Newspaper Page Text
Page A6
Lake Oconee News
Friday, December 22,2017
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Members of the
Greensboro Garden
Club recently met
at Pike's Nursery
for a Christmas
inspired workshop.
Pike's manager.
Ivy Holloway,
demonstrated how to
use natural materials
found in your yard
to decorate for the
holidays. Wreaths and
table arrangements
were created, as well
as tips on how to care
for your poinsettias so
they last throughout
the holiday season.
The Garden Club
extends thanks to
Pike's for their time
and wishes everyone
a very happy and safe
holiday season.
Parks
Continued from A4
Davis and Bill Cosgrove.
Theymakefrequenttrips
to World War II battlefields
and cemeteries in Europe,
matching battle zones with
maps andconnectingthose
dots with fallen heroes who
never got to start a family.
Never settled down in a
modest home with a back
yard and a picket fence.
Never joined a country
club and played in a regular
foursome.
Never pitched in at
church socials, or with the
Boy Scouts or the PTA.
Like Benjamin F. Parks
(and his buddy Daniel
Eugene Thompson Jr.) both
of whom were graduates of
the University of Georgia
and were tragically killed
as fresh faced soldiers, not
much older than the Hitler
youth later sent into battle.
When Parks, born and
raised in Maysville, a
“freshly minted” lieutenant
and platoon leader, was
rushed to the western edge
ofthe Battle ofthe Bulge, he
and his buddies were made
up of the “greenest” division
which were confronted by
the 2nd SS Panzer Division.
They (panzers) were, as
Bill Cosgrove notes, “not
only battle hardened, but
were responsible for a
number of atrocities during
the war.
They were fanatical fol
lowers of Hitler and had
pledged personal allegiance
to the Fuher.”
Lt. Parks died on
Christmas Eve in his first
hour of combat near Belle
Haie, Belgium. “Although
Ben’s story took place well
to the west of the St. Vith
area, Rod and I included it
on our itinerary,” Cosgrove
says.
He also noted that they
felt they came very close
to where Parks spent his
final hours. “We were,”
says Cosgrove, “within a
hundred feet of the woods
where he was killed.”
As you enjoy the
Christmas season, it is
always good to remember
that with some families it
is not so good. Certainly,
it was not for Ben Parks’
family on Christmas Eve,
1944, although they hadnot
yet heard the news about
his fate.
It was not until five
months later when his
young widow received con
firmation that he had been
killed in action.
There is a good news
side of this bad news story
in that our society seems
inclined to remind suc
cessive generations of the
tragedies of that war and
how brutal the Nazi’s were.
I hope we never let go of
the endless films, documen
taries and literature which
confirms their consequen
tial hate.
Then there are those,
like Bill Cosgrove and Rod
Davis, passionate WWII
aficionado’s, who take the
time to remind us of and
document the courage and
valor of the Ben Parkses of
our history.
Historians, even the
layman enthusiasts, make
an invaluable contribution,
too.
Dixie
Continued from A4
money was scarce and I often
heard how lucky families
were to live in the country
in order to have gardens. (I
know all this seems incredi
ble today.)
At a recent Sunday School
Christmas party, two ladies
were talking about their
many siblings and, during
the 1950s, their small house
had only one bathroom -
something not unusual for
the times. One lady men
tioned that both she and her
sisters shared the single bike
left by Santa. My wife joined
in this conversation by saying
that she and her sisters also
shared presents that Santa
brought.
“For many people,
Christmas is atime of sorrow,”
writes MarthaNoeble for the
CBN network. “They don’t
have the extra money to buy
presents for their children,
family, andfriends. Many are
saddened at Christmastime
when they think oftheir loved
ones who will not be able to
come home for various rea
sons. Turkey dinners maybe
only a wish and not a reality
for some.”
Even with some memories
that are not so good, there
were lot of good times. The
season does involve a lot of
gift-giving and eating turkey.
The month of December is a
wonderful timeforthe Jewish
celebration of Hanukkah and
for others who have memora
ble festivals.
This brings us to today’s
age-old question: Whatisthe
real meaning of Christmas?
‘Yet, Christmas can be a
season of great joy.” Noeble
adds. “It is a time of God
showing His great love for
us. It can be a time of healing
and renewed strength.
You see, Christmas is when
we [as Christians] celebrate
the birth of the Christ child.
God sent His Son, Jesus,
into the world to be born.
His birth brought great joy
to the world.”
And, similarly, for those
of other religions and sects,
this time of year has signifi
cant meanings and can also
be a season of healing and
renewal.
And regardless of our
religious or political per
suasions, maybe it’s a good
time to think about how
benevolent God has been to
us and how we should truly
help others not only during
this season, but throughout
the year.
As I write this few lines,
I am listening to one of my
favorite seasonal songs,
“Christmas in Dixie,” first
recorded in1982by the coun
try band, Alabama.
This was a huge hit and
played often on radio sta
tions, even reentering the
national charts three times
between 1997 and 2000.
The original lyrics written
still remind me of the great
past Christmases when our
children were so young.
These sentiments,
expressed in the original
Alabama lyrics, are wished
for all our faithful readers:
“Christmas in Dixie, it’s
snowing in the pines . .
. Merry Christmas from
Dixie, to everyone tonight..
. God bless you all, We love
ya... Happy New Year, Good
night, Merry Christmas ...
Merry Christmas tonight.”
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Holiday Hours: Tuesday 11-4, Wed-Sat 10-4
State Representative
Dave Belton (R-Buckhead)
was recently honored at
the 2017 National Summit
on Education Reform in
Nashville, Tenn., for his work
on House Bill 139 during the
2017 legislative session of the
Georgia General Assembly.
HB 139, which was recently
signed into law, is a school
fiscal transparency measure
that requires Georgia schools
to report their expenditures.
“More than $25 billion is
spent in Georgia on educa
tion every year, but taxpayers
know very little about where
that money actually goes,”
said Rep. Belton. “Over the
past few years, the Georgia
General Assembly has given
local school boards historic
levels of flexibility. Local
control and flexibility are
wonderful, but transparency
is essential in a constitutional
republic to ensure quality
and accountability and so
that the public feels confi
dent that their money is not
being wasted. As a result of
this legislation, parents and
stakeholders can now access
financial information needed
in order to ask their school
boards pertinent questions.”
The new law requires
school districts to report basic
expenditures at the school
and district level in a uni
form manner to the Georgia
Department of Education
(DOE). The DOE then com
piles the summited data and
publishes it to an online data
base. The data is furnished
to the Governor’s Office of
Student Achievement, and
the office publishes that data
as a “Scorecard” on its web
site. Additionally, schools
that maintain a website are
required to post a link in a
at Tore ‘Magnolias
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cA /tOK) your K)m/v
(706) 817-6302
103 Clack Circle, Suite 600 • Eatonton, Lake Oconee, GA
Monday - Saturday 10-5
State Rep. Dave Belton
prominent location to the
DOE’s database.
“This is data these dis
tricts already have,” said
Rep. Belton. “Most districts
already publish this infor
mation, but many districts
do not. Since there was no
standardized way to report
these numbers, it is nearly
impossible to compare one
school to another.”
This bipartisan legislation
passed overwhelmingly in
both the Georgia House of
Representatives and the
Georgia State Senate, making
Georgia one of only three
states that has such legis
lation. Rep. Belton hopes
this legislation will serve as
a model for other states to
follow.
The 2017National Summit
on Education Reform is a
nationwide convention spon
sored by the Excellence in
Education Foundation. The
Chairman ofthe Excellence in
Education Foundation is the
former Governor Jeb Bush,
and the board includes many
notable national figures,
including Dr. Condoleezza
Rice, Charles Schwab, former
Congressman Eric Cantor
and the current Secretary
of Education Betsy Devos.
The goal of the foundation
is to encourage educational
reform in areas such as fiscal
transparency, school choice,
charter schools, improved
standards and competency
based learning.
For more information on
House Bill 139, please click
here.
RepresentativeDaveBelton
represents the citizens of
District 112, which includes
all of Morgan County and
the eastern side of Newton
County. Hewas electedinto the
House of Representatives in
2014, and currently serves as
the Chairman ofthe Military
Affairs working group. He is
alsoamemberoftheEconomic
Development & Tourism,
Education, Energy, Utilities
& Telecommunications,
and Interstate Cooperation
committees.
