Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, July 2, 2008
GFC Urges Fire-prevention
Precautions For
Fourth Of July
The Georgia Forestry
Commission (GFC) urges
Georgia residents to enjoy a
safe Fourth of July celebra
tion by leaving the use of
fireworks to those legally
authorized and permit
ted to use them for holiday
displays.
GFC officials emphasize
that any display of fireworks
should be conducted with
extreme caution. Recent
thundershowers have helped
increase the live to dead ratio
of light flashy fuels such as
grass but these fuels still
can be acceptable to ignition
sources such as fireworks.
GFC officials point out
that - except for persons
with legal authorization - the
use and even possession of
fireworks with the excep
tion of sparkers and ground
base sparker fountains that
contain less than 200
Tom Lambert
illegal in Georgia. Sparkers
and sparker fountains should
be used with caution to avoid
a possible ignition of a wild
fire. Anyone starting a wood
land fire, from any source,
may be held responsible for
the cost of extinguishing it
and for damage caused by
the fire.
GFC officials also urge
extreme precautions in other
common Fourth of July ac
tivities that could cause wild
fire. These include careful
monitoring of outdoor cook-
outs and clearing vegetation
from around campfires. All
campfires and cookout fires
should be completely ex
tinguished before leaving
them unattended. Make
sure charcoal briquettes
are cold out before discard
ing them. Parking in grassy
areas should be avoided.
The Georgia Forestry
Commission in Lee County
wishes everyone a happy and
safe 4th of July and encour
ages everyone to use caution
while enjoying their outdoor
activities.
Facts About Masonry
By J.M. Rhodes
Member of Chehaw Lodge 701
Leesburg, Georgia
MORE ON EVERY
MAN IN HIS PLACE
There are times we blame
the leader for our failures.
This may be true at times,
but it is not always true. I
know the importance of a
wise, dynamic, consecrated
leadership. Many worthy en
terprises have failed because
they lacked good leader
ship. Many times things
failed because the men
and women failed to
be in their place,
I want to stress
two little words
in our text, and
then apply them
to our lodges.
The first word is EVERY.
This battle with Gideon,
because “every man stood
in his place”. Not just two
hundred and ninety-five of
the three hundred, not just
a majority of one hundred
and fifty-one, but every man.
Gideon succeeded because
he had the total support of
every man. Not a soldier was
AWOL. There were no gaps
in the line. Every man played
his part. Every man did what
his captain commanded him
to do.
Think of what we could do
if every man in the Lodge
would stand in his place
for God and Masonry. Not
only Masonry but in all the
organizations in our com
munity. Think what could
be accomplished. I know in
all the organizations that I
have been in, you can count
on only a handful to help in
any thing you try to do.
As loyal members, we
should stand “every man
or women in his place.”
The second word
I want to stress is
the word HIS.
“Every man stood
in HIS place round
‘the camp.” This
was no small item in
Gideon’s success. It is no
small item in the success of
any enterprise, It is essential
to success in any organized
effort.
God grant us grace that
we may all “have a mind
to work”, “every man in
his place,” and help build
the City of God, not only
in America the Beautiful,
but in the hearts and minds
of men and women every
where.
(This was from Rev.
Brother Eugene Beckman)
The Le6 County Ledger
Established August 24,1978
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MEMBER OF GEORGIA
PRESS ASSOCIATION
Letters to the Editor
Bill Williams Is
What Lee County Needs
Remember when the ad
vent of Wal-Mart on our side
of the border was hailed as
the solution to future money
problems thanks to all the
tax money it would bring?
Commercial “growth”
was to be our savior and
more businesses followed.
And, we hailed the high
population “growth” with its
increase in homestead values
and tax dollars. Ah, what
could be better than “more
growth for Lee County”! But
heck, we don’t seem to be
getting any better off.
And, I suspect we are not
too far off from being in
a real financial mess. You
see, government sometimes
gives us services and things
we don’t ask for and we
sometimes ask for services
and things we don’t neces
sarily need. And with it
getting harder to balance
growth and money, we have
got to start doing a better
job of being more efficient,
effective, and economical
- and doing more things that
make sense.
This year Lee County is
fortunate to have a pretty
good slate of candidates for
public office. One race that
interests me in particular
is the Redbone District
commission race. Now
bear in mind I don’t live in
Redbone. And, I don’t per
sonally know Bill Williams
or Sammy Smith - two good
candidates. But I do know a
lot about the nature of orga
nizations that spend your tax
dollars.
A department head in
another Georgia county told
me he and others always
intentionally overstated
the budget so commission
ers will have something
to “knock out” - they do
not plan on getting all the
money asked for and know
it will be eliminated. But
sometimes it isn’t. And my
years of experience auditing
activities living on your tax
money pretty well substanti
ate that government needs to
be constantly watched - and
accounting and budgeting
are very complex areas re
quiring a lot of knowledge
able watching.
We need more commis
sioners who are willing and
able to “uncork” financial
information and Bill Wil
liams has the experience to
do just that. As his recent
ad in the Ledger stated, he
found a $1.6 million error
in the 2006 budget—as a
citizen. Also - as a citizen-
- he attends governmental
meetings and has displayed
sincere interest in better
government for years. We
need this citizen’s interest
and ability—as a commis
sioner. We have a “tough
road ahead” in the next few
years and need someone
with a lot of savvy to help
pave the way.
But Bill, if you win, don’t
forget you are a taxpayer
as some seem to have done
once elected. Somehow, I
don’t think you will - but we
will be watching.
Bob Rehberg
Take Home
Emergency Vehicles
It seems as though the
reader responding to my let
ter missed the sarcasm in the
words. I know that almost
anyone would respond to
an emergency in a positive
manner. Think how much
better the response would be
if you had the right equip
ment to help. What if it were
you or one of your children
lying in pain from an ac
cident and a deputy couldn’t
administer the proper treat
ment because his equipment
was in the cruiser which you
said he couldn’t take home
and your child dies. There
have been times when a life
was saved because a child
was taken to the hospital
in a cruiser because it was
faster than waiting for an
ambulance. The people
of Smithville are a good
example of this. They have
no emergency services and
I’m sure they’d be willing to
allow the emergency teams
to keep a car or anything
else they wanted.
When you make a deci
sion, all possibilities should
be considered. Hasty deci
sions make a disaster.
I don’t believe every
county employee should
have a car paid for by the
county. I do believe that all
emergency personnel should
keep and maintain their
county issued vehicle. This
vehicle is an extension of the
officer and is needed to do
his job properly.
I don’t think you’d put your
life on the line for twenty
thousand dollars a year and
be on call 24-7.
Lou Sheffield
We’ve Got A Good Sheriff
This is to inform you
of the type of sheriff and
department we have as a
community. Today at 11:00
a.m. I recieved a phone call
from my husband. He pro
ceeds to tell me his supervi
sor was taking him to the
chest pain clinic at Pheobe
Putney. They believe he is
having a heart attack. This
was the worst news I could
imagine. You see we have
been married for almost 16
years, the thought of losing
him made me lose all feel
ing. The one thing that got
me through this was all of
the support and visits from
the people at the Lee County
Sheriff Department. The
one that meant the world to
me was to know the sheriff,
Harold Breeden put all aside
to ensure I needed nothing
and that my husband, one
of his investigators that has
been employed for almost
17 years, meant more to him
at that time than anything.
I wanted to thank all who
took the time out of their
personel lives to make sure
one of their own was going
to be ok. Words could never
thank you enough.
Thank you,
Tammy O’Quinn
Rachels Does Care
Does Reggie Rachals real
ly care about young people?
I am Dusty Duckworth and
at the age of fourteen, I met
Deputy Rachals as the result
of a poor judgment on my
part. My four sisters and I
were raised by our grandpar
ents due to the unfortunate
death of my mother when
I was only six months old.
My grandparents loved us
very much, but there were
problems at home.
I had always taken
afternoon walks, and on a
particular day, some of my
school peers of driving age
asked if I wanted to ride
with them. Well, I accepted
the ride, and that turned into
a terrible mistake. When I
asked them to take me home,
they refused. I was scared to
call home and try to explain
this because I knew I was
already in enough trouble
as it was. I was finally
returned home around six
the following morning. I was
exhausted and all I wanted
to do was get some sleep.
Later that morning I was
awakened by a Lee County
Sheriff’s Deputy who
wanted to question me about
my whereabouts the night
before. This deputy was
Reggie Rachals. I was terri
fied and told him everything.
Deputy Rachals then ex
plained to me the dangers of
my actions, and what could
have happened to me that
night. He related to me the
statistics of crimes against
girls my age, and that I was
fortunate to be home safe.
See Letters,
Page 6A
The University of Georgia • Cooperative Extension Service
Common rust on corn has pultules that streak
along the veins. They tend to be brownish and
occur on both sides of the leaf. Common rust is
of little concern to growers.
Southern Corn Rust
Southern corn rust has
been found in Clay and
Turner counties. If south
ern rust infests corn not
treated with fungicide early
enough, substantial yield
can occur.
Dr. Dewey Lee and Dr.
Bob Kemerait, UGA Coop
erative Extension special
ists, agree that growers who
have good yield potential
and southern rust present
in their fields or likely to
occur and their crop has
not reached the dough stage
should protect their crop
with a fungicide treatment.
Headline and Quadris can
be applied at this time.
Do not confuse southern
rust with common rust.
Common Rust tends to
form on both the bottom
and top of the leaf. The pus
tules are generally brownish
and streak along the veins.
Souther rust has orange
pustules that are round or
oval. Southern rust tends to
be found only on the top of
the leaves.
For more information, call
the Lee County Extension
Office at 759-6025 or email
me at collinsd@uga.edu.
Home Construction
Special to the Ledger
By David Kelly
Kelly Construction
The Fourth of July con
jures up fond memories of
cookouts, beaches, and lire
works and in years past of
the commitment of our war
riors in uniform fighting evil
forces here and abroad. God
bless our troops and their
sacrifice.
After Viet Nam, I thought
that war would be fought
electronically for the most
part and that a major conflict
involving our infantry would
be mostly a thing of the past.
Boy was I wrong. The brave
soldiers in Afghanistan and
Iraq laying their lives down
daily would beg to differ!
My father Earl Kelly fought
in the European campaign in
WWII, was wounded three
times with many medals for
bravery and the three purple
hearts. Said simply, “war is
hell”.
Let’s remember our fallen
heroes and cheer our fighting
brothers on for their valiant
effort in the pursuit of free
dom, and try to help any one
that is family of these brave
men and women on this day
of independence and always
pray for their safe return
home.
When they do return
continue to be of service to
them any way we can. Let us
never forget their sacrifice
and that of those who came
before them. God Bless
America.
Lee, From Page 3A
become associated with the
battle at Gettsyburg, George
E. Pickett were ordered
forward. About 12,000 Con
federates marched in ranks
across more than Vi mile of
open field toward Cemetery
Ridge. It was the largest
frontal attack the South
would make during the war
and the last.
Lee’s frontal assault
seemed doomed from the
beginning. The Confeder
ates were first faced with
artillery fire, and then the
close firing of the Yankee
infantrymen who had built
good defensive lines. To
ward the end of the assault,
the fighting was hand-
to-hand. In the end, the
Confederates were driven
back and “Pickett’s Charge”
had failed. Some 150,000
had battled for three days
and nearly 50,000 were
casualties. The Battle of
Gettysburg was over and
Lee’s Army had come so
very close to defeating the
Army of the Potomac. The
next day, Lee began his
slow journey back to Vir
ginia. It has been said that
Gettysburg was the most
important battle ever fought
on the soil of America. For
many, it would become the
one battle that saved the
Union.
Today, Gettysburg Na
tional Military Park has
over 5,883 acres with 100
buildings, 8.5 miles of
rock walls and 30 miles of
roadways. Most of the 1,320
monuments and informa
tion tablets mark battle sites
and honor military units
and soldiers. The most ap
propriate monument was
completed in 1938 and is
known as the “Eternal Light
Memorial”. At dedication
ceremonies, a large Ameri
can flag had draped the
memorial and before more
than 200,000 spectators,
President Franklin D. Roos
evelt made a brief address
and gave a signal for the
flag to be lowered into the
arms of a Union veteran and
a Confederate veteran. The
words carved in the stone
at the base of the memorial
are simple but to the point,
“PEACE ETERNAL IN A
NATION UNITED.” An
eternal flame at the top is a
symbol of America’s peace
with itself and its hope for
peace throughout the world.
Military tactics used
at Gettysburg have been
studied for over 145 years,
and the National Park, each
year, draws thousands of
visitors. Walking over the
hallowed grounds and look
ing out over the fields and
valleys, they realize that it
was here, in Gettysburg, that
history was made. And they
know that during three hot
deadly days in July of 1863,
a battle was fought on these
grounds, between Ameri
cans; a battle that could
have changed the history of
a nation forever. It seems
almost ironic that the epic
battle in Gettysburg, a major
turning point in the Civil
War, would end on the 3rd
of July, just one day before
the Nation would celebrate
freedom and independence
from another time in history.