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Pickens County Editorial Page For the New Year - 7 see no reason why I should be consciously wrong today because I was unconsciously wrong yesterday. ” - Originally stated by Justice Robert Jackson when he reversed an earlier opinion. Recently re-stated by current Justices Scalia and Ginsburg to explain changing views. ^ Safe Exterminating Company, Inc.'’ ob " 9S t™ A- —A-V —A-/ ~SU£' »> r> • Opinions • Community Views • Good ‘01 Common Sense January 1, 2015 Lessons learned in 2014 The lesson of the water park - “The $140 million tourist attraction is coming and it’s gonna be great for the economy.” “No it’s not coming.” “It’ll totally change our whole way of life.” “It’ll cost the taxpayers millions.” The lesson of the water park was one of not jumping to conclusions. It seemed many peo ple had opinions on it before they had facts. One rumor we heard was our hotels were al ready full of construction workers, while an other was that it failed environmental tests. Neither was true. At this point about the most accurate description is the developers say they are still working on it, but it’s obviously not moving very quickly. The lesson of the JeepFest/New Year’s Eve celebration downtown - These events stand in stark rebuttal to those who complain that local people will not support events here. These two new events show plainly, folks will come out to an event if it entices them. Jeep- Fest with its unique mix of offroad fun and Jeep watching drew more people to the bonfire last year than we have ever seen at any event here. Last year’s New Year’s Eve drew well over 1,000 people — in spite of freezing temps. It may be hard to find something that catches the public’s interest, but these events show it’s not impossible. The lesson of the Dragons - Is there any great lesson that we got from having the best PHS football season in decades in 2014? Prob ably not, but it sure was fun to see the home team roll up yardage and wins. It builds com munity pride and let’s hope 2015 continues the winning ways. The lesson of Snow Jam — In 2014 we all learned we should have at the very least a half a tank of gas in our cars during the winter months. This little gem of knowledge was learned after last winter's massive ice storm turned Atlanta into a slick parking lot. Snow Jam, as it was affectionately called, stranded thousands of drivers for hours on frozen roads in and around Atlanta - and even a few of us up here in the mountains. We also learned it can’t hurt to stash some water and chocolate bars in the glove compartment. Of course, we all already know to have plenty of bread and milk at home. The lesson of big news in small towns - Just last week the New York Times published an article about the Helen tourist who was killed by a Jasper resident after he accidentally fired a shot that first went through his own hand. The incident has kicked up national dis cussions about gun rights, with a focus on ex panded carrying rights legislation passed by the Georgia Assembly (and sponsored by Pick ens’ own representative Rick Jasperse). Small towns like Jasper may seem to be perpetually under-the-radar, but make no mistake they can be thrust into the limelight just like middle- sized cities and metropolises (whether they want the attention or not). The lesson of the volunteers - If you hang around non-profits or volunteers for a while you’ll probably hear the phrase, “If you want something done, give it to the busiest person.” We go to a lot of meetings and cover a lot of events for non-profits. While all those events are all different, many of the same faces pop up again and again. There are plenty of people who volunteer when they can (and we and everyone else are grateful) but for some people volunteering is something you’re just sup posed to do and they do it all they time - even if they don’t really have the time. The lesson of the goofy idea - Who would have thought that throwing a bucket of ice water on your head and challenging others to do the same would become such a philan thropic blockbuster. The ALS Ice Bucket Chal lenge that went viral across Facebook and Twitter for several months at the end of the summer raised more than $115 million dollars for the ALS Association. With that money, the ALS Association has approved substantial funding to support six programs and initiatives to expedite the search for treatments and a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The lesson of the child. This year the Progress staff met three-year old Sammy Sim mons who was bom with cleft hands and feet, along with a list of medical issues that would excuse any bad attitude she might have had. But Sammy wasn’t grumpy or hopeless at all. She was bright-eyed and happy when we met her, and after her story was published in this paper letters arrived from readers who knew her and who said being happy is how she is all the time. Despite their naivete, children teach grown-ups life lessons everyday. AGREE OR DISAGREE? Tell us your thoughts on this week’s editorial either with a letter to the editor that will be published next week. Letters may be e-mailed to news@pickensprogressonline.com. All let ters must have a valid e-mail address, full name and telephone number for verification. We still take them by regular mail at Pickens Progress, P.O. Box 67, Jasper, GA 30143 The Essential Bad Attitude By Alan G' bson Top ten items of folk wisdom which are not really wise We assume they’re wise be cause we’ve heard them all our lives. But they’re not wise and I can prove it! It takes two to tango. No it doesn’t! I refer you to Raul Beznos’ book “I Tango Alone.” Ten weeks on the Buenos Aires bestseller list. A presidential candidate must have fire in the belly. Nonsense. Eating six tacos will give you fire in the belly but it doesn’t qualify you for president. Shape up or ship out. Ok I’ll ship out. Politics make strange bedfel lows. It’s also true that bedfel lows make strange politics, witness the Clintons, the Madis ons and the Frank Roosevelts. Life is just one thing after an other. When I said this to an At lanta bar patron, he howled that life was not just one thing after another and he’d deck any man who disagreed. The bartender threw him out which sort of proved my original point. Everybody makes mistakes. I knew a guy named Johnson whose ambition it was to go through life without making a single mistake. Achially he only made one when, on a junket to Alaska, he mistook a snoozing grizzly for a large fuzzy rock. The early bird catches the worm. I prefer to sleep late and do not want a worm. Good fences make good neighbors. Implicit is the strange assumption that isolating oneself is an amiable act. By that logic a gator-fdled moat would be an excuse for a party. It’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Or, for variety, waving an 8-by-10 glossy of Bill O’Reilly in front of a bull. Same result. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. I wasted a perfectly good batch of chocolate chippers in research which ultimately dis closed nothing. As my wiseguy lab assistant observed, “Well that’s the way it crumbles.” What a jerk. Give some guys a white coat and it goes right to their heads. [For more of the same, visit Alan’s blog, essentialba.com] Weather By William Dilbeck Dec. 16 - Dec. 23 HI LOW RAIN Tuesday 53 35 .00 Wednesday 45 33 .00 Thursday 46 32 .00 Friday 50 36 .16 Saturday 52 41 .00 Sunday 48 43 .00 Monday 46 42 .31 (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 A. 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: $29.96 in Pickens County and in Gilmer, Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon Counties. $39.59 in all other Georgia Counties; $44.94 out of state. OTHER VOICES Moving to ugly: Common core education facts By Peter Jennings, author of ‘MEganize - Empower your child with an ‘education for life.’ The origins and purpose of the Common Core State Stan dard (CCSS) was set in the 1980s when American students were performing below par, and there was inconsistency in testing stan dards. The goal was to raise over all performance and create a base for consistent measuring. This was the reasonable basis on which most of the states accepted the CCSS. So what has gone wrong? In one word, Control. It appears that politics got in volved, with a select few apply ing ideologies that are inconsistent with our Constitu tion and common values, who have tried to manipulate educa tion into a political platform. The original goals seem to have been forgotten. Centralized control is now ever increasing while indi vidualism and values are at risk. The strategic core of education has been ripped out in favor of a new branded base ‘Brave New Worldish’ conformity. So what could have been the basis for consolidation has ended in fail ure. We are now in a battle of these opposing ideologies. Cen tralization is not what America is about. Not only does the Federal Law prohibit government from creating national tests and stan dards, but we are all taught at business school that centraliza tion means bureaucracy, which sucks the spirit and purpose out of everything. From a govern ment perspective we have seen the risks of centralized control, where poor strategic decisions can place the country at risk on many platforms. This is a caveat in our current form of central government, and we have seen the potential over the past decade. We are a Republic. There are sound principles behind that mandate, and we are at risk of ig noring them. Let the CCSS deba cle be a warning. A few states have abandoned the Common Core and public opinion has become vehemently opposed to what has evolved. Whether the Common Core has failed or not, we still have a prob lem that needs to be addressed. All blame cannot be laid on that doorstep, even though it may be convenient. We still face huge challenges and while many offer criticism, few have come for ward with solutions. Some are looking to China, who aced the PISA tests, while the US stays in the middle of the pack (23rd in Science and 30th in Math). What is their model? Should we adopt it? The differ ence in cultures would suggest not. But they must be doing something right. The answer can’t that hard. Based on the PISA scores, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Ireland and Poland have now moved ahead of the US. Even Vietnam, a poor devel oping country, now has higher scores in Math and Science than the USA. Astounding! While we complain about our levels of unemployment, the U.S. Department of Commerce esti mates 1.2 million unfilled jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by 2018 due to a lack of qualified work ers. We are importing skills by the bucket load. Entrenchment is the name of the game in any monopoly. Edu cation has become one of the most rigid and protected indus tries in our country, while our businesses have led the world in best practices and process. We have a huge disconnect. Perhaps we can learn something from our updated practices, or a gardener... The Crystal Palace was de signed in 1850 (by a gardener) under severe constraints. This was used to house a Great Exhi bition of the Works of All Na tions. This virtual miracle laid the foundation for Britain’s wealth for the next century. It was used to connect the knowl edge of the world imder one roof. creating a wave of innovation and cross pollination of ideas that swept through the country. Eng land became the leading patent holder among all nations and held this title well into the 20th century. This ‘spirit’ of course spread to North America, creat ing its own winning culture of creativity in a land of possibili ties. A parable perhaps? ‘Innovation and productivity are driven by intellechial capital. This brings economic growth to the country and increases the welfare of all. This is the engine of a country and virtually ensures prosperity.’(MEganize) We are a country of innovative, enterpris ing individuals, not low cost pro duction clones like China. We have our own core competence and winning culture that is em bodied in our Constitution. Vi sion and values must design our structures which frame our cul ture which drives our perform ance. However, if our leadership (schools and government) does not embody our core values as defined by our founding fathers, we’re on the road to nowhere. If our leaders do not have a strate gic perspective that aligns with our vision and values, we will fail. ‘The principles that unite par ents of all ideologies against Fed Ed are bedrock tenets of our con stitutional republic: local control, parental sovereignty, privacy protections and fundamental skepticism about the actual edu cational benefits of massive gov ernment expenditures in the name of “reform.” (Michelle- malkin.com) This is our mission critical. Everything else pales in rele vance. Our leadership struchires must reflect the strategy that has proven itself. For a fundamental solution to our problems, a comprehensive guide on how to secure our future and best educate your child, and an unabridged version of this blog, visit www.MEganise4Life.com. ATTENTION, Retirees, Active, and Reserve and Veterans of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. FRA has been protecting your rights and benefits since 1924. We help you stay in formed of proposed changes and we help you to participate in the legislative process that affects things important to us. Importantly, we work to keep pay, health care, and benefits adequately funded. FRA works hard to keep a strong membership base and we strive to prohibit Retiree Health Care Fee increases. FRA is a non-profit professional military association and is a recognized leader in the military/veterans community. You can contribute significantly by becoming a member of the FRA. Dues are very reasonable and you can enjoy the camaraderie of men and women who have the same experiences and interests you have. Please call Floward Hayes, 770-712-9707. Check us out at www.fra.ora. follow FRA on Facebook at www.fra.ora/fb Join today! You’ll be glad you did.