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Send a letter to the editor to P.O. Box 1600, Dawsonville, GA 30534; fax (706) 265-3276; or email to editor@dawsonnews.com.
DawsonOpinion
WEDNESDAY, June 27, 2018
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not reflect our views.
Remembering a special dog
This is a story of friend
ship, a story of love, of heart
break, of a dog that brought a
bunch of sassy ladies across
the country together and
changed our lives.
When my Golden
Retriever, Bailey, passed over
Rainbow Bridge in the sum
mer of 2015, I locked myself
away from the world. I
couldn’t look at another
Golden Retriever. I couldn’t
say the word “dog.” I was
inconsolable for months,
entering a depressive state
that I feared I could never
climb my way out of.
While scrolling through
Facebook months later, I saw
this group called “Simba and
Friends” with lots of friendly
folks sharing pictures of their
precious pooches. Without
thinking I joined. I wanted to
smile again and see happy
dogs living their happy lives.
And then I came across
Sawyer, the most magnificent
Golden Retriever I had ever
seen in my entire life. His
kind face and soft brown eyes
captivated me. His smile and
his perfectly fluffy fur - he
was like a teddy bear. I fol
lowed his story and hung on
every word his Mama, Nancy,
wrote. They were members of
Paws for People, a therapy
dog group in Pennsylvania
where they live, and they
traveled to libraries and senior
centers and hospitals to touch
thousands of lives.
Soon, the ladies in “Simba
and Friends” began talking
more regularly. A constant
stream of text messages and
private messages online has
flowed for a couple years
JESSICA BROWN
Columnist
now. There’s Julia in
Oklahoma, Jana in Utah,
Nancy in Pennsylvania,
Stephanie in Hawaii, Audrey
in Ohio, Andrea in
Connecticut and Kimberly
and me in Georgia. We all
span the nation, brought
together by our love of dogs
and sending love and laughter
to each other through the ups
and downs of our worlds like
21st century Steel Magnolias.
When Nancy announced
the news her sweet Sawyer
had cancer, our hearts sank
collectively. Across America
our hearts became one and
we rallied to do whatever we
could to help Nancy and
Sawyer.
But the logistics of organiz
ing ladies in different time
zones almost seemed like
herding cats. Would everyone
be willing to lend a helping
hand? What time of day
should we all plan to be
online to discuss our plans?
How would this work when
we’re all so far away?
Everyone pitched in. It
didn’t matter what time of
day or night, we were all
there. We stayed up late or
woke up early to make sure
we could all be there to brain
storm ideas. I decided to
design shirts to sell to raise
money for his cancer treat
ment. They bought shirts and
spread the word. Kimberly
made bracelets that we all
bought and distributed. Julia’s
family made a quilt to be auc
tioned off. Nancy sold her
paintings. All the while, we
all prayed together and shared
in the triumphs of battles won
and cried at the battles lost.
On June 20, 2018, days
after Sawyer celebrated his
ninth birthday, he lost his bat
tle to cancer. Nancy and Rick
held their special boy for the
last time, peacefully saying
goodbye to their miracle boy.
Our hearts were shattered
all at once at the news. More
tears have been shed in the
past few days than I can
recount. Sawyer truly was
magic on earth, touching the
lives of thousands with his
selflessness and love. I never
got the chance to meet him in
person, nor did the rest of our
ladies across the nation. We
didn’t need to meet him in
person to know that he was a
magical dog. We didn’t have
to live next door to Nancy to
know how good he was. We
could feel it radiate across the
World Wide Web through his
pictures, his videos and his
story.
Some might say “he’s just a
dog” but for anyone who has
ever loved and lost a dog
knows that’s just not true. He
was more than a dog, and he
did more for all of our lives
than most people. He touched
our souls and left a mark on
us that will never go away.
He made us laugh and
smile with his antics at the
Rock Bottom Ridge. He
inspired us to be better peo
ple, to put goodness back into
the world and to make it a
better place.
Words can’t accurately
describe Sawyer’s impact on
us. He inspired me to help
any animal in need. He
inspired me to volunteer my
time at a local animal shelter,
photographing all the dogs to
spread online to find them
good homes. He’s inspired
me to be a kinder human
being, keeping in mind that
everyone is going through
something and even just smil
ing can make someone’s day
a little brighter.
Sawyer was a light in this
world, and his immortal lega
cy lives on in all of us who
were touched by his magic.
As long as we put goodness
back into the world, his light
will always shine bright.
He has forged friendships
across thousands of miles and
I can’t thank him enough for
all that he has given me: for
helping to bring me out of the
darkness and into the light,
for bringing me a close knit
group of friends, for making
me a better citizen of earth.
Through tears of happiness
and tears of sadness, Sawyer
brought us ladies closer
together than ever before. He
gave me a family of strong
women I’ve never officially
met, a sisterhood I never
knew I needed and a sister
hood I will always love. We
will continue to honor his
kind soul by spreading love,
happiness and faith back into
our world, never allowing his
immortal light to vanish.
Jessica Brown is a reporter
for the Dawson County News.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Georgia is the
perfect place
Maybe your work is sun to sun, but my
work is never done. If I am not giving the
folks at the International Monetary Fund
some tips on global financial policy or con
tinuing my groundbreaking research on
why broccoli
will turn your
ears green
unless you eat
copious
amounts of
banana pudding,
I am now deal
ing with the
possibility of
secession in Georgia.
Didn’t we do this once before, you ask?
And didn’t we discover that secession was
not a particularly good idea since our side
had a lot of cotton balls and the other side
had a lot of cannon balls and we found out
the hard way that cannon balls can do a lot
more permanent damage? And then didn’t
we have to deal with an influx of carpetbag
gers who looked down their noses at us but
decided to stay because this is the only
place where they can find good pecan pie?
So, what is going on with this secession
talk again?
This time it turns out that there is talk of
South Georgia seceding from North
Georgia and becoming its own state. I know
California is making noises about splitting
up into three states, but that whole place is
destined to slide off into the ocean one day
when that big earthquake finally hits, so
who cares about California? But Georgia?
My beloved Georgia?
It turns out that in the Pierce County
Republican primary last month, a question
on the ballot stated, “Should the counties
south of Macon join together to form the
51st state of South Georgia?” Over 27 per
cent of GOP voters answered yes, meaning
seven out of 10 either said no or were too
busy worrying about the potential negative
effects of broccoli to care one way or the
other.
But me? I do care. This carefully crafted,
marvelously punctuated, sometimes-
thoughtful piece runs throughout this great
state. So, I feel strongly both ways. We
need to think this secessionist matter
through carefully. The first thing we have to
look at is which way is Macon going to
jump? The ballot question refers to “coun
ties south of Macon.” Does that mean Bibb
County will be the south end of North
Georgia or the north end of South Georgia?
Or do we just put a line down the middle of
1-475 and call it the Macon-Dixon Line and
let the locals decide?
I think folks in South Georgia are frus
trated because all the political power now
resides in North Georgia. The Republican
nominee for governor will either be from
Gainesville (Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle) or
Athens (Secretary of State Brian Kemp)
and the winner of next month’s runoff will
face Democrat Stacey Abrams, of Atlanta,
but since our politicians don’t accomplish
much anyway except to sponge off lizard-
loafered lobbyists, is this really that big a
problem?
Let us not forget what unites us as
Georgians. Lor starters, there is the
University of Georgia, the oldest state-char
tered university in the nation. While it is
located in Athens, Georgia, the Classic City
of the South, it belongs to us all.
Nobody, but nobody, has a state song like
“Georgia on my Mind,” sung by Ray
Charles Robinson, of Albany, Georgia.
Consider for a moment that New Jersey
doesn’t even have a state song and that
Connecticut has “The Nutmeg” a state can
tata which runs for nine (yawn!) minutes.
And then there is “Llorida: Where the
Sawgrass Meets the Sky.” Say what?
Neither New Jersey nor Connecticut nor
Llorida nor anywhere else for that matter
grows the sweet Vidalia onion. Only in
Georgia. Coca-Cola is served all over the
world, but it was thought up in Georgia —
Pemberton’s Drug Store, to be exact. And
there is RC Cola, also Georgia-born and in
fine dining is best paired with Moon Pies, a
Chattanooga product. Chattanooga is in
Tennessee but we consider the place a sub
urb of Dalton, Georgia.
OK, so Georgia does have Malfunction
Junction, aka, the city of Atlanta, where the
sewers don’t work and neither do a number
of its citizens, but nobody is perfect.
I’ve got the technocrats from the
International Monetary Lund calling on the
other line asking how to get change for a
dollar and my latest paper on broccoli is
turning green so I must go. In the mean
time, my fellow Georgians, whether you
live south or north of the Macon-Dixon
line, please remember that we may not be
perfect but you can see it from where we
sit.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough atdick@dickyar-
brough.com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA
31139; online atdickyarbrough.com or on
Facebook at wvwv.facebook.com/dickyarb.
Know new hands-free law
Probably at some point and time, most
of us have been guilty of distracted driv
ing in some way, shape or form. I imag
ine that each of us have a “distracted
driving” story, we could share. One such
embarrassing personal recollection
involved reaching down to manually
adjust the station on my AM/FM cassette
radio player. For those who may remem
ber, the dial had to be just right to pick
up a station. I glanced up just as I was
careening off the roadway and into a
ditch. As a young, teenage driver, it was
definitely a lesson learned.
Obviously times have changed. Even
then, we had distractions; however they
pale in comparison to those of today. In
the electronic age we live, we are cer
tainly faced with a multitude of distrac
tions. Ironically, many of which are
designed to make travel safer and sim
pler.
The Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) reports that approximately nine
people are killed and more than a 1,000
are injured daily, in U.S. crashes involv
ing distracted driving. According to the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), distracted
driving claimed 3,450 lives in 2016. It is
tragic statistics such as these, which con
tributed to stricter regulations.
Effective July 1, 2018, the new
“Hands-Lree Georgia Act” goes into
effect. The new law defines certain
devices, lists prohibited acts and pro
vides for penalties. This new law may
be viewed in its entirety at the Georgia
General Assembly website by searching
HB 673.
In short summary, the law prohibits
the operator of a motor vehicle from
holding (or supporting with his/her
body) a wireless telecommunications
device. These devices include cell
phones, text-messaging devices, personal
digital assistants, stand-alone computers,
GPS receivers or any similar wireless
device used to send/receive communica
tions or data. Devices such as earpieces,
headphones and smart watches are per
mitted to be used (as they are not
required to be held).
Wireless telecommunication devices
do not include Radios, CB Radios, com
mercial two-way radios, subscription
based emergency communications
devices, prescribed medical devices,
amateur / ham radios, and in-vehicle
navigation/security/remote diagnostic s
systems.
Drivers may not write, send or receive
any text based communication; however
such prohibition shall not apply to a
voice based communication which is
automatically converted by such device
to be sent as a message in written form.
Drivers may not watch a video or
movie on a wireless telecommunications
device or a stand-alone electronic device
other than watching data related to the
navigation of such vehicle.
Drivers may not record or broadcast a
video on a wireless telecommunications
device or a stand-alone electronic device.
This provision does not apply to continu
ously recording or broadcasting video
within or outside a vehicle. An example
of this could be a dash camera.
The law also provides restrictions on
the use of wireless telecommunication
devices by School Bus Drivers and
Commercial Vehicle Operators. A bus
driver may not operate a wireless tele
communication device or a two way
radio when loading or unloading passen
gers. The driver of a school bus shall not
use or operate a wireless telecommuni
cation device, while the bus is in motion,
unless it is being used in a similar man
ner as a two-way radio to allow for live
communication between the driver and
school officials or public safety officials.
Commercial Vehicle Operators shall
not use more than a single button on a
wireless telecommunications device to
initiate or terminate a voice communica
tion. These operators shall not reach for
a wireless telecommunications device or
stand-alone electronic device unless the
driver remains in a seated driving posi
tion and remains fully restrained by a
safety belt.
It is important for our community to
know and understand these new laws.
We encourage questions and recommend
personal responsibility and education.
Your sheriff’s office fully supports this
new law; as we believe it can and will
save lives.
Honored to serve as your sheriff,
Jeff Johnson
Dawsonville
DICKYARBROUGH
Columnist
