About The Sylvania times. (Sylvania, Ga.) 2022-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2024)
thesy lvaniatimes. com The Sylvania Times Wednesday, January 31, 2024 - Page 5 Editorials & More ... r n Just because someone’s opinion is dfferent than your own, it DOES NOT mean they are wrong. From the Editor’s Desk By Joe Brady, Editor far The Times thesylvaniatimes@gmail.com I have been writing a weekly column for many years. My first article was published over 15 years ago. That’s a lot of memories I have penned. As I sat with a scrapbook last Sunday, thumbing through some of them, I didn’t manage to keep them all, I noticed a gradual progression. Kind of like life in printed form. I remember several years ago acquiring some journals from a great great grandmother. The first journal covered her twenties, from 1875 through 1885. The second journal took place towards the end of her life from 1928-1932. In Icee’s first journal was the visions and dreams of a 20 something. Newly married, first child on the way. She had hope. As the yellowed pages continued to turn, Icee had one more child, a little girl. She continued to do for her family. Cooking, cleaning, daily life at it’s most mundane. A lady I would like to have known. But then you read the second journal. Here’s an older woman, beat down by life’s experiences. The farm is almost bankrupt, her husband has died, her oldest kid has died, and poor Icee is taking in borders to make ends meet. She’s grown envious of her boarder’s youth. She has become a bitter old woman. One I wouldn’t care to meet. Now, I’m not at the age where I am bitter. But I am at the age where nothing much surprises me. As I was talking with a younger person this past week I was reminded of that. This younger person was shocked at the cruelty of others, especially those who sit in church every time the doors are open. The problem with churches? Those people. I am less shocked by the cruelty of others as I am by the naivete of some. So, on a lighter note. As I read through my first articles I could see someone who was either working in the yards or preserving beans, com, and even chicken or cleaning house. Y’all I had a clean house all the time because I was entertaining most Saturdays with dinner parties and the like. I haven’t been in my dining room in so long, there’s probably cobwebs hanging from the light fixture! I say all this to say, we do change as the years pass. We no longer care about the same things we once did. We become tired. We become jaded. Instead of looking at youth as being naive, let’s look on them as unblemished. Just maybe, they can change the world. That’s all for now, take care! Dear Editor of the Times Newspapers, On behalf of our legionaries, we would like to thank the citizens of Screven and Jenkins Counties for their support of our events over the past year. Community involvement helps us to provide for the needs of local veterans and their families. We also want to thank the following businesses: The Times Newspapers, Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce, Screven County Chamber of Commerce, Observer, Screven County History Buffs, Wreaths Across America, Tractor Supply, and O’Reilly’s. Last year we were able to repair, replace, or build struc tures; host blood drives, file several veteran’s benefit packag es; care for widows and children; as well as educate the local schools on Americanism and patriotism. All we accomplished was because of the generosity of Screven and Jenkins County and their businesses. Thank you! We look forward to continuing to serve our veterans and their family’s needs for 2024 and beyond. Our legionaries are proud to continue to give of their time, energy, and skills affirming their oath to serve. Wayne Howard, Sr. Post 116 G. Alex Mincey American Legion Post Sylvania, GA. Shady Lane Tree Service LLC Tree & Stump Removal * Storm Clean-up * Pruning Dustin McMillan Call Today! (912) «82-Sl«« The Sylvania Times We’ll be there, so you can be there, too! Pastor Bill Kent, Memorial Baptist Church Sylvania, GA The Life of David What kind of man was David? He was a shepherd, a godly man, a warrior, moody, brave, dishonest, angry, forgiving, a scoundrel, a writer, a musician, and a prophet. On any given day, people would have completely different ideas of who David was as they listened to him talk and watched his actions. Perhaps David wished he could have gone to heaven after he defeated Goliath, and he would have never been embarrassed by his failure to live up to God's standards in the middle of his life. However, our lives are a mixture of good and bad and the Bible tells the best and the worst of each person's life. As a young man David honored his earthly parents and his heavenly Father. He was humble and careful about how he behaved in public and when nobody saw him except God. In general, we get in less trouble when we live with a humble attitude. "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly; to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8). Everybody considered David great as long as his focus was on God and not on himself. During most of his time as king of Israel, the nation prospered. When he neglected his duty to go out to War and sought his own personal comfort, then he disobeyed God, betrayed his wife and was responsible for the untimely death of Uriah. It shocked the nation for such a good man to sin in such a selfish way. "It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem," (2 Samuel 11:1). When the Prophet Nathan confronted David, the prophet was probably afraid David might order his execution for trying to hold a king accountable, but David admitted his sin, made no excuses, and pleaded for God's grace. "So, David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD,' " (2 Samuel 12:13). Though David knew he deserved to be cast away forever, the Lord provided forgiveness and pardon. Therefore, David celebrated God's steadfast love because God's abiding commitment to us is our only hope because we all fall short of God's standards. "Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you are righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!" (Psalm 32:11). A WORD FROM JON BURNS, Ga Speaker of the House of Representatives This past week was budget week at the Capitol, and while we weren’t officially in session, we were busy at work for the people of Georgia. Chairman Hatchett, our House Appropriations Chairman from Dublin, heard from agency heads and cabinet members each day of the week about their priorities, funding requests, and issues pertaining to their department or agency. Their input and expertise help us craft a budget that meets the needs of all Georgians as efficiently as possible, being as mindful as possible that the funds we appropriate are the taxpayers— not ours. I want to thank Chairman Hatchett and all of our presenters this past week for their hard work and dedication to helping us finalize a budget we can all be proud of. On Monday, we celebrated the life of Dr. King by attending the Effingham County MLK Celebration Breakfast in Springfield. It was such an honor to see so many friends and constituents out in force to remember Dr. King. My hope is that we will all continue to fight to make life better for all of our neighbors. On Tuesday, I was back in Atlanta to make an exciting announcement regarding our Pre-K education system. As many of you know, last year we passed House Bill 538 the Georgia Early Literacy Act to strengthen literacy rates across our state and support early learning. This year, we are going to build on that through historic investments in our Pre-K education system. Joined by Pro Tern Jan Jones, I was proud to announce that we will be working to lower class sizes, increase salaries for our assistant and lead teachers, and boost start-up funds for Pre-K classrooms to get off the ground. We want our students to start fast and finish strong, and we believe prioritizing early education will pay dividends for our future leaders of tomorrow. On Wednesday and Thursday, I had the privilege of meeting with many of our state’s university presidents. It was great to hear about so many of the success stories happening in our higher education institutions across the state, as well as the challenges they are facing. We know that educational success is not a one size fits all solution, but our colleges and universities continue to be incubators for advanced learning and the workforce of tomorrow, and I’m grateful for the work they’re continuing to do. This week, we will resume regular session, and have some exciting announcements regarding economic development and tax policy for our state. Stay tuned for more—and as always, if there is anything our office can be helpful with, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My best. Speaker Jon Bums A WORD FROM Senator Jon Ossoff Ossoff ungrading naval base in Kings Bay U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is delivering new resources to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Sen. Ossoff is delivering $9 million to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay through the Department of Energy’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technology (AFFECT) grant program to strengthen energy and national security and upgrade infrastructure on the installation. “I’m helping deliver these upgrades to strengthen Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay with upgraded energy infrastmcture. I am grateful for the brave men and women based at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay who defend our nation,” Sen. Ossoff said. Sen. Ossoff continues working to improve infrastmcture on NSB Kings Bay. Two years ago. Sen. Ossoff secured authorization for a new Regional Maintenance Facility and Trident Training Facility Columbia Trainer Expansion at NSB Kings Bay through the National Defense Authorization Act. Sen. Ossoff previously met with Kings Bay leadership and junior enlisted personnel in his first few months in office. yourP LIBRARY Library Lovers Month is here! That’s right, February is the month to show your love of libraries, so come in and check us out. If you’re looking for something fun for your little one to do, stop in at the library on Tuesdays at 3:30 pm for our storytime! We will read your child a wonderful story, then show them how to do a fun craft or activity related to the story. We have something fun coming up for the teens too! Gamemaster Ben Fisk will be having a meet & greet for anyone interested in playing Dungeons & Dragons on Tuesday, February 6 at 4 pm. You can come in, find out what the game is like, and sign up to be part of the upcoming campaign, all for free. Do you or someone you care about need assistance through TANF, WIC, PeachCare, SNAP, or Medicaid? Our brand new DHS kiosk is set up to take you straight to the Georgia Gateway site and let you sign in and get done without worrying about using your library card to sign in on our computers, navigate the internet, or any other extra work. It’s all right there waiting for you! The DHS kiosk is provided through a partnership between the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS). How much do you know about black history? There’s a ton of information to leam about the impact that they have had on our country and the world, so come in and explore during Black History Month this February. Can’t make it to the library? There’s a couple of ways to enjoy reading and learning with your library card! First off, Libby is awesome - you get free ebooks and audiobooks right on your phone, tablet, or other devices. Second, do you know about Kanopy? They’ve got a ton of documentaries and movies, many of which are focused on black history, and they can be accessed anywhere and on any device that has internet access, even on your smartTV! If you are interested in voting in this year’s Georgia primaries, make sure that you are registered to vote by Monday, February 12, 2024 or you will not be allowed to vote in the primaries. You can register to vote at the library or online at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov . If you are already registered, or would like an absentee mail-in ballot, make sure to go there and confirm that you are still registered to vote! The Georgia primary election will be on Tuesday, March 12. Want to know more about what’s happening at the library? Head over to www.facebook.com/ screvencountylibrary and find out! Well, that’s all for now - see you at the library!
