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Pickens County
Editorial
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March 5, 2015
Things that make you
go Hmmm?
Killing her is wrong
Georgia is set to execute a woman. Kelly
Gissendaner is the only woman on death row
in Georgia and will be the first woman exe
cuted here in 70 years. She would have faced
lethal injection Monday, but the state got
squeamish about the drugs they had lined up
because they looked cloudy.
Gissendaner is a convicted murderer, but as
murders go it was a pretty plain, love triangle
stabbing. She is reportedly a calming presence
on other prisoners - with, dare we use the
word, motherly influence in the big house.
We have editorialized previously that
botched executions are inexcusable and they
give great ammo to anti-capital punishment
advocates. The prison system has months to
prepare for an execution and yet, apparently
they still can’t get it right with confidence. And
now they have a prisoner who might be the
least-offensive on death row they are seeking
to execute. Surely there are more deserving
candidates in Georgia’s prisons than Gissen
daner - Georgia clergy presented more than
25,000 letters asking for clemency for her.
We are full supporters of the death penalty,
but it’s hard to maintain confidence in states if
it can’t be done efficiently and with more de
serving criminals.
Mr. Smith needs to visit Atlanta
This meddling goes too far in education.
State Rep. David Clark wants to pass legisla
tion encouraging school boards to show the
movie, America: Imagine The World Without
Her to all students in 8th and 11th grade.
Clark feels the movie is needed to correct
views that America is a “disgrace.” The state
representative apparently believes anti-Amer
ican opinions are being drummed into students
at high schools and colleges.
We wonder the last time Rep. Clark actually
spent time on a high school campus? There
will always be teachers with rogue opinions,
but the idea that anti-American views are per
vasive in Georgia schools is farfetched. We
suggest Rep. Clark attach a related bill that en
courages all state legislators to watch Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington.
Think global, legislate local
Another piece of legislation also causes us
to stop and say hmmm? SB 139 will prohibit
local governments from banning plastic bags
at retail stores. Talk about middle-brother
over-reach. This isn’t the federal government
but the state is certainly flexing their muscle
to dictate what town councils can do. Local
councils are the heart of a democracy and they
need to operate unfettered from Washington or
Atlanta’s political whims.
This bill, which passed the senate, is in re
sponse to Tybee Island looking to ban the bags
to protect their coastal environment. Sponsor
Tyler Harper of Ocilla, said he was proposing
this to keep Georgia business friendly. At least
he doesn’t hide the fact that he is putting busi
ness interests over citizen interests.
Hmmm - a Candy Crush Tax?
One interesting bit of the legislative tinker
ing with state taxes is a proposal in the state
house to lower state income taxes but raise
sales taxes and expand it to groceries and dig
ital downloads.
The groceries portion of the bill from Rep.
John Carson of Marietta may be a hard fight
as previous attempts to tax food haven’t fared
well due to the impact on working families.
But it’s the downloads that have us going
hmmm? On the surface it seems a good idea.
You can’t very well argue that downloads of
music, movies or anything you pay for online
is a necessity.
It would also restore some fairness to real
world companies who see their digital com
petitors avoid the taxes they have to charge
customers for. In creating a level playing field,
what’s the difference in paying sales tax on a
Monopoly game at Walmart and paying it on
Trivia Crack bought through your iPhone?
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 Gibson
When you're asked to make a speech
10 complete talks on a
variety of topics
I think my spring forward has already fallen back.
OTHER VOICES
A Different View of the Feral Hog
Problem in Georgia
Audiences favor speeches that
are short and pugnacious. Here
are ten after-dinner orations
ready for you to deliver. Start by
tapping on a glass to get the au
dience’s attention. If that doesn’t
work, shout “Awright lissen up!”
SECRETS OF MARRIAGE.
Never go to bed angry - unless
you’re really cheesed off in
which case you might as well get
some sleep.
PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS.
We should opt for the common
touch; maybe somebody who
chases sheep and extracts lanolin
from their wool.
CHURCH SERMON.
You people know what you’re
supposed to do. Now get out
there and do it.
ECONOMICS.
Economics are boring. More to
the point, economists are boring.
Confiscate their charts, their
graphs, and if that doesn’t work,
their pants.
GLOBAL WARMING.
Look out the window! A polar
bear just went by on an iceberg.
Just kidding. Global warming is
a serious (yawn) concern. This
doesn’t affect my fee, right?
CYBER WAR.
Gather actual worms and insert
them into enemy computers.
Probably some in your yard.
HEALTH POLICY.
Sneak a look in friends’ medicine
cabinets and jot down anything
even remotely bizarre.
U.S. FOREIGN POLICY.
Make all embassy functions
more like a party at a disrep
utable fraternity. When foreign
heads of state visit the White
House, try the old whoopee
cushion gag. They’ll laugh
themselves silly. Except maybe
the Germans.
AGRICULTURE POLICY.
Nobody wants to hear a speech
on agriculture policy. Invite the
audience to stipulate that farmers
are to be respected, then serve
the dessert.
CRIME IN AMERICA.
Make youngsters on the cusp of
crime watch “Boys Town,” espe
cially the scene where Spencer
Tracy slaps the cigarette out of
Mickey Rooney’s mouth and
rectitude ensues.
And a note on gesturing.
Flailing your hands and arms
will add emphasis to any asser
tion. But be careful; I once
knocked a pitcher of sangria into
the hostess’ lap. She was Span
ish, which helped, but still it was
a consummate mess. They tried
to make me clean it up but I
claimed diplomatic immunity.
[For more of the same, visit
Alan’s blog, essentialba.com.]
Weather
By William Dilbeck
Feb. 24 - March 2
HI
LOW
RAIN
Tuesday
31
24
.00
Wednesday
32
24
.60*
Thursday
35
23
.00
Friday
38
23
.00
Saturday
47
34
.00
Sunday
47
36
.T
Monday
59
44
.00
* 5 inches snow
By Tim Brooks
I read with interest the article
published in the Pickens County
Progress on February 19th re
garding Feral Hogs in Georgia. It
was the standard story about
hogs breeding uncontrollably
and destroying millions of dol
lars of food crops, with no possi
ble solution to the problem but to
spend millions more (tax) dollars
letting the “experts” handle the
problem. The Expert in your ar
ticle stated “hunting may take a
few animals but it will never be
a solution to this problem.”
Tell that to the:
(1) Carolina parakeet - The
species' demise came shortly
after its beautiful, colorful feath
ers became fashionable to wear
as decorations in ladies' hats. The
last known wild specimen was
killed in Okeechobee County,
Florida in 1904, and the species
was officially declared extinct in
1939.
(2) Passenger pigeon - It was
actually the most common bird
in North America as recently as
200 years ago, and some reports
counted single flocks numbering
in the billions. So what hap
pened?
The pigeon meat was com
mercialized and sold as cheap
food, mostly for slaves and the
poor, which began an unregu
lated hunting campaign on a
massive scale. Researchers have
agreed that the bird was hunted
out of existence, victimized by
the fallacy that no amount of ex
ploitation could endanger a crea
ture so abundant.
(3 & 4) Eastern Wood Bison
and Eastern Elk - The wood
bison and elk were native species
throughout the eastern United
States at the time of early 1600s
settlements. Market hide hunters
and settlers eliminated both
through over-hunting. By 1840,
both the bison and elk were gen
erally extinct species east of the
Mississippi River.
(5) Eastern Mountain Lion
- experts believe the last of the
subspecies of mountain lion, or
cougar went extinct in the 1930s.
It was officially declared extinct
in 2011.
(6, 7) Eastern Red wolves
and Grey wolves - were eradi
cated in most of the US by 1980.
(8) White-tailed deer - Vir
ginia, using statistics provided by
the US Fish and Wildlife Serv
ice: “After the English colonists
arrived in 1607, the deer popula
tion (estimated at 400,000 to
800,000 animals) was dramati
cally reduced by overhunting. By
1931, it had dropped to perhaps
just 25,000 deer... In 2015, the
deer population in Virginia now
exceeds the number thought to
be here when European colonists
first arrived.”
In New Jersey: “By the late
1800s, the deer population in the
northeastern US was at a critical
low due to overharvesting. How
ever, the deer population quickly
rebounded following restocking
efforts and the enactment of sev
eral protective measures, such as
game laws and seasonal hunting
restrictions.
The deer population experi
enced further population growth
during the early 20th century due
to the combined effects of sev
eral factors. Agricultural and hor
ticultural practices created a
constant supply of high quality
food resources for deer. Extirpa
tion of natural predators, such as
wolves and cougars, lowered nat
ural mortality rates. Reductions
in recreational himting further re
duced deer mortality. Sport hunt
ing is considered the most
cost-effective, efficient method
of deer management. Hunters
have been successful in reducing
deer densities where they have
access to hunting lands; however,
the lack of hunter access contin
ues to be a severe obstacle to suc
cessful deer management in the
most densely populated state in
the nation.”
(9) Choctaw Hogs - intro
duced into the South by Euro
peans and then eradicated
following the Native American
removal in the early 1800s. The
Choctaw is an American breed
that descends from Spanish stock
brought to the Americas begin
ning in the 1500s. Native Amer
icans, European settlers, and a
succession of other peoples in
the Southeast used Spanish hogs
for over three hundred years. The
modem breed’s name comes
from the Choctaw tribe, with
whom it has been associated for
so long.
In the 1830s, the United
States government removed the
Five Civilized Tribes, forcing
them to move to Oklahoma.
Today, Choctaw hogs in Okla
homa are managed as they were
traditionally. They are earmarked
and then allowed to ran free on
the open range. The hogs require
little care and are able to forage
for their own food, including
roots, plants, acoms, and berries.
Periodically, the hogs are
rounded up, usually being trailed
with dogs and then trapped.
Once captured, the young
ones are ear marked and sorted.
Those slated for market are con
fined and fed on com to increase
their weight. Those not needed
for sale are released, zipping
back into the woods as quickly as
they can. The Choctaw breed is
critically rare, with a population
estimated at a few hundred ani
mals. Almost all of them are
found in the few counties of
southeast Oklahoma that were
formerly the Choctaw Nation.”
Do you really think that those
Indians who were rounded up
and herded to Oklahoma were
first allowed to capture and bring
along every single pig they had
wandering the woods of 5
States? Who do you think ate
those stray Southern animals and
how did they so effectively elim
inate the population from all
Southern States?
People like to blame over-
eager rednecks for spreading
hogs across state lines, but
maybe the real reasons for the
explosion in populations are the
same reasons that the white
tailed deer and other animal pop
ulations have rebounded since
the 1930s. Maybe the modern
factory farm agriculture, timber
land management and hunting
regulations are to blame. Maybe
today’s one farmer per 1000
acres is less of a threat than the
fifty farmers, each with a few
hound dogs and 10 kids - all
totin huntin rifles was in the
1920s. Maybe these
factors are causing the current
hog population explosion:
(1) Most hog hunting on pub
lic lands is limited to a very short
season. If hogs breed year-round
and do their most damage in the
spring and summer (planting &
growing seasons), then why is
hunting them only allowed dur
ing the winter?
(2) Most private land owners
will not allow hunters on their
property. Most hunters would be
very willing to spend days walk
ing over property, talking to
farmers and officials, and learn
ing as much as possible before
they hunt there.
Hunters will usually do what
ever it takes to guarantee their
success, they enjoy meeting oth
ers who share their interests and
they know it’s in their best inter
est to do whatever it takes to en
sure they have an open invitation
to return to hunt again. Recently,
the GA DNR set up the “Hunters
Helping Farmers” web program
on both the DNR and Dept, of
Ag websites. Hunters could reg
ister and be linked up with
landowners who needed assis
tance with hog control. Cur
rently, over 15,000 hunters have
registered - and less than 20
landowners.
(3) Most professional hog-
elimination companies charge
big bucks for guided hunts.
These companies have made
deals with landowners, and they
do have a large investment in
their personnel and equipment;
but very few hunters can afford
to spend $700.00 per night to
hunt, and this small number isn’t
helping control the hog popula
tion.
(4) The existing Hunter Edu
cation training in Georgia isn’t
structured to teach responsible,
safe and effective hunting on
farmland.
Maybe wild pigs are smarter
than any other animal, but I don’t
believe so. Maybe some experts
think we humans are all a lot
dumber than hogs too.
Tim Brooks is a resident of Pick
ens County; my family has lived
in North GA since 1830.
He is a graduate of the Univ.
of GA, whose interests are Ge
nealogy, History, and community
service. He loves Scuba Diving,
Hunting and Jogging.
Correction
An error was made in the
article “Nelson Mayor not
technically a resident” in the
February 9, edition of the
Progress. The street numbers
of the houses were reversed.
The Mayor lives at 1685
Ray Mountain Road which is
in the city but his residence of
record is 1661 Ray Mountain
Road which is in unincorpo
rated Pickens County. The
1661 Ray Mountain Road
Address is the address with
the homestead exemption and
therefore his legal residence.
Are We
Getting it
Straight?
Have you spotted an
error in our pages?
706-253-2457 or
dpool@pickensprogress.com
’gustos
(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
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