Newspaper Page Text
4A ®jje 1) eralb <©a?£tt£ Tuesday, July 6,2021
Ruffin's Renderings: Independence
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
Every July 4, we
Americans celebrate
Independence Day. We do
so because on that date
in 1776, representatives
of the thirteen Ameri
can colonies adopted a
document that stated
the colonies’ griev
ances against the Brit
ish crown and declared
their independence from
it. That Declaration of
Independence contains
this statement among its
many stirring lines: “We
hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that
they are endowed by
their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.”
That statement makes
a bold claim to know the
Almighty’s intentions for
humanity. It also states
an ideal that we should
all commit ourselves
to intentionally moving
toward. If God has in fact
created all human beings
equal and has in fact en
dowed them with those
rights, then we should do
all we can to enable and
empower people to live
out their full equality and
to gain and exercise their
full rights.
Lrom its beginning,
our nation had a long
way to go in living up to
those noble ideals. Lor
a long time, free white
land-owning males were
regarded and treated as
being more equal and
more free than other peo
ple. Other people didn’t
have the rights and privi
leges that they had. The
institution of slavery was
a particularly egregious
offense against the ideals
of equality and liberty.
President Abraham
Lincoln took steps dur
ing the Civil War to end
slavery. On September
22, 1863, he issued a
proclamation
declaring that,
as of January 1,
1864, enslaved
persons in the
states that
were in rebel
lion against the
United States of
America would
be free. There
were limits to
the Emancipa
tion Proclama
tion. Lor example, it ap
plied to only Confederate
states and not to border
states that remained in
the Union but where slav
ery still existed. Still, the
Emancipation Proclama
tion signaled the begin
ning of the end of slavery
in the United States. As
Union forces advanced
into Confederate territo
ry, more and more slaves
became free, with some
200,000 of them joining
the Union army, as the
Emancipation Proclama
tion also allowed them
to do.
On April 9,
1865, General
Robert E. Lee
surrendered to
General Ulysses
S. Grant in
Virginia. The
war formally
ended on June
2 with the sur
render of the
last Confeder
ate army. On
June 19, 1865,
Union forces under the
command of General
Gordon Granger came
to Galveston, Texas,
where Granger read
General Orders No. 3:
“The people of Texas are
informed that, in accor
dance with a proclama
tion from the Executive
of the United States, all
slaves are free.” While
some months would pass
before all slaves in Texas
were freed, and while
slavery would not be
abolished until the Thir
teenth Amendment to
the United States Consti
tution was ratified on De
cember 6, 1865, the date
of Granger’s reading of
the order freeing slaves
in Texas quickly—the
following year, in fact—
came to be celebrated as
the end of slavery in the
United States.
June Nineteenth - Ju-
neteenth for short - has
been celebrated ever
since. And as of 2021,
by act of Congress and
upon the signature of
President Biden, it is
recognized as a national
holiday. This is good and
appropriate despite the
objections some people
have voiced.
One such objection is
that all Americans should
observe July 4 as our
common Independence
Day and that having a
separate observance of
Juneteenth is divisive.
First of all, all Americans
can celebrate July 4.1
would say that we all
should do so for at least
two reasons. First, July
Days
4 marks the beginning of
our nation’s existence - it
is our national birthday.
Second, it marks the be
ginning of the long, ardu
ous, and ongoing process
of securing, maintaining,
and increasing equal
rights and freedoms for
all Americans.
But the fact is that
July 4, 1776 marks the
beginning rather than the
end of that process. The
further fact is that June
19, 1865 marks a crucial
advance in our nation’s
efforts to live up to its
noble ideals.
July 4 reminds us that
we should all be free.
June 19 reminds us
that we need to keep do
ing all we can to enable
and empower everyone
to be free.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
Kudzu & Clay:
The Tater Tosser 3000
There will
be a time in the
future when an
astronaut or alien
will be floating
around in space,
working on
something, when
a potato goes
whizzing past
their head. The
potato will have
been in orbit for
decades, passing
every planet in
the solar system, making
it to the far edges of the
Milky Way, approach
ing the speed of light in
some parts of its journey,
before turning and head
ing back towards Earth.
How do I know this? I was
there when it launched.
In the early ’90s, there
was a craze that swept
many rural communities.
The potato gun became
synonymous with back-
woods Friday evening
fun. I wish I knew how the
idea for this contraption
came up. I like to think
that a bunch of plumbers
were hanging out in their
workshop with a bunch
of old PVC pipes and an
angel appeared to them.
It said, “Plumbers, listen
to me. Go forth to the
grocery store and buy a
bag of potatoes and a few
cans of hairspray. When
you have done this, ram a
potato down one of these
old PVC pipes and fill the
other end with hairspray,
and light it up with your
cigarette. Then you shall
see the power and glory
of Heaven.”
I would like to think
divine intervention came
up with a lot of things,
but more than likely it
was a bunch of drunk
guys with some rotten
produce and too much
time on their hands. I
don’t even know if there
is an actual plan for a
potato gun, it’s really just
loose guidelines. You
need a pipe, a gas pro
pellant, a potato, and
an igniter. Put those all
together and you have
something that can
launch a spud half a foot
ball field or more.
Then my dad came
into the picture. He
couldn’t just construct
anything normal. It had
to be over the top. If he
was going to make a gun
he was going to make
sure it did what a gun is
supposed to do: maim or
kill. This is how the Tater
Tosser 3000 was born.
This lethal device was
about five and a half feet
long. There was a three-
foot pipe on the front
that connected to a wider
two-foot-long combustion
chamber in the back. On
the sides were two tubes.
One was an electric
igniter ripped out of a
gas grill. The other had a
pressure gauge on it and
was to be connected to a
propane tank.
Yes, that is
correct. A pro
pane tank.
I was there
for the maiden
launch of the
first potato.
We nestled it
in some cinder
blocks and
extended the ig
niter cord a good
hundred feet in
case it were to
explode. The
target was a playhouse
in the backyard, a sturdy
little building constructed
with pressure-treated
lumber. When that thing
went off it rattled win
dows half of a mile away.
The potato shot out so
quickly that we never
even saw it, but we sure
did hear it.
A few minutes later,
when we were sure there
was no gas leak, we went
to inspect the damage.
All that was left were split
two-by-fours covered in
mashed potatoes. The
power was incredible and
it was only a matter of
hours before every single
potato in my hometown
was purchased and riding
in my dad’s big red utility
van to be stored in our
pantry, a.k.a. the armory.
The next couple of
months we experimented
every evening to see what
would be the best combi
nation of potato species
and propane pressure.
The goal was to launch to
the railroad tracks about
three acres away from
the house. Dad would
launch and us kids would
go running to mark where
the potato would land
and warn pedestrians of
incoming mortars. Then
one day it happened. We
picked the fattest, round
est potato we could. Dad
cranked up the pressure,
and, “Whoom!” the po
tato went straight up and
never came back down.
That is how I know that
sometime in the early
’90s a perfectly round Yu
kon Gold left this earthly
plane and began its jour
ney to deep space.
I don’t know whatever
happened to the Tater
Tosser 3000 and custom
accessories, including
a ramrod and silencer. I
do know that my father
loved that thing so much
the idea was floated to
shoot his ashes out of
it after he died. And as
much as I like awkward
situations, I’m really glad
that didn’t happen. I do
hope, though, that I am
still around when the
news report comes in
that an astronaut got hit
by a Yukon Gold from
deep space.
Chris Walter is a writer, artist,
and Barnesville native. He has just
published his rst book, “Southern
Glitter”. You can nd more informa
tion about his art and writings at
kudzuandclay.com.
I V,,
P* 1
KUDZU &
CLAY
Chris Walter
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dr. Gerald Cauthen retiring this
month, thanks community
It is with sadness and
regret that I must an
nounce the closing of
my practice this year.
After over 46 years, the
time has come for me to
retire. My original plan
was to continue until
December but due to CO-
VID-19 and its economic
effect and my age (79 this
year), July will be my last
month.
I will miss all of you as
patients and friends. My
plan was to have an
other dentist to come in
and take over but those
efforts have been unsuc
cessful.
I consider it an honor
and pleasure to have
served the people of
this community and
surrounding counties
since 1975.1 would hope
the future is prosperous
for the people of Lamar
County.
Although you prob
ably will not need to take
your records to transfer
to another dentist, you
are are welcome to come
by and get a copy.
SINCERELY,
DR. GERALD CAUTHEN,
HEDY CAUTHEN,
MARILYN, APRIL &GINNY
Tax appraisers walk around properties
The Tax Assessor’s
office is in the middle of a
walk around on all prop
erties. Right now, we are
in/around the High Falls
and Hwy. 36 East area.
Georgia Law (O.C.G.A.
§ 48-5-264.1) requires
property owners and
occupants be provided
reasonable notice prior
to a site visit conducted
by or on behalf of the
Lamar County Board of
Assessors. In accordance
with this law, please be
advised that the Lamar
County Appraisal Staff
will be visiting properties
in the north end of the
county July and August
2021.
The purpose of this
visit will be to verify cor
rectness of the improve
ments in our records.
The appraiser will only
gather necessary proper
ty information about the
outside of any improve
ments and take photo
graphs.
The appraiser will
have a photo identifica
tion badge and will be
driving an appropriately
marked vehicle. If the
appraiser is not allowed
access to your prop
erty, estimations will be
performed. If there is any
question about the iden
tity of the appraiser, or if
there are any questions
regarding the visit, do
not hesitate to contact
the Lamar County Asses
sor’s Office at 770-358-
5161.
As a courtesy the
appraiser will knock on
the door first and then
if there is no answer,
he will walk around the
outside of any improve
ments on the property.
It is not required that
someone must be home,
or someone answer the
door.
Here is some informa
tion about the appraiser:
The appraiser’s name
is James Thomas Wil
liams (Tom) and he
drives a 2017 White GMC
Sierra Pickup with tag #
RUV8593 Hart County,
GA with a Lamar County
emblem on the side of
the door. He will also be
wearing a yellow vest
with Lamar County Tax
Assessors on it.
JEANNIE HADDOCK
CHIEF APPRAISER
Email news@barnes-
ville.com or call 770.358.
NEWS to have an event
published as a calen
dar item in The Herald
Gazette.
• Vacation Bible
School Rocky Railways:
July 6-9 at Church of
Nazarene, 744 Veterans
Parkway from 6 to 8 p.m
each evening for stu
dents in third through
fifth grade. Pre-register
at https://vbsmate.com/
events/BCN/20116 and
call the church office at
770-358-1314 or more
information. COVID-19
protocols will be taken.
• Rock Springs
Church: log on to rock-
springsonline.com and
watch live services
Sundays at 8 a.m., 9:30
a.m. and 11 a.m. Wednes
day evening activities at
7 p.m.
• Compassion Car
Ministry offers trans
portation to medical
appointments for Lamar
County residents who
have been diagnosed
with cancer. Drivers will
pick up the patient and
take them to physicians
offices, treatment centers
and the airport for out
of town treatment. Call
Barnesville First Baptist
Church at 770.358.2353.
July 4-10
10 years ago
Due to the poor
economy, the Lamar
County tax digest, the
total value of property
values here, was ex
pected to drop by $46.9
million. As of June 30,
359 assessments were
being actively appealed
by property owners.
25 years ago
A contingent of law
enforcement officers,
coordinated by the
Narcotics Task Force,
raided a marijuana
growing operation at
1494 Crawford Road and
arrested Andy Saville,
43. Seized were 119 ma
ture plants, 12 ounces of
marijuana packaged for
sale and various drug
paraphernalia.
50 years ago
A terrible crash on
Hwy. 36. West July 3
killed Lawrence Finney
and his 11-year-old
daughter Debbie Finney.
Mrs. Patricia Finney was
in fair condition and
another daughter, San
dra Finney, age 12, was
critical. The driver of the
other car, Herman Har
mon, was also critical.
100 years ago
Harmon Morris, son
of Mr. and Mrs. C.H.
Morris of Barnesville,
drowned while seining at
High Falls Monday, just
before noon, the news
of the unfortunate death
being received in the city
immediately thereafter,
causing universal sorrow.
A large group, includ
ing the parents, were
celebrating the Fourth
of July. A group of young
men were seining when
Morris got into deep
water and went under.
The body was recovered
quickly but resuscitation
efforts failed.
Wfyt 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