Newspaper Page Text
4A Clje 1) eralb Tuesday, July 11,2023
Opinions
Geiger's Counter: The curmudgeon speaks
Yeah, I’m getting to be
that guy.
You know, the grumpy
old man we used to joke
about when we were
young. He was the one
who said, “Boy, I’ve seen
a lot of changes in my
time on this earth and I
was against every damn
one of them.”
The older I get, the
more pet peeves I collect.
Here is a sampling.
I still pay most of my
bills by writing checks.
Many of those bills arrive
with a return envelope
and a portion of the bill
that is perforated and is
to be returned with the
check.
Without fail, these per
forations are so poorly
done that scissors are
required. Many times,
once I have cut along the
dotted line, the return
portion of the bill won’t
fit into the envelope
provided and requires
folding.
Where is the quality
control on that sort of
thing? Is no one paying
attention?
Plastic packaging
is another bane of my
existence. It is by far
the worst on over the
counter medica
tions. Instead of
a bottle with 12
pills in it, you get
12 pills locked
behind individ
ual little plastic
bubbles made
out of kevlar.
These package
designers make
the envelope/
perforation folks
look like Ein
steins. The pills
are almost im
possible to get to without
an Xacto knife, scalpel or
some other sharp instru
ment.
It also seems
that the more
critically need
ed the medi
cation is (an
anti-diarrheal,
for example)
the harder it
is to get into.
Why?
As a person
who was well
schooled on
grammar, Latin,
verb conjuga
tion, diagram
ming sentences, etc., the
grammar used on social
media makes me cringe.
Those with an item they
want to get rid of are usu
ally the worst. So, here
are some tips.
Those ‘slighty used’
clothes you want to ‘re
home’ because you put
on 50 pounds during the
pandemic are for sale not
for sell.
Examples of proper
marketing grammar
include:
My truck is for sale.
I would like to sell my
truck. Would you like
to buy my truck? Does
anybody have a truck for
sale? Does anyone have
a truck they would like
to sell?
And, finally; I sold my
truck. (Note the word
done is not to be used
before the word sold in
that final example.)
Congratulations on
selling your truck.
Make sure they write
you a check. Cur
mudgeons don’t trust
CashApp, Zelle, PayPal
and all that new-fangled
junk.
Stay off my lawn!
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.
Catching up on
family looks to
be great fun
KAV S. PEDROTTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.com
On July 14 and 15, Bob
and Kay Pedrotti will be
blessed
about 15
-» ~ mem
bers
of the
Pedrotti
family
from several locations
across the country.
The gathering is for a
somber purpose, but just
knowing that we will see
relatives who seldom get
to our part of the world
will be very gratifying for
us. Bob’s sister next in
age to him, Dorothy Ann
Pedrotti Buchanan, died
about two months ago;
the gathering will include
a memorial to remember
and celebrate her life.
The Pedrotti clan is
not quite as numerous
as the Smith and Big-
gers families in which I
grew up. Both of my sets
of grandparents had a
total of eight children
who reached adulthood;
on the Smith side, my
father was the oldest and
his brother Gerald the
youngest. Gerald and his
wife Betty are still with
us, living in Knoxville,
TN, but making frequent
trips back to Fitzgerald
- where we gathered as
often as possible. I still
have 24 first cousins on
that side.
The Biggers grand
parents lived in either
Ashburn or Cordele
when I was younger. All
are gone now, except for
the wife of the oldest,
uncle C.E. Biggers; she
lives in Ocala, Fla, and
I try to see her as often
as possible. My cousins
Tom, Lynda, Pam, Je
rome, Bill, Renna, Eddie
and Greg are the survi
vors. I remember when
my mother’s last sibling,
my aunt Doris Biggers,
died. Shortly thereafter, I
made a trip to Fitzgerald
and my back-road route
home took me near the
last home of the Biggers
family outside Cordele.
All of a sudden I
realized that my aunts
and uncles were now
deceased -1 had to pull
off the road and cry for
a few minutes. In a large
family, that can be a
haunting feeling. I always
felt I would love to grow
old as the matriarch of
a large family, but that’s
out of reach now. I just
rejoice that the good
Lord honored me with
the lives of so many good
people, starting with
my parents - and going
on to their siblings and
spouses and the children
who are my cousins, and
the beloved relatives of
my husband.
Two of my Biggers
aunts, Dot and Lillian,
were quite the funny ol’
gals. One winter, Dot had
purchased an electric
blanket, and she was
haranguing Lillian (who
lived in Florida) about
getting one for herself.
Lillian kept saying she
didn’t need it, of course.
Finally Lil said, “Well,
Dot, you can’t go around
plugged in all day!”
Bless all their beautiful
hearts. And I mean that.
Life would have been dull
without them.
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.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sunday early voting was
analyzed and will be revisited
In January, the Lamar
County Board of Elec
tions and Registration
confirmed that their
threshold to revisit the
inclusion of Sunday in
the early voting calendar
had been exceeded by
more than 50%. Elec
tions Supervisor Anita
Reid and the Board had
agreed to reconsider
Sundays if the trial on Oc
tober 23, 2022, exceeded
100 voters. The trial had
159 voters during the
four-hour window on
that Sunday. That was
processing a voter about
every minute and a half.
The additional cost was
less than $300. The other
and more surprising fact
was that nearly 60 %
of these voters were of
prime employment age
of 25 to 65 years of age
and more than a handful
had never voted early at
all. It is believed that this
analysis justifies the con
sideration of another trial
of Sunday voting for the
upcoming 2024 election
cycle. These numbers
indicate that the initial
trial benefited working
aged voters and encour
aged new early voters.
Both goals, although not
directly enumerated, are
consistent with the mis
sion of the Board.
The Lamar County
Board of Elections will
be considering including
Sundays in the early vot
ing schedule at its next
meeting, July 24, 2023, at
6:00 p.m. at the D suite
conference room. The
public is invited to pro
vide input prior to the de
cisions being made. The
Board asks that those
wishing to speak arrive
early enough to sign up
with a staff member or
contact the Elections of
fice prior to the meeting
to be put on the list of
commenters. Comments
may be limited in time
based on the number of
speakers.
DR. A. BILL CHRISTOPHER
Lamar County Board of Elections and
Registration Chair
Library grant partners thanked
Members of The Mil
ner Community Library
would like to thank the
following grant partners
for all our new books,
The Pilcrow Foundation,
Red Barn Designs, Mr.
Hal Bernenson and Mrs.
Laura Ackerman, Dr. Bill
Stawbridge and Dr. Meg
Wallhagen.
Many thanks,
MILNER COMMUNITY LIBRARY
BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF
Sardis Baptist Church celebrated Honor’s Day and Father’s Day June 18.
CHURCH NOTE
• Barnesville Church
of the Nazarene invites
children ages 4 through
just finished fifth grade to
enjoy Twists and Turns
VBS! It will be held on
Wednesday nights July
12, July 19 and July 26
from 7 to 8:15 p.m. VBS
Family Game Night will
be held Saturday, July 29
from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sign
up at https://vbsmate.
com/events/Bnaz/27705.
Check out the church’s
facebook page, go to
www.barnesvillenaza-
rene.com or call 770-358-
1314 for more info.
• Church of the Lost
and Found, 1697 Highway
36 E, Milner will hold an
8 day revival on Sunday,
July 23 through Sunday,
July 30. Sundays begin
ning at 6 p.m., Monday
through Friday at 7 p.m.
and Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Greater Spring Hill
Baptist Church, 117
Locust St., Milner will
have a food give-a-way on
Thursday, July 27 from 12
noon until supplies last.
• Mt. Pleasant Baptist
Church will have their
annual Homecoming
Service July 23, 2023 at
11am. The speaker for
the hour will be Rev.
David Blalock. The an
nual Revival will begin
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
at 7:30 p.m. - Friday, July
28, 2023. On Wednesday,
the guest speaker is Rev.
Waylon Knight and West
Mt. Siani, Thursday,
July 27 guests include
Rev. Keith Battle and
Antioch Baptist Church
and Friday, July 28 Rev.
Holston and Oak Grove
Baptist Church will be
the guests.
LAMAR
FLASHBACK
July 9-15
10 years ago
Bobbi Jo Sumner, 40,
was arrested in connec
tion with the hit and
run death of Gordon
student Alexandra Desir
on Rose Avenue June 29.
BPD chief Craig Cooper
credited good, old fash
ioned police work for the
arrest. Sumner was later
convicted of vehicular
homicide and is serving
a long term at Pulaski
State Prison.
25 years ago
Local races on the
July 21 primary ballot
included Marvin Alspach
vs. Patty Johnston for
the at-large seat on the
board of education.
Incumbent district two
county commissioner
Nancy Giles was being
challenged by Kenneth
Crawford. Two Republi
cans, George Brown and
Sam Pelt, were also seek
ing the post.
50 years ago
Walter Yates (W.Y.)
Andrews died July 5 after
a two-week stay in the
hospital which followed
a fall from a ladder in his
home. Andrews, 74, had
served as superinten
dent of Lamar EMC since
its inception in 1938. He
was also a member of the
Barnesville city council.
120 years ago
Mr. Seneca B. Burr,
Sr., a widely known and
highly esteemed citizen
of Barnesville, died Fri
day evening last at 9:15
o’clock. The immediate
cause of his death was
paralysis, although he
had been in declining
health for several years
past. He devoted the first
part of his life to news
paper work, in which a
person usually does so
much for the public good
without compensation
and without apprecia
tion. He was known as
one of the influential edi
tors in the state.
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