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4A ®jje 1) eralb <©a?ette Tuesday, September 20,2022
Opinions
A great football weekend
One of the great
benefits of my job is the
privilege of covering high
school sports. I have
been doing it now for 44
years and the work - par
ticularly covering high
school football - never
gets old.
This past week, 1 went
to Jackson, stopping off
for some Fresh Air Barbe
cue before heading to the
newly renovated stadium
on Red Devil Hill. Traffic
was snarled. The place
was packed.
The Red Devil team
from 1977 was honored
and it seemed everyone
in Jackson turned out to
see the complex which 1
was told cost $18 million.
The home crowd was
amped up! The computer
projections had Jackson
as a three-point favor
ite. Somebody forgot to
tell the Lamar County
Trojans who absolutely
dominated the Devils,
building a 35-0 lead
before Jackson scored
on a long pass with just
two minutes left in the
second quarter.
After the halftime
shows by the bands,
many of the Jackson fans
were gone. The Trojans
won 42-16 to go to 5-0.
They remain ranked #8 in
Class A, Division 1.
Then on Saturday,
Georgia went to Colum
bia and rocked South
Carolina 48-7. Despite
some projectile
vomiting on the
field, quarter
back Stetson
Bennett efficient
ly eviscerated
the chickens and
Brock Bowers
fried them up
and made some
skillet gravy.
Three games
in, the Dawgs are
3-0, ranked #1 in
the country and
have two le
gitimate Heisman Trophy
candidates in Bennett
and Bowers.
Kirby Smart had 15
players drafted off last
year’s national cham
pionship team but this
team may be even better.
It is certainly
better on of
fense thanks
to coordinator
Todd Monken.
(Note to Jere
Morehead et.
al.: Pay the
man whatever
it takes to keep
him in Athens.)
There seems
to be no team
save Kentucky
on the regular
season schedule
that will have a shot at
derailing the mean ma
chine in red and black.
Auburn is a dumpster fire
and head coach Bryan
Harsin may be gone
before the two teams
collide in Athens in two
weeks.
Vandy is Vandy which
is not much. Florida is
deeply flawed. They
opened with a narrow
win over Utah, lost to
Kentucky and struggled
with South Florida. Quar
terback Anthony Richard
son, the vaunted AR-15,
has more tackles (3) than
touchdown passes (0) for
the season.
Tennessee is showing
a pulse but that game is
in Athens and Mississippi
State doesn’t have much.
Then comes the tricky
trip to Kentucky but the
Dawgs have far better
talent on the roster than
do the Cats.
As always, the season
ends with the Georgia
Tech game. Tech man
aged to beat Western
Kentucky 35-17 but lost
to Clemson and Ole Miss
by a combined score
of 83-10. The odds are
no-neck Geoff Collins will
no longer be at the Tech
helm by that time. Hell,
he may not be there by
the time you read this.
The Jackets are no
longer a major college
football program and
we Dawg fans like it that
way!
Walter Geiger is editor and publisher
of The Herald-Gazette and Pike
County Journal Reporter. He can
be reached at 770-358-NEWS or
news@barnesville.com.
JL'A
A '
GEIGER’S
COUNTER
Walter Geiger
Editor & Publisher
Something’s awry:
Nobody’s working
Lessons from Home:
Some great news
KAV S. PEDR0TTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.com
Well, to be truthful,
1 shouldn’t have said
“nobody.” Many, many
people still go to work
every
because
- — need to
or love
<i ^ ao -
and the
country
would be sunk for sure
without them. 1 get the
feeling 1 should be writ
ing to a group of younger
people, those who are
bailing out of college (or
not going) to take restau
rant and retail jobs that
pay little and train less.
For instance - have
you tried shopping at
one of the big-chain
clothing stores lately? We
patronize one in Griffin
regularly, and so far they
are barely managing to
cover the floor with ca
pable and friendly sales
help and supervisors,
although not all check
outs are open each day.
Last week I went to two
others in McDonough;
the experience was alto
gether different.
There was a manager
present at one point,
complete with a nam-
etag that identified him.
He had been talking
to several salespeople
about things that needed
to be done, and one of
them (at the manager’s
behest) broke away from
the group to help me
find what 1 wanted. She
was at best 21, probably
nearer 17; nice personal
ity, knew where the wom
en’s shorts were that I
wanted, but absolutely
could not understand the
concept of “capris,” “ped
al-pushers,” or “Bermuda
shorts.” All five racks of
women’s shorts were no
longer than men’s box
ers.
She kept saying, “1
don’t think we have
anything longer,” but
later 1 did spy one rack
of what might have been
capri-length but were
wildly overpriced. The
other Henry County
store had a friendly sales
person who said, “Just
look through here till you
find what you want,” and
then walked away. That
person had no answer
about “longer shorts”
either. So, 1 have to fall
back on what’s already at
my house.
The retail industry
does not suffer lack of
staff by themselves.
It’s in restaurants, auto
repair shops, schools,
fast-food places, salons,
even sometimes doctors’
offices. There is nothing
wrong with working for
a living, young people,
and you who are sea
soned and still able to
earn. There is more to be
learned from interacting
with people, handling
money, developing the
ability to sell, and in
being able to take home
a paycheck you earned
yourself. 1 wonder how
many “big wheels” in
business have begun to
realize what the absence
of job dedication and
security has done to “the
economy” as a whole. It’s
going to take all of us to
return to anything close
to pre-pandemic. Let’s
get to work!
Kay S. Pedrotti has spent some 50
years writing for newspapers. She
is a past president of Lamar Arts
Inc. and now serves on the board of
directors. She lives in Milner with
her husband Bob Pedrotti.
This momma’s heart
is so happy! My daughter
and her partner in life
visited
during
Buggy
Days.
We were
plan
ning to
cel
ebrate
their
birth
days, and then take a
stroll down Thomaston
St. to enjoy the festivi
ties. We enjoyed worship
in church at 10 a.m. Sun
day morning, then went
home for lunch. And
that’s when they gave me
some great news. They
are going to become
parents in March of next
year. 1 am going to be a
grandmother. Praise be
to God!
In that moment, as
elated as 1 was about
this happy news, my
heart broke. 1 immedi
ately missed my hus
band, Lynde’s father. He
would have been the
world’s best grandfather
(trust me on this.) And 1
thought, wouldn’t he be
so happy.
And that’s when my
daughter shared another
piece of great news. As
my husband was tak
ing his last breaths in
mid-August, as the family
was gathered around his
bedside, our daughter
already knew she was
pregnant. She wasn’t
ready to share the news
with everyone. But she
leaned over and whis
pered the happy news
in her daddy’s ear. As he
breathed his last breath,
a tear streamed down his
cheek. Now 1 think 1 know
why. It was a tear of joy
and hope.
Even though he is
gone from this earth, his
legacy of love lives on.
My children carry him in
their hearts. 1 carry his
love in my heart. We will
share our love for Kim
with this precious child.
We will tell the stories
of the many lives Kim
touched, all because he
lived what he believed.
And he believed in our
Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. As do 1. It is my
faith in Christ that sus
tains me.
As I walk this wilder
ness journey of grief, 1 am
reminded of the Israelites
and their wilderness
journey (as recorded in
Exodus.) After the Israel
ites had escaped captiv
ity in Egypt, they found
themselves in a valley,
with a mountain on the
left and a mountain on
the right, and only the
Red Sea ahead of them.
There was no way they
could save themselves.
And that’s when God
made a way, when it
seemed there was no way
forward. That is how 1
feel. Just as the weight of
grief grows too heavy to
bear, God makes a way.
God gives me hope. And
that is good news of great
joy.
Ann Mann is an Emmy Award
winning journalist, now
serving as pastor to Barnes-
ville First United Methodist
Church. Her email is an-
nmann @comcast.net.
GSC launches adult learner and veteran center
Pictured are (l-r) Dr. Matthew K. Robison, Dean of Stu
dents; Ashley Travis, Innovative Education Specialist; Dr. Inez
Jones, Non-Traditional and Veteran Student Association Advi
sor; and Dr. Ric Calhoun, Assistant Vice President of Innova
tive Education and Strategic Initiatives.
Gordon State Col
lege recently hosted the
grand opening of the
Adults, Veterans and
Non-Traditional Students
Center located in Student
Center room 222.
The purpose of the
center is to provide
this student population
with a comfortable and
family-friendly space
on campus where they
can go to study, con
nect, and access on and
off-campus resources to
support their educational
journey.
“1 am very excited
about the center and ap
preciative of our admin
istration for allowing us
to use this space on our
campus. These student
groups have always been
an important part of our
campus and we hope
this space will help to
support their experience
here with us at Gordon
State College,” said As
sistant Vice President of
Innovative Education and
Strategic Initiatives, Dr.
Ric Calhoun.
The center will be
open Monday through
Friday and is equipped
with three computer
work stations, a collabor
ative work area, resource
library, and lounge.
There is also a kid’s
corner with headphones,
STEM toys, and chil
dren’s books available for
use so parents can feel
comfortable coming with
their children to work or
study. These resources
were purchased with
funds from the Two-Gen
Innovation Grant and
were recommended from
survey data and panel
results gathered from the
work of the grant.
“As a graduate of
Gordon who was an
adult learner and parent,
1 know first-hand how
difficult it can be to find
a space to study or bring
my child if 1 need to do
last minute submissions
and have nowhere for my
son to stay entertained.
Together with our Non-
Traditional and Vet
eran Student Association
Advisor, Dr. Inez Jones,
we can now welcome
our Non-Trad student
population to a multi-use
space where veterans
can take solace in the
day, adult students can
study in a group setting,
or student parents can
come and complete their
work while their children
have a suitable space to
occupy themselves. We
want Gordon to be a sup
portive, family-friendly
space for this important
student population and
we are glad to be able to
provide just one small
thing that could make
a big difference in their
day here,” said Innova
tive Education Specialist,
Ashley Travis.
The Office of Inno
vative Education and
Strategic Initiatives in
conjunction with the
Dean of Students has
been working on this
project since 2019 when
students requested a
place on campus.
UMAR
FUSHBACK
Sept. 18-24
10 years ago
A young, Rockwell-
inspired artist, muralist
was making a name for
himself with large and
small scale projects
around the community.
Andrew Patrick Henry
was working on a mural
adorning the building at
Red Barn Antiques in Mil
ner among other places.
25 years ago
Coroner Jim Smith
was preparing to con
duct an inquest into the
death of Frank D. Glover,
46, who was purported
to have hanged himself
in the detox unit at the
Lamar County jail. Glover
apparently looped his
belt through some mesh
in order to do the deed.
50 years ago
Two subdivisions
were being developed
locally. Honeysuckle
Hills featured three
bedroom, one and a half
bath homes off Collier
Road, the work of a
Macon developer. Jimmy
Burnette was develop
ing Dunnhome Acres on
Burnette Road.
100 years ago
Mr. J. S. Clark, Sr.,
an aged and respected
citizen of Milner, died at
his home here Tuesday
evening, after being con
fined to his home for two
months. He was a devout
member of Milner Meth
odist Church where his
funeral was held. He left
behind a wife, five sons
and two daughters.
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