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opinion
Thursday, April 15, 2021 • Page 4A
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Decent, hard-working
Americans of all races and
all political stripes that
have made this country the
greatest ever to exist are
beginning to see the results
of turning the levers of
government and power
over to people that hate the
country, and it is devastat
ing. Always remember a
nation and its people don't
have to be perfect to be
great, and no country or
people's history can be
judged by applying today’s
standards to it.
There is hardly a single
moment since the radicals
Democrats seized power
that our senses and sensi
bilities haven't been as
saulted by a warped
ideology that is as alien to
decent Americans as a
traveler from a distant gal
axy.
We are confronted with
a radical ideology that is
like a virus that has been
injected into the veins of
the nation, and if not re
jected it could prove fatal
to all that we hold dear.
Voicing our opposition,
standing up against and
confronting these frauds
and lies now, with the
TRUTH, at every opportu
nity until we have the
chance to rip the country
back from their thieving
grasp in the 2022 elections
will be necessary to see us
through until then.
The contempt in which
they hold us all is evident
in the constant stream of
lies they spew whenever
they say anything about
anything. It is one of the
most bizarre things ever
witnessed. I don't know if
it’s the fact they lie or the
fact they expect us to be
lieve the lies or the fact that
they are infuriated when
we don’t believe the lies or
the fact that when we don’t
believe the lies they tell
more lies to convince us.
Just for the record, despite
what the radical Demo
crats would have us be
lieve, "A lie repeated often
enough is still a lie."
You can watch footage
or hear audio of them only
days, weeks, months ago
saying something that con
tradicts directly what they
are saying/doing now, and
it makes no matter at all.
Just lie. Nothing to it.
Combine that with a so-
called media that is will
ingly repeating the lie and
voila, all is well.
At every level, big govern
ment, big business, big
media, big academia, the
ruling class has gone mad
with lust for power.
Georgia Governor
Brian Kemp, showing the
type leadership and cou
rage that, had it been dis
played prior to the last
election would have spared
the country the nightmare
we are experiencing now,
signed the Georgia Voter
ID Law to correct the type
fraud that gave the Demo
crats the ability to steal the
election in Georgia and
several other states.
Who has a problem
with showing an ID to
vote? People that commit
voter fraud... that’s who.
Rapists against rape laws...
murderers against murder
laws; it ain’t complicated.
Of course the radical
Democrats Joe Biden and
the rest condemn the voter
law as being "racist"
against black folks, calling
it voter suppression. How
insulting is that? How rac
ist is that? I guess Demo
crat politicians are trying
to tell us black folks aren't
smart enough to get an ID.
Black folks can't figure that
out. Good Lord. Everybody
in the universe has an ID.
It’s stupid to act like it’s a
problem to prove you are
who you say you are,
whether cashing a check,
buying a pack of smokes or
picking up kids from
school or voting. Just shut
up... good grief.
B.WaineKong,Ph.D., JD
Waine’s World:
Happiness and a
Good Life is Built
on the Quality of
Your Relationships
I was playing a very
competitive round of golf
at Raintree on Thursday,
April 8 and I was delighted
in the balmy spring
weather, feeling strong,
playing well, and just hav
ing a jolly good time with
Randy, Calvin, and Bee.
The trees were in bloom
offering beautiful reflec
tions in the lake, the bees
spreading pollen and mak
ing honey, birds singing
their hearts out and we
had the course all to our
selves. We were all in good
spirits, telling jokes and
laughing hysterically.
When I made an amazing
putt for birdie on hole 12,1
felt so happy in that mo
ment, I was tempted to
kneel right there on the
green to thank the Al
mighty for blessing me
with this wonderful life.
What a mighty God we
serve and what a mighty
life I am able to live right
here in Thomaston.
This week, I hired
GJC Split,
someone to dig up the
roots of the vines that are
growing on the trees in my
yard and explained to the
young man that if you de
stroy the roots, the vines
will wither and die. “Son,
you need roots in your
family and community to
thrive.” In Jamaica, when
a child is born, the father
will take the child’s navel
string (placenta) and plant
a tree over it and where-
ever they may roam, his or
her tree will always anchor
them to the place of their
birth. So, when my daugh
ter joined us 50 years ago,
I asked the doctor for the
placenta so I could follow
the tradition and he con
fessed that he had never
had that request. I per
sisted and the tree is still
standing.
Whatever your station
in life, everyone strives to
have health, happiness,
and wealth. The news is
replete with examples of
people who are obsessed
with becoming rich and fa
mous. That being said, the
secret to lasting happiness
and fulfillment are those
meaningful bonds with
significant others. Those
bonds turn out to be the
secret sauce for our well
being and longevity. Qual
ity relationships with
trustworthy, kind and con
siderate people become
the foundation for a truly
prosperous life. Those
bonds, however, can only
be achieved if you are also
trustworthy, kind, and
considerate.
On the other hand,
holding grudges, being
selfish, and living with
conflict are the requisite
ingredients for a short,
tortured life. Don’t take
my word for it. Talk with
people who have lived long
enough to tell you stories
about folk who ended in
jail, died young, or whose
lives were consumed by
drugs and addiction.
This doesn’t mean that
a positive outlook on life
will prevent bad things
from happening to you.
Everyone suffer setbacks,
failures, disappointments
and tragedies, but they are
magnified if you do not
enjoy supportive relation
ships. The most resilient
are those who have family
and friends they can rely
on. Think on this the next
time you decide to blow up
bridges in your wake.
I am reminded of the
story of the most hateful
man in the valley who died
after a short, sad, and mis
erable life, but the pastor
insisted that he could not
bury the man if someone
could not say something
kind about him. “Come on
people, someone must
have witnessed his gener
osity or any act of kind
ness. Please come forward
and speak up.” After a long
pause, one of the deacons
finally came forward and
said: “Pastor, his brother
was worse.”
Failure and social re
jection can be crippling for
everyone. Obviously, suc
ceeding at something is a
good start. You cannot be
happy being dependent on
the good will of others,
especially your parents.
You have to pay your bills.
It is a miserable existence
if you are forever being
tormented by bill collec
tors and denied credit. You
don’t have to be rich, but
you must be able to meet
your financial responsibil
ities.
In this great land of op
portunity, you have to
really try to fail, like get
ting hooked on drugs,
committing crimes, being
hateful, having babies you
cannot support, and a bad
reputation. None of us are
without sin and have fallen
short of expectations and
nobody is perfect or with
out vulnerabilities, but
being willing to help out a
friend in need so you will
have a friend to lean on
when it’s your turn goes a
long way to keep you up
right.
I have repeated Dr.
Malcom Taylor’s words:
“If you have God, family
and friends, you may
stumble but you will never
hit the ground.” Yes. We
need each other. I invite
you to lean on me when
you are not strong and I
promise to be your friend.
Social media has a way
of convincing us that ev
eryone else is leading per
fect lives while we
struggle. Please don’t com
pare yourself to others. Let
me introduce you to Rich
ard Cory:
“Whenever Richard
Cory went downtown, we
people on the pavement
looked at him. He was a
gentleman from sole to
crown, cleanfavored, and
imperially slim. And he
was always quietly ar
rayed, and he was always
human when he talked,
but still he fluttered pulses
when he said: “Good
morning, ” and he glittered
when he walked. And he
was rich. Yes, richer than
a king—and admirably
schooled in every grace.
In time, we thought that
he was everything to
make us wish that we
were in his place. So, on
we worked, and waited
for the light, and went
without the meat, and
cursed the bread; And
Richard Cory, one calm
summer night, went home
and put a bullet through
his head.’’ (Americanpoet
Edwin Arlington Robin
son, 1897)
Yes, because we all
strive for inclusion, be
longing, feeling special,
and even to be honored
and applauded, social ex
clusion is painful. But as
desirable as fame and for
tune may be, it’s the qual
ity of our relationships
that guarantees us a long
meaningful life. It is worth
the occasional hassle.
According to Mark
Twain: "There isn't time,
so brief is life, for bicker
ings, apologies, heartburn
ings, callings to account.
There is only time for lov
ing, and but an instant, so
to speak, for that."
Continued from Front
associate with Wood En
vironment & Infrastruc
ture Solutions, Inc., based
in Alpharetta. The com
mission is considering an
agreement with Wood to
assist in re-writing multi
ple county ordinances.
Walton told commis
sioners he has been with
the company for 25 years
and specializes in local
government planning. He
said the re-write process
will include research, dis
cussion, policy confirma
tion, and objectives before
adoption to avoid unin
tended consequences.
Atop the priority list
will be zoning ordinances
regarding businesses af-
City Council,
fected by a current six-
month moratorium re
cently imposed by the
county. “The moratorium
needs to be dealt with first
and quickly,” Walton said.
The moratorium,
which ends in late May,
suspended acceptance of
new permits, licenses and
inspections related to de
velopment of convenience
stores, tattoo parlors and
piercing studios, thrift
stores, vape shops, to
bacco shops, dollar stores,
car wash facilities, pawn
shops, used car lots, self-
serve storage facilities,
and package stores.
Wood will be tasked
with updating a half
dozen ordinances not in
cluding “gateway” and
“tiny home,” with which
the Upson Planning Com
mission has wrestled for
several months.
“This will help speed
the process,” Planning &
Zoning Director Doug
Currier told commis
sioners. “To the credit of
the planning commission
- and I think they deserve
credit - it’s not like you all
do a complete re-write of
their work.
“There’s a little tweak
ing here and there,” Cur
rier continued. “You
might hold it up for a
meeting or two, then it’s
done. They’ve been doing
Continued from Front
the work, maybe just not
as fast as you want them
to.”
The planning commis
sion makes recommenda
tions to the county
commission for final ac
tion.
“We need citizen en
gagement, involvement,
and feedback [on the ordi
nance updates],” Chair
man Norman Allen said.
In other business,
County Manager Jason
Tinsley recommended ac
ceptance of a low bid of
$78,000 from L.W. Rich
ardson of LaGrange for
flooring at the Thomas-
ton-Upson Civic Center.
Other bids received were
COVID-19,
$99,000 from Govern
ment Flooring, LLC and
$137,000 from Middle
Georgia Carpets, Tinsley
said.
Staff also rec
ommended acceptance of
a low bid of $17,800 from
SunSouth for two new
mowers to be used by the
recreation department.
Other bids were $19,100
from Thomaston Hard
ware and $24,000 from
Advanced Power Equip
ment of Zebulon, accord
ing to Tinsley.
Upson Electric Mem
bership Corporation Pres
ident Neal Trice told
commissioners the local
co-op is considering ex
panding into the broad
band delivery service.
“A lot of people want
us to be in the broadband
business,” Trice said. “We
have the infrastructure to
do it, and rural Georgia
needs broadband for eco
nomic development.”
Trice said Upson EMC
has conducted and will
continue to conduct
studies on the cost-effec
tiveness of such a venture,
some involving potential
partnerships with other
groups. Currently, Spec
trum and Windstream
offer varying degrees of
broadband service to the
area.
Continued from Front
house continued. “People
are concerned about walk
ing in that neighborhood
because of dogs running
loose. I think we need to
update this ordinance and
enforce it.”
Councilman Jeff Mid-
dlebrooks said he has ex
perienced similar
problems in his district.
In other business,
council voted unanimously
to approve hiring a court
reporter for April hearings
regarding alcohol licenses
for 14 stores accused of
selling alcoholic beverages
to underage customers.
City Attorney DeAnn
Wheeler said there “needs
to be a solid record” of pro
ceedings. She suggested a
reporter who charges $75
for the first hour and $50
per hour afterward, and
certifies the transcripts.
Council also voted
unanimously to reinstate
the “public comments”
portion of meetings held
the first and third Tues
days of each month, and to
reopen meetings to public
attendance.
“I think we’ve been
good about obeying these
orders, and several people
have wanted to come in
and speak during that
time,” Mayor J.D. Stallings
said. “I think it’s important
to have public involve
ment, so I would encour
age the council to vote to
allow this.”
Thompson said Gov.
Brian Kemp’s distance
order has been reduced to
three feet, and city staff
could mark chairs in the
government meeting room
accordingly. Council
members agreed to con
tinue conducting meetings
in compliance with the
governor’s orders.
•Council approved ac
ceptance of property adja
cent to Greatest
Generation Memorial Park
donated by B.F. Good
rich/Raytheon Technol
ogies.
•Council approved a
sign ordinance amend
ment which will allow a
projected wall sign at 202
West Main Street for Lilly
Jane Jewels. The property
falls into the historic dis
trict, and the amendment
will allow a “certificate of
appropriateness” which is
required by the Historic
Preservation Commission
to grant the sign request,
according to Thompson.
Monroe at 9.46, and Meri
wether at 9.17 per too.
A consensus of online
sources report Georgia
with 1,050,915 (up 9,640
for the week) positive
cases and 18,920 (up 295
for the week) deaths as
of noon last Tuesday. New
cases increased from
9,230 and new deaths in
creased from 244 the pre
vious week.
Johns Hopkins lists the
following confirmed cases
for counties bordering
Upson: Monroe, 2,585 (up
21) cases with 99 (up one)
deaths; Pike, 2,206 (up 37)
with 38 (up two) deaths;
Lamar, 1,979 (up 23) with
55 (no change) deaths;
Meriwether, 1,944 (up 16)
with 79 (no change)
deaths; Taylor, 787 (up
four) with 25 (no change)
deaths; Crawford, 655 (up
one) with 19 (no change)
deaths; and Talbot, 469
(up one) with 17 (no
change) deaths.
Local nursing homes
report no new cases
among residents and staff,
and no new deaths.