Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 5A
Washington shenanigans
In case you have forgotten, the
Department of Labor (DOL) and Barack
Obama last May announced new mas
sive overtime pay regulations for all
employees who earn $50,440 or
less per year.
The current overtime threshold
is $23,660 or less per year.
As has been so Washtonian-typ-
ical in the past eight years, this
was done without Congressional
approval.
The new rule issued by DOL
Secretary Thomas Perez and
Obama raised the salary threshold
to require employers to pay over
time to all employees that make
less than $50,440 per year. This
is a whopping increase of 113%.
Most see the rule change as just anoth
er move by Obama and his liberal friends
that will hurt economic prosperity and
development in this country.
Small businesses will be forced to
reduce benefits and may have to move
many full-time employees to part-time
status. Some see it as a hidden tax
increase that will hurt free enterprise.
On the other hand, there are obviously
some businesses that have taken advan
tage of the original version of the Fair
Labor and Standards Act (FLSA) and
kept wages down while profits remain
up.
Changes, however, should come from
Congress and not from one person, espe
cially since the original law was created
by Congress.
The Fair Labor Standards Act is a
federal law passed in 1938. The law
established federal minimum wage and
overtime pay affecting workers at the
federal, state and local level.
Some argue that employees have some
skin in the game. If they like their job
but not the current wage and they elect
to stay in the job, that’s their
decision. Otherwise, they are
free to job hunt or even change
careers.
Other employees are held
hostage by their jobs due to
numerous reasons, including;
work skills, education levels,
job performance and job avail
ability.
The proposed changes will
create problems within the
work place as well. Employ
ers and employees are going
to have to have some honest
discussions if the current proposed rules
take place.
Many companies will be facing a
compensation crisis, especially in deter
mining pay rates and keeping current
employees happy. Profit margins will
take a hit.
Managers must consider whether new
non-exempt employees will be as pro
ductive while working strict 40 hour
work weeks. They must decide who will
receive overtime pay and when.
Other issues include questions such
as; will employee workloads be less
ened? How many employees will find
their salaries being decreased and will
they be allowed to work overtime?
Employees will want to know why
some of their responsibilities have been
taken off of their plate and may feel
that the value of their importance to the
business has been lessened. Some will
See Terrell on Page 6A
Buffington continued from 4A
hate and spew venom.
Disgusting. LP and others
of his ilk are no better than
Hitler’s SS.
This is the Trump effect at
its worst. The political atmo
sphere has been poisoned
by Trump to such an extent
that people now openly
spew this kind of garbage on
social media and they’re not
embarrassed.
LP is proud of his stand
and challenged me to debate
him in the town square.
No thanks; I don’t want to
be on any stage with a man
who endorses murdering
children.
I don’t want to share the
stage with an American ISIS,
a thug who believes ethnic
cleansing is the American
way.
Sadly, LP’s feelings are
probably shared by many
other Trump followers in
this community which is a
Republican stronghold.
Even worse are those who
might disavow murder, but
who will stay silent in the
face of this kind of hatred.
Few are willing to face the
wrath of friends and family
by questioning the hatred
Trump has created.
I will likely get calls and
emails from people support
ing LP’s call to murder, but
few will respond condemn
ing him. That’s how far our
nation has drifted during this
election.
Americans have to make
some difficult decisions. For
legitimate reasons, many
don’t like Hillary Clinton’s
policies and find her untrust
worthy.
Yet the other major choice
is a despicable man who
questions the fundamental
integrity of our election sys
tem and who is emotionally
unstable.
Neither choice is good.
Both candidates are
extremely flawed.
But only one candidate
has cultivated fear and
stirred ethnic hatred.
Only one candidate is a
demagogue who has taint
ed the soul of this nation
with a dark stain of extremist
Nationalism.
LP’s call to murder
Muslims in the U.S. is
revolting, but his beliefs are
increasingly becoming a
subtext of Trumpism.
No matter what the out
come, this election could
lead to bloodshed. People
could die because of the
ugly, hateful atmosphere
Trumpism has created.
If that happens, all of those
who stood by silent amid
the hatred will deny any cul
pability.
“We didn’t know,” they will
say. “It wasn’t us.”
But they, too, will have
blood on their hands.
It’s time for civilized
Americans to speak out
against people like LP
whose soul has gotten lost
in the flood of hatred that
is washing over our political
landscape.
Silence is acquiescence.
Mike Buffington is
co-publisher of Mainstreet
Newspapers. He can be
reached at mike@main-
streetnews.com.
Saying farewell to Chris Bridges
I first met Chris in 2008.1 received
an email from a mysterious man
named Mike Buffington who had
stumbled upon my photogra
phy website.
Since I was only 15, my
father was skeptical about this
job opportunity so he came
with me to my interview with
Mike and Chris.
I sat across from Chris
in what would soon be the
Barrow Journal’s conference
room.
Mike explained that I’d
be the photographer for his
upcoming Barrow publication and that
Chris would be my editor.
He was quiet during the meeting and
seemed somewhat skeptical of me.
He’s often told me about his con
versation with Mike questioning his
move to hire a high school sophomore
who couldn’t yet drive.
I can’t blame him for being unsure
about my young work ethic, but he
trusted Mike’s decision.
And we had eight great years togeth
er bringing Barrow County our news
paper.
Chris and I were there since day one
when the inaugural edition was pub
lished. It has truly been a wonderful
experience to be part of such an enter
prise right from the start.
It didn’t take long for Chris to warm
up to me. He always complimented
my work each week, and it was such a
joy to work for him.
He has always spoken very highly
of me and my contribution to the
paper and pushed my aspiration to
new levels.
Because of him I was able to shoot
on the sidelines of UGA, Georgia
Tech and the Atlanta Falcons.
He thought highly enough to let me
judge the sports photography entries
for the Georgia Press Association
newspaper contest for Georgia col
leges.
He gave me free reign to design the
graphics and photos for the annual
football preview. I can’t thank him
enough for the doors he opened for
me.
On a personal level, Chris has
become one of my dearest friends.
You could say, he’s like family.
Right before my 18th birthday, I
developed symptoms of Rheumatoid
arthritis that affected my work. I could
barely hold my camera or walk the
sidelines, and he was understanding
and compassionate to my situation.
He knew that for the past two years I
had done my job well and was always
willing to help me out when I was
struggling.
There were times I had to call in
sick because I spent hours vomiting
up my new medications, and he never
yelled or reprimanded me.
He would just tell me not to worry
about it and rest was more important.
As I was struggling with life
with a chronic illness and start
ing college, he worked with me
to make sure my education was
put first.
He stood up for me even
when another co-worker (who
has not worked for us in several
years) thought it was best to
fire me.
It was an incredibly difficult
chapter in my life, and Chris
could see that it was only tem
porary. And it was.
I know that Chris has written col
umns about friendship before because
one of the things he values most in life
is friendship.
It’s so rare these days to find some
one who always has your back, who is
always there for you. He has always
been a great friend to me and my
family.
He has comforted me when I strug
gled with my diagnosis, when my
cat was severely ill, when I ended a
serious relationship and when my dog
passed away.
No matter the situation, Chris was
there as a friend to help me. He has
always and will continue to be some
one I can confide in. I will truly miss
working alongside him, but I’m so
happy that he will always be my good
friend.
He’s been such a positive influence
in my life, and I could never thank him
enough.
We certainly had eight amazing
years with this paper. Earlier this
week I received an envelope in the
mail from Chris.
In it, I found a note thanking me
for the past eight years and several
brightly colored pieces of paper folded
in half.
I unfolded them and realized they
were the judges’ commentary sheets
from the Georgia Press Association
for the awards we had won over the
past few years.
They were full of compliments of
my photography and our work as a
sports duo for our sports section. I
burst into tears. All this time, he had
kept them.
We had a great run, Chris. We
helped put together an award-winning
newspaper from scratch.
We created some fantastic sports
sections and football previews.
Congratulations on your future
endeavors. We will miss you. Friday
night football won’t be the same with
out you arguing with the refs.
Winder resident Jessica Brown is
the staff photographer for the Barrow
News-Journal. You can reach her at
picsbyjessical @ grnail.com.
October 19, 2016 ~ Crossword Puzzle
Headmaster’s
Corner
by
Steve Cummings
REGION CHAMPS!
Congratulations to the Lady
Eagle Softball Team, as they
won their first Region 8A
Championship since joining
the GHSA. After being the
Region runner-up the last 4
years, the Lady Eagles went
11-1 in Region this season to
grab the crown.
The Eagles were led by
Region 8A Player of the Year,
Lexi Veamoi. Lexi was a force
at shortstop, in the circle, and
at the plate. She had an in
credible on base percentage of
.613, and led the team with 35
rbi and 8 homeruns. She has
committed to the University
of Tennessee/Chattanooga,
where she will play next year.
Best wishes to the Lady Ea
gles as they now make a run at
State!
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
Across
1. “Darn it!”
5.0.001 of an inch (pi.)
9. Kenyan tribesman
14. Gulf of , off the coast of Yemen
15. Assortment
16. Eyeball benders
17. fruit
18. Arm bone
19. Jimmies
20. Aggressive expression of
one’s views (hyphenated)
23. Gauge
24. Let
27. Door-to-door salesman
31. When it’s broken, that’s good
32. Bumpkin
35. Western blue flag, e.g.
36. “Roots,” e.g.
37. California fractures (3 wds)
40. “What are the ?”
41. “The Prime of Miss
Brodie,” film
42. Doing nothing
43. “A pox on you!”
44. Letters sent by plane
46. BB rifle, e.g.
48. Deliver
53. Big wheel bike
(British, hyphenated)
57. Permit
59. Hokkaido native
60. Apple spray
61. Japanese-American
62. Alka-Seltzer sound
63. Clean by rubbing gently
64. Chasers
65. Transmitted
2. Barely beats
3. Prison rooms
4. Bowie’s weapon
5. Puddinglike dessert
6. Misfortunes
7. Ancestry
8. Fly high
9. More apathetic
10. Table part
11. Minnesota’s capital (2 wds)
12. “ we having fun yet?”
13. “ alive!” (contraction)
21. Colorado resort
22. Amount of hair
25. American symbol
26. “Dang!”
28. More terrible
29. Chimera
30. Jungle climber
32. Pie cuts, essentially
33. Passageway below
34. -relief
36. Blue
37. Chesterfield, e.g.
38. Spirit capable of appearing
in human or animal form
(Muslim)
39. Seafood entree
44. Marne, for one
45. Increase rapidly in number
47. Pool contents?
49. Medieval oboe
50. Eyelashes
51. Not fitting
52. “Snowy” bird
54. Blabs
66. Damon of “Good Will Hunting” f 6 s^toaSd
rj 57. Former measure of the U.S.
1. Member of an African people „ ® cono ^ ( acron y m )
of N Nigeria and S Niger 58. Flying Domi to _
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