The wiregrass farmer. (Ashburn, Ga.) 1984-current, January 13, 2016, Image 4

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The wiregrass farmer., January 13, 2016, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPage 4 - The Wiregrass Farmer, January 13,2016 Editorial & Opinion The WIREGRASS FARMER - Established 1902 Official Legal Organ of Turner County Hit a stroke and drag Charlie 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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wiregrass 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. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Senior Citizen discount in county only $20.00 Inside Turner County, $24.00 • Elsewhere in Georgia, $32.00 Outside Georgia, $40.00 • Internet $24 a year. Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 500 words and include a name, an address and phone number where the writer may be reached during the day. Addresses and phone numbers will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. All letters become property of the newspaper. Liability for an error will not exceed the cost of the space occupied by the error. We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or materials un less a self-addressed stamped envelope is included. The deadline for LEGAL NOTICES is Monday NOON before Wednesday’s publication. Holiday deadlines will be announced at least one week in advance. He’s right A County Commissioner Daryl Hall argued again that the chairman post on the County Commis sion should rotate among the five seats. He is correct. Every person on the County Commission both deserves the chance to be chairman and should serve as chairman. A few years back, the Commission changed the rules on the chairman’s voting rights, giving the person in that seat the power to make and second motions and vote on anything which came before the board. A rotating chairman post is the next logical step. As Mr. Hall noted, being chairman is a tough job at times. Done right, that post carries addi tional duties beyond just signing papers. The chairman works closely with the County Clerk and the County Manager. He then informs the rest of the Commission of what is going on. Mr. Hall was also right in suggesting the post skip over a newly elected commissioner. That person does need some time to get accustomed to what County Commissioners do. A lot of people go into the job not understanding how much and, truthfully, how little power a County Commis sioner has. As a former County Manager said, “3’s a ma jority, 4’s a mandate and 5’s unusual.” Commissioners could opt out of being chair man, something Joe Burgess said he will do. Mr. Burgess has repeatedly said he is not willing to serve as chairman. That’s a decision he should be allowed to make. As Mr. Hall also noted, it will take politics out of the decision. Last week’s split vote on who should be the chairman (See Page 1) shows poli tics does figure into it. Two middle age men whose names were Bill and Charlie decided to take up the game of golf to help them stay in shape. After the decision was made the first thing they had to do was go to the sport ing goods store to buy some equipment. After a lengthy dis cussion with the store manager they finally settled on a new set of clubs, shoes, pants, shirts and socks to match, a new hat, tees and the best golf balls in the store. That same afternoon the men met at the local golf course for their first round of golf, each man all decked out in his new outfit and sporting brand new clubs. No doubt about it they looked sharp. In fact they were the envy of everyone around the club house. From the beginning it was obvious they were going to need some help with their game. After a dozen or so swings from the practice tee Bill looked at Charlie and Charlie looked at Bill and fi nally Bill suggested that they hire a “pro” to give them a few lessons. After a few lessons they both were hitting the ball straight down the middle of the fairway. The pro also stayed around longer to help them From Where I Sit work on their short game. They learned how to select the proper irons, how to lift the ball to the green to make it bite, how to pitch and run and how to putt. He told them that no person could ever become a good golfer if he was not as good at putting. Off to a good start the men began to play on a regular basis. They set aside every Thursday afternoon to play golf. Over the next several months both of them knew they loved the game and were getting better at it. Also, they were feeling better physically which was the reason for tak ing up the game. With scores that began at over 100 it was not long until both were shoot ing in the 80’s. At this time they decided to play on Saturday mornings also. They both continued to improve and shooting rounds in the high 70’s. Thursday af ternoons and Saturday morn ings were increased to include Sunday afternoons and then Monday afternoons. Still their rounds continued to improve. By this time they were shooting par on a regular basis and soon became the talk of the town. A lot of their friends would stop them on the street and asked them what they shot today. One day Bill said, “I shot a 69 my best ever.” Then Charlie said, “I shot a 67 which was two strokes better than Bill.” A few months later on a hot July day Bill was walking down the street alone and a friend came up and asked him what he had shot that day and he told him an 86. The friend who knew Bill’s golfing repu tation was amazed and he said, “Why did you shoot so high?” Bill said, “Well this morning on the fifth hole Charlie passed out on me and for the rest of the round it was hit a stroke and drag Charlie!” I never played golf until I was 56 years old because working was more important. When I play today I walk the course as Bill and Charlie did and I do it for the exercise. Stepping Back In Time 1906- (The Turner County Banner) J.N. Pidcock, presi dent of the Georgia Northern Railroad and a prominent lum berman, has sold his interest in the road to C.W. Pidcock. The latter will assume the presidency and general man ager ship of the Georgia North ern. The headquarters of Mr. Pidcock is at Moultrie. The committee appointed by Ordinary W.A. Greer to se lect and appraise the site for the courthouse and jail, met Saturday, and went over the grounds carefully, examined all the different locations that had been suggested and after considering all things, they de cided that the lot just south of the Baptist church was the most suitable as well as the most convenient place avail able. The lot fronts one acre west on McLendon Street, one and one half acres south on College Avenue, and running back to Rainey Street on the east. The value of the lot was placed at $1,000. This action, we believe, will meet with the approval of the people gener ally. On Thursday, January 4th, his honor, Judge W.N. Spence, convened the first superior court ever held in Turner County under the law creating this county. E.R. Smith was se lected first foreman. 1916- Mrs. Nora Lawrence Smith of 264 Remsen Street, Cohoes, N.Y. writes a card with the paper that she enjoyed her annual visit home. 1926- Col. J.Q. Nolan, na tionally known lecturer, will speak in Ashburn next Tuesday night at the courthouse at 8:30 pm. He will speak on the Ku Klux Klan and answer any question pertaining to this great organization. The public is invited. The two young women from every county selling the most Stone Mountain Memo rial Coins will attend the Gov ernor's Ball given in February. Traffic has reached 320 ve hicles per day and it is time to move from dirt roads to paved roads. Sycamore is to have a new hotel and cafe. The cafe will be located in the Fountain Build ing. Mrs. Janie Fountain and Mrs. Katie Brown, well-known Turner county businessper sons, own them. 1936- Miss Nina Cox is seeking re-election. She says teachers and bus drivers are paid on time and the School Board is free of debt. Nina Cox 1946- County Agent J.H. Sims advises that an applica tion of stable or barnyard ma nure be given to the pecan orchard as soon as this year's crop is harvested. 1956- Linda Kaye McKin ney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.D. McKinney, is the first baby born in Turner County Hospital for the New Year. Hodge King, chairman of the Turner County colored di vision of the Cancer Society says they have surpassed last year's goal by raising $125.75 in the schools. Eureka con tributed $78 of that. Roy Coker has resigned his position at Scott Ford Com pany to run for Sheriff of Turner County. T.E. Kennedy, Sr. is also running. Charles Rose is the new president for the Shrine Club. Winter's most icy blast gripped Turner County Satur day night and refused to let go Sunday and Monday as the thermometer plunged to record breaking, bone-chilling lows from zero to four to six degrees above zero. with David Baldwin An Ashburn woman was fined $500 when Sheriff T.E. Kennedy, Jr. found an abun dance of lottery tickets in her automobile. Charles Melvin Mashburn of Rebecca is the "Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year" for Turner County in 1965. He began farming in 1958 with his grandfather, W.B. Cornelius, who came her as a Rebecca ed ucator. According to Jaycee President Buddy Pate, the Farmer of the Year program is sponsored by the Jaycees. Capt. Thomas E. Leverette was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious duty in Viet nam. Mrs. Minnie Greer Hines, 83, a native of Macon County, born Dec.14, 1873, has died. Surviving are two sons and six daughters. She was a member of Westside Baptist Church. Letters Welcome 109 N. Gordon St. - Ashburn, GA - 31714 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR wiregrassfarmer@yahoo.com r u a> a a a> PQ Baker’s Dozen Big winnah! The lottery is about to hit a BEEEELYUN dollars, which reminds me of when I won the lottery. I won. Yes. Really. I am not kidding. I nearly panicked too. After checking and rechecking my numbers to make sure I’d won (I did), I tried to decide what to do next. Crawling under my desk, while appeal ing, wouldn’t solve anything. Besides which I do that even when I don’t buy lottery tick ets. I recalled advice experts give in those “Lottery winner” stories we all know about. The experts say you need to talk to a lawyer and a financial plan ner. So I called a lawyer. I ex plained I’d won the lottery. "Ben, you’re a pretty smart person. I think you’ll be able to handle the winnings just fine without any help,” she told me. “Just calm down, go collect your winnings and enjoy them.” This was not the advice I was expecting. I was also not expecting to be called smart in reference to my intellectual abilities. When most people call me smart, they add a sec ond word, referring to the stor age space in the back of my pants. The experts also said to talk to a financial planner. So I called one. "Ben, you’re a pretty smart person. I think you’ll be able to handle the winnings just fine without any help,” he told me. “Just calm down, go collect your winnings and enjoy them.” For a moment I thought I’d called the lawyer again. I checked the number. Nope. It was a financial adviser. I then decided they were conspiring against me. This happens to many lottery winners. People all over the place are trying to cheat them out of their win nings. They were trying to confuse me and then they’d be able to help themselves to my win nings. So, I crawled under my desk to think and decide what to do next. Like all of you, I had often wondered what I’d do if I won the lottery. I won’t bore you with my whole list, since it’s probably the same as yours. Briefly it is: spend some, in vest a lot, help some family members. I looked at my ticket and tried to figure how much I could invest, how much I could spend and how much I’d use to help family and some actual close friends. I confess. Winning the lot tery must have changed me. I decided, amid the computer power cords, dust bears (meaner than dust bunnies), surge protectors and a balanced federal budget under my desk, that I would not use any of my winnings to help anyone. After all, what had they done for me since I won the lottery? Noth ing! No, I decided, they could go off and buy their own lottery tickets. My winnings were mine. Before you jump on the phone or the internet to call me and beg for share of my win nings, I’m telling you now I will not share. Nope. No way. Can’t anyway. I have already spent my lot tery winnings. Yes. All of it. And let me tell you, $3 doesn’t go as far as it used to.