Newspaper Page Text
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.”
—Samuel Johnson
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
September 8,2022
From the Staff
Progress editor mauled by
“friendly” pair of bulldogs
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
Let me begin by saying I am a dog
liker. But, I am not a dog lover. No cell
phone full of photos of my dogs, nor do
my dogs sit on the couch. I have no real
fear of dogs either, no past trauma from
man’s best friend.
Here is what happened in August in
Fannin County. I am out walking around
a gravel road near some vacation cabins.
I am coming down a steep section and
see this small teenage kid with two large
dogs on leashes. I would say they were
either American bulldogs or pit-bulls.
They were good-looking dogs; he was
a nice-looking kid, so I keep walking.
The dogs see me and start coming to
wards me with the kid water skiing be
hind them. He is doing his best to stop
the dogs but they are pulling him along
like a little wagon.
Oh, crap, I think.
He begins yelling, “They don’t bite,”
“They won’t attack,” “They are friendly.”
I am then engulfed in a wave of brown
and white fur. If anyone ever thought,
they could pop a big bulldog in the head
and it would get off you, forget it. I had
one dog with my arm in its mouth while
the other jumped up on my leg to give me
friendly dog licks.
When we finally get separated - me,
kid, dogs, two leashes. I am bleeding
from my arm and thigh.
Kid: “They weren’t attacking you.
They are really friendly.”
Me: “I know but I am bleeding” -
(showing long nasty scratches all down
my leg and minor one on arm).
Kid: “But they didn’t bite you. They
are just energetic.”
Me: “I see that but I am still bleeding.”
Kid: “I am sorry but they aren’t mean
dogs.”
Me: [Something to the effect of]
“whatever” and walked off.
Me: [What I wish I had said] “Young
man, you brought two large dogs on a
public road and you can’t control them. I
am injured, not badly, but this could have
been much worse. You need to be aware
that both you and your dogs need some
training. You had them on leashes but if
you can’t do more than get pulled along,
you need to give/sell those dogs to some
one who can handle them.”
Thinking back, I wish I had found
which rental cabin the dogs were at and
talked to the parents, showed them the
scratches and made them aware of what
happened. Making clear that I didn’t
want to file a lawsuit. There were no
medical bills, thank goodness. Nor did I
want to call animal control - though there
is a part of me that said, ‘It needed to be
documented,’ in case those dogs already
had caused injuries. Two strikes and they
are out in my thinking.
Like gun ownership or driving a car,
we’ve all the got the right to own a large
bulldog. But with it comes the responsi
bility to see your pet is controlled at all
times. I am sure this family thought
‘We’re out in the sticks and we can let
our son, take the dogs on a walk to work
some energy out of them.’
At least they hadn’t turned them loose
completely. In reality they were staying
in a popular weekend vacation area and
here comes a middle-aged newspaper ed
itor out for a stroll. In any cautionary tale,
you are required to point out, what if it
had been an elderly person with bad
knees/hips/back or what if another cabin
had children out playing?
Would those energetic, friendly dogs
and their owner be facing more than
being the subject for a newspaper edito
rial?
If you know you can’t control your en
ergetic, super-friendly large dog, you
have a responsibility to do something to
see that it doesn’t injure a person or an
other pet. Period.
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 Momen ts
My Shark Tank
By Mary Migliaro
I love watching the CNBC
show Shark Tank and try not
to miss an episode. If you
have not seen it, it features a
group of venture capitalist in
vestors that are millionaires.
They entertain budding entre
preneurs pitching their prod
ucts or service ideas seeking
funding for their inventions.
From time to time, I get
ideas for products, but I
would never have the
courage to develop them and
go on Shark Tank to seek
funding from one or more of
the sharks.
It can be bmtal if you have
not watched as the sharks tear
the inventors’ ideas apart.
Sometimes they like the
ideas but you still must be
ready to answer some tough
questions. Their money does
n’t come easy.
I decided to let you, the
reader, in on a couple of ideas
I’ve had. There are no patents
on these ideas so any of you
can feel free to take one or
more and head to the real
Shark Tank for an investor.
If any of you ever get ther
apeutic massages, you may
know that the cradle, or head
rest, has a removable and
washable cover that is
changed between clients.
There is only one problem
with those covers; there is a
seam that forms them. Invari
ably, when my massage is
over, I see that my face is
covered by what looks like a
long scar.
My invention would re-
(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.
move that seam. Like a
sausage casing, the cover
could simply be rolled for
ward to expose the new,
clean (and seamless) cradle
cover. Bam. Problem solved.
My second invention is
one that I really don’t under
stand why it isn’t already ex
isting. I call it the “People
Washer.” I’m sure you’ve
taken your car to a car wash
before. You know, the ones
where you stay in the car
while it moves through the
system getting soaped up,
rinsed off, and blown dry. I
want the same for me.
Installed in your own
bathroom, you would simply
step in, push the start button,
and stand there while it soaps
you up, rinses you off, and
warm air dries you off. No
towels needed and when you
exit the People Washer, you
are ready to get dressed and
go about your day. Bam! An
other problem solved.
If one of you gets a deal
with a shark, let me know. I
just want to be first in line to
benefit from the inventions.
Happy fishing for a deal and
good luck!
Mary Migliaro is a Senior
Golden Girl. She may be
reached at
m arym igl iaro@aoi.com.
#lbe ^>cf)ool
SO X TOUT’ THIS ONG FA&A&L&
A&OUT A LAN&OWNG& WHO P^AUP
ALU Of= HIS WOIPK^fPS THG SA/WG
NO MATTGJP HOW MANY HOUJPS
THAT &AOH ONG WOlPK&t?...
NO! NO!
YOU OAN'T T&LL HUMI
THAT ON&!
Other Voices
Economist: Georgia farmers struggling
with national, global challenges
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
PERRY - Georgia’s rural
economy is being buffeted by
national and global head
winds that are making it
harder for farmers to make
ends meet, an agricultural
economist said Tuesday.
Supply chain disruptions,
trade wars, droughts across
the globe, the COVID pan
demic and the war in Ukraine
are challenging farmers on
multiple fronts, Gopi Mu-
nisamy, an agricultural mar
keting professor at the
University of Georgia, told
an audience of farm industry
and political leaders during a
summit on ag issues at the
Georgia National Fair
grounds & Agricenter.
Not to mention inflation,
which is driving up the cost
of farm inputs including fer
tilizer, seeds and diesel fuel.
“All those have gone up
exponentially,” said state
Sen. Larry Walker III, R-
Perry, chairman of the Senate
Agriculture Committee.
Despite the challenges,
agriculture remains Georgia’s
No.-l industry, responsible
for $12.2 billion a year in
Learn taxes.
Earn $$$.
Visit hrblock.com/BeAPro
675 NOAH DR,
STE104
JASPER, GA 30143
706-692-3178
H&R
BLOCK
If you spot an
error, let our
editor hear
about it.
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
706-253-2457
“farm gate value” - the mar
ket value of farm products
minus the selling costs - and
more than 350,000 jobs, Mu-
nisamy said.
While specific numbers
for Georgia haven’t been up
dated since 2020, Munisamy
said net farm income in the
Peach State is down this year
compared with 2021.
The impact is not being
felt evenly across farm prod
ucts. While Munisamy de
scribed the short- and
long-term outlook for broil
ers as positive and the fore
cast for peanuts as stable, he
said fruit-and-vegetable
growers are seeing near- and
long-term challenges.
The Inflation Reduction
Act recently passed by Con
gress includes $13.3 billion
in rural development aid and
$6 billion in assistance for
farmers with federal loans.
Walker said state-level so
lutions to the economic prob
lems facing farmers are
limited because the chal
lenges are national and
VOTED BEST FESTIVAL IN THE SOUTHEAST
PRESENTED BY THE GREATER AUGUSTA ARTS COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF AUGUSTA
in historic downtown Augusta, GA
IN THE HEART OF
global.
However, he said con
sumers buying more Geor
gia-grown farm products
would help reduce the state’s
reliance on overseas imports.
“Supporting Georgia-
grown is in our best inter
ests,” he said. “We may have
to pay more for food, but
we’ll be better off in the long
run.”
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News Serv
ice, a project of the Georgia
Press Educational Founda
tion.
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI
LOW
RAIN
August
30
86
64
.22
August
31
86
59
.00
Sept.
01
85
59
.00
Sept.
02
80
69
.38
Sept.
03
81
69
.06
Sept.
04
72
68
1.40
Sept.
05
77
67
.15
rKtstmtu dt mi
Ar
A~X.au
.AUGUSTA FESTIVAL
Fine Art ¥ Live Performances ¥ Family Activities ¥ Global Food
SEPT.16-18
’ 130 Fine Arts & Fine Crafts Booths
’ Five stages of non-stop performances
' Featuring the famous Swanee Quintet
' Beer Garden on the Augusta Common
' Wayne Hoey Big Band with Wydiffe Gordon
' Singer-Songwriter Contest Friday Night
’ Large interactive Family Area
’ Young Artists Market
' Global Food Village w/ cuisine from 18 countries
' $12 Discounted Advance Badges Online
' Kids 10 and under admitted for Free
' Tickets, Hotel Specials, and Festival Details at
www.ARTSINTHEHEARlcom
Fri. 5-9 • Sat. 11-9 • Sun. 12-7
Badges Good for Entire Weekend