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Lake Oconee News
Friday, Dec. 11,2015
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Grocery delivery
comes knocking
on your door
Nothing wrong with
Kroger or Ingles. I’ve
shopped at both and found
enough to gorge myself
at both places. They both
have a big aisle of sugary
cereals and a well-stocked
goyum deli at either joint.
Just so happens I troll
the aisles at Publix at the
lake because I work a
few doors down between
the grocery store and the
movie theater.
They’ve got super service
at Publix. The ladies who of course, another blissful
pack the chicken boxes goodbye kiss from my wife
know to get me two when I leave for work,
pounds of tenders. Dudes However, dear readers,
stocking shelves will stop you know that’s another
in their tracks to track story for another time,
down stuff my sweet wife, The baggers at Publix
the curvaceous and vi- always ask if I want them
vacious Lovely Loretta, to carry the stuff out to the
has epicurean hankerings H3 and toss it in the back,
for - like chives in a jar or Sure as shooting, I do.
apricots in a foil bag. Matter of fact, what I
When I get to the really want is for them to
checkout line, the bagger carry the bags of grocer-
will often unload the cart ies over the bridge and
for me and set the items on through the woods to the
the conveyor belt. I get to house. In addition, I want
practice my telepathy and them to carry the bags into
flirt silently with a pretty the house and put the stuff
lady ringing it all up, who away for me.
usually asks if I found You may think I’m
what I was looking for. Dave-dreaming again.
I found the Lovely However, dreams do come
Loretta in Chicago more true,
than 25 years ago, so the I talked with Tedi Tur-
answer is always yes. Dear nipseed the other day. She
dad in heaven, God bless just bought a WeGoShop
your sweet-n-sour soul, franchise and has begun
the only things I really servicing Greensboro and
want any more is another
10 minutes with you, and SEE BROWN » A7
Brown
Managing Editor
Actions speak louder than words
Recently, while attending
the Greene County School
System and Chamber of
Commerce Legislative
Breakfast, I heard a trend of
political candidates talking
about wanting to bridge the
gap that plagues Greene
County.
The gap, that everyone
talks about but always
seems to be ignored, is typ
ically defined by the Inter
state 20 bridge at exit 130.
Now, I have only worked
here for a little more than
a year, so I am no expert.
However, this gap in the
community was evident to
me as soon as I started my
first day on the job.
While there is a literal
Gutknecht
Reporter
bridge that crosses over the
interstate, the gap in the
community - from what
I have seen - truly comes
up most often during the
discussion of education in
the county. See, there is one
school on the south side of
the bridge, and that one
school has rocked the edu
cation boat in this county to
the point of almost sinking.
I applaud the candidates
looking to fill the vacant
board seats throughout
Greene for their plan to
make a change bridging the
literal bridge that goes over
Interstate 20. However, I
hope it isn’t just an election
technique.
The candidates are right,
something must be done.
In my opinion, however,
that something needs to
be done now. While it may
seem like a great campaign
platform, it doesn’t need to
wait that long. The process
of ridding this terrible gap
needs to start now.
Not wanting to point any
fingers at anyone who has
run, or is currently running,
for office, but politicians are
known to pick buzz words
and run with them during
their campaigns, only
to drop them as soon as
they’re nominated. I hope
this is not the case with this
critical issue.
I don’t have the answers,
nor do I think it is my re
sponsibility to produce
them. I do, however, have
hope for a better Greene
County, and I don’t think
I’m the only one.
It is time to join together
and bridge the gap.
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BGGS 6 ISSUES
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“The eggs are okay. It’s the issues that are hard to swallow.”
The pain of separation
How do you separate
leaves from gravel? That
became the puzzle last
weekend as again I rounded
mounds of leaf-fall off the
yard and into the woods.
My tools of choice are a
standard leaf rake and a
green plastic tarp. I scoot
leaves aboard, roll the tarp
at both sides and sled the
laden cloth to the edge of
the yard like a sack of toys,
though the goodies in this
pack I hope to never see
again, one round of play
being more than enough to
satisfy. It was actually my
second go at clearing this
Jeff
Warren
Reporter
year’s persistent leaf drop.
I’m hoping this sweep will
do me until Santa flies. The
whole point is to convince
him I’ve been a good little
boy.
Now about that gravel;
I live at a house with a
driveway of the stuff.
Wanting leaves off the
drive as much as the grass,
I discovered the challenge
of separating dead leaves
from stones. A rake is not
particular. Even with the
lightest tool play, some
pebbles come along for the
ride. During previous leaf
clearing, I plain avoided the
issue. On the driveway, I let
leaves just lay where they
would. That was not very
satisfying in the end: leaves
off the grass; leaves in the
road.
My problem brought to
mind a parable Jesus told,
a fable about wheat and
weeds. Where both sprout
up green, how do you tell
the keepers from the culls?
His answer was to leave
them alone and sort it out
later.
Could it work with leaves
and stones? Pile both on the
tarp, dump the mix in the
woods and leave it to some
future archaeologist to sort
things out. Troweling down
through layers of compost,
he might happen on a pile
of pebbles, figuring it for a
cairn of some significance,
a trail or boundary marker,
a place of cultural impor
tance in alignment with the
stars. Most theories include
some room for error.
Winnowing leaves from
stones raises another issue:
which is the keeper? Neither
seems packed with appeal,
though both are useful
where correctly applied.
Dead rotted leaves make
good garden soil, a starting
place for growing things.
Pebbles in my drive keep
it from going all mud and
turning slippery. Despite
the negative “I got a rock” of
an old Charlie Brown tele
vision special, a rock can
be a happy find where you
happen to need one.
I decided rocks and
leaves, dead as they are,
both hold a kind of value,
and if they combine incon
veniently in my driveway,
that’s a problem I have to
work around without really
solving. The parable Jesus
told found resolution where
keepers and cast-offs were
finally separated at the end,
but that kind of work belongs
to a higher pay grade than
do guys who rake leaves.
Lake Oconee News
President / Publisher A. Mark Smith
Vice President Jo Ann Smith
Editor Dave Brown
Sports Editor T. Michael Stone
Staff Writer Jackie Gutknecht
Staff Writer Leila Scoggins
Staff Writer Lynn Hobbs
Staff Writer Jeff Warren
Advertising Manager Mark Smith Jr.
Advertising Representative Cindy Dycus
Advertising Representative Shawn Humphrey
Advertising Representative Tom Gorman
Advertising Representative Norm Agran
Advertising Representative Alicia Goss
National Advertising Manager Amy Hood
Legal Advertising/Circulation Becky Meyer
Circulation Manager Matt Smith
Technology Manager Josh Lurie
Graphic Artist Ali Henderson
Graphic Artist Mark Brill
Business Manager Cassandra Fowler
DEDICATION
Battle B. Smith, Editor and Publisher, 1956-1988
Micky Smith, Editor and Publisher, 1989-2003
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State and Federal Elected Officials
Gov. Nathan Deal (R)
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-1776
Web/e-mail:
gagovernor.org
Sen. David Perdue
(R)
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Office Building
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Phone: 202-224-3521
Sen. Burt Jones (R)
407 East Second St.,
Jackson, GA 30233
Phone: (770) 775-4880
Fax: (770) 234-6752
Sen. Johnny Isakson
(R)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3643
Rep. Dave Belton (R)
401-B Coverdell Legislative
Office Bldg.
Atlanta, GA 30334
404.656.0152-Office
dc.belton@house.ga.gov
Rep. Jody Hice (R)
1516 Longworth House
Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4101
Fax: (202) 226-0776
Rep. Trey Rhodes (R)
Room 612-B Coverdell
Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-0325
trey.rhodes@house.ga.gov
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