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4A Clje l)pra(& Tuesday, April 6,2021
Opinions
Voter manipulation will be with us always
It was a scorching hot
summer day in central
south Georgia circa
1971. It was the day of
the Democratic primary.
There was no Republican
primary in the county in
question at the time. The
county’s only beer store,
run by the town which
served as county seat,
was closed until the polls
closed at 7 p.m.
I was among a group of
teenage boys who gath
ered in Mr. Crane’s yard.
Crane was the county’s
sole commissioner and
ran things with an iron
fist. I had been invited by
my friend, Crane’s son,
to help “give rides to the
polls”. There was only
one polling place, the
county courthouse.
There was a fleet of
vehicles in Crane’s yard,
including several trucks
with the county’s logo
on the side. There were
several portable metal
buildings in the yard,
each equipped with a big
air conditioner. Inside
each were cases upon
cases of ice cold beer.
Each vehicle had coolers
with ice.
Each driver was given
a list of voters to get to
the polls. We were to
ride the dirt roads to
farmhouses and trailers
dotting the onion and
tobacco fields of the
area. I rode with Crane’s
son. We were instructed
to give each voter three
beers on the way to the
polls and the remainder
of the six pack once the
ballot had been cast. We
didn’t have to mention
Crane’s name. It was
obvious who sent us.
We did as we were
told and Crane won as
expected. For years after,
the joke when
we saw an obvi
ously drunken
individual
was, “That guy
is just about
drunk enough
to go vote”.
Obviously,
we were not
just giving rides
to the polls. We
were manipu
lating voters.
It seemed an
amusing adven
ture at the time. Now, I
am sorry I was involved
but it did provide several
lessons in human nature.
I learned many people
would sell their vote for
six beers. I also learned
at least one man could
not be bought - at least
not for a six pack. The
wiry guy was fresh from
hanging tobacco in a
barn where it was at least
120 degrees.
“Boys, tell that
sonofabitch
Crane I didn’t
vote for him but
I did enjoy the
beer,” the smil
ing man said
with a fake snarl
as he finished
his last PBR.
I admired
him.
As Jesus said
of the poor,
voter manipu
lation will be with us
always but the Georgia
legislature moved last
week to shore up elec
tion security and Gov.
Brian Kemp signed the
bill. He is now catching
hell from Delta Airlines,
Coke, Major League
Baseball, Hollywood and
assorted others for doing
so. The solons weren’t
impressed. They sported
cans of Pepsi on their
desks on the last day of
the session.
Many of the fraud al
legations last year were
about absentee ballots
which were used much
more so than usual due
to COVID. Was there
fraud in the process? You
betcha! There always
is. Was it enough to
sway the outcome? Who
knows?
Still, requiring voters
to show a picture ID to
get an absentee ballot is
not unreasonable. Absen
tee ballots were designed
for registered voters who
would be out of town on
election day. These were
usually students off at
college, those in the mili
tary and those who could
not get to the polls due
to illness. Last year, we
went way past any rea
sonable bounds as voters
got multiple absentee
ballot request forms in
the mail from people who
wanted to influence the
outcome.
In almost every elec
tion, Georgia offers three
weeks of advance voting.
That includes one day of
Saturday voting. That’s
plenty of time - some
would say too much time
- to get out the vote.
Anything much be
yond that and you are
manipulating voters, just
like Crane with his beer.
Note: The county com
missioner’s name has
been changed to protect
the guilty though he is
long since dead.
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.
rvi M
GEIGER’S
COUNTER
Walter Geiger
Editor & Publisher
Our town on the
move - great
things underway
KAY S. PEDROTTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.com
Imagine this: in a few
short years, Barnesville
will be known as “the”
place
to live
because it
has such
a coop
erative,
collabora
tive com
munity. What’s taking
place here is a huge
effort to link the school
system, Gordon State
College, Industrial
Development Authority,
Chamber of Commerce,
Lamar Arts, civic orga
nizations, churches and
city/county governments
into a working group of
caring people who want
this town and county to
succeed - primarily in
the education of young
people.
Because there has
been more than a year
of environment hostile
to gatherings, creative
ways have been found to
“link the thinkers,” and
it’s paying off. Thanks
to financial support of
donors, grants and other
agencies and sponsors,
Gordon now is develop
ing a theater/film/art/
creative curriculum
which promises to be in
continuing partnership
with Lamar County High
School’s success in film
and information distribu
tion. Both programs are
truly future-oriented in
scope and implementa
tion. LCHS, as a new
school, received the
state of Georgia’s tech
nology grant, leading to
a state-of-the-art suite of
magic machines oper
ated by excited students
and expert instructors.
Lamar Arts has suc
cessfully drawn to its
operational cadre people
not only concerned with
art exhibits, but also
advocating the education
of children by artistic
means - drawing, paint
ing, singing, making
videos, or designing
with clay - the list goes
on. Kathy Oxford and
the IDA are in constant
contact with companies
to provide information
about us, find extras for
films, sites needed for
productions, and on and
on. The C of C takes a
large role in community
development with spon
sorship of events. Our
civic clubs are not idle,
of course.
“Nothing ever hap
pens here” is a phrase
you won’t hear often, if
signs of the future are
pointed in the direction
that I think they are.
That direction is toward
having children believe
in themselves and their
worth, and to discover
their various talents, at
a very early age. Then
they will be ready to be
part of the “let’s do this
together” movement as
they progress through
middle school, high
school, and on to higher
education.
GSC will be a prime
location for those who
want to earn a good
living, enter a career
path they will truly love
and be good at, and find
themselves “giving back”
as they were “given to.”
All with the help of the
residents in this great
place - this little town
that will soon rival its
railroad trains in forward
movement, of the best
possible kind: interaction
that makes a location
unique because there is
love and kindness and
care for all who live here,
and pride in all that hap
pens here. Just watch.
Kay S. Pedrotti has spent some
50 years writing for newspapers.
She is active in the Lamar County
community and currently serves as
the president of Lamar Arts. She
lives in Milner with her husband Bob
Pedrotti.
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PAYIN / TAVI^S N
IS JUS'ANOTHER FORM OF
^ CO-DEPENDENCY... .
^ ..ITENCOURAGES ^
TH' BlG SPENDlN' HABITS
s. OF POLITICIANS' ^
NO TAXATION WITHOUT
VOTER RAMIFICATION.'
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Still building strong students, careers
and communities even in the pandemic
Reflecting back, it
is certain that this past
year has been one un
like any other we have
experienced in our
lifetime. Although much
about this year looked
very different from years
past, Southern Crescent
Technical College has
continuously embraced
change and stayed com
mitted to our core values
and our mission of work
force development. We
have proudly upheld our
commitment to building
strong communities by
providing our citizens
with the necessary skills
and knowledge to enter
the workforce while
assisting them as they
pursue their educational,
career, and personal
goals. This year more
than ever, we take great
pride in building strong
students, strong careers,
and strong communities.
Our commitment to
student success has
never been greater. Even
with the pandemic, SCTC
has again experienced
another banner year.
Enrollment in Academic
Year 2020 was 7,647,
up 7.1% compared to
the previous year and
our retention rate for
students was at 72.8%.
Our enrollment remains
strong as the sixth larg
est technical college.
We also graduated 2,301
students making us the
third largest producer of
graduates in the Techni
cal College System of
Georgia.
With the support of
faculty and staff during
our internal campaign,
we raised $37,947 for
scholarships. Moreover,
the SCTC Foundation
raised $480,439 to sup
port our students and
programs. With this
generous support we
were able to award 130
scholarships to deserv
ing students.
As in previous years
the college continued
to provide cutting-edge
programs that meet the
workforce demands
of our local business
and industry partners.
True to our workforce
development mission
the job placement rate
for Academic Year 2020
rose slightly to 99% and
the in-field placement
rate rose to 88.2%, an
increase of 0.6% over last
year.
We take great pride
in assuring that the
necessary elements are
in place to serve the
diverse education and
training needs of our
community. Whether our
students are traditional
credit students, dual
enrollment students, or
adult learners seeking
their high school equiva
lency or continuing
education opportunities,
SCTC delivers the knowl
edge and skills needed
to make a successful and
swift transition into the
workforce.
Throughout this past
academic year, our busi
ness and community
partners have been more
supportive than ever. Be
fore the pandemic hit, we
hosted our annual Red
Carpet Gala as well as
the inaugural Tech Con
nect event at the Henry
County Center. It was
during the Tech Connect
event that we unveiled
the new Piedmont Henry
Healthcare Wing to
celebrate our partner
ship and commitment to
workforce development
in this region.
Responding quickly to
the demand for health
care workers, we expand
ed the Registered Nurs
ing program at the Flint
River Campus with help
from Upson Regional
Medical Center and other
community partners
and donors. The college
also completed plans for
the one-stop shop for
students on the Griffin
Campus.
Although the pan
demic brought many
changes for the college,
each of our programs
and departments found
new ways to thrive and
give back to the commu
nity. Offering assistance
and support to the local
medical community and
front-line workers, we
donated critical medical
equipment, supplies, and
protective personnel to
our community partners.
Like many other colleges,
we adjusted our general
admissions requirements
and waived the applica
tion fee to make matricu
lation easier for incoming
students. We supported
classroom instruction
with new software and
technology. And, to sup
port students in online
learning, we began the
Laptop Loaner Program
with generous support
from the SCTC Founda
tion and Technical Col
lege System of Georgia
Foundation.
I am extremely proud
of the way our faculty,
staff, and students re
sponded to the many
changes brought on
by the pandemic. Our
instructors and students
quickly transitioned to
virtual learning platforms
and staff adjusted our
delivery methods to
best accommodate our
students. SCTC not only
adapted to the challeng
es with which we were
faced but also responded
with great poise and
compassion. Through it
all, our students contin
ued
SEE LETTERS CONTINUED 5A
FLASHBACK
In honor of
Elizabeth Sellers
June 18-24
10 years ago
Ribbon-cutting cer
emonies were held at the
new Nursing and Allied
Health Building on the
Gordon College campus.
Nearly 300 nursing stu
dents were to move into
the $12 million building
by the end of the month.
25 years ago
County commission
chairman Bobby Bur
nette had two sites in
mind for a new jail. His
first choice was 11.9
acres on Roberts Road
near the old Booker
School stadium. The
second was the Wellons
property off Hwy. 341
behind the Crossroads
store.
50 years ago
Two stills were found
and destroyed in Lamar
County by deputy Mac
Taylor; federal agents
Chester Bryant and Bob
Powell; and state rev
enue agents Roy Stancil
and G. R. Vaughn. One
still could produce 138
gallons. The other could
produce 900 gallons. A
1949 Chevy truck was
seized
100 years ago
Sheriff Z. T. Eliiott has
certainly gotten busy
and is hot on the trail
of the “blind tigers”. He
went out Friday and got
two and Saturday, he got
another one, one east of
Milner and two north
west of Milner near the
Spalding line. There was
no whiskey found but
600 gallons of beer just
ready to be made into
whiskey. There was no
one at either place. The
sheriff got busy with his
ever ‘sharp hatchet’ and
destroyed the barrels
and their contents.
Zi)t Heraltr #a^tte
barnesville.com
770.358.NEWS
P.0. Box 220
Publishers
Staff
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