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DawsonOpinion
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5,2018
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.
Gov. Deal proof
that nice guys
can finish first
I dropped by Gov. Nathan Deal’s office recently
for a visit. In little over a month-and-a-half, our
82nd governor will be our newest former governor.
My timing could not have been better. The gover
nor seemed happy to see me. (Not the kind of reac
tion I usually get from many of our public offi
cials.) What was supposed to be a 30-minute
appointment stretched to almost an hour. Good for
me. Bad for those in
charge of scheduling
his time.
I asked the governor
his reaction to the just
completed governor’s
race. “I am glad it is
over,” he laughed.
Aren’t we all. On a
serious note, he said it was obvious that our current
election laws will be a major debate going forward.
The governor cautioned that whatever changes are
considered will likely be expensive and can’t be
accomplished overnight or perhaps even within the
next two years. But it is an issue that is not going
away. Be prepared.
In my not-so-humble opinion, Deal has been a
good governor. There were a few bumps in the road
along the way — an ethics investigation while still
a member of Congress, questions regarding pay
ments to his daughter-in-law’s fundraising compa
ny during his re-election campaign and the famous
— or infamous — Snowmageddon debacle of
2014.
Today as he prepares to leave office, Deal’s
approval ratings are extremely high. A recent sur
vey by the Atlanta newspapers showed that more
than 85 percent of Republicans in the state approve
of his performance as well as 48 percent of
Democrats. Want further proof of his popularity? In
one of the most acrimonious partisan elections in
memory, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and
former House minority leader Stacey Abrams ran
television ads touting her good working relation
ship with the governor.
And why not? He leaves office with the state in
excellent financial health. The state’s Quality Basic
Education formula for K-12 was fully funded for
the first time ever and he has instituted a major
overhaul of our criminal justice system, making it
one of the best if not the best in the nation. (Note: I
am a member of the State Board of Juvenile
Justice.) He has also appointed more judges in his
time in office than any governor in history.
He proudly points out the expansion of the
HOPE Grant, a scholarship that pays 100 percent
of tuition for students to attend technical colleges to
learn skills that are in high demand for Georgia’s
workforce as well as establishing the REACH
Georgia Scholarship, a public-private partnership
that provides scholarships to promising middle
school students from low-income families.
He has dealt with the tough decisions a governor
has to make without engaging in the shrill name
calling and denigration that seem to be a part of the
current political environment. He vetoed the
Religious Liberty bill passed by the General
Assembly. He restored the tax cut to Delta Air
Lines by executive order after legislators dropped it
in retaliation for Delta halting a discount program
with the National Rifle Association. (The
Legislature restored the tax break during their
recent special session.) In both cases, the response
to his decisive actions was remarkably mute. It is
obvious that the governor walks softly but has a big
stick and knows how to use it.
How has he managed to get things done without
threats and tub-thumping? “My wife (first lady
Sandra Deal) is always reminding me to be nice,”
he laughs. Then adds, “I think you should always
try to educate before you advocate.” The governor
says he tries to let the public and lawmakers know
what he is proposing and why, and then getting
their input.
One of the examples he uses is the comprehen
sive transportation bill passed in 2015 to maintain
and repair Georgia roads and bridges that required
an increased gasoline tax and an extra fee on hotel
stays.
On the other hand, an attempt at an Opportunity
School District, which would have established an
office for a second state superintendent who would
have reported to the governor, was soundly defeat
ed by voters in a referendum. “We got out ahead of
ourselves on that one,” he admits. Since then, the
General Assembly has passed a similar concept
creating a “turnaround officer” to work with under-
performing schools but under the control of the
local school districts.
With a change in administrations upon us, the
state looks like the proverbial duck — gliding
smoothly on the surface but paddling like the dick
ens under water. It is called the transition period.
Gov.-elect Brian Kemp has a team on hand work
ing with those in Gov. Deal’s administration and
getting ready for the handoff. “I am not there to
intrude but will help if the governor-elect asks,”
Deal said. “Gov. (Sonny) Perdue was extremely
helpful to me in our transition and I hope I can do
the same for Gov.-elect Kemp.” I would suggest
Kemp listen closely to the man. He has big shoes to
fill.
With that, we switched gears and talked about
how Deal got from his boyhood home in
Sandersville to the highest office in the state. More
on that next week.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough atdick@dickyarbrough.
com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA 31139; online at
dickyarbrough.com or on Facebook at www.facebook,
com/dickyarb.
DICKYARBROUGH
Columnist
mm m mm
"Wow! Who knew helping support the
community could be such a great bargain?"
December babies know the pain
It never fails.
On the first day of
December, my husband
starts reminding “some
one’s got a birthday com
ing up.”
I cringe.
That someone is me.
I cringe, not because I
dread getting older.
That part doesn’t really
bother me; I am now at the
stage of life where I am
looking forward to becom
ing that crazy old Southern
woman that shocks people.
No, the part that bothers
me is that my birthday is
the week before Christmas.
You folks with birthdays
in other months just do not
understand this pain.
The only good thing
about having a birthday the
week before Christmas was
that it was usually the day
school got out for the
break.
But celebration wise, to
quote Seuss, it stink, stank,
stunk.
“We’re having the
Christmas party at church
on the 17th,” Granny would
say. “Consider that your
party.”
“But, that’s not my birth
day and it is the Christmas
party,” was my response.
“Well, your mother’s
working and I ain’t got
time to throw you a party.
You think you too good to
celebrate on the day we
celebrate Baby Jesus?”
I shook my head. The old
gal knew just how to shame
me.
“Well, good. And any
gifts you get at church is
SUDIE CROUCH
Columnist
for your birthday.”
You know what I got?
I got socks and books.
No underwear, thankful
ly, as that is not proper to
be given at church, even if
wrapped in red, shiny
paper.
“So, this is my birthday
present?” I asked as we
drove home afterwards.
“You may have another
special one under the tree
at the house,” Granny said.
A special one under the
tree. Hmmm.. .1 wonder
what that could be?
Had the old gal felt pity
on me for getting socks and
a new Garfield comic book
as my birthday?
“You gotta wait until
your birthday though,” she
said. “But it will be worth
it.”
I was so excited. I knew I
had two sleeps until I could
wake up and get something
awesome, something
incredible, something
Granny herself had
described as special.
The day of my actual
birthday, I woke up early
even though I didn’t have
to go to school. I ran down
the hall, hoping Granny
would let me have the gift
before she went to work.
“You’re up early!” she
exclaimed when she saw
me. “Couldn’t wait to be
one year older, could you?”
I shook my head. Would
she give it to me now? Did I
need to go wake Mama? I
hated waking her but if this
was special, she should see it,
too.
“Eat some breakfast and
then I will let you get your
gift.”
She shoved a plate of bis
cuits and sausage in front
of me because she did not
believe cereal was a proper
meal.
I was almost too excited
to eat. I saw a big box
under the tree, and knew it
had my name on it.
Pop had already checked
it out and was disappointed
it wasn’t his.
“You got the biggest one
under the tree,” he told me.
“She better not have me a
tie or something. I only
wear that stuff on Sundays;
it ain’t getting worn out.”
Granny was about to
leave and hadn’t given me
my gift yet. Had she for
gotten?
“Granny?” I began.
“Yeah?”
“Are you forgetting
something?”
“Oh! You are waiting on
your birthday gift. No, I
didn’t forget,” she began.
She sat her purse down.
“Go get that gift over
there.”
She was pointing to the
big box.
“The big one?” I asked,
just to be sure.
She nodded.
Oh, sweet son of a bis
cuit eater. Whatever this
was, was going to be good.
I ran to it, eager to tear
the paper off. I knew
Granny had probably re
used the bows from the last
seven Christmases, so I
wasn’t worried about being
careful with them.
I opened the large, white
box, full of anticipation.
And found a long,
brushed flannel granny
gown with a pink ribbon at
the neckline.
“It was so big, I didn’t
think I’d ever find a box to
put it in. It’s going to get
cold the next few weeks;
you’ll need it before
Christmas.”
And with that, the old
gal, headed out the door to
work.
A flannel gown. My big,
special birthday gift was a
flannel gown.
A few years before it had
been footy pajamas, so per
haps this was a step up.
“I’m the only child that
gets a granny gown for
their birthday,” I muttered.
“No, you aren’t,” my
grandfather said.
“Name me one more.”
Pop chewed his biscuit as
the thought.
“I don’t know their
names. But it’s all them
other December babies.
That’s who.”
Sudie Crouch is an award
winning humor columnist and
author of the recently e-pub-
lished novel, "The Dahlman
Files: A Tony Dahlman
Paranormal Mystery."
"Leave that thermostat alone! You've
already made allowances for global warming!"