About Upson beacon. (Thomaston, Ga.) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2024)
opinion Wednesday, May 29, 2024 • Page 4A Send your letters to: Editor, Upson Beacon, 219 Thomas Street, Thomaston, Ga 30286 or email to: dlord@upsonbeacon.com The opinions expressed on this page are not necessarily the opinions of the Upson Beacon staff. Please limit letters to 400 words, and limited to two letters per month. All letters must be signed and accompanied by a telephone number for verification purposes. Telephone numbers will not be printed. Letters lo The Editor: Hope of Generations Church, Ministry Provide Vital Contributions to Community To the Editor: Just a statement of sup port for the rezoning plans for the Hope of the Genera tions Church and ministry, and its vital contribution to the community of Thomas ton: I have been associated with the church and Be In Health Ministry since I moved here in 2002.1 came to Thomaston for the “For My Life” program and then moved to Thomaston. The church and ministry offer Biblical principles and sound Bible-based teach ings. The application of these truths being taught also produces health and wellness in the body. I have served as chaplain at Upson Regional Medical Center with the Upson County Ministerial Associa tion from 2006 to present. I volunteer as a way to give back to my community and to serve the people who live here in Upson County. In order to expand the future benefit and influence of Thomaston to surround ing neighborhoods, it will require a continued growth to be established. To de velop our community will require zoning changes which will benefit all. I am supportive of the building of a larger facility in the pro posed location that can help more people join our com munity of Thomaston. The construction of a new re treat center and church ex pansion will bless so many who currently live in Thom aston, and also invite other people who love God to make Thomaston their home as well. This expansion pro motes integrity and healthy influence for Thomaston to grow together in unity with other believers. [I am] ex cited to see the added bene fits and future growth this church and ministry will have to offer those who make Thomaston their home. Sherry King, Thomaston resident Hope of the Generations is a Beacon of Light To the Editor: My name is Nancy Rie- gel, and I am corresponding regarding the delay in the Rezoning for Hope of the Generations. I read the ar ticle [Church Rezoning Request Delayed for Second Time] (printed May 22), and found it interesting, and I would like to weigh in. My husband and I have travelled to Thomaston sev eral times to attend the For My Life program from Ed monton, Alberta, Canada. This wonderful week-long retreat, conducted by highly trained staff, provides the opportunity to restore your health and relationships. The retreat's impact on our lives and health has been incredible, and we consider the Hope of the Generations team our family. The integrity with which they conduct them selves to provide a service to the community of Upson and beyond is humbling. We have contributed fi nancially to this ministry for the past seven years. My husband is a surgeon, and I am a leadership consultant who now teaches women to recover themselves from health issues. We have ac tively sought opportunities to move to Thomaston, but unfortunately there are no opportunities at this time. We do, however, enjoy din ing out, shopping, and par ticipating in the local tourist attractions within the Upson County area when we visit. It would be such a won derful opportunity for Upson County to benefit from a new campus. We have known the current campus to be respectful, quiet, and inclusive. It would truly bring joy and safety to all who wish to participate in the spirit of connection, and com munity. We can't wait to see the future plans unfold, as Hope of the Generations is a beacon of light in a world that desperately needs hope. Warmly, Nancy Riegel & Dr. Riegel Hotel, Continued from Front in banking, I’m a pessimist, so I want to see what the worst-case scenario looks like,” Tucker said. “If you can get comfortable with that, everything else is gravy. “I think the bigger ques tion is, ‘What are we willing to contribute, as a city, if there is a budgetary hole?’” Tucker continued. “As owner in this particular sce nario, that will fall on us - on the taxpayers.” Thompson commented, “That’s the reality.” However, Tucker said the board has done its homework. “We’ve had everybody that does this every day tell us how good of a project this is going to be,” Tucker said. “We’ve looked at it every which way. A lot of smart people believe in this. “I think everybody in this room and in this com munity would say there’s a need for this type of hotel,” he continued. “I think it can be a game-changer for Thomaston.” Thompson reminded council members, “You can still get off the train.” Members voted unani mously to authorize drafting a contract with Red Hills to be considered by council at a future meeting. In other business: •Council approved $27,000 for the Fagade Grant Program tied to downtown revitalization. “For every dollar we grant, we’re getting more than $2 in private invest ment,” Thompson said. Economic Development Di rector Taylor Smith verified Thompson’s estimate, tell ing council members $90,000 in facade grants have generated $266,000 in private investment. Assistant City Manager Lonnie Joyce said the amount had already been budgeted. •Council approved a sanitary tax ordinance amendment establishing a $20 per month residential fee for two containers, extra container cost of $13.75, and $7 for each additional family dwelling. Commer cial cost is $7 in addition to the monthly rate, which is determined by size and frequency of servicing dumpsters. New garbage and trash policies go into effect June 1. •Council approved an $869 expense (not to exceed $1,000) for utility poles, perimeter lights, orange cones, barricades, trash re ceptacles, and portable rest rooms for an emancipation celebration concert held at Daniel and Bethel Streets. Dispatches from the Other Side Most of my articles deal with the experience of my attorneys and those who have to testily at trial. My goal has always been to offer transparency to the public by pulling back the curtains on what happens in the trenches be fore, during, and after a trial. But I would be remiss if I did not take a mo ment to discuss the most important group of people in any trial - the jury. Imagine, if you will, that you pick up your mail and find that you have been selected for jury duty. Your selec tion was the result of the clerk’s office, which is required by law to ensure that the jury represents a fair cross-section of the community. Once you receive your letter, you inevitably ask one question: "How can I get out of this?” Naturally, you have a job, family to take care of, or just better things to do than putting your life on hold to sort out someone else’s problem. But jury duty is more than just a burden to those called. It is a Constitu tional right that is guaranteed to people facing the prospect of incarceration. And our founders, in their wisdom, knew that this system was better than allowing unaccountable judges, kings, or law enforcement to decide people’s fate. Many people fought and died to protect this right, but that does not make it any less irritating when you are chosen to serve. With all of that said, attorneys and judges should always keep in mind the difficult burden placed on a juror. As a juror, during the selection process, you are forced to answer questions under oath from attorneys about your per sonal life and your experiences in a public forum. You cannot be excused because it is inconvenient. If you are selected as a juror, you are often re quired to hear about unpleasant things that most of us only hear about on the news or radio. And your decision has real consequences. I have never served on a jury. So, my knowledge of the jurors’ experience comes from them speaking to me after a verdict is rendered. Jurors are free to leave after the trial is over without talk ing to any attorney, but it is helpful to us to know what was important to the jury in making their decision, and I always ap preciate their input. One thing that often strikes me after speaking to ju rors is a misun- derstanding about their role. Jurors swear an oath to only consider the evidence pre sented to them and decide if that ev idence is enough to prove each element of the crimes charged beyond a reason able doubt. Jurors have no say in the ultimate sentence a defendant receives. Sentencing is decided only by the judge, according to the parameters set out by the legislature. And jurors are not supposed to base their decision about guilt on how much jail time a de fendant may or may not receive. Yet they often do. And I hear from jurors that this concern informed their delib erations, which is a burden they are not supposed to take on. I also hear from jurors that other factors outside of the evidence infected their deliberations as well. Nothing is more frustrating, as a prosecutor who is committed to equal justice under the law, to hear from jurors that they were concerned about the race or socioeco nomic status of the victim or defen dant. Victims and defendants don’t choose their race or their tax bracket. Race and wealth have nothing to do with whether someone is guilty. But I understand people cannot leave their life experiences at the door, nor can they leave concerns about the con sequences of their verdict in the jury box. When these outside factors enter deliberations, I find that the jury usually enters a “compromise” verdict. They find the defendant guilty of some, but not all, of the charges. And jurors report to me afterwards that they have conflicted feelings about the result. Some feel that they have let the victim down by not convicting on all charges. Others feel that the defendant com mitted certain crimes that were charged but worry about the lifelong consequences for that defendant. All I can say is that these conflicted feelings means that the system is work ing. My office tries each case firmly be lieving there is sufficient evidence to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but we are never foolish enough to think that a jury can not disagree. All we ask is that you make your decision based on the ev idence presented to you — and leave those other distractions at the court house door. I might disagree with a jury’s decision, but I never disagree with the system or the process. Trials are always transformative for victims and defendants. I try to not lose sight of the fact that trials are transfor mative for jurors as well. Thank you to all past and future ju rors for your service. Our republic de pends on you. I hope all of you had a beautiful Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we have the freedoms that we do. Stay safe, and remember to be kind to one another. Marie Broder, District Attorney A Ticking Demographic Time Bomb: Lower Life Expectancy, Out-Migration, and a Declining Birthrate I kid you not, my grandparents had 15 children with my mother the fourth oldest. Their children’s children’s chil dren now number more than too over the past too years. Granny’s children averaged four children, her grandchildren averaged three, and her great grandchildren averaged two. But that may be the end of the family line as the current gener ation have no interest in passing on our DNA. I am learning from good sources that this is not unusual. Birth rates are too low to support our social structure. Apparently, schools are closing all over the country because they have so few students. There has been a seismic shift in social norms. Millennials and GenZs are buying into the DINK lifestyle - dual incomes and no kids. A Pew Research Center report says 44 percent of non-parents younger than 50 say it is unlikely they will ever have children. Our young people are having serious problems with the cost of housing, groceries, gasoline, and other essential expenditures, leaving them with less disposable income. Raising kids is getting more and more expensive. We now see wider acceptance of people waiting longer to get married and choosing to have fewer or no chil dren. Moreover, young Americans are more likely than older generations to spend their money on themselves. These are ego-centric, selfish, and ma terialistic young people who would Waine ’s World: rather have a luxurious lifestyle than have children. They are turning their backs on the hassle, responsibility, and cost of raising children. And then, selfish men re fuse to partner up with out spoken women, having to deal with in-laws, someone else spending their money and not wanting to put in the time and effort to raise up the next generation. This has resulted in over half the children being born to single women. I tell them that without a queen, your hive is a dead hive. Put a ring on it! My wife and I spent about $500,000 raising and launching each of our four children, and we loved giv ing the world these amazing people that do so much for the quality of our lives. Was there a better way to spend our money? There is no joy purer in the world than holding a grandbaby. Raising children gave us significant purpose and meaning. Opting out of parenting because it is difficult has major social and eco nomic implications. Fewer consumers and taxpayers are concerning. A larger proportion of older dependents (espe cially if they are spending their Social Security checks in other countries) and a shrinking number of employees means economic disaster. Fortunately, collisions by space rocks, wars, pandemics, environmen tal collapse has spared us so far, but among the many factors contributing to the predictable decline of our pop ulation is out-migration, the increase in mortality (death) from obesity re lated causes, and that our fertility rate has declined to 1.8 children per woman (and decreasing), below the re placement rate of 2.1 per woman. While there may be great political resistance to immigrants, we may have to depend on them to keep the country afloat. You know about the wonderful entitlements the elderly enjoy? It is going to take a lot of younger people working to continue to fund Medicare and Social Security. There is a severe shortage of skilled workers in the world (dentists, nurses, doctors, teachers, and engineers). These highly educated people have op tions. One school system in Georgia now has 32 teachers from Jamaica on staff. The contraction in the labor force coupled with the increasing need for healthcare and social services is an ur gent problem. Social Security benefits will exceed available funds by 2033 and the Medicare trust fund that pays hospitals and nursing homes will also be bankrupt by 2031. Our political divisiveness will make anywhere but here an attractive op- See Kong, 6A B. Waine Kong, Ph.D.JD nONM/Y') Comic ally Incom PrVAJVLU©2024 Creators, c mct.com J©2024 Creators, com this long weekend of bbqs, FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND FREEDOM BROUGHT To YOU BY,,, @afbranco
