Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
My favorite J.T. Wilkes story
J.T. WILKES was
a great man, full of
humility, compassion
and wisdom, and if you
didn’t learn anything
when you were around
him, you weren’t lis
tening. He was a teller
of many tales, most of
them true, all of them
poignant. Here is my
favorite.
This family pulled
in to his service station at
the corner of Athens and Lee
Streets in Jefferson. J.T. went
out to greet them. The father
introduced himself and said
they were moving to Jefferson.
“What kind of town is this?”
he asked.
J.T. answered with a ques
tion, “What was the town like
that you are leaving?”
“Oh, it was awful,” the man
said as he began a litany of
what all was wrong with it.
“Most unfriendly place in the
world. We couldn’t wait to get
out of there. Only thing our
neighbors were interested in
was gossiping and digging up
dirt. We never found a church
we liked, and the schools were
terrible. I sure hope Jefferson
is different.”
J.T. answered this way:
“Sir, I hate to tell you this,
but you are moving to a town
just like that.”
A week later another family
pulled in to the station. J.T.
went out to greet them. The
father introduced himself,
told J.T. they were moving to
Jefferson and asked, “What
kind of town is this?”
“What was the
town like you are
leaving?”
“It was a won
derful place. We
hated to leave. The
neighbors were
real neighbors.
When any of us
needed help, some
one always showed
up. Our church was
wonderful, too. We
had a great pastor and a lov
ing, caring congregation. The
kids loved their school, and
we did, too.”
“Sir, I’m happy to tell you
that you are moving to that
same kind of town. Let me be
the first to welcome you.”
Like I said, J.T. was a
man of humility, compassion
and wisdom. Apparently he
believed that one’s attitude
has a lot to do with one’s hap
piness. I never saw him when
his attitude was not positive
and uplifting, and if no one
came to him looking for help,
he would go looking for some
way to improve conditions in
the community.
❖ ❖ ❖
I would love to know what
J.T. thought about the rat
race that’s raging between
auto insurance barons and
ambulance-chasing lawyers.
If you don’t know what
I’m talking about, you
don’t watch much TV. They
take turns cluttering up
the screen, especially dur
ing the lunch hour when ad
time is cheap. One prom
ises he’ll “save you money
on your premium” and the
other promises that when
you crash, he’ll “get you the
money you deserve.”
You see the battle being
played out every day. One
after the other, they alternate
time on the tube. Sort of
reminds you of Republicans
and Democrats. It would be
funny if it were not so seri
ous.
I guess it’s always been
human nature to complain
and blame. Leonard Pitts of
The Miami Herald, one of
my favorite columnists, put
it this way:
“When your life is dev
astated by tragedy or just
nicked by inconvenience, we
find somebody to blame, and
expect somebody to come to
our rescue immediately.”
J.T. and I grew up in
places (Brockton, Ga., and
McLemoresville, Tenn.,
respectively) and a time
(1920s and ‘30s) when we
settled our differences and
disputes among ourselves.
We didn’t need counselors
or outside help.
Only in this modern era
has it become human nature
to hire a lawyer and sue over
insignificant inconveniences.
Insurance companies that
make claims they can’t or
won’t keep and lawyers who
promise exorbitant settle
ments they can’t or won’t
deliver - plus the opportunity
to air their stuff on TV - has
us at each other’s throats.
❖ ❖ ❖
But miracles still happen,
and I’ve got to tell you about
this one.
It was Saturday afternoon,
March 20. Little St. Mary’s, a
10 seed in the NCAA tourna
ment, was taking on powerful
Villanova, a No. 2 seed.
The only St. Mary’s I
knew about was the hospi
tal in Athens. I did some
research and learned that St.
Mary’s University is located
in Moraga, Calif., and its
basketball team is the Gaels.
I know that most of you
know what a Gael is, but for
the two or three who don’t
let me share my Dictionary’s
definition: “a Scottish
Highlander; a Celt esp. a
Gaelic-speaking inhabitant
of Ireland, Scotland, or the
Isle of Man.”
The Gaels are also a fabu
lous basketball team. They
beat Villanova 75-68. But
that’s not the miracle. Here’s
the miracle. The Gaels are
five white boys, and if any
tattoos adorn their torsos, I
didn’t see them.
Call me racist and anti
body art if you want to, but
here is what I want to leave
with some of you. Please
stop moaning and groaning
about African-Americans
taking over sports. Nobody
has a monopoly on talent,
ability, energy and determi
nation. On Saturday after
noon. March 20, the Gaels
of St. Mary’s proved that to
the world.
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
Hoschton sells former police vehicles to Monroe
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
TWO NEW, unused vehicles
from Hoschton’s former police
department have been sold to
another city.
The City of Monroe pur
chased the 2009 Dodge
Chargers from Hoschton
recently — a day after
Hoschton opened sealed, writ
ten bids for the unmarked
patrol vehicles.
Monroe paid $18,089 for
each vehicle, which weren’t
used by the former Hoschton
Police Department before it
was closed due to budget cut
backs in January.
“The sooner they were gone,
the more we breathed a sigh of
relief, because anything could
happen while they were sitting
there (in a parking lot at city
hall),” said Hoschton Mayor
Erma Denney on Friday.
Hoschton initially paid just
under $21,000 for each vehi
cle, which typically list for
$30,500, former police chief
Jeremy Howell had said.
The city received 14 bids on
the black Charger and 12 bids
for white Charger. The low
est bid for the black vehicle
was $5,000, while the lowest
bid for the white vehicle was
$4,000. Monroe was the high
est bidder at $18,089 for both
vehicles.
“By all means, we feel that
we got a fair price,” Denney
said.
The vehicles were pur
chased in fall 2009 with
money Hoschton received in a
legal settlement with its former
engineer over a faulty design
of the city’s wastewater treat
ment plant.
The combined $36,178 for
the sale of the Chargers will be
placed in the city’s water and
sewer reserve account, Denney
said.
Hoschton is expected to save
$500-600 a year for insurance
costs for each vehicle, Denney
said.
Meanwhile, the city is still
waiting on the titles on the
Chargers to come from the
state, she added. Some of the
paperwork on the vehicles was
not located at city hall.
Monroe paid Hoschton for
the Chargers and drove them
out of the city on Thursday,
Denney said.
“We "re actually very pleased
that the cars went to another
municipal police department,
because it saves them a few
dollars,” Denney said. “We
were very happy for them to
get the new cars, instead going
to a company that would flip
them to make a profit.”
The Hoschton City Council
agreed in February to seek
sealed bids for the vehicles,
instead of listing them on a
government auction website
that would have charged the
city a 7.5 percent commission
fee for the sale of the vehicles.
Instead, the city listed the
Chargers for sale in newspa
pers. That in-house process
was easy, Denney said.
Now, the council will have
to decide how to sell nine addi
tional vehicles used by the for
mer police department, along
with three vehicles seized by
the agency.
Those vehicles include a
Chevrolet Tahoe, a Dodge
pick-up track with exterior let
tering provided by YearOne, a
1997 Dodge Ram, four Ford
Crown Victorias, a 1999 Ford
pick-up track and the police
department’s Crime Scene
Investigation van.
“The council will decide
at the next meeting,” Denney
said.
The Hoschton City Council
will hold its work session on
Thursday, April 1, and regular
meeting on Monday, April 5,
both at 7 p.m., at the depot.
Free garden seeds available
ACTION, Inc., will be offering free garden seeds and fertil
izer to Jackson County residents. The program is open to all
Jackson County residents who are income eligible.
For more information or to set up an appointment, contact
ACTION, Inc., at 706-367-9599.
Drivers needed for veterans
VOLUNTEERS ARE being sought to drive two vans available to
take veterans to Athens, Augusta and Atlanta for medical services.
The Disabled Veterans Association acquired the vans and they are
fully equipped and insured. One van is kept in Jackson County, while
the other one is in Clarke County.
Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to call Robbie Blalock
at 706-795-2000.
437 Lee Street
Jefferson, GA 30549
FIREWOOD
CHICKEN LITTER FERTILIZER
Other Mulches and Gravel
Available Upon Request
PRODUCTS
Pine Straw, Wheat Straw,
Mulch Hay and Feed Hay
(Square & round bales available)
MULCHES
Red & Brown Colored Mulch
Single & Double Ground Hardwood
Mini Nuggets • Cypress
BRAVEL
Crusher Run • 57’s
Bob Cat and Semi & Dump Truck Service Available.
(706) 367-3862
Delivery & Installation Available With All Products.
Discounts Available • Call for details.
www.thestrawlotga.com • www.pinestrawandmulchstrawlotga.com
FAULKNER TREE LLC
dba
Faulkner Tree Service
and Tru-View Windows
Tree Removal ‘Tree Trimming
Landscaping • Underbrush Removal
Minor Grading • Concrete/Drivewaya
Drainage/Water Problems
Replacement Windows
Vinyl Siding and Soffit • Fiber Cement Siding
Roofing • Decks • Patios • Porches
Locally Owned and Operated
Serving Barrow and Surrounding Counties for over 30 years.
770-867-0451 • 678-858-2530
Licensed • Insured • References
To Aunt B’s on
Friday, April 2 and
Saturday, April 3 for our
Eggstra Savings Event!
Pick an egg from our basket and you’ll
receive 10-50% off your entire purchase!
But it’s only this Friday & Saturday, so hurry in!
Aunt B’s Antiques
56 N. Broad St.
Downtown Winder, GA 30680
Braselton gets landscape
grant for Ga. Hwy. 53
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
BRASELTON HAS been
awarded another state transpor
tation grant to beautify an inter
state interchange.
The Georgia Department of
Transportation has awarded the
town a $16,300 grant through
its GATEway Grant Program to
make landscaping enhancements
at the 1-85 interchange at Ga.
Hwy. 53 in Jackson County.
The grant follows a similar
one the town received in 2009 to
beautify the interchange at Ga.
Hwy. 211 in Barrow County.
For that project, Braselton ini
tially planned to spend $78,000
on the landscaping improve
ments — with the state grant
funding $50,000 and the town’s
visitor’s bureau authority paying
the remaining $28,000.
But the lowest bid for the
project was $40,450. Chateau
Elan had also funded a land
scaping plan that was submitted
with the grant application.
For the latest project at the
129 exit, only the north side of
the interchange will benefit from
the GATEway Grant, explained
town manager Jennifer Dees.
“On the south side, we figured
that we’d wait, because we don’t
know what it’s going to look like
after (Jackson County) reroutes
Zion Church Road,” she said.
Jackson County is expected to
start construction soon on widen
ing and re-aligning Zion Church
Road — which currently ends
just feet from an 1-85 entrance
ramp along Ga. Hwy. 53.
That area of Braselton —
where Zion Church Road ends
by the 1-85 interchange on Ga.
Hwy. 53 — is commonly known
for its traffic congestion issues.
Braselton is using the same
landscape design firm, Brickman
Group, that Chateau Elan paid to
design the landscaping changes
at the Ga. Hwy. 211 interchange.
That first project is almost com
plete, Dees said.
The Ga. Hwy. 53 interchange
landscaping project will feature
similar plants as those installed
on the Ga. Hwy. 211 inter
change.
Braselton is expecting to plant
the new landscaping at the Ga.
Hwy. 53 interstate interchange
in spring 2011.
“There’s a period of time
when the DOT allows you to
plant,” Dees said. “I believe it’s
sometime between October and
April 1st.”
JCCO seeks nominations
THE JACKSON County
Community Outreach (JCCO)
a civic-based organization,
dedicated to education support
and civic involvement is seek
ing nominations for the JCCO
Humanitarian Award and the
Unsung Hero Award.
Candidates for the
Humanitarian Award should:
•reside or work in the Jackson
County area.
•have not previously received
the award.
•have, in the past 12-month
period, recognizable evidence
of outstanding humanitarian
service in their community.
•be a person, or group, that
demonstrates compassion and
devotion in promoting the wel
fare of humanity.
Candidates for the Unsung
Hero Award should:
•reside or work in the Jackson
County area.
•have not previously received
the award.
•have, in the past 12-month
period, performed noteworthy
actions which generally have
not been recognized in any other
way. The actions must have
been performed over an extend
ed period of time (emphasis is
placed on “extended period.”
No single act would qualify a
person.)
For consideration, all
responses must be received by
June 30. Nominees, resume and
accomplishments may be sent
to: Jackson County Community
Outreach, Awards Committee,
RO. Box 746, Commerce,
30529.
JCCO will hold its 12th
Annual Achievement Awards
Banquet on Saturday, November
20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Civic
Center in Jefferson.
FREE JUNK
Gone Green Recycling
678-873-8488
Dr. Jeff Gilliland
Veterinarian/Owner
(formerly of Commerce Veterinary Hospital
and Jefferson Animal Hospital)
706-614-5266
fetch-a-vet@att.net
• House Calls For Pets
• Small Animal Practice
• By Appointment Only
Serving Clarke, Oconee, Madison, Jackson and Oglethorpe Comities
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BID
ARRA/GFC Grant Project #ARTP-10-07
City of Jefferson Tree Planting Project
Sealed proposals for furnishing all labor,
material, and other things necessary for the
following work will be received by the
undersigned at the office of the City Manager, City
of Jefferson, 147 Athens St., Jefferson, GA 30549,
706-367-5121 Ext. 4;
And publicly opened on Wednesday, April 14,
2010 at 3:00 p.m. at the Jefferson City Hall.
City of Jefferson Tree Planting Project for the
planting of trees along public street rights-of-way
Proposal Guaranty: 5%
Plans and specifications may be inspected at the
office of the City Manager, City of Jefferson, 147
Athens Street, Jefferson, GA 30549, 706-367-5121
Ext 4.
Copies of bid manuals and plans may be obtained
from the office of the City Manager.
City of Jefferson reserves the right to reject any
or all bids.