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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. AUGUST 25. 2011
Stop to smell the roses
(and sip the coffee)
I once read somewhere that on arrival to
heaven we will be called to give account for
all God-given pleasures granted here that we
refrained from enjoying. It slants halo glow
from a wholly different angle to imagine being
called on the carpet not for our explanation of
sins committed but of blessings un-treasured.
A hard enough place is the world we live in
and yet still sprinkled with enough pure pleas
ures to suggest the one overseeing has com
passion on the inmates here.
Some of Earth's standard oc
currences still grab our attention
to bring us joy: light at dawn-
in heaven? What God hath joined together, let
no man put asunder (cholesterol notwithstand
ing).
Tell what lonely midnight watch found no
improvement from the comfort beverage. And
though a comfort to the solitary, coffee warms,
too, as a ritual bond between companions.
Name something better than coffee in the
morning while propped in bed, fixed just the
way you like and brought by someone who
knows you, holding it out easy in gentle hands,
so you don't spill it, as if to say,
"This is my love to you: abid
ingly warm, unsugared, without
to ormg us joy: ngnt at aawn- n / ,1 • mgry warm, unsugarea, witnout
ing; a cooling summer rain; au- UCrl LrllH^S CIFC pretense, softened with the milk
tumn leaves turned gold and
orange; a new snow; a song just
right for whistling. All such
things are ours to savor, pro
vided we don't overlook them
when they happen on us.
"Stop to smell the roses,"
some prophet advised. They
might as accurately have ad
monished, "Pause, and sip the
coffee."
What poor soul, cold and wet through his
clothes, soaked in hard luck, bad times or bit
ter irony, couldn't find some hope left in a hot
cup of joe, hands wrapped round crockery,
dark heat of the elixir warming his inside?
What taste of meal or morsel was not
heightened by coffee's complement—maybe
java with donut being that marriage truly made
ours to savor,
provided we
don't overlook
them when they
happen on us.
of human kindness."
I've seen old men at a lunch
counter swapping notes on life
in high comedy. As often I've
heard the ring of a metal tea
spoon, rounding the inside of a
ceramic cup, as if rhythmic
punctuation of the tale being
told.
Truth be told, coffee is a com
modity. You can store it in a tin,
its pent aroma as exotic as tramp steamers and
foreign ports. But coffee's magic is mostly the
things we sometimes associate with it: friend
ship; love; renewed hope.
Those are gifts not to miss while traveling
through this world below and maybe the kind
we must account for when we are done with
wayfaring here.
Agree or Disagree? Tell us your thoughts on this week’s editorial either online at
the message board on the Progress Online (www.pickensprogress.com) or with a letter to the
editor that will be published next week. Letters may be e-mailed to
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telephone number for verification. Phone numbers are not published. Letters may also be
sent regular mail to Pickens Progress - P.O. Box 67 - Jasper, GA 30143. All names are pub
lished. The Deadline for letters is each Monday at noon.
The Essential Bad Attitude
By Alan Gibson
Ten things I don’t understand
Welcome to my hierarchy of
befuddlement. If you know any
of these answers, please chime
in:
1. Shouldn’t some health or
ganization come out against
Nathan’s Fourth of July hotdog
eating contest? We’re concerned
about obesity and yet are amused
when some oaf goes goofy with
gluttony.
2. When will broadcasters re
alize that you don’t use profanity
in the vicinity of a microphone
that’s supposed to be dead? Be
cause guess what?
3. Why do we employ the ex
pression “That was before my
time!?” To so say is to dismiss all
history. “Walter Winchell? He
was before my time,” remarked a
friend, to which I responded,
“How about Queen Victoria? She
was before your time but you’ve
heard of her.” My friend then
suggested that it wasn’t the
same thing and I knew it and
why didn’t I just shut up. Which
I didn’t think was called for.
4. Why do so many preach
ers shout? Moral certitude
would seem to lend itself to
humble expression.
5. When Naval Academy
graduates throw their hats into
the air, how do they get the right
one back? Those hats aren’t
cheap.
6. By what right do court
house reporters like Nancy
Grace second-guess juries?
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main St. P.O. Box 67 Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
www.pickensprogress.com
JOHN R. POOL DAN POOL
Publisher Editor
WILLIAM E. POOL
Managing Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper. Pickens County. Georgia.
Entered at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia 30143 as Mail Matter
of Second Class. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE
PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS, P. O. Box 67. Jasper. GA
30143.
One Year's Subscription: $21.40 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon Counties. $28.89 in all other
Georgia counties; $34.24 out of state.
7. When a guy asks a lady
out, why is he construed as “hit
ting” on her?
8. Why was Canada’s west
ward expansion gentler than
that of the U.S.? Canadians
seem to have all but avoided In
dian wars.
9. How do some women
manage to sit with their feet
tucked up underneath them? It’s
anatomically remarkable.
10. America is the most pow
erful nation. Why do we not
also aspire to be the most civi
lized?
[For more of the same visit
Alan’s Bad Attitude blog,
www.essentialba.com/. ]
JASPER ELEMENTARY FAMILIES
You Are Invited!
FESTIVAL OF LEARNING
*Curriculum Night*
*Visit with teachers in your child’s classroom*
*Get exciting and important information about the school year*
*Book Fair*
PTO
TITLE I ANNUAL MEETING
Chips and Cupcakes for Everyone
Jasper Elementary School
Monday, August 29, 2010
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
This week’s quotable quote
“The first step to getting the things you want out
of life is this: Decide what you want - Ben Stein
"They can redraw maps all they want, but politics never changes!"
Redistricting and its Impact
on the 51 st District
By Senator Steve Gooch
Special Session
The General Assembly was
called in special session last
week to undergo the arduous
task of reapportionment. This is
a process done every 10 years to
redistrict the state to ensure
equal representation based on
current population.
Based on the recent census
count, our state’s population is
more than 9.6 million, a growth
from 8.1 million in 2000. This
increase in population will gain
Georgia a new Congressional
District and a need to reappor
tion state districts to comply
with the one-vote, one-person
mandate. This mandate is a legal
precedent that requires the Gen
eral Assembly to map new state
districts, which will balance the
increase and decline of popula
tion throughout Georgia.
Data collected from the 2010
Census requires new Senate dis
tricts to have a population of
172,994, which is an average
growth of 18.3 percent from the
2000 numbers.
Redistricting Impacts to the
51st District
Currently, the 51 st District in
cludes the entire counties of
Dawson, Gilmer, Fannin, Pick
ens, Lumpkin, Union and por
tions of Forsyth and White
counties. If the proposed map is
approved, the new 51st District
will include the whole counties
of Dawson, Gilmer, Fannin,
Lumpkin, Union, White and por
tions of Pickens and Forsyth
counties. A 31.1 percent total
growth of the District since 2000
necessitates decreasing the pop
ulation of the District from
190,842 in order to meet legal
requirements.
New maps are formed with as
little deviation as possible from
the mandated population number
of 172,994. The new 51st Dis
trict will have 173,593 people, or
only a .35 percent deviation. In
cluded in the accompanying
table of population breakdown
by counties within the 51st Dis
trict, comparing the previous re
districting session to this year’s
numbers.
Reapportioning
Congressional Seats
On the federal level, Georgia’s
explosive growth over the last 10
years has earned our state an ad
ditional congressional seat, rais
ing our total to 14 seats. Georgia
is considered a fast-growing
“sunshine belt” state because of
our growth in population causing
us to gain additional seats. At the
same time, “rustbelt” states are
considered stable or in decline
and have lost seats in Congress.
Congressional redistricting is
handled in the Georgia Legisla
ture similar to any other legisla
tion. Each body will pass a plan
and ultimately the differences
will be hammered out. This is a
contentious subject with all sides
weighing in from the 13 current
U.S. congressmen to their con
stituents and other legislators
who might be vying for the new
seat.
Georgia is one of the states imder
Section 5 of the federal Voting
Rights Act, wherein all plans
passed by the General Assembly
must receive approval from the
federal government.
Special session will also look at
a couple more issues based on
Governor Deal’s agenda. Legis
lators will also consider chang
ing the date of regional
transportation referendums from
next year’s primary election in
July to the general election in
November. It would add a 1-cent
sales tax to pay for transportation
projects in the Atlanta area. In
addition, Gov. Deal has also re
quested lawmakers to ratify his
decision back in the summer to
roll back the sales tax increase
on gasoline.
I will continue to work hard
on your behalf and will send you
Capitol updates throughout spe
cial session.
Sen. Steve Gooch represents
the 51st Senate District, which
includes Dawson, Fannin,
Gilmer, Lumpkin, Pickens and
Union counties and portions of
Forsyth and White counties. He
may be reached at 404.656.9221
or via e-mail at
steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov.
COUNTY
2000
2010
Percent Growth
Dawson
15,999
22,330
39.6%
Fannin
19,798
23,682
1 9.6%
Forsyth 1
98,407
175,51 1
78.4%
Gilmer
23,456
28,292
20.6%
Lumpkin
2 1,016
29,966
42.6%
Pickens
22,983
29,43 1
28. 1 %
Union
17,289
21,356
23,591.
While ’
19,944
27,144
36.1%
District Total J
145,329
190.842
3 1.1 91.
Growth in Georgia’s 51st Senate District - [i] 2000: Two precincts; 2010: one smaller
precinct. [2] 2000: All but one eastern precinct; 2010: whole county. [3] The county totals are greater
than the district totals.
Keep Pickens Beautiful savs.
“Green Up” and breathe well
By Joan Britton,
KPB office manager
So just exactly what is
in the air we breathe? Air
is a gas that consists of
approximately 78 per
cent nitrogen, 21 percent
oxygen and trace ele
ments of helium, neon,
other gases and water
vapor.
Concentrated into all
of this are contaminants
that are solids, germs and
gases. We shut up our homes and
insulate the buildings and in turn
lock in all these pollutants.
Then we bring in new sources
of pollutants such as pressed
wood products. Meanwhile toxic
gases are escaping from the mold
forming in our old bread, aging
fruit and cheeses and meat.
These spores are released into
our air in the millions.
Every day new products are
put on the shelves for us to buy
and bring into our homes and no
one knows the long range effects
of the gases they produce.
We all now know what sec
ond hand smoke can do to us.
It is no wonder that the num
ber of deaths from asthma and
other lung diseases has almost
doubled since 1979.
The EPA says
that our indoor
air averages out
to be 100 times
more toxic than
the outdoor air.
So what do we
do to protect the
air we breathe?
Short of expen
sive “HEPA” fil-
trations systems,
we need to bring
the outdoors in
doors.
A NASA study shows that
certain houseplants were found
to remove as much as 87 percent
of indoor air pollutants within 24
hours.
Photosynthesis, in plants,
“cleans” our air by absorbing
carbon dioxide and by taking in
other pollutants.
So Green Up your homes with
one plant for every 100 square
feet in your home. Some of the
recommended “best picks” are
the following plants: gerbera
daisy, philodendron, chrysanthe
mums, English ivy, peace lily,
spider plants, cornstalk, dra
caena, and golden pothos. Most
of these plants will flourish in re
duced sunlight with just some
simple watering.
To find out more about other
tips to protect your air or about
Keep Pickens Beautiful, 706-
253-3600.
Weather
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
83
60
0
Wednesday
85
64
0
Thursday
87
69
0
Friday
88
66
.50
Saturday
89
66
0
Sunday
90
68
1.13
Monday
88
63
.0
Have you
spotted an
error in our
pages?
Let our staff
hear about it.
706-253-2457
or
dpool@pickensprogress.com