About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2025)
A4 | THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025 The Eatonton Aessenger www.msgrnews.com 00 Opinions All letters to the editor must be signed and include a phone number for verification purposes. Send letters to editor@msgrnews.com by noon Monday. Thoughts on heading off to college I remember it as if it were yesterday. In fact, it has been a lot of yester days — and I mean a lot — since I first walked on the campus of the University of Georgia. My parents dropped me off at my dorm, then headed back to East Point, some 70 miles away. It could have been seven-thousand miles, given the loneliness and isolation I felt. My initial thought was that I had made a gigantic mistake. I was only an average high school student. My high school buddies had all gone to work and were cruising around town in new cars. Dick Yarbrough Columnist Here I was with a duffle bag full of clothes, walking into an empty dorm room and wondering why I thought college was a good idea. The truth is my older brother had graduated from UGA and whatever he did, I was determined to do as well. Looking back, I’m glad he chose to get a college education and not to seek a career as a coal miner. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and I would likely be sneezing anthra cite dust. I had some vague idea of wanting to get into broad casting for reasons that escape me today. To find out more about the busi ness, I strolled over to the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism, co-lo- cated with the College of Business. When I walked into the building, it was like an epiphany. All of a sudden, I knew this was where I was meant to be. And the rest, as they say, is history. I got my degree in broadcast journalism, spent five years in radio, got hired as a public relations manager by Southern Bell in Atlanta, and, several decades later, retired as an officer of BellSouth Corp. And the university where I thought I had made a gigantic mistake those many years ago? It has been and continues to be a mutual love affair. I have been honored as its Outstanding Grad uate and have had the distinct privilege of being president of the National Alumni Association. I also endow a professorship at the Grady College as well a number of student fellowships. Why this trip down memory lane? This month, thousands of young people will be entering one of the 26 public institutions of higher learning in our state. Some may be your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friends. And some may be just as scared as I was. So much has changed since I arrived at UGA with my duffel bag and left with a diploma. Let’s start with today’s students. They are brighter than sunshine. They have to be. Getting in today’s colleges and universities is a challenge. For example, only 6,200 first-year students were admitted to the University of Georgia this year out of some 48,000 applica tions. The Class of 2029 has an average SAT score of 1356 and an average high school GPA of 4.17. I »Show up, speak up!« Public meeting schedule for Eatonton and Putnam County PUTNAM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 1 p.m. - 2 nd Tuesday 706-485-1884 PUTNAM COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION 6 p.m. - 2 nd & 3 rd Monday 706-485-5381 EATONTON PUTNAM WATER SEWER AUTHORITY 4:30 p.m. - 3 rd Wednesday 706-485-5252 EATONTON CITY COUNCIL 7 p.m. - 1 st Tuesday & 3 rd Monday 706-485-3311 PUTNAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 6 p.m. - 3 rd Tuesday • 10 a.m. - 1st Friday 706-485-5826 PUTNAM PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION 6:30 p.m. - 1 st Thursday 706-485-2776 PUTNAM BD. OF ELECTIONS & REGISTRATION 4:30 p.m. - 1 st Tuesday 706-485-8683 * These dates and times are based on regular government meeting schedules. For any called or special meetings, please see our legal page. MORE COLLEGE » AS SIR, THOUGHTS ON THE WERE IN DC DOING MAN-ON-THE-STREET INTERVIEWS E O 9 W C NATIONAL GUARD HERETO HELP QUELL VIOLENT S S. 3 8 o • The Eatonton Messenger A. Mark Smith President/Publisher amsmith@msgrnews.com Matt Smith General Manager matt@msgrnews.com Ian Tocher Editor ian@msgrnews.com Lexington, Kentucky ESTABLISHED 1861 Vice President Michael Smith Vice President JoAnn Smith Managing Editor Josh Lurie Reporter T. Michael Stone Reporter Bailey Ballard Sports Reporter Lance McCurley Advertising Manager Heather Harris Advertising Representative Dianne Phillips Advertising Representative Amy Manville Classified Representative Haley Fowler Graphic Artist Victoria Anadenko Legal Advertising/Circulation Becky Meyer Business Manager Cassandra Fowler Lakelife Editor Lynn Hobbs Dedication Battle B. Smith, Editor and Publisher, 1956-1988 Micky Smith, Editor and Publisher, 1989-2003 Mark Smith Jr., Executive Editor, 2004-2019 Flying into Bluegrass Field has always been emotionally intoxi cating — even before you tour a distillery upon disembarking. There is something especial about Kentucky “Horse Country,” which reminds you this environment is as rare as a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. The commonplace staples certainly are not too shabby, with rolling pastures of bluegrass, stately fences cloaked in white at Calumet Farms, sleek racehorses, little hoss colts prancing about, bourbon and burgoo. They play football at the University of Kentucky but traditionally not as rare as it is in the rest of the Southeastern Conference, and while Wildcat basketball is not as dominant as it once was, the passion for the game remains as great in Lexington as anywhere on the planet. Your emotions get Loran Smith Columnist saturated with anticipa tion any time you interact with casual movement about Fayette County. You get a lift from riding through the countryside, overwhelmed by the feasts available for your eyes. You can’t get enough from a focus in any direction. Erk Russell, Georgia’s legendary defensive coor dinator, always thought the Kentucky football job had to be one of the best in the game. History does not support that view, however. Nevertheless, he never backed away from that stance. Of course, the coach did enjoy opportu nities to watch the ponies run counterclockwise, as is the American custom — unlike in Europe. I wouldn’t have bet against Erk, who won three national championships in eight years at Georgia Southern. The thoroughbred industry has a $6.5 billion impact on the annual economy of the Common wealth of Kentucky, which gives you some insight into the value of horseracing in the land of bluegrass. Lexington is known as “Horse Capital of the World,” and there is evidence of that wherever you go, from bountiful rolling acres of bluegrass pastures, classic barns, and neat fences without blemish that punctuate unforgettable landscapes. No roadside trash, no billboards; everything is kempt and borders on pristine. The appreciation and affection for the thorough bred industry is, perhaps, best defined by this vignette. When the great equine champion “Man ‘o War” died at the age of 30 in 1947, his funeral was broadcast on radio and more than 2,000 people showed up for his final service. Fans still visit his memorial at the Kentucky Horse Park. Other interesting tidbits about Kentucky include there being more bourbon barrels aging in the Blue grass state than there are people; George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Laura Belle Bundy were each born in these parts, and one of the most prominent advocates of Kentucky basketball is Ashley Judd, a well-known actress and activist. I never come here without recalling times in the past when I would call MORE KENTUCKY » A5 The Eatonton Messenger (USPS 166-520) is published every Thursday by Smith Communications Inc., 100 N. Jefferson Ave., Eatonton, GA 31024-4027. It is the official organ of the County of Putnam and the City of Eatonton and is a member of the Georgia Press Association and the National Newspaper Association. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of The Eatonton Messenger and individual writers only. Eatonton City Council Members John Chip Mylle James A. Michael Janie B. Marie Teresa Reid Walker Mangum Gorley Smith Reid Rainey Doster Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Ward 1 Ward 2 Wards 2 & 3 Ward 3 Wards 1 & 4 Ward 4 706- 706- 706- 706- 706- 706- 478- 706- 485-3311 485-7804 485-7195 485-8984 485-0306 816-6800 288-3846 484-0693 Subscription Rates One Year Two Years Putnam, Morgan, Greene counties $37 $70 Other Georgia counties $50 $90 Out of Georgia $55 $99 Putnam County Commissioners POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Eatonton Messenger, P.O. Box 4027, Eatonton, GA 31024 Periodicals Postage Paid at Eatonton, GA 31024 Advertising, news and information: 706-485-3501 Fax: 706-485-4166 Advertising email: sales@msgrnews.com News email: editor@msgrnews.com Member, Georgia Press Association National Newspaper Association outhern Newspaper Publisher Association A prize-winning newspaper in Better Newspaper contests 1999-2016 ner of 23 top GPA awards in 2016 PLACE for GENERAL EXCELLENCE 2013, 2014 and 2015 B.W. “Bill” Sharp Chairman 706-752-8431 Tom McElhenney District 1 762-205-4731 Richard Garrett District 2 706-749-5573 Steve Hersey District 3 706-485-0935 Jeff Wooten District 4 706-752-8432 Putnam County Board of Education Members Doris Clemons District 1 706-485-1142 Simone Jones District 2, Vice Chairman 706-473-0738 Steve Weiner District 3, Chairman 706-485-5087 Charles Trumbo District 4 Carol Ann Guthrie District 5 706-766-6012 Georgia Legislators snpa / MEMBER SOUTHERN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Senate Dist. 25 Sen. Rick Williams (R) 327-B Coverdell LOB Atlanta, GA 30334 (404) 656-0082 rick.williams@senate.ga.gov House Dist. 124 Rep. Trey Rhodes (R) 228-A State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-5099 trey.rhodes@house.ga.gov House Dist. 144 Rep. Dale Washburn (R) 401-H Coverdell LOB Atlanta, GA 30334 Office: (404) 656-0152 dale.washburn@house.ga.gov
