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To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
- Audrey Hepburn
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
June 2,2022
From the Staff
Kids, parents, dogs and owners
all need space at the park
Geese should be sent packing back to Canada
What is cuter than kids and dogs? Not
much.
Now what about kids and geese? Nope,
not so much and maybe even a little creepy.
Or kids, dogs and geese, if both the kids and
dogs are free-ranging? Now we have defi
nitely dropped into the not-cute-at-all cate
gory.
Ironically, this situation exists at the
“Duck Pond” park of the city of Jasper -
where there are few ducks, but a whole lot of
Canada Geese who enjoy the tranquil spot to
proliferate with undiminished glee and daily
coat surfaces with slimy goose poop.
It goes without saying this makes a nasty
situation. We know adult walkers/joggers
who don’t like going around the pond be
cause of the white splotches and streaks cov
ering the walking paths. In addition, nesting
Canada Geese, and birds that have learned to
associate people with food, can both be ag
gressive.
The park was not planned as a bird refuge.
It was designed for kids and families, first
and foremost. There are playgrounds and
open areas for kids of all sizes. The city has
done a fabulous job of maintaining the spot
off Pioneer Road. We publicly applaud the
crews, as the park was clean and clear of litter
following the Memorial Day weekend which
also speaks well of the two-legged users.
But, it doesn’t take a wildlife biologist to
realize the goose numbers there are way be
yond any acceptable level. It’s unsanitary, un
sightly and not fair to the kids who want to
roughhouse on the ground and run without
fear of coming home covered in bird poop.
As is widely known, Canada Geese are
protected, thus no shooting them. But an ar
ticle from the Ga. DNR in the May 5
Progress encouraged property owners to ha
rass the “adaptable bird that can thrive every
where” when they become poor guests at
ponds. Property owners can go as far as de
stroying nests and destroying eggs.
It may be an odd job description, but we’d
suggest the city begin a goose harassment
campaign until the flock decides there are
It ’s time to reclaim our park from these
winged invaders.
more suitable places to live - perhaps back in
Canada.
For a third group of users, dogs and dog
walkers, we’d again first commend the city
and their crews for maintaining the Kyle
Brock dog area already in the park. It’s a neat
looking space for dogs to run over some ob
stacles - a doggie playground. But the draw
back, according to a couple of speakers at a
recent meeting on Doris Wigington Park, is
the lack of plain ol’ running space for Fido.
Perhaps if the dogs known to our staff are
any indication, there is a serious gap in their
understanding of what they should do with
the obstacles. As their owners have spent
years trying to keep them off the couch, it’s
hard for them to comprehend when they are
supposed to jump on something. A little more
fenced space, well away from picnicking
areas and kids, would seem a simple solution.
With the growth wave still rolling in, (es
pecially a new residential area directly across
the street from the park), it’s inevitable more
dogs and their owners and parents and kids
will vie for space in the wonderfully shady
park this summer. We’d encourage city hall
to be pro-active with their small but premier
public facility.
Before the park’s numbers reach an un
comfortable point, it’s time to rethink where
the kids go and where the dogs go and where
the picnics happen and allow space for all -
that is except the feathered freeloading men
aces and defilers of clean walkways.
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.
Senior Moments
Password rage
By Mary
Migliaro
Senior
Golden Girl
Do you
have ‘pass-
word rage’?
Password
rage is actually a real phe
nomenon. A third of people
admit to tantrums over pass
word frustration and admit to
suffering from 'password
rage.'
Passwords are a decades-
old authentication method,
designed in the 1960s to au
thorize on-site users in fixed
and secure locations. So, it
seems hardly surprising that
in our increasingly complex
technology environment,
many would gladly welcome
their demise.
We’ve all heard of road
rage and air rage, but now
there’s a new one on the
block - ‘password rage.'As if
we don’t have enough frus
trations in our lives, pass
words are an added irritant,
but also an essential part of
what we need in order to ac
cess online accounts and ap
plications both at work and in
our personal lives.
Poll findings reveal that
users are becoming increas
ingly frustrated with trying to
remember different pass
words to access online ac
counts, with a quarter (25%)
saying they forget their pass
word at least once a day -
and 5% admitting they forget
all the time. Here are some
other interesting facts.
• Only a quarter of people
regularly change their pass
words. The majority of peo
ple are not following
guidelines to change their
passwords frequently.
• 44% of Americans only
change passwords when they
forget them or are prompted
to change them.
• 8% of Americans never
change their passwords at all,
and 13% use the same pass-
(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 Subscription: $41.17 for residents of Pickens County
or the cities of Ball Ground, Fairmount, and Ranger;
$52.30 for all other Georgia residents; $62.32 out of state residents.
word for everything.
So why are passwords
such a pain? Most of us have
to remember dozens of dif
ferent passwords for the var
ious systems, applications,
and websites that we need to
log into. Your bank, email,
bill pay sites, etc., all require
their own usernames and
passwords.
Now for the big question,
how do you remember all
those passwords? Fortu
nately, newer computer pro
grams provide built in
password storage and even
password generation. The
downside is if you are not al
ways using your personal
computer or if your computer
itself doesn’t have a strong
master password.
The other option that
many people use is a little
old-school. They simply
write down the usernames
and passwords and store
them somewhere secure. Ex
perts have said this is okay
for home computer use as
long as the password is stored
in a secure location. But you
should not store the password
in the same location as the
computer and you should still
be using secure password
methods to secure those sites
and information.
Your master password list
is also only as good as the up
dates you make to it when
ever you change a password.
Unfortunately, passwords
are here to stay for the time
being. Look for the best way
to store and remember yours
so you don’t get password
rage and end up throwing
your computer or tablet out
the window.
[Mary Migliaro is a frequent
contributor to the Progress as
both a columnist and with a reg
ular parenting/family advice col
umn. She may be reached at
marymigliaro@aol.com.]
#lbe School
Other Voices
Making school buildings safer not too difficult
and would enhance community reputation
By Shawn Guess
Pickens could advertise it
self as having the nation’s
safest schools.
I have proposed ever since
Columbine, long years ago,
to design new schools and
adapt old ones as if we live
among terrorists. I'm sorry if
that disturbs your opinion of
America in the 21st century.
It's the truth.
The reasonable way to pre
serve the Second Amend
ment right to keep and bear
arms, in this steadily crazier
world, is to harden our
schools.
• One entry for all stu
dents and staff.
• Harden that entry with
enough concrete and steel to
stop a tank.
• Post an armed guard
there.
• Ensure every fire escape
will activate a loud alarm and
HD camera whenever
opened.
Make it pretty if you must,
make it original, stylish, ar
chitecturally inspiring, or
whatever but make it so. To
morrow. Every school,
everywhere. Make it that
schools cannot get insurance
unless they are unreasonably
resistant to unauthorized
entry by maniacs. Simple.
There was much discussion
not long ago about what
niche Pickens County could
fulfill in order to attract not
just growth, but the right kind
of growth. This is it. An oasis
of sanity and security.
Do not start in on this being
an insensitive attempt to take
advantage of a terrible event.
This is a proactive leap for
ward in the preservation of
safe, high quality education.
A step towards maintaining
an overall quality community
environment.
A safe school environment
will not only attract the par
ents of students who value
both safety and quality, it will
attract or retain the quality
educators willing to forego a
higher salary elsewhere for
the peace of mind of not con
stantly maintaining the full
alert of a patrolling soldier.
In the past when I began to
suggest this idea, the in
evitable replies were, "It is
too expensive." A million
dollar high school football
field was acceptable? "The
limited access makes our
school a prison." You prefer
the children in a mausoleum?
Safety and freedom have al
ways been opposites, better
the children are restricted for
a season than all of us surren
dering freedom for an era.
What price do you put on
your Second Amendment?
Because history is full of ex
amples where surrendering
weapons equalled surrender
ing freedom. Some cite Aus
tralia's involuntary 'buy back'
program, I'll cite Native
Americans. What price for
your lifestyle as a free Amer
ican? Because without the
implied ability to resist
tyranny, you will live under a
tyrant. What price will we
put on the children's futures
and ensuring they will live to
enjoy one?
It is also time to acknowl
edge the evidence supporting
re-introduction of a Christian
based curriculums. Some 50
years ago the Supreme Court
of this land chose to experi
ment with removing Christi
anity from public schools.
Can anyone reasonably deny
that experiment has failed?
How many more of our pre
cious lab rats must die before
we have the courage to admit
a grave mistake was made
then? One nation under God
will prevail only if we first
remain under the authority of
God. That will not be possi
ble without providing an ed
ucated understanding of the
basis of a moral society.
Right now there is Build
Back Better money (about to
disappear down deep pock
ets) that could do nothing
more tangible for your way
of life than preserving young
lives, that matter.
Or, just do it. This could
be completed during this
very summer break. All
hands report to your local
schools. Forget the lawyers,
contracts and bids. Bring
your talents, your sand, lum
ber and tools. Bring your
covered dishes and your
politicians who can pass out
water while the people get
done what they only talk
about. You all are a bright
bunch, just sort it out and
raise this bam.
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
May
24
77
61
.03
May
25
67
61
.04
May
26
73
61
.64
May
27
75
53
.00
May
28
76
58
.00
May
29
79
65
.00
May
30
83
64
.00
Spot a
mistake?
Contact our editor
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
706-253-2457
Clarification: In the article about the new Georgia State
Patrol Post #28 Commander Kevin Evans there are some
clarifications to the titles as reported. Evans started his career
in 2001 at Post 6 Gainesville as a Trooper, and was promoted
from Corporal at Jasper to Villa Rica as a Sergeant in 2019.
From there he was promoted to Post Commander (Sergeant
First Class) at Post 29 Paulding in 2021. He lives in Cherokee
County with his wife, two sons and daughter. His other
daughter lives in Hartwell.
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