Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
You can go home again
YOU MAY not
have noticed, but
McLemoresville, Tenn.,
(population 311 if you
count dogs, cats and
chickens), was in the
news recently. And it was
not in my column in The
Jackson Herald, where
you see McLemoresville
mentioned occasionally.
No, it was on radio and
television and in newspa
pers all across the country. And it
was news the good folks of McLey
(that’s short for McLemoresville),
didn’t want to hear. One of the
town’s most beloved citizens had
died.
“Dixie Carter’s final homecom
ing celebrated an actress and a
small-town girl with a big-time
zest for life,’’ wrote Michael Lollar
in The Memphis Commercial
Appeal,
Dixie’s funeral was more than
a homecoming and a celebration;
it was also a reunion. Jean Smart,
Annie Potts and Delta Burke, who
starred with Dixie on the long-
running hit TV show, “Designing
Women’’ were there.
Reporter Lollar wrote that Ms.
Burke, who played Dixie’s sister
on the series, “wept throughout
the funeral and committal ser
vice.’’
Annie Potts described her friend
Dixie as “beautiful and brainy,
smart and funny, prim and sexy,
wickedly talented and divinely
sweet.’’
Dixie Carter arguably cre
ated the most memorable, strong
Southern female character in tele
vision history. She exhibited a
positive image and role model
with her intelligent, formidable
“Sugarbaker’’ character. It was an
image that did not exist prior to
“Designing Women.’’
In her long career, Dixie
starred in no less than six televi
sion series, including “On Our
Own,’’ “Filthy Rich,’’ “Diff’rent
Strokes’’ and “Family Law.’’ She
received an Emmy nomination in
2007 for playing Marcie Cross’
scary mother-in-law on ABC’s
“Desperate Housewives.’’
So it was not sur
prising that many
of Dixie’s out-
of-town celebrity
friends descended
on McLemoresville
for her funeral. The
only time locals
could remember
such a crowd at
McLey’s little United
Methodist Church
was when Dixie and
Hal Holbrook were married there
in 1984.
George T. (Tommy) Adams ID,
my nephew and son of Madeline
Carter Adams, 89, came from
St. Louis to escort his mother
to the funeral. Tommy described
the crowd and tributes as “over
whelming.’’ “The church sanc
tuary, classrooms, basement
and an outside tent were all full.
The basement and tent had TV
feeds.’’
Dixie’s pastor came all the way
from Los Angeles to speak at the
funeral. He said that she “was
sealed in the Faith at an early age
at the very church where she is
being memorialized.’’
Like Dixie, many inhabitants
of the little town (including yours
truly) joined the little Methodist
Church at an early age.
Visitation prior to the ser
vice was not held at the funeral
home in Huntingdon, nine miles
away, but in the Carter home in
McLemoresville where Dixie
was bom May 25,1939.
She and Hal had restored the
home for their frequent visits to
the close-knit town where they
could be themselves. You could
count on them coming home
at Easter and Christmas and on
Dixie’s birthday. They considered
their McLemoresville home an
essential and peaceful refuge. Out-
of-control photographers chasing
after celebrities never heard of
McLemoresville, Tenn., (popula
tion 311 if you count dogs, cats
and chickens.)
Hal rode his bicycle around the
community, stopping to chat with
young and old. “When Dixie was
here, she wore blue jeans and
old shirts and no makeup,’’ said
Joyce Crocker, a friend and for
mer schoolmate. “She’d run in to
the grocery store to pick up a few
things and nobody bothered her.’’
“Dixie never forgot her
roots,’’ said Phil Williams,
McLemoresville’s mayor. (I
believe that is true of most of us
who were bom and reared in the
little town.)
Dixie was a good role model
for many young folks who “grew
up country.’’ She was valedic
torian of her high school class,
and after attending the University
of Tennessee and Southwestern
University, graduated from
Memphis State.
She was a voracious reader as a
child and throughout her life, and
developed a love of language at a
very early age. A large volume of
Shakespeare and an unabridged
Dictionary lay on the front hall
table at the Carter home, and the
family would regularly refer to
the Dictionary to resolve disputes
over the meanings of specific
words. (That’s another reason
the Carters are close to this old
would-be columnist’s heart.)
“She just had the joy of life in
her,’’ said Jean Smart, a “Designing
Women’’ co-star.
A nephew, James Carter, said
there was a secret to why people
loved his aunt. “The secret was,
she loved you, too.’’
“She was graceful and fear
less,’’ said her daughter, Mary
Dixie. “She never pretended the
stakes were low. In her profes
sional and personal life the stakes
were always high. She wanted to
leave the world a better place.’’
McLemoresville, Tenn., is a
better place because Dixie Carter
traveled far but never lost touch.
She instilled in many of us the
belief that you really can go
home again.
There is only one sad note to
all of this. Dixie didn’t live to
see her first granddaughter. Mary
Dixie is expecting to deliver that
granddaughter in June.
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
virgil
adams
Lipscomb Lake Road now open for traffic
THE JACKSON County Road Department Bridge on Lipscomb Lake Road is now open
has announced that the Lipscomb Lake for traffic.
FIRST ANNUAL
• 5K RUN-WALK
• 1 MILK RUN-WALK
• TOT TROT
• Kids Activities • Raffle
May 16, 2010 • 2:00 P.M.
...have a good time
doing a good thing!
Benefits the
Jackson County
Certified Literate
Community Program
whose purpose is to
harness the power of
communities to fight
illiteracy.
Event to be held at
MOTORSPORTS PARK
Sponsored by:
Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce
and 2010
Leadership Class
Pre-register online at www.georgiarunner.com
For more information call Debbie Killip 770-530-5507
Garbage dumping concern in Pendergrass
BY SHARON HOGAN
PENDERGRASS resident
George Sanders sought the city’s
help last week with his neigh
bors throwing trash and leftover
food out in the tree line near his
home.
Sanders. Church Street, asked
the council at Tuesday’s, April
27, council meeting what can be
done to help with this problem.
“This attracts varmints - rats,
opossums, coons,” Sanders said.
Sanders suggested that the city
consider sending notices to land-
owners, landlords and renters in
the city to address this issue.
Mayor Monk Tolbert asked
city manager Rob Russell and
police chief Robert LaRocque
to check into this and follow
up with the police officer that
responded to a previous call
about the problem.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at the
monthly council meeting:
•Sanders asked about the
lights in the memorial park
that have been shut off. Russell
reported that water has gotten
into the lines underground and
they have shorted out. “Georgia
Power did shut them off, but
it was because of this prob
lem,” Russell said. Russell told
Sanders the budget is tight and
nothing can be done to fix the
problem with the lights right
now.
•the council unanimously
approved the April 2010 library
report presented by Renee
Martinez showing 98 patrons,
103 computer users, three new
adult fiction books, seven new
DVDs and $15 received for
faxes, copies and book sales.
•Russell reported the city’s
street crew is doing a lot of grass
cutting right now. Russell also
advised the city has $25,000-
$30,000 in road work that needs
to be done.
•Russell reported that the city
is still working with Jackson
County and the other munici
palities on the upcoming
SPLOST and the HB489 shared
services agreement. The county
is continuing to hold meetings
on these two topics.
The next regularly scheduled
council meeting is set for 6:30
p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, at the
Pendergrass Depot.
Not all animals taken by county animal
control to be given to humane society
WHILE A policy is now in place to allow
the animals taken to the county Animal Control
Division be given to the Jackson County Humane
Society, it does not mean that all of the animals
taken in will go to the nonprofit organization.
The board of commissioners approved a policy
that allows for the humane society to house the
animals until they are adopted. The former county
policy called for the animals to be euthanized if
they were not adopted or claimed by the owner
in five days.
However, leaders with the county humane
society point out that the group doesn’t have the
resources to take all of the animals. The humane
society will likely be able to take two to four ani
mals per month.
“We are working with the county on an agree
ment that would allow us to take in a small
number of animals from animal conuol into our
system as space allows,” said Anne Holified, a
member of the humane society. “These animals
would otherwise be put down. We will not be tak
ing in all of their animals. ... That is way beyond
our capabilities.”
Bicknell, Yates complete training
Yates plans
town hall
meeting Tues.
JACKSON County Board
of Commissioner Bruce Yates
will hold a town hall meeting
at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11,
at the Braselton Public Safety
Building.
Yate represents District 3 on
the BOC.
JACKSON County Board
of Commissioner chairman
Hunter Bicknell and commis
sioner Bruce Yates were among
the more than 100 county
officials from across the state
who were recently recognized
by the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia
(ACCG) for completion of
the Commissioners Training
Program and the Certified
Commissioners Advanced
Program (CCAP).
The county officials were rec
ognized at the association’s 96th
annual meeting which was held
at the Savannah Civic Center in
Chatham County. These training
programs are offered by ACCG
in conjunction with the Carl
Vinson Institute of Government
at the University of Georgia and
have educated more than 2.600
elected and appointed county
officials in the last two decades.
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Onion Rings 2ibs $2.29
Pork Ribs 5ibs §8.95
McEver Bologna 1/2 stick $11.95
Hushpuppies Regular or Jalapeno.. ...$1.99
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Steak Fries 5 tbs $4.39
Breaded Shrimp 2 tbs $8.99
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