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It’S
Blueberry
season!
THE ADVOCATE DEMOCRAT, Crawfordville, GA, Friday, June 28, 2024
Statewide Bible Reading In Memory of
Editor Carey Williams, Sr.
The Watson’s are picking
blueberries at 1410 Margarets
Grove Road in Crawfordville.
Please call ahead to place
your order or to pick your own.
Based on availability. Anyone
who makes a purchase will be
added to a drawing at the end of
blueberry season.
Blueberries are often called a
“Superfood” Small but mighty!
They will tell you all about the
benefits of Blueberries in your
diet and give you ideas of what
to do with them. They would like
to thank you for your continued
support!
706-318-3949.
Tracye & Bob Watson
Bubbles
“Direct me in the path of your
commands, for there I find my
delight.’’ (Psalm 119:35 NIV)
I drove away from the Senior
Center after a fun afternoon
playing Bridge with friends. I
maneuvered my car into my
favorite spot at the nearby
grocer, turned it off, and traipsed
inside to gather supplies.
After loading my purchases, I
climbed into the driver’s seat and
turned the key in the ignition. The
dashboard lit up like a Christmas
tree then suddenly went black.
“Oh, Lord,” I said, “Please tell me
what to do!” I called my husband,
Jeff, and asked him to come help
me.
A nice young lady with two
small children stopped and
asked if I needed help. I assured
her my husband was on his
way. Upon his arrival, we were
both chagrined that his Tacoma
could not “jump” the battery on
my Tahoe. We discussed our
options and decided to call a
local car repair company.
“Did you call Madison Car
Care?” a young man asked
as he cheerfully exited his car
with a heavy case in his hand.
Connected to his contraption,
my car started right up. Jeff
looked at the name on his work
shirt and asked, “Is your name
really Bubbles?” The young man
chuckled and said it was the
name they gave him at work. I
thought, “How cool, God, that
you sent Bubbles to lift my spirit
and rescue me today!”
If I had driven home instead
of to Ingles, this story might
have had a very different and
YAY! All slots have been filled
for the Statewide Bible Reading
on July 14 at 7:14am on the
west side of the courthouse-
that’s where the shade is in
the mornings. I’m all about the
shade these days.
Our reading, time and date,
are based on II Chronicles 7:14-
“If my people who are called by
my name humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven and
will forgive their sins and heal
their land.”
God is telling Solomon how
a nation should respond if there
are evil forces coming against
the land. People, we need a
healing in our land and in our
hearts. We must turn from our
wickedness and call upon the
Lord-NOW!
Commission Chairman
Alexander has given permission
to use the courthouse lawn
and I am so excited to fill you
in on some of the items on our
agenda.
There will, of course,
be Scripture reading from
seventeen members of our
community. I tried to diversify
the community members, but
the responses were the ones I
went with.
Meet me
early
in the
morning
Ruth Merritt
Give honor to the Lord for
the glory of His name. Worship
the Lord in the splendor of his
holiness. (Psalm 29:3)
In the morning stillness, while
the earth is fresh with the dew of
My presence. Worship Me in the
beauty of holiness.
Sing love songs to My holy
name. As you give yourself to
Me, My spirit swells within you
until you are flooded with My
divine presence.
I Peter 1:8 says “You love
Him even though you have
never seen Him. Though you do
not see Him, you trust Him; and
even now you are happy with a
glorious, inexpressible joy.
The world’s way of pursuing
riches is grasping and hearding.
You attain My riches by letting
go and giving. When you meet
with Me; the more you give
yourself to Me and My ways, the
more I will fill you with heavenly
joy.
not-so-happy ending. I felt God’s
grace pour over me as Bubbles
installed a new battery in my car
in record time.
I will thank my heavenly Father
for all the bubbles He blows my
way to lift me up to serve in His
kingdom. I hope you will, too!
Connect with Macy at www.
macymjohnson.com, email
macymjohnson@gmail.com.
Athens Technical College accreditation reaffirmed
by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools Commission on colleges
The Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools Commission
on Colleges (SACSCOC) has
reaffirmed the accreditation of
Athens Technical College for
another 10 years. At the recent
meeting in June, the SACSCOC
Board of Trustees voted to approve
accreditation.
“This is a significant milestone
for Athens Technical College,
especially as the College just
celebrated its 65th anniversary.
This was a team effort, and I
thank everyone involved for their
dedication and hard work during
this process,” said Dr. Andrea D.
Daniel, Athens Technical College
President. “Reaffirmation of Athens
Technical College demonstrates
that the College is continuing to
provide high-quality educational
workforce development
opportunities to serve the needs
of our students and community.
Also, for the college to have zero
recommendations demonstrates
the outstanding work our team is
achieving.”
All institutions accredited by
SACSCOC are required to have
their accreditation reaffirmed
every 10 years to remain in good
standing and to receive state and
federal funding. The reaffirmation
process included submission of
reports that demonstrated the
College’s adherence to SACSCOC
standards and guidelines as well
as an on-site visit that was held in
October 2023.
The process also included
the launch of the College’s new
Guality Enhancement Plan (CEP),
“C.O.D.E. to Student Success
- Commitment to Outstanding
Distance Education”. The CEP is
a plan designed to address key
issues of importance to student
success in online learning in order
to increase student satisfaction,
reduced course attrition, and
improved student grades.
The next reaffirmation process
for Athens Technical College will
take place in 2033.
I would love to have other
cultures and races, but was sad
to not hear from any others. We
all need Jesus.
Lauren Reed will lead the
music and we will pledge our
allegiance to the American Flag,
the Christian Flag and the Bible,
God’s Holy Word.
If you were not able to
participate and read, I would
still love for you to be there the
morning of this great event to
worship with us. You may want
to bring a chair. You will have
plenty of time to get back home
and get ready for worship at
your own church.
Let’s make this an event to
remember.
Every county in the state will
read a section of the Bible at the
same time the morning of July
14. It is amazing to note that
every time zone in Russia, there
are four, has a Bible reading also.
What a joy to know the gospel is
being spread worldwide. Many
other countries are participating
too.
Please be with us in prayer
as we read God’s Word. If you
are not able to come out, I will
stream it live on my Facebook
page (Donna Taylor), then post
it there for later viewing.
April 6, 1901 - July 3, 1991
Editor, The Advocate Democrat 1936-1991
Bartram Trail Regional Library
System Tech Grant
Markers * Slabs * Coping
MONUMENTS
Galen Mills Monument Sales
P.O.Box 591 ii4'A College Ave.
Eiberton, Georgia 30635
Office: 706-283-8390
Home: 706-283-5628
“Serving the area for over 35 years”
Call or write for
brochure or appointment
The Bartram Trail Regional
Library System, encompassing
the Mary Willis Library, the
Taliaferro County Library, and
the Thomson-McDuffie County
Library, was the recipient
of funding that allowed for
comprehensive technology
updates across all its branches.
The enhancements included
the provision of state-of-the-
art computers and printers
accessible to the public, as
well as iPads with a range of
educational games and activities
tailored for children. Additionally,
networking equipment was
installed to significantly improve
WiFi access within the libraries.
These upgraded devices now
serve a multitude of purposes,
such as aiding patrons in job
searches, facilitating resume
building, supporting homework
assignments, and promoting
literacy development. The
objective of these improvements
is to furnish our patrons with
better, user-friendly, and more
efficient equipment. Our libraries
are grateful for Georgia Library
Technology Improvement and
Upgrade funding for making
these improvements possible
and to Georgia Public Library
Service for aiding us throughout
this process.
If you need cataract surgery, don’t wait
By Dink NeSmith
Dink NeSmith
Q uarterback Buddy Bennett
(granddaddyof UGA’s two-
time national-championship
quarterback Stetson IV) and his 1954
state-championship Yellow Jackets
’walked the halls of Jesup High School
with its squeaking, oil-soaked wood
floors.
By the time Len Hauss and his teammates won their
1959 state crown, their penny loafers and high-top
tennis shoes were doing the squeaking on waxed tile
floors. Jesup High School had been moved to the new
flat-roofed complex on West Orange Street,
And the left-behind Plum Street campus was where
my friends and I attended junior high. We climbed
concrete steps to enter
the main hall. Principal
James E. Bacon’s office
was on the left. The
auditorium—with its
musty stage curtains—
was on the right, where
we were tapped into
the Junior Beta Club.
With its high
ceilings, oiled-
wood floors and
heart-pine rafters,
it took only a spark
to turn the historic
building—where my
dad graduated in 1941—into smoldering ashes. That
was after our high school graduating class of 1966 had
moved across the railroad tracks. I guess there wasn’t
enough water or hoses to save the old brick Plum Street
school.
Mr. Bacon’s wife was one of my seventh-grade
teachers. During a homeroom period, Mrs. Nanelle
Bacon announced, in her commanding voice, “Class,
today I’m going to be checking your eyesight” She hung a
chart on the blackboard. Going from top to bottom, the
letters and numerals decreased in size.
My turn came.
Mrs. Bacon covered my right eye and asked me to
read what I saw. I heard her exhale. And then she
covered my left eye with the same instructions. She
didn’t exhale. Instead, she boomed, “Good Lord, son.
You are blind. Get your mamma to take you to Dr,
Wilson or Dr. Minchew tomorrow!”
(6
A few days later, I walked into her room and
announced, “Mrs. Bacon, I thought the chalk just made
fuzzy writing on the blackboard. And look, I can see the
individual leaves on the tree? Those black horn-rimmed
glasses opened a new world that had been oblivious to
my nearsighted past.
That was 1960.
Fast-forward 64 years.
Hello, Cataract Era.
Mrs. Bacon might smile, knowing that I have shucked
my glasses.
Two surgeries and a month later, I didn’t knowhow
cloudy my vision had become. To get ready for the
procedures, my surgeon asked me to wear a special pair
of contact lenses.
My left eye was focused up close. The right eye
was fitted on distance. Some friends said the mixed
prescriptions made
them dizzy. I loved the
combination and said,
“Let’s go, Doc.”
The left eye was
the first to get a new
lens. After 24 hours of
blurriness, I tried Mrs.
Bacon’s trick. I closed my
right eye. Wow\ What a
white, bright world was
out there. And then 1
shut my “good” eye to
test what my yet-to-be-
fixed right eye saw.
It was as if I was
looking through amber-lens sunglasses. There was a
yellowish tint to everything. I could almost hear my
seventh-grade teacher belt out, “Well, son, I could have
told you that’s what cataracts do! Why have you waited so
long?”
I don’t have a good answer.
But i can tell you this.
I am grateful for my new-and-improved eyesight.
And one more thing.
There are some treasured memories that even the
hottest blaze cannot destroy.
Well, one more thing.
I do have a regret in this postscript to the 1954
segment of this story. I wish Buddy Bennett had lived to
see his grandson, Stetson IV, quarterback the Georgia
Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships.
dnesmith@cmnewspaptrs.com
(For more commentaries visit www.dinknesmith.com.)
"Good lord, son. You
are blind. Get your
mama to take you
to Dr. Wilson or Dr.
Minchew tomorrow!"
—Nanelle Bacon
