Newspaper Page Text
A6 Fayette County News
Wednesday, February 1,2023
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints aid in Griffin Cleanup Efforts
More than 300 local
volunteers from The
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints aided in
cleanup efforts projects
around Griffin to help
families and residents af
fected by the EF-3 tornado
that hit Spalding County
in January.
Volunteers came from
congregations in Griffin,
Thomaston, Fayetteville,
Brooks, Jonesboro,
Sharpsburg, Peachtree
City, Newnan, and Car
rollton on Saturday, and
helped at more than 14
different locations
throughout the city.
“Our hearts and
prayers go out to all those
affected by the recent tor
nadoes in our com
munity,” said Rob
Richards, Fayetteville
Stake President of The
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. “We are
also grateful we could
offer a hand of service and
provide help where and
when it is needed most.”
Much of the group’s
work involved helping res
idents clean up fallen
trees, limbs, and debris in
yards. They also helped
with the removal of a large
tree that had fallen in the
cemetery of Mt. Pleasant
Baptist Church in Griffin.
“My heart always goes
out to those that are deal
ing with having their
homes or their yards de
stroyed,” said David
Nielsen, a volunteer from
the Brooks congregation
in Fayetteville. “I’m glad
that I can share some of
my time to help if it means
less for them to worry
about.”
One family that re
ceived help sat in their car
as the tornado hit, and
watched large trees fall
around them. Before Sat
urday’s work, the family
had not been able to move
their car from their yard
because downed trees
were blocking the way.
Another group that
worked on removal of a
Crime Update,
Continued from Front
taking, at 43 percent. The
next two top crimes were
shoplifting and entering
auto at 29 percent. The top
“Part I” crime, however,
was larceny.
Fraud reports in 2022
increased 26 percent from
2021, including identity
thefts, transaction card
fraud, cryptocurrency
fraud, email and malware
scams, and others, accord
ing to the report.
When it came to traffic
trends, Peachtree City Po
lice reported 966 roadway
crashes with only six per
cent of those having re-
Ludwig,
Continued from A4
day I bumped into a wall
because I lost my balance
turning a corner. In my
own house. Either that, or
there was a powerful mag
netic force field at work
pulling on my dental im
plants (I’m no scientist,
but it probably wasn’t
that).
The very next day, I lost
my balance simply stand
ing in one spot to - ahem -
take care of business. I
won’t say what that busi
ness was, but I will tell you
that Cindy made me clean
up the little mess I made.
But I’m learning. When
Cindy and I hike on Pine
Mountain, I use walking
poles. When I’m having a
“bad balance day,” I’m
considering using them
when I go running. That
way they could serve a
dual purpose as my run
ning poles.
I even use walking
poles when I make the trek
down and back up my long
driveway to get the mail.
(Just kidding; I drive the
golf cart for that.)
I took a yoga class sev
eral years ago. While my
bendiness improved - it’s
called namaste, Latin for
“no starch” - my balance
didn’t change. When the
instructor asked us to as
sume the flamingo pose -
which means standing on
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large tree that had fallen credible experience to join
at Mt. Pleasant Baptist those of different faiths
Church said it was an in- and backgrounds to help a
ported injures, and three
fatalities, due to DUIs. As
golf carts are also used as
modes of transportation in
the area, 22 cart crashes
were reported, with 19 cart
crashes involving injuries.
The report continued
to state that 51 percent of
traffic stops resulted in ci
tations, while 49 percent
of traffic stops resulted in
warnings only.
Trends listed in the re
port were counted from
2019 to 2022, with 2022
having the highest number
of DUI arrests (273) and
felony drug arrests (184).
PCPD is currently look
ing to hire new officers and
members to its team.
one leg -1 moved my mat
over by the nearest wall so
I could put my palm on it
to keep from falling over.
I often wonder how
gymnasts can do all those
amazing things on the bal
ance beam. Did you know
a balance beam is only
four inches wide? I’m cer
tain I couldn’t walk on a
balance beam that was
four times that width.
Maybe if it was four feet
wide, I might stand a fight
ing chance.
How about those amaz
ing people able to walk on
a high wire? The width of
the steel cable is only an
inch, sometimes even less.
Can you imagine what
would happen if they fell?
I have trouble walking a
straight line on a sidewalk,
where there’s not even any
real fear of falling (al
though, let’s be honest,
you know that I have).
I have about as much of
a chance of balancing on a
beam or performing on a
high wire as I do of flap
ping my arms real fast and
soaring with the eagles.
What’s the point of
mentioning all of this? I’m
not really sure, other than
to offer this warning: If
you see me coming, you
might want to go the other
way.
Either that, or help me
get back up on my feet
when I inevitably fall
down.
group that was praying for
assistance.
“To recognize that I
was an answer to some
one’s prayer made me feel
like I was on the Lord’s er
rand,” said Craig Sultan of
Fayetteville. “My heart
was full and I made
friends that I wouldn’t
have if I didn’t offer serv
ice today.”
Several other groups
helped families through
out the city who had large
trees to cut and remove
from their yards. Vol
unteers showed up as
early as 8 a.m. and worked
throughout the day.
“It was amazing that
we were all able to get to
work so quickly,” said
Mike Donaldson, from the
Fayetteville congregation.
“So many hands made for
light work. We all worked
in unison and harmony.
By noon, we had com
pleted the cleanup. It was
a great testimony to the
selflessness of all of those
involved.”
Studdard,
Continued from A4
pull.
Among the viewers of
Baldwin’s trigger confab
was none other than the
Santa Fe County District
Attorney Mary Carmack-
Altwies and special prose
cutor Andrea Reeb. Ah,
they mused, while reopen
ing their partially closed
briefs, a smoking (pun in
tended) gun; the guy’s a
liar, as well. Indictments to
follow.
As a denouement to this
article, I ask you to circle
back to the first paragraph.
Mr. Baldwin, you should
have just shut the hell up.
Harper,
Continued from A4
sent stock and bond in
vestments show declines
for 2022, meaning there
will be few capital gains on
investments to tax.
Real estate prices have
peaked and, in some areas,
declined slightly, with
transaction volumes also
declining. Fewer trans
actions with relatively
stable prices means fewer
one-time capital gains
here as well.
While the state will
surely capture some cap
ital gains taxes this year,
the amount shouldn’t be
anywhere near the level
paid when Georgians filed
their taxes for 2021’s
profits and paid taxes on
the windfall. More trouble
some, because of quirks in
tax code changes at the
federal and state level, it’s
possible that some taxes
paid to the state over the
past 12 months are actual
overpayments, and the
state will owe a reasonable
portion of this surplus
back to taxpayers as re
funds.
Because of the one
time nature of this surge in
revenue, the governor’s
budget team and the legis
lature are both reluctant to
embark on new spending
for recurring programs,
which would assume this
money will come in this
year and again the next.
Instead, a large portion of
it will be rebated back to
taxpayers.
The governor’s budget
plan before lawmakers in
cludes rebates to Geor
gians who filed income
taxes, as well as one-time
grants to those who pay
property taxes, in order to
offset expected property
tax increases that come
with rising home values.
It was roughly a decade
ago that Georgia’s rainy-
day fund was empty and
we were furloughing state
employees and teachers to
make the expenses match
the revenue. While our
economy has transformed
and grown steadily since,
the lessons of these hard
times are not lost on those
writing the budgets of
today.
Surpluses are better
than deficits. The proper
disposition of a surplus
goes a long way to prevent
the deficits of tomorrow.
