Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 5A
Sustainable living
Back in the day when I was a kid, my
extended family of aunts, uncles, and
cousins spent many weekends at The
Lake and in The Mountains.
You may recall some of the sto
ries I have shared about our esca
pades. We spent many hours on
the screened porch in The Moun
tains, rocking the hours away,
visiting with family, and mak
ing memories. While my brother
and I both loved the mountain
lifestyle, something strong and
powerful was ignited within him
to someday make his home there.
Almost seven years ago, he and
his wife found the perfect patch of
land in the gentle rolling moun
tains of South Carolina. After
weeks and weeks of searching,
with one disappointment after
another, they finally found their Eden.
At the end of a long day of looking at
sites, they were about ready to give up
for the day, but decided to check out
one more. Sometimes you just “know”
when something is right. With their first
look, they both felt the pull of the land,
and before they left, they were already
planning the home site, the vineyards,
and orchards.
With retirement looming in the not-
too-distant future, they have been work
ing diligently to develop the land. Their
goal is to develop a self-sustaining farm,
and ultimately to host training seminars
for others who are interested in embrac
ing sustainable living. One of the first
orders of business was to get electricity
on the property.
A solar energy system was imple
mented, and a well was dug. After a
couple of years, they put in a small
cabin, and began to spend as much time
as possible at “the farm,” as we call it
nowadays. To his disappointment, the
small solar-powered system that he had
installed wasn’t enough to support the
air conditioning in the cabin, so a utility
pole was installed onto the pristine land
scape, looking quite out of place.
In the past several years, the farm has
undergone a transformation, and is well
on its way to becoming a functioning
farm, enabling him to realize his dream
of living off the land. The stream that
flows through the center of the valley
has been cleared of brush, and now spar
kles in the sun. They don’t get to spend
enough time up there at pres
ent to really have a productive
garden, but some low-mainte
nance crops have fared well.
Many fruit trees and grape
vines have been strategically
placed, and their yields, though
perhaps years away, are much
anticipated.
Each year they set aside the
first weekend in October to
host a gathering of family and
friends in order to celebrate
the progress of the farm. The
first year, there was a “hippie”
theme going on, so they called
it “Hillbilly Hippiefest"’.
The name has stuck, and even though
fewer people come dressed in tie-dyed
shirts, with love beads and peace signs,
there is still a feeling of freedom and
camaraderie. Many people bring their
tents, and make a weekend of it. There’s
always a bonfire going, with food and
libations at hand. Sometimes there is
wine tasting, from their own label, and
attendees will often bring their hand
made crafts to exhibit. There’s a huge
meal on Saturday evening, and once it
gets dark, there is a fireworks show and
launching of sky lanterns.
This year, the feast was served under
neath the new pavilion that was built
earlier this summer.
In looking at pictures taken over the
years, the transformation is amazing.
The hours and hours of sweat equity that
they have put into the place is paying
off, and it is easy to see the realization
of their dreams coming true. One day
soon, Star Valley Farm will be a work
ing, productive farm, where gardens,
livestock, crops, and the plentiful natural
resources will enable them to fulfill their
dreams of sustainable living.
Cathy Watkins Bennett is a Bar-
row County native and a gradu
ate of Winder-Barrow High School.
Send comments about this column to
bencath@aol.com.
Winder Library hosts October events
Throughout the entire
month of October, the
Winder Public Library is
having multiple events
just for teens and ‘tweens
in 6th-12th grades. There
will be 3D printing, gift
card drawings, a costume
party, and more!
The week of Oct. 10-15
is Teen Read Week where
‘tweens and teens can win
gift cards for checking out
young adult books.
In addition, ‘tweens and
teens may make appoint
ments with “Ms. Deve-
ra” to use the 3D printer
on loan from the Georgia
Public Library System.
‘Tweens and Teens may
attend the HANGOUT on
Tuesday, Oct. 18, from
3:30-5:30 p.m.
“We’ll be 3D printing
and using the entire Tech
nology Kit on loan from
Georgia Public Library
System,” said Julia Simp
son, manager. The kit
includes Makey-Makey
kits, Raspberry Pi, tablets,
and more!
Finally, the Winder Pub
lic Library will be hold
ing its inaugural Teens &
‘Tweens Costume Party
on Saturday, Oct. 29, from
3:30-5:30 p.m.
This party is only for
those in 6th-12th grades.
“We will have prizes
for a trivia game, cos
tume contest, and Minute-
to-Win-It style games,”
Simpson said. "Pizza,
drinks, and candy will be
given to those teens and
‘tweens in attendance.”
The Winder Public
Library is located at 189
Bellview Street and can
be reached at 770-867-
2762 or visit www.prlib.
org to view all free events
calendar or “like” the
Winder Library on Face-
book.
The FBI
jimmy
terrell
"Good Morning. I’m Special Agent
Tom Dooley with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and I need to talk to you.”
There was a day when
someone walked in, flipped
out his badge, and said the
above words fear would leap
upon the face of a bad guy.
Even the good guys would get
nervous.
Potential victims and wit
nesses expecting a visit would
stand in awe and show signs
of nervousness.
The United States Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
at one time had a national
and international reputation
that exceeded that of all other criminal
justice agencies.
To go to work for “the Bureau” was
a crowning achievement for local and
state law enforcement officers who had
such aspirations.
During the 70s and 80s, I had the
opportunity to work with a number of
FBI agents on various investigations.
The agents that my peers and I were
associated with were professional in
every sense of the word.
That’s not to say every agent in the
Bureau was a good agent or played by
the rules. Unfortunately, every agency
has its black sheep and the Bureau was
no different.
We were fortunate, however, here
in North Georgia to receive the sup
port given from agents assigned to the
Atlanta, Gainesville and Athens offices.
My, how times have changed.
In recent conversations with peers
and a retired agent, and from newscasts
over the past several years, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation is watching its
reputation crumble.
And, that’s a shame! I dare say no
other one agency has done more for
the good of this country over the years
than the FBI.
The decline began back in 1992 and
involved an incident at Ruby Ridge
(Montana). The U.S. Marshall Service
and the FBI attempted to take Randy
Weaver into custody after an initial
investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms regarding illegal
gun sales.
To make a long story short, several
federal agencies were involved and
there was a clear failure of communi
cations between agencies. The feds got
into a shoot out which many say did not
follow the established rules of engage
ment and never should have happened.
During a siege, Weaver was wound
ed, his young son was killed, as was
his wife, by a FBI sniper, and a federal
agent was killed.
In the end, the U.S government set
tled court claims with payouts to the
Weaver family though the government
never admitted wrong doing.
Years later the FBI investigated Nidal
Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, but their
weak efforts were unable to prevent the
mass killings at Ft. Hood in November
of 2009.
Jumping forward to the Boston
Marathon bombing in April of
2013, we again find the FBI in
the spotlight.
The FBI had received informa
tion from Russian intelligence
concerning two suspected terror
ists in the Boston area, including
Tamerian Tsarnaev.
The Bureau interviewed the
suspect but apparently felt
nothing was there or else they
failed in their investigations. As
a result, three people died in
explosions during the Boston Mara
thon. More than 260 were injured.
Dylann Roof, who massacred mem
bers of a black church in South Caro
lina in 2015, could have been stopped
when he purchased the pistol he used,
but again, an administrative failure by
the FBI resulted in nine deaths.
In early summer of 2016, the FBI
received warnings from a gun store
owner in Orlando, Fla. concerning a
subject named Omar Mateen who was
trying to buy an assault weapon. The
Bureau determined him not to be a
threat.
Mateen later killed 49 people in an
Orlando nightclub in June.
The most recent disturbing failure
involves Hillary Rodham Clinton and
her thousands of emails. There are
numerous serious, clear federal viola
tions involved, yet the Director of the
FBI, James Comey, has declined to
prosecute Clinton, her staff, or take the
case to a federal grand jury.
The case involves missing emails and
files; there are unanswered subpoenas,
secret deals with potential suspects and
witnesses, and the destruction of evi
dence. It has all been cast aside.
Both, Eric Holder, the former Direc
tor of the Department of Justice, and
today’s Director, Loretta Lynch have
close ties to the Clinton family and
Foundation. Both are in the Obama
web of influence as, apparently, is
Comey.
The FBI answers to the Department
of Justice.
The Bureau’s decline is a direct
reflection on the leadership provided
by Holder, Lynch and Comey, as well
as a lack of respect for the law by the
White House or its appointees.
The very foundation of our law and
order system is crumbling. It began with
Holder and needs to end with Lynch.
Congress should begin impeachment
proceedings against Lynch and Comey
this week.
The trust of a nation is gone.
Jimmy Terrell is a retired law enforce
ment official. He can be reached at
ejterrell65@gmail.com.
October 12, 2016 ~ Crossword Puzzle
Headmaster’s
Corner
by
Steve Cummings
SOCIAL MEDIA WARN
INGS - Every week we hear
another story about social me
dia impacting someone’s life
in a negative way. With all the
good the internet has to offer,
the dark side is very real - and
easily accessible.
We wanted to thank GBI
Special Agent Haylee De-
Loach for coming to ACS and
talking to our students and par
ents about the myths, miscon
ceptions, and dangers of social
media. Officer DeLoach told a
few chilling stories and offered
some good warnings.
As parents, we need to know
what our kids are doing on so
cial media. According to Offi
cer DeLoach, kids should have
a zero sense of privacy when it
comes to what they are doing
on the internet.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
Across
1. Fused alumina
8. Tower and spire
15. Native of Italy’s “la Superba”
16. One of a pair of pack animal
baskets
17. Heavy downpour (4 wds)
19. Amazon, e.g.
20. “Encore!”
21. Max , German surrealist
artist
22. Toll
23. Australian runner
24. Is frugal
27. Norsemen
31. Fifth canonical hour
32. Renaissance fiddle
33. Hangup
35. A chip, maybe
36. Badenov, cartoon char
acter
37. “Eh” (hyphenated)
38. The “p” in m.p.g.
39. High school formal dances
40. Even if, briefly
41. Promising
43. Drooping of the upper eyelid
44. Bunk
45. To be carried along by
currents
47. The individual soul (Hindu
ism)
50. Native New Zealander
51. Freon (abbrev.)
54. Military operation involving
nerve gas (2 wds)
57. Harvesting machines
58. Stores in a silo
59. Joins the military
60. Flusters
Down
1. City on the Yamuna River
2. Economical
3. Condo, e.g.
4. “Smoking or ?”
5. Pours from one container to
another
6. Conventions
7. Nickel, e.g.
8. Attention
9. “The Joy Luck Club” author
10. Native
11. Football play (2 wds)
12. Subatomic particle
13. Endurance
14. At a previous time
18. Second-place award (2 wds)
22. “Trick” joint
23. Barely gets, with “out”
24. Become unhinged
25. Contents of some cartridges
26. Foreword, for short
28. Storklike wading bird
29. Small caves
30. Bar offering
32. Carrot, e.g.
34. Shouts of disapproval
36. No angel
37. Coin opening
39. State flowers of Indiana
40. Initially (2 wds)
42. Seafood dish
43. Carnivorous fish
46. Crew member
47. “God’s Little ”
48. Accordingly
49. Breakfast, lunch or dinner
50. Come together
51. Poker action
52. At liberty
53. British tax
55. Computer monitor, for short
56. Hale
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