About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2017)
A4 Lake Oconee News Friday, Sept. 8,2017 Start the conversation Send us your opinions by Monday at 1 p.m. news@lakeoconeenews.us Are you irrelevant if your team is? I saw an article on bleach- erreport.com last week that tried to rank every college football program in terms of relevance. It was called “How Much Does Your College Football Team Matter?” Who can resist such a tease? So I read it knowing that it would probably contain some unpleasant news. And it did. My alma mater, Georgia State University, ranked 129th out of 130 teams listed, meaning that my school is nearly the most irrelevant in all of college football. The Charlotte University 49ers were named college football’s least important team in the report. Naturally, the SEC dom inated with Alabama in the top spot, LSU No. 2, Georgia sixth, Florida eighth and Auburn 10th. Michigan finished 11th and might have finished higher if Buddy Holly had not been hired to coach the team. Georgia Tech ranked 39th, but the man who wrote article said Georgia Tech has never won a national championship. Not true, of course, they have won four, but only one since helmets were invented. But after careful consid eration, I realized that rel evance is largely made up nonsense. You might bean Alabama fan, might have a degree from the place if such Associate Editor things actually exist, and you might even know the supremely relevant Nick Saban. Doesn’t mean that you matter all that much. Nick may only tolerate you because you donate a lot of money to the program. In that case, your money is relevant, but you aren’t. Don’t let it get you down, though. Nick Saban is a great football coach, but he has never cut my grass or washed my towels. Why should I give hoot about the man? But you might hate Alabama. You might be one of the lucky ones who have season tickets to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes roar onto the field in Columbus every Saturday. And you might imagine that you are special while sitting in a big horseshoe that holds 104,000 people, all of them so relevant biographers are lining up to pen their stories. You might even be a college man from LSU who SEE STONE » A9 I'm here to work for pou Smith Communica tions may sign my check; however, I work for you. So, with that said, please don’t hesitate to let me know how I can be of service to you. Journalism is the only profession guaranteed by the United States Constitu tion. Our forefathers thought so highly of the press, and its importance, that they included it in the First Amendment. The press is, unofficial ly, the fourth branch of the government. And that’s a pretty big responsibility. It is a respon sibility that I take seriously. You may not have elected me but I will work to make sure I have your vote...of James Morton Staff Wrier confidence, at least. It is a great honor to serve your community; it is an extraordinary duty to be part of your triumphs and tribulations; it is a blessing to earn a living listening to and writing your stories. It is a privilege to work with you to make our com munity better. I am here for you. I am here to hold the powerful accountable, to ensure your tax dollars are being put to good use, to safe guard against injustice, to ask the tough questions of our leaders and public servants... ...Dear Reader, I am here to be your voice in our com munity. In these matters, I vow to herein fail you not; I promise to serve you. But... I need your help. I need your emails and your phone calls and your news tips; I need your conversations and your handshakes, I need your questions and concerns and your opinions about our community. My contact information is below; you can tear it out and use it as a temporary business card until we meet in person. Although, my time is usually very limited, I try to keep an open door— or email, or phone call or letter to the editor, etc. — policy for my readers, always trying to make time...so, please..., don’t hesitate to call on me for community matters. James M. Morton Reporter / Photographer Lake Oconee News Office: (706) 342-9833 Fax: (706) 342-1292 Cell: (706) 818-2591 E-mail: james@msgr.com Twitter: @LakeOconeeJames HELP WANTED NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED ^}\}gov. s [We r SEAT STATE *1 EMPLOYMENT j - -/y "We don't have anything right now requiring your skill set, but we do have a lot of unskilled jobs coming available." Twenty years ago and some ruined shoes at Notre Dame Oh my, how times flies when you’re having this much fun! Hello dear readers. Welcome back to this tiny ink spot in your favorite community newspaper. Some of you may recall, I won Humor Columnist of the Year from the Georgia Press Association for this paper in 2016. In 2017, I won both Serious Colum nist and Sports Columnist for our sister publication, The Eatonton Messenger. I guess the folks at the GPA Dave Brown Staff Wrier figured I wasn’t even third- place funny anymore. However, with Georgia set to play the Fighting Irish on Saturday, I’m going to take a calculated chance on regaling you with a topical funny story from exactly 20 years ago in 1997 when I covered my first Notre Dame game. Not only was I younger, but also much thinner, plying my trade as a sports editor in Indiana when none other the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ventured north to open the season at recently-renovat ed Notre Dame Stadium. The Fighting Irish con glomerate had just poured some $50 million into the iconic site in the shadows of Touchdown Jesus. Some folks think calling it Touchdown Jesus is blas phemy, but the Catholic contingent the university serves must not. Touch down Jesus is actually a mammoth mosaic mural depiction of Christ holding both hands in the air (like a referee signaling touchdown) on the library building on the Notre Dame campus. For those of you going to South Bend, it is just a short walk away from the football stadium and well worth the stroll. You’ll also get to see some Yankees eating fried chicken, which is hilarious in itself when they can’t tell the difference from a thigh and a breast in the bucket, and oddly enough, also wipe their greasy hands on the thighs of their pants. Anyway, they served bar becued dirt and hotdogs with soggy buns in the new glass-enclosed press box, which was two stories high with neither air condition ing nor ventilation. The writers with hair looked like they had just stepped out of a shower right before kickoff. At halftime, I ran for the press box door to gasp for fresh air and smoke a right-handed cigarette. I stepped into a creek bed of running water, and it didn’t look or smell like a SEE BROWN » A7 Lake Oconee News General Excellence Award Winner 2015-2016 GEORGIA PRESS ASSOCIATION President / Publisher A. Mark Smith Vice President Jo Ann Smith Vice President, General Manager Mark Smith Jr. Vice President, Circulation Matt Smith Vice President Michael Smith Associate Editor T. Michael Stone Sports Editor Justin Hubbard Staff Writer James Morton Staff Writer Dave Brown Display Advertising Manager Vicki Parker Advertising Representative Anjie Brown Advertising Representative Tom Gorman Advertising Representative Michael Payne Advertising Representative Shannon Thompson Advertising Representative Daniel Harwell Eatonton Messenger Associate Editor Lynn Hobbs Lakelife Editor Beverly Harvey Lakelife Associate Editor Hank Segars National Advertising Manager Amy Hood Legal Advertising/Circulation Becky Meyer Production and Technology Manager Josh Lurie Graphic Artist Lindsay Pilcher Graphic Artist Mark Brill Business Manager Cassandra Fowler DEDICATION Battle B. Smith EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1956-1988 Micky Smith EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1989-2003 ADVERTISING, NEWS AND INFORMATION Lake Oconee 1106 MARKET ST. • GREENSBORO 706-454-1290 Fax 706-454-1292 Madison 195 W. JEFFERSON ST. 706-342-9833 Fax 706-342-9839 Call 706-485-3501 for subscription information Subscription Rates One Year Two Years Putnam, Morgan, Greene counties $35 $65 Other Georgia counties $45 $80 Out of Georgia $55 $95 Postmaster: Send address changes to the ,1106 Market St., Greensboro, GA 30642. Periodicals postage paid at Greensboro, GA 30642. The (USPS 024-046) is published every Friday by Smith Communications Inc., 1106 Market St., Greensboro, GA 30642. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the and individual writers only. 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) B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 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 The deadline to submit letters to the editor each week is Monday at 1 p.m. Send letters and other news to news@lakeoconeenews.us
