Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
BARROW JOURNAL
PAGE 3A
Week before Crossover Day busy
Facing a Leap Day deadline for voting
on bills with any chance of becoming
law in 2016, the Georgia House of Rep
resentatives moved on several pieces of
legislation last week.
The final week before
“Crossover Day,” we unani
mously passed these four bills
that could directly impact some
of our most vulnerable citizens:
•HB 965, which would give
insured patients with Stage
IV metastatic cancer access to
more effective drugs without
having to first try unsuccessful
treatments.
•HB 919, which would estab
lish a pool of up to $100 mil
lion in state tax credits for
individuals and corporations donating
money to nonprofit healthcare organiza
tions that treat patients in rural counties.
I have served the past couple of years on
a committee studying rural healthcare,
and I think this bill is a wonderful step
forward. So does the state’s rural hospi
tal association.
•HB 962, which would create the
position of Kinship Care Enforcement
Administrator within the Department
of Human Services to oversee federal
or state programs for grandparents or
other relatives who are caring for up
to 300,000 Georgia children no longer
living with their parents. This was rec
ommended by a House study committee
established in 2015 to streamline kin
ship services and support. My hat is off
to both Minority Leader Stacy Abrams
(D-Atlanta) and to Human Relations
Committee Chairman Tommy Benton
(R-Jefferson) for their work over the
summer on this issue.
• HB768, which is the Georgia Achiev
ing a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act
and would allow families to establish
tax-exempt accounts for their disabled
loved ones without their becoming inel
igible for Medicaid. I was a co-sponsor
of this legislation.
The House also unanimously passed
House Bill 831 known as the “Protecting
Guardsmen’s Employment Act.” This
bipartisan legislation would require the
civilian employers to re-employ National
Guardsmen or members of the reserves
after being called into active duty.
Also last week, I voted in favor of
HB 859, which would allow adults with
carry permits the freedom to carry their
legal handguns onto the campuses of
post-secondary institutions such as tech
nical colleges and universities.
The bill would continue to restrict
handguns from sporting events, frater
nity or sorority houses, and dormito
ries where the presence of alcohol is a
concern. I am a firm defender of our
Second Amendment rights and do not
believe our constitutional protections
terry
england
should stop when stepping onto college
campuses.
We ended the seventh week of the
session without a vote on proposed leg
islation to legalize casino gam
bling. House Resolution 807
would authorize a statewide
referendum on a Constitution
al amendment for a “limited
number” of resort-style casinos
“for the long-term benefit of
the HOPE scholarship.” How
ever. late Friday, some were
suggesting amendments to the
resolution’s 70-page compan
ion bill of the state regulations
for the casinos. I heard talk
of diluting the potential reve
nues for HOPE, giving me a
healthy skepticism about the percentage
of revenue the casino industry actually
would deliver for the popular program.
I also do not believe the State of Geor
gia should encourage casino gambling.
After hearing from many of you, I think
our community feels the same way.
A highlight of last week was Tues
day’s visit by Ohio Gov. John Kasich,
who is running for the Republican nom
ination for President. The House also
formally recognized Paul Wood, the
retiring president and CEO of Georgia
EMC. I was honored to present to him a
bound copy of House Resolution 1169 in
appreciation of his 18 years in that role.
I was very pleased to witness Gov.
Nathan Deal’s swearing in of Auburn
Mayor Linda Blechinger as the newest
member of the Georgia Peace Officer
Standards and Training Council. She
was appointed to the position by the
Governor.
The Government Affairs Committee
of the Barrow County Chamber of Com
merce also paid the House a visit. It was
nice to see those friendly faces.
This is my report for the seventh week
of the 2016 legislative session. Thank
you for allowing me this opportunity
to represent Barrow County. May God
bless you and your family, this wonder
ful county, and our great state.
If you have any questions or com
ments, please feel free to contact me
at terry@terryenglandforgeorgia.com,
where you can sign up for my new
e-newsletter.
Rep. England has served in the Geor
gia House since 2005. He represents
District 116, which includes most of
Barrow County. In addition to chairing
the House Appropriations Committee,
he is an ex-officio member of the Ways
& Means Committee and a member of
the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs
Committee, the Education Committee,
the Industry and Labor Committee, and
the Natural Resources and Environment
Committee.
Murder continued from 1A
Investigators also
interviewed the suspect.
Based on those inter
views, the evidence from
the crime scene and the
statements of the sus
pect, "it was clear this
was no accidental shoot
ing,” investigators said.
Mr. Harrison was
arrested and remains
in the Barrow County
Detention Center await
ing bond on the charges
of aggravated assault,
felony murder, murder
and possession of a fire
arm during the commis
sion of a crime.
The investigation is
ongoing, Capt. Matt
Guthas of the Barrow
County Sheriff’s Office
said.
HARRISON
Qualifying continued from 1A
Dwight Acey of the Barrow County
Democratic Party said candidates wish
ing to run on that ticket should register
in the Barrow County Elections Office.
Several local races will be on the 2016
primary ballot including County Com
mission Chairman, Districts 1, 2, and
3 on the BOC, sheriff, coroner, Barrow
County Board of Education districts 2.
5, 6 and 8 (at large), chief magistrate,
probate judge, clerk of superior court
and tax commissioner.
This year’s state primary will be in
May, earlier than the usual July date.
AARP offers tax assistance for local citizens
Representatives from the AARP will be at the Barrow County Leisure Services
building on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. until noon until April 13 to offer
assistance with 2016 tax questions. Barrow Leisure Services is located at 80 Lee
Street in Winder. Call 770-307-3025 for more information.
Sheep to Shawl event scheduled for April 9
The 7th annual Sheep-to-Shawl event will
be Saturday. April 9, from 10 a.m. until 3
p.m. at Robert Bridges Park in Statham. You
can watch and learn the steps of shearing a
sheep, spinning the wool and knitting it into
a “shawl.” There will be food vendors, a
kids’ corner, and local/handmade crafts for
sale. To reserve a booth (either to demon
strate or sell), contact lhgstathamga@gmail.
com.
It takes a village
When I was a kid growing
up, I remember sitting out
in the yard in folding lawn
chairs, feet dangling from
my short legs, with a news
paper spread open in my lap.
A handful of peas or but
ter beans piled high would
keep me busy for an hour
or so. I loved the smell of
the raw vegetables — but
not the sore thumbnails I’d
have the next day! I tried
my best to emulate the way
my grandmother would pop
open the peas or but
ter beans, swipe her
thumb through the
hull, and hold the
prize in the palm of
her left hand. She
would shell a hand
ful before tossing the
bounty into a little
white basin.
My small hands
could only hold a few
of the prized peas
before they would
spill out onto the
newspaper. Green
beans were fun, too.
She’d pop off one
end of the bean, pull
the string down to the bot
tom, flip the bean over and
snap off the other end, faster
than Matt Dillon could draw
a six shooter. While still
holding the strings in her
right hand, she’d then snap
the bean into several pieces,
before depositing them into
a different basin. I was
amazed at how quickly she
worked, and how she could
hold so much in her hands.
An added bonus to the
harvesting process was shar
ing the chores with friends.
We’d go over to Jackie and
Roger Steed's house, sit in
their yard, and shell peas or
shuck com. Or they would
come to our house and help
us shell a mess of butter
beans.
The task was accom
plished faster, and sharing
in conversation made the
time pass even more quick
ly. I remember aunts and
cousins sitting out in my
grandmother's yard peeling
delicious, juicy peaches for
canning. They didn’t allow
the kids to be around for
that project, as there were
sharp knives involved (and
sticky fingers of children
who would abscond with the
bounty!)
We didn't argue too much
about being banned from the
peach project, as we didn’t
like the inevitable honeybee
infestation that went along
with peach canning. But I
remember how they enjoyed
visiting together. “It takes
a village” is not such a bad
statement, when viewed in
this context. Sometimes
having the help of a “vil
lage” is the only way that we
can get through the day.
So, what is this phenom
enon of support? We go
about our daily lives, hope
fully remembering to stop
and be thankful for another
day in which to live. We
face our challenges of meet
ing deadlines, managing
personal finances, and striv
ing to reach goals. Whether
employed or retired, for the
most part, we are allowed to
make choices to determine
how we spend our free time.
Sometimes there just do not
seem to be enough hours
in the day, and we do well
just to get things done, with
hardly any free time at all.
There is very little yard-sit-
ting with neighbors these
days, and life moves at a
much faster pace.
For the generation above
mine, the telephone revo
lutionized communication.
They no longer had to go
down to the comer store, or
the town square to hear all
the latest local news — or
cathy
watkins
bennett
Become a hospice volunteer.
You can make a profound difference in the lives of patients -
when it matters most. Call Ashley at 770.765.3222.
discuss the news they heard
on the radio or newfangled
television sets.
They could just pick up
the phone, and the opera
tor would ring the neigh
bor. Before long, we were
able to dial our own phones
and speak with people all
over the world. My gener
ation saw the evolution of
an untethered phone without
wires, and today’s genera
tion has seen further evolu
tion to mini-phones/comput
ers that fit in our
pockets!! Oh, the
wonders of tech
nology!
Communication
is at an all-time
high these days,
what with social
media, electron
ic mail, Skype,
etc. Facebook
is probably the
"telephone” of
this generation, in
that it has totally
changed the way
we communicate.
With one click
of a button, we
can notify an unlimited
number of people the news
about what we ate for dinner
(and can post a picture of it,
too!), share pictures of our
grandkids, post about our
political views, or anything
else we choose.
We can keep up with the
latest news about our favor
ite sports team, be reminded
of birthdays, and send quick
greetings without going
to the store for a card, or
paying for postage stamps.
(And then remembering to
put it in the mail.) The
World Wide Web gives us
access to up-to-the-minute
news, right at our fingertips,
and the Information High
way has all but ended our
need for encyclopedias and
dictionaries.
Social media also allows
us to leam of unfortunate
events, and troubled times
that our friends are facing.
I see almost as many posts
asking for prayers as I do
any other types of posts.
This is a fabulous tool, and
a very efficient way to get
folks praying without hav
ing to utilize a phone tree
or prayer chain that requires
someone to stop what they
are doing, look up phone
numbers, and call the people
on the list. Sometimes a
rapid response is needed!
My family experienced
this first-hand a few days
ago. We were in the ER
with my dad, and within
moments of a few texts and
phone calls, our friends and
family were quick to rally
with prayers of support. A
couple of posts on Face-
book by my brother and I
have resulted in hundreds of
people praying for our dad.
There's our village! Our
support group!
In just a few hours, I'll be
sitting in an uncomfortable
chair, surrounded by the
whir of machines, and the
sounds of busy nurses going
about their tasks. My family,
and many friends, have sat,
slumped, and tried (mostly
unsuccessfully) to sleep in
those uncomfortable chairs
over the past few days. We
are not unfamiliar with this.
As with most of you,
we’ve sat at the bedsides of
our family members, prayed
lots of prayers, and waited
(and WAITED) for the doc
tors to make rounds. We’ve
taken the calls from friends
offering prayers and appre
ciate every one of them!
We have such a great sup
port system from friends in
the community and church
family. We totally feel the
love, and we are blessed by
each person who calls, vis
its, texts, or posts on social
media.
The love and support of
friends is an extra measure
of healing potion, and plays
a huge part in the healing
process. No doubt, we’ve
all been on the receiving
end of such power. Some
times, when I see a prayer
request, I am tempted to just
keep scrolling and pray for
the person later. But then
I forget. There's a reason
that I’m seeing that post at
that particular moment of
the day, so it is easier to
say a prayer for the situa
tion right at the moment.
For all the people who have
sent words of encourage
ment our way, we know
there are many others who
have prayed and sent happy,
healing thoughts, but did so
quietly.
Having been the recipient
of these blessings over the
past few days, and expe
riencing the outpouring of
love, I will never again min
imize the power that my
piddly little prayers contain.
If you are a praying person,
always remember that even
a quick “bless this person”
prayer is precious, and has
the power to make a real
difference.
And about my dad — he’s
a trooper, and has rocked
the first part of the battle
like a boss. We believe our
prayers, and the prayers of
our friends, have made all
the difference in the world.
The moral of this story: You
are important. You are a vital
part of the lives of those
around you. Consider it
an honor to pray for them,
think kind thoughts, offer
your support, bake some
brownies, pick up the news
paper from the driveway, or
many other small acts of
kindness you can show. It
matters. So much. And you
will be blessed to have been
a part of the village.
Cathy Watkins Bennett is
a Barrow County native and
a graduate of WBHS. Send
comments about this column
to bencath@aol.com.
La Hacienda Commerce
173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd.
706-335-7458
La Hacienda Braselton
5391 Highway 53
706-654-0070
The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant.
HALCYON
HOSPICE
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Athens • 706.316.2214
REPUBLICAN
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QUALIFYING
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Mon., March 7*9 a.m. -1 p.m.
Tues., March 8*5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Wed., March 9*8 a.m. - Noon
Thurs., March 10*5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Fri., March 11*8 a.m. - Noon
• County Commission Chairman
• County Commissioners - Districts 1,2 & 3
»Sheriff
»Coroner
• School Board - Districts 2,5, 6,8 (At Large)
»Chief Magistrate
• Probate Judge
»Clerk of Superior Court
•Tax Commissioner
For information, call 770-867-5748
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