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Page 4A — Wednesday, July 27, 2016 The True Citizen
OPINIONS
The Pledge U1 Allegiance
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LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-AUGUST 2,2006
Waynesboro police believe someone threw counterfeit
$20 bills into a crowded club last week, resulting in the fake
bills circulating through local restaurants and stores. In five
separate instances, people tried to use the bills at McDonald’s,
Jet Foods and Popeye’s.
Georgia governor Sonny Perdue and several Department of
Transportation officials planned to be on hand for the dedica
tion of the Burke Veterans Parkway. The Highway 25 Bypass
was being renamed to honor local veterans.
Local blueberry producer Dick Byne hosted about thirty
employees of Whole Foods Market at his farm near Waynes
boro. The group, mostly from Atlanta, was shown how organic
blueberries made their way from farm to market.
25 YEARS AGO-AUGUST 1,1991
Keller Aluminum Furniture of Georgia closed the doors of
its manufacturing plant here. The plant employed up to 370
workers during peak season, but less than 40 were employed
when the plant closed. It had been in operation here since
1959 and had employed as many as 700 workers in the mid
to late 70s.
Construction of Plant Vogtle Units One and Two officially
ended without fanfare. Work had been underway at the site
since 1974.
Waynesboro native Charlie Craig Rouse was awarded his
Doctorate in Medicine from East Tennessee State University’s
College of Medicine.
50 YEARS AG0-JULY 27,1966
Waynesboro High School senior Walt Seeger was presented
the annual Leadership Award from the Waynesboro Lions
Club. His name would be added to a plaque at the school.
Burke County School Superintendent A.H. Gnann said
the local school board’s plan for desegregation of the public
school system had been rejected by the U.S. Department of
Health Education and Welfare.
Officials in Burke and Screven Counties announced plans
to join forces in administering federal poverty program funds.
U.S. Congressman Elliott Hagan of Sylvania began his
campaign for re-election. He was seeking his fourth term
in office.
75 YEARS AG0-JULY31,1941
A program for raising quail for distribution was initiated
at the County Home. It was reported there were 546 birds
that were 11 days old and 325 were 2-3 days old. The eggs
came from a state hatchery as well as the local CCC Camp.
The Waynesboro Rotary Club passed a resolution oppos
ing the discontinuing of the Central of Georgia trains which
passed through Waynesboro. The railway had made applica
tion to the Georgia Public Service Commission to discontinue
passenger service here.
The True Citizen reported there were plans to build an
“army camp” southwest of Augusta along U.S. Highway 1.
We welcome your letters
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P.O. Box 948 • 629 Shadrack Street
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Telephone: (706) 554-2111 • Fax: (706) 526-4779
Published every Wednesday by The True Citizen,
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Citizen, P.O. Box 948, Waynesboro, GA 30830.
Roy F. Chalker Roy F. Chalker, Jr.
Publisher Publisher
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Don Lively
SWEETLY SOUTHERN
I J
Nobody has ever accused me
of being an epicurean.
Or a connoisseur.
A foodie.
I couldn't explain the dif
ference between gnocchi and
penne if my very life depended
on it.
I wouldn't know an albacore
from a tuna if both jumped out
of the ocean and bit me on each
cheek.
To me, arugula and spinach
and radicchio all taste the same.
Like hay.
Since I've been a bachelor for
most of the past two decades,
my new bride is finding it a bit
difficult to break me of some of
my culinary patterns. She will
win, in the end, but undoing so
many years of bad habits could
take some time.
After all, I'm the kind of fel
low who is perfectly content
to make a meal of two cans of
Vienna sausage, one honey bun
and a Mountain Dew.
On road trips I've subsisted
mostly on beef jerky and Twiz-
zlers.
At my house, a large can
of Dinty Moore beef stew that
hasn't been expired more than
a year is considered dang near
gourmet.
But, there is one of the five
basic food groups that I am well
versed in. One that I have stud
ied and researched extensively
through the years. One that, I
think you will agree, is as fun
damental to life in the Blessed
South as camouflage britches
and church houses.
Southern Sweets.
Don't think it's one of the five
basic food groups?
You and I obviously haven't
been reading the same books.
Let's start with the most obvi
ous ingredient.
The simple, yet magnificent,
pecan.
From Georgia to Texas, pecan
pie has been an essential of good
Southern cooking for as long as
there's been a debate on exactly
how the word is pronounced.
For the record, it's correctly
pronounced, pea can.
Anyway, for chefs as diverse
as the sophisticated and polished
Paula Deen, over in Savannah,
to the bawdy Cajun humorist
and cook, Justin Wilson, of
Louisiana, pecan pie recipes
are simply staples of their trade.
But the recipes, all across the
South, are basically the same.
Fresh pecans, eggs, sugar, but
ter, maybe a little vanilla, and,
of course, Karo syrup. The basic
combination has sparked many a
debate as to whose Mama bakes
the best pies.
It was my Mama, no question.
Years after she left us I can
still taste those fine pecan pies.
Down in Florida there is a
very special little citrus fruit, a
lime. Not just any old Persian
lime or Spanish lime, mind
you. No sir and no ma'am. In
Florida they grow a lime that
no other part of the world can
lay claim to.
The key lime.
Ergo, the world famous, key
lime pie.
To die for.
It's tempting to compare the
key lime pie to the time tested
lemon meringue pie, but, hon
estly, there's no comparison.
Key limes have such a uniquely
tart flavor that, when used as a
dessert ingredient, it rewards
the taster with an immediate
desire to be standing in Mallory
Square watching the sunset over
the ocean, or to be walking bare
foot along the gazillion miles of
Sunshine State shoreline.
Peach cobbler, anyone?
Georgia has been known as
the Peach State for many years,
but, other states, South Carolina
included, actually produce more
of the succulent crop every year.
But, regardless of which states
produce the most fruit, every
Southern state has its own ver
sion of the sweet treat that sol
diers and sailors and airmen and
Marines have dreamed about
during long deployments away
from home. Peach cobbler was a
regular part of Sunday dinner at
nearly every Southern table that
I ever put my feet under. Both
grandmas, every aunt or great-
aunt, and, of course. Mama.
I will probably debate myself
until I join her in Heaven as to
which was better, her pecan pie
or peach cobbler.
We Southerners do like our
sweets.
Try to walk down some of the
downtown streets of Savannah
or Charleston, where the candy
stores specialize in Southern
pralines, without stopping in for
one. Or two. It's almost impos
sible to stop eating them once
you get started.
Who can resist buying a bag
ful of beignets anytime you
find yourself strolling through
the French Quarter "way down
yonder in New Orleans"?
Blackberries, that grow wild
all over the South, are made
into jellies and jams and tarts
and muffins.
Well, I've succeeded in mak
ing myself hungry.
Better get to baking.
Happy eating, y'all.
Michael N. Searles
LICENSE TO KILL
In 1989, the James Bond film
Licence to Kill was released.
There is a certain irony that
one of the film’s locations was
Florida since it was the first
Bond film shot entirely outside
of the United Kingdom. In the
UK, ordinary citizens do not
have a license to kill. It is very
difficult to acquire guns, and
a series of legal barriers have
been established to achieve
that end. Liberty to defend
yourself is not a great concern
for the British, and the fear of
a tyrannical government did
not take hold. Licence to Kill
gets its title from a special au
thority extended by the British
government to a 007 Agent in
the movie. An interesting side
note is that the original title of
the film was Licence Revoked,
but the name was changed
when it was discovered that too
many people did not know what
revoked meant. It’s apparently
easier to extend a license than
to revoke it. The film financially
was successful but received
criticism because it was darker
and more violent than previous
Bond films. In Florida, the
original “Stand Your Ground”
state, apparently, people have
decided to stand on the ground
of others. Senseless shootings
and deaths seem to be the price
of liberty in the United States.
In America, everyone who
wants a gun should have one
and if you feel aggrieved, shoot
the offending party. If you don’t
like gays, the transgender, abor
tion doctors, police, Muslims,
Mexicans, or African Ameri
cans, exercise your Second
Amendment Right to bear and
use arms. Except for collectors,
target practice enthusiasts, and
rodent eliminators, handguns
are manufactured to kill human
beings. If guns merely warned
people not to trespass, you could
post a sign in your yard with a
big handgun on it. However, if
you did, it might be an invitation
for thieves to enter your house
and steal your gun(s). It also
would warn a would-be intruder
that he should be prepared to
shoot you. The legal right to
carry a gun on your person has
gained increased popularity
in recent days. Many Ameri
cans feel safer because their
weapon is at hand. Two recent
incidents bring that assumption
into question. Alton Sterling
of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
was recently shot and killed by
police because he was carrying
a gun. Mr. Sterling had a legal
right to carry a gun and probably
obtained the permit for protec
tion as a seller of CDs for cash.
Someone called 911 and
reported that a man in a red
shirt was brandishing a gun.
The police arrived on the scene
with that information. They
approached Mr. Sterling with
guns drawn as they tackled him
to the ground. With Mr. Sterling
pinned to the ground, someone
allegedly cried out “he has a
gun.” One police officer pulled
his handgun and pointed at Mr.
Sterling. It has been suggested
that the policeman believed
that Sterling was reaching for
a gun in his pocket. One of the
policemen with his weapon a
few inches from Mr. Sterling
shot the CD seller four times.
There will be various accounts
as to whether the police used
questionable judgement in the
shooting, but one thing is not
in question. If Alton Sterling
was not carrying a weapon on
that day, he likely would still
be alive. Philando Castile, a
Minnesota resident, was pulled
over in a traffic stop allegedly
for a busted tail light. Reports
suggest that Castile was a good
person and a law abiding citizen.
He was accompanied by his girl
friend, Diamond Reynolds, and
her four-year-old daughter. Ms.
Reynolds began live streaming
the incident on Facebook after
Sterling was shot by the police
officer. Ms. Reynolds stated that
Sterling told the officer that he
had a legal weapon in the car,
and he was reaching for his ID.
According to Ms. Reynolds, the
police officer shot him without
provocation. The final outcome
may not be known for weeks,
but it is becoming increasingly
apparent that carrying a firearm
does not always make you safer;
it is likely to make you a victim.