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4A ®f)£ l)fra(& <©a?ttt£ Tuesday, March 9,2021 Opinions What a long, strange year it’s been One year ago this week, coronavirus hit home here when we learned two Gordon stu dents had been exposed while working at an off- campus location. On March 12, 2020, Georgia experienced its first coronavirus death and the University System of Georgia shut down all campuses for two weeks. They have still not returned to full operation, frustrating parents and students who have missed out on so much, not the least of which are live sports, concerts and in-person instruction. On March 17, 2020, Lamar’s first case was confirmed and the cancelations began in earnest. Life as we knew it was upended. By the end of that month, it was easier to list things that were open and continu ing than list all those which were shut down. My thought at the time was that we, as a nation, were overreacting and 1 am still not sure that wasn’t the case. Entre preneurs, those far more attenuated to the needs and desires of Americans than politicians and bu reaucrats in government, found ways to operate safely in time of pan demic and did so, often fighting off government officials in the process. However, COV1D-19 caused fear to set in and fear is a huge motivator. Many were motivated to cower in their homes. Fear also emboldens those who live to control others and the control freaks have emerged in force with one mandate after another. One year later, Lamar and Pike counties have experi enced 2,252 confirmed cases of COV1D-19 with 167 hospi talizations, 60 deaths and an other 22 prob able deaths. (These stats are as of Sunday, March 7, 2021.) We have paid a consid erable price! No one that I could find has measured local economic impact by county in Geor gia but you can bet coronavirus has cost us millions in lost wages, medical bills, etc. The list is nearly endless. Another cost of the pan demic has been written about in this space before and likely will be again. It is the death of civility. While many have gone out of their way to be kind and help ful to others during the pandemic, others have turned to meanness. People are accosted in grocery stores for not wearing masks. Mask wearers are ridiculed by no-maskers for being cowards. Business own ers trying to save their life’s savings and dreams have opened only to be slammed and boycotted for doing so. Again, the examples are endless. Violent crime and domestic violence rates throughout the nation have soared because people kept from working or studying have grown bored and bought into divisive rhetoric spewed endlessly online. Now that COV1D-19 vaccines are available and have been proven to greatly reduce the chance of death, people are fighting over whether it is right or wrong to be vaccinated. How many people would have been permanently crippled had we fought like this over the polio vaccine? COV1D-19 will pass. Crises always do. We will mourn the dead and get on with our lives but have we learned - will we learn - the lessons afford ed us by the pandemic? 1 worry that the fabric of society has been ripped and torn beyond the point of mending - a mending that can only be accomplished through kindness. When given the choice of being right or being kind, always choose kind! Walter Geiger is editor and publisher of The Herald-Gazette and Pike County Journal Reporter. He can be reached by email at news@ barnesville.com. COUNTER Walter Geiger Editor & Publisher Happy-sad trip still good for the soul KAY S. PEDR0TTI kayspedrotti@gmail.com The Sunshine State rained all over my pa rade, but it became an expres sion of the loss of a very good friend, Jan Johannes Sr., whom I knew since 1974.1 am home after visiting Ocala, St. Augus tine, Jacksonville, Cocoa and Cape Canaveral. 1 managed to see a 94-year-old aunt; the family of my late friend, including his wife, Lynne, who has truly been my best friend for 40 years; my niece and her three children and her grand daughter - and even have some “alone time” in a nice hotel on Flem ing Island near Orange Park, Fla. My longtime friend even renewed her spirits a bit by traveling with me from Orange Park to Canaveral and back to her house. But the trip home from the Space Coast to Milner was indeed grueling. Here are some things 1 learned: It is possible to miss your husband of 53 years as much as he would be missed if we were newly married. Florida weather can not be trusted; we had only two sunny days near the ocean - the oth ers were rainy or turned cold all over again. The state has some of the nation’s best and worst seafood eateries - best to consult a native before dining. A shot of friend- and-family love, lasting almost eight days, can be the best medicine on earth. There are too many versions of Greek salad dressing. People in the hospital ity business can include some not-so-friendly desk clerks, but uni formly the maid service people were cheerful, friendly and competent. St. Augustine was a big disappointment - it has gone commercial over historical. Highways around the Cape area nearly always have three names: “Oh yeah, that’s 528 and A1A and Astronaut Boule vard.” No wonder 1 got lost so many times. Jacksonville is franti cally trying to outdo Atlanta in the Spaghetti Junction business. The descendants of Lynne and Jan, and my sister Vicki, and her daughter Kitti, are going to do just fine in this world. Now a word about Jan - he was an avid historian and railroad buff. Both the Nassau County Record (a paper I worked for in the 70s) and the Fernandina Beach News Leader ran front-page stories when he passed. I was the acknowledged editor for his first published book - “Yesterday’s Reflections - A Pictorial History of Nassau County Florida.” He was a mover and shaker in the restora tion of the Callahan, Fla., train Depot and pub lished two other books on Nassau County lore, one of which featured photographs taken by his grandson. Jan and 1 traveled many miles with me taking notes as he delivered “the history” of homes, businesses and families. He also had a dry sense of humor. 1 remem ber one day we had been in Hilliard for about three or four hours, looking at various locations. At one point he said, “See that house over there?” pointing across the street. When 1 said “yes,” he replied, “1 don’t know a thing about it.” Rest in peace, my friend. Kay S. Pedrotti has spent some 50 years writing for newspapers. She is active in the Lamar County com munity and currently serves as the president of Lamar Arts. She lives in Milner with her husband Bob. Letter printing guidelines The Herald Gazette welcomes letters to the editor. For a letter to be considered for publica tion, please include the writer’s actual name, address and telephone number. Lim it letters to 250 words or less. Shorter letters are appreciated. All letters are subject to editing. No personal attacks on private citizens, political endorsements or letters that are racially divisive. Send let ters to P.O. Box 220, Barnesville, 30204, email it to news@ barnes ville.com or drop it by 509 Greenwood Street, Barnesville. March 15 is last day to 2021 Agriculture Risk Agricultural produc ers who have not yet enrolled in the Agricul ture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for 2021 must do so by March 15. Producers who have not yet signed a 2021 enroll ment contract or who want to make an election change should contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) of fice to make an appoint ment. Program enroll ment for 2021 is required in order to participate in the programs, but elec tions for the 2021 crop year are optional and otherwise remain the same as elections made for 2020. “FSA offices have multiple programs com peting for the time and attention of our staff. Be cause of the importance and complexities of the ARC and PLC programs, and to ensure we meet your program delivery expectations, please do not wait to start the enrollment process,” said FSA Acting Administrator Steve Peterson. “1 can not emphasize enough the need to begin the program election and enrollment process now. This process can be com pleted when applying for other FSA programs as well.” ARC and PLC pro vide income support to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms. Although 1,033,310 con tracts have been com pleted to date, this rep resents less than 59% of the more than 1.7 million contracts anticipated by the Agency. By enrolling soon, producers can beat the rush as the deadline nears. Producers who do not complete enrollment by close of business local time on Monday March 15 will not be enrolled in ARC or PLC for the 2021 crop year and will be ineligible to receive a payment should one trig ger for an eligible crop. ARC and PLC contracts can be emailed, faxed or One airlifted after motorcycle crash A McDonough woman was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center after a motorcycle crash here Sunday afternoon. The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m. on Hwy. 36 East near its intersection with Jones Road. Original reports indicated a Fed Ex truck was in volved but the driver of the truck just witnessed the bike run off the road and hit a curb. The driver of the motorcycle, Joshua Barnes of McDonough, was taken by ambulance to Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital. A passenger on the bike, April Lambert, was airlifted. Neither victim is thought to have life-threatening injuries. Milner man found dead at Home Depot A Milner man was found dead in his vehicle in the parking lot of the Home Depot store in Griffin Satur day. James Elliot Smith, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Griffin police. His body was taken to the state crime lab for autopsy. Funeral arrangements are pending. enroll for Coverage physically signed and mailed back to FSA. Producers with level 2 authentication access can electronically sign contracts. Service Center staff can also work with producers to sign and se curely transmit contracts electronically through two commercially avail able tools: Box and One- Span. You can learn more about these solutions at farmers.gov/mydocs. Producers are eligible to enroll farms with base acres for the following commodities: barley canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium- and short-grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soy beans, sunflower seed and wheat. Go to farmers.gov/ service-center-locator to find locations and contact information for the nearest FSA county office. • Barnesville First United Methodist Church invites you to worship online Sunday morning. Worship with others on the church Facebook page at 10 a.m. or any time Sunday at barnes- villefumc.org. Listen to worship by telephone at 10 a.m. by calling 1.646.876.9923 and us ing Meeting ID: 417 726 8613. Also on Facebook: Children’s online story time weekdays at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday 6:15 p.m. evening prayer and devotion. Additional opportunities for online small group discussions are available at Barnes- villeFUMC.org. FLASHBACK In honor of Elizabeth Sellers March 7-13 10 years ago The Interstate Crimi nal Enforcement (ICE) team from the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office was recognized as the top highway interdic tion team in the country. Members of the team were Sgt. Chad Payne, Sgt. Chris Webster, Capt. Todd Pippin and Sgt. Gary Long. Long is now sheriff of Butts County. 25 years ago Moses Jerome Banks was indicted by the Lamar County grand jury on charges of murder and felony murder in connection with the New Year’s Eve shooting death of Walter Kent Ly ons at Holloway’s Place, a Barnesville lounge. Investigators said Banks shot Lyons in the leg and demanded money. When no money was forthcom ing, Banks shot Lyons twice more, killing him. Banks was released from prison on April 28, 2010. 50 years ago The Fredonia Church Choir presented the church with a baby grand piano. The piano was given in memory of Ralph H. Bush. Bush was a third generation song leader at the church, following his father and grandfather. 100 years ago Judge William E. H. Searcy Jr. was in town to call the first ever Lamar County grand jury. He was greeted with much fanfare including the Gordon Cadet Battalion and band. Court was held in the Masonic Hall downtown. The first ever grand jurors in county history were : D. O. Arthur, J. E. Dumas, G. W. Pippin, Edward Elder, J. G. Morris, J. S. Milner, R. L. English, A. J. Eley, G. W. Langford, J. W. Car- riker, W. H. Hahr, J. A. Sauley, L. Holmes, Walton H. Bankston, J. A. Hall, Millard P. Bush, John N. Jordan, D. C. McGee, R. C. Johnson, W. P. Miller, R. A. Stafford, A. F. Moss and A. L. Mills. Zi)t Heraltr #a^tte barnesville.com 770.358.NEWS P.0. Box 220 Publishers Staff SUBSCRIBE DEADLINES 509 Greenwood Street Walter Geiger Nolan George $30 per year in Lamar and sur- The deadline for public notices Barnesville, Ga. 30204 Laura Geiger Rachel McDaniel rounding counties; $40 outside is noon Thursdays; news and 770-358-NEWS Tasha Webster the local area. advertising before noon Fridays. barnesville.com General Manager Includes 24/7 access to Early submission is appreciated. E-mail: news@barnesville.com Missy Ware barnesville.com