Page 4 - The Wiregrass Farmer, January 7,2015
Editorial & Opinion
The WIREGRASS FARMER - Established 1902
Official Legal Organ of Turner County
109 Gordon Street • P.O. Box 309 • Ashburn, GA 31714
Telephone 229-567-3655
email wiregrassfarmer@yahoo.com
THE WIREGRASS FARMER (USPS 687-460) is published
every Wednesday by Ashburn Newspapers, Inc., 109 N. Gordon
St, Ashburn, Georgia. Periodicals Postage Paid at Ashburn, Geor
gia.
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Farmer, 109 N. Gordon St., Ashburn, GA 31714
STAFF
Bob Tribble, President • Ben Baker, General Manager
Linda Sellars, Sales Director • Robin Tillman, Office Manager
OUR GOAL
The Wiregrass Farmer is published proudly for the citizens of Turner
County by Cook Publishing Co. Inc. Our goal is to produce quality,
profitable, community-oriented newspapers that you, our readers, are
proud of. We will reach that goal through hard work, teamwork, loy
alty and a strong dedication toward printing the truth.
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LEGAL NOTICES is Monday NOON before Wednesday’s publication.
Holiday deadlines will be announced at least one week in advance.
Lost in translation
Change
This week brings much change to Turner County
and in particular the City of Ashburn.
Newly elected officials will take office. They will
bring new ideas, new concepts and a different way
of thinking. Some of their ideas will become reality.
Some of these ideas will be good.
Some will be bad.
Some will be a lateral change, neither good nor
bad, just different.
Regardless of what changes are made, voters of
Turner County and Ashburn got what they asked
for.
The problem in getting what you asked for, is you
sometimes later find out it’s not what you really
wanted and it’s definitely not what you needed.
We hope the residents of Turner County are going
to get what’s needed, regardless of what they asked
for. We hope the change is for the better.
Speaking of that
The incoming Ashburn City Council has made it
beyond clear they wanted new leadership in the
Ashburn Police Department.
They will get it and then some. Chief Joe Saxon
has stepped down. Several other officers who knew
what was coming following the elections have also
left.
The incoming Council will do well to heed the
words from some years ago from then-officer Dezi
Tabor. Mr. Tabor said the Ashburn City Council was
a problem for the police department. Council inter
ference was a major reason the department was hav
ing problems hiring qualified officers, he said.
The City Council needs to hire a good chief and
get out of the way. Let the Ashburn Police and the
court system to their jobs.
Meantime, we wish Chief Saxon and other offi
cers well and thank them for the work performed
here.
V /
A circus elephant named
Bozo was very popular with
children in the 19th century in
England. They loved to crowd
around his cage and throw
peanuts to him. Then all of a
sudden Bozo’s personality
changed dramatically. When
the children came near him in
his cage he would charge to
wards them as if he wanted to
trample them.
After he tried to kill his
keeper the circus owner knew
that he had to be destroyed.
Rather than do it quietly the
owner decided to do away with
Bozo at a public execution. He
sold tickets so he could recoup
some of the money he spent to
ship Bozo from India.
Bozo was surrounded by
men with high powered rifles
who were waiting for a signal
from the owner to shoot him.
Suddenly a short inconspicu
ous man in a brown derby hat
walked out of the crowd and
confronted the owner. “There
is no need to do this,” he said.
“He is a bad elephant and he
must die before he kills some
one,” the owner said. “Give
me two minutes in the cage
with him and I will prove you
are wrong,” the man said.
“If you get in that cage
with Bozo you will be killed
and then your family will sue
me,” the circus owner
growled. “I will sign a release
absolving the circus of all re
sponsibility if I am hurt,” the
man promised.
From Where
I Sit
The man signed the agree
ment and a hush went over the
crowd when he walked into the
elephant’s cage. At the sight of
the stranger in his cage the ele
phant threw back his trunk let
out a mighty roar and bent his
head preparing to charge. The
man stood still with a faint
smile on his face as he began
to talk to Bozo.
Slowly as the man contin
ued to talk the elephant raised
his head and then the crowd
heard an almost piteous cry
from the elephant as his enor
mous head began to sway gen
tly from side to side. Smiling
the man walked confidently up
to the animal and began to
stroke his long trunk. All ag
gression seemed to suddenly
have been drained from the
elephant and Bozo wound his
trunk around the man’s waist
and the two walked slowly
around the ring.
After a while the man bid
farewell to Bozo and left the
cage. “He will be all right now.
You see he is an Indian ele
phant and none of you spoke
his language which is Hindus
tani. I would advise you to get
someone around here who
speaks his language because
he was just homesick,” the
man said.
WORDS OF WISDOM
• Do not walk behind me
for I may not lead. Do not
walk ahead of me for I may
not follow. Do not walk beside
me either just pretty much
leave me alone.
• The journey of a thousand
miles begins with a broken fan
belt and ends with a leaky tire.
• It is always darkest before
dawn so if you are going to
steal your neighbor’s newspa
per that is the time to do it.
• Do not be irreplaceable. If
you cannot be replaced you
cannot be promoted.
• Always remember that
you are unique just like every
one else.
• Never test the depth of the
water with both feet.
• If you think that nobody
cares if you are alive try miss
ing a couple of car payments.
• Before you criticize
someone you should walk a
mile in their shoes. That way
when you criticize them you
are a mile away and you have
their shoes.
• If at first you do not suc
ceed skydiving is not for you.
• Give a man a fish and he
will eat for a day. Teach him
how to fish and he will sit in a
boat and drink beer all day.
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Letters to the editor welcome!
Your opinion is important! Write: Editor, P.O. Box 309, Ashburn GA 31714 or
email <wiregrassfarmer@yahoo,com> We do not charge to publish letters to the ed
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Stepping Back In Time
1925- KUDZU-The great
est of all legumes; produces
more high class pasture and
hay than anything known.
Kudzu does not have to be
planted but once. All kinds of
livestock thrive and do better
on it than any other one feed.
For full information address
ROCK GFENN FARM,
Hampton, Ga.
1935-The many little
friends of Andrew Davis Ault-
man, son of Mr. and Mrs.
W.A. Aultman of Warwick,
were sorry to hear of his acci
dent during the holidays. He
lost three fingers by a gunshot
wound. While walking along
with a number of friends, his
gun accidentally discharged.
He is improving at Phoebe
Putney Memorial Hospital in
Albany.
According to Superintend
ent W.D. Hawkes the large
Sycamore Consolidated
School opened last Monday
with four hundred and fifty
students. B.F. Jones (Colored)
Dead. One of Turner County’s
good colored citizens, B. Fee
Jones, died at his home here
on Christmas Day. He served
his race as a minister of the
Gospel of the Baptist denomi
nation for over forty years,
doing much good for better
ing the lives of his race. He
owned one of the best farms
in this section and other prop
erty, making an honest name
for himself by meeting all ob
ligations. He was a faithful
subscriber to The Wiregrass
Farmer and never let his sub
scription lapse. Mr. and Mrs.
H.C. Williams, and daughter,
Birdie, spent Saturday in St.
Augustine, Florida. Mr. J.F.
Evans died Thursday evening,
December 6 th , 1934. The
members of the Methodist
church express their regret for
this loss as he served as their
superintendent of Sunday
school. Mr. Berrien Willis
Hobby, son of Mr. and Mrs.
B. A. Hobby of Ashburn died
December 28 after a brief ill
ness. He was bom and reared
near Ashburn and a young
man of splendid character and
ability. He has been located at
Flintside in charge of the
large pecan farm located
there. Interment was at the
Poulan cemetery.
1945- Sgt. Harris Perry,
son of Judge and Mrs. F.W.
Perry, has been wounded in
action on November 26. The
vehicle in which he was rid
ing hit a land mine and the
explosion blew him about 15
feet. He was wounded in the
back left hip and leg. The ve
hicle burned and with it all his
belongings. Sgt. Perry is
John Harris Perry
Chief of Section or Gun Com
mander of two aircraft guns in
the Second Armored Division
better known as “Hell on
Wheels”. Nine of the ten
boys that left England with
him have received Purple
Hearts from being wounded.
He is out of the hospital now
and back on duty. Mr. P.D.
Whiddon has been notified
that his son, Pfc. Benjamin F.
Whiddon, has been wounded
in action on December 12 in
Germany. Sgt. George
Barfield, who lives at 410
McFendon Street, Ashburn,
Georgia, has been promoted
to Staff Sergeant with the
Fifth Army in Italy. Your war
bond purchased bought
1,800,000 tracks, 68,000
tanks, 2,800,000 big and
medium guns, 15,000,000
machine guns and rifles, 43
billion rounds of ammuni
tions, 43,400,000 bombs, and
196,000,000 uniforms. Mr.
F.B. Shealy, Sr. and Mr. F.B.
Shealy, Jr. have purchased
Henderson Fumber Co., in
Ocilla, Georgia. Mr. Wm.
Cohen and Mr. Jack Cohen
with David Baldwin
gave the Jaco Pants Co. em
ployees a barbeque on Thurs
day evening, Dec. 21. Mr.
Jack Cohen explained that all
his plants have been enlarged
and that he has enjoyed splen
did business during the past
year. Mr. J.C. Holland will
serve as Chairman of the
Turner County Board of
Roads and Revenues this
coming year. Mr. Judge New
ton Coker, age 71, died of a
heart attack Tuesday morning.
He was born in Cherokee
County, the son of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Erastus Coker. He
and his family came to Turner
County in 1908. He was a
farmer, served on the County
Commission, and later as Tax
Collector of Turner County.
He was a good man and loved
by all who knew him. He had
a smile and friendly work for
young and old and will be
missed. Mr. and Mrs. F.H.
Wardlow of Ashburn an
nounce the marriage of their
daughter, Nancy Mildred, to
Capt. Robert G. Heiserman of
Sarasota, Fla., and West
Union, Iowa.
Baker’s Dozen
Fish Findin’
We could have stayed you
know," I said.
"Shuddup," snapped Farry
"Hawgin 1 " Fishbreath from the
driver's seat of StumpJumper,
Hawgin's eco-friendly giant
pickup. When I say eco
friendly, I mostly refer to the
compost heap in the bed and
the tons of aluminum cans in
the rear seat which have yet to
make it to a landfill or recy
cling center.
"Seriously. We had every
thing we needed to fish. It ain't
like we GOT to have some
thing like that. Neither one of
us remembers how many times
you and me just hauled off
with a canoe, some cane poles
and two cans of crickets and
loaded the boat," I said.
"Shuddup," he fired back at
me.
"All that work, is all I'm
saying, we could have stayed
and tried Spring Creek. I
betcha we could have caught a
mess of shellcrackers," I said.
Hawgin' snatched a glance
at me. You may have heard of
someone giving the "evil eye."
He gave me a pair of evil eyes,
a wicked nose, a diabolical
chin, malicious eyebrows and
cheeks of perfidiousness.
Hawgin' took his foot off
the accelerator and saved a few
gallons of fuel as he got to a
sane driving speed.
"Well. You'd think they ex
plain things like that to people.
It ain't everybody what that is
walking around with an ad
vanced degree in computers
and things like that," he said.
To say Hawgin' doesn't
have a good understanding of
computers is like saying Bill
Gates has a few dollars in his
pocket. Hawgin’ still thinks
Bill Gates is some yankee fish
erman who can't fish well
enough to place in the Bass-
Masters tournament, but keeps
trying. Despite that, Hawgin'
does have an encyclopdiac
knowledge of all things hunt
ing and fishing.
Earlier that morning he
pulled up at the house with the
Titanic II in tow, I knew we
were going fishing.
"Baker, I'm telling you this
thing is gonna blow your
mind" he said. A few years
ago, Hawgin' bought an under
water video camera system.
This allowed us to see, in black
and white with poor resolution,
the fish we couldn't catch.
I'll admit to wondering
what the giant flat screen was
doing in the boat, but I kept my
mouth shut.
"Aaaight," Hawgin' said.
"Gotta let it warm up. Might as
well see if can catch anything
in the meantime."
After about 10 minutes, he
yelled. "YEEHAA! BAKER!
Come look at this!"
There on the big screen
were fish, all kinds of fish.
Huge fish. Monster fish. All
kinds of structure. In full color
nonetheless.
I shook my head. I walked
back to my seat in the front. I
resumed fishing, chuckling
quietly to myself.
"Impressive ain't it Baker.
Fook at all them fish down
there. Wonder why we can't
catch 'em?" Hawgin' said.
I told him why we couldn't
catch the fish. Seconds later I
was nearly blown off my seat
as Hawgin' took the Titanic II
from a dead stop to supersonic
as he headed back to the boat
ramp.
On the drive home a tear
rolled down his cheek. I looked
over at him and said, "Hawgin 1 ,
it ain't yer fault. You didn't
know it was a computer screen
saver."
