Newspaper Page Text
Page 2A - The Lee County Ledger, Thursday, July 5, 2001
Tim’s horse “Birdie,” can be a handfull sometimes.
School Buses To Get Yearly
Checkup From GSP
Georgia's public school buses
will be undergoing their annual
safety inspections over the next
month, according to Colonel
George Ellis, Director of the Geor
gia State Patrol. Georgia State
Troopers will conduct the inspec
tions in each of the state's public
school systems before the start of
the 2000-2001 school year.
More than 300 Georgia State
Troopers will conduct the safety
inspections. The inspections are
conducted annually to identify any
safety problems with the buses.
"Troopers will not hesitate to
ground any bus found to be un
safe," Colonel Ellis said. "But
from past experience, safety prob
lems with Georgia buses have
been extremely rare."
In addition to outside visual in
spections, each bus will be
checked for the condition of the
fluid systems, steering, tires,
lights, brakes, exhaust system and
interior. More than 13,000 buses
will be checked during the annual
inspections.
Colonel Ellis said most prob
lems encountered with the buses
are ones that can be corrected on
the spot. Often these include
burned out signal bulbs or head
lights. Those with more serious
defects are re-inspected for correc
tions before the buses are put on
the road transporting school stu
dents. "Our goal is to ensure the
safe travel of students each day in
Georgia's public school systems,"
he said.
RICK V
MUGGRIDGE
The world is
^getting busier.
Alfa’s making
* it easier.
439-0590
1142 DAWSON ROAD, ALBANY
ALFA
Cowboys In Lee County? Really?
Tim Sanders works with cattle to develope a better breed.
by Julie Barnett
It's a wonder I had to go all the
way to Colorado Springs, Colo
rado to learn something new
about Lee County. After working
two years to encourage commu
nity cohesion, I would like to say
that I know just about all there is
to know about Lee County. It all
started at a graduation cookout I
was attending in honor of my
godson and his best friend. In
making small talk with a retired
couple in attendance, I happened
to mention that we were visiting
from Georgia and the highlight of
our trip was riding horseback on
a mountain trail. I was asked what
part of Georgia we live in, and I
quickly mumbled “South Geor
gia” (having learned over the
years that even folks in Georgia
don't know the who or what of
Leesburg). “Well,” the questions
continued, “have you ever been
to Leesburg?”
I was surprised to learn that this
couple not only had been to Lees
burg, but had also experienced
parts of my community that I had
little or no awareness of. They
told me about mule drawn carts,
hunts with thousand dollar dogs,
and historic lots of land in the
northern part of Lee County. My
interest was sparked, although my
ego was slightly bruised.
Upon returning to Lee County,
I began some research that has
lead me to a broader appreciation
of the northern end of the county.
As I listened to county commis
sioner Lewis Harris tell me about
local plantations and the cowboys
that work on them, I felt the Texan
in me push forward. Really?
Cowboys? In Lee County ?
Really! The next thing I knew I
was driving up to Chokee Plan
tation for an interview with one
of these local cowboys. As a long
time resident of suburbia, I
thought for sure that this would
be an experience into yesteryear.
Once again, my ego took a beat
ing. From the best I could see,
only the bugs are left from the
way things used to be. The dirt
road leading into the plantation
was smooth enough for my
minivan to handle, and the build
ings on site are quite the pretty
picture! Judge Wheaton gave me
a quick history about this land
having
been the
former
town of
Philema.
I was a bit
embar
rassed to
realize
that I had
n o t
thought
about
Philema
Road
leading to
an actual
place,
other than
t h e
homes of
m y
friends,
of course!
The
modern
day cow
boy I in
terviewed
is Tim Sanders. He wore no
chaps, no pointed toe boots, and
did not rope a single calf during
the course of our interview. But
he did tell me a lot about the high
tech work that is going on at
Chokee Plantation. And did I
mention yet that this is not at all
an example of back hills farming?
To be exact, they are working to
improve the quality of registered
Black Angus. Tim did his best to
explain what exactly this means:
making the breed produce better
steers and heifers for feed lots. Or
in suburban cowgirl terms, we
can just say they are helping our
burgers to have more nutrition for
the buck!
Tim has been working with
farms and mini-ranches for about
20 years now. He says he devel
oped his skills and expertise from
Lyn Brewer at Oak Hill Planta
tion. Tim spent some time train
ing border collies and breaking
horses to sell, but now he prima
rily fills these duties for the ani
mals he works with himself. I met
his horse, “Birdie,” who is a bit
flighty, but did offer to pose for a
picture or two.
I was also introduced to Tim's
wife, Lori; Billy Lee, who works
with the cattle; and Bernie
Hanratty, who is in charge of the
gaming side of the business.
Chokee Plantation is managed by
Judge John Wheaton, and it is
owned by Fred Taylor, who is the
father of Georgia Lt. Governor
Mark Taylor. It's a modem opera
tion, boasting with new buildings
and projects. This is the second
year of breed improvement ef
forts at Chokee. As part of this
process, there is a lot of research
done on hay production and over
all bovine nutrition. Artificial in
semination, embryo transfers,
donor cows, and surrogate moth
ers are all part of this operation.
So, as the interview went on.
and all of these scientific jargon
flowed out of Tim's mouth, I be
gan to wonder how modern cow
boys relate to the ones from my
Texas days. I asked, I hope not
too desperately, if Tim actually
spends time in the saddle. He as
sured me that this part of cowboy
life is still going strong. He
spends at least 5 hours a day on
his horse, and well over that dur
ing winter months. The cattle are
moved from one pasture to an
other, just like the old days.
(Whew!)
On the drive out following the
interview, I couldn't help but no
tice the blue sky, the green fields.
the bugs. I couldn't go back to my
office just yet- I had to take a
drive around.
As I looked at the green
stretched out before me for miles
and miles, I couldn't help but think
about the 400 acres of land Lee
County develops each year. De
velopment is a good thing, it
brings us the resources and ser
vices we need to improve our
community. But what about these
farms and plantations? They are
providing us not only with re
sources for tonight's dinner, but
with the information to ensure that
plates are full in generations to
come. Before this little series of
events, I had basically passed off
the rural community atmosphere
as something charming and pleas
ant. But now I see that there is a
reason for us to think about the
ways we use our land. It makes
sense for us to work together as a
community to plan for the best use
of this land. And more than any
thing, it make sense for me to step
out of my suburban mindset and
appreciate the fact that our farms
and plantations do more than cre
ate picturesque views - they do the
work that shapes our knowledge
of the world. So to all of you “ag”
folks out there, I confess, I didn't
quite get it before, but now I do!
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