About The Sylvania times. (Sylvania, Ga.) 2022-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2022)
wthesy lvaniatimes .com The Sylvania Times Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - Page 9 Editorial Take time first thins to visualize an incredible da Editor’s Desk Joe Brady Editor Can you believe Thanksgiving is only three weeks away? It seems like just yesterday we were sweltering in the August heat. This time of year always puts me in a reflective mood. A recent conversation with my friend Marie had me almost in tears as she and I talked about family and traditions during Thanksgiving. Of course, you all know who I talked about...you guessed it: Granny. I guess it’s true what they say about as long as you remember loved ones they live forever. As I join the crowds at the grocery stores looking for just the right turkey and all the trimmings Granny is with me, carefully selecting the turkey, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Every holiday was spent at Granny’s and Thanksgiving was certainly no exception. I always thought Thanksgiving lasted two days since Mama would always cook a dinner the day before the actual big day just so we would have leftovers. Once Daddy got home from work, we all loaded up and headed to Millen. I don’t know to this day where we all slept; it seemed the little house was bulging as cousins by the dozens descended on the green cinder block home. We all gathered in the tiny kitchen as Granny prepared the turkey. She always put her turkey in the oven the night before so the stove would be free the next morning, a trait I still do today. We went to bed late, talking around the big table, and then rose early the next morning to the sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen and the smell of cooked turkey wafting down the hallway. Granny was there at the stove, mixing the cornbread for stuffing and directing everyone to the freshly brewed coffee. It was during Thanksgiving that I learned the valuable lesson that every cook believes their dressing is the best and woe unto anyone who disagrees with them. After Granny passed away, my extended family stopped getting together for Thanksgiving. In fact, it’s been over 25 years since I’ve seen most of them. I wonder, as I pull out Granny’s old recipes for souffle, dressing and cranberry sauce if they remember Thanksgivings all those years ago. I wonder if they can almost hear Granny like I do, offering instruction as I prepare the turkey the night before. I wonder if they are flooded with memories like I am and realize that the “glue” that held our family together is still there, helping each of us prepare the Thanksgiving meal. May we all be thankful for our memories and the people who influence us the most. That’s all for now, take care. Happy Thanksgiving! From the Letters to the editor of The Sylvania Times are wel comed and encouraged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours.Letters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s readers. The Sylvania Times re serves the right to edit any and all portions of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters mwust include the signature, address and phone number of the writer to allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters should be limited to 400 words and should be typewritten and double-spaced or neatly printed by hand. Deadline for letters to the editor is noon on Wednesday. Email Letters to the Editor to: thesylva- niatimes@gmail.com Shady Lane Tree Service LLC Tree & Stump Removal * Storm Clean-up * Pruning Dustin McMillen Call Today! (912) 682-8166 CROSSWORD SOLUTION B E 1 H n M 1 1 A D E B n G G O 0 1/1 Id. o e roo__s_ fo" tf v K V b b VIE C a V tf V C E V e O e W V A V n B A c o v r o H n a E D - tf E v| -- n r r n 0 V G V 2 a A tf 1 V 1 r r n a El H 1 r r m V Id e 0 B v ■ E G| a H v b E ■ ' 0 n a r A E tf V b E ■ e V n 0 E tf r O tf E b V * D E tf E D V C 1 a p j. i a E r 0 1 1 Ic 0 M E A t V r r Pastor Bill Kent, Memorial Baptist Church Sylvania, GA “Friend of Sinner” Before race day, mechanics look under the hood to check every aspect of the cars to maximize performance. They make sure the vehicles have proper amounts of brake fluid, transmission JOURNEY Faith fluid, oil, and antifreeze. They look at and feel every belt and hose to make sure everything is in proper working condition. They also test tire pressure. Plus, the car is washed and waxed until it sparkles like a jewel in the sunlight. When Jesus lived in this world, he shined like a perfect diamond. He had no blemishes on his record. He did good in every way and all times. Even though Jesus lived a spotless life, he reached out to all kinds of people like a famous driver who takes time with the fans even after becoming rich and famous. If we stop and think about the greatness of Jesus, it's amazing for him to be our friend and Savior. Jesus' Disciples were sinners like us. Yet Jesus spent a lot of time with them. After Jesus showed supernatural powers by showing the Disciples where the fish were under the water, Peter knew Jesus did a miracle and felt unworthy. "And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So, they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord," (Luke 5:6-8). Therefore, we rejoice in our Redeemer who reaches down to where we are and cleanses us of all our sin. Though we are undeserving, Jesus does not despise us. He loves us and offers forgiveness and eternal life. As many people rejected Zacchaeus but Jesus accepted Zacchaeus when he turned to Christ with a tender heart, Jesus accepts us when we come. "And Jesus said to him, today salvation is come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost," (Luke 19:10). Unearthing Camp Lawton Dr. Ryan McNutt, Ph.D, “Disease and Disarticulation” In addition to the potential human remains from the multiple disinterment and internments at Camp Lawton, and Lawton National Cemetery, human remains likely exist on site from a uniquely other context. In this case attempts to stave off death, though often through drastic medical intervention. On the site of Camp Lawton were three hospitals, two for prisoners of war, and one for those Confederates who guarded them. Out of the two hospitals for prisoners of war, one scarcely warrants the name: it was less a hospital and more of a triage station. It is also the only one which we can locate with any reliability. Located inside the stockade, close to the ‘eastern comer’— probably roughly in the vicinity of the splash pad in the modem park— prisoners would bring the sick and the dead here. Discussions of it by POWs who served as hospital attendants seem to indicate it was a pole structure with a potentially canvas roof. The Confederate medical staff and surgeons would conduct daily rounds through this structure, assisted by prisoners from United States Colored Troops who were pressed into service as hospital attendants. Medical evaluations were made as to the severity of illness, and the need for removal outside the stockade to the second secure prisoner hospital. Men suffering from scurvy, gangrene, and those needing intensive care were removed here. Despite the limited ability and resources of the Confederate medical staff. And these medical issues often led to human remains. Or at the least, bits of humans. As a result of unsanitary conditions in the camp and of the POWs, any wound that broke the skin ran a risk of infection and thus gangrene. This included even beneficial interventions that broke the skin: the Confederacy initiated a vaccine campaign after a smallpox outbreak in the prison camps. The need to break the skin for the inoculation procedure often led to infection and gangrene. Prior to the discovery of germ theory and antibiotics, once gangrene set in, amputation was often the only option. As a result, the hospital for Union POWs would have been surrounded by what were known as limb pits. Which are, in essence, exactly what they sound like. Arms, legs, fingers, and all appendages were sawed off with no anesthesia but liquor, if they were lucky. These limbs were than disposed of around the perimeters of the hospital in pits hastily dug to shallow depths and sprinkled with lime to hold off wild animals and vermin. As we have no real indication of where the POW hospital was located, we thus likely have human remains still present at Lawton. And then we have the potential for scattered burials left when war arrived on the doorsteps of southeast Georgians with Sherman’s March to the Sea. The roll of those buried at Lawton and removed to Beaufort National Cemetery include multiple Union soldiers who were originally buried ‘near Alexander’, ‘near Waynesboro’, ‘Thomas Station’, and ‘Lumpkin Station’. Many of these soldiers are known unto God alone. And of course, these are only Union burials who were recovered. The Confederates who died fighting the Union advance to the sea were by and large far from home— Alabamians, Floridians, and even the Georgians weren’t locals, with no one to identify their remains, much less lead relatives to their place of rest when the war ended. It should be readily apparent then, that while the bodies of the prisoners from Lawton, and many of those soldiers who gave the last full measure were interred in peace in South Carolina, there is still the potential for human remains— disarticulated arm and leg bones from limb pits, small bones and bits from burial trenches, and whole burials of killed in action. There likely remain buried and unrecovered Union and Confederate dead from the myriad skirmishes and encounters between warring sides in short, sharp, and confused engagements between Sherman’s inexorable advance and the sparse and chaotic Confederate resistance. While I’m a sceptic when it comes to the paranormal, in a real way, the specters of the Lawton dead haunt the archaeological approaches and planning for uncovering the story of Camp Lawton. I’ll close with a request: if anyone encounters what they suspect to be human remains (historic or prehistoric), please immediately contact local law enforcement and the Office of the State Archaeologist, via email at rachel.black@dnr. ga.gov or by phone at: 770- 389- 7862. A word from Rep. Jon Burns Friends, As the husband of an educator, I know how hard Georgia teachers work across this state to help our young people succeed. That’s why I was so proud of both our students and their teachers when I recently learned that Georgia’s high school students are beating the national average on both major college admissions tests - the ACT and the SAT. Academic achievements like these will continue to position many of Georgia’s students for success - but just as important to the future of Georgia students are strong efforts to focus on education and community, and not politics in the classroom. For example, this past session I supported legislation that creates a Commission on Civics Education at the state level. This commission is designed to enhance students’ knowledge of the importance of civic engagement and public service, the study of our state and local governments, ensure the teaching of financial literacy, and provide for collaboration with private sector organizations conducting civics education. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of our teachers, sometimes politics gets in the way. For instance, recent press reports out of our state’s capital indicate that Atlanta Public Schools administrators may have hidden concerns over the qualifications of a prospective candidate for principal from the hiring panel, only disclosing those concerns after being confronted by concerned parents. Incidents like these highlight the importance of two pieces of legislation we enacted this past session. SB 588 requires that school board meetings be open to the public and include a public comment period, while preventing removal from a meeting absent an actual disruption. HB 1178, the Parents Bill of Rights, ensures that the primary decisionmaker regarding the upbringing of Georgia’s children are parents - not the government. As we saw in Atlanta, active and involved parents are fundamental to the success of our students and our schools. While these issues are certainly not a concern in House District 159, we want to ensure transparency in ah our counties in Georgia. Conclusion I hope as we move past this election and into our next legislative session, we can focus our efforts on preparing Georgians for future opportunities, and not partisan politics. And once again, I’m proud to have supported a $5000 pay raise for our teachers. Always remember that should you have questions, comments, or concerns about issues affecting District 159, you can always reach out to me at 404.656.5052, Jon,Bunii| house.ga.gov, or on Facebook at www.FB.com/JonBurnsGA
