About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 2023)
Page 4A The Braselton News Wednesday, March 8, 2023 Opinion Covey Rise CAMILLA - The most rewarding and uplifting experiences in life are those which are recurring. You see a game between the hedges of Sanford Stadium, your passion calls for an encore. And more. You find your way into Fenway Park when the Red Sox are having an unforgettable season and swoon to all that is good about tradition and history. You can't get enough of Fenway’s left field “Green Monster,” listening to a line drive spank off the fabled wall. For a seasoned and nos talgic Red Sox fan, that is music to his/her ears. A cacophonous baseball symphony. Pre-game, you sit in the Sox dugout and allow your mind’s eye to see what Babe Ruth once saw, which was the same for Ted Williams, Carl Yas- trzemski and Big Papi or David Ortiz if you want to use his official name on his Massachusetts driver’s license. They all (Ruth in retirement) saw the “Cities Service” sign beyond the Green Monster, which went up in 1940 and segued into “Citgo” with the company's rebranding in 1965. A pheasant hunt in South Dakota and you know you just have to return and knock down a brace of cock pheasant once again. Fly over the Grand Canyon, seeing wild mustangs racing pell-mell under the chartered single engine plane, calls for a return flight with deja vu becoming reality. Celebrating championships never ceases for the two favorite teams of most Georgians — the Braves and the Bulldogs. Folk of all ages will relive those back-to-back UGA moments as long as they live. Last week, as the plane, piloted by Chris Davis — God put him on earth to fly an airplane — descended into the local airport of Camilla, which was named for the granddaughter of a Revolutionary War general, there was a flashback to previous hunts at an enclave run and managed by Robin Singletary, his son, Brian, and their families. They didn’t originate quail hunting hospitality, but they have perfected it to near perfection. Covey Rise is part of nature’s good fortune. Fertile farm land greets you as you take a dirt road down to the wooded lodge which sits a couple of football fields from the Flint River, whose mouth is near a concrete culvert on the south side of Virginia Avenue in Hapeville. The Flint flows underneath the runways of the Atlanta Airport. 265 miles south until it meets up with the Chattahoochee and forms Lake Seminole. When the waters become a single river again and flow south out of Seminole, they become the Apala chicola, an Indian word meaning “a ridge of earth produced by sweeping the ground in preparation for a coun cil or peace fire,” If you are up on the squabble involving Georgia, Alabama and Florida — The Tri-State Water War — you know that the courts have and will continue to settle water allo cations in the two major river basins that cross their borders. At Covey Rise, the Flint is a recreational haven for fishing shoal bass, cookouts which feature “red- neck-a-rockefeller.” oysters on the half-shell, high end libations, conver sations about Georgia’s back-to-back national championships, fishing, hunting, farming and testifying with faith that, despite the failures of gov ernment, that our world is not going to hell in a handbasket. However, the hunters I cavorted with earlier in the week are successful businessmen who have worked to develop their assorted businesses and fret about welfare abuse, the right to work having segued in pay me not to work, a negative canon that they believe is eating away at the very fun damental that made our nation great: Live and let live. Mostly they enjoyed spontaneous levity — classic story telling — in traditional rocking chairs with loblol ly pines and stately oaks graced with shocks of Spanish moss interrupting their view of the Flint and beyond; an idle fireplace, owing to unseasonably warm weather, and the best in down home cooking, which understand ably included fried quail (even for breakfast if you like). Early risers find coffee made and ready to start their day. Network television connects you with the negative headlines if you pre fer. but quail talk trumps all that. You know you soon will be in the fields, which feature broom sage which bends with the wind which warms the hearts of all South Georgians and guests who come this way. There is an all-star lineup of guides that includes David West, Aubrey Justice, Nathan Newman. Trampus Thompson, Brandon Brock, Brad Timmins. Chandler Conine, Andre Hornsby and Joseph Singletary. Damn good guides orchestrating damn good times in the Great Out doors. Join me in saying a prayer of thanks for this Great Experience. Then there are the dogs, all-stars too: Addie, Spot, June, Bill, Petty, Francie and Quinn — a collection of setters and pointers, where comin gling is never allowed for males. When you put two male birddogs together, more often than not, it becomes a reflection of society today — somebody is always at someone else’s throat, often over nothing. Out in the fields and woods, Bob White quail sing out, a part of what makes outdoor experiences speak to the soul. Life is good at Covey Rise; life is still good in America for the most part. At Covey Rise there is no official national anthem. If there were, it would be, “America the Beautiful.” Loran Smith is a UGA football radio personality and syndicated columnist. % m loran smith Unnecessary Unkindness Of course. I occasionally encounter rudeness in folks. Usually, I’m in a bubble of some kind when I’m jolted right out of it by rudeness or, in some cases, as Mama would say, “Down right meanness.” Usually, readers who comment on my commentar ies write to me and, even if they disagree, it is with grace and genteel respect. Yet, about every four years, I get one where I suspect there is something wrong in the person's life more than some thing I'd written. The reaction is too strong and twisted, with such anger, that the person’s good sense just takes momentary leave. I’m not a controversial writer. There are too many strong opinions and too much ugliness in this world already. In the 22 years that I have written this column, which has been read by mil lions. I have sought to be kind, funny, strong enough to make the content interesting and. mostly, just to tell a good story. A few months ago, a memory came to me and made me laugh: Mama. From the time that I was old enough to leave the house and be driven by a girlfriend's mother, or when I was old enough to leave on a date or drive myself, Mama would say, without fail, as I opened the door, “You be sweet, now. Hear me?” It was embarrassing, especially with the first guy I dated regularly. Philip. One night, he helped me into the car, then he slid in on his side, I asked, “Does your Mama always tell you to be sweet?” He laughed as he started the car. He always had an endearing sense of humor. “Nay, she knows I can’t be sweeter. If I did, flies would be stuck to me all the time.” I wrote a column on my dear Mama’s words and even joked, “You would think she might say. ‘Be safe.’ No. ‘Be sweet’ was more important.” That evening, an email that wasn’t sweet came to me as well as the editors of the Gainesville Times. I assured them that I would share it with my readers across the South. Hello Ronda, I do hope that you penned your col umn “Thou Shalt Be Sweet” intending to be humorous. If that was not your intention, then I would like to tell you how offensive your column was. In this time of women being subjected to the fan tasies of certain men who would like to see us barefoot and pregnant and living in the 1950s, to imply that the most important quality a woman can possess is to be sweet is beyond my ability to politely ignore. The sweetness that you hold so dear has routinely caused the “southern woman” to be looked upon by the non southern world as phony and insin cere. I am so happy that I was raised in a home in which girls/women were ex pected to be intelligent, strong, honest and kind and in which the only thing that was sweet was sugar (and we were warned to have as little of that as possible). Sweet as a leading attribute may have been desirable a very long time ago, but in today’s world the empha sis on it is misplaced. Give me a fair, honest, generous woman who doesn ’t sugarcoat her opinions with syrup. Really, don’t you think that women, southern or otherwise, would much rather be recognized for their brains and accomplishments than for having sugar syrup running through their veins. Debbie Hasten My mama never wasted time teach ing what she already knew I possessed -1 was the second-highest academic scorer in first grade. Through the years, I won numerous academic and extracurricular awards, perfect atten dance in class and Sunday School, and many professional awards, especially in sports writing where I was usually the only woman. My family has long practiced putting others before our selves and sharing whatever we have. But sweet? Mama KNEW I needed work on that. Ronda Rich is the best-selling au thor of What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should). Visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter. How to design like Gatsby There’s not a book I'm more infatu ated with than The Great Gatsby. I have always been in love with its class, glamour and ro mance. For years now, I have strived to create my own Gatsby universe for cheap. The first and most important step is to pick your color pallet. The Great Gatsby is almost always associated with gold and white. Its solid and repetitive color theme creates a classy and cohesive environment. However, you don’t have to use gold and white to make a statement. When I started working at the paper, I knew I wanted my office to be pink. It’s important to stick to a solid theme, whether you’re picking an outfit or designing a space. When searching for decor items, I recommend starting by picking out items that are ONLY your main color. This allows you to start a solid theme early and see if it matches any other items you pick. After picking solid color items, it’s time to move to items that contain your main character as well as introducing new shades. I’ve found that calendars, coffee cups, and other small items are excellent at taking color themes and broadening them. Once you've created your base line, it’s time to have fun picking your items. Because you already have a solid theme, you're able to go and pick out items you want that compliment your theme, even if they don't com pletely match. Having a cohesive and beautiful space can be just as calming as it is fun. If there’s anything Nick Carraway taught us, it’s that money isn’t every thing, and all of us can be elegant. Annika Sorrow is a senior at East Jackson Comprehensive High School and intern at Mainstreet Newspapers. Letters to the editor Braselton mayor discusses council’s pursuit of Municipal Option Sales Tax referendum Dear Editor: As a follow-up to my Sept. 2022 submission regarding Bra- selton's finances, I remain firm in the belief that Braselton’s Town Council has no intent or desire to impose property taxes. We continue to look for other solutions to manage the growing needs of our Town. On this website, braseltonmayor.org/financial, there is more detail on how Braselton is facing the typical challenges that accompany a municipality bordering Atlanta. That website also provides a link regarding Own Source Revenue, showing that Braselton operates on roughly $550 of OSR per resident while many municipalities operate on $1,000 up to $2,400 of OSR per resident. In pursuit of additional revenue for Braselton, the council engaged in the opportunity for Braselton to present a voting refer endum on whether Braselton could charge a “penny sales tax” for its own collection. The Georgia General Assembly must statutorily authorize taxation. If you are not familiar, there is an alphabet soup of the different versions of sales taxation authorized in Georgia: MOST, HOST, LOST, O-LOST, SPLOST, T-SPLOST, E-SPLOST, etc... The MOST (Municipal Option Sales Tax) is a unique sales tax that is collected only in a municipality; it must be used for capital improvements on water/sewer; and, it is presently only authorized in Atlanta (and three cities inside of Atlanta). The HOST is a unique sales tax that is collected throughout the county and the cities inside the county, but the county fully retains the HOST rev enue (i.e., no sales tax shared with the cities in that county). The remaining versions are all collected by the counties, and a negoti ation process splits the funds between the counties and cities. Throughout the fall and winter, Braselton worked to draft legislative bills that would allow Braselton to collect sales tax (of course, each option would require an approval by vote from Bra- selton's residents on a referendum). After meeting with several Senators and Representatives, Braselton found a narrow avenue that received support. With the direct support of Rep. Derrick McCollum and Sen. Clint Dixon, Braselton asked the General Assembly to expand MOST beyond Atlanta to include Braselton — HB 146. Rep. McCollum sponsored the bill, presented it in subcommittee, and received high regards from other legislators on his efforts. However, HB 146 was not allowed a second hearing before the subcommittee, and therefore, HB 146 will not be available for passage during the 2023 session of the General Assembly. Please feel free to contact your representative on the Braselton Town Council if you have further input or concerns. It is our goal to keep you informed and be good stewards of the trust placed in us by your votes. Kurt Ward Braselton Mayor Offers recommendation for Hoschton City Council districts Dear Editor: My recommendation to the City of Hoschton leadership consid ering dividing the city into council districts is that I support the three proposed city council districts which were drawn up by the state’s general assembly executive office based on population density with the exception that I support one-at-large district for a total of four city council districts. What I fiirther support is that the members of each of the three districts live within the district they represent while the one-at-large district council member could offer for election from among the total population within the City of Hoschton. The at-large member would be in a position to, if called upon, visit a constituent in one of the three districts who might want a second opinion and/or give unbiased input at the council meetings. In The Braselton News article that I read there was a statement which read a district should have three representatives. That thinking must imply that more government is better government. Not so. I am from the old school where one operates lean and mean. My tried and true formula for personnel to get the job done and be cost effective applies to any entity which includes government whether it be at the national, state or local levels of government. My formula? Personnel equals barely enough minus one. James H. (Jimmy) Orr, Jr. Hoschton The Braselton News Mike Buffington Co-Publisher Scott Buffington Co-Publisher & Advertising Manager Ben Munro Editor Taylor Hearn Sports Editor Wesleigh Sagon Photographer/Features MEMBER • Georgia Press Association • National Newspaper Association • International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. PO Box 908 Jefferson, Georgia 30549-0908 Web Site: www.BraseltonNewsToday.com Email: ben@mainstreetnews.com Voice: 706.367.5233 Published weekly by The Braselton News 33 Lee St. Jefferson, GA 30549 Periodical Postage Paid at Jefferson, GA 30549 (SCED 23390) Yearly Subscriptions: $35
