Wednesday, November 21,2018
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 7A
Special session for
Hurricane Michael relief
The blessings of having
trials and tribulations
By Sen. Steve Gooch
On Oct. 10, a category 3 hurricane
moved across southwest Georgia, one
of the most important areas of our state
for agriculture and forestry. As we
know, this storm devastated a part of
our state in ways we have never
seen before, and some have
called it “the largest timber
catastrophe in our nation’s his
tory.”
Thousands of acres of pine,
pecan and hardwood trees were
destroyed and ready-to-harvest
cotton, peanut and produce
yields were damaged. Overall,
this hurricane has cost our state
billions and left people feeling dis
heartened and overwhelmed.
But thankfully, with the help of con
cerned citizens across the state, as well
as proactive leaders, southwest Georgia
will recover. And that is what this spe
cial session is about, helping them on
the road to recovery with legislation
aimed at helping individuals whose
livelihood was destroyed.
Our southwest Georgia farmers, and
particularly those who have timber
plots (approximately 79,000 acres were
destroyed), were impacted in ways that
will leave this region’s landscape
changed for years to come.
The first bill that passed the Senate
with unanimous support will help
farmers and citizens recover is House
Bill 1EX which amends the Fiscal Year
2019 budget to include $270.8 million
in additional appropriations for
Hurricane Michael disaster relief.
These funds will be utilized in
Southwest Georgia where the storm
left a path of destruction resulting in an
approximate $2.5 billion loss to the
timber and agriculture industries.
Below is a breakdown of some of the
funding:
• $69.3 million will be appropriated
to the Governor’s Emergency Fund
(GEF) to pay the state match for the
federal disaster assistance approved by
the President’s Administration.
• $6.8 million so that Georgia can
help cover costs local governments
sustained for recovery at the local
level.
• $55 million for the Georgia
Development Authority so they can
provide assistance to Georgia farmers
in the counties devastated by the storm.
• $69.3 million for the Department of
Transportation (GDOT) through state
general and motor fuel funds resulting
from HB 170 to be used to assist with
clean up and recovery efforts. GDOT
will also have some costs offset by fed
eral reimbursement.
Secondly, HB 4EX is a bill
introduced to help those who
owned timber recover. I know
many will wonder why we have
decided to single out this indus
try, but there is good reason for
that. First, timber is not insured
federally, but crops like cotton
and peanuts are. Second, trees
are not a yearly harvest. Instead,
they are harvested every 25
years at best and their return on invest
ment is minimal. Many farmers use
unproductive fields for trees as they are
a sort of “safety net” in times of poor
crop yield. We hope that this bill,
which will allow timberland owners
whose trees were damaged by
Hurricane Michael to apply for an
income tax credit, will encourage them
to keep their timber tracks. The tax
credit will be capped at $200 million
overall and at $400 per acre damaged,
applies to land with catastrophic or
severe damage and cannot be applied
until the land owner has replanted
trees.
Fastly, as required by the
Constitution, the legislature is required
to take action on Executive Orders of
the Governor since the last session of
the General Assembly. Therefore, the
Senate and House ratified the
Governor’s Appointments and
Executive Order that halted the sales
and use tax on jet fuel.
Overall, these pieces of legislation
will offer farmers the opportunity to get
back up on their feet. I know that if
north Georgia was in a similar position,
our friends from the south would pull
out all the stops to help us. Please do
not hesitate to reach out to my office
with any questions you may have. My
staff and I are always here to help.
Sen. Steve Gooch serves as the Senate
Majority Whip. He represents the 51st
Senate District which includes Dawson,
Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Union and White
counties and portions of Forsyth and
Pickens counties. He may be reached at
(404) 656-9221 or via email at Steve.gooch@
senate.ga.gov.
Sometimes, it’ll come up in conversa
tion among family. We’ll repeat it.
We’ll remember it. But we’ll still strug
gle to under
stand it.
In every
prayer we ever
heard Daddy
utter publicly —
either in church,
at a family gath
ering, or as he
blessed the food
— he’d always say, “Dear Lord, we
thank you for the trials and tribulations
of this life, knowing they bring us clos
er to thy Almighty hand.”
What? Thankful for the trials and
tribulations? He never waivered. He
said it always and practiced it faithfully.
In the hardest of times, Daddy thanked
God openly and often. He’d say, “Let
us learn what you’d have us to learn in
the midst of this storm.”
Let me be frank: 2018 has not been
my favorite. It seems
like most days have been
a struggle in one way or
another. Deadlines were
unrelenting. Too many at
one time. Aggravations
of this or that. The
kudzu grew at a record
pace. Burt Reynolds
died. This, after I’d spent
a week trying to chase
him down, two months
earlier, in Jupiter, Fla.
My migraines increased and stomach
pains were so strong for so long that I
began to think I could feel cancer eat
ing away at the lining. It turned out to
be ulcers from a bacterial infection that
was so serious that it took four weeks,
twice daily, massive antibiotics to heal.
Tink would say, “But look at how
blessed we are.”
He’s right.
Sometimes when I was pressing
toward a hard deadline and I’d sigh,
Tink would ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Well,” I’d reply. “I don’t feel good.”
Pause. “And Burt Reynolds died.”
I sought to find what there was to
learn and why I should be grateful. Yes,
I was closer to the Almighty hand. The
Lord and I talked pretty constantly
even as I was running from the jaws of
a growling deadline.
Then one day, in the midst of much
gnashing of teeth, I thought of Thomas
Dorsey. Suddenly, Daddy’s words of
thanksgiving made sense.
In 1932, Dorsey, bom in Villa Rica,
was on the road, making a living as a
blues singer when he received word
that his wife had died in childbirth. His
baby boy died two days later. He came
home to Atlanta, struck to his knees
with grief. Dorsey, the son of a black
preacher, turned to the roots of his
upbringing. One afternoon, he sat
down at the piano and with one hand
began to tap out a haunting melody as
tears ran down his face. In a moment,
his heartbreak gave way to words.
“Precious Lord, take my hand; Lead
me on, help me stand. I’m tired, I’m
weak, I’m worn.”
From his anguish would be bom one
of the most famous gospel songs in his
tory. It was Elvis’ favorite. Dr. Martin
Luther King’s last words before the
shots rang out in Memphis were, “Play
it real purdy,” after asking that it be
sung at the next day’s rally. Mahalia
Jackson sang it at his
funeral and, later,
President Lyndon
Johnson was laid to
rest as it was sung, as
well.
Once I heard Darrell
Waltrip singing it as he
sauntered through a
parking lot toward a
restaurant. “That’s my
favorite hymn,” he said.
It is sung faithfully at
every family funeral of ours. It’s pow
erful. It’s tears-inducing. But it’s
mighty in its comfort.
Dorsey would further channel his
grief into another gospel standard,
“(There Will Be) Peace In The Valley.”
One man’s torment, his trials, his
heartbreak gave to the world two of the
most comforting hymns in history. For
this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for
that. Let me close with the words that
ended every public prayer of Daddy’s:
“Now, dear Lord, we bow our unwor
thy heads and give you the honor, the
praise and the glory for it all.”
That includes migraines and stom
achaches.
Amen.
Florida Rich is the best-selling author of the
new book, Let Me Tell You Something. Visit
www.rondarich.com to sign up for herfree
weekly newsletter.
Gooch
One man's torment,
his trials, his
heartbreak gave to
the world two of
the most comforting
hymns in history.
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