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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 23. 2023
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Report from the Capitol
By State Representatiue Rick Jasperse
World War Two veteran Louis Graziano with State Rep.
Rick Jasperse. Graziano fought across Europe and was a
witness to the German surrender to General Eisenhower.
“It was a great honor to meet Mr. Louis Graziano, ” said
Jasperse.
The Georgia House of
Representatives kicked off
the fifth week of the 2023
legislative session. It has
been great to see so many
folks in the State Capitol this
year.
Since Covid occurred, this
is the busiest the building has
been. Important this week to
be talked about in committee
will be Online Sports Gam
bling, increased Truck
Weights, and a number of
Healthcare bills. More bills
made their way out of their
respective committees and
onto the House floor for a
vote, and we saw the passage
of several House bills that
would impact Georgians. I
will describe a few below.
My colleagues and I over
whelmingly passed biparti
san legislation this week to
protect our critical infrastruc
ture overseen by the Georgia
Ports Authority (GPA), in
cluding the Port of Savannah.
House Bill 35 could give
the GPA’s security employees
the ability to preserve and
protect its properties, proj
ects, and certain areas sur
rounding its campuses. This
legislation would also sup
port the surrounding commu
nities by allowing local law
enforcement to dedicate less
resources to this state author
ity’s operations and easing
some of the burden on local
law enforcement that comes
with having such a successful
port system.
We passed House Bill 52
on the House floor this week
to update several other trans
portation and infrastructure
laws. First, to protect the pri
vacy of Georgians, this bill
would exempt the Georgia
Department of Transporta
tion (GDOT) from open
records when a driver’s data
on public roadways reveals
their vehicle information or
other personally identifiable
information.
This provision would en
sure that no one could use the
Open Records Act in an at
tempt to obtain an individ
ual’s personal information
from this agency. Addition
ally, under this bill, the state
would be able to provide per
mits to mobile home manu
facturers to transport units
that are up to 84 feet in
length; Georgia is home to
nine mobile home manufac
turing facilities, and by al
lowing the transportation of
these longer units, this indus
try could remain on par with
our neighboring states.
While we were in the
House Chamber this week,
my colleagues and I took
time to honor Mr. Louis
Graziano on his incredible
bravery as a U.S. soldier in
World War II. Bom in 1923,
Mr. Graziano is the last sur
viving World War II veteran
to witness Germany's surren
der.
Mr. Graziano was a mas
ter sergeant and fought in the
third wave of the Omaha
Beach invasion on D-Day.
After D-Day, he also fought
in the Battle of the Bulge,
where he almost lost his feet
to frostbite, and he took part
in the June 6th invasion of
Normandy in 1944. He then
served at the Special Head
quarters Command in Reims,
France, where he witnessed
Germany sign the surrender
document and then took the
Germans to meet General
Dwight D. Eisenhower. Mr.
Graziano’s visit to the State
Capitol coincided with his
100th birthday, and I was in
spired to meet this American
hero and hear his incredible
story.
We are halfway through
the 40-day legislative ses
sion. Boy! Has the building
been crowded! As your rep
resentative, it is extremely
important for me to hear
which issues are significant
to you and your family.
If you find yourself in At
lanta during the legislative
session, please feel free to
schedule a visit to my Capitol
office or call my Capitol of
fice at 404-656-7153, or
email me at
rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov.
As always, thank you for al
lowing me to serve as your
State Representative.
At Reinhardt, award-winning Civil Rights activist deliv
ers message of enduring suffering for the greater good
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Submitted by Reinhardt
University
Students at Reinhardt
University heard a message
of inspiration Friday from a
Civil Rights movement
voice. Lynda Blackmon
Lowery has spent her life
fighting for equality and in
fluencing others to make an
impact in the world.
Raised in Selma, Ala.,
Lowery was only seven years
old when her mother needed
blood, but was turned away
from a “whites only” hospi
tal. She died 15 minutes be
fore “colored” blood arrived
by bus from 96 miles away.
Lowery says she immedi
ately vowed to make a
change. “In 15 minutes, you
can build a world, you can
bring change, or in 15 min
utes you can break down
whatever you desire... and
make it even better or worse
for yourself and others,” she
told a World History class.
At age 13, Lowrey heard
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
speak, inspiring her fight
against segregation and prej
udice. At age 14, in May,
1965, she protested on what
is now known as “Bloody
Sunday.” Tear gas was de
ployed, and a sheriff’s deputy
beat Lowery and other peace
ful marchers. Despite 35
stitches and a total of nine ar
rests, she joined Dr King’s
voting right march a few
weeks later on her 15th birth
day. Lowery was the
youngest person to walk
every step of that 54-mile
march from Selma to the
capital steps in Montgomery,
Ala.. Later that year, Presi
dent Johnson signed the Vot
ing Rights Act of 1965.
“I’m happy and proud be
cause I went to jail, not for
hurting anybody, not for tak
ing anything from anybody,
but for what I believed in,”
Lowery explained.
Students hung onto every
word.
When asked about current
violent protests, Lowery
replied, “I am a person from
a nonviolent movement. I
can tell you nonviolence
works.” She recalls the im
pacting words of Dr King,
“You can get anybody to do
anything with steady, loving,
confrontation.
“You have a voice; you
need to use that voice before
you lose that voice. The chil
dren of the 60s united cities,
a state, and a country. We put
the word unity back into the
word community,” Lowery
explained, “It was hard, and
it was dangerous, but we did
it. Now I believe your job is
to put the word human back
in the word humanity. That’s
how we are going to bring
about a complete change. I
believe it will be a lasting
change.”
Lowrey is a recipient of
the 2018 Freedom Flame
Award in honor of icons of
the Civil Rights Movement.
She’s also won awards for
her memoir, Turning 15 on
The Road to Freedom: My
Story of the 1965 Voting
Rights March. Her book be
came the basis for a live
gospel musical which has
been performed in 16 states.
photo/Reinhardt University
Civil rights activist Lynda Blackmon Lowery speaks to Reinhardt University students
on Friday, Feb. 17.
Reinhardt University in
Waleska, Ga., is a place
where diverse talents grow
together - an ideal setting to
welcome Lowery’s message
of unity.
Transportation available
for veterans
The Fannin DAV Chapter
28 van transports veterans to
the Atlanta VA Medical Cen
ter for free. The van’s first
pickup is at the Fannin
County Veterans Conference
Center in Blue Ridge and
stops in Ellijay, Jasper, Can
ton and Woodstock.
Please call John Bailey at
706-851-5204 for transport
and for more information.
Volunteer van drivers are
needed.
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