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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! Area Code