter, not a divider, just like Bush!

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•Out going Governor Barnes tackled the tough issues others choose to ignore.

Zell Miller, when Governor, almost lost re-election for attempting to change the state flag. Still Barnes knew that not only would Georgia's image continue to be hurt by the divisive symbol, but that the economic impact would increase. Convention business and special events would bypass Georgia more frequently. Courageously, Barnes pushed through the new flag legislation.

That alone assures him a place in history.

As traffic and sprawl continued to worsen, Georgians and Atlantans could not get together on solving the issues. Federal funds could, and still can be, lost due to pollution and lack of alternative methods of transportation. The Atlanta Regional Commission was ineffective. Barnes pushed through the Georgia Regional Traffic Commission to get solutions in motion.

In education Barnes set up rules making it easier to fire poor performing teachers. He set up a differential pay plan to alleviate the shortage of math and science teachers. He also offered more pay to excellent teachers and reduced class size. He admitted the emphasis on standardized test score needed to be improved, but still insisted on methods to benchmark the quality of education. Teachers seem to be more concerned about protecting the status quo that has caused or low test scores, than actually improving it.

Barnes's helped push through legislation outlawing predatory lending. He poured additional funding into DFCS. He did what was right for Georgia.

All in all, though, Barnes made headway on intractable problems facing Georgia, leaving his state better off than when he took office.

•More praises for Barnes trying to make Georgia a better place.

"The governor's going to be remembered for the steps he took to make Georgia a better place and for his willingness to tackle tough issues, many of which were thrust upon him once he became governor," [Joselyn] Baker said. "That's going to be his legacy."

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