Newspaper Page Text
PAGE
Wednesday,
November 1 , 2000
. Time capsule
Compiled from
The Leader Tribune archives
20 Years Ago
Peach Area Professional Services Center officially opened
on November 2nd.
***
Mattiwilda Dobbs, soprano, appeared in concert as the
Lyceum and Fine Art Series began.
***
The Peach County Hospital Authority was approved a $3.1
million dollar budget for new fiscal year.
_
10 Years Ago
Larry Collins and Ray Hollifield were elected to Peach
County Hospital Authority. * * *
The Peach County High School VICA Alumni conducted
installation ceremony.
* * *
Army Private Ernest Jefferson completed basic training at
Fort Jackson, S.C.
5 Years Ago
The Peach Public library unveiled a sign that designated
the spot where a new library would be built.
Peach County Trojans were 1st in region with 21-14 victo¬
ry over Dublin.
* * *
Alex Pate of Byron won the First Place Medal in the Eight
Year-Old Division of the District Punt, Pass, and Kick com¬
petition.
The impact of American
political debates
Abraham Lincoln and
Stephen Douglas could have
hardly imagined what role
debate would have on Ameri
can politics. It would be over
one hundred years before the
first televised debate would
occur when John F. Kennedy
and Richard Nixon met in
1960. Now, in the year 2000,
debates have become so com
monplace that the absence of
a political debate is more of a
story in many races than the
debate itself. Yet, political
debates have become tools in
the trade of politics for creat
ing the dynamics for a sue
cessful run.
Oddly enough, in the Pres
idential race, George W. Bush
has been the unexpected
benefactor of the importance
of debates. Although often
overlooked, it was the debate
over debates that propelled
George W. Bush back into the
Presidential media
following A1 Gore’s post
Democratic convention surge.
Banished from the evening
news, Bush’s intimation that
he might not agree to the
Commission on Presidential
Debates schedule and format
redirected the Gore friendly
media to Bush. Many
believed, and in fact reported,
that it was further evidence
that Bush was afraid to
debate Gore and that it was a
dodge. The unexpected by
product was to return pic¬
tures of George W. Bush to
electorate consciousness and
correspondingly stem the
Gore tide.
Notwithstanding conven¬
tional wisdom that trained
debater extraordinaire A1
Gore would demolish hapless
George W. Bush in a debate,
it was George W. Bush who
seemed to capture the
momentum following each
debate. The more voters saw
AJ Gore and George W. Bush
side by side, the more voters
liked George W. Bush.
Repeatedly, A1 Gore proved
he could memorize more data
and repeatedly George W.
Ilip'llcalUT- (Tribune
Op
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Political Randy
ANALYST Evans
- ■ *
Bush proved he could articu
j a te a goal for America. Gore
won debate points. Each won
8ome arguments. But George
W. Bush won the audience.
And, in politics, that is the
win that counts.
in Georgia, the political
debates go on. In the U.S.
Senate race, Zell Miller and
Mack Mattingly have mixed
jt up. Apparently sensing
that the 51% needed to avoid
a runoff is slowly slipping
away, the quick tempered Zell
Miller of old has re-surfaced,
Rather than the run-and
hide typically associated with
an incumbent with millions
to spend and endorsements
to tout, Miller jumped down
into the trenches to duke it
out with former Senator
Mack Mattingly in head to
head exchanges.
Yet none of the exchanges
in the Mattingly-Miller race
compare to those in the Sev¬
enth District race between
Bob Barr and Roger Kahn,
Coming out of retirement in
Florida in an apparent effort
to politically savage Barr,
Democrat Roger Kahn was
not content in his debate to
limit his attacks to the candi¬
date. Kahn decided to bring
Barr’s children in it as well.
Later, Kahn said he regretted
the comment. Seventh Dis¬
trict voters may be regretting
the debate.
The fact is that debates
really are not about debate at
all. Instead, debates afford
voters the opportunity to see
the candidates side by side,
measure them up, and decid¬
ed what they are about. So
far, the debates have done
just that - let the voters see
the candidates side by side,
measure them up and decide
what they are about.
And the races are on
The deadlines for two impor¬
tant races are rapidly bearing
down upon us. The participants
in each have been in training
and preparing vigorously for
many months; too many to suit a
cynical citizenry. Our cars have
become tired, our brains overbur¬
dened, and we are feeling decid¬
edly put upon. The candidates
have traded many verbal punch¬
es and accusations and are prob¬
ably about as exhausted with the
political process as we. Hang in
there, for the Donkey and the
Elephant will duke it out at the
polls on November 7th. After¬
wards, except for the anguished
shouting and a few cries of
“FbuT, we will be given another
four year reprieve before another
presidential election. Following a
brief “honeymoon” period, we
may all discover that the same ol
“burrs are yet there under the
saddle”. Social Security, medicare
and health care, volatile foreign
problems, a mixed bag of domes¬
tic problems all remain and the
finger pointing begins again. If
we fail in the attempt to sort it
all out and cast our vote, howev¬
er, we should be denied the privi¬
lege and release of complaining.
A phrase from an old song may
be in order and say it best, “Just
keep a smile on your face and
keep your big mouth shut.”
Democracy is still the best deal
around.
Cartoonist, At Capp, author of
the popular cartoon, Lit Abner,
' Last minute chores before plants become dormant
cool weather
great. Need a little rain
though, it’s really dry. So
you might want to do a
thorough watering of your
shrub and trees as they go
into dormancy. Another
chore you might need to do
is one last fertilizing of aza
leas.
Every year in late winter
or early spring we see yel
lowing of leaves on azaleas,
It is almost always the old
er leaves, those lower on
stem. The reason for
this is that our warm win
ter days bring the plant out
of dormancy. The limbs and
leaves wake up from their
winter rest and begin to
grow. But the roots, being
in the cooler soil, aren’t
ready to function just yet.
So the new growth has no
flow of nutrients, or at least
a lower than normal flow of
nutrients, to feed the new
growth. The plant then
shifts nutrients from the
old growth to feed the new
growth,
Specifically, the plant
shifts nitrogen. That’s the
reason for the older foliage
being yellow while the new
growth remains green. Fer
tilizing when we see this
Y<S*
R aT i ji.Tl: ER
TO VOTE
Nor. 7, 2000
Yon make a i
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vote, so on
rights and
poll that
W A % Today's and
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,1 f *1 1 - Yesterday's
Joyce Matthews
the other big race in 1930. It
quickly gained popularity and
fame and is still alive and well
even though the cartoon and its
creator have passed into the
great beyond. This important,
life chang¬
ing annu¬
al event
was
known as
the Sadie
Hawkins
Day Race.
I t
occurred
o n
November
1st. and
gave the
1 o c a 1
u n m ar
r i e d
the privilege of pursuing
dragging over the finish line,
protesting objects of their
affection. The Sadie
Day Race pitted the wily,
bachelors of the bucolic
mythical hamlet of Dogpatch,
U.S.A. against the
PUTTING PEACH COUNTY KNOWLEDGE EXTENSION TO OFFICE WORK v I
Jrank Junderburk
will do no good. The root
will not absorb the fertiliz¬
er. Using liquid fertilizer
will do very little since the
damage is already done. So,
we fertilize, LIGHTLY, now.
I know that we are just a
few weeks away from a
frost that will stop all
growth. But until the soil
cools the roots will still
absorb the fertilizer and it
should be of help.
So, if you have azaleas
you should spread about 2
tablespoons of a complete
fertilizer, one that has
nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium, around each
plant. Water it in so it gets
into the soil quickly - Don’t
overdo it, too much may
start the plant actively
growing again and the
resulting new growth would
surely be burned by freez¬
ing temperatures.
Question from C.G •f
Fort Valley: Is it too late
to seed centipede grass or
will the seed stay around
until spring?
y _q_t |
WRIGHT PEAVY
iL 2 A. Peach County Board of Education
Post 1
November 7th
I will be an advocate for our teachers and
students, providing moral leadership.
VOTE FOR ME ON NOVEMBER 7, 2000-
minded, beauteous, unhappy,
and unmarried, belles of Dog
patch.The objective was matri
mony. Lit Abner, darling but
dumb son of Mammy and Pappy
Yokum, was the adored and
0
I
1
pv
S
|E
1 “Ah u caught in a conflik of interests!"
—
y
devised strategies and trained
for the big day. Marryin Sam,
who did the honors, and united
the couples in “wedded bliss” had
been warming up for the cere
monies. These occurred promptly
after the pitiful and protesting,
packages of misery were out-
Answer: Centipede seed
is best planted in the spring
after the soil warms to 70
degrees. That usually is
around the first of May.
Seed put out there now may
wash away or they may rot
during the winter. So, if you
need to cover bare areas
now you can use annual
ryegrass, It is a cool season
grass that will grow great
all winter and die out when
the weather warms.
Question from J.V.,
Fort Valley: What is the
fastest growing shade tree?
We had a nice oak tree in
our yard that died this
summer and we want to
replace it.
Answer: Let’s change
your questions a bit to
“what is the fastest grow¬
ing, longest living, hardiest
shade tree?" Fast growing is
great, but a lot of fast grow¬
ers have weak wood, Hav¬
ing to pick up limbs all the
time sort of takes the shine
off the fast growth. I would
look for a maple, specifical-
after prize
of the
buxom
and beau
t i f u 1
Daisy
Mae. Both
the free¬
dom lov¬
ing, bach¬
elors and
the tired
of waiting,
Dogpatch
beauties
had previ-
ly a Red maple of Florida
maple. These are native to
Georgia, do well in a lot of
different situations and are
just all around good trees.
Stay away from the Silver
maple. It is a fast grower
but it is extremely brittle.
Tulip poplar is another
good choice. Another native,
it grows rather large so give
it room. One of the fastest
growing oaks is the Saw¬
tooth oak. The only problem
with it is that it holds its
leaves all winter. They turn
yellow, then brown but stay
on the tree until the growth
begins in the spring. So,
don’t look just for fast grow¬
ing look for sturdy too, and
plant the tree well. Till the
area to be planted well. We
recommend you till an area
10 times the diameter of
the tree’s root ball. Then
plant in the middle of that
area. Mulch the entire
tilled area to reduce root
competition from weeds and
grass.
Don’t forget to send in
your questions. Mail them
to P.O. Box 1407, Fort Val¬
ley, GA 31030 or email
them to uge2225@uga.edu.
I’ll answer them here each
week.
wm
paced and hauled over the finish
line. In addition to Mammy and
Pappy Yokum, Lit Abner, and
Daisy Mae, some of the more
memorable characters of the long
running cartoon were colorful
characters like Lonesome Pole¬
cat, the little Indian, and his
buddy, Hairless Joe. There was
Earthquake McGoon, Joe Bflxyz,
the lovable Shmoos, and the
dreaded Turnip Termites, which
at times descended enmass, as a
plague of locusts, upon Dogpatch
and destroyed the local food sup¬
ply. Turnips figured prominently
in the food chain of Dogpatch.
When the dust settled and the
sun set over Dogpatch, there
were several small cabins
perched on the hillsides, where
newlyweds were adjusting, some
resignedly, to a new and different
situation. With the really Big
Race, comine to an end and the
presidential, state, and other
elections behind us, the citizenry
of our U.S. of A. will adapt and
adjust to a new cast ol’ charac¬
ters, a new situation, also. Some¬
times, it takes only a small
stretch of the imagination to note
similarities between the casts
and characters involved in both
the political and Sadie Hawkins
Day races. We will survive and
cope even as the Dogpatchers.
Lets just hope and pray that
with winter coming on, we wont,
also be faced with a disastrous
plague of Turnip Termites, in
addition to high priced heating
fuel. Woe is us!!!