Page 6 - Wednesday, December 20, 2023
The Jenkins County Times
j enkinsc ountytimes .com
A WORD FROM
JON BURNS,
Ga Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Dear Friends,
Last Thursday, we adjourned
the 2023 Special Session after
adopting new state Flouse, Senate
and Congressional district maps
in compliance with the federal
court order. Governor Brian
Kemp signed these new maps into
law shortly thereafter.
The maps now go to the federal
court for its review. A further
hearing is scheduled for December
20th, so we should have some guidance on the court’s further
orders in the near future.
During special session, we also ratified the Governor’s
suspension of motor fuel taxes over the last three months
as required by law. This suspension saved Georgia families
and businesses hundreds of millions of dollars and kept our
gas prices among the lowest in the nation. Despite crippling
inflation brought on by Washington’s inaction, Georgia has
kept our people and our economy moving.
The Georgia House of Representatives also adopted two
resolutions - one in support of Israel against Hamas terrorists,
the other in support of law enforcement and the long overdue
construction of a new public safety training center in Atlanta.
While supporting Israel and law enforcement may seem like
fundamental American values, several Democratic party
members either abstained or voted against these measures.
While members are free to vote their conscience, I find it
unfortunate that we find ourselves having to debate such
common-sense measures.
Unless otherwise ordered by the federal court in the
redistricting case, the General Assembly will next convene for
the 2024 regular session in January.
Fanning the Flames of Hope at the State Capitol
Last week, I had the honor of attending the first annual Flame
of Hope awards ceremony sponsored by the Georgia Department
of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. During
the ceremony, 15 honorees were recognized from a nomination
pool totaling more than 150. Of the 15, 7 were given the
Flame of Hope award - recognizing the highest commitment
to selfless service and belief in DBHDD’s mission to serve
those with mental health or behavioral issues. Eight more were
awarded Champion of Hope certificates.
Effingham County’s own Miss Ella Marchese was the
inspiration for the award and was personally nominated as a
Flame of Hope Award winner by DBHDD Commissioner and
former House member Kevin Tanner. For those who have not
met Ella, she is a remarkable young lady with Down Syndrome
who passionately advocates for individuals like herself. My
heartfelt congratulations and thanks to Ella and her family for
representing our community so well at the State Capitol.
Continuing Georgia’s Work to Cut Taxes
Last week, I was proud to join Governor Brian Kemp, Lt.
Governor Burt Jones, and many Republican state legislators
in announcing our collective commitment to further lowering
Georgia’s income tax rate. While we already have a plan in
place to reduce our state income tax to below 5% by the end of
the decade, we will accelerate that plan to reduce it to 5.39%
through legislation in January.
While Georgia has one of the nation’s lowest total per
capita tax rates, we remain committed to doing all we can to
reduce the tax burden on Georgia businesses and families. Tax
dollars belong to tax payers - not the government. Through
conservative budgeting and long-term planning, Georgia
remains one of the most fiscally sound states in the country.
And we plan to pass the savings on to Georgians next session.
®
ANTIQUE PIANO FREE The Town Of
Rocky Ford
The Town of Rocky Ford
has an antique piano that
they would like to give
away. This old piano is in
fair condition. Still plays,
and is original to the old
Historic Church/School
building in Rocky Ford.
Must pick up.
Please Call: (912) 863-7121
Or stop by the Rocky Ford Town Hall office,
Wednesday’s From 9-2
EAGLE NOTES
Continued from page 4
their safety, security, and
success as just as important
to me as my two girls.
Another group I want to
commend is our local law
enforcement. They always
respond quickly when
we need them. I worked
with our SRO, and he
immediately went to work
to get to the bottom of the
emails. A short while after
the students were sent
home, he called me and
said they had found the
person responsible, and we
were never in any danger.
I recently read an article
about Chick-fil-A. I will
discuss that a little more in
the next few weeks. But as
a company, they have four
core values. One of those
values is, “We’re better
together.” I know as people
in general and as citizens of
Millen and Jenkins County,
we don’t always see eye
to eye on everything or
agree on every decision.
But as was on display this
past week, WE are better
together.
Rotary distributes
breakfast kits
This year our club decided to use our district grant
funds to continue the project our past president
Jessica Bragg Suggs started last year. Today Rotarians
delivered and distributed pancake breakfast kits and
Christmas Cards to all our Jenkins County Middle
School Students.
Rick
Allen
House of
Representatives
District 12
This week, the House Committee on Education, and
the Workforce, of which I am a member, held a hearing
entitled: “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and
Confronting Antisemitism."
The committee called on the Presidents of Harvard,
UPenn, and MIT to answer for the rampant antisemitism
engulfing their campuses and threatening their Jewish
students. After the presidents of all three institutions
refused to say whether "calling for the genocide of
Jews" would violate each university's code of conduct,
Committee Republicans opened a formal investigation
into the learning environments at Harvard, UPenn, and
MIT and their policies and disciplinary procedures.
Antisemitism has absolutely no place on our college
campuses, and I will continue to work with my colleagues
to ensure these institutions are held accountable.
The House passed H.R. 5933, the Defending Education
Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging
in Nefarious Transactions (DETERRENT) Act. H.R.
5933 would establish much-needed transparency,
accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting
requirements for colleges and universities.
Our adversaries such as the Chinese Communist
Party increase their influence on campuses by providing
American academic institutions with large donations,
expensive gifts, and investments. As these dangerous
adversaries attempt to infiltrate and influence American
higher education, we must demand American education
institutions stop hiding their dealings with foreign
regimes to allow for transparency and oversight.
House Republicans won’t stop fighting to keep foreign
influence out of our institutions of learning.
This week, the House also passed H.R. 4468, the
Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act, with
my support. The American people shouldn’t be told
by unelected bureaucrats which car best suits their
needs and the needs of their families. But the Biden
Administration is seeking to do so through backdoor
policy making aimed at taking gas-powered engines off
the market.
The CARS Act would stop the EPA’s current light-
and medium-duty vehicle regulation and instead allow
consumers and the market to determine the cars and
engine technology needed. This is not about being anti
electric vehicle. This is about being a pro-consumer
choice.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee
advanced H.R. 6544—the bipartisan Atomic Energy
Advancement Act—a package of bills aimed at
incentivizing and advancing nuclear energy production
in the United States. Included in H.R. 6544 was my
Nuclear Licensing Efficiency Act, introduced this year,
which would improve the licensing review process
for future nuclear projects by establishing updated
procedures and timelines for reviewing nuclear
licensing applications.
On Wednesday I participated in the House Agriculture
Committee's Member Day hearing to highlight
agricultural issues that are critical to Georgia's 12th
Congressional District. Agriculture is Georgia's number
one industry and plays a key role in our statewide
economy. Having served on the House Agriculture
Committee for eight years, I appreciate the hard work
that goes into writing the Farm Bill, which provides
certainty for our fanners by authorizing farm policy for
a five-year cycle.
I hope to work closely with the committee to strengthen
the farm safety net, expand access to rural broadband,
and improve program integrity in the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and I believe we
must continue to prioritize these policies.
The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) plays a key role in strengthening
American communications networks. This hearing
explored improving broadband deployment, federal
spectrum management, Internet governance, and
cybersecurity, to understand how new technologies, like
AI, can strengthen our communications infrastructure.
The Energy and Commerce Committee advanced 44
bills to unleash affordable, reliable American energy,
lower health care costs, improve consumer protections,
and strengthen our national security by cutting China
out of our supply chains.
During the markup, I spoke in support of H.R. 2880,
the Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act, which
I proudly cosponsored, to prohibit Pharmacy Benefit
Managers (PBMs), essentially corporate middle men
that raise the cost of health care, from earning a profit
based off of the Medicare Part D drag list price.
Wilcox gets
bragging rights
JCES 3rd grader Carson Wilcox has a lot to brag
about this holiday season. Carson killed his first buck
on November 25th and then killed another buck on
November 27th. His dad is local game warden, Mike
Wilcox. Photo contributed.
Aged to
Perfection
Jenkins County
Senior Center
Special Contributor Are You On
The Times Santa’s Team??
My Grandma taught me everything about Christmas. I
was just a kid and I remember tearing across town on my
bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb:
“There is no Santa Claus,” jeered my sister. “Even dummies
know that!”
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never has been. I
fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight
with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew
that the tmth always went down a whole lot easier when
swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns.
Grandma was home and the buns were still warm.
Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me.
“No Santa Claus!” she snorted. “Ridiculous! Don’t
believe it. That rumor has been going around for years and
it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat and
let’s go.”
“Go? Go where. Grandma?” I asked. I hadn’t even finished
my second cinnamon bun.
“Where” turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one
store in town that had a little bit of just about everything.
As we walked through its doors. Grandma handed me ten
dollars. That was a bundle in those days.
“Take this money,” she said, “and buy something for
someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then
she turned and walked out of Kerby’s.
I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with
my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by
myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people
scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few
moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-
dollar bill, wondering what to buy and who on earth to
buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my
friends, my neighbors, the kids in school, and the people
who went to my church.
I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of
Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair,
and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s second-grade
class. Bobby Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because
he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother
always wrote a note telling the teacher that he had a cough;
all the kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough
and he didn’t have a coat.
I held that ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I
would buy Bobby Decker a coat. I settled on a red corduroy
one that had a hood on it. It looked real warm, and he would
like that. I didn’t see a price tag, but ten dollars ought to buy
anything. I put the coat and my ten-dollar bill on the counter
and pushed them toward the lady behind it. She looked at
the coat, the money, and me. “Is this a Christmas present for
someone?” she asked kindly. “Yes,” I replied shyly. “It’s...
for Bobby. He’s in my class and he doesn’t have a coat.”
The nice lady smiled at me. I didn’t get any change, but
she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.
That evening. Grandma helped me wrap the coat in
Christmas paper and ribbons and write “To Bobby Decker,
From Santa Claus” on it.. .Grandma said that Santa always
insisted on secrecy.
Grandma then drove me over to Bobby’s house
explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially
one of Santa’s helpers. Grandma parked down the street
from Bobby’s house and she and I crept noiselessly and hid
in the bushes by his front walk. Suddenly Grandma gave
me a nudge. “All right, Santa Claus,” she whispered, “get
going.” I took a deep breath, dashed for his door, threw the
present down on his step, rang his doorbell twice and ran
back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together,
we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door
to open. Finally, it did and there stood Bobby. He looked
down, looked around, picked up his present, took it inside
and closed the door.
Forty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those moments
spent shivering beside my grandma in Bobby Decker’s
bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors
about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were:
Ridiculous!
Santa was alive and well...AND WE WERE ON HIS
TEAM!
