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Tribune & Georgian
Opinion
Wednesday, June 19,2013
The process
works when
all participate
A lthough the issue hasn’t yet been re
solved, the process of trying to bring a
new recycling center to St. Marys is
working exacdy as it should.
Last week, residents in the Point Peter area
got word that a local business owner had re
quested a special use permit to open the recy
cling center.
As is the case with all proposed planning and
zoning changes, the city posted a bright orange
notice on the property stating the intention. A
few passersby noted this, examined the sign and
took the information to their neighbors.
Some of those residents had — and still have
— concerns about locating a recycling center
on Point Peter Road. The issues, they say, range
from traffic congestion to pollution to the aes
thetics of the property and more.
Many of those neighbors notified the Tribune
& Georgian last week about these concerns, and
a dozen of them spoke at Monday’s city council
meeting, where the proposal was set to be dis
cussed.
The council ended up sending the special use
permit request back to the planning board for
further work, but the city and its residents are
both to be acknowledged for using the system
set in place to resolve these matters.
When it comes to due process, it takes alert,
active residents paying close attention to com
munity activities to make the system work like it
should. Attending city and county meetings al
lows people to air their concerns directly to
elected leaders in a public setting.
It’s true that there are downfalls to the process.
Some residents were dismayed when the city
notice posted at the property in question fell off
the post to which it was secured, obscuring it
from view. Others who live in the area won
dered why they weren’t notified direcdy about
the proposal, while others said the notice was
too small.
No process is perfect. Still, city staff can make
an effort to ensure signs are posted, and resi
dents can remain alert to changes in the com
munity. Combined, these efforts will ensure that
due process occurs consistently and gives each
person a chance to make his or her voice heard.
The case of St. Marys’ proposed recycling
center is a fine example of residents taking ad
vantage of the process available to them. We
trust that elected leaders will thoughtfully con
sider the wishes of those citizens. This is how a
community ensures smart, successful growth.
"Don't worry. I’m sure all the pessimistic
talk will turn out to be just a lot of wind."
When talk was king in movies
I n the world of today’s
movies extreme vio
lence, excessive noise,
special effects, fountains of
blood, creatures of iron and
steel and limited subtlety
are the norm.
In the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s
there were tough guys (and
gals) in the movies, too, but
there were also subtlety,
wit, and with some of the
best writers in the U.S. and
Britain providing their lines
there was a strain of literary
brilliance in the actors’ talk
on screen.
Take “The Big Sleep” as
prime example. Philip Mar
lowe (Humphrey Bogart)
walks into the Sternwood
mansion in the opening
scene. He is a private eye
protecting an ailing, retired
General Sternwood from
blackmail. But before he
gets to the old man, he is
greeted by a butler and by
Sternwood’s younger
daughter, Carmen. Carmen
(Martha Vickers) is a daz-
zler with beautiful legs
coming out of something
that seems a mix of a
flouncy dress and short
shorts. She looks at Mar
lowe critically and says,
“You’re not very tall, are
you?” “No, but I try to be,”
Marlowe responds. Then
Carmen gets so close that
Marlowe has her up in his
Fred Hill
Opinion
arms and against his chest.
When he does get to the
general, he tells him about
his daughter: “She tried to
sit on my lap while I was still
standing up.” The general
responds by saying, “Car
men is still a little girl who
likes to pull the wings off
flies.” He describes his older
daughter, Vivian, (Lauren
Bacall) as “spoiled, exacting,
smart and ruthless.”
In its first 10 minutes
“The Big Sleep” stirs us into
a pot of some of the most
fascinating and, yes, literate
characters in film history.
When Marlow goes on to
meet the older sister, Vivian,
in another room of the
mansion, she says to him,
“You’re a mess, aren’t you?”
Marlowe replies: “I’m not
very tall either. Next time
I’ll come on stilts, wear a
white tie, and carry a tennis
racket.”
This blazing dialogue in
the film comes from a com
bination of its basis in a
Raymond Chandler mystery
novel and a screenplay co
written by the great William
Faulkner who was trying to
make survival money before
his stature as a novelist was
fully recognized.
Other famous novelists
who came to Hollywood in
those days included Aldous
Huxley, Budd Schulberg
and Christopher Isher-
wood. In 1949 the highly
regarded Graham Greene
wrote “The Third Man,”
first for the screen, then as a
novel. No wonder so much
of the film writing was first-
rate in the middle decades
of the 2 0th century.
But for a superb string of
colorful, character-creating
comments issuing from a
film, probably nothing sur
passes the dialogue of Rick
Blaine (Humphrey Bogart)
in the beloved movie
“Casablanca” (1943).
Blaine presents a formi
dable front, actually more
cynical than he really is
deep down. He refuses in
volvement in the struggles
of World War II, at least for
a while. “I stick out my neck
for nobody.” As to who will
win the conflict, he replies,
“I haven’t the slightest idea.
...The problems of the
world are not my depart
ment — I’m a saloon
keeper.” Indeed, the world
situation is overwhelming:
“The problems of three lit
tle people don’t amount to
a hill of beans in this crazy
world.”
But when lisa (Ingrid
Bergman), Rick’s old love in
their glorious days in Paris,
shows up with her husband
Czech Resistance leader
Victor Laszlo (Paul Hen-
reid) at Rick’s Cafe Ameri-
cain in Casablanca, Rick is
shaken and shocked out of
his detachment. In distress,
he proclaims, “Of all the gin
joints in all the towns in the
world, she walks into mine.”
The need to help lisa
moves Rick profoundly. Fi
nally, he knows he must
help her — and even her
husband — escape Nazi en
trapment and persecution.
Such lines as “Here’s
looking at you, kid” and
“We’ll always have Paris”
express Rick’s tenderness.
Such language, such senti
ments, will likely be re
membered when many of
the shallow entertainments
of our time are forgotten.
Fred Hill is a regular Wednesday
columnist in the Tribune & Geor
gian.
Letters to the Editor
Tribune & Qeorgian
P. O. Box 6960 — 206 Osborne Street
St. Marys, Georgia 31558
(912) 882-4927 — Fax (912) 882-6519
Publication Number (086-640)
ISSN Number (1551-8353)
Our Mission
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pers Inc., Athens, Ga. We believe that strong newspapers
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Foy R. Maloy Jr., Regional Publisher
Tom Wood Dink NeSmith
Chairman/CNI President/CNI
Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink.
Board members
are profiting
Dear Editor,
This issue over the St.
Marys Hospital Authority is
somewhat confusing. When
the authority sold the conva
lescent center to Southeast
Georgia Health System it
became sole property of
Southeast Georgia Health
System. They have taken on
full responsibility for the pa
tients who live there. That
means they collect any pay
ments coming in either from
Medicaid or Medicare or So
cial Security.
The St. Marys Hospital
Authority was a good avenue
of support when the Gilman
hospital and nursing home
were established. Since both
these buildings were sold
and other medical establish
ments have taken them over
the need for the authority is
no longer necessary. The
only ones profiting from this
authority are the board
members. Southeast Geor
gia Health System provides
indigent care for those who
qualify.
The hospital authority was
very fortunate to get the
money it did for this old
building, which was in need
of many repairs when they
sold it to Southeast Georgia
Health System.
They have now acquired a
backup generator because
the volunteer members
raised the money and do
nated it to the hospital. Who
are the indigent people who
are supposed to have gotten
the benefit of this large
amount of money?
Jane Canning
St. Marys
Warren was a
humanitarian
Dear Editor,
A great humanitarian has
been called from this life,
leaving a gap that, I fear, few
can ever fill. Dr. Bryan War
ren, medical director and
clinical supervisor for Fam
ily Matters Counseling in St.
Marys, selflessly contributed
his time, talent and compas
sion to the members of this
community.
He availed his services to
those who needed him
whenever and wherever
called upon to do so. Dr.
Warren was a crusader in the
defense of the rights and
basic needs of the mentally
ill in Camden County.
Because he recognized the
need here, he created and
chaired NAMI (National Al
liance on Mental Illness) of
Coastal Georgia. I have wit
nessed firsthand his compas
sion when he provided
counseling services, free of
charge, to several patients
suffering from mental illness
who lacked the means to pay
and needed immediate med
ical intervention.
Once again, he recognized
the need and filled it. He
epitomized the country doc
tor whose only desire was to
provide the sick patient the
necessary care without seek
ing monetary gain.
His age, 87, was just a
chronological number that
was never a deterrent in his
dedication as advocate for
mental health issues. He
never missed a NAMI board
meeting and participated in
every NAMI Walk-A-Thon.
I marveled at his unwaver
ing determination and com
mitment to ending the
stigma attached to mental ill
ness by educating the mem
bers of our community. His
many interesting, informa
tive articles with topics rang
ing from how PTSD can
affect children, adolescents
and adults to how screening
could be useful in the early
identification of mental ill
ness and prevention of youth
suicide provided the reader
with insight regarding the
plight of the mentally ill.
Dr. Warren leaves behind
a legacy of compassion and
healing. He was a beacon of
hope for those who had
none; because of this, he
touched the lives of many.
He was my hero, and I,
along with many others, will
sorely miss him.
Lynn Giovanniello
Kingsland