Newspaper Page Text
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried. ” -voda
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
January 6,2022
From the Staff
Strong county response
to landfill right on target
Over the holidays at different times, two
members of our staff ventured north on High
way 515. Evidence of our recent reporting on
what could turn out to be the biggest story of
last year, greeted us around the scenic look
out.
The smell there was absolutely atrocious
on both trips through the area. Our editor
went back to see how bad it was Monday and
it was mostly gone, though small plumes of
smoke could still be spotted coming from the
Whitestone Valley Construction and Demo
lition Landfill, which the county administra
tively closed just before Christmas.
The smell was intolerable on days with
heavy, humid air. It was sickening -so foul
an odor that it stayed with you for a couple
of miles while driving 65 mph.
There are not many homes in the imme
diate area of the dump, but we can’t imagine
how those who do live nearby tolerate the
smell if it is as bad as described at the county
meeting and our own noses confirmed last
week. Our county’s public safety director
said the noxious fumes come from methane
and burning garbage and debris like mat
tresses and tires - items that are strictly pro
hibited in the landfill there.
“People don’t need to be breathing this,”
said Public Safety Director Sloan Elrod at the
meeting.
It should also be noted that the site is on a
ridge and Talona Creek, one of the few
streams in the county, is at the bottom. There
is no evidence of any problem now with the
nearby waters, but the proximity warrants
further checks.
At the December called meeting, commis
sioners heard reports from the public safety
director, development office director, fire
marshal and county marshal all presented by
the county’s director of administration Bill
Wood. The county then took the strongest ac
tion possible, shutting the private business
down with an administrative order, saying it
would not be lifted until the situation at the
dump is remedied. Commission Chair Kris
Stancil said this was something his oath of
office absolutely required. And he should feel
good about mandating accountability from
these metro-Atlanta companies seeking to
operate here.
The companies involved in the landfill
were not requested to attend the county meet
ing, though the commission chair said he as
sumed they knew it was happening.
It’s a shame, the dump bosses weren’t
there. It would be nice to hear how they
would explain the seemingly blatant viola
tions of county codes at their site. There
could be another side, but it is hard to get past
the photos of burning mattresses and the hor
rible smell. The evidence presented by the
county was clear that the Whitestone landfill
accepted garbage from outside the county
borders and they accepted items they should
n’t have - household garbage, tires, mat
tresses.
Stancil and Wood both say it’s evident
they were accepting garbage from outside of
the county (supposedly 95 percent of their
total volume comes from elsewhere) and the
photos made plain the piles of garbage con
tains items they were not permitted for.
Two different county officials speculated
to us that perhaps the owners didn’t know
those codes because in meetings and on their
own website the operators acknowledge
waste coming from the metro area, calling
themselves a regional facility when the
county code limits the operation to Pickens
County.
The company has met a couple of times
with county officials seeking a path to re
open, according to our commission chair.
That is a good sign that the landfill operators
still want to use the site and apparently are
willing to remedy the problems.
We would urge the commissioners to be
fair, but to show no leniency with the county
codes. As Commission Chair Stancil said his
sworn duty is to the residents of this county
and that starts with holding all companies ac
countable to the codes that govern their op
erations.
The television show The Simpsons has
several episodes referencing the Springfield
Tire Fire, including one on its 50th anniver
sary of ignition. We don’t need that plot com
ing to life in Pickens County.
We are encouraged by the actions of our
county government and the fact the operators
are still talking to the local officials about this
matter. We encourage them both to do the
right thing and clean up this mess.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
After the thrill is gone
By Jim Brescia
I borrowed the headline
from a song title by the mu
sical group The Eagles. The
thrill I am thinking of is the
thrill of a holiday, wedding,
baptism, graduation, birthday
etc.
There is emotion, activity
and anticipation that gradu
ally builds up to a crescendo
as the special event or day
approaches. I always try to
stay in the moment and drink
in the joy of these events be
cause I know what will fol
low.
Sooner (usually) or latter,
the glow fades and there is a
letdown.
It’s not strong enough to
be labeled a clinical depres
sion. It is more of a sudden
adjustment back to the more
mundane activities of our
everyday lives. I feel it most
when my wife and I take
down our Christmas decora
tions.
Perry Como (yes, I am
that old) said it best in his
song “Christmas Dream”:
“Crazy things said
and done
Every single day but one
Every night should,
I belie ve,
Be the same as Christmas
Eve
Nights should all be silent
Days should all slow down
An end to the hurry, the
noise and the worry ”
No wonder my Mom had
a not so secret crush on Perry.
Dad understood and we often
laughed about it. Perry’s song
got me thinking (always a
risky business).
Events come and go.
They are accompanied by
our behavior and emotions.
The events eventually pass
but that does not mean that
our festive behavior must
end. Do we need a holiday to
be joyful, benevolent or gen
erous? Why do our better in
stincts need crutches?
Joyous and sad life events
are merely mileposts mark
ing points in the wonderous
journey we call life. The
events come and go but the
thing that defines us is how
we react to them and how we
behave after the event has
passed.
I am not advocating for a
“The Road Goes On Forever
And The Party Never Ends”
(with apologies to a legion of
singers who covered that
song) approach to life. Those
folks can be found in bars all
across the USA and the
world for that matter. Those
folks use “the holiday spirit”
to avoid their worldly obliga
tions.
I am suggesting that we
retain the joy, generosity and
benevolence that wells up in
us leading up to events in our
life and spread them through
out the non-event times of
our life.
Perry had a good idea:
Every night should, I believe
Be the same as Christmas
Eve!
Have a merry rest of the
year!
[Jim Brescia is a contributor
to the Progress. He is involved
in several veterans groups in the
Jasper area.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/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 PICKENS COUNTY
PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $39.59 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon counties; $50.29 in all other Georgia
counties; $59.92 out of state.
#lbe ^>cf)ool
you're TAKING US APART/
Other Voices
The hot air around methane
Light energy
Carbon dioxide CO2 1
Oxygen O2
t
~N
Sugars
Elementary process ofphotosynthesis in which the plant
takes in sunlight, C02, and water, putting out 02 and sug
ars.
By Darren Henry
CAES News
It is not difficult to find
somebody talking about
methane these days. Simply
turn on the TV, open your
computers to your news affil
iate of choice or log into any
social media platform.
Over and over we have
been told that methane is a
potent greenhouse gas, it
contributes to global warm
ing, and since ruminants (i.e.,
cattle) produce methane, they
are destroying the world.
I am here to tell you that
all of that is true, other than
the last bit about cows de
stroying the world. On the
contrary, cattle have a role in
actually cooling the Earth’s
atmosphere.
It is true that cattle pro
duce methane — the average
beef cow can produce be
tween 0.1 to 0.2 pounds of
methane every day. This is a
natural process that allows
the animal to control the pH
of their rumen by removing
hydrogen, an element that
impacts acidity.
Methane is a very potent
greenhouse gas and we do
need to do our part as hu
mans to try to reduce the
amount of methane pro
duced. However, unlike car
bon dioxide (C02) which is
in the atmosphere for approx
imately 1,000 years, methane
only has an atmospheric
lifespan of 10 years, after
which methane is converted
to C02.
The other element that
makes up methane is carbon.
Let’s consider where this car
bon is coming from — the
cow's diet, whether that be
forage, supplement or a total
mixed ration. For the most
part, our cattle are consum
ing plants, either as forage,
grain or byproducts.
Now, let’s think back to
fifth-grade science class and
remember how plants grow.
Through a process called
photosynthesis, plants pull
C02 from the atmosphere
and peel off the oxygen (02),
using the carbon to produce
energy for plant growth. This
means that the methane pro
duced from the rumen of cat
tle is formed from C02.
Through a process called
photosynthesis, plants pull
C02 from the atmosphere
and peel off the oxygen (02),
using the carbon to produce
energy for plant growth. This
means that the methane pro
duced from the rumen of cat
tle is formed from C02 that
could have previously been
methane from the rumen of a
grazing beef cow. This is the
cycle of biogenic methane —
methane that is produced by
a living organism.
If we consider that the
methane produced from the
U.S. beef herd is biogenic
and that this carbon is consis
tently being recycled through
the system via grasslands and
grain, the story we should be
hearing is that cattle are not
actually a negative source of
greenhouse gases, but instead
can actually act as source of
carbon sequestration and
short-term global cooling.
Today, if the global cattle
herd does not grow in num
ber of head, the amount of
carbon released (i.e.,
methane) and sequestered
(i.e., C02 taken into soils and
plants) is in balance. This is
great news! What is even bet
ter news is that if we utilize
novel technologies, such as
feed additives, we have the
opportunity to release less
methane, which would lead
to short-term cooling.
As producers, many may
ask the obvious question, “If
we are currently not signifi
cantly contributing to global
warming with our cows, why
would I want to spend more
money to reduce methane?”
The answer to that is effi
ciency. When cattle produce
methane, they do that at a
cost and that cost is energy.
See an error?
Let our editor
hear about it,
dpool@
pickensprogress. com
706-253-2457
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
Dec.
28
67
56
.67
Dec.
29
67
59
1.18
Dec.
30
62
53
.17
Dec.
31
64
54
.04
Jan.
01
71
59
.97
Jan.
02
69
30
.81*
Jan.
03
36
24
.06
* dusting of snow
Approximately 2 to 12% of
the energy consumed by cat
tle is lost as methane, with
cattle consuming forage-
based diets producing three
to four times more methane
than their grain-fed counter
parts. Therefore, by mitigat
ing the release of methane
from ruminants, the opportu
nity arises for that carbon to
go into meat, milk or fiber
production.
It is important for us to
consider these aspects of
methane production. It is
easy for many of us to scoff
every time we hear someone
speak about the methane pro
duced by cattle, but maybe it
is time for us to consider that
the story we need to be
telling is that we have the
ability to cool the planet with
cattle while saving on our
feed bills.
Darren Henry is an assis
tant professor in the Depart
ment of Animal and Dairy
Science on the UGA Tifton
campus.
Correction
In a story last week about
Fellowship Presbyterian
Church aiding tornado vic
tims a portion of the below
paragraph was left out when
the article continued to a sec
ond page. The complete
paragraph should have rad:
The problem of getting
the boxes of clothing to Ken
tucky had to be overcome
next. Ray Hilt, who nor
mally manages building and
grounds at FPC, volunteered
to pull a trailer to Bowling
Green on his way to visit rel
atives in Missouri. Ray wit
nessed first-hand the
infrastructure instability
when all the lights in Bowl
ing Green went out as he ar
rived in town making it more
difficult to find the drop-off
point for the clothing. He
persisted and delivered the
clothing to the local housing
authority that distributes
emergency aid to tornado
victims.